As I do almost every day, I watch and run quality control tests on our programs before they go into replication. This past February I was watching a program from Athena called The Code. Episode three, which is called “Prediction” had a wonderful experiment that the host conducted with a jar of jelly beans and 400 office workers. It’s quite simple: he put over 4,000 jelly beans in a jar and asked for everyone’s guess of how many were in there. The guesses were all over the map from extremely low to 80,000. His point was that if you add up all the guesses and divide them by the number of guesses (the average) you would almost get the exact number. 
I was speechless and wanted to try this out myself. Last week I bought a big jar and multiple bags of Starburst and counted each Starburst as it went in the jar. I then sealed the jar and put it in the kitchen asking people to email their guess to me. On Friday, I tabulated my numbers and declared a winner. My experiment did not work as well as The Code’s, but that may be because I only had 34 participants. I had guesses ranging from 98 – 928 which gave me an average of 339 pieces of candy. In fact, there were 430 and someone did guess 424. While I was a little bit disappointed, I was glad to have everyone’s participation and I’m glad I did it.
There are so many more fascinating ideas and experiments in The Code; check it out!
Lindsay is a DVD developer at Acorn Media, which means she watches TV all day. Away from work, she is plotting her next trip, playing with French bulldogs or has her nose in a book. Secretly wishes she could have an elephant as a pet.
January 18, 2012 – 6:00 am
Brideshead Revisited's release met critical and fan acclaim.
One of the underlying questions of my job at Acorn is why do certain shows appeal to our customers? Sometimes the answer is fairly straightforward. For example, the appeal of Lost Empires is pretty clear in the wake of Colin Firth’s Oscar-winning performance in The King’s Speech, and a series like Brideshead Revisited speaks for itself.
Other cases make me think about what is it about British TV that’s helped it find so many passionate fans in America. Certainly, the quality of writing and acting plays a big part, as much today as it did in the early days of Masterpiece Theatre, even if shows like Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire are getting much the acclaim that used to be reserved almost solely for UK imports, but there’s more to it than that.
Oddly enough part of it ties in to one of the things that probably frustrates fans of UK shows the most, the relatively short length of each series. In contrast to US networks (even cable channels) that typically insist on 13-20 episodes for a program, in the UK a show can be just about any length. While this sometimes mean that a show doesn’t get as many episodes as it should to tell its story, it also avoids one of the pitfalls of American TV where programs whose premises really only lends themselves to a limited run of episodes are stretched well beyond their breaking point.
Perhaps the best example of this was the program Twin Peaks, which started out with a compelling narrative question (“Who killed Laura Palmer?”) then proceeded to drag its feet so much in telling that story that by the time that question was answered most viewers were too annoyed to care. On a UK network, the investigation into the death of Laura Palmer would have been the focus of the first series and if the network wanted more (and the makers of the show wanted to do more) they would have moved on to a new mystery in the second series.
Because they’re not locked into long runs and a premise that has to be stretched into dozens of episodes in order to get picked up for syndication after its initial run, British program makers and the networks that keep them employed are willing to try more things. And though this means I’ve watched some things over the last several years that were certainly not been among Britain’s finest broadcast hours, the end result seems to be a more diverse stream of programs coming from the UK – and a lot more entertained fans here in the US.
What is it that you love about TV shows from the UK? I’d love to hear what excites you the most.
Don is Acorn’s Vice President of Programming. He’s been with Acorn for over a decade and has spent much of that time being paid to watch television. He sincerely hopes you enjoy the results.
January 12, 2012 – 2:56 pm
Ian Kelsey's familiar-face in Blue Murder.
You know that feeling when you see someone somewhere and you think to yourself, “I know that person…but from where?” This happened to me three years ago in an HMV store in London. I was buying some DVDs to take home when I saw this man with his daughter who were also buying DVDs. But since I was in London, my first thought was “I am sure I did not go to school with him.” I followed him and his daughter around the store trying to figure out how I knew him? .
As I was watching him pick out a DVD for his daughter I found myself in the TV section and right in front of a DVD of Blue Murder. And who is looking at me on the cover? My mystery man! I had been following Ian Kelsey, who plays Richard in Blue Murder, around HMV! For a brief moment I wanted to go up to him and say, “Hello, I work on your DVDs in the US, can you sign this DVD for me?” But, alas, my shyness took over and I let him go on his merry way.
But you can see him on Acorn TV now in Blue Murder, Set 2.
Lindsay is a DVD developer at Acorn Media, which means she watches TV all day. Away from work, she is plotting her next trip, playing with French bulldogs or has her nose in a book. Secretly wishes she could have an elephant as a pet.
