Televisual articles from January 2004

Televisual archives from January 2004

Jane Fuller winds down JFA to focus on content-creation.(Film)(Azis, Robin)(Fuller, Jane)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... London commercials and promo production house JFA has closed down to release md Jane Fuller to work full-time on the Entertainment Factor, the content business she formed with ex-HHCL ceo Robin Azis in 2002. Fuller says she no longer wants...

Southern Cross in Southern Star takeover bid.(Broadcast)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Australian regional broadcaster Southern Cross has made a bid to buy Southern Star, owners of Oxford Scientific Films and part-owners of Carnival Films and Television in the UK through Southern Star Circle. The deal will see Southern Star's...

Bombers hit Size Nine for 100k [pounds sterling].(Broadcast)(Size 9)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... The first production from Size Nine, the company headed by actor Ray Winstone, his agent Michael Wiggs and producer Joshua St Johnston, has been badly hit by the terrorist attacks in Istanbul. The company was forced to find an extra 100k...

UK film skills levy to be mandatory?(Film)(Skills Investment Fund levy, United Kingdom)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Skillset is to start a consultation excercise throughout the UK film industry on the future of the Skills Investment Fund levy. The levy, which is invested in training, is currently voluntary unless a production has received UK public funding....

Multi Media Arts.(joins with filmmaker Nick Gordon to form new production company called Wild at Heart)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Multi Media Arts and natural history filmmaker Nick Gordon (pictured) have formed a new company, Wild at Heart, to produce natural history and adventure shows. First-up is the 7x1-hour Secrets of the Amazon. The first show in the series is...

Electric Sky has signed an exclusive distribution deal with marine specialist Shark Bay Films to create a niche natural history slate within its catalogue.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Electric Sky has signed an exclusive distribution deal with marine specialist Shark Bay Films to create a niche natural history slate within its catalogue. Under the terms of the agreement, the Brighton-based distributor will sell five new...

One Post has recruited Andy Brown as head of visual effects.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... One Post has recruited Andy Brown as head of visual effects. Brown joins from Blue, where he was head of department and senior Flame operator. Brown has 16 years' experience in vfx and has worked at MPC, The Mill and Soho 601. Recent...

Granada International.(invests in television documentary productions)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Distributor Granada International has invested development funding into three TV projects as part of its campaign to strengthen ties with the independent sector. The Story of Us from Wall to Wall is a 2x 50-minute doc about the human body; The...

Denman creates cg Mars landing for Beagle 2.(Animation)(Denman Productions create animation to accompany coverage of Mars probe landing)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... British Mars probe Beagle 2 is due to touch down on the red planet this Christmas, but pictures of the event will be lacking for the initial stages of the mission. In their place, Twickenham-based Denman Productions was commissioned by the...

Tiger shoots wannabe MPs and bailiffs for BBC.(Broadcast)(British Broadcasting Corp. commissions Tiger Aspect Productions to produce two television documentaries)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Tiger Aspect Productions has won two new BBC commissions for its history and features department. Westminster Wannabes, ordered by BBC3 factual com missioner Celia Taylor, will attempt to "show 20somethings at work and play in a world...

Broadcast.(In Production)(Green Inc., Red Bull team up to produce music television program "Red Bull Music Academy")(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... New 4Music strand Red Bull Music Academy airs this month, featuring masterclasses by dance music stars like Tim Westwood and De La Soul producer Prince Paul; aspiring DJs and producers also get a showcase. Green Inc Film and TV is producing the...

Carlton goes to Oz for dating show.(Broadcast)(Carlton Productions, Artemis International, Australia)(Desperately Seeking Sheila)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Carlton Productions and Australian producer Artemis International--along with the Australian government film arm Screen West--have teamed up to make a 1m [pounds sterling] co-production, Desperately Seeking Sheila. The show is a reality...

Intro.(channel VH2)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Intro is behind the "unashamedly lo-fi and handmade" idents for new music channel VH2. The idents, shot on a movie mobile phone, are short clips showing everyday objects in pairs (sausages in a greasy spoon, sheep in a field, tomatoes in a...

Treatment UK.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Treatment UK's Gavin Boyter directs the promo for Australian band Jet's Look What You've Done, with post at MPC. Ordered by Richard Skinner at East West Records, the promo sees the band playing in a white room before the action freezes, becomes...

Madefire.(produces promotional music video for song by Keane)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Madefire is the new production company behind the promo for This is the Last Time, the second single from new Universal/Island signings Keane. The film mixes live action and cgi and cuts gritty black-and-white footage of the band with images of...

