Media Parents

We’re delighted to announce that Arrow Media will be hosting an event to meet Media Parents talent on October 21st. Arrow Media’s MD Iain Pelling and Creative Directors Tom Brisley and John Smithson (Sherpa, Touching the Void) will attend along with Arrow Media Execs Nick Metcalfe, Thomas Viner, Ash Potterton, recently appointed Head of Features Oliver Wright, Production Executive, Carrie Pennifer and Talent Exec Dawn Beresford. If you have features or specialist factual experience, and / or have worked for U.S. broadcasters then the Arrow team would love to meet you. The event was suggested by Dawn Beresford, Arrow’s Talent Exec, after she was so impressed by the Media Parents freelancers she met at an event earlier this year. The event takes place on Wednesday 21st October and applications are now closed, for details of our events please see the watercooler at www.mediaparents.co.uk

Arrow Media is one of the UK’s most ambitious creative forces.  A fast-growing independent production company, Arrow Media specialises in creating high quality and innovative content across TV, film and digital media from long-running series to big ambitious projects such as new theatrical documentary Sherpa, RTS winning Live from Space, ID ratings hit series See No Evil and NGCI juggernaut Ultimate Airport Dubai.

Founded in 2011 by Tom Brisley, John Smithson, and Iain Pelling, Arrow Media has created and produced hundreds of hours of adventure, science and technology, nature and history programming for the UK, US and International markets. Arrow’s clients include Channel 4, BBC, Sky, Smithsonian Network, Discovery, Animal Planet, TLC and National Geographic Channels globally.

who’s coming…

Tom Brisley, Joint Creative Director

Tom Brisley is co-founder and joint creative director of Arrow Media, one of the UK’s fastest growing independent production companies. His creative vision and leadership have played an integral role in establishing Arrow as one of the UK’s most ambitious creative forces and expanding its portfolio of content across live, scripted, factual and factual entertainment programming for the UK, US and international TV market.

Tom’s recent credits for Arrow include the ground-breaking and RTS and Bafta digital award-winning Live From Space for Channel 4 in the UK and NGC in the US and globally; Battle of Britain – Return of the Spitfires for Channel 4; See No Evil, which broke audience records for Investigation Discovery in the US; Planes That Changed The World and Animal Fight Night.

Before setting up Arrow, Tom ran the factual TV output of Darlow Smithson Productions where he was responsible for creating and executive producing over 200 hours of high-quality television, including long-running series I Shouldn’t Be Alive; Richard Hammond’s Engineering Connections and the award-winning Seconds from Disaster. He also oversaw documentary specials such as Miracle on the Hudson; Concorde’s Last Flight and the BAFTA nominated Tsunami: Caught on Camera, as well as the Animal Planet drama Mermaids – The Body Found.

Previous to that Tom worked as a producer/director in the independent sector and at the BBC, where he started his TV career as a graduate trainee.

John Smithson, Joint Creative Director

John Smithson is co-founder and joint creative director of Arrow Media, one of the UK’s fastest growing independent production companies. Previously he was chief executive of Darlow Smithson Productions, a company he created and evolved into one of the biggest and most admired producers in global non-fiction TV. He has been nominated and won more than 50 Awards across film and television for his work.

In 2011 he was an Oscar® nominee for Best Motion Picture of the Year for Danny Boyle’s 127 HOURS, a film he originated and produced. He also produced Touching the Void, which won the BAFTA for Outstanding British Film and broke box-office records. He has worked as an Executive Producer on hundreds of hours of iconic television – from long running factual series to scripted films for broadcasters around the world.

Iain Pelling, MD

No biog.

Oliver Wright, Head of Features

Oliver Wright. Arrow Media Team Portraits by www.adrianlourie.co.uk

Oliver started his career producing and directing segments for a variety of US tabloid news and entertainment series that aired globally, then worked across a variety of hit documentaries, features and reality series for UK broadcasters.

