PARTICIPATE IN OUR PROGRAMMES
If you are interested in being interviewed by us on camera about your field, research or work and your opinions about how things are likely to change in future years just drop us an e-mail to enquiries@ukfuturetv.com describing the subject areas that you would like to talk about.
Your interview can be illustrated with any relevant material that you have available. We neither pay nor charge participants in our programmes. Appearing in them may however raise your profile and generate interest in your work or organisation.
All interviewees have the opportunity to view their final edited interview and request changes or ask for it not to be added to the channel at all.
Details of the questions to be asked during interviews will be provided in advance although it is common for extra questions to crop up during the course of most discussions.
We appreciate that being interviewed at length can be daunting but please note that it is very simple for us to edit out any parts of an interview if you make a mistake or decide to rephrase an answer.
In addition to being available on our channel we provide a link to each interview that the interviewee can add to their own web pages or quote in their own printed materials.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What exactly are you doing ?	Over the next 3 years we are aiming to assemble a collection of around 1,000 video interviews with academics, experts, professionals and entrepreneurs that will cover all the main university disciplines, professions, occupations and industries. This will then allow anyone wanting to find out what is going on in a particular field to come to our site and click on a 30 minute programme where real people describe their actual careers and experiences in those fields and give their predictions about the future development of that field.
Who would want to watch ?	Anyone making career, career change or study decisions plus their relatives or advisers. People seeking to embark on research projects or entrepreneurial ventures. Members of the general public interested in finding out what is happening in the different fields that interest them or that impact on their lives.
Surely all this information is available in text form on the web ?	In some cases yes although there are some astonishing gaps. There is an often quoted statistic that non verbal communication accounts for 60%, vocal sounds account for 30% and the words used account for only 10% of any given communication. What we are offering is an additional choice using online video. This does not detract from text sources however it might inspire someone to research through them.
When did you start ?	We produced 25 pilot programmes in Spring 2007 to demonstrate the concept and refine procedures and technical requirements. Since Autumn 2007 we have been working full time to build the channel and are currently producing around 25 new programmes each month.
Why are you doing this now ?	Over the last few years the cost of video cameras, editing software, computers and data storage has tumbled. A few thousand pounds now buys equipment that can produce higher quality video than even leading broadcasters were producing a short while ago. On the consumer side the last couple of years has seen a huge uptake of broadband throughout the UK and beyond. The average speed of connection has been increasing to the point where a significant proportion of the population can now access video over the internet. Internet TV is now a viable proposition.
What if your channel goes bust ? Will the time I spent doing an interview be wasted ?	The first thing we did was to set up a fund to pay for our server costs "in perpetuity". All the programmes that we produce will always be available on the internet even if for some reason the channel ceased to make any new programmes. The second thing we did was budget the money we raised carefully over the next 3 years. We will be able to continue making around 300 new programmes each year for the next 3 years even if we do not raise another penny in funds.
How will people find out about the channel ?	As the amount of content builds up so will our publicity efforts. We have prepared a detailed marketing plan covering both general audiences as well as target groups such as schools, colleges, business advisers, etc.
What if nobody watches ?	We received over 20,000 hits to our site during our pre launch phase. That is likely to grow significantly now that the channel is fully launched and our publicity campaign is underway.
Are there not thousands of channels and websites out there now ? Why another one ?	As anyone quickly realises when they get Freeview or Sky the majority of channels on digital are repeating already made programmes. Their arrival has not added many new programmes to the selection. On the internet much of the activity is on sites to store, search or promote existing material. We are producing content that is completely new in any medium so we are doing something quite different. We believe that distinctive, quality content will win out in the long term regardless of medium and competition for audience.
If this is such a good idea why is no one else doing it ?	There are other great projects around. Two US based ones that stand out are www.fora.tv whose principal investor is William Randolph Hearst III. Another is watch.mit.edu from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Does anyone have the attention span to watch anything for 30 or 45 mins ?	We understand the point but we are trying to explain the subtleties and complexities of the subjects we cover. 45 mins might seem a long time to watch however 45 years doing a job you hate would probably seem longer! A growth area in recent years has been radio which people listen to whilst surfing the net. Although all our programmes are both video and audio it is quite possible after the first few minutes to carry on listening to the sound whilst flicking through e-mails or Facebook at the same time.
