Televisual articles from July 2006

Televisual archives from July 2006

Children's TV production under threat as junk food ad ban looms.(television)(advertisement)(Brief article)
July 18, 2006... Children's TV producers are facing tough competition and falling budgets, according to Televisual's latest genre report into kids TV, with upcoming changes to TV advertising rules set to make life even harder. ITV and Five have sent a...

ITV drama's Mackie sets out her stall for indies.(interview of Laura Mackie)(Interview)
July 18, 2006... ITV's new drama controller Laura Mackie has been setting out her commissioning needs for indies in an interview with Televisual (page 20). She said ITV needed to find some contemporary, faster-paced hits: "It's fair to say that ITV has...

IN BRIEF: Footage library rebranded.(rebranding of ITN Archive)(Brief article)
July 18, 2006... Footage library ITN Archive has been rebranded as ITN Source and the company's 3G mobile service ITN Multimedia has been renamed as ITN On. The two divisions are also to receive a #1m cash injection to speed the growth of the businesses....

IN BRIEF: Video on demand deal.(BT Vision on deal with Momentum Pictures)(Brief article)
July 18, 2006... BT Vision, BT's forthcoming IPTV service has made a video on demand deal with film distributor Momentum Pictures that allows it to show films like Lost in Translation and Vera Drake over the service. BT Vision launches later this year and has...

IN BRIEF: New media rights deal.(ITV PLC and Channel Four Television Company Ltd. on media rights deal with Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television)(Brief article)
July 18, 2006... Both ITV and Channel 4 have agreed a new media rights deal with Pact. ITV and C4 will both have a 30-day window to exploit programmes on their on-demand platforms whether that's mobile, broadband or cable. Producers will get 50% of any...

Animate! announces new films.(awards of animation films industry)(Brief article)
July 18, 2006... Animate!, the short animation scheme funded by Channel 4 and the Arts Council has announced its six new commissions for 2006. The films were chosen for using new forms, processes and techniques and will get their TV premiere on C4 in...

British weather stars in new docs for C4 and BBC.(Channel Four Television Company Ltd.)(British Broadcasting Corp.)(Brief article)
July 18, 2006... The British summertime and the UK's worst winter weather are the subjects of two new doc series from Lion and Pioneer. Lion's 4x60-minute Great British Summer is narrated by Alan Titchmarsh for BBC1 and will show "spectacular images" of...

Box TV revives Mr Toad and co for new BBC film.(television)(British Broadcasting Corp.)(Brief article)
July 18, 2006... Filming has now kicked off in and around Bucharest on Box TV's new adaptation of Wind in the Willows for BBC1. Bob Hoskins, Matt Lucas, League of Gentlemen's Mark Gatiss and Imelda Staunton star in the film that has been adapted for TV by...

IN BRIEF: Second series commission.(contracts of Honeycomb Animation and FiveTV)
July 18, 2006... Honeycomb Animation has bagged a second series commission of Funky Valley for Five's Milkshake strand and sees its Beastly Behaviour shorts get a run out on Vodafone Live's Comedy Channel. Andy Wyatt directed the mobile shorts that look at...

IN BRIEF: Rebrand for Zone Vision.(marketing agreements of Zone Vision and Kemistry )(Brief article)
July 18, 2006... Kemistry completed this rebrand for broadcaster Zone Vision as it changed its name to Zone Media. All the company's channels will now be aligned under the Zone brand. Kemistry created a graphic system with room to fit future acquisitions under...

Creature creation.(contracts of Impossible Pictures, Framestore CFC and ITV Network Ltd. ITV1)(Brief article)
July 18, 2006... Framestore CFC is responsible for this scene and all the creature creation in Impossible Pictures' latest cg spectacular - this time for ITV1. The 6x1-hour Prehistoric Park has presenter Nigel Marven travelling through time to meet extinct...

Wood writes wartime drama for ITV.(Victoria Wood)(Brief article)
July 18, 2006... Comedian Victoria Wood is to write and star in her first ITV drama for 25 years based on the real diaries of a Lancashire housewife written during the second world war. Housewife, 49 is based on Nella Last's diaries that detail her...

IN BRIEF: Promo for latest single.(Mezzo Films produces promo for Graham Coxon's music video)(Brief article)
July 18, 2006... Ex-Blur guitarist Graham Coxon brought in Leeds-based Mezzo Films to produce the promo for his latest single I Can't Look at Your Skin. Paul Morricone directed the video that centres on a Coxon gig in a Camden pub where a young fan gets...

