How Vox Tells the Story of Humanity in an Event-Scale Documentary

week 5 / 31 January 2013 70,000 YEARS IN EIGHT HOURS How Vox tells the story of humanity in an event-scale documentary Germany United Kingdom France Luxembourg Joey Heindle is Radical Media Jacques Expert Enex wins the new ‘King of to bring Youtube on his new BFMTV as the Jungle’ channel Thnkr’s responsibilities a member Prodigies on TV at RTL Radio in France week 5 / 31 January 2013 TITLE How A la bonne heure has won over RTL Radio’s listeners Luxembourg United Kingdom Germany Survey: Television and FME to adapt Ich bin ein Star – Radio still preferred Les Revenants for Holt mich hier raus! media English-speaking is also popular on viewers the Web Cover Montage with screenshots taken from the documentary Publisher RTL Group 45, Bd Pierre Frieden L-1543 Luxembourg Editor, Design, Production RTL Group Corporate Communications & Marketing k before y hin ou T p r in t backstage.rtlgroup.com backstage.rtlgroup.fr backstage.rtlgroup.de QUICK VIEW “Let’s getty to Joey!” RTL Television p. 8 “Small-screen content can pack a big punch” FremantleMedia p. 9 “To perform at our very best in a serene atmosphere” RTL Radio p. 10 Living history Vox p. 4–7 New Enex member: BFMTV Enex p. 11 Big Picture p.12 SHORT NEWS p. 13–14 LIVING In early February, Vox takes viewers on an extraordinary journey to key moments in the history of mankind. HISTORY Backstage presents this project. Germany – 31 January 2013 Vox The team behind the project: Frank Hoffmann, Managing Director of Vox; Dieter Moor, Presenter; Chris Granlund, Writer and Producer and Alexander Kluge CEO of DCTP (from left to right) 4 70,000 years of human history – 70,000 years of BBC One. The innovative documentary concept struggle for survival, uncertainty and discoveries. shows historical turning points in human history Humanity itself was almost history so many times. using scenes of a high production quality that make Why was the human species able to do so well history tangible. compared to other mammals? How did man become the advanced mammal that can even travel into Writer and Producer Chris Granlund explains: space? How were great empires able to arise and “At fi rst we thought it would be virtually impossible to why did they collapse again? Why are some events convey the story of mankind in a TV format, and the indelibly etched onto global memory, while others project was discussed at the BBC for nearly eight merit barely a mention? years before I started working on it.” When he began work on it four years ago it was quickly decided that actors would be used. “We wanted to make a series that appealed to viewers around the world and that could also be understood worldwide. Therefore, we decided to work with actors and re-enact events. This gave us the possibility of shooting it like a feature fi lm and reaching the audience on an emotional level.” In the end, around 1,100 actors were involved in the production and made it possible not only to resurrect signifi cant places in history, but also historical fi gures. Alexander Kluge, CEO of DCTP, says: “A decade ago I would not have dared to predict that anything like this would ever be shown on German commercial television.” In the event-scale documentary Die Geschichte des Menschen – 70.000 Jahre Überleben, Erobern, Kämpfen (on 1 and 2 February at 20:15 on Vox) presenter Dieter Moor attempts to answer all these questions for viewers. As well as less obvious questions such as: Why was the invention of the sewing needle so important for mankind? How did the trade in Dutch tulips lead to the fi rst stock market crash? And how have language and agriculture changed the course of history? First human species: the Neanderthals “Vox treats its viewers to an eight-hour journey through the history of mankind in feature-fi lm The documentary shows how Caesar died alone quality,” says Frank Hoffmann, Managing Director on the fl oor of the Senate, while at the same time of Vox and Managing Director designate of the audience learns why the ideals of the Roman RTL Television. “We are proud of this documentary republic had to die with him. Viewers will stand with and feel it is an excellent match for Vox, regardless Christopher Columbus on the deck of his ship as of what the ratings are in the end. Even if it doesn’t he discovers America. They will see Martin Luther achieve a double-digit audience share it will still be as he unleashes the Reformation, which he soon watched by millions of people. Just ask yourself: loses control over. And the audience will witness How many history books would you have to sell the moment when