Televisual articles from April 2006

Televisual archives from April 2006

Lygo says Big Brother is part of Channel 4's long-term future.(Channel Four Television Company Ltd., Kevin Lygo)(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... Channel 4's director of television, Kevin Lygo, has confirmed that reality hit Big Brother could run on the channel for years to come. "There is no real reason why Big Brother can't sit there, like a summer event, forever," says Lygo in...

TV production workers suffer #6k salary drop.(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... TV production staff are earning nearly #6k less on average than they were last year according to Televisual's latest survey of TV pay (see page 26). The overall average for production workers dropped from #39.6k to #33.5k with the slump...

IN BRIEF: Framestore Feature Animation.(Framestore CFC launches animation with DreamWorks L.L.C.)(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... Framestore CFC is launching Framestore Feature Animation with Dreamworks' David Lipman at the helm. The new outfit is already in development on its first project in partnership with Universal Studios. The Tale of Despereaux will be directed by...

IN BRIEF: New indie.(Sony BMG teams up with David Mortimer, Richard Hopkins )(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... Sony BMG has teamed with BBC execs David Mortimer and Richard Hopkins to launch new indie Fever Media. Tell Tale's Iain Lauchlan and Will Brenton are leaving the Entertainment Rights-owned company to set up as Wish Films. And animation...

IN BRIEF: Rushes Soho Shorts competition.(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... The eighth Rushes Soho Shorts competition has announced its first call for entries for the 2006 festival. The deadline for entries is 5 May for the short film, newcomer, titles and idents, music video and animation categories. The festival...

Speakers sign for Televisual festival.(The Intelligent Television Festival)(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... Leading factual commissioners, producers and directors have signed up as speakers for The Intelligent Television Festival, the new Televisual organised event for everyone working in factual television. BBC director of factual and learning...

Extras wins Bulldog Best in Show.(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... Extras, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's acclaimed follow up to The Office, has won the Best in Show prize at this year's Bulldog Awards, organised by Televisual. The Best in Show honour goes to the programme that receives the most...

IN BRIEF: People on the move.(Dick Emery retires from UKTV)(Touch appointed Susannah Walker, Andrew Anderson and Richard Greatrex )(Prospect Pictures appointed Liam Hamilton )(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... People on the move this month include UKTV ceo Dick Emery who retires. Endemol's Shirley Jones joins Twofour as head of entertainment. Touch has appointed Susannah Walker, Andrew Anderson and Richard Greatrex as department heads. RDF has...

Tiger Aspect and Shergold shoot cop murder drama.(Channel Four Television Company Ltd.)(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... Tiger Aspect has kicked off production on a new Adrian Shergold-helmed two parter for Channel 4. Shooting has already begun on location in Edinburgh on Low Winter Sun. The serial stars Mark Strong (The Long Firm, Our Friends in the...

Talkback maps UK's significant buildings for Five.(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... Talkbackthames is to make a major new architectural series for Five that looks at Britain's most influential buildings. The 8x60-minute Buildings that Shaped Britain chronologically profiles significant evolutions in British architecture...

IN BRIEF: Massive Attack promo.(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... Flynn director Paul Gore brought in physical effects outfit Artem for new Massive Attack promo False Flags, which has a Parisian rioter throwing petrol bombs in slow motion. It was shot at 1000 frames-per- second in the grounds of Brixton...

IN BRIEF: id3tv brands Scandinavian channel.(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... id3tv has branded a new Scandinavian martial arts channel that is soon to appear on Sky. id3tv shot various live action fights - Kung Fu, kickboxing, Kendo, Kobudo - and then overlayed the action with a mass of swirling blocks and strikes....

Heineken bottle.(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... Rushes looked to Arnie for inspiration for this Heineken spot that introduces the beer's new-style bottle. The old bottle is frozen and then smashed into hundreds of tiny pieces before the pieces melt and fuse back together like the...

Maverick strips off for summer.(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... The team behind Ten Years Younger, Maverick Television, is producing a show that aims to make women of all shapes and sizes feel more confident about their bodies. The 6x30-minute series, entitled How to Look Good Naked, has been ordered...

IN BRIEF: Godman shutting down.(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... This Electrolux spot, directed by Albert for Lowe Brindfors, could be their last through Godman. Godman md Ed Sayers is shutting down his production outfit due to "continued pressure on prices and margins." The company leaves no debt and will...

