Search results
Jul 23, 2012 · 355 views 11 years ago. BSkyB Head of Comedy Lucy Lumsden talks about her career in sitcoms, working with television executives and the future of television comedy. For more BFI event videos...
Lucy Lumsden (@lucylumsden) is the founder of Yellow Door Productions (@yellowdoorprods). A former TV commissioner at both the BBC and Sky Lucy gives her views on the future of TV, setting up...
Share your videos with friends, family, and the world
- What Makes A Good Commissioning Editor?
- How Do You Pitch A Comedy Programme?
- How Do You Get Your Script read?
- Where Should I Take My Comedy Pitch?
- Do The Same Rules For Making Comedy Apply to Shorts?
- What Are The Elements of A Good Comedy?
- Are There Any Taboos Left in Comedy?
- Has It Been Hard as A Woman Working in A Male-Dominated World?
Lucy Lumsden: “You are spending a broadcaster’s money on something [you hope] the audience might like, not what you like. You have to put your personal taste slightly to one side … but you can’t lose your gut feel. It’s a tricky balance … I was taught early on by [then BBC Controller of Entertainment Commissioning] Danielle Lux, who was my boss for...
Lumsden: “Pitches for comedy are scripts … scripts are everything. How do you choose? The first thing is, ‘Does it make me laugh?’ But not just me. I always work with a team – if I chuckle, we pass it around … Does the writer … know how to construct a joke, know how to [write] a scene, know how many characters can hold your attention? There are bas...
Lumsden: “If you’ve got a script and it’s ready, the key thing is to make sure your producer is known to the broadcaster … Commissioners always have a pile of scripts. I know it’s frustrating because a good idea should shine above all others, but you’re dealing with human beings who get bogged down in things … Your producer’s track record is key.”
Lumsden: “As a commissioner you’re still reliant on big, independent companies in comedy and there are specialists too … Do your homework on who’s getting the most commissions. What sort of shows are they making? Do you like their shows? If you don’t like their shows, do not go to that company because at the first meeting you have you’ll need to fl...
Lumsden: “I did a short film myself last year and all the same rules apply … story structure, characters that we fall in love with – you just have much, much shorter time. Short films are a brilliant way of honing skills.”
Lumsden: “A delicious combination of characters, setting, something that’s fresh … with jokes that build over time to a sitcom that rewards you by the end, [and] resets itself so you can’t wait to see it next week.”
Lumsden: “Comedy is the genre to [tackle taboos] where we can, but judiciously. Taboos are always changing. You have to find humour in something and do it sensitively but cleverly [because] it’s a really important thing for us culturally to makes things that are unsayable sayable. As a commissioner, it annoyed me when there was a blunt use of langu...
Lumsden: “It’s bloody hard in the TV industry to juggle [work and having a family] and I was grateful to be working for a broadcaster [the BBC] that looked after me very well … Comedy is a very male world … I learned to be a good diplomat and articulate notes very early on, Is that a female thing? I’ve no idea, but working with [male] producers, di...
Jun 14, 2023 · | Duration: 46:11 | Recorded on June 14, 2023. Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Podcast Addict | Spotify. Danielle Krage interviews Lucy Lumsden about commissioning and producing comedy. Lucy was the first Controller of Comedy Commissioning for the BBC and was then Head of Comedy for Sky for 6 years.
Lucy Lumsden is a producer specialising in scripted comedy. Former BBC and Sky Head of Comedy, Lucy launched her own label Yellow Door Productions and has made The Cockfields written by Joe Wilkinson and David Earl, The Mysterious Case of Agatha Christie starring Anna Maxwell Martin and Late Bloomer starring Jonny Pelham, Beattie Edmondson and Miles Jupp.
A former TV commissioner at both the BBC and Sky Lucy gives her views on the future of TV, setting up her production company as well as her unique and interesting relationship with the Edinburgh Fringe.Stream - http://simoncaine.co.uk/ATI/LucyLumsdeniTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ask-the-industry-podcast/id946220937?mt=2 YouTube ...