Diverse and Rushes rebuild London.(Broadcast)(documentary chronicles history of London, England)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Diverse TV and Rushes' 3D department are behind an historical recreation of London for a new two-hour documentary, City in Time, going out on Channel4 and Discovery. The programme shows the capital progressing from Roman London to the...

Godman and VTR deliver monster breakfast.(Commercial)(production of television advertisement for Sugarpuffs)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Godman and VTR are behind a new spot for Sugarpuffs that pays homage to Honda's famed Cog ad. Ordered by Tim Riley at Abbot Mead Vickers BBDO, Skateboard features a cunning contraption devised by the Honey Monster that wakes him up and...

Kevin Lygo has ordered Hat Trick's animation series Streatham Hill.(The Green Light)(producer at Channel 4 commissions adult comedy television series)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Kevin Lygo has ordered Hat Trick's animation series Streatham Hill two years after he first commissioned it at the end of his previous stint at C4 (it was dropped after he left). The 13x30-minute adult comedy series, made in partnership with...

John Simm stars as a charity worker.(The Green Light)(television drama produced by LWT and Big Motion Pictures for Channel 4 and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... John Simm stars as a charity worker investigating the case of two Moldovan sisters sold into the sex-trade for a two-part drama for C4 and CBC Canada. Joint producers are LWT and Canada's Big Motion Pictures. John Yorke commissioned for C4, on...

Cardiff animation studio Siriol Productions.(The Green Light)(forms Footpad Films with Wark Clements)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Cardiff animation studio Siriol Productions (part of Entertainment Rights) has teamed with Scottish indie Wark Clements to launch Footpad Films, with a first commission for CiTV in the bag. The 13x25-minute Help! I'm an Outlaw is about a...

Channel X and Vic and Bob's outfit Pett Productions.(The Green Light)(team up to produce television comedy for British Broadcasting Corporation Ltd.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Channel X and Vic and Bob's outfit Pett Productions have teamed up to make a 6x30-minute sitcom, Vic and Bob in Catterick. Set in real time, it's the story of the first three-hour encounter between two brothers who've not seen each other for 15...

Company Pictures' Paul Abbott-penned drama series Shameless.(The Green Light)(ordered for second season by Channel 4)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Company Pictures' Paul Abbott-penned drama series Shameless has been reordered by C4's John Yorke before the first series hits the screen. A further 8x80 minute series will go into production next spring with George Faber. Charlie Pattinson,...

RDF has picked up commissions for ITV and Five.(The Green Light)(company commissioned to produce television programs)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... RDF has picked up commissions for ITV and Five. For ITV is the 6x60-minute Ladette to Lady which puts modern girls through a "boot camp" of etiquette, manners and social graces; and a second series of Plastic Surgery SOS, where individuals...

TBWA's viral graduate recruitment ad (to play on the BBC website) has a small boy working in the agency with the message: "If you're good enough, you're old enough.".(TBWA Advertising Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... TBWA's viral graduate recruitment ad (to play on the BBC website) has a small boy working in the agency with the message: "If you're good enough, you're old enough." Mustard's Cris Mudge directed the spot and John Doris produced. Blue...

Flashback Television.(produces titles for television program on Five)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Flashback Television's in-house design department has created the titles for the new Five strand, The Great Adventure. The sequence was produced by David Edgar and designed by Oliver Baker using After Effects. The titles were ordered by Five...

Hunkydory.(produces anti-piracy message for the Federation Against Copyright Theft)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Hunkydory has made a 30-second spot for the Federation Against Copyright Theft which goes beyond the usual message of the public ripped-off by poor-quality material. The film, sponsored by DHL, explains how organised crime and terrorist groups...

Two top execs quit TVC.(Broadcast)(Television Corporation PLC, Tom Gutteridge, Mark Rowland)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... The Television Corporation sees two top-level resignations with both the group's creative director/ executive director Tom Gutteridge and the md of international Mark Rowland quitting the company. Gutteridge resigned at the end of his...

One in, one out for Channel 4.(Broadcast)(Jo McGrath, Andrew Newman)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Channel 4 has lost its head of features, Jo McGrath, and confirmed the appointment of Andrew Newman as head of entertainment. McGrath's departure follows that of head of features group Ben Frow, who decamped to Five late last year. McGrath,...

Brook Lapping's TV for teachers.(Digital TV)(Department of Education and Science commissions television channel for teachers)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Brook Lapping, part of Ten Alps Communications, will be the main player in a new consortium commissioned by the department for education and skills to provide a TV channel for teachers. The new service, Teachers' TV, is planned for an...

Granada and ITN in archive deal.(Deals)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... A deal has been agreed between Granada International and ITN in which ITN will manage and market Granada's footage archive. The deal will mean the majority of Granada's archive staff at Granada Visual will move over to ITN's Gray's Inn Road...

Robinson quits Disney UK.(Digital TV)(Paul Robinson)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Paul Robinson, Disney's managing director of TV channels in the UK, has resigned. His move comes as ex-Turner Broadcasting's Andy Bird arrives as president of Disney international. Robinson, an ex-Radio 1 executive, leaves after five...

Regionals come in from the cold: Harry Bell, creative director of Tern TV, says that indies are indies, wherever they're based.(The Business)
January 1, 2004... Nations and Regions is the red-tape definition given to TV production (including that of independents and broadcasters) outside the M25 loop. It's a burning brand on the ass of the non-London production community, and it's such a...

Storyboard.(News)(Nexus)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... The new year kicks off with a Dada-inspired promo from Nexus; and a watercolour trip through the Yorkshire Dales by Sherbet. Meanwhile, Five's new science season gets flagged up by Devilfish; Serious Pictures takes a bath for charity; and Ink...

End of the regional road?(Broadcast)
January 1, 2004... A regionally-orientated ITV--be it a single organisation or a network--was doomed 14 years ago. In 1990 the broadcasting act set up the first franchise auctions for Channel 3 licences and paved the way for mergers and acquisitions, creating...

Its heart full to bursting with goodwill and its focus blurred with mulled wine and sherry, the BBC announces it is considering offering a broadcasting job to sworn-enemy Alastair Campbell.(Month In Review)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Its heart full to bursting with goodwill and its focus blurred with mulled wine and sherry, the BBC announces it is considering offering a broadcasting job to sworn-enemy Alastair Campbell. The position would see the marathon-running spinner...

It can be a confusing business, working in television.(Month In Review)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... It can be a confusing business, working in television. With a bigger turnaround of staff than McDonalds, getting to know all the new faces can be a tall order. A press release arrives from Channel 4 head of publicity Matt Baker which sings the...

Oscar-nominated actor John Hurt has sensationally accused BBC bosses of scrimping on spending when it comes to television drama.(Month In Review)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Oscar-nominated actor John Hurt has sensationally accused BBC bosses of scrimping on spending when it comes to television drama. The veteran thesp made the comments after starring in a new BBC4/ BBC2 drama based on the diaries of the late...

Will Willis ride to the rescue?(Broadcast)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... I enjoyed your interview with John Willis (Televisual December), and agree that UK documentary-makers gave a sigh of relief when he was appointed as the new BBC head of factual. That's all the more reason why we were so disappointed that he...

It's all news to Skillset.(Broadcast)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2004... In the November edition of Televisual, you published a letter regarding The Avid Assistant's Handbook which gave the impression that the author was affiliated to our organisation and also that we endorsed the book. I would like to point...

I didn't get where I am today by ...(Opinions)(magazine's annual pay survey for post-production sector)(Editorial)
January 1, 2004... ... training. As thorny an issue this year as it was last, when our annual pay survey elicited a politely incredulous letter from Neil Flintham research manager at Skillset. He was querying last year's findings that, in the post-production...

Dog days for drama: Tony Marchant sees a crisis in the UK's television drama, he tells Ed Waller, as commercial concerns stifle creativity, and broadcasters and commissioners forget how to take risks.(Interview)( Marchant Tony )
January 1, 2004... British drama reached its nadir last August, claims Tony Marchant, with ITV1's series about a pair of gardening detectives. "An incredibly cynical commission," says the scribe of channel-defining pieces like BBC2's Holding On (1996) and Channel...

Past masters: Lion TV's ambitious docu-drama took inspiration from The Sopranos to tell the story of the Godfathers of the Renaissance. Adrian Pennington reports on the glory and the grunge of medieval Italy.(The Medici)
January 1, 2004... The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance is, according to its producers, a "political suspense-thriller" in the guise of a history documentary. It combines dramatic reconstruction, interviews, archive and cgi to tell the story of the...

