Televisual articles from August 2005

Televisual archives from August 2005

Fremantle Media targets 3G and broadband with new division.(Fremantle Media UK Productions)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... Fremantle Media has signalled its ambitions for 3G and broadband with the creation of a New Platforms division to be led by board-member Catherine Mackay. The new division will concentrate on producing and supplying "original...

More changes at Talkback Thames as coo quits.(Sally Debonnaire resigns, Camilla Lewis comes in)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... The latest staff-change at Talkback Thames since the appointment of its new ceo comes with the departure of chief operating officer Sally Debonnaire after 12 years at the independent. Debonnaire announced her departure from Talkback a week...

IN BRIEF: Independent re-branding.(Brian Waddell Productions changes its name to Waddell Media)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... Northern Irish independent Brian Waddell Productions is re-branding itself Waddell Media. The name-change is an attempt to move into what md Brian Waddell calls "a new multi-media age." The company has been in business for 17 years, and is...

IN BRIEF: South West Screen project.(support for film and multi-media production in the region)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... South West Screen has announced a new #1.1m project to support TV, film and multi-media production in the region, with the backing of (among others) the BBC, Channel 4 and the European Social Fund. Caroline Norbury, chief executive at South...

IN BRIEF: Direct sale.(Tern Television sells its documentary to PBS)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... Tern Television has made a direct sale of its 60-minute doc Gutted to US broadcaster PBS. The programme details the plight of the UK fishing industry and won a Bafta Scotland in 2004. Tern's Harry Bell calls Gutted a "landmark documentary,"...

RDF gets first-look at Blast!(RDF Rights signs Blast (UK))(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... RDF Rights has signed up Tina Goes Shopping producer Blast! Films in a two-year first-look deal for all its international TV and consumer product rights. Blast! Films is currently in production on a six-part BBC ob-doc looking at the...

Celador to put monsters on TV.(Celador International)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... Celador International is to develop new 39x7-minute pre-school animation series based on the kids' book property, (Not So) Scary Monsters. Celador International already works with the brand's creators, The Monster Factory, to license the...

IN BRIEF: New independent.(Peter Georgi launches independent Halo Films)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... Co-founder of Dangerous Films Peter Georgi has launched a new independent, Halo Films, with new projects already on the go. Based in Bristol, he is developing two kids science shows as well as several "socially based" documentaries. Georgi's...

UK animators gang up to bring dinosaurs to life.(Collingwood O'Hare Entertainment teams up with Silver Fox Films )(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... UK animators Collingwood O'Hare and Silver Fox Films have teamed up to produce a 2D kids series about a boy whose toy dinosaurs magically come to life. The 52x11-minute series Harry and his Bucket Full of Dinosaurs is based on the books...

Initial enlists Robinsons Fruit Shoots for CITV show.(Endemol)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... CITV's Estelle Hughes has commissioned Endemol-owned indie Initial to make a new show that aims to promote energetic lifestyles to children - with financial backing from Robinsons Fruit Shoots. The drinks company gets sponsorship stings...

IN BRIEF: Trunk commission.(MTV Networks Europe)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... Animation outfit Trunk has been handed a commission to create a short film for MTV Load. Leap of Faith is a 3D film (still in production) about a robot jumping from a bridge and losing his head. The director is Trunk's Steve Smith and...

IN BRIEF: Animated Mount Snowdon.(Griffilms)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... Griffilms created an animated Mount Snowdon to allow the TV commentators on the annual Snowdon race to show viewers the progress of the runners. Griffilms' Hywel Griffith directed the mountain animation, with 3D work by Iwan Jones and Rob...

Promo for Marc Carroll.(Sherbet director Ali Taylor)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... Sherbet director Ali Taylor's latest promo for Marc Carroll takes its inspiration from The Yellow Submarine and the works of Heath Robinson to create a magical garden tended by the singer on a flying bicycle. Illustrator Emma Bray designed...

Two Four takes Dead Famous to LA.(Two Four Productions Ltd.)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... Two Four is heading to LA to make a set of three four-hour live shows of the Living TV paranormal series Dead Famous, which will be beamed back to Britain from the US. The shows will visit old film studios, notorious hotel rooms and...

IN BRIEF: 3D look at 2D photographs.(Cable News Network's advertisement)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... Devilfish takes a 3D look at a series of 2D photographs for a new spot advertising CNN's 3G service, CNN Mobile. The ad has safe, comfortable environments like a golf course or an office foyer with taglines like "see a hostage released...

