The BBC Academy Podcast

How do you produce a quiz show? How do you know you're onto a winning format? We talk to Sarah Timbury, Gary Chippington and Jamie Ingley who have worked on a wide range of shows such as, Eggheads, The Weakest Link, Million Pound Drop, Catchphrase and Goldenballs.

What does it take to become an intern at Radio 1 and work with Scott Mills and Gemma Cairney? Jaguar, Hamza and Ore', graduates from the Radio 1 and 1Xtra Take It On scheme, take us behind the scenes.

30 seconds to impress: how to create radio trails that will make your audience sit up and listen. BBC Radio Cross Trails producer Dominic Ross, BBC Radio 4’s Anne-Marie Luff and Celador Radio’s (The Breeze, Jack FM) James Stodd offer their advice.

Ideas are the lifeblood of TV, radio and online production as fresh and unusual concepts are constantly in demand. But can anyone come up with a great idea? And how do you maximize the impact and success of your ideas? In this podcast Emer McPolin talks to Linda Green, executive producer of the BBC Academy's Creative Leadership Programme, and BBC producer Claire White, to reveal the techniques tha...

John Finnemore, creator and writer of John Finnemore’s Souvenir Programme and Cabin Pressure talks to BBC Radio Comedy producer Colin Anderson about radio sketch writing. Recorded at The Craft of Comedy conference, held in Llandudno, North Wales on 22 February 2014.

The web has become a fertile breeding ground for rising comedy talent, who see it as the perfect platform for exploring their creativity. We talk about the practical considerations with our guests Jon Petrie, producer of People Just Do Nothing, Brothers With No Game co-creator Leon Mayne and Yaz Al-Shaater, co-director of Missing Something.

Mama Youth's Bob Clarke, Simone Pennant from the TV Collective and Aaqil Ahmed, president of the BBC's Black and Asian Forum talk with BBC Radio apprentice Olivia Cope about ethnic diversity in the media industry, why it matters and what we can do about it.

Whether it's Vine, Instagram Video or Keek the popularity of micro video is changing the social media landscape. Our panellists Ian Padgham and BBC Rajiv Nathwani discuss the practicalities of creating these super short videos and how they can be used to enhance the social media activity around your production.

Interested in writing medical drama? The team behind Holby City, Casualty and Doctors gave some tips for writers in this CoP Talk recorded by BBC Writersroom. On the panel chaired by Kate Rowland, Creative Director, New Writing was writer Lucia Haynes, Holby City series producer Simon Harper, Casualty’s medical advisor Pete Salt and Anne Edyvean, BBC development producer for continuing drama schem...

When and where your finely crafted television programme is placed within the channel schedule has long been crucial to the show's success. It’s the TV scheduler who makes these decisions. Drawing on audience research and channel strategy, they make sure each programme reaches its target audience as best as possible, balancing it against what rival channels may be broadcasting in the same time slot...

What is iWonder and how is it being used for the BBC's World War One Centenary? We are joined by the team behind both projects to find out more. Tim Plyming is the executive producer the World War One Centenary project. Ruth Levis is a producer for World War One Centenary online. Nick Horrell is a senior product manager at the BBC's Knowledge and Learning department, he's currently working on the...

A panel discussion from the RTS Futures event Making it in TV design, with helpful advice on how to get into and ahead in art, costume and make-up departments. Joining Alice Skidmore are production designer and former BBC design trainee Sarah-Jane Prentice, costume trainee Jo Stobbs and Katherine Scoble, a make-up designer with over 15 years' experience in the TV industry.

Jonny Keeling, Steve Greenwood and James Honeyborne - three producers from the BBC's Natural History Unit share their top tips and advice on how to get into making natural history programmes.

We talk to six of the BBC’s latest production trainees about their placements across the BBC and what tips they have for getting onto the scheme.

Steven and Emma offer some tips on how you can get into making radio about food, from the importance of building up your general radio skills to creating your own podcast – showing you have a passion for your subject. Steven Williams is from Radio 4’s Cook The Perfect..., a regular feature of the long running Radio 4 magazine programme Woman’s Hour. His interest in food radio started at In Touch o...

Theatres, art galleries and museums are seizing hold of broadcast technology to reach new audiences, by beaming their productions into local cinemas and online. The National Theatre's Emma Keith and Jane Burton from Tate Galleries join the CoP Show’s India Rakussen to tell us how it's done.

In this podcast we are joined by producers Thomas Viner, Jon Riley and James Brickell who all have experience of working with user-generated content in a number of formats. We look at the issues you need to be aware of, the challenges and the responsibilities towards the creator of the content as well as the opportunities it can provide for producers in creating new formats.

From Big Train to Father Ted, some of the best known and most successful British comedies of recent years have been penned by Arthur Mathews. In this masterclass, recorded at the home of BBC Radio Comedy, he shares his ideas on finding comedy in the most unusual situations.

No-one under the age of 25 listens to speech radio, right? Are radio commissioners missing a trick by ignoring them? The BBC's latest radio apprentices offer their take on why speech radio matters and how to freshen it up.

For bedroom broadcasters and would-be podcasters, internet radio offers global reach for minimal cost, but how is it all put together? A panel of internet radio enthusiasts tell us more.

Blackadder, The Vicar of Dibley, Four Weddings and a Funeral: these classics have placed writer Richard Curtis at the heart of British comedy. He joins us to talk punch lines, characters and creating comedy gold.

Whether you’re watching Strictly on your HD TV or Sherlock on your tablet, sound is a massive issue for audiences. It’s a huge bug bear for sound engineers, and the single biggest topic of viewer complaints. But this is all due to change, as new guidelines are being introduced which mean that all programme sound should be mixed to the same standard. In this podcast, broadcast engineering trainer J...

We go behind the scenes of the BBC's urban youth station as presenter Mistajam chairs a panel with 1Xtra breakfast presenter Twin B, Radio 1 and 1Xtra controller Ben Cooper and assistant producer Elise Cobain. They talk about the production roles at the station, from team assistant to producer, what it takes to be a presenter and routes into the industry. The panel also talk about the difference b...

From the school to the chicken shop, fixed rig productions have given us unparalleled access to familiar worlds. We talk to the makers of two of the format’s biggest hit – Gogglebox and 24 Hours in A&E.

Our weekly podcast has offered up tips for newcomers into the industry, advice for freelancers and guidance from some of the great and good in broadcasting. We’ve heard from a wealth of people from all walks of the industry, at all levels, happy to share the things they’ve learnt. In this podcast, we look back at some of our favourite moments from the year and give a little taster of what’s to com...