Belts are worn tighter: last year's generous rise in average earnings in the TV industry is largely snatched back by a drop this year, and it's the post-production community that's really feeling the pinch.(Pay Survey)(Industry Overview)
January 1, 2004... Some might say that workers in the TV industries haven't a lot to complain about, with average annual earnings now safely over 40k [pounds sterling] and approaching twice the national average of around 24k [pounds sterling]. But the figures for...

Fire with fire: regional champion Brenda Smith is caught between a rock and a hard place as she steers a post-merger course for Granada in the north-west. Adrian Pennington asks what the cuts will cost her.(Brenda Smith)(Interview)
January 1, 2004... When Brenda Smith accepted the CBI's award for north-west business leader of the year 2003, the only surprise was why it has taken so long to honour her. But perhaps that says more about the confederation; Smith is after all the first female...

A drama out of a crisis: when Ray Winstone set up a production company to make She's Gone, he did it safe in the knowledge that he had a strong team to handle the problems. Just as well.(She's Gone)(Interview)
January 1, 2004... For the producers of She's Gone, the day they wrapped filming on the two part shoot will be one to remember for all the wrong reasons. The first half of the story of an ordinary father's increasingly desperate search for his missing daughter...

Post-rationalisation: a post-production trade organistion across all film and TV disciplines can be made to work, UK film commisioner Steve Norris tells Adrian Pennington.(Trade Body)(Industry Overview)
January 1, 2004... The post-production trade-body proposed by the UK Film Council will seek to educate producers about the role of the service sector and may also look to standardise minimum budgets for post. According to film commissioner Steve Norris, "there's...

Media 100 slashes 844/X price.(Technology)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Media 100 has cut the price of its flagship 844/Xe real-time editing-compositing system by 60%, from 25k [pounds sterling] to 14k [pounds sterling]. In addition, the company is lowering the cost of its entry 844/Xi system from 16k [pounds...

Animated ad-breaks in trouble.(Facilities)(Flextech Television)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Technology used to author "talking head" video messages has been adapted by Flextech's Trouble channel to appeal to viewers during ad breaks. Ealing-based Anthropics developed Facewave messaging to allow users to record and send animated...

Wow Factor.(Peter Pan)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... The new Universal firm Peter Pan is being promoted at five window sites at Harrods. The installation by Wow Factor features nine holographic screens displaying the movie's trailer, alongside mannequins clad in costumes from the film. Christie...

Digital Film Lab builds DI system.(Facilities)(Digital Film Lab,)(digital intermediate film system.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Digital Film Lab, the Danish-based film facility which recently closed its London operation, is developing a new digital intermediate film system. The technology, which is being kept under wraps until the autumn, is being tested and...

Adstream begins broadcaster roll-out with BskyB.(Technology)(Adstream)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... BSkyB has signed an exclusive deal with Adstream which will see the broadcaster use the digital asset management service to receive digital advertising content. The agreement will see BSkyB gradually migrate clients away from tape-based...

MTV Live airs with Globecaster.(Technology)(from Trimedia Broadcast)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... MTV Live has installed a Globecaster from Trimedia Broadcast to run its broadband TV service across the UK and Europe. The technology is claimed to enable the channel to create content faster, more directly and at a fraction of the cost of...

Dolly and Baraka get MTV's vote.(Facilities)(Dolly Films produces public service ad aimed at encouraging young people to vote)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Dolly Films has produced and directed the MTV Electoral Commission ads, a government campaign aimed at encouraging young people to vote. "It was important to keep the tone as unpatronising as possible," says director Shaun Cairns. "We wandered...

Individual Creative Excellence (ICE).(new award launched by National Association of Broadcasters)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... The National Association of Broadcasters is launching the Individual Creative Excellence (ICE) awards for post-production and production. The six categories include editing; graphics and animation; audio and sound design; producing and...

Sawsan Farhan, previously head of new business at VTR, has joined Big Buoy Post.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Sawsan Farhan (right), previously head of new business at VTR, has joined Big Buoy Post. She replaces Kate Sturgess who becomes VTR facility director. Sturgess, who has also been a producer at Fallon, takes a place on VTR's board and assumes...

Golden Square Post.(installs new equipment)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Golden Square Post has installed a Smoke version 6 to handle increased volumes of SD and 2K work such as the spot for Vladivar vodka (right). The Discreet system runs on SGI's new hardware platform Tezro. "We needed a top-drawer, multi-format...

BBC to offload Technology arm.(Technology)(British Broadcasting Corporation Ltd.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... The BBC is to sell its Technology subsidiary within a year in a bid to save the corporation 30m [pounds sterling] a year. The corporation will re tender the 2bn [pounds sterling] contract to provide technical back-up to all its operations...

