Danny Cohen controller of BBC1, formerly controller of BBC3
In terms of audience, I see absolutely no sign that young people are not interested in documentaries. Obviously there is a lot of competition for young people's time but I think they are hugely engaged with real-life stories.
On BBC3 we have BBC Fresh, which are first-time, one-hour documentaries that we commission from young people. I doubled the number in 2009; we now produce six a year and we get a huge number of proposals. Many of the films have been nominated for awards, such as The Autistic Me, which was on in the summer.
We choose the topics and the approach and the casting in a way that tells them these are programmes for them, about them and that star them. That is important. If you get the dynamics right they will come.
Danny Cohen is the subject of the BBC Interview at Sheffield Doc/Fest on Friday 5th November
Alice Carder Sheffield Doc/Fest 2010 youth jury mentor and ex-youth jury member
The challenge is ensuring there is enough room for all documentary types. Offering documentaries across a variety of different platforms, more flexibly and on-demand, however, will help.
A good thing about creating documentaries for the internet is that you can just go out and do it for yourself, though formats need to be tighter – shorter – to keep people's attention.
What worries me, though, is how hard I have found it as a working-class person to move down to London and get an "in". More funding will be required for young people who can't afford to buy themselves into the industry by working for free.ENDS
Andy Glynne chief executive of Documentary Film-makers Group and managing director of Mosaic Films
Budgets are getting smaller and competition is rising – fast. Both present major challenges for documentary makers.
Without the business skills to get development money, any film-maker is battling against the odds – and for the next generation this will only get worse.
Away from mass-market media, opportunities to view documentaries are growing as observational and entertainment documentaries push further into the mainstream.
While purist, non-narrative observational documentaries will command smaller audiences, it's a niche that will no doubt continue. Television broadcast slots will remain only for the best of the best, but that is fine in my view."
