Televisual articles from June 2003

Televisual archives from June 2003

Cosgrove Hall md Pelling quits ahead of Granada/Carlton merger. (Broadcast).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Cosgrove Hall md Iain Pelling has quit the Granada-owned, Manchester-based animation company after seven years -- four of them as md. Granada has been trying to sell CHF for some time, says Pelling, but "the offers haven't been good...

BBC offers new animation talent chance for series. (Animation).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Wannabe animators are getting a chance to pick up a BBC series commission for their work as part of the BBC New Talent Campaign. The six best entries will be shown on BBC3 and the final winner will be given development funding and the...

Film training finalists announced. (Film).(the UK Film Council is holding a business training program, Inside Pictures)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... BBC Films' development producer Joe Oppenheimer, MPC's director of production Sean Hinton and Harry Nash md Julia Reed are among 14 applicants chosen to participate in the UK Film Council's intensive film business training programme. The...

Musical chairs for promo/ad talent. (Commercials/Promos).(personnel announcements for advertising)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Passion Pictures has signed Angry Kid-director and animator Darren Walsh from Aardman Animations in a month which has seen more poachings and new signings than most. Jane Fuller Associates has signed Swedish director Amin Chamdin (The...

Animex. (In Brief).(animation festival seeks submissions for a student animation award)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... The Animex animation festival run by Teeside University and Middlesborough Council is looking for entries for a new student animation award. The award is open to students internationally and is given in several categories, with prizes put...

ITV Interactive. (In Brief).(Two-Way TV wins a contract from ITV Interactive)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... ITV Interactive's contract for interactive design and production (see Remote control freaks, p34) has been won by Two-Way TV. The interactive design agency will produce enhancements for individual shows and services which viewers can access at...

Addiction. (In Brief).(launches the sister company Love)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Addiction has launched a new dedicated ad-producing sister company, Love. Jointly headed by Addiction md Jeremy Rainbird (right) and creative director Ivor Kayne alongside ex-Clinic producer David Hay and director Philip Dupee, Love's roster of...

MediaMatch. (In Brief).(is accepting submissions for two film finance networking events)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... MediaMatch is accepting project submissions for the two film finance networking events it launched last month at Cannes. Submissions can be made until September for the two events, which take place in London in November. Money Match aims to...

OSF raids the archive for Nat Geo killer-insect show. (Broadcast).(National Geographic Channels International commissions Oxford Scientific Films)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... National Geographic Channels International has commissioned Oxford Scientific Films to make three one-hour episodes looking at insect killers for its Built for the Kill strand. Ordered by vp of production Bryan Smith, the archive-based...

The Rambert Dance Company's new production 21 features video footage of Kylie Minogue shot and edited by Blink TV. (Event).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... The Rambert Dance Company's new production 21 features video footage of Kylie Minogue shot and edited by Blink TV. Choreographer Rafael Bonachela approached Blink to design the second of three seven-minute segments which make up 21, based...

Shane Meadows starts work for new Film Four team. (Film).(Warp Films)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Shane Meadows' fourth, as yet untitled feature has gone into full production this month on location in the Peak District. The plot for the new film is currently under wraps, and billed only as a "genre-busting and distinctly mind-bending...

Gore's tunnel-vision for Moloko. (Promo).(Flynn Productions' Paul Gore produces Moloko's Forever More promo)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Flynn Productions' Paul Gore is behind the promo for Moloko's Forever More. Shot in a tunnel under London's Vauxhall Bridge in one day, the film appears to be tightly-choreographed, with dancers copying singer Roisin's every move. ...

Uli Meyer Animation. (In Brief).(director Matt Jones creates a Flash-animated promo spot for Nick Jr.'s programs)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Uli Meyer Animation's in-house director Matt Jones has directed The Clapping Song, a Flash-animated promo to flag-up the Nick Jr shows Dora the Explorer, The Hoobs, Little Bill, Blue's Clues and You Do Too. Jones designed all the characters and...

Icon Films. (In Brief).(produces a documentary on Charles Darwin for National Geograhic)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Bristol-based independent Icon Films is producing a 60-minute documentary on naturalist Charles Darwin for Nat Geo. Diagnosing Darwin investigates the debilitating mystery illness which proved fatal for Darwin. Icon's Laura Marshall is...

Producer Eyeland hired Blue's Flame department to work on a series of spots for mobile phone network 3. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Producer Eyeland hired Blue's Flame department to work on a series of spots for mobile phone network 3. Blue edited, tracked, graded and composited 40 scenes on to a variety of video mobile handsets; the images were degraded to recreate the...

Company bags series for ITV/C4. (Broadcast).(Independent Company Pictures)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Independent Company Pictures has picked up two major new drama series commissions for Channel 4 and ITV1. First up is Shameless, from Linda Green and State of Play writer Paul Abbott. Ordered by John Yorke, the 8x1-hour comedy drama will be...

Wurmsers to reveal Wimbledon's vital statistics. (Graphics).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... The BBC's live coverage of its summer sports flagship Wimbledon has been served a set of on-air graphics by Wurmsers. The designs show a variety of statistics, including serve height, player profiles and court location. The graphics...

Second Coming and Queer as Folk writer Russell T Davies has been commissioned by Celador's film-arm to script a movie based on the coughing-Major Millionaire fraud. (The Green Light).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Second Coming and Queer as Folk writer Russell T Davies has been commissioned by Celador's film-arm to script a movie based on the coughing-Major Millionaire fraud. The documentary of the scandal, A Major Fraud, has already been licenced to 12...

A second series of Paul Abbott's State of Play has been ordered for BBC1. (The Green Light).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... A second series of Paul Abbott's State of Play has been ordered for BBC1. The recommission was made by BBC head of drama Jane Tranter before the first episode of series one went out last month. The second series will focus in on John Simm's...

Endemol-owned Initial is producing the TV coverage of Capital Radio's Party in the Park. (The Green Light).(Channel 5)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Endemol-owned Initial is producing the TV coverage of Capital Radio's Party in the Park. Channel 5 has the UK rights to screen the seven-hour live show from Hyde Park this summer. The programme was picked up by 5's controller of youth and...

A further 26x30-minute episodes of The Basil Brush Show have been picked up by CBBC, bringing the total to 52. (The Green Light).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... A further 26x30-minute episodes of The Basil Brush Show have been picked up by CBBC, bringing the total to 52. The new episodