Review Of The Guardian Edinburgh International TV Festival

Mon 2 Sep 2013 / Film Chat

The programme at this year’s Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival was frustratingly good Since it’s physically impossible to split yourself in half deciding which sessions to go to and which to forego was difficult.  Youtube hosted a couple of sessions, which were eye openers in how to engage with fans and how the commissioning of content is diversifying from the traditional keyholders Of course the session with Charlie Brooker interviewing Vince Gilligan, the creator of the worldwide runaway TV hit drama Breaking Bad, almost caused a stampede at the door!
 
It was interesting to see how the first phase of new local TV licences has seen 22 new channels launch and get ready for broadcast later this year into early next year.   How will this change the current TV landscape and how will they be delivered?
 
Kevin Spacey delivered an impassioned, and often, funny McTaggart Lecture ‘it’s all about the creatives’ signing off with a classic Orson Welles quote:  “I hate television. I hate it as much as peanuts. But I can't stop eating peanuts”.  Dara O’Briain hosted the Channel Of The Year Awards (the winning channel was ITV) and only poked a tiny bit of fun at Kevin's lecture. 
 
A highlight was the hugely entertaining and informative Synaesthesia session, which challenged the way we perceive our senses as we were led through the concept of all things ‘Synaesthesia’ in relation to sound, music and image A fantastic hour of comedy, music, science and a brilliant live audience experiment that rendered our taste buds confused!

A really great programme from the team and some great opportunites to meet people and network You can catch up with some of the sessions online at the festivals own Youtube channel, worth a watch!