Televisual articles from August 2001

Televisual archives from August 2001

Film Council hands out cash to UK production companies.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... The Film Council has invested [pound]1.26 of its [pound]5m development fund in six UK film and TV production outfits. The fund is still looking to invest further inn range of other companies and single projects. The cash goes towards the...

Aldis is reborn as Refinery.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Aldis Animation takes on a new identity as Refinery this month. The design house has used Kim Aldis' departure to reevaluate, says marketing director Stephen Shaw. While still producing 3D work, the Aldis mainstay, it felt it needed to show...

Hallmark steps up programme acquisitions.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... In a deal with CBS, The Hallmark Channel has made [pound]2.1m-worth of programme acquisitions after the channel announced a leap in audience figures this year(now at 2.5m viewers per month). After the deal, the channel will be the only UK...

Toon channel seeks Euro co-pros.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Cartoon Network is planing to initiate European co-productions "instead of relying on the US," says Daniel Lennard, executive producer for kids series Cramp Twins, due to air on the channel in September. The broadcaster "wants shows that work...

Look out for your copy of the Televisual and Avid World of Soho.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Look out for your copy of the Televisual and Avid World of Soho map in this issue. It's a guide to navigating your way around the Soho production terrain, detailing the locations of the top facilities, resellers and other key players in the...

Diversifying from music TV and events, Initial's new show Under Pressure.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Diversifying from music TV and events, Initial's new show Under Pressure has members of the public negotiating sports obstacle courses. It airs this month on Channel 5 and later on Challenge TV. Initial's Tim Hincks and Richard Osman are also...

The TV Set Group has found a way to back production.(video productions)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... The TV Set Group has found a way to back production though a deficit funding arrangement for Stampede's Coconut Revolution. By covering post costs and recouping its cash by lining up distribution, it will help to "develop and promote...

Daniel Lewis, WOW director and Banff-winner (War Hospital).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Daniel Lewis, WOW director and Banff-winner (War Hospital) is looking for documentary professionals with experience of working in Saudi Arabia or the wider Middle East for his upcoming Secret Saudi State - Diary of a Freedom Fighter. He is...

Absolutely virtual hosts for Arte toon show.(Absolutely Productions designs computer-animated television characters)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... A new animation show goes out this month in Europe with virtual presenters designed and directed by Absolutely Productions animators Julian Henshaw and Sarah Fell. The Bungle Brothers present Ani-Max, to be shown on Arte across France and...

Nissan's X-Trail trials disc-based training.(Line Up Communications produces employee training video)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... The latest phase in the launch of Nissan's new compact 4x4, orchestrated by Line Up Communications, is the car manufacturer's first-ever training CDRom. Line Up produced last year's concept video for Nissan's X-Trail and has just completed...

The series Babes in the Balearics, which runs this month on Thursdays at 10pm.(Review)
August 1, 2001... The series Babes in the Balearics, which runs this month on Thursdays at 10pm, looks at the "irreverent side of life" in lbiza, says Rapture TV. Presenters Sam Mann and Angela Costa try to get island jobs, involving learning to be podium...

Directing trio Belzebu, based at Bermuda Shorts, has completed three animated spots for Orange, commissioned by Y&R Israel.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Directing trio Belzebu, based at Bermuda Shorts, has completed three animated spots for Orange, commissioned by Y&R Israel. The ads feature a group of teenagers using Orange's SMS service, hand-drawn, scanned and then painted in US Animation....

The latest spots from animation house Filmtecknama, for American investment bank US Trust.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... The latest spots from animation house Filmtecknama, for American investment bank US Trust, were shot live-action in a Los Angeles studio and then rotoscoped in After Effects. The commercials, commissioned by the Martin agency through Curios...

CORPORATE.(Review)
August 1, 2001... A new video, which forms part of an interactive press release for Siemens' range of wireless internet products, features Boris the Dog trying desperately to catch the attention of his Siemens gadget-obsessed family. Commissioned by...

BBC new look for Dostoevsky.(Review)
August 1, 2001... The [pound]4.2m Crime and Punishment is the BBC's "edgy and contemporary" autumn drama, according to producer David Snodin, with Tony Marchant's Dostoevsky adaptation and the "raw and modern" visuals of Danish DoP, Eigil Bryld. The...

422 reconstructs the Kursk.(Review)
August 1, 2001... The Russian Kursk submarine tragedy is the subject of a BBC2 documentary on 8 August. It's a scientific detective story, analysing the events leading up to the disaster and the theories and controversies about its cause. The BBC hired 422...

