Tv eye
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Shiffs that prance in the night
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After Melbourne producer Jonathan Shiff accepted the inaugural International
BAFTA Award for Excellence in a Children’s Program for Ocean Girl, everyone
wanted to know him. But not because he won the award against 33 contenders
from all over the world. At the London awards ceremony, Cleopatra, the hot new
act set to follow the Spice Girls, came down into the audience and, to his
horror, pulled him on to the stage. “And so there, before the BBC and ITV
cameras, I found myself dancing with the latest pop sensation of Britain, as
part of their act. At supper afterwards, I had 700 people from the British
broadcasting industry come up to me, more of them commenting on my dancing
than congratulating me for the award. But my daughter was very impressed.”

And Shiff may yet fetch up on Airport. As very few BAFTAs travel out of the
country, Heathrow’s security staff were intrigued. “The X-ray machine bounced
and they gathered around to inspect it because they’d never actually picked
one up, or felt it - and they are the Oscars of Britain.” Ocean Girl, now in
its fourth series, is seen by 50 million people in 115 countries, making it
one of the most recognised Australian shows around the world. Children’s
television programming was selected for the first international BAFTA, but
other categories for non-British programs are set to follow in future years.

A real sea change
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“The Gods were smiling on us,” says Peter Beilby, chief executive of Artist
Services production division. The day after the beachside launch of SeaChange
at MIP, Cannes experienced a real sea change, with two-metre waves crashing
along the jetties lining La Croisette promenade, dragging deckchairs and
umbrellas out to sea. Several hundred buyers attended the launch, “a French
interpretation of an Aussie BBQ”, complete with balloons and SeaChange
beachballs. “The weather was cooler than usual and the backdrop as the sun set
was quite dramatic, with dark clouds in the background. So when SeaChange, in
all its bright glory, leapt on to the preview screen everyone came awake and
it looked fabulous.” Beilby says several broadcasters expressed interest,
including the BBC, the South African Broadcasting Corporation, a major German
broadcaster and all the Scandinavian countries. “We’re quietly confident its
success here will be reflected internationally.”

[…]