Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. The trick with formats is creating rules,” says documentary director Kirk Docker. “And now we know how this thing works, I think we can plug in different events and different ideas, and it’ll be far easier if we get a second crack at it.
” The “it” in question is I Was Actually There , a six-part factual series for the ABC in which people recount their first-hand experiences of a range of Big Moments in Australian history: the Port Arthur massacre; the Boxing Day tsunami; the Beaconsfield mine collapse; the Beatles’ tour of Australia; AFL footballer Nicky Winmar’s bold stand against racism; and the Woomera detention centre breakout. Docker created the format with cinematographer Aaron Smith and producer Jon Casimir, the same trio who came up with You Can’t Ask That . And if that show is any indication, there’s every chance they will indeed get a second crack with their new one.
You Can’t Ask That is, Docker claims, “the most-sold format in Australian history. It’s about number 18 globally. We’re right up there with Big Brother .
There’s something like 45 seasons of the show around the world, it’s in 16 territories, 10 languages. It’s amazing.” I Was Actually There co-creators (from left) Aaron Smith, Jon Casimir and Kirk Docker, in front of their bespoke backdrop.
Credit: Dominic Lorrimer You’d think the royalties flowing from all those format sales – in which production com.