Chrysalis gives animators sleepless nights.(animated film production project)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... zFive animators are volunteering to take part in a 72-hour lock-in this: month, during which they'll be deprived: of sleep - and get to make a short animation. The results will air in Channel 4's November animation season. Recruits for...

Code Design's Tim Cokayne designed content graphics for Global E-Missions, both website and programme.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Code Design's Tim Cokayne designed content graphics for Global E-Missions, both website and programme. Carlton's regional series, billed as an "interactive TV and travel game-show," features teams of people travelling through 11 countries in 11...

Taking time out from his own band Bell, Dan Crouch has directed two promos through Rich and Hollywood for other people's bands: King Adora's Friday Night Express and Stone Phazer's John Wayne.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Taking time out from his own band Bell, Dan Crouch has directed two promos through Rich and Hollywood for other people's bands: King Adora's Friday Night Express and Stone Phazer's John Wayne (left). The latter features a body popping,...

Killer Eyes, a story of a sexual and violent encounter from director Kieran Evans, is the first promo for new band Violet Indiana, formed by ex-Cocteau TWin Robin Guthrie.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Killer Eyes, a story of a sexual and violent encounter from director Kieran Evans, is the first promo for new band Violet Indiana, formed by ex-Cocteau TWin Robin Guthrie. The promo was shot on mini-DV over two days and nights on the streets of...

The new series of Absolutely Fabulous.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... The new series of Absolutely Fabulous has finished shooting ready for an autumn TX on BBC1. French and Saunders revived the series after deciding against a Mirrorball series piloted last Christmas. Guest stars this time include Dale Winton and...

Carlton and Chatsworth are to co-produce.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Carlton and Chatsworth are to co-produce a 60-minute comedy pilot This is Now for TV, starring The Royle Family's Sue Johnstone.

Brighter TV is to make Take the Mike.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Brighter TV is to make Take the Mike, a 13x30-minute search for a comedy star in the Popstars mould, to be fronted by Supergirly. It airs in September. Ed Blum is executive producer.

Satirical 6x30-minute cartoon series 2DTV.(ITV Digital)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Satirical 6x30-minute cartoon series 2DTV is in production for ITV after a successful March pilot. 2DTV Productions was formed jointly by Triffic Films' Tim Searle, Giles Pilbrow (Spitting Image) and Georgia Pritchett (Have I Got News for...

80s brickie-drama Auf Wiedersehen Pet.(British Broadcasting Corporation Ltd.)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... 80s brickie-drama Auf Wiedersehen Pet is back. The BBC's Alan Yentob has ordered a new series from writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais Some key characters from the original cast are also thought to be involved.

A Buffy the Vampire-Slayer.(British Broadcasting Corporation Ltd.)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... A Buffy the Vampire-Slayer spin-off series called The Watcher is thought to be on the stocks at the BBC, which is in discussion with Buffy's US creator, Joss Whedon. The show, which is understood to star Buffy's Anthony Head, will be made in...

Endemol Entertainment's controller Ruth Wrigley.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Endemol Entertainment's controller Ruth Wrigley is already working on a third series of Big Brother, with Ulrika Johnsson hosting. A further series has yet to be commissioned by Channel 4.

Granada is making Blood Strangers for ITV.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Granada is making Blood Strangers for ITV, a 2x90-minute drama starring Caroline Quentin as a mother tracking down her daughter's killer. The serial is planned for transmission early next year.

Hat Trick is set to make Bedtime for BBC1.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Hat Trick is set to make Bedtime for BBC1. Written by Andy Hamilton, who wrote Drop the Dead Donkey, it's a sitcom set in the bedrooms of three couples on the same street during the last half-hour of each day. Timothy West and Meera Syal are to...

Ofcom bill gets the go-ahead.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... The government has found time in the next parliamentary session for a paving bill to set up new communications regulator Ofcom. The regulator, which will replace the ITC, Oftel the Radio Authority, the BSC and the Radiocommunications Agency,...

BBC takes [pound]96m from Worldwide.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... BBC Worldwide generated [pound]96m for the corporation in the last financial year, according to the BBC's annual report. Kids series The Tweenies alone made [pound]82m in foreign sales and merchandising pushing Worldwide's profits up by 170%....

