Televisual articles from August 2002

Televisual archives from August 2002

Hobbins Sides shuts up shop as design market takes a dive. (Graphics).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Design company Hobbins Sides closed its doors after 10 years this month. Co-owner Andrew Sides believes that "in terms of the TV industry, there's no room for medium-sized outfits like us." He put the closure down to a fall in business that...

IVCA pitches in to make interactive TV happen. (New Media).(International Visual Communication)(Association)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Corporate producers' trade body IVCA is issuing its own challenge to come up with mold-breaking interactive TV. It is launching an "interactive TV pitch" for December's new media Biz-Nets, inviting iTV ideas that have infotainment,...

Suite move for West 1 staff. (Facilities).(new broadcast house established)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... The core editing staff of West 1 Television, part of the 4MC Group, have left to set up new Soho broadcast house, Suite. The [pounds sterling]750k venture is 50% owned by Suite and 50% by Component md Jeff Firth in a private investment. ...

UK premieres line up at Fox Kids. (Broadcast).(autumn line-up)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Fox Kids UK's autumn line-up features a tranche of UK TV premieres. Cinegroupe's Pig City follows the adventures of Mikey, a country bumpkin pig who moves to the big city. Power Rangers Wild Force is the latest from the Lycra-clad,...

The Mill. (In Brief).(Saatchi & Saatchi to use Beam broadband system)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... The Mill's broadband system, Beam. TV is to be used by all Saatchi & Saatchi's global holdings. Saatchi head of TV Mark Hanrahan says he will give "preferential treatment to companies with their reels on Beam." Beam. TV replaces couriering tape...

Sheffield International Documentary Festival. (In Brief).("The Game of their Lives" to premiere)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... The ninth Sheffield International Documentary Festival has announced its 2002 programme highlights. The cinema version of The Game of their Lives, the story of the North Korean team's success in the 66 world cup, gets its UK premiere; also...

Maverick Media. (In Brief).(Tristan Ramsey appointment)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Maverick Media has signed graduate designer Tristan Ramsey to its roster. He is already working with Maverick director Seamus Masterson on a promo featuring Lara Croft, and animation clips for a forthcoming documentary about cybernetics for the...

White. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Along with this month's Televisual comes a free DVD White, featuring some top promos as voted for by the industry, a selection of animated short films, and Cream - the Televisual team's pick of the last six months. Also featured are showreels...

Sledge and Clear whip up a storm for Sugababes. (Promos).(Sledge Entertainment UK)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Sledge director Phil Griffin describes his promo for the Sugababes song Round and Round as having the "sense of a live gig with an ominous, reactive narrative" putting the girls at the centre of a tornado. The single is due for release later...

Cicada digs for new Chinese terracotta army. (Broadcast).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Cicada had to grapple with six separate Chinese authorities to film The Emperor's Eternal Armies, a 50-minute documentary about discovering a new Chinese terracotta army. Shot at a closely-guarded dig, footage of the unearthing of tens of...

Bermuda toons-up Michael J Fox. (Commercials).(Aquafina ads feature animation from Bermuda Shorts)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Bermuda Shorts turns Michael J Fox into 2D for this US spot for Pepsi's bottled water, Aquafina. The animation was mixed with specially-shot live-action water. Effects and dissolves were created and combined with the animation and...

Poor Lena. (Promos).(Sam Arthur's new promotion for DJ Vadim)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Sam Arthur's new promo for DJ Vadim, being created using After Affects and Final Cut; is Arthur's first 100% Mac job. The RHB director says the theme of soft cuddly animals is a hold-over from his Royksopp promo for Poor Lena, though this time...

Miramax. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Miramax and Lego are in development with an animated feature based on Lego's Bionicle range. One of Lego's most successful brands ever, it features biomechanical characters in a primitive setting, drawing inspiration from exotic folklore. The...

All Films. (In Brief).(All Films' Egg motion picture)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... All Films' Egg, from director Clive Richards, tells the story of an eater becoming eaten in a short to be shown at Rushes Soho Shorts. Shooting on 35mm, The Film Editors did the EDL, which was telecined at MPC. Discreet's Dan Harvey conformed...

Cosgrove Hall. (In Brief).(creates new animated family for Manchester United's website)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Cosgrove Hall's Ben Turner has created a Flash-animated soap-opera family for Manchester United's website. Toon family The Oddkinsons will be used as a viral marketing tool - the first episode of the show will launch anew strip. Colin, Terence...

