Dedicated Tv Channel And Website

[BESTDIY]

Dear All

Would be extremely interested in getting your views on what you woul like to see on a dedicated TV show and website for Strictly DIY?

What are the current home improvement shows and sites missing/lacking How could you improve on content? What would you like to see more of if you could have your say?

Your views are important to me as I have the task of pulling this al together and producing it.

feel free to email me your thoughts [e-mail]

Cheers! Nik Ada

-- BESTDIY

[gort]

How about providing a company name etc, especially as from a hotmail address you could be harvesting email addresses for spam. We don't know who you are!!

Dave

[Graham]

And posted via

sort of Google Groups wanabee. Why?

[Andrew Gabriel]

It would be good to see some DIY-successes. There have been lots of projects done by members in this usenet newsgroup in the past which I would be interested to see through the construction phases. Any such program need not exclude good professionals working too -- a mix could be good.

Anything educational, rather than sensational entertainment. Presenters with a genuine interest in the subject matter rather than their own egos. That probably doesn't fit very well with ratings wars though.

[Guy King]

The message from BESTDIY contains these words:

Content. They're full of presenters and dippy women and sob stories but rarely show you how to do anything.

This is not likely to improve because it's what British TV produces.

[Owain]

This isn't something like Colin and Justin showing off who's got the biggest tool is it?

So stop being a lazy git and do some proper research then instead of expecting other people to do your work for you.

Owain

[Jerry]

missing/lacking

I don't know, the Discovery Real Time channel seems to be succeeding with their USA / Canada imports, if only there was a UK equivalent - and I don't mean that pratt Tommy Walsh or the 'boy racing' motoring programmes (which seem think the only thing important is tyre smoke and squealing brakes...

[Jerry]

FFS, the OP was asking for peoples opinion, not to produce the ruddy thing for him!

[Dave Liquorice]

Real quality "How to..." not some splash some paint about make over crap. From the basic "How to put up a shelf" to "How to plaster a ceiling" or "How to fit a carpet". BTW the first isn't as straight forward as it sounds, What is the shelf to be used for? What is the wall construction?

Good luck, but how are you going to fund it? You are actually going to have to *make* the content 'cause there ain't none out there at the moment, at least not UK based. Making half decent programmes ain't cheap and to make a good "How to..." will require a deep understanding of the task and good production planning. Just squirting a camcorder about whilst someone does the job won't be good enough, you need explanation from someone who knows the gotchas.

-- Dave Liquorice MIBS [e-mail] Broadcast Sound Engineer pam is missing e-mail Alston, Cumbria, UK "It's all right leaving me."

[Guy King]

The message from "Dave Liquorice" contains these words:

Oh, and don't make it look too easy. Much as I enjoy watching Norm Abram, he does still make it look much easier than it is.

If you're expecting people to actually learn something, which is what many would like to do, don't also try to make it into an entertainment programme full of either a) glitzy ideas that go together like clockwork and have long haired/cuffed "designers" floating about airily, or b) a long catalogue of disasters.

[Owain]

I nominate a certain teapot-smashing Changing Rooms designer as guest presenter for that episode.

Owain

[Jerry]

about

explanation

But it is easy, to him, just like changing a car wheel is to you, how would you make doing that look difficult when it is not (about the only thing you could do is point out the pit falls)... The programme I like, not for it's format or style, is 'Holms on Homes' - we see what (so called professionals) people have f***ed up, how they did so and more importantly what was required to correct it.

entertainment

clockwork

Oh the old style over content trap, I fully agree!

[Guy King]

The message from "Jerry" contains these words:

Trouble is, style is very cheap to make, wheras content costs a lot of money.

Try just listening to a telly programme some day - no picture, just the sound. You'll soon realise how poorly used the medium is. Most of the time you won't need to look up to see what's going on as the audio does enough.

[Peter Lynch]

How about a series on things an average DIYer could make/do in a weekend for less than (say) 50 quid in materials, using _only_ stuff you can find in the average B&Q.

Pete

[Andrew Gabriel]

And this week, you'll need 400 empty yogurt pots, 300 empty fairy liquid bottle, and some stick-backed plastic, and we're going to build a kitchen extension...

[Jerry]

They already do that, there are any number of make-over programmes that tell you how to splash paint around and throw up some bits of MDF with 'No-more-nails'....

[Peter Lynch]

No no no, let's make it more clear. Here are some suggestions: - hang a door - put up a fence panel (and maybe a post either side, too) - change a tap - fix your gutter - drain/refill a CH system - install a blind or curtain rail - paint something, properly

I don't just mean a couple of minutes showing a load of high-priced cordless power tools and a presenter saying how easy it is, using perfectly straight/flat/square studio built sets. Explain the preparation, list what's needed, show how to measure up, get real people to do the work and demonstate how to rectify the mistakes they make. But most of all, without any inane (or even good) fill-in music.

Pete

[Guy King]

The message from Peter Lynch contains these words:

You know if they ditch the music you'll have to have a laughter track instead?

[Dave Liquorice]

No they don't they just show people splashing paint about and hacking at bits of MDF they don't go into *any* detail about How to... do it. Notice how you rarely get any closeups and when you do the paint is going all over the place.

Ordinary TV hides a whole host and a couple of multitudes of sins from the viewer. It may look OK on screen but in real life I expect they all look a right mess particulary if you do more than just glance around. Anybody who has visited an studio and looked at the average set will vouch for that, dirty finger marks, simple taped and painted joins between flats, chips knocks and dents, none of which show on screen.

[Jerry]

programmes

hacking at

Agreed, I was trying to be a tad sarcastic - obviously not well enough though...

around.

will

screen.

Are you implying that those poor people who allow Miss Smiley and Co. to take over their homes have to redecorate the re decorated rooms, if so I'm very surprised the cat has not been let out before!