History remade for big screen.(Alan Bennett's play 'The History Boys' to be made into a movie)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... Shooting has begun on The History Boys, the movie adaptation of the National Theatre's production of Alan Bennett's play. Bennett adapted his own script for the screen and the play's director, Nicholas Hytner, takes the helm for the movie...

Pink and co create new breast cancer campaign.(Final Cut, Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe, Pink Film Company, MPC)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R, The Pink Film Company, MPC and Final Cut all provided their services free for a new cinema and TV campaign for Breakthrough Breast Cancer. The campaign is to publicise Fashion Targets Breast Cancer, where...

IN BRIEF: Channel branding.(Rob Hifle, Carys Hull of BDH Ltd.)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... BDH creative directors Rob Hifle and Carys Hull created the channel branding for GXT, a new channel launched by Jetix Europe in Italy for 12-17-year-old boys. The graphics have live-action kids bmx-ing and skateboarding; they are shot on...

IN BRIEF: Idents for Five.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... Idents for Five's new daytime movie slot were conceived by Five's Dom Sykes and Funktion's Tobin Goffe. The spots show Five viewers transported from boring situations to magical ones - the view from a bus of a dingy high-street becomes a...

New six-part drama series.(Jimmy McGovern to write for British Broadcasting Corp.)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... Cracker writer Jimmy McGovern has been commissioned to write a new six- part drama series from Granada for BBC1. The unnamed series, set in McGovern's native Liverpool, has each episode telling a different story from a different house in one...

Zig Zag commissions.(Zig Zag Productions)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... Zig Zag has picked up a fistfull of US commissions for Discovery and TLC. The 10x60-minute 15 Films About for Discovery has each episode made up of 15 short films on a particular subject. Zig Zag's London office is producing, with Jes Wilkins...

BBC order.(Shed Productions bags British Broadcasting Corp.'s first order)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... Footballers' Wives producer Shed has bagged its first BBC order with Waterloo Road, a gritty drama set in a tough inner-city school. Filming starts in and around Manchester in September and a BBC1 airing is expected early in 2006. It will be...

Joint comedy initiative.(Five, Paramount Comedy Channel's feel good fiction)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... Five and Paramount Comedy have announced the first show to be commissioned as part of their joint comedy initiative. Feelgood Fiction is in production with Suburban Shootout, an 8x30-minute comedy drama akin to Desperate Housewives about two...

Historical documentary.(Channel Four Television Company Ltd. contracts with Flashback)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... Flashback's latest historical documentary will be presented by Cherie Blair. Married to the PM is a two-hour film for Channel 4 that has the PM's wife looking at the changing role of the UK's "first lady" by interviewing past prime...

IN BRIEF: Spots for Morgan's Spiced Rum.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... Picasso directing team FAQ used a combination of cgi and live action on a new set of spots for Morgan's Spiced Rum. Various oxymorons (working holiday, serious fun) are graphically represented floating on a pool of rum. Jane Bolton was...

CBBC boss sets out stall.(Alison Sharman)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... New CBBC head Alison Sharman plans to reshape kids' TV to a more on- demand model and is reshuffling her staff. At the Showcomotion Festival last month, she focussed on the part that new technology would play in kids' TV, saying the...

ITV4 gets launch date and kids' service.(ITV PLC)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... ITV has confirmed that its new channel ITV4 will launch on 1 November and looks likely to launch its own childrens' service during the new channel's daytime hours. Some #15m is currently set aside for ITV4, a channel that will target a...

S4C names fund-winners.(Cardif, Tinopolis, Cwmni Da, Green Bay )(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... Five companies are to share S4C's #1m development fund. Awards ranging from #100k to #350k go to The Boomerang Group, Green Bay and Presentable in Cardiff; Tinopolis in Llanelli; and Caernarfon's Cwmni Da, which merges with Tonfedd Eryri. ...

Contender splits and looks for cash.(Contender Entertainment Group)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... Contender Entertainment Group is splitting into two new divisions and hopes to raise #10m in venture capital. The cash will be used to fund the creation of intellectual properties. Its own Peppa Pig has just gone live in the US on the...

Lyons leaves Siriol.(Robin Lyons resigns from Siriol Productions)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... Md of Cardiff-based Siriol Productions Robin Lyons has left the Entertainment Rights (ER)-owned company to set up his own independent, Calon. He has also bought the rights to several Siriol titles. ER will now bring all of Siriol's...