Wall to Wall's living history at ITV.(Wall to Wall Television Ltd. makes celebrity genealogy series for ITV PLC)(Brief article)
July 18, 2006... Producer of BBC2 and now BBC1's Who Do You Think You Are? Wall to Wall has been commissioned to make another celebrity genealogy series, but this time for ITV1. The brand new 3x60-minute format sees well-known figures not only delving...

MMA finds 50 top footballing foreigners for Sky One.(Multi Media Arts Inc.)(Brief article)
July 18, 2006... Manchester independent Multi Media Arts has been commissioned by Sky One to produce a two-hour special on the finest foreign footballers ever to have played in the English Premiership. An online poll launched to identify the top fifty...

IN BRIEF: Spot for Audi.(marketing management of Heimat Berlin)(Brief article)
July 18, 2006... Tony Petersen Film/Stink brought in edit house Peep Show and Framestore CFC for this spot for Audi. The Style War-directed ad, ordered by German agency Heimat Berlin, has a competitive Audi driver racing the sun as dawn breaks. Editor was...

IN BRIEF: English and Pockett commission.(contracts of English and Pockett and Deutsche Welle)(Brief article)
July 18, 2006... English & Pockett has been commissioned by Deutsche Welle's head of promotion and design Claus Grimm to rebrand DW Journal. E&P created the original logo design and branding package for DW Journal back in 2003. Designer/director was E&P's...

The Green light: ITV series.(television shows for Al Murray)(Brief article)
July 18, 2006... ITV's director of entertainment Paul Jackson has ordered a series based on Ricky Gervais's Flanimals books and a new set of shows for comedian Al Murray. The 6x30-minute stop-frame and cgi Flanimals is being made by Caramel Uncut. Producer...

The Green light: RDF Media commission.(RDF Media produces road trip series for British Broadcasting Corp.)(Brief article)
July 18, 2006... RDF Media has picked up an odd-couple road trip series for BBC2 featuring wine expert Oz Clarke and Top Gear's James May. The pair will drive through France's wine producing regions while Clarke teaches May about wine. Features and factual...

The Green light: Tigress commission.
July 18, 2006... Tigress has been commissioned by Five's wildlife and factual acquisitions editor Bethan Corney to make six new Austin Stevens Adventures. The shows were originally ordered by Animal Planet US and will be reversioned for the UK. Exec producers...

The Green light: New BBC1 drama.(British Broadcasting Corp.)(Brief article)
July 18, 2006... Colin Firth, Anne-Marie Duff and Robert Carlyle are to star in a new BBC1 drama London (wt) that tackles the issue of social inequality in the UK. The writer and director is Bafta winner Dominic Savage. Exec producers are John Willis and...

The Green light: Chapman Entertainment picks up orders.(Chapman Entertainment produces new show for FiveTV and Nick Jr )(Brief article)
July 18, 2006... Fifi and the Flowertots producer Chapman Entertainment has picked up orders for its new show, Roary the Racing Car from Five's Milkshake and Nick Jr in the UK. In an unusual deal, Five will have the terrestrial and digital rights to the show...

The Green light: Three more one-offs.
July 18, 2006... Living TV has ordered three more Extreme: Celebrity one-offs from Two Four. Two Four's Melanie Leach and Living's Clare Hollywood will exec produce Split Ups, Surgery and Skint for tx this summer. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd....

IN BRIEF: Identity for new movie channel.(marketing agreements of Bruce Dunlop and Associates and movies24)(Brief article)
July 18, 2006... Bruce Dunlop and Associates (BDA) created the on-air identity and launch packaging for new movie channel movies24, part of the Sparrowhawk Media Group. A set of "mini dramas," small moments of suspense, was shot at 2000 frames-per-second....

THE BUSINESS: Cartoon Network goes it alone.(development unit in London for The Cartoon Network)
July 18, 2006... The Cartoon Network is setting up its own 12-strong development unit in London to create shows for the channel. It's because the broadcaster wants to own the rights to its content, Max Crosbie discovers Unhappy with relying on...

THE BUSINESS: DIY outlets for TV producers.(do it yourself )
July 18, 2006... Pioneer Online's md Gideon Summerfield says indies should look to the "long tail" to make money from their content in the new media world The "Long Tail" has radically expanded the market for books and music and could do the same for...