His credits include series and development producer for Embarrassing Bodies (C4), series and then executive producer for Supersize vs Superskinny (C4). He produced and directed Daniella Westbrook: Eastenders, Drugs and My New Nose, which was a huge hit on Channel 5, series produced Make Me Perfect (ITV), and executive produced Superscrimpers (C4), The Sex Education Show (C4) and Snog Marry Avoid, which he revitalised with a new presenter and comedy elements for BBC3. Wright also co-created the body modification reversal series idea which is now Bodyshockers (C4). He also executive produced the show, which has since become a global hit and now airs in dozens of countries worldwide.

As Talent Executive at Arrow Media and CPL Productions Dawn is responsible for helping grow the companies’ output and scouring the industry for the top production talent.

Prior to this Dawn spent over 3 years as the Creative Executive at Shine TV where she initiated, designed and managed Shine TV’s graduate trainee programme; managed cross genre development for the Factual, Features and Entertainment departments and Exec Produced a series for T4 funded by the Department of Education. As Genre Executive for BBC TVs Factual Commissioning Department, she was an integral member of the team that brought the best in-house and independent sector ideas to the Channel Controllers and Exec Produced ‘Africa Kicks’, a season of documentaries for BBC 3.

dawn beresford, talent executive

Dawn Beresford joined Arrow Media as Talent Executive in June 2014. Her role is to ensure Arrow is aware of, has the choice of, and employs the best possible talent across all its operations. Dawn is also Talent Exec at CPL Productions, an Advisory Board Member of Creative Access and a member of the  Independent Training Fund’s Advisory Group. Prior to this, she spent 3.5 years as Creative Executive at Shine TV and 4 years as Genre Executive for BBC TV’s Factual Commissioning department. Dawn has a production background and her credits include:- Series Producer, Lonely Planet, Discovery, Producer/Director Desperately Seeking Stardom, ITV, Assistant Producer, The Lying Game, BBC 2.

Nick Metcalfe, Executive Producer

Nick has been with Arrow for 3 years, running a broad slate of programmes including Ultimate Airport: Dubai (National Geographic’s global hit observational documentary series about Dubai Airport), Dogs: Their Secret Lives (C4), Survival in the Skies (the history of the space suit, ejection seat & parachute for Smithsonian) and most recently Nightmare on Everest (C4) about the 2015 earthquake in Nepal.

Previously Nick was an Exec at Nutopia, and Darlow Smithson, the show-runner on How We Invented the World (Discovery), Richard Hammond’s Engineering Connections (BBC & Nat Geo), Infested (Animal Planet), & Seconds From Disaster (Nat Geo) among others.

Thomas Viner, Executive Producer

Thomas Viner

After a career as a freelance director, Thomas joined Arrow very soon after the company was formed, series producing their first series, and being closely involved in production and development ever since. As an exec, Thomas has looked after shows for the UK and the US, covering science, history, crime, natural history, drama docs, and design, including Kevin’s Supersized Salvage (C4), The Genius Who Hacked Hitler (BBC2/Smithsonian), Animal Fight Night (Nat Geo Wild), See No Evil (ID), Terror In The Skies (C4) and World’s Most Extreme (Travel Channel/C4).

Ash Potterton, Executive Producer

Ash is an executive producer at Arrow Media.  Most recently he oversaw the two-part Battle of Britain event for Channel 4, The Day The War Was Won and Return of the Spitfires. Before joining Arrow, Ash was an exec at Dragonfly TV and then Silver River working across documentaries, current affairs, fact ent and specialist factual for all the main UK channels.  Prior to that, he spent a total of seven years as head of development at Love Productions and then Dragonfly TV, with commissions including The Great British Bake Off, One Born Every Minute, Filthy Rich and Homeless and The Baby Borrowers.

Carrie Pennifer, Production Executive

Carrie was recently made Production Executive at Arrow Media.  She has just completed work on her third series ofUltimate Airport Dubai for National Geographic.  During her time at Arrow Media she was Production Manager onseveral other series including Ultimate Warfare; World’s Most Extreme and Terror in the Skies.  Prior to this, Carrie worked at Brook Lapping Productions for many years, production managing such shows as Shakespeare Uncovered;  Putin, Russia and the West; Cameron Uncovered and Blood in the Water to name a few. She has experience working for all the major broadcasters on all types of production from Obs Doc to Current Affairs to large scale Drama Documentaries.