Pioneer Productions
Encyclopedia
Pioneer Productions is an independent British television
production company
based in London
, United Kingdom
. The company has produced over 500 hours of science and technology
, docudrama
, lifestyle, current affairs
and history
programming for both the US and International markets. Broadcast in over 60 countries worldwide, Pioneer's output has achieved success at a range of television industry awards. International clients include PBS
, Discovery Channel
, Discovery Canada, National Geographic Channel
, Discovery Europe, History Channel, ABC
, TLC
, WGBH-TV
, WNET
, Travel Channel
, and HGTV
. In the UK, Pioneer works closely with the BBC
, ITV
, Channel 4
, and Five.
broadcasting in a period of global tele-media expansion. Early on, the company began to forge close relationships with US factual television broadcasters, supporting a growth trend in transatlantic media collaboration. In the 90’s Pioneer sought to document the extreme in series such as Raging Planet and Extreme Machines as well as developing the latest special effects used in series such as Body Atlas. The new century
saw the company continue to progress, creating pure CGI films such as Journey to the Edge of the Universe and combining realistic CGI with docudramas such as in The Unsinkable Titanic and Hindenburg. Today, Pioneer continues to use cutting edge filming and effects techniques to maintain an innovative approach towards television
, evident in programmes such as Extraordinary Animals, In the Womb
, and Catastrophe
.
together with a UK Indie award, Sony Award, Cine Golden Eagles, and other prizes in the U.S., France
, Italy
, and Greece
. Recently, Pioneer Productions has won an Emmy Award
and awards at the Royal Television Society
.
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
production company
Production company
A production company provides the physical basis for works in the realms of the performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, and video.- Tasks and functions :...
based in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The company has produced over 500 hours of science and technology
Science and technology
Science and technology is a term of art used to encompass the relationship between science and technology. It frequently appears within titles of academic disciplines and government offices.-See also:...
, docudrama
Docudrama
In film, television programming and staged theatre, docudrama is a documentary-style genre that features dramatized re-enactments of actual historical events. As a neologism, the term is often confused with docufiction....
, lifestyle, current affairs
Current affairs (news format)
Current Affairs is a genre of broadcast journalism where the emphasis is on detailed analysis and discussion of news stories that have recently occurred or are ongoing at the time of broadcast....
and history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
programming for both the US and International markets. Broadcast in over 60 countries worldwide, Pioneer's output has achieved success at a range of television industry awards. International clients include PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
, Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
, Discovery Canada, National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel, also commercially abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo, is a subscription television channel that airs non-fiction television programs produced by the National Geographic Society. Like History and the Discovery Channel, the channel features documentaries with factual...
, Discovery Europe, History Channel, ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, TLC
TLC (TV channel)
TLC is an American cable TV specialty channel which initially focused on educational content. Since 1991 TLC has been owned by Discovery Communications, the same company that operates the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and The Science Channel, as well as other learning-themed networks...
, WGBH-TV
WGBH-TV
WGBH-TV, channel 2, is a non-commercial educational public television station located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. WGBH-TV is a member station of the Public Broadcasting Service , and produces more than two-thirds of PBS's national prime time television programming...
, WNET
WNET
WNET, channel 13 is a non-commercial educational public television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey. With its signal covering the New York metropolitan area, WNET is a primary station of the Public Broadcasting Service and a primary provider of PBS programming...
, Travel Channel
Travel Channel
The Travel Channel is a satellite and cable television channel that is headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland, US. It features documentaries and how-to shows related to travel and leisure around the United States and throughout the world. Programming has included shows in African animal safaris,...
, and HGTV
HGTV
HGTV , is a cable-television network operating in the United States and Canada, broadcasting a variety of home and garden improvement, maintenance, renovation, craft and remodeling shows...
. In the UK, Pioneer works closely with the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
, Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
, and Five.
History
Founded in 1988, Pioneer's early projects helped feed a growing taste for scienceScience
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
broadcasting in a period of global tele-media expansion. Early on, the company began to forge close relationships with US factual television broadcasters, supporting a growth trend in transatlantic media collaboration. In the 90’s Pioneer sought to document the extreme in series such as Raging Planet and Extreme Machines as well as developing the latest special effects used in series such as Body Atlas. The new century
Century
A century is one hundred consecutive years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages .-Start and end in the Gregorian Calendar:...
saw the company continue to progress, creating pure CGI films such as Journey to the Edge of the Universe and combining realistic CGI with docudramas such as in The Unsinkable Titanic and Hindenburg. Today, Pioneer continues to use cutting edge filming and effects techniques to maintain an innovative approach towards television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, evident in programmes such as Extraordinary Animals, In the Womb
In The Womb
In the Womb is a documentary television special miniseries that premiered on March 6, 2005 on the National Geographic Channel. Originally beginning as a special about human pregnancy , the program features the development of embryos in the uterus of various animal species...
, and Catastrophe
Catastrophe (TV series)
Catastrophe is a five-part British documentary television series telling the story of the catastrophic events that shaped planet Earth. It is presented by Tony Robinson and was first aired on Channel 4 on 24 November 2008. The series producer was Stephen Marsh with researcher Dr Rhodri...
.
Awards
Since its foundation, Pioneer has performed well at a range of television awards. The only independent company to win the Best Science film twice at the Banff TV festival, the company has also won the Grand Award at the New York Television FestivalNew York Television Festival
The New York Television Festival is a yearly gathering of artists, fans, and executives to celebrate independent small-screen productions. It was founded in 2005, and is held in venues in New York City....
together with a UK Indie award, Sony Award, Cine Golden Eagles, and other prizes in the U.S., France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. Recently, Pioneer Productions has won an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
and awards at the Royal Television Society
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
.