INTERNATIONAL: Rise of the East.(Central and Eastern European markets)
July 18, 2006... Eastern European programme market DISCOP is going from strength to strength thanks to the economic revival of the region. Bob Jenkins gauges UK sellers' reaction to last month's event DISCOP, the only market specialising in the territories...

PROFILE - ALASTAIR WADDINGTON: Consolidation king.(interview )(IMG Media)(Interview)
July 18, 2006... In just four months, sports outfit IMG Media has bought its way to the top of the indie league. Poz Hulls talks to Alastair Waddington, IMG's man behind the purchases of Tiger Aspect and Darlow Smithson IMG Media is now the largest...

LETTER: Support our single docs.(Letter to the editor)
July 18, 2006... I read your report about Televisual's Intelligent Television Festival in June's issue and was encouraged to hear that the participants talked so enthusiastically about the state of documentary making in the UK. I agree that it is generally a...

LETTER: ITV's #200m giveaway.(Letter to the editor)
July 18, 2006... I'm writing to express my dismay at ITV's decision to return #200m to shareholders at the same time as slashing programming budgets. Surely this is a hugely muddle-headed strategy. The last thing ITV needs to do is to give money away at a...

LETTER: What's comedy drama?(Letter to the editor)
July 18, 2006... It was interesting to note in your comedy survey last month the emphasis that BBC1 is placing on comedy to help define the channel. As we all know, comedy is a hugely difficult genre to get right; The Office and The Thick Of It aside,...

OPINION: The trouble with kids today.
July 18, 2006... It looks set to be a fraught summer holiday period for children's television production. As our special report on kids TV reveals this month, competition for slots is already at an all time high while broadcaster budgets are under pressure....

INTERVIEW - LAURA MACKIE: New drama at ITV.(Interview)
July 18, 2006... Laura Mackie has taken on a tough challenge as ITV's new drama controller: to live up to Nick Elliott's legacy at a time when the network is slashing budgets across the board. Katy Elliott reports It's a tough call becoming heir apparent to...

ANIMATION IN PRODUCTION: Animated talent.
July 18, 2006... Who are the new talents in animation? Televisual asked leading British animation houses to single out the most promising names on their books. Poz Watson weighs up the contenders If you take a journey to the cutting edge of short form...

CHILDREN'S TV REPORT: Battle in the playground.
July 18, 2006... Children's channels may be proliferating, but kits TV producers are having to work with tighter budgets than ever. Lucy Rouse investigates a market that's under pressure Some would argue that a child's world is just an adult's world in...

CHILDREN'S TV REPORT: Anne Gilchrist, CBBC creative director.(television)(Interview)(Brief article)
July 18, 2006... What recent show are you most proud of? Beat the Boss - a factual show with a compelling format and real kids v adults jeopardy - presented by Saira Kahn - a fantastic booking for CBBC. What are you currently looking for? Innovative...

CHILDREN'S TV REPORT: Estelle Hughes, CITV controller.(Children's Independent Television)(Brief article)
July 18, 2006... What recent show are you most proud of? Holly and Stephen's Saturday Showdown - live Saturday morning TV still coming up with great ideas and superb fun for all ages after 2 1/2 years. What are you currently looking for? Comedy animation...

CHILDREN'S TV REPORT: Michael Carrington, Cbeebies creative director.(Brief article)
July 18, 2006... What recent show are you most proud of? Charlie and Lola (Tiger Aspect) and LazyTown (Magnus Sheving). Both shows have proved hugely popular and are attracting older children to CBeebies. What are you currently looking for? An innovative...

CHILDREN'S TV REPORT: Nick Wilson, Five controller, children's.(Brief article)
July 18, 2006... What recent show are you most proud of? Hospital, a fly-on-the-wall documentary made by Sixth Sense in Birmingham Children's Hospital. It makes you cry. What are you currently looking for? Straight factual documentary for five to...

CHILDREN'S TV REPORT: Debbie MacDonald Nickelodeon VP.(Brief article)
July 18, 2006... What recent show are you most proud of? A live action sitcom called Genie in the House. It's the first production to come out of our pilot scheme and launched last month. What are you currently looking for? We have five channels to...

TRAINING: How to get ahead in TV.
July 18, 2006... Whatever job you do and whatever stage of your career you are at, there's a training course with your name on it. Poz Watson finds out more about training for TV and talks to four people about the courses that have helped boost their careers...