Condor builds on talent and kit.(Facilities)(new hires and equipment)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Condor London has added a Da Vinci grading system and upgraded its Millennium ITK datarines to the new Millennium II machine. Md Tom Horton is also looking to add a Final Cut Pro system and expand the company's graphics capability. ...

Red Vision add Bristol base.(Facilities)(graphics company establishes new office, Bristol, England)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Manchester graphics company Red Vision has established a Bristol office. Red3 comprises vfx talent Peter Bailey, Simon Edgar and Sue Land. The company also rims a London office. "It became obvious that the next logical location for us...

Quantel systems to work with P2.(Technology)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Quantel is to support Panasonic's solid state memory-based acquisition system P2 with new releases of its news and editing systems. Material acquired on P2-equipped camcorders can either be directly transferred into Quantel editing and...

How low can you go? Too low ... Lower barriers to entry are harming the DVD industry, says Tony Bradley, The Machine Room's DVD production manager.(The Business)
January 1, 2004... As with any area of post, when times are hard budgets and suppliers get squeezed. For clients, this is free if they're getting the same quality for less money. The problems occur, however, if the end product suffers as a result of these...

Taking root: Frederic Planchon directs and MPC post-produces an eye-catching environmental commercial, Forests, for the Swedish carton giant Tetra Pak. Michael Burns talks to the trees.(Tetra Pak Forests)(Abbott Mead Vickers/BBDO Ltd)
January 1, 2004... The verdant spectacle of trees forcing their way through the concrete of London streets doesn't immediately strike you as something to do with drinks packaging. However, Tetra Pak's message of using paper cartons to help the environment...

Diary.(natpe 2004)(Illustration)(Calendar)
January 1, 2004... * So you want to start broadcasting Conference 22 January London, 020 8948 8561, www.tvconferences.com * RTS North-east Awards 24 January Gateshead, 01207 563 349 www.rtscentres.org.uk *...

Production directory: the a-z of production services.(lindford and company)(arena aviation)
January 1, 2004... ACCOUNTANTS LINDFORD & COMPANY, CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS We are a small friendly firm serving the film and TV industry, providing confidential financial, accountancy and taxation advice and audit, One Duchess Street, London W1W 6AN. ...

One man and his TV.(In My View)(Interview)
January 1, 2004... How much TV do you watch a week? Between 10 and 90 minutes. I'd like to watch more, but making ads keeps me working all hours. I've just shot 11 commercials in 11 weeks and getting some sleep each night is the big priority. What do you...

January TX guide: a producer's guide to the month on the box.
January 1, 2004... Thursday 1 January 2004: terrestrial channels Any new-year resolutions in the terrestrials' first primetime schedules of the year? At 21.00, Channel 4 has a three-hour special 1 O0 Worst Pop Records from Hotbed Media; Five has an hour from...

BBC blackout: worse things happen at sea.(Hair-In-The-Gate)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2004... Never mind cutting off the minister in charge of deciding your future mid-flow to tell her she'd better leg it as the fire brigade's on its way. The BBC TV Centre blackout that hit Radio 4 and News 24 had patrolling nuclear submarine captains...

The business.(Foreword)
January 1, 2004... Televisual's first three quarterly handbooks have offered advice on the mechanics of making a programme: The Shoot on how to acquire the pictures in the first place; The Edit on how to handle the post-production process; and The Look on how to...

First things first ...(Checklist)
January 1, 2004... The production process is a complicated and demanding one. Bringing a programme to the television screen takes a whole range of skills: creative, technical and in the field of business. Not only is the TV producer expected to be a creative...

A pitched battle: Tiger Aspect md Andrew Zein says winning a successful pitch is all about finding out what commissioners want, then giving them their part in developing the idea.(The Commissioning Expert)
January 1, 2004... Five or 10 years ago, if you asked a commissioning editor to describe a slot in terms of audience, ratings and the money on offer to fill it, chances are you wouldn't get much in the way of detail. Today, pitching at a particular spot still...

You win some, you lose some: so you've managed to gain the ear of the people who count: the commissioners. What comes next is crucial: convincing them to take your idea from paper to production.(The Commission)
January 1, 2004... With 10s of genres and sub-genres and hundreds of commissioners who seem constantly to swap seats and channels, keeping on top of who's where and what they want can be daunting. It takes a measured and structured approach. While the core...