ITV launches sports channel.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... The troubled, and newly-rebranded, ITV Digital plat form jointly owned by Canton and Granada has launched its football-based sport channel, ITV Sport. The service is a direct challenge to rival BSkyB which currently dominates the pay...

BT makes TV partnerships.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... BT has entered partnerships with BSkyB and ITV Digital to provide cheap telephone services to subscribers to the two digital platforms. The deals have been made to challenge cable operators, who already offer cheap phone lines bundled with...

Interactive TV: this is what you do.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... After the sale of Static 2358 to OpenTV, md Mark Rock offers a route-map to making DTV work OnDigital -- or ITV Digital, I should say -- will, live or die by two simple factors. First, the will of Granada and Canton to support it. Next,...

UK digital set-top box maker Pace Microtechnologies announced a profits jump of 61%, and contracts with US cable companies Time Warner and Comcast.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... UK digital set-top box maker Pace Microtechnologies announced a profits jump of 61%, and contracts with US cable companies Time Warner and Comcast. Pace expects the US market to generate another 17m installations over the next 12 months. *...

BSkyB and bookmaker Ladbrokes have signed a five-year deal to provide interactive betting services on Sky's digital sports channels.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... BSkyB and bookmaker Ladbrokes have signed a five-year deal to provide interactive betting services on Sky's digital sports channels. Interactive betting is expected to be one of the most lucrative ways to increase revenues from digital...

California senator Debra Bowen is shepherding a landmark privacy bill through the state legislature that could also cause ructions for digital TV providers on this side of the Atlantic.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... California senator Debra Bowen is shepherding a landmark privacy bill through the state legislature that could also cause ructions for digital TV providers on this side of the Atlantic. The bill would limit set-top box makers receiving...

Driving digital or derailing it?(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... As new culture minister Tessa Jowell steps up to the podium at this year's Edinburgh TV festival, one thing's for sure -- she'll have made some vocal enemies in the broadcast world by the time she steps down. Whether those enemies turn out...

BBC.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... These new media types do have a tendency to proselytise wildly about future revenue streams. BBC head of new media Ashley "all programme ideas must have an interactive element" Highfield was at it again this month, suggesting the BBC could soon...

Shepherds Bush powercut.(British Broadcasting Corporation Ltd.)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Back in the low-tech present and the BBC ended up shutting down for a full 20 Minutes during Saturday primetime. BBC1, 2, Choice and Knowledge all ended up screening, well, a blank screen followed by an apologetic message with a lounge music...

Itv DIGITAL.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... More wet knickers over at ITV due to the failing fortunes of On Digital. Hand-wringing over the future of the platform finally descended into full-blooded panic as Granada chief Charles Allen's "let us merge with Carlton; sharpish or nasty...

OPINIONS.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Now do the homework Having read your feature on new media agencies, I was disappointed with a number of inaccuracies that led to us not being credited for our work on Homework High for Channel 4. Cimex worked with Glasshead Productions...

Saturated in soap.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Can a director watch Was a typical viewer does? There isn't a typical viewer. One thing I like about being a director is going out the next day and hearing all sorts of people talking about my work. "Oh I didn't like the bit when..." And...

WIDER THAN WIDE OF THE MARK.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... A call to the BBC duty office to find out why Wimbledon wasn't widescreen (given all the top kit the BBC had parked up in the grounds last month) got the answer: "Well, not many people have widescreen sets, so not much TV is made in it." Not an...

Digital television: the softer sell.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Slithering in through my mailbox almost daily for months have been warnings of the demise of Sky's analogue service "later this year." The latest bears the bleak legend "shutdown," sweetened by offers of a free digibox, a free minidish and a...

Make it for the US.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... If PBS audiences are switching off UK imports, what makes the US public service channel think they'll switch on to commissions co-funded by our very own Carlton? Anastasia Kershaw asks its boss Carlton International is glowing with...

10 rounds with Ali.(Muhammad Ali)
August 1, 2001... As TWI combines the might of its sporting archive with its newfound experience of non-sports programming, Sam Espensen talks fighting talk with the makers of a new Muhammad Ali documentary Phil Grabsky, the director of Ali - Through the...

Who calls the toonz?
August 1, 2001... A successful kids animation property can be a TV goldmine. But the people controlling the rights to those money-spinning properties are often not the creators themselves. With licence fees dropping and the marketplace getting tougher, Jon...