Flashback bags major US order.(A and E Television Networks orders)(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... Flashback has picked up its biggest single order yet with The Lost Evidence, a 22x1 hour series for the History Channel in the US. The series will cover many of the major battles of World War 2 including the Battle of Britain, Stalingrad,...

Sports stars straighten out kids for Five and C4.(Channel Four Television Company Ltd.)(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... Two stars from the world of sport are making shows to straighten out errant kids for Channel 4 and Five. Ex-Formula 1 team owner Eddie Jordan will mentor eight young car criminals for a new Zig Zag reality show that gives them the chance...

IN BRIEF: Aardman's latest ad.(Aardman Animations through Saatchi and Saatchi PLC)(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... Aardman's latest ad is 2d/cgi mix for Nestle Cookie Crisp ordered through Saatchi & Saatchi and directed by Scott Pleydell-Pearce. Cg was created in Maya with compositing in After Effects. Aardman's executive producer was John Wooley. Sound...

IN BRIEF: Hope of the States promo.(Sony BMG signs Red Bee )(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... Red Bee created this Soviet era industrial propaganda film set in a factory for Hope of the States track Blood Meridian. It was ordered through Sony BMG. Director Julian Dyson's treatment took the band out of the promo altogether and instead...

THE GREEN LIGHT: Exercise commissions.(Bravo Cable Network, Mentorn International)(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... US network Bravo has commissioned Mentorn to make Work Out, a 6x60- minute series about the beautiful people in a Beverley Hills gym. Bruce Toms, Amy Shpall, Lori Kaye and Rob Carey are the executive producers. Also in the exercise arena, Shine...

THE GREEN LIGHT: Landmark Films to produce documentary.(Landmark Films Inc. signed by ITV1)(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... Landmark Films is set to produce Phobia Britain for ITV1's Scared to Death season. Landmark - the indie behind C4's recent Fat Pets - will deliver the 1x60-minute show this spring. The observational documentary speaks to people who are...

THE GREEN LIGHT: RDF Media commissions.(Channel Four Television Company Ltd. signs )(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... RDF Media has won two commissions from Channel 4; Britain's Top Dog and Shipwrecked 2007: Battle of the Islands. The latter is a recommission of the 20x60-minute T4 reality show currently airing. Britain's Top Dog is a 7x60-minute series...

THE GREEN LIGHT: Talent Television special for ITV1.(ITV Network Ltd. ITV1)(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... Talent Television is to make a 60-minute special for ITV1 that mixes mind reading and human psychology. Entitled Jez Rose - All in Your Mind, the show will feature a range of experiments and demonstrations that provide an insight in to the...

THE GREEN LIGHT: Entertainment Rights commission.(British Broadcasting Corp.)(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... Entertainment Rights has been commissioned by the BBC to produce a Postman Pat spin-off, entitled Guess with Jess. Aimed at pre-schoolers, the 52x10-minute animated series will encourage audience participation and will be supported by online...

IN BRIEF: Animated sitcom.(Zoo Films signs Atomic Cartoons )(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... Zoo Films, maker of the Bafta-nominated Tale of Jack Frost has teamed with Canada's Atomic Cartoons on Bollywood Road, an animated family sitcom about a street that can erupt into a sumptuous Bollywood set at a moment's notice....

BUSINESS NEWS: Indies rally behind Shaps' ITV team.
April 12, 2006... Greg Dyke's bid for ITV has had one unexpected outcome - independent producers rushing to support Simon Shaps and his new commissioning team at Network Centre. Tim Dams reportsIndependent producers have rallied behind ITV and its new...

BUSINESS NEWS: Good, but could do better.(British Broadcasting Corp.)
April 12, 2006... Richard Wiliams, ceo of the NIFTC, says the BBC needs to focus more on Northern Ireland To say that Northern Ireland has turned a corner as a production centre would be doing it a great disservice. Rather it is sprinting down the...

INTERNATIONAL NEWS: Suburban secret to cracking the US.
April 12, 2006... A British sitcom set in the Home Counties has pulled off a rare broadcasting coup - a US run ahead of its UK premiere on Five. Poz Hulls looks at how Suburban Shootout crossed the AtlanticWhen Brit sitcom Suburban Shootout premiered on US...