Keep TV short and sweet.(Sanjay Nazerali on television advertising)
August 2, 2005... Sanjay Nazerali, md of The Depot, says it's bite-size chunks that keep viewers hungry for more TV is the most promiscuous world there is. As channels, we're members of an enormous harem called the Sky EPG, in which the viewer picks us...

ID lures 4 finance man.(appointment at ID Media)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... ID Distribution has appointed a new finance director and is racking up sales for Betty TV. The former 4 Ventures finance head Glen Reid (whose CV includes helping to launch E4, FilmFour and Five) will now direct ID's financial strategy....

Electric Sky bags MapTV output.(Sky 1 to broadcast Michael Attwell's map tv: 9/11 united us)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... Electric Sky has picked up a clutch of acquisitions, including two historical documentaries from director Michael Attwell's Map TV: 9/11 United Us for Sky 1, about friendships formed in the disaster's aftermath; and The Week They Elected the...

Granada sells to the Americas.(Granada International sells BBC1 documentary death of a policeman to CBS Inc.)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... Granada International has sold True North's BBC1 documentary Death of a Policeman, about murderer David Bieber, to CBS in the US. And Granada America's 16x1-hour series Nanny 911, which won Fox top ratings in its Monday-night slot, is now...

RDF factual spree.(RDF Rights strikes a deal with Firecracker Films)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... RDF Rights has struck a two-year first-look deal with Firecracker Films, covering its upcoming Real Attack of the 50ft Women for Channel 4. Other C4 docs snapped up are Steve Boulton's Being Pamela and The Extraordinary Village from...

US boss for Avalon.(appointment at Avalon Television Ltd.)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... Avalon TV has appointed former Fox TV Studios vp David Martin as its US president. The aim is to develop comedy and drama for the US using Avalon's UK formats and talent base. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

The facts, just the facts.(Cineflix International's Paul Heaney)(Interview)
August 2, 2005... Paul Heaney, md of Cineflix International, sets out what he can do for UK producers What kind of money can you put into a production? 10% and up depending on the show and how commercial it is. How much development cash can you put...

BBC rewards leave staff cold.(British Broadcasting Corp.)
August 2, 2005... "On the whole, the BBC is achieving value for money," says Jeremy Peat, chairman of the broadcaster's audit committee, which has delivered four independent reports to Parliament over the BBC's activities. These words are likely to put a...

MONTH IN REVIEW.(Edinburgh International Television Festival)(ITV PLC on the verge of renewing British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC)
August 2, 2005... This year's Edinburgh International Television Festival promises "dead bodies, politics and lots of people having sex," boasts its advisory chair and Endemol chief creative officer Tim Hincks. First up is Gunther von Hagens with his...

Letter: Digital brings out the bitch.(Letter to the Editor)
August 2, 2005... The industry seems to be sharply divided over when going digital is good for a production and when it's not. As stated in last month's article on digital intermediates (Chemical or Digital?), there's little resistance to using the DI...

Letter: Dinner time at Arthurcox.(Letter to the Editor)
August 2, 2005... You ran a news story in the In Production pages of Televisual's July issue about our new animated pilot - backed by S4C - which we are going to take to Cartoon Forum in September. The children's series is a mix of 2D and 3D animation, and...

OPINION: Mobile TV speaks louder than words.(Third generation wireless technology)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... On 6 July I bought a 3G mobile phone. On 7 July I watched in disbelief some mobile video footage of the London tube bombings, taken in the depths of an underground tunnel. The footage was happily not sent direct to my phone by a friend or...

INTERVIEW - PETER LOVERING: US Discovers UK.(British Broadcasting Corp.)(Interview)
August 2, 2005... Jane Root's eyes and ears in the UK, Peter Lovering, tells Jon Creamer what kind of programming he's looking to source from British producers for export across the pond Discovery US has long been a major customer for UK product. BBC2...

BLEAK HOUSE: Do it like Dickens.(British Broadcasting Corp.)
August 2, 2005... An epic chiller-thriller wound around a bitter legal battle comes to BBC1 this autumn in bite-sized pieces - just as its author intended 150 years ago. Christina Pishiris reports A row of well-worn riding boots abandon the struggle to...

ANIMATION - GAMES: Next up: games vs film.
August 2, 2005... Animation for games has long played second-fiddle to TV and film, but no more. Simon Meek explores the games market and the impact that next- generation consoles will have on its productions Animation for computer games has always suffered...