November 16, 2011 – 12:36 pm
This is a big week for all you Midsomer Murders fans – as Set 19 has been approved for replication. After the discs are approved I make my own version for my archive as you can see from the photo. The DVD development team runs two QCs on each program before they are approved to go out into the world. There are 5 active watchers to complete this task and most of the time this means we do not get to see the complete set. When I really enjoy a program, I end up taking the “test discs” home with the full intent to catch up.
But, seriously, I watch TV most of the day here and then there is the outside TV world I like to watch. Sometimes I go home and do not even want to see a TV and I read a book or play with my dog instead. This is why I have a lovely pile of test discs piled up next to my DVD Player that keeps growing. I have still not seen episodes 2 and 3 of Brideshead Revisted and I still have about 40% left of Upstairs, Downstairs.
Unfortunately, I have been sick with that lovely early fall cold that comes around and I found myself at home lying on the couch and what did I do on a Saturday afternoon? I watched the 3 Midsomer Murders episodes from Set 19, which I did not watch at work.
But don’t worry, you can see all 4 when they start shipping on December 26th.
Lindsay is a DVD developer at Acorn Media, which means she watches TV all day. Away from work, she is plotting her next trip, playing with French bulldogs or has her nose in a book. Secretly wishes she could have an elephant as a pet.
October 28, 2011 – 6:00 am
“You can’t judge a book by its cover,” the old saying goes. It’s more apt metaphorically than literally, of course, because unless you’re looking for a specific book, the cover matters a lot. Same goes for DVDs, so we put a lot of effort into making sure our covers make a good first impression. In my view, covers need to do three things: attract, communicate, and intrigue. And these days they need to work full size and thumbnail size, which is how they appear in online retail settings and catalogs.
Happily, we work with a great team of graphic designers who can take any subject, a star-studded program or an abstract documentary, and come up with a winner time and time again. Still we weigh the elements of each cover carefully and try to look at our options from the point of view of buyers encountering the covers for the first time. And it just occurred to me, that’s you!
So tell us, what on a DVD cover speaks loudest to you? A pretty face, a compelling design, a good press quote, or what? Do you have any pet peeves about covers, front or back? Are there things you want to know about programs that we aren’t telling you on the covers?
Anne is head of Product Development at Acorn. She’s one of those graying boomers, and proud of it. When not at work, she likes to be outdoors, preferably in her kayak on the Chesapeake Bay.
September 23, 2011 – 6:00 am
We’re getting started on an exciting new project, one of the most acclaimed BBC miniseries ever: I Claudius. Our DVD release (set for early next year) certainly isn’t the first, but we are determined to make it the best. To that end we were discussing extras this morning and came up with the idea of including a written piece that would compare the miniseries with the actual Roman history it portrays. Great, we all agreed, but where could we find someone with the expertise to write it?
Minutes after the meeting we had the answer, right under our noses. The junior member of our editorial and print production staff happens to have a classics degree from the University of Maryland, meaning she studied the history of Rome in the vernacular, Latin. Jennifer readily volunteered to write the piece and contacted a former professor who has agreed to fact check her work. Don’t worry, it will be in English!
When we hired Jennifer, I was intrigued by her background in the classics and also by her frank admission in her cover letter that she longed for a job where she would not have to say: “How would you like your steak cooked?” Facility with language (check); sardonic sense of humor (check).
Not only is a classics major gainfully employed here at Acorn (and doing excellent work), she’s doing something college graduates rarely get the chance to do: using what she learned in college on the job. This leads me to two conclusions: 1) Acorn is a rare workplace and 2) Mammas, don’t be afraid to let your children grow up to be classics majors.
Did you study Latin in school? If so, do you think it enhanced your language skills?
Anne is head of Product Development at Acorn. She’s one of those graying boomers, and proud of it. When not at work, she likes to be outdoors, preferably in her kayak on the Chesapeake Bay.
September 19, 2011 – 10:00 am
I decided to take a little Friday afternoon tour of the office and look at all these nuts I found!
Merry Acorn Tree!
Acorns and Acacia’s (our sister catalog) Laughing Buddha unite.
We get these little guys when we hit our one year and three year anniversaries with the company.
We 
We like a little Acorn with our wine.
When we get stressed, we even have an acorn stress ball. (Anyone spot a Red Green bobble head!?)
Is your home adorned with anything Acorn?
Katie is the Web Marketing Coordinator for Acorn. If she’s not at the gym, exploring DC, or bargain shopping, she’s busy attempting to make soup. Attending a taping of “The Price is Right” is on her bucket list.