Who else has given interviews ?	So far we have conducted interviews with academics from the following universities : Edinburgh, Warwick, Durham, Leicester, Oxford Brookes, Bath, Surrey, Sussex, Cardiff, Liverpool Hope and Liverpool John Moores.
What about people who are not academics ?	We have already been to the Cambridge Science Park and intend to travel around the UK to interview professionals, experts, researchers and entrepreneurs in many different fields, industries and professions.
It may save the world but how does doing an interview benefit me personally ?	Most of the participants we have filmed have been delighted with their video. They have quoted their direct link on their own web pages and this has allowed colleagues, collaborators, friends and family to find out more about what they do. One professor sent the link to his uncle in Australia. His uncle replied "I knew you were clever, worked in a university and had something to do with history but I never quite understood what you did or why. Now I do. Well done."
I want to be on the BBC or the Discovery Channel not some little internet thing.	One of our participants submitted our interview as her audition tape for the Oprah Winfrey show in the US. We expect that many of our participants may well be contacted by mainstream media. Whilst not suggesting that any of our media colleagues are lazy human nature suggests that it is easier for them to locate good participants from our channel than jump on trains and trudge round in the rain like we do. We are not running "Expert Idol" or "Prof Factor" but I am sure you get the idea.
Once my interview has gone out what happens then ?	The beauty of the internet is that your interview is always available. Although there is always some extra interest in a brand new programme they all stay available to be watched month in, month out by anyone curious about that field of study or research.
My professional reputation is on the line here .	We take that responsibility very seriously. We only release programmes once you have had the chance to review them and request changes. To ensure accuracy we run the entire duration of each answer. We don't have to cut into answers to make them fit a time slot and run the risk of quoting out of context. The items that are removed are mistakes, false starts, discussions with the crew, etc.
What do you hope to achieve ?	We hope that a few more people can understand a little more of what really goes on in a complicated, changing and sometimes troubled world. We hope to inspire people to study, to find satisfying careers, to embark on research projects and launch new ventures.
What would the ultimate accolade be ?	Perhaps in 25 years time some future interviewer will sit down in front of a participant and ask as we do now "What inspired you to pursue this career ?" and they will reply "I was 14 and I watched a programme on your channel ……….."
Who is paying for all this ?	Our channel is paid for through philanthropy and frugality. Philanthropy in that we have raised funds from people with a little more money than they personally require. Our private benefactors believe that more could be done to explain the worlds of study, work and enterprise to people who are young, changing career, seeking to launch new ventures or who simply wish to understand their world more. A historical parallel would be the 3,000 Andrew Carnegie funded libraries however our project requires a great deal less money, masonry and paper. Frugality in that "better, faster, cheaper" innovation is the focus of everything we do. Our project would cost around £45 million pounds at typical BBC cost levels however through our innovative methods our costs are only a tiny fraction of that figure.
Who started it ?	Our founder is Ian Benson. He has successfully launched 6 entirely different business ventures over a 26 year career. He is currently senior partner in Matrix Mergers specialising in a media mergers and acquisitions.
What inspired the idea ?	Ian Benson was asked to be a speaker on a NESTA course encouraging recent graduates to set up businesses. Afterwards he discussed with colleagues whether the estimated £1M cost of a course for 30 students was value for money. Asking the classic entrepreneurial question "Could you achieve more with less money ?" inspired UK FUTURE TV.
Why is he doing this ?	Ian Benson answers "My father was a college professor. When I came to make career choices he just called up people he knew in various professions and arranged for me to go and talk to them. At the time I suppose I thought that was normal. Now that I am older I see that I had a huge privilege that few others are given. I have some spare time, energy, ideas and resources. This seems a very worthwhile project."