This two day workshop provides an overview of the role and setup of the story department on a factual television series, and provides an in depth overview of how factual series are structured, key storytelling elements, and how showrunners, writers & editors work as a team to put storytelling into practice in the field and in post. Participants will be provided with sample materials and concepts will be explained using sample scenes from existing factual series.
Topics include:
Date: November 30 and December 1
Time: 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM
Lunch will be provided
Location: The Westin Edmonton (10135 100 St NW, Edmonton, AB T5J 0N7)
RSVP required to attend.
About our facilitator:
Cheryl Binning is a showrunner, series producer and writer who has spent the past 15 years working in factual and documentary television. In addition to showrunning two seasons of Bush Wreck Rescue for Discovery, she is the series producer of the HGTV Canada/Hulu series Pamela’s Garden of Eden, a hybrid home reno-serialized doc series starring Baywatch star Pamela Anderson. Her previous showrunning credits include the hit Discovery series Jade Fever, and History Canada’s Yukon Gold. She was also consulting showrunner on the Viasat World/Blue Ant series Ice Vikings, that ran for three seasons. Cheryl’s writing and senior story editor credits include the true crime series Very Bad Men (Investigation Discovery), lifestyle series Million Dollar Neighborhood (OWN) and Discovery’s long-running Highway Thru Hell. Additionally, she mentors emerging documentary filmmakers through the Telus Storyhive Program. Before moving into television production, Cheryl was a lifestyle and entertainment reporter on staff at various newspapers, including the Winnipeg Free Press.