Jon Wiltshire, Televsion Projects

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'From Timbuktu to Los Diablos'

Throughout the World Man comes together to celebrate on mass, for Cultural historical, and Religious occasions. I have chosen 10 of the most Bizarre, interesting happenings in the World. I plan to visit all 10 of these destinations in a row from one to the other non stop circumnavigating the globe in search of the greatest festivals on the Planet, exploring the phenomena that is the celebration of the human spirit.

My aim is not to go as a spectator but as a participant, I’m going to go to Timbuktu and go to the Worlds most Remote Music festival in the Sahara Dessert, Go to the Largest gathering of people on Earth at the Kumbh Mela, Play Samba in Rio Carnival, Help celebrate the Penis in Japan, restore the balance between the heavens and the Sea in Sumba, Cause Civic Chaos in Peru.

These are the fesitvals I plan to explore, understand and bring to the viewer's attention:

• Festival in the Desert Essakane, Mali Timbuktu
• Kumbh Mela, The biggest gathering of people on the planet, estimaged at seventy million people
• Phalgun Festivals Kathmandu Valley, Nepal
• Mardi Gras New Orleans, Louisiana, USA New Orleans has one of the most original, weird, accessible and mind-blowing carnivals of them all
• Mazatlan Carnival, Mazatlan, Mexico Carnival here is an excuse to eke out the last of your sins before Lent
• Rio Carnival, The city boasts the world’s wildest, glitziest and largest carnival of them all February/March - from the first Friday of Carnival Weekend to Shrove Tuesday
• Hounen Matsuri, Komaki, Japan annual spring celebration of the penis at Komaki
• Sumba Pasola, Sumba, Indonesia The island of Sumba is one of the more remote Indonesian islands, a series of battles which is supposed to balance the sphere of the heavens and the sphere of the sea
• Semana Santa, Cusco, Peru, the last week of Lent civic chaos seemingly spurred on by the belief that, as Christ is dead for a few days between the crucifixion and resurrection on Sunday, He isn’t going to be around to judge your actions
• Los Diablos Danzantes St. Francisco de Yare, Venezuela Pentecost

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'From Sunrise to the End of the Road'

Man has achieved much we have walked on the moon, built the pyramids, circumnavigated the globe, split the atom, yet there is still one great feat yet to be conquered and I believe I am the man to do it.

The great British music festival has become a way of life for many people who choose to stay in the UK for their summer holidays. There’s such a diverse choice of Festivals that it is said ‘you can spend the whole summer going from one festival to the other’ so that is what I’m going to do! I’ve taken a pick of some of the most interesting and diverse festivals throughout the UK from Glastonbury to Shambala.

The task is to go to as many festivals as humanly possibly during the Festival season. It will be a documentary of survival and endurance and entertainment, sunshine, rain and the great British Summer Adventure, smelly toilets and possibly Trench foot. It will be quite literally a survival guide on what to do and what not to do. It will be a reality based documentary, of the Planning, Travelling, getting lost on the motorway, the Festival goers, and blagging backstage passes to get some interviews with Artists and Bands.

The documentary will be a series of ten 45min shows highlighting the trials and tribulations and huge amount of fun along the way. It is planned the shows will be edited and ready to broadcast to go out almost live for each festival (if possible). There is such a sense of freedom at festivals one has to ask the question after 10 weeks, will I ever be able to adjust back into society? I also plan to write an article for a newspaper or magazine and I’d like my story to be finalised by being told in a book, one plan’s that this adventurous tale will eventually be published.

Here are the fesitvals in mind:

• Stonehenge summer solstice
• Glastonbury
• Wireless
• T in the Park or Guilfest
• Latitude Festival
• Womad
• Cambridge Folk Festival
• The Big Chill
• Bloom Festival or Bloodfest
• One Love Festival
• Shambala

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'From Moore to Kapoor'

This series introduces the viewer into the World of Modern British Sculpture and how it has evolved Since the 1930s when Henry Moore’s sculptural pieces took the World by storm.

Asking the question, why are the British so good at making Sculpture? How it has developed?

A celebration of producing some of the leading contemporary Artists in the World. We ask the country to vote on there favourite sculptor? ‘Similar to the BBC series Restoration’ Viewers chose from a selection of the United Kingdoms most important contemporary pieces of Art and Artists and they decide the nation’s favorite.

In each show there will be a heavy weight Artist such as Barbra Hepworth and 2 lesser known Artists. We geographically associate an Artist with a particular area in the country ie Hepworth Cornwall, Antony Gromley Newcastle, Henry Moore Leeds. We then survey people in the area, and interview them about there favourite Artist and get locality support. Artist profiles will be introduced by a Host, and will be edited with interviews with leading figures within entertainment and the Arts, talking about there favourite Artist with possible interviews with the Artists themselves. Each show will consist of 3 Artist profiles per show.

