On becoming one of ITV’s younger programme controllers I discovered there were no rules for commissioning documentaries. That was good for me, it suited my neurodiverse brain.

 

From day one I was enabled to turn Features Group into more of a publishing centre than an editor-led programme department. This provided producers with the individual freedom that’s vital to create award-winning documentaries.  It also encouraged some to keep the leftover rushes that are left unwatched on the cutting room floor.

 

It would be easy to look back at the seventies and eighties as the golden days of broadcasting.   However when I compare the documentaries I worked on with the multimedia graphic novels I’m developing now, I sense a similar tingle of golden days excitement brought on by Amazon’s Kindle becoming an international digital distributor for all graphic novels including my new concept. 

 

The niche I am first developing concerns Multimedia Graphic Novels that are transparently based on television programmes and will make ‘proper' use of the leftover rushes. Melding together the creative energy that exemplifies the golden days of broadcasting and parallel energy that’s driving an emerging sector of publishing, which is especially appreciated by younger readers.

 

As a pilot I am developing Meeting Gorbachev - Multimedia History.  It is based on Werner Herzog and André Singers feature documentary - please click to view the Trailer.

 

I am of course aware that most people under 30 won’t recall Mikhail Gorbachev - indeed I’ve chosen Meeting Gorbachev less because of his unquestioned iconic status or Werner Herzog’s brilliant, quirky vision - more because of the growing excitement of my illustrator Molly Andrews who graduated with the coveted Drawing Award from the Royal Drawing School.

 

The cliché thought is that graphic novels are found in side-street comic shops filled with teenagers (and a few adults).  Turn that cliché thought on its digitised head and young readers (of all ages) are open to being introduced to graphic novels that light up their curiosity.  They are tempted by talented young illustrators and, with the introduction of multimedia, brilliantly edited video that jumps out of the pages of a graphic novel (Kindle or print via the ubiquitous QR Code). 

 

Molly and so many young people are aware that graphic novels, can be as informative, inspiring and exciting as the documentaries I know so well. Anne Frank’s Diary is an excellent example. They also know that graphic novels are evolving.

 

Multimedia Graphic Novels, both digital and print are set to contain a touch of magic.

 

Richard Creasey

February 2023