BBC2, Scott create snapshot of UK

UK pubcaster BBC2 and filmmakers Ridley Scott and Kevin Macdonald are asking the British public to turn cameras on themselves to create a “time capsule” documentary defining the state of the country ahead of the London Olympics next year.

Channel controller Janice Hadlow and BBC documentaries commissioning editor Charlotte Moore have greenlit Britain in a Day, to be produced in partnership with Hollywood director Scott’s firm Scott Free London and with Macdonald also attached.

Scott Free and Macdonald were behind Life in a Day, which comprised footage compiled from YouTube clips submitted by the public over a 24-hour period.

The new programme will follow the same format with the public requested to submit their clips to a dedicated YouTube channel for a full day on November 12. The resulting footage will be reworked into a feature-length doc by director Morgan Matthews before airing on BBC2 next year.

“Filmmaking has always been about just picking up a camera, getting out there and doing it. Our aim for this new project is to get everyone behind the lens and give us a window on to one day in Britain,” said Scott (Blade Runner, Gladiator, Robin Hood).

Moore will spearhead the project, with Macdonald (Touching the Void, The Last King of Scotland) executive-producing. Scott Free’s Liza Marshall will produce while BBC Learning is funding the project and will send a team to run filmmaking workshops in various communities.

BBC Learning’s controller Saul Nassé said: “Inspiration is at the heart of the BBC’s vision for learning and this project will inspire thousands of people to learn new skills to record their lives. It will also create an extraordinary archive and record of what it means to be alive in Britain, an inspiration and resource for learning in the future.”

The project – part of the BBC’s Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 Festival programming – will be officially announced on BBC1’s primetime magazine series The One Show later this month, with Life in a Day airing on BBC2 before November 12.