CLAIRE HEYS: Brand and deliver.(Interview)
August 2, 2005... As Ofcom loosens the rules on programme sponsorship, Rachel Murrell talks to Flextech and UKTV's ad-funded programming boss about the possibilities for producers and broadcasters as well as for clients Life for Claire Heys has just become a...

NEW MEDIA: 3G or not 3G?(Third generation wireless technology)
August 2, 2005... Have you got a TV idea that will keep the population glued to its third- generation mobiles? If so, here's a mare's-nest of interests to negotiate before you can get those downloads out and some cash in What works on a mobile is the...

London's Clear back in business.(vfx-house Clear)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... Vfx-house Clear is back on its feet after a tumultuous month, which saw the facility enter administration and resurface with an operator-led MBO. Inferno operators Simon Huhtala, Derek Moore and Ben Murry, Clear's head of 3D John...

Glassworks plans TK department.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... Soho vfx outfit Glassworks has placed an order for a Spirit 4K datacine, which will be the hub of a telecine suite it hopes to have open by the end of the year. The new department will be headed by VTR colourist Tareq Kubaisi, who is...

IN BRIEF: CTV OB acquired.(European Broadcast Facilities)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... CTV OB, its 13 trucks and 85 staff have been acquired by European Broadcast Facilities. The London outfit - which provided trucks for Endemol's Fame Academy and The Games - now has a "wider reach," says commercial director Adam Berger. Most of...

Post houses rally against Crossrail.( Post Office)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... The capital's post-houses are organising meetings to assess the potentially disastrous impact on business of London's Crossrail project. The move follows a second reading of the Crossrail Bill in Parliament and London's 2012 Olymipic...

DVD outfits sign up to new association for HD formats.(High Definition Authoring Alliance)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... Authoring houses across the globe are pooling resources and technical expertise to ensure a timely and successful introduction of the high- definition DVD formats. The facilities are signing up to the High Definition Authoring Alliance...

IN BRIEF: Strongroom expands.(Strongroom Post )(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... Sound house Strongroom Post has expanded into picture editing after seeing a number of production companies spring up in London's Shoreditch area. The facility has installed an Avid Symphony and Media Composer Adrenaline HD. It also offers...

IN BRIEF: Broadcast news.(Inmedia Communications acquires Arqiva)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... Playout, transmission and uplink outfit Inmedia Communications has been snapped up by Arqiva - formerly NTL Broadcast - for #68.6m. Arqiva has a track-record in UK terrestrial and satellite transmission while Inmedia has a more...

Rental outfits commit to HD kit.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... Rental outfit Gearhouse Broadcast has put aside #6m to spend on HD kit over the next financial year. The company has bought two sets of Canon HD triple digit zoom lenses as part of the investment. This kit is earmarked for use on the...

Tax-breaks before the sector does.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... The UK film services industry are scrutinising Treasury proposals for changes in film tax-breaks, which are due to come into effect spring 2006. The consultation paper's release closely follows the shock closure of London's Creature Shop...

IN BRIEF: HD kit.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... London facility Martyr TV has spent #225k on HD kit, which includes an Avid Symphony Nitris and Sony HDCam vtr. Ascent Media's Todd-AO has bought a Quantel eQ fitted with QColor. Meanwhile, CC-Lab becomes the latest production company to buy...

SIGGRAPH: Graphics for everyone.
August 2, 2005... Convergence between the once very distinct industries of TV, film and computer games has never been so apparent than at this years Siggraph. For those of you planning the trip to Los Angeles this month (30 July 4 August) theres a host of...

OPTRONICA: A sound visual trip.
August 2, 2005... The fusion of audio and visuals has long been an underground phenomenon, from early experimental film through to the club and art worlds. Here are three revolutionary projects staged at the BFI The electronic music scene is embracing...

Sofa-wars at the Bells.
August 2, 2005... Well-established in factual TV, Tern Television is now looking to break into drama. Spearheading this move is creative director Harry Bell, who loves using his red button but has no time for ads How much TV do you watch? Every night...

Gordon and BB mean no nightmares for Channel 4.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2005... Despite a mere eight minutes of new footage, the last episode in the series of Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares put in another impressive performance on 5 July, when Optomen's angry chef had 3.9m viewers at 21.00. Sun Hill spin-off Murder...