Talent
BBC Launches Expert Women YouTube Channel
The BBC has launched of a new resource for programme makers looking for female specialist contributors: the BBC Expert Women database and YouTube channel. The database contains details of the 60 women who have so far received training via BBC Academy Expert Women Days, a series of free events designed to address the lack of […]
Is this the hottest funeral director in the world?
RJ Williams is a funeral director and skate dude. And possibly the hottest funeral director in the world. Watch the video:
Shane Dawson TV
Shane Dawson is a 22-yr-old comedian/entertainer who has the third most subscribed YouTube channel with 2.3 million subscribers. It grew out of videos he made for school assignments and has been running for three years, and has been nominated for several awards. A TV pilot is also in development. Check him out here.
Parkour on a Bike
Watch and learn as Danny MacAskill travels by bicycle – the hard way – from Edinburgh to Skye. Hat tip: three billion
Call for Adventurous TV Hosts!
An Australian production company is looking for a Bear Grylls / Steve Irwin type to host an adventure TV series. If you fit the bill and are aged between 25-45 visit www.nmgcorp.com.au/saad to upload a video of yourself. Deadline is April 30.
Speed Yoga
Want to feel bad about yourself? Watch this:
Talent: Past Preservers
Are you looking for talent? Someone with a passion for history and archaeology? Past Preservers was founded by archaeologist Nigel J. Hetherington to provide historical and archaeological consultancy and professional support to the media industry, and their website has a (small) number of showreels of potential hosts partaking in derring-do. Rich Blundell from Past Preservers […]
Martian Summer
Martian Summer: Robot Arms, Cowboy Spacemen, and My 90 Days with the Phoenix Mission by Andrew Kessler is his offbeat, warts-and-all account of the summer he spent inside NASA as they prepared for a mission to Mars, after he secured unprecedented access to 130 of the world’s best scientists. The book is published on 15 […]
JoVE: Journal of Visualized Experiments
Looking for a scientist who could front your documentary or consult on your programme? Check out JoVE which is an archive of experiments captured on video by the scientists in order to share their work and findings with fellow scientists. The production values lack a little something and the titles of the experiments might be […]
Expert Witness
Expert Witness professes to “provide open and easy access for the Legal and Media professions to Experts in all of the disciplines for which they may need expert advice or guidance”. The have an online database of 3,000 experts in 3,400 disciplines. Access to the database is by subscription, and if you can’t find the […]
Ignite 5-Minute Talks
Ignite is a global network of events where people give five-minute talks within a rigid format: they must present twenty slides and each slide must automatically change to the next after fifteen seconds. Speakers can talk about any topic except their own business interests. Previous talks have included technology, travel, personal hobbies and passions and […]
How to Find a Celebrity
Red Pages is a subscription database of contacts for agents, managers and publicists for more than 20,000 international celebrities, including business leaders, models, sports stars and actors. It’s website asks you to fill in a subscription form for a sales agent to contact you (a sure sign it’s not going to be cheap), but you […]
FindaTVexpert YouTube channel
FindaTVexpert the UK talent database has launched its own YouTube channel where you can watch showreels and video pitches of experts ranging from urban gardeners, to vets, psychologists sex therapists and a female priest.
FORA.tv
FORA.tv “helps intelligent, engaged audiences get smart”. It features videos from conferences, debates and university lectures around the world. It’s been compared with TED, but Fast Company have produced a handy comparison table so you can find out whether you are a TED or a FORA.
My Grill by Pete Evans
Aussie TV chef Pete Evans has written a new book, My Grill, which giveshe BBQ with a sophisticated spin with dishes such as Spiced Lamb Skewers with Pomegranate Molasses, Baby Octopus with Smoked Spanish Paprika and Sweet & Sour Capsicum and French Toast with Figs. Hat tip: PSFK
What Went Wrong
What Went Wrong is an eight-week online interactive series that looks at the causes of the global financial crisis, from Big Think, a “global forum connecting people and ideas,” which has an archive of video interviews with more than 600 experts including and astronaut and a former mayor of NYC. What Went Wrong features interviews […]
UK Journalists on Twitter
If you are interested in what UK journalists are up to or you are trying to track someone down (but not, however, stalk them) you’d do worse than head over to PR Blogger.com for an exhaustive list of journalists from Channel4, News of the World, Cosmopolitan, NME and New Scientist and beyond.
