Five Commissions Made via FOX Formats Lab

SINGAPORE: Beach House Pictures, IFA Media, Sitting in Pictures, Third Floor Pictures and Xtreme Media have been commissioned to produce programming for FOX Networks Group’s National Geographic channel through FOX Formats Lab (FFL).

FFL is an initiative between FOX Networks Group (FNG) and the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA). It is a developmental platform aimed at honing the skills and fostering a knowledge-sharing practice from professionals within FNG’s global network to aspiring local talents. Co-funded by both FNG and MDA, the production development funding for this initiative totals SGD$6 million.

Beach House Pictures has been commissioned for Machine: Impossible (working title), a 6×1-hour series in which tech buff and aeronautics guru Mischa Pollack joins forces with builder, engineer and tinkerer Max McMurdo to discover the world’s most advanced machines. IFA Media will be working on the 6×1-hour World War Weird (working title), featuring historian Sam Willis and digital journalist Robert Joe as they uncover strange tales from WWII. Sitting in Pictures was commissioned for the 6×1-hour Gok’s Chinese Takeaway (working title), starring fashion expert and TV presenter Gok Wan as he journeys across Europe, Asia and Australia on a mission to travel into the diaspora to understand how other dislodged Chinese adapted to foreign cultures and how their food fused and formed a unique character.

Meanwhile, Third Floor Pictures will be producing the hour-long project In Search of the Straits Born with Julian Davison (working title), led by historian and anthropologist Julian Davison, who embarks on a mission to uncover the history of the Straits Born community. Xtreme Media’s one-hour doc Fusion Forager (working title) features Viet Pham, an Asian-American chef, as he makes an emotional journey to his birthplace in a quest to source the best local ingredients and to put a new spin on Malaysian cuisine.

Hamish Mykura, the executive VP and head of international content for NGC International, said, “Fox Formats Lab has been an excellent process, and the National Geographic teams have worked closely with a range of Singapore production companies to produce some very exciting new series for our channels, bringing the best of Singapore production to a worldwide audience.”

Keertan Adyanthaya, the executive VP of content and communications for FOX Networks Group Asia, said, “We are so pleased to have had the opportunity to run a unique initiative like FOX Formats Lab with the MDA. FOX Networks Group is committed to developing local talent, particularly in Singapore which is rapidly becoming a media and production hub in Asia. National Geographic Channel was the perfect platform with which to kick off this initiative, given the cachet of the brand and its renowned reputation for trusted factual storytelling and high-quality productions. FNG has a wide portfolio of channel brands and content genres so there is a lot of potential to grow this initiative. We look forward to continuing to work closely with MDA and support them in their endeavors in building up Singapore’s talent.”

Angeline Poh, assistant CEO (Industry Group) for the MDA, added, “It is exciting to see this collaboration between FNG and MDA take flight, with local production companies benefiting from the opportunity to build their track record producing content for a global platform like National Geographic. We hope that both local and international audiences will enjoy the programs and develop an even greater appreciation for quality Singapore-made content.”