INTERNATIONAL NEWS: Hunting for American imports.
April 12, 2006... Lisa Opie, md of Flextech Television, explains the wildlife to be found at the LA screenings So May is nearly upon us and the annual migration of the British TV execs is about to commence. We'll soon depart these shores to smugly gather...

PROFILE - SMITH&FOULKES: Alias Smith&Foulkes.(Adam Foulkes and Alan Smith)(Interview)
April 12, 2006... With more gongs than a Chinese orchestra, it's been a fruitful couple of years for the directing duo behind some of adlands' hottest animated campaigns. Jon Creamer meets Smith & Foulkes Their mums' mantelpieces are already groaning under...

LETTER: Thinking beyond channel idents.(Letter to the editor)
April 12, 2006... Picking up on your March feature, channel branding is important and it creates a sense of destination and environment; as for any brand it's shorthand for what you stand for. But channel branding is more than just the idents, which are at...

LETTER: On the BBC's film pledge.(Letter to the editor)
April 12, 2006... The BBC's grand pledge to spend more money on film sounded great, but as theMarch issue of Televisual points out, the #300m figure that was rolled out was probably stretching it a little. I'm not moaning; an extra #5m a year on film...

OPINION: Television's poor state of pay.(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... There's been plenty of decent pay days for TV execs in recent months thanks to the flurry of buy-outs in the indie sector. And there are likely to be even more producers cashing in millions in coming weeks, if TWI's planned takeover of Tiger...

INTERVIEW - KEVIN LYGO: Lygo's plans for c4.(Channel Four Television Company Ltd.)(Interview)
April 12, 2006... Channel 4 may be riding high but director of television Kevin Lygo says he is never quite satisified. He talks to Poz Hulls about plans for a breakfast show, Big Brother, Friday nights and documentaries When Kevin Lygo rejoined Channel 4...

HUMAN SCIENCE: The docs with the half ton titles.(Channel Four Television Company Ltd.)
April 12, 2006... Big titles and stories to match, but how do human science docs avoid becoming nothing more than freak shows? Jon Creamer reports The Boy Who Gave Birth To His Twin, The Woman With Half A Body, Born With Two Heads. Human science...

SALARY SURVEY: How big's your slice.(television industry)
April 12, 2006... Televisual's annual salary survey as production budgets get tighter. Bad news. You're being paid less - quite a bit less. The average TV industry salary, calculated across both production staff (indie, broadcaster and freelancer) and...

DRAMA SURVEY: The dramatic question.(on television dramas)
April 12, 2006... In the first of a two-part survey, we ask if British drama is thriving or being undermined by static budgets. Poz Hulls finds out what the leading commissioners, producers and writers really think From the first live plays in the...

DRAMA SURVEY: Tessa Ross.(of Channel 4 Television Co.)(Interview)(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... Tessa Ross, Channel 4's head of drama, wants to champion ambitious drama. She tells us what she's looking for What recent show are you most proud of? The recent series of Shameless. What are you currently looking for? Contemporary,...

DRAMA SURVEY: Jane Tranter.(of British Broadcasting Corp.)(Interview)(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... Jane Tranter, the BBC's controller of drama commissioning, spells out exactly what her portfolio of channels are hungry for What recent show are you most proud of? Life on Mars. Can I have two? Doctor Who too please. What are you...

DRAMA SURVEY: Nick Elliott.(of ITV PLC )(Interview)(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... ITV director of drama Nick Elliott, oversees a wide slate of drama. He explains what sort of shows are a good fit for ITV What recent show are you most proud of? Probably Wild at Heart. What are you currently looking for? Programmes...

DRAMA SURVEY: First and final drafts.(television dramas)
April 12, 2006... They say the writer crafts a drama's first draft and the editor polishes the final one. In the second part of our drama survey, Jake Bickerton and Poz Hulls explore how both stages are adapting to a changing landscape The demand for...

IVCA AWARDS: Gold standards.( International Visual Communication Association)
April 12, 2006... The winners of this year's IVCA Awards are having to work much harder to get the message across, finds Jon Creamer. And though technology has changed, the need to make engaging content hasn't As audiences are exposed to hundreds of...