Polymaths
Intelligent Life published an article suggesting that it is increasingly difficult these days to be a polymath, as education systems and professional pressures conspire against people who have interests in more than one area. They also publish a list of 20 living polymaths – all of them male and most of them elderly. Where are […]
Tech Toys for Pets
Elio Caccavale, designer and lecturer at Central St. Martin’s college in London, works at the intersection of art and science and presents work described as “social fiction” to spark debate about emerging technologies and the impact they might have on people’s lives. He’s recently invented Toy Communicator, which is like a baby sensor for pets […]
Suburban Housewife
Suzy Jenkins is the Suburban Housewife. See her rap (lots of mofos, so keep the volume down/get ready to beep if you listen at work):
Periodic Table of Experts
If you are looking for interesting experts (or interesting websites), check out Make: Technology on Your Time, which has a series of experts explaining their passions. Watch Bruce Hood from the University of Bristol talk about the supernatural: or Fiorenzo Omenetto, a professor of biomedical engineering at Tufts University who loves silk: or Theodore Gray […]
How to Make Love to Adrian Colesberry
Adrian Colesberry is a biomedical engineer with a failed marriage behind him and a new career in front of him as a comedian, sexpert (he’s a volunteer sex ed teacher in high schools) and film extra (Spiderman, Entourage, Boston Legal and ER). Whilst not doing much on set, he wrote a “dirty, dirty book” called […]
MacArthur Fellows
Every year 24 outstanding US citizens are awarded MacArthur ‘genius’ grants of $500,000 over five years that they can use at their discretion. Winners are confidentially nominated and know nothing of the process until they receive a call telling them they’ve been selected. This years lucky recipients include an ornithologist, an evolutionary biologist, a biogeochemist […]
Top Twitterers in Academia
Current has published a list of the top 100 US professors who twitter, including: @sreenet: Sree Sreenivasan a journalism professor at Columbia who tweets technology and media news. @PaulLev: Paul Levinson NYC-based sci fi writer @alicejrobison: Associate professor at Arizona State who tweets about social media and video games. @urbanexus: H. Pike Oliver tweets about urban […]
America’s Got Talent: Kaitlyn Maher, 4-yrs-old
After all the hand-wringing at Edinburgh International TV Festival about the pressures on children such as 10-yr-old Hollie Steel on Britain’s Got Talent, it might be time to revisit Kaitlyn Maher who was the 4yr-old top ten finalist in America’s Got Talent 2008. A year on, she’s got a debut album, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and […]
Mad about Tools
Peter Atwood seems to be a man not affected by the recession, as his work is in so much demand that he has to hold a lottery for people on his constant waiting list. He’s a toolmaker, who makes custom knives, pocket tools and key rings. His philosophy is: “if you aren’t carrying it then […]
Do Lectures
Do Lectures – If you feel like you need some inspiration to get off your arras and do something head down to Cardigan Bay in West Wales on 3rd September for five days of inspirational talks in a woodland setting. Well, actually you can’t because you have to apply in advance and go into a […]
40 Farmers Under40
Mother Nature Network has published a list of 40 [American] Farmers Under 40: from sheep farmers, to a herb farmer and a truck farmer (yes, you read right). They all look very wholesome and smiley, and wear a lot of hats. Hat tip to PSFK
Damon Weaver Interviews the President
Damon Weaver got the interview many journalists would would give their right arm for: The President of the United States. What’s more remarkable than the scoop is that Damon is only 11-years-old. He was reporting for his school’s TV station and has now shot to fame courtesy of YouTube. He’s also received a scholarship offer […]
Undercover theatre
In Washington DC, unsuspecting shoppers, diners or park goers can find themselves suddenly witnessing what appears to be a shoot out or someone being chased by federal agents, but it’s all part of a new kind of street theatre, dubbed ‘threat theatre’ in which the audience are extraneous. The point is not to entertain, but […]
Slow home
Following on the heels of the slow food movement comes the slow home movement, which aims to make holistic residential design accessible to the ordinary homeowner. The Slow Home website was founded by a Canadian professor of architecture, John Brown. There are how-to videos and architecture design tips that help people improve their homes. Read […]
Book Tour
If you’ve been wondering what Wired‘s Chris Anderson has been up to lately, he’s been running BookTour.com. It’s a free online directory of author events, which you can search by book, author, zip code or google earth maps. You can sign up to get updates when your favourite authors are in town, or you can […]
Hot for Words
Russian native and Californian based, Marina Orlova (28) is the blonde-bombshell creator and host of Hot for Words, a philology (linguistics) website. She’s got a book coming out on 18 August, 2009, Hot for Words: Answers to All Your Burning Questions About Words and Their Meanings, has nearly 250,000 subscribers to her YouTube channel, and […]
Bad Ass Chick – Zoe Bell
Spike TV (tagline: Get More Action) has posted a list of its top ten bad ass chicks. Zoe Bell stands out as interesting – she’s a stunt woman who doubled for Uma Thurman in Kill Bill, when she learned to fight in the wushu style. Oh, and she’s practiced Taekwon-do since she was 15-years-old.