The growth of factual means that, while opportunities are out there, your idea still needs to be fully thought through.(The Factual Commission)
January 1, 2004... When you're pitching a factual programme--whether it's a half-hour one-off or a major 10-part series--clarity is vital. "Ideas on the back of envelopes have been commissioned, but I think it's getting tougher to do that now," says Wark...

Dramas are some of the most rewarding productions of all. Be creative about financing and do your homework.(The Drama Commission)
January 1, 2004... The key to winning a drama commission, says Kudos's Jane Featherstone, is going in with big, bold ideas. Your initial pitch should be short and to the point. "I'd normally go in with an idea and a writer; going in with 17 half-formed ideas...

Light entertainment shows offer massive potential rewards, but the strength and uniqueness of your idea is paramount.(The Le Commission)(Celador)
January 1, 2004... In the world of light entertainment and formats, all broadcasters are looking for the Next Big Thing to fill the tricky Saturday early-evening slot. But dialogue between commissioners and producers, at least in the early stages of...

The kids' TV market is a crowded and competitive one. Balance educational value with appeal and an attractive idea.(The Kids' TV Commission)
January 1, 2004... Ideas for children's TV shows come from one of two places--either in-house after discussion and development with a commissioning editor, or through a licensing deal with the author of a published work. Either way, producers need to be...

Pitching for corporate work means tangling with the real world of blue-chip companies where the message is all.(The Corporate Commission)
January 1, 2004... Corporate commissioners are a species apart; they don't hang out together in buildings clearly marked "TV channel," so are harder to pin down than broadcast peers. You may find them behind a door marked Marketing or PR but they tend to plough...

What's the story ...? With commissioning editors receiving dozens of pitches a week, and C4 putting its submissions process online, what makes a proposal stand out? Rachel Murrell spells it out.(The Proposal)
January 1, 2004... "The idea should jump off the page at you," says Katy Thorogood, director at UK Discovery channel. "Don't make the opening sentence impenetrable, and don't write a huge long preamble. It's the strength of the idea that matters." "The best...

At your service ... fewer scripts doing the rounds, decreasing budgets and demanding clients all mean you'll have to go the extra mile--or more--to win a spot and hit a budget.(Commercials)(Exposure Films)(R. Scott Associates Inc)
January 1, 2004... With an ever-increasing number of directors on the block, combined with an ever-decreasing number of commercials scripts, getting that script has led to production companies going that extra mile to get the job. "Alcohol, lunches, handies under...

Walk the tightrope: survival as an independent is about building relationships with broadcasters, says RDF's Joely Fether, as well as performing delicate financial balancing acts.(The Budget Expert)
January 1, 2004... Whatever benefits the communications act may bring, those running independent production outfits will still have to survive on some of tightest margins in business. And those margins are under increasing pressure. "Over the years,...

For a few dollars more: money makes the world go round, and if you haven't worked out a strong, bullet-proof financial plan for your programme, your world could stop spinning very quickly indeed.(The Budget)
January 1, 2004... As budgets drop and costs don't, it takes a canny independent producer to stay ahead of the game. Development can involve anything from a weekly researcher salary for a small factual show to a 100k [pounds sterling] pilot and bible for a...

High-end factual shows are labours of love; to secure the money you'll have to be creative and bring in partners.(The Factual Budget)
January 1, 2004... "If it's an expensive production, 300k+ [pounds sterling] an hour, you're not going to get all that out of Channel 4, and you have to raise the rest," says Pioneer's Stuart Carter. You need to be realistic about what the UK broadcaster's bottom...

When it comes to drama production, don't price yourself out of the market, and stand up for your rights.(The Drama Budget)
January 1, 2004... "I apply an acid test to every project," says Monogram's Eileen Quinn. "First of all, the obvious creative one--is it good, do I love it? Secondly, can I think of a finance plan?" This is when the project is still a book, one-sheet proposal or...

Big is beautiful for LE shows. Spreading the costs and offsetting overheads are crucial in a high-cost business.(The Le Budget)
January 1, 2004... Licence fees for UK entertainment shows are generally low. Margins are tight and, unless the format can sell internationally, no one's getting rich. But, in a tough economic environment, "you'll look at a commission favourably even for a lesser...

Budgets have failed to keep pace with children's demand for animated programming, so watch the bottom line.(The Kids' TV Budget)(Independent Television)
January 1, 2004... "The traditional approach is no longer working," says Collingwood O'Hare's Chris O'Hare. In the past, producers would be able to raise the money for an animated kids' series through a combination of broadcasters' licence fees and distribution...