DIGITAL INTERMEDIATE: Perfect grades.
July 18, 2006... Digital Intermediate (DI) has transformed the way feature films are finished and it's now poised to take over TV, writes Jake Bickerton When DI replaced the film intermediate process of colour grading in a film lab a few years ago, no one...

The World Cup in BBC's garage.(independent television)(Brief article)
July 18, 2006... BBC Outside Broadcasts turned a section of one of its buildings in Kendal into a temporary TV studio to accommodate UKTV's World Cup show. The studio housed a regular panel-based show, broadcast live on UKTV G2 throughout the event. Neil...

GearBox opens dry hire studios.(Brief article)
July 18, 2006... Gear Box has built a series of studios aimed at freelance editors, music composers and producers at its new west London headquarters near Hangar Lane. Each of the studios, named The White Rooms, can be adapted to suit individual...

IN BRIEF: DVD content security system.(Digital Versatile Disc )(Brief article)
July 18, 2006... 10th Planet Post Production has developed a DVD content security system called DVD Sequr, which is aimed at reducing the cost to newspapers of manufacturing cover-mounted DVDs. It enables locked content to be included on discs, which can...

Greek Street too costly for Condor.(Brief article)
July 18, 2006... International post production group Condor, which has facilities in Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, the Middle East and South Africa, has closed its London-based facility in Greek Street and reopened in Clerkenwell as Condor Digital. Peter...

Vfx house Clear to become part of VTR Group.(Brief article)
July 18, 2006... When Prime Focus bought a controlling stake in VTR Group three months ago, the group's operations director Neil Lane admitted it had been seeking outside funding partly for potential acquisitions. It now looks certain the first of these is...

IN BRIEF: Wales first HD Outside Broadcast truck.(high definition)(Brief article)
July 18, 2006... Barcud Derwen is setting up Wales' first HD Outside Broadcast truck, at a cost of around #3million. It will be on the road by the end of the year, md Bryn Roberts believes, "This is the optimum time to build an HD truck." Referring to BBC's...

IN BRIEF: Post moves.(Ben Baker and Andy Lomas joins Framestore CFC)(Katy Deegan and Tessa Watts joins The Metropolis Group)(Bruce Everett joins Pinewood Shepperton Studios Ltd.)(Brief article)
July 18, 2006... Framestore CFC has appointed ex-TMR senior producer Ben Baker as head of digital lab and ex-DreamWorks head of character effects Andy Lomas as head of cg. Ex-DGP producer Katy Deegan and ex-director of production at SVE Tessa Watts have...

Audio post given Air to Breathe.(Brief article)
July 18, 2006... The audio post production wings of Strongroom Studios and Air, the recording studios founded by George Martin in 1991, have merged to form new facility Breathe. The setting up of Breathe follows the purchase of Air Studios by Strongroom...

Child's view on events of 7 July.(That Summer Day in British Broadcasting Corp. and CBBC)(Brief article)
July 18, 2006... That Summer Day is an hour-long drama to be aired on BBC2 and CBBC on 7 July. It depicts the London bombings through the eyes of schoolchildren. The audio, online and conform was done at St. Anne's. Tracklaying was performed by Chris...

IN BRIEF: Playout contract.(Brief article)
July 18, 2006... Five's new digital channels - Five Life and Five US - which are set to launch in the autumn, are to be broadcast from Red Bee Media's Broadcast Centre. The company won the playout contract for both the new channels after having provided...

IN POST THE WORKS: Lucky to be Alive.
July 18, 2006... Darlow Smithson's C4 and Discovery series Alive features ten graphic recreations of horrific accidents. The VTR Group's Blue performed the post production on four action-packed episodes You wouldn't swap places with any of the unfortunate...

IN MY VIEW: TV talks back.(television)(interview of Camilla Lewis)
July 18, 2006... Camilla Lewis, head of factual features at TalkbackThames, is at home watching most things, thinks Jade is a delight and wants to see the perma-tanned Dale Winton back on screen. How much TV do you watch? According to my husband, too...

C4 scores a winner during World Cup's night off.(television audience ratings)(Brief article)
July 18, 2006... Baby Cow's Steve Coogan vehicle, Saxondale, gave BBC2 2m on Monday 19 June, beating ScreenStage and Granada's The Play's The Thing on C4 with 700,000 (4%) at 10pm. With the World Cup dominating the schedules, most non-football...