September 15, 2011 – 6:00 am
I am moving this week and I spent the last couple days packing up all my stuff. I had a friend help me and he stood in my living room and said, “Wow! You really do like France.” I stood there and looked around at “my stuff” and yes there are many references to France, but also England, film and dogs. I have photographs of my family, my friends and my dogs. I love books, Beatrix Potter, Eloise and Madeline.
We watch a lot of crime dramas here at Acorn and we all know one of the first things the detective does is look at the victim’s home for clues. You can tell so much about a person’s personality, likes and dislikes when walking around their home. I know when I first visit someone’s home, I like seeing what books and photos they have. I took a playwriting course in college and one of my favorite exercises was writing about what you would find in my character’s home? It helped in the development of the story I had to tell.
I was reminded of my playwriting course while watching Vera with the fantastic Brenda Blethyn. Watching her walk around a schoolteacher’s flat in episode 1, “Hidden Depths,” and wondering how a schoolteacher could afford such a ‘posh flat’ really speaks volumes as to what was really going on in this woman’s life.
What would your home say about you and if you haven’t seen Vera yet – you should!
Lindsay is a DVD developer at Acorn Media, which means she watches TV all day. Away from work, she is plotting her next trip, playing with French bulldogs or has her nose in a book. Secretly wishes she could have an elephant as a pet.
September 7, 2011 – 6:00 am
Did you know that the art of glassblowing has been around since around 50 BC? It was invented by Phoenicians somewhere along the Syro-Palestinian coast. One of the most prolific glassblowing areas within the Roman Empire was founded in Cologne on the river Rhine in Germany by the last 1st century BC, and the tradition was carried on in Europe throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance periods.
I’ve always been mesmerized by glassblowing. How do they not burn themselves? Don’t their eyes experience strain from such detailed work and careful scrutiny? I am one who can stand at the local art fair or Renaissance Festival and watch a glassblower for hours. I am fascinated and transfixed.
Studios of glassblowers exploded in the 1960s, producing fabulous artists such as Dale Chihuly and Dante Marioni. Today there are hundreds of glassblowing institutions and studios around the world that offer classes, techniques, and tricks of the trade for beginners and advanced students alike.
Luke Adams is one such artist, who designs unique artistic pieces in his Massachusetts studio. We’ve selected three of his stunning Hand-Blown Glass Pumpkins for your enjoyment this autumn, featured in the new Fall catalog.
Do you marvel at how artists are able to shape and color glass? Do you collect hand-blown glass pieces?
Kris is a Merchandise Buyer for Acorn. She works to support her travel and adventure addictions. She’s been to all 50 states (corners and airports don’t count!), enjoys the theatre, music, reading, and maintaining correspondence with family & friends worldwide.
We recently had someone on Facebook ask us where our name came from – he wrote that he’s a fan of British TV and it would never occur to him to associate the word “acorn” with British television, which is understandable. We’ve also – as you can imagine – had a lot of comments from people who think we’re related to the Association for Community Reform Now (ACORN) which was in the news a LOT in 2008, although they have since been shut down. We were Acorn first, and there are many companies out there named Acorn, so we never considered changing our name.
At any rate, this Facebook question made me realize that I have no idea how we got our name. We started out as Atlas Video in 1984 – in the basement of our founder, Peter Edwards – and then in 1994, we changed our name to Acorn Media. But that’s all our company timeline says about it. So, I checked in with our founder (and now Chairman of the Board) and here’s what he said:
“We had haggled for months and months about a new name after we discovered that we could not trademark ‘Atlas Video’ as the company was then called. I went for a run one Sunday morning in Rock Creek Park, on an asphalt trail through tall trees. Leaves and acorns were falling abundantly. One acorn fell on the path in front of me and bounced up into my hand. I caught it and carried it home. I took the acorn to work, showed it to John [now our Vice-Chairman of the Board], and said, ‘that’s it!’ He could no longer disagree.”
And he still has that original acorn (shown here in the picture).
Jen is the Senior Marketing Director for Acorn. When she’s not working or raising her two young cats (Donny and Marie), she can most likely be found playing Words With Friends or reading her Kindle.
As I do almost every day, I watch and run quality control tests on our programs before they go into replication. This past February I was watching a program from Athena called The Code. Episode three, which is called “Prediction” had a wonderful experiment that the host conducted with a jar of jelly beans and 400 office workers. It’s quite simple: he put over 4,000 jelly beans in a jar and asked for everyone’s guess of how many were in there. The guesses were all over the map from extremely low to 80,000. His point was that if you add up all the guesses and divide them by the number of guesses (the average) you would almost get the exact number. 