In it for the money.
August 1, 2001... To the bewilderment of many, media industries are still a magnet for City investment. Simon Meek meets 3i's investment manager for media and leisure, and asks how he can set about getting [pound]25m The venture capitalist is a simple...

Audio for video.(sound production and editing sector in video post-production)
August 1, 2001... Sporadic is one way of describing the audio post market. Another is insanely unpredictable. Simon Meek takes a look at the market and talks to the people behind the desks. Do producers hold sound in enough esteem to support an entire industry...

Waterside expands in Edinburgh.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Waterside has invested [pound]250k in kit and staff in a bid to capture more of the Scottish broadcast facilities market. Avid off and online suites are under construction at its Edinburgh facility, and a new graphic design department is...

Picardy breaks into England.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Picardy Media Group has purchased Cheshire-based Alphabet Communications, expanding its operations south of the border and stamping its brand on the TV-convergence market. MD lain Hogg says the decision to move the business into England is...

Avid is shipping its Newscutter Effects version 2.5.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Avid is shipping its Newscutter Effects version 2.5, the first nonlinear editing system to conform to the D10, 5OMbit mpeg standard. The D10 format has been codified by SMPTE and defines an mpeg format having constant-length frames. The system...

Peloton builds Panasonic house.(construction by Peloton Media of digital video disc authoring facilities)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Peloton Media, the brainchild of ex-Tele-Cine Jeff Emerson, is in the final stages of constructing Panasonic's London-based DVD operation ready for a September launch. The group was approached by the OEM to act as consultant on the design,...

Lipsync buys tape-to-film kit.(Lipsync Post)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Lipsync Post has bought two Management Graphics film recorders and appointed Kevin Phelam and Simon Burley to head-up its finishing department. The Solitaire machines allow Lipsync to move even further towards a one-stop-shop facility. Up...

Architect builds Mutiny promo.(Sam Brady's production of animated music video)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... A video for Virgin dance act Mutiny has been animated by Flynn new-recruit Sam Brady in his directorial debut. His architectural background is reflected in the promo Virus, for release later this month, which is built around wireframe models...

Phoenix Tools has released the first collection of shaders for Softimage XSI.(light filters)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... Phoenix Tools has released the first collection of shaders for Softimage XSI. Surface Treatment 1.0 has 21 effects encompassing texture, star-light and real-surface shaders. The company intends to add more shaders to this collection, which is...

Side Effects has entered into an alliance with Metal Images to support its renderer for Houdini 5.(animation software)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Side Effects has entered into an alliance with Metal Images to support its renderer for Houdini 5. The new output driver will be demonstrated at Side Effects' Houdini user group meeting at Siggraph this month. The companies are now beta-testing...

The update for 3DS Max (version 4.2) is now available to download free from Discreet's website.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2001... The update for 3DS Max (version 4.2) is now available to download free from Discreet's website. Enhancements include overall memory efficiency; performance increases in Trackview, Particles, RPF and Activeshade; and workflow enhancements in...

UK education gets shake-up.(Nothing Real)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Nothing Real's high-speed compositing system, Shake, is making further inroads into the UK market as 60 licences enter London-based education centres. Tyrell supplied both the Finishing School and the University of Westminster with 30...

BBC Technology on Real rampage.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Real Networks has entered into an alliance with BBC Technology to deploy its Real System iQ. The system will allow external producers and rights-holders to use the BBC to host their content for the first time. This places Technology among...

Spruce sells out to Apple.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... The pending acquisition of Spruce Technologies by Apple poses question for the pro-DVD community: could the Mac monopolist be broadening its portfolio to NT? Views are mixed in Soho. On the one hand Spruce's financial stability will no...

IABM elects management.(International Association of Broadcasting Manufacturers)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... The International Association of Broadcasting Manufacturers has elected a management committee to represent it for the next two years. Continuing as chairman is Martin Salter, and joint-deputy chairmen are David MacGregor (TSL) and Derek...

Solving post's Chinese puzzle.(restructuring of video production companies)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... As Shootingbox sees its traditional market being eroded, it's time to move on. Eric Trometer points the way Last year I joined forces with Janusz Szczerek with the goal of restructuring his production-facilities company, Shootingbox. From...

California dreaming.(Siggraph 2001 in Los Angeles, California)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Siggraph 2001: is it just a design show for eggheads who need a new job, or who want to pontificate about the future? Or has it lost it's academic reputation in favour of the hard-sell? Sam Espensen finds out who goes, and whether it's just for...