Estate Agent Historian
Melanie Backe-Hansen works for Chesterton’s estate agents as a house historian. She’s the first and only one, and has the remit of researching the history of properties on the agency’s books with a view to boosting the house’s appeal to buyers. She consults “maps, census records, parish rate books, land tax records, electoral registers, trade […]
Subway Car Office Space
I always enjoy catching a surreal glimpse of a London Underground carriage perched high on a rooftop in Shoreditch, east London, and wondered what it was like up there. Well, turns out there are several tube carriages and they are rented out as office space for a very affordable £15 per week. Read more on […]
Offal Food
Food Tease is a gorgeous looking blog that features scary-looking food from a cute young Canadian couple, David and Nicole, who now live in Texas. Their lives revolve around food, and they love finding new things to cook, which they share in short videos. The site features such delicacies as: Pickled pigs feet tostadas Chicken […]
Bob Costas: Ultimate Sportscaster
The New York Times is hosting an interview with Bob Costas, who is one of America’s most famous sportscasters. He’s been broadcasting on NBC for nearly thirty years and has covered the Olympics in Barcelona in 1992, Atlanta in 1996, Sydney in 2000, Salt Lake City in 2002, Athens in 2004, Turin in 2006, and […]
Lady Blacksmith
Erica Gordon is keeping the tradition of blacksmithing alive in her Seattle studio where she fashions distinctive metal belt buckles and housewares such as bowls and candle holders. She’s also got a range of hand-dyed leather belts as well as one made from recycled bicycle inner tubes. Check her work out at Steel Toe Studios. […]
100 Most Creative People in Business
Fast Company has published a list of the 100 Most Creative People in Business – “dazzling new thinkers, rising stars and boldface names” with an emphasis on people who are tackling the bigger issues of the day. Here’s a selection: Shai Reshef – Founder of University for the People Susan Athey – Microsoft’s Chief Economist […]
RIP: Billy Mays (Pitchmen, Discovery)
Billy Mays, co-presenter of Discovery’s Pitchmen, died on 28th July, 2009, aged 50 years. He was well known in the USA for his distinctive infomercials for cleaning products such as OxiClean and Orange Glo. He presented Pitchmen with fellow marketer Anthony Sullivan. Read more.
The Fame Formula
In this short film from Current TV, Mark Borkowski, PR and author of The Fame Formula, disabuses a couple of lads of their dreams of fame. Perhaps he should have had a word with Susan Boyle. See him go head-to-head with Max Clifford in a series of videos on the Fame Formula website.
Development Insider: Britain’s Got Talent?
Choosing a credible factual presenter is a perennial problem and grows increasingly difficult in an age when everyone wants to have a go. Ask potential talent what their interests or, heaven forbid, ‘passions’ are, and, I assure you, the list will never end, says Bezlshazzar in this latest Development Insider article. But is passion enough? What happened to presenters with real expertise? (photo by das.viereck)
Notes from the Road
Erik Gauger has, according to Forbes Magazine “the best looking blog we’ve ever seen”, and they’re not wrong. Notes from the Road is a collection of travel writing, photography and sketches from his travels across the Pacific northwest, the Iberian peninsula, Great Plains and Atlantic Seaboard among other places. Breathtaking photographs are taken with a […]
Eleven Places to Find Onscreen Talent to Attach to Your TV Programme Idea
Attaching onscreen talent to your proposal can make or break your chances of getting a commission. You have a couple of options when looking for talent – look for established talent who can bring their expertise to a subject, or who can be cast in an unexpected light (which can be expensive), or find brand […]
Regret the Error
Regret the Error is an online collection (and book) of apologies that newspapers have been forced to make for mistakes in their copy – they make for hilarious and sometimes tragic reading. The site’s edited by Canadian freelance journalist Craig Silverman – check him out.
Forensic Artist
ForensicArtist.com is a website dedicated to, well you know. For a website dedictated to art there are few (if any illustrations) so it’s a little dry to navigate but it’s packed with links and a good resource for finding experts.
Outstanding in the Field – Outdoor Dining
Outstanding in the Field is a restaurant without walls and without a place. For ten years they’ve wandered around hosting dinners for 100+ people seated at long tables in the open air. He sources food from local food artisans, who also a join the diners for dinner. Owner Jim Denevan wants to reconnect people to […]
Eco-Tube
Eco-Tube is a green focused video sharing and social networking site that aims to raise awareness of environmental issues and encourage debate. There are lots of clips filed under Product Reviews, Fun, Talk, Travel and Energy. Viewers are encouraged to comment and rate the videos – do it here. Chris Smith runs Eco-Tube and he’s […]
Experts and Interviewees – USA
Radio-TV Interview Report is a free magazine that is published every two weeks and lists 100-150 US-based experts and interviewees on a variety of subjects from business to parenting, pets, relationships and war. The experts credentials are listed such as published works or previous TV appearances, along with their email and phone numbers. You can […]
