Working with Knowledge

Knowledge Network is committed to doing our part to meaningfully advance truth and reconciliation, equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility by helping dismantle the historic and present-day barriers that have limited the full participation of equity deserving groups in creating original screen content. We strive to ensure authenticity in on-screen representation and to commission distinctive programs that broadly reflect the diversity of British Columbia.

In 2021, Knowledge established three-year reparations-based targets for our first-window commissions of documentary one-offs from Indigenous-owned and BPOC-owned production companies. This commitment was renewed for six years starting in April 2025. We track intersections of additional equity deserving groups across all of Knowledge’s commissioning efforts to ensure representation of women, gender diverse people, 2SLGBTQIA+ and people with disabilities. You can follow our progress to date under Commitment to EDIA. 

In order to measure our progress, we collect demographic data from the BC and Canadian production teams we work with. For all pre-licenses (first window and second window), we request voluntary self-identification data related to company ownership and self-identification data related to key creative roles (director, producer, writer, showrunner). This data allows us to track our progress regarding our equity commitments; to analyze and address gaps in representation; and to contribute to joint industry initiatives to advance screen sovereignty and screen equity on a national scale.

For projects that engage with First Nations, Metis or Inuit communities, cultures, concepts and stories, we ask producers to follow the recommendations outlined in the Indigenous Screen Office’s On-Screen Protocols and Pathways.  For all of our Knowledge Originals, we ask the producers we work with to explore Indigenous context/connection to the story they are telling and, where such connection is organically present and becomes part of the onscreen narrative,  to outline the policies/practices/protocols they will follow to ensure meaningful representation.

Where relevant to the subject matter of your project, we ask producers to refer to the Being Sceen reports created by the Black Screen Office which outline considerations for working with Black Communities, People of Colour, 2SLGBTQIA+, People with Disabilities and Children’s Media.  

Please visit our EDIA page for more information.

People and culture are the foundation of everything we do at Knowledge. We are committed to a healthy workplace and creating an environment of inclusivity, mutual respect, transparency and accountability. This extends to our work with filmmakers and industry partners, where we expect interactions and relationships to be grounded in dignity and respect. We do not tolerate any form of harassment, violence or discrimination.

Providing viewers with content they can trust is at the heart of Knowledge’s mandate. We have adopted the following guidelines to ensure careful consideration and transparency in any use of AI in on-screen content. This ensures the integrity of all the content we broadcast.

If considering the use of AI and generative AI tools in your production, it is the responsibility of the producer to discuss these plans with Knowledge prior to implementing in order to jointly assess the impact. If submitting a program for acquisition where AI and generative AI tools have been used, it is the responsibility of the producer to inform Knowledge at the time of submission with details on application and usage.

As part of collective efforts to reduce the environmental impact of the film and TV industry, we encourage the independent producers we work with to adopt sustainable production practices. The sustainable production checklist and resource list provides ideas of steps you can take to lower the carbon footprint of your production.

General Requirements

• Program material must be produced using professional broadcast equipment and formats. Facilities used for production and post-production must have viewing and sound monitoring conditions that comply with industry standards.
• Program shall be free of commercial blacks or publicity breaks.
• Program must be in English with name supers and titles.
• The lower left hand corner of the screen must be free of captions, logos, watermarks or any graphic images.
• Unless otherwise permitted in writing, duration shall be a maximum of 24:30 for a half-hour program and a maximum of 56:30 for a one-hour program, with no commercial or publicity breaks. There are no duration restrictions for programs with run times greater than 60 minutes.
• Files shall be labeled clearly with the following information:
  1. Version (master, protection, dub, clone, etc)
  2. Production Company
  3. Program title
  4. Program length
  5. Type of audio, channel assignments
  6. Type of time code
  7. Presence of closed captioning
  8. Descriptive video audio track
  9. Day, month and year of delivery

Video Quality

• Luminance values must not be excessively clipped or crushed.
• Colour rendition – especially skin tones – must be a realistic representation of the scene portrayed unless artistic considerations require otherwise.
• Video processing (e.g. effects plug-ins) must not introduce unintentional changes to luminance and chrominance levels.
• There must be no visible artifacts caused by multiple conversions or compression.
• Quantization noise shall not be apparent.
• Use of standard definition footage or content is acceptable only in special cases (such as archival material).
• Footage converted from other aspect ratios (such as SD 4:3 archival material) must not be non-uniformly stretched. Full width letterbox or full height pillarbox is acceptable. Cropping to fill the 16:9 frame is also acceptable, depending on the content/framing.
• If frame rate conversion has been used, it must only be from the original source rate directly to 29.97 (not multiple stages of conversion). Frame rate conversions must be free of excessive judder or other artifacts.
• Video footage must be of professional quality. Consumer or low quality footage is only acceptable under special circumstances where higher quality is not possible (such as archival footage or restrictive environments).

Audio Quality

• The audio shall be free of extraneous signals such as noise, hum, and cross-talk.
• Sibilance and distortion shall not be apparent.
• The audio shall not show dynamic and frequency response artifacts as a result of the use of noise reduction or low bit rate coding systems.
• Dynamic range shall not be excessive.
• Care shall be taken when incorporating background music and effects with dialogue, otherwise viewers with a hearing impairment and/or poor listening conditions can find the dialogue difficult to hear. Final mix assessment should be made using typical consumer equipment and viewing environment.
• Sound loudness levels should be consistent throughout the program such that it is not necessary for the viewer to adjust the sound during the program or between parts.
• The relative timing of the sound to video synchronization should not exhibit any perceptible error. Sound should not lead or lag the picture content.
• Music and effects levels must be sufficiently below dialog to ensure that a wide variety of viewers can understand the dialog upon first viewing in home conditions.
• Audio channels must be in phase (not inverted phase).

Specifications:

Audio Channels

Audio channels must follow one of the mappings listed below. Audio stem tracks (music+effects and dialog) must also be delivered as separate audio files (in addition to including in the video file tracks listed below).

Standard Stereo

Stereo with Described Video

Video Slates

Slates must have a duration of at least 10 seconds, follow reference signals, and include the following:

• Series and episode title and number.
• Total program length including frames.
• Audio track assignments.
• Type of time code.
• Presence of closed captioning.
• SAP or descriptive video track.
• Dialog normalization value.

Wordmarks

All versions of wordmarks are available in PNG, JPG and EPS formats.

Download Wordmarks

Download Wordmarks

Knowledge Original Intros

All versions of Knowledge Originals Intros are available for feature documentaries, episodic series and shorts.

Download Intro