BBC ups cash for landmark docs. (Broadcast).(British Broadcasting Corporation Ltd. increases spending on specialist documentaries)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... The BBC plans to increase spending on specialist documentaries to [pounds sterling]266m over the next three years across BBC1 and BBC2, doubling the current budget. The corporation will use the extra cash to fund more "landmark" projects...

Artsworld faces shutdown. (Broadcast).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Digital arts channel Artsworld is to cease broadcasting at the end of July after only 18 months on air. The pay-TV channel created by Jeremy Isaacs was set up to screen live performances of opera, jazz and ballet as well as arthouse films...

Keating gives up the arts job. (People).(Roly Keating to resign from position as head of arts commissioning at the BBC)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... BBC4 controller Roly Keating is to drop his other role of head of arts commissioning across the BBC. Keating has been doing both jobs since December, but the BBC's new emphasis on arts programming means the role will be substantially...

Gullane's U-turn over Hit bid. (Deals).(Gullane Entertainment PLC accepts acquisition offer from HIT Entertainment PLC)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Thomas the Tank Engine owner Gullane has finally recommended an offer from Hit Entertainment to its shareholders. The two companies have wrangled for years over the correct price for Gullane. Hit's offer of about [pounds sterling]139m is to...

Viewers are up for iTV. Are you? (The Business News).(interactive television)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... This summer's world cup and Big Brother have marked a new phase in interactive TV, reckons Mindhouse director Steve Scott The world cup had the most enhanced interactive coverage yet, and proved the willingness of audiences to get more...

News storyboard.(multiple topics)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... * Red Kite Productions' The Emperor is a sideways look at the French leader Napoleon, and features the auction of his genitals. Elizabeth Hobbs uses traditional watercolour techniques for the film. * With an epsiode a month since February...

TWI shoots Superman films. (Broadcast).(Christopher Reeves)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... TWI is concluding 18 months of work on three shows about Superman actor Christopher Reeves, who was paralysed in an accident seven years ago. Reeves vowed he would walk again by his 50th birthday (in September this year), and has been...

Nexus, Vehicle and Rudi team up for Mint Royale. (Promos).(Nexus Productions)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... The eponymous star of Mint Royale's The Sexiest Man in Jamaica is Rudi, a buck rabbit with a dodgy eye, a gold tooth and an open-top Bel Air. Nexus Productions' Vehicle-directed promo follows perennial loser Rudi as he gets beaten up,...

The green light. (In Production News).(television program production)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Gub Neal's Box TV has started filming its BBC1 drama series Trust. Commissioner Gareth Neame says the programme, set in a City law-firm, will be "a precinct show along the American model of LA Law, Ally McBeal and The West Wing." The series...

PS Creative. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Worcestershire-based PS Creative has put together titles for controversial Carlton show Mum's the Word. The upcoming ITV programme is a dating show for single mums, in which their kids pick prospective dates. Nicola Scurlock designed the logo...

Lambie Nairn. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Lambie Nairn has created the identity and brand elements for a block of Discovery Kids programming airing in October on NBC. Selected after a five-way pitch, James Quayle, head of strategy at Lambie Nairn, says the challenge was to create a...

TSI. (In Brief).(BBC Broadcast)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... TSI and BBC Broadcast produced this promo for BBC NI's Newsline. Director Hans Odd's 16mm location footage was combined with graphic sequences of the inside of a tape machine. TSI's Malcolm Dalton got the footage using a motion-control camera...

Rushes Soho Shorts festival. (Story Board News).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... The Rushes Soho Shorts festival takes place this month, so Storyboard looks at a selection of the nominees for the animation category. Featuring work from Aardman to Rose Hackney Barber, the cast of characters includes: sexy simians;...

FilmFour goes back to basics. (Film).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Do you care that Four Weddings and a Funeral is a Channel 4 film? And does it make you want to switch to the FilmFour channel -- if you could get it? While the BBC was busy saving DTT, over at C4 the loss of ITV Digital's 1m paying...

ITV Digital. (Month in Review).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... While the rest of ITV Digital's staff shuffle off to the dole queue, marketing boss Jeremy Dale has bagged the plum job of head of marketing at mobile phone operator Orange. That's just more proof that the only half decent creation to emanate...

Memo to Carlton and Granada. (Month in Review).(Granada Media)(Carlton Communications)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Memo to Carlton and Granada: If you want to mess with someone, don't mess with the football league. A letter sent by league chairman Keith Harris (no, not the one with the duck) to the home addresses of Carlton and Granada bosses might be just...

