Channel 4
I Was There When...
2017
Commercial work
I Was There When...
2017
Commercial work
A series about how key moments in history can change music culture forever. Ep 1 uncovers how the demolition of disco gave birth to house.
I Was There When... is a docu-series format spearheaded by head of Pi Studios, Ravi Amaratunga Hitchcock. Unfortunately, the full series was never commissioned, but the pilot episode was a dream project to be a part of.
Ep.1, I Was There When... House Was Born, explores how a baseball half-time show in Chicago now known as ‘Disco Demolition’ – in which thousands of disco records were blown-up with dynamite – morphed into a racial provocation that forced a predominantly black disco scene into the shadows. During this underground period, the sound would stew and mutate, eventually re-emerging under a new banner that would soon take the world by storm: house music.
My role in the project was as a researcher and writer, helping develop and string together the narrative arc by sourcing info and recommending interview subjects.
We hosted a screening at FC Hyena in Amsterdam, where house legend Jesse Saunders came all the way from Chi-town for the party ... and boy can he still party.
Click here to watch Episode 1 on All4.
Creative Studio ︎︎︎ Pi Studios
Series Creator ︎︎︎ Ravi Amaratunga Hitchcock
Executive Producer ︎︎︎ Ravi Amaratunga Hitchcock
Design Direction ︎︎︎ Nessim Higson, Jack Samels
Researcher / Scriptwriter ︎︎︎ Tom Bird
Comissioning ︎︎︎ Channel4
Production Company ︎︎︎ All Day Every Day
Producer ︎︎︎ Lucy Sumner
Director ︎︎︎ Jake Sumner
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I Was There When... is a docu-series format spearheaded by head of Pi Studios, Ravi Amaratunga Hitchcock. Unfortunately, the full series was never commissioned, but the pilot episode was a dream project to be a part of.
Ep.1, I Was There When... House Was Born, explores how a baseball half-time show in Chicago now known as ‘Disco Demolition’ – in which thousands of disco records were blown-up with dynamite – morphed into a racial provocation that forced a predominantly black disco scene into the shadows. During this underground period, the sound would stew and mutate, eventually re-emerging under a new banner that would soon take the world by storm: house music.
My role in the project was as a researcher and writer, helping develop and string together the narrative arc by sourcing info and recommending interview subjects.
We hosted a screening at FC Hyena in Amsterdam, where house legend Jesse Saunders came all the way from Chi-town for the party ... and boy can he still party.
Click here to watch Episode 1 on All4.
Creative Studio ︎︎︎ Pi Studios
Series Creator ︎︎︎ Ravi Amaratunga Hitchcock
Executive Producer ︎︎︎ Ravi Amaratunga Hitchcock
Design Direction ︎︎︎ Nessim Higson, Jack Samels
Researcher / Scriptwriter ︎︎︎ Tom Bird
Comissioning ︎︎︎ Channel4
Production Company ︎︎︎ All Day Every Day
Producer ︎︎︎ Lucy Sumner
Director ︎︎︎ Jake Sumner