the fi rst stock market crash to reach as many people? And how many of these took place. Kluge: “Numerous researchers have books are actually read? We know that we will be confi rmed that we have portrayed history correctly watched.” – for example, we went through the project step by step with Professor Parzinger, President of the The programme was created in a joint project of Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation in Berlin. You Vox, the BBC and DCTP, and is the most elaborate can verify the accuracy of everything we show in this history documentary ever commissioned by documentary.” Next > 5 Chris Granlund also points out: “The most important thing for us was that everything should be accurate. And we succeeded at this. The information comes from books, interviews with experts and visits to archaeological sites. Academic advisors from our production partner The Open University were also on hand. There are also a lot of fantastic websites that helped us.” The key moments that are discussed in each episode all follow a common thread that makes the different eras tangible. This main theme links the stories together. The corresponding key moments The early history of China were then selected on this basis. “They are often small stories with huge repercussions,” says Granlund. “It was very diffi cult to decide which milestones should be re-enacted in the documentary. After all this wasn’t just about telling the history of the world, but also about including all the continents and as many countries as possible.” This means that although the documentary was produced in Europe, it by no means focuses only The emigration of the fi rst humans out of Africa on the history of Europe. A conscious decision was made to start 70,000 years ago, with the emigration of the fi rst humans out of Africa. The early history of On both broadcast days, viewers can also watch China and the oldest city in the world are examined the entire documentary event as a livestream accordingly, giving viewers a greater understanding on the ‘Inside Online’ section of Vox.de, and chat of aspects of history that are less well known up with other users about it, as well as read a lot of to now. In this way, the eight hours shed light on background information about the production and human history and the great questions of humanity: the key moments. For instance, they learn that all Who are we and how did we get here? Presenter but two scenes were fi lmed around Cape Town Dieter Moor says: “Everything that was in the past because all the forms of landscape needed are really does directly have to do with us. I fi nd it very located within two hours drive of there. Users can comforting to sense this. You feel less alone in the also read, among other things, that the most faithful world when you know that thousands of generations replica of the Terracotta Army to be found outside have already previously fought, suffered and thought of China is in Germany, that to this day we do not about things here.” know what the colour of Cleopatra’s skin was, and that there is not a single Leonardo da Vinci sculpture that can be clearly attributed to him as its creator. Vox is broadcasting the eight-hour event-scale documentary Die Geschichte des Menschen – 70.000 Jahre Überleben, Erobern, Kämpfen on 1 and 2 February 2013 in prime time. 1 February from 20:15: Episode 1: The First People (70,000 to 1600 BC) Episode 2: The Great Conquerors (701 to 342 BC) Episode 3: Fighting for the Faith (273 BC to 600 AD) Episode 4: Age of Discovery (700-1460 AD) 2 February from 20:15: Episode 5: Raiding and Plundering (1492 to 1637 AD) Episode 6: Revolution! (1633 to 1796 AD) Episode 7: Industrial Progress (1812 to 1918) Episode 8: The 20th Century (1918 to 2011) Next > 6 The documentary fi lming with Dieter Moor From event TV to classy entertainment channel On 25 January 1993 the German channel Vox went on air for the first time. Twenty years down the line, Vox has evolved from intellectual “Ereignisfernsehen” (event television), as it used to be called, into a classy entertainment channel that is captivating more and more viewers. In 2012, Vox attained an average audience share of 7.7 per cent among viewers aged 14 to 49. The journalists at Vox back in the very early days included Wibke Bruns, Götz Alsmann and Roger Willemsen. Magazines like Canale Grande (presented by Dieter Moor), Voxtours and Liebe Sünde were typical of the channel’s unconventional programme schedule. Yet the channel failed to attract a big audience, and a year after its launch the ‘event TV’ channel seemed to have reached its sell-by date.

Load more