Christ on a bike. (Month in Review).(Terry Wogan and Chris Evans)(Channel 5 Broadcasting)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Christ on a bike! No, just Terry Wogan. Chris Evans's return to Blighty after a year getting sozzled in LA started a slew of rumours in TV land. What had he got up his sleeve? No one guessed it would be Terry Wogan perched on the back of a...

Opinions.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Corporate pond-life Your Corporate Top 50 once again rounded up the usual suspects, giving an average turnover of [pounds sterling]2.5m all round. But all round who? The companies that reply to your survey are the ones that know they...

ITV struggles for the controls.(ITV Network)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... "Thank God airtime buyers don't control networks" was David Liddiment's feisty reply to a question raised by one-such over the future of The Bill. That was in 1998, after his first 100 days running the ITV Network, as he sent ITV advertisers...

Fly the red flag: name any good TV drama of recent years and the chances are that it came from Manchester's Red Productions. Sam Espensen speaks to its founder about her plans for its new venture, Red Entertainment. (Interview: Nicola Shindler).(Brief Article)(Interview)
August 1, 2002... Nicola Shindler is a busy woman. The former script editor's company has just finished shooting The Second Coming for ITV, and is near completion of Flesh and Blood, a feature-length drama to go out on BBC2 this autumn. A second series of Linda...

Pass the Monkey Dust: picked from a web dictionary of drugs slang, the title of Talkback's new sketch-show headed the slates of four London animation studios for most of last spring. Mundy Ellis learns how it all came together. (In Production Animation).(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2002... The sun goes down on a pretty park in Any-town, butterflies are scattered as a great black crow swoops down and laughing children pull out their knives. This is the dark world of Talkback's new animated sketch-show: "always grim and always...

Cartoons for big kids. (Animation).(animation for adults grows in popularity)
August 1, 2002... Animation in the UK has traditionally been limited to either kids TV or late-night Channel 4 slots. But now it's starting to muscle its way into the mainstream schedules, and indies best-known for their live-action work are moving into...

Long live Channel 4 animation. (Animation Camilla Deakin and Ruth Fielding).
August 1, 2002... Camilla Deakin and Ruth Fielding formed Lupus Films early this year. Jon Creamer asks them about the death of the C4 animation department and why, when it comes to toon indies, small is beautiful There's quite a contrast between the shining...

Century's nastier side: Brian Hill's new Channel 4 film on domestic violence is a drama, not his trade-mark documentary. (In Production).(Century Films)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... He tells Sam Espensen why, and how his eye for actuality affects his work with actors Century Films' subjects over the last few years have been varied. After Killing Time, a poem by Simon Armitage turned into a drama featuring chris...

Audio for video. (Audio for Video Production File).
August 1, 2002... Never an easy barometer to read, the audio-post industry has weathered its fair share of storms over the past year. While most facilities are managing to stay afloat, the squeeze on budgets has left some stranded on the rocks. The past...

BBC adds OB truck for the games. (Technology).(BBC Resources)(outside broadcast)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Megahertz Broadcast has installed a new OB vehicle for BBC Resources to provide linking and studio facilities at sporting events starting with the Commonwealth Games. The 14m-long double expanding trailer, built by Smiths, can accomodate 24...

Cintel in the frame to buy ITK. (Technology).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... UK telecine manufacturer ITK, which went into administration on 10 July, could be bought by rival Cintel. Joint md Delphi Durrant confirmed that Cintel (which settled out-of-court with ITK in July 2000 after charging it with patent...

3DS Max. (In Brief).(Discreet upgrades 3DS Max software)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Discreet has responded to price-cuts in the 3D software products of Alias and Softimage with a major upgrade to 3DS Max. V5 features advanced radiosity rendering and improved polymodelling tools. Max, which boasts 160,000 seats worldwide, was...

Socratto takes aim at Discreet. (Technology).(VFX aims to top Discreet's Inferno with Socratto software)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... VFX, maker of the embryonic software finishing system Socratto, has set a three-year target to knock Discreet's Inferno from the top of the post-production pecking order. However the product's official launch has been reset from IBC 2002 to NAB...

New Liquid lens system patented by One8Six. (Technology).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... An in-camera effects system which can create underwater or snow effects at a fraction of the cost of post-production techniques has been designed by camera hire company One8Six. The Liquid Lens, which sandwiches a fluid and a series of...

The Mill shutters The Lab. (Facilities).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... The Mill is to close its 18-month-old interactive unit The Lab next month with the loss of two jobs. The department was an experimental venture into interactive advertising, DVD design and website animation which, says md Robin Shenfield,...

