In this week’s Ten Things I’ve been hunting for video clips, and I’ve taken the liberty of choosing not just from this week, but this year so far.
The clips come from the ‘programme pages’ for the individual programmes on the BBC or in some cases an in-house BBC video catch-up resource called “Autorot”. It’s a useful service that allows BBC staff to review programmes from the last month and select and download clips. I’ve only discovered it recently and have had great fun using it. Here's my personal selection for a Friday afternoon.
1. I’ve been enjoying BBC One’s Penguins - Spy in theHuddle immensely and this clip, of a mother carefully handing over her egg to her partner to look after while she goes off to find food, chokes me up every time.
2. Continuing the natural theme, Wild Arabia has been a compelling watch on BBC Two, this clip shows two Nubian Ibex dramatically locking horns.
A strong skull is essential as a male nubian ibex defends a pool of water.
3. Another animal clip, though not as wild, was spotted by editor Jon Jacob, it’s a touching story from BBC Breakfast of how a kindly cat called Bob turned around his owner’s life.
Bob the cat on BBC Breakfast
4. Howard Goodall’s Story Of Music is one I’ve recorded and know I’ll go back to again and again, I’ve particularly enjoyed his insights into music and composers I don’t know so well, like this clip about Liszt.
Howard Goodall tells us how Franz Liszt gave music a turbo-charge.
5. I couldn’t put together a clips post without having something food-related, and as Great British Bake Off and Masterchef aren’t on at the moment I’ve chosen a clip from the touching BBC Two series about the life of Bake Off goddess Mary Berry.
Mary Berry returns to Bath High School for the first time since her childhood.
6. Stephen Poliakoff’s Dancing On The Edge has been a firm Monday-night favourite in our house; drama, music and Chiwetel Ejiofor – who could ask for anything more?
A special gig for Prince George gives the Louis Lester Band a further taste of fame.
7. Another musical programme we’ve enjoyed on BBC Four, produced by BBC Scotland, is Danny Baker’s Great Album Showdown. In this clip from the programme guests Trevor Nelson, Mica Paris and Martin Freeman talk about what makes a great R&B album.
Danny Baker and his three guests explore the essential elements of a great R&B album.
8. It’s fair to say a lot of hours a week are tuned into CBeebies in our house, so I had to include a clip from In The Night Garden.
9. Our comedy fix has come this week, care of Sue Perkins’ new programme Heading Out.
10. Finally, I’m a long-time fan of Charlie Brooker, so I was thrilled when his Weekly Wipe programme started on BBC Two this year. Choosing a clip to include proved pretty difficult however, as it’s pretty strong stuff… so you'll have to make do with Charlie previewing an episode, in a typically Charlie way.
Hannah Khalil is Digital Content Producer, About the BBC Website and Blog.