2006 NAB: Getting techy in vegas.(National Association of Broadcasters)
April 12, 2006... The sheer scale of kit show NAB means it's impossible to visit every exhibitor. So here's our guide to the 'must see' stands Drop a coin into any slot machine in Vegas and despite your better judgement you retain an unfailing hope of...

NEWS THE WORKS: OB ready for HD at the BBC.(British Broadcasting Corp.'s Outside Broadcasts upgrades to high definition cameras)(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... BBC Outside Broadcasts has upgraded another of its trucks to HD, and invested in 14 Sony 1500 HD cameras as part of its preparations for the 2006 World Cup and this year's Wimbledon, which will both be broadcast in HD. It is now equipped...

NEWS THE WORKS: Motion Control folds into Rushes.(Motion Control Studio, Rushes Productions)(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... Ascent Media's Motion Control Studio in Wardour Street is now part of sister commercials house Rushes and has been rebranded Studio@Rushes. The studio elaborates on standard chromakey techniques, making it possible to marry live action or...

NEWS THE WORKS: Children's game shows.(Cartoon Network's works)(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... The in-house animation team at Cartoon Network is working on a series of children's game shows in which two animated characters interact with real-life contestants. The show has already been filmed with adults playing the role of the...

NEWS THE WORKS: Natural evolution for two post houses.
April 12, 2006... Evolutions has kickstarted what looks set to be a series of acquisitions by purchasing Nats for "a significant seven-figure sum." Evolutions md Simon Kanjee replaces former Nats mds Charlie Leonard and Chris Reynolds. "The two sister...

NEWS THE WORKS: Will Bollywood rejuvenate the VTR group?(Prime Focus invests)(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... Bollywood post house Prime Focus is set to pay #4.5m for a controlling stake in the VTR group, a move that may have come just in the nick of time for the UK post concern. The VTR group would clearly benefit from a large cash injection....

NEWS THE WORKS: UMD project.( Stream completes work on Universal Media Disc titles)(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... UK authoring house Stream has completed encoding, authoring and design work on two new UMD (Universal Media Disc) titles for 2Entertain: The Mighty Boosh series 1 and series 2. It was the first UMD project to have been completed by the...

NEWS THE WORKS: Past moves.(appointments )(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... Pepper has hired Combustion and Flame artist Stuart Wilson, who has worked on commercials for Motorola and Pringles, and DS operator William Chetwynd from Portland Enterprises. Meanwhile, Quentin Miles has joined Cinesite as animation...

NEWS THE WORKS: Pair of facilities open in Soho.(International Broadcast Facilities opens two new offices)(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... Two new post houses have opened up in London. The first is Storm HD, which is based in the media company International Broadcast Facilities (IBF) building in Covent Garden. Storm HD is co-owned by IBF and small facilities house Storm and...

NEWS THE WORKS: Three decades of Glastonbury.(Glastonbury festival shooted by Julien Temple for a documentary film)(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... Every year the Glastonbury festival provides an incomparable snapshot of the changing shape of youth culture and fashions. With this in mind, Julien Temple's new documentary, imaginatively titled Glastonbury, traces the festival from its...

NEWS THE WORKS: Electronic delivery.(BeamSuite from BEAM.TV to manage television programmes)(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... BEAM.TV's new BeamSuite product makes it possible to upload and electronically deliver giant files of TV programmes to any location in the world. It means broadcasters no longer have to pay couriers to transport tapes around the globe. And...

IN POST THE WORKS: Animated adventures.(Chessington World of Adventures advertises)
April 12, 2006... The Mob's family-friendly ad for Chessington World of Adventures merges old and new, with stop-frame animation and inventive in-camera effects brought to life by subtle post production touches Reading through Michael Williams' treatment...

IN MY VIEW: Cinema champion.(Tim Stott of Eat Cinema channel )(Interview)(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... Tim Stott, director of programmes at the recently launched Eat Cinema channel, thinks the cinema experience reigns supreme for films but relies on TV for his fix of cricket and comedy What was the last film you saw at the cinema? ...

Natural world beats sporting celebs to ratings gold.(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... With one in five viewers (4m) at 9pm, Talkbackthames' The Apprentice proved it can still do the business for BBC2 on Wednesday 8 March. It easily outshone Twenty Twenty TV's C4 show Brat Camp, which had 2.8m viewers, or a 12% share. ...