The Bridge: Industry Flashcards
What type of production is ‘The Bridge’ and what does that mean?
- The Bridge is a Swedish/ Danish co-production.
- It was broadcast in both Sweden and Denmark, thefore the funding was provided by two different places. This means there are two different global audience.
- As a result, the countries and the international collaboration are reflected within the show.
What was the name of the Swedish production company which produced ‘The Bridge’?
The Swedish production company that produced The Bridge: Filmlance.
What was the name of the Danish production company which produced the Bridge?
The Danish production company that produced The Bridge: Nimbus film
What were the benefits and disadvantages of working in two countries for ‘The Bridge’?
- Being produced by two countries meant that they had easier access to two countries for filming.
- While this does expand location options, international co-production can cause logistical problems. For example, which country legally employs the cast and crew or which countries regulations do you follow.
Which country’s working regulations did the production team of The Bridge agree to follow?
- The production team agreed to follow the working regulations of Sweden.
- However, they did film in both countries.
What is another example of an organisation which funded the third series of ‘The Bridge’?
- Additional funding from the Copenhagen Film Fund in particular for season threee of the show.
- As they were funded by this organisation, they had to employ more Danish cast and crew.
- Therefore, it can be said that the funding for a TV program can affect what can or can’t be done.
What is another example of an organisation which funded the third series of ‘The Bridge’?
NOT Copenhagen Film Fund
- Another organisation which funded the third series of The Bridge was Creative Europe Media.
- The funding from Creative Europe Media Media, gave them the resources to achieve a high budget, high quality feel to the show.
- The company gave them a grant of £1 millon.
- When production values seem higher, it often makes the show more appealing to audiences and also other countries when trying to distribute it globally.
What channel was ‘The Bridge’ broadcast on in Sweden?
- In Sweden, ‘The Bridge was broadcast on a channel called SVT-1.
- SVT is a larged public service broadcasting channel in Sweden.
- SVT follows a PSB remit which means that they are funded by the public’s license fees so their content must serve the public in some way. For Instance, be cultural or informative.
What MUST the BBC prove to their audiences?
- Their programmes need to demonstrate that they are not “wasting” citzens’ money by being informative, educational, cultural or enteraining.
- This license funding goes toward funding the program which improve its quality.
- SVT-1 have their own production studios in Malmo.
- Consequently, part of the series was filmed there. Using in house resources which saved money.
Who was the main distributer of ‘The Bridge’?
The main distributor was ZDF Enterprises, and The Bridge was distributed to over 150 countries worldwide.
What did the marketting strategies focus on in order to attract and maintain audiences?
- In the UK, the BBC Four branding connoted a recognition of quality
- The team of detectives establishing a sense of community and an ensemble, but in some of the marketing products feature Saga in the forefront. -> Appeal of strong female character.
- The character of Saga as the troubled anti -hero
- The Swedish/Danish setting with the iconic image of the Oresund Bridge.
- The Radio Times used a front cover image of Saga in her recognisable overcoat with the anchor ‘Hot Scandinavian dramas for cold winter nights’
Relevant Theory: David Hesmondhalgh
- Whilst the BBC as a public service broadcaster is not under the same pressure as commercial
broadcasters in terms of ratings and competition, it still uses a range of strategies to minimise risk and maximise audiences. - One of these is vertical integration. The Bridge was a Swedish/Danish co-production, received funding from several production companies and was distributed globally by ZDF Enterprises (a subsidiary of ZDF, Germany’s national public television broadcaster).
- Another key strategy used by the BBC is
formatting their cultural products. Where audiences can anticipate what to expect from new products through, for example familiarity with genre conventions, then the risk in minimised. In the UK, The Bridge was part of the Nordic Noir.