Lipsync transplants D'Adda. (Facilities).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Director Christian D'Adda, best-known for promos for The Manic Street Preachers, Supernaturals and Witness, has completed Chasm, a darkly comic short film about a thriving black market in replacement body-parts. Shot on 35mm, the 12-minute...

The Audio Suite. (In Briefs).(opens in Birmingham)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... New broadcast facility The Audio Suite has opened in Birmingham led by former Optical Image head of audio, Neil Hillman. He says his aim is to bring the spirit of Soho to the city. "I've taken a risk basing the business here, but I'm already...

Omnibus. (In Briefs).(plans to revamp company as a broadcast consultancy)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Omnibus' new ceo, Sanjaya Addanki, plans to help the broadcast engineering company evolve as a broadcast consultancy. "The sea-change which hit the IT industry in the 90s is about to hit broadcasting," he notes. "It's possible that the brand...

Print Out Video. (In Briefs).(created informational CD-Roms)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Print Out Video has encoded 20,000 CD-Roms for the DTI using video created by production outfit Eagle Vision. The CD-Roms, each dealing with a specific country, contain information about the set-up and export of UK business. The project, which...

Head 'em up, move' em out. (Siggraph the Works).(San Antonio, Texas conference)(computer animation)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Siggraph 2002: it's a long way to go, but its fun when you get there. This month Texas hosts the mighty cg-fest where crowd-replication, new improved renderers and virtual reality Samurai will be all the rage. Adrian Pennington sneaks a...

Avid to pass up IBC 2003. (Technology).(Avid Technology Inc.)(International Broadcasting Convention)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Avid's Naked road-show, with which it has controversially replaced exhibiting at this year's IBO, is likely to continue through 2003, according to vp European sales and operations, Graham Sharp. Rival manufacturers have accused Avid of...

Real drives fee-paying internet. (New Media).(Real Networks launches European version)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
August 1, 2002... Real Networks has launched a European version of its subscription-only content streaming service Superpass. For [pounds sterling]9.99 to [pounds sterling]14.99 per month, subscribers will receive, among other content, BBC News 24, CNN.com,...

Media 100 cuts its losses. (Technology).(financial information)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2002... Media 100, which reported net losses of [pounds sterling]2.5m for its second quarter to 31 May, continues to bank on sales of its content design system, 844/X. Net sales for the second quarter (for all products) was up 46% on the first...

Jones switches to Soho 601. (Facilities).(Mike Wilkie resigns from Soho 601; to be replaced to Mike Wilkie)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Liberty Livewire London has been thrown into further turmoil by the resignation of Soho 601 md Mike Wilkie. Wilkie is replaced by Paul Jones, previously facilities director at Rushes where he helped launch new media department Rocket....

BBC demands to improve supply. (The Business the Works).(British Broadcasting Corporation Ltd.)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... BBC head of procurement Beverley Tew spells out the thinking behind the BBC's preferred supplier list The BBC is examining ways to improve working with postproduction suppliers in factual and learning department, so that we can create an...

The bigger picture. (VW Promotion).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2002... Panoramic films for a spherical cinema are among the projects on the go at a new arm of Glassworks, which aims to use cg and animation to craft tailored branding events for commercials clients Second-guessing how TV advertising will develop...

Production directory. (A-V).
August 1, 2002... THE A-Z OF PRODUCTION SERVICES ACCOUNTANTS CHARING & COMPANY, Chartered Accountants. Providing comprehensive services to the entertainment industry, you will like our friendly and non-jargon approach. 6 Sewardstone Road, Waltham...

A tiger by the tail. (In My View).(Charles Brand of Tiger Aspect)(Interview)
August 1, 2002... With a degree in history and politics, it didn't take Charles Brand long to get into kids and LE production. After a stint at LWT, he got the chance to produce the Nelson Mandela concert and didn't look back. Sam Espensen chats to the man who...

August TX guide. (The End).
August 1, 2002... A PRODUCER'S GUIDE TO THE MONTH ON THE BOX Children Behaving Badly 1 August, 20.30: Channel 4 If you see the school holidays as a bit of an obstacle course, this four-part series could cheer you up with stories of parents dealing with...

Hair-in-the-gate. (The End).
August 1, 2002... SOCCER NICKS TV TRICKS TO FIX DIGITAL DISASTER Football clubs strapped for cash after the ITV Digital deal fell over have caught on to the sale-and-leaseback dodge once so loved by TV producers. It seems players like England's Rio...