Channel 4 to launch broadband documentary channel FourDocs

by Sam Matthews, Brand Republic 11-Mar-05, 08:30

LONDON - Channel 4 is introducing a dedicated broadband documentary channel, FourDocs, to celebrate all aspects of the genre and promote documentary film making in the UK.

FourDoc users will be able to upload their own films and get practical advice from experienced programme makers, as well as sharing views about film they or others have made.

In addition, the channel will offer archives of celebrated documentaries, interviews with famous documentary makers and a clips library containing downloadable, copyright-cleared general shots to help filmmakers flesh out sequences for their own films.

Andy Duncan, chief executive of Channel 4, said: "Channel 4 has a deserved reputation as a pioneer of documentary filmmaking with programmes such as Nick Broomfield's 'The Leader, his Driver and the Driver's Wife' and Errol Morris's 'The Thin Blue Line' creating defining moments in the history of the genre."

He added that, as the industry increasingly adapts to a multimedia world more ways needed to be found to support and encourage the development of documentaries.

"Developing a broadband channel combining the latest, accessible technologies with the most creative and experienced minds in the industry seemed a genuinely innovative and exciting way of doing this."

FourDocs was conceived by Peter Dale, head of More4, as a resource for groups and individuals interested in the future of documentary story-telling.

The documentaries can be on any subject but must be no longer than four minutes, designed to attract the widest possible range of filmmakers to contribute -- from school children to professional documentary makers.

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