Greater prominence for women in the creative industries at BVE 2014

To help reflect and support the steady increase in the number of women working in the creative sector over the last few years, the BVE conference team has worked to give women a stronger voice at this year’s event, which takes place at ExCeL London from 25-27 February.

“Recent research has shown that statistics for women in the creative industries are improving – in 2012 34% of the total workforce was made up of women compared with 27% in 2009, and 51% of managers in the broadcast sector are female [Source: 2012 Creative Skillset Employment Census of the Creative Media Industries],” says James Rowley-Ashwood, event director, BVE. “We continue to work hard to reflect this growth, and are delighted to present a wide range of female leaders in their respective fields, from company owners to technical experts, to inspire and inform our visitors.”

Content creators will be queuing at the Producers Theatre to find out what our national broadcasters’ commissioners are looking for – find out from Kate Maddigan, Commissioning Editor for Entertainment, ITV (25 Feb, 13.00), Celia Taylor, Head of Factual, Sky and Katy Thorogood, Commissioning Editor, Factual, ITV, (26 Feb, 13.00), and Sophie Gardiner, Commissioning Editor, Drama, Channel 4 and Victoria Fea, Controller of Drama, ITV (27 Feb, 13.00). In addition, Melanie Leach, Managing Director, Twofour, chairs the factual commissioners panel and leads her own session on the challenges of running an indie (26 Feb, 12.00).

In the Broadcast IT Theatre, Michelle Munson, President, CEO and Co-Founder of Aspera, will present a session on high-performance file processing, validation and automation for broadcast workflows (25 Feb, 13.45).

The 4K Theatre hosts a panel session looking at producing the world’s first multi-camera 4K 60P live international broadcast, with Alison Hutchins, Senior Propositions Manager, BT Media and Broadcast on the panel (25 Feb, 13.00).

Yvonne Thomas, Project Manager – Future Television, UHD & 3D Systems, EBU, will be an expert panellist in two sessions: she will examine building for UHD and beyond in the Broadcast IT Theatre (27 Feb, 11.00), and in the 4K Theatre she will look at embracing 4K production opportunities (27 Feb, 14.00).

The Connected Theatre welcomes chairperson Amber D’Albert, Head of Development, The Connected Set and panellist Ally Branley, Social Media Marketing Manager, Channel 4 to discuss social media strategies for effective multiplatform engagement (25 Feb, 13.45), while Clare Francis, Editor in Chief, MoneySupermarket, leads a Power Half-Hour on the role of brands in bringing content online and on mobile (27 Feb, 13.30).

In the Post-Production Theatre, one of Soho’s leading colourists, Jet Omoshebi, Encore, presents a high-end grading case study (25 Feb, 13.55), while Gina Fucci, Managing Director, Films@59, chairs a session on the possibility of future proofing post facilities in a technologically changing climate (26 Feb, 14.30).

The up-to-date seminar programme can be found at www.bvexpo.com.