ATF to Again Host MIPAcademy

August 22, 2014 World Screen Top Stories
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SINGAPORE: The Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF) is hosting for the second year the MIPAcademy event, organized by Reed Exhibitions in conjunction with Reed MIDEM.

Themed “Create Locally for the Global Markets,” the second edition of MIPAcademy will focus on guiding producers in the development of unscripted and scripted format and factual production, and impart “A to Z” tips on how to produce a successful format and factual content.

The event will see Alexis De Gemini, the founder and CEO of A2G Studio, taking part in a producers’ workshop on “Creating a Format Bible.” Tim Crescenti, the president of Small World International Format Television, will speak on “How to Draft the Perfect Treatment.” The “Factual Content Showcase: Managing Content Development and Co-Production” will feature May-yi Lee, the director of factual content production at National Geographic Channels Asia. The renowned producer and director of South Korea’s first and longest-running drama series Ugly Young-Ae, Park Joon-Hwa, will share on “How to Create Successful Scripted Formats/Dramas.”

More speakers will be announced at a later date.

Another MIPAcademy highlight is the closed-door, one-to-one format sessions, where shortlisted candidates will get to discuss their format bibles with De Gemini or learn tips on perfecting their treatments with Crescenti.

Sharing his thoughts on the closed-door sessions, Crescenti said, “The world has become a level playing field, and it has become even more competitive to get your show ideas presented and packaged to entice buyers. With these one-to-one sessions, I believe producers attending will learn the inside secret to what it takes to sell a local idea, format or concept into the global marketplace. I look forward to sharing my experience as a global supplier who has taken undiscovered gems from Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Japan and made them global blockbusters.”

Of the refreshed MIPAcademy lineup, Yeow Hui Leng, the senior project director of Asia TV Forum & Market and ScreenSingapore, shared, “ATF aims to promote exchange among television industry professionals from different regions. As Asia continues to rise in importance, ATF’s role of bringing the global TV industry closer to the region, and vice versa, becomes more important. The inaugural MIPAcademy was well-received, and gave 182 attendees the opportunity to learn about the elements necessary for popular Asian formats and factual content. Riding on that success, this year’s lineup will bring practical aspects of format and factual production to the fore, and MIPAcademy delegates will certainly benefit from the knowledge and experience of the various industry powerhouses sharing at these sessions.”

De Gemini said, “MIPAcademy provides a unique opportunity for Asian producers to make it big in the format world. The local producers should capitalize on their local culture to create something other international format creators would not. I look forward to sharing precise techniques to help attendees channel their creativity in developing original TV formats with a universal appeal.”