We take the viewer on a journey throughout Britain to find hidden Master Pieces, Artist workshops, Sculpture parks and galleries where we trace the history and development of Contemporary British Sculpture. 2oth century British sculpture encompasses a very wide spectrum of Artists including the YBA movement, the majority of the Turner prize winners have been sculptural based. We Interview former Turner Prize winners and visit there studios, sharing their views of the History and development of Sculpture within Britain.

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'Unemployable'

Synopsis: in the current climate of rising unemployment the series intentions is the seemingly impossible challenge of getting the most unemployable people known to Man in gainful employment! The comedy would be that they are the biggest bunch of work shy/characters known to man. Only the least employable people are chosen to participate in the show.

3 mentors will pick from the auditions 3 unemployed people who are willing to do anything to try and secure a job. Through either a audition process or a series of interviews and meetings; the most unemployable/interesting characters shall be chosen to participate. Following the lives of the 3, we place them in a fly on the wall Household where we view their life styles and the way they interact with each other. Their will be a voice over person who will make a humorous commentary over their day to day issues and life styles choices. We get them Out of bed suited and booted, washed! Shake their lives up! and record their ‘moving stories’

We follow them for 2/3 weeks as we build them up with confidence, interview techniques, Career advisors, personal hygiene workshops, Theatre, elocution lessons, CV work shops, and Motivation techniques. On the 1st morning will let them sleep in, until they rise from their sleepy slumber. The following days, gone are the sleeping till 12am and in with the 6am alarm clocks and military style personal trainers and a 2 mile run in the mornings. Gone the McDonalds and unhealthy lifestyle and in with the nutritionists making sure the energy levels are nice high for the days and weeks ahead for their grand transformations.

The mentors:

Inspirational people from the worlds of Entertainment, Sport, Business, and the Arts or Successful Local Entrepreneurs The Mentor that gets the best results wins the competition, during the final week their will be a series of interviews set up in local businesses with the end result that one of our contestants or all 3 put their new found skills and confidence to use and may secure themselves a job at the end of it. Their will be a real feel good factor about this series where it makes positive changes to peoples lives.

The show goes from town to town ….. picking the least employable people to participate in this very appealing reality based TV Series

(Confidence building ideas): Sky diving, White water rafting, conducting an orchestra, spending the day with a fire crew, racing around Silver stone, A date with a beautiful girl/boy)

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'Drawing from Life'

Take 8 complete strangers from different cultural and social backgrounds who want to learn to draw, add in to the equation a challenge to social stigmas concerning the naked human in its many forms. A brief History of the portrayal of the Nude within society, a contempory portrayal of nudity challenging social stigmas concerning beauty and our perception of it.

A reality based documentary follows the progression and journey of 8 individuals as the learn more about themselves as well as the basics of drawing and composition. The only thing they have in common is there desire to learn to draw from life. The Series explores a brief History of how the Nude has been portrayed within Society and History, a contemporary response to the naked form.

Throughout History the image of the naked form has always been controversial. Why is the Human body considered to be shocking? We place different examples in the Studio for our budding artist to draw under the supervision of a professional Artist by the end of the Workshops, they will learn the techniques of Form they will be able to: make a line drawing, make a tonal drawing, have an awareness of the meaning of composition, will have gained huge amounts of confidence and personal growth as individuals and as Artists.

The viewers will be intrigued as they watch the story unfold and as they see the varying array of models that are used in the series. The Models that they will be working from will consist of:

• A person with Cancer
• Some one who is suffering from Obesity or anorexia
• Professional Life Drawing Models
• A Dead Person
• A Dwarf
• An old person 80 +
• A person who has had a mastectomy
• A Thalidomide
• A Transsexual

Will also look at what happens when a group of Hens on a Hens Party draw the male as part of there night out and record there responses and ask the question why do we respond the way we do to the human form?

As sometimes shocking the realities of the human form are, we nevertheless find beauty in the very powerful and emotive series, the viewers will empathize and learn from this as much as the participants.

Will not only hear the story of the budding artists but also the stories of the models, their experiences of modeling, we humanize them, we understand them as individuals.

We challenge perceptions of what beauty is by looking at how the image of beauty has changed throughout History. We look at the plastic manufactured media enforced superficiality of what is today’s conception of beauty.

Ideas for Website:

• A History of the Nude in Images and word
• A comprehensive directory of Life Drawing Classes and workshops throughout the UK and Ireland
• Drawing Techniques and exercises
• The best bits, Clips from the show
• Interviews with Artists

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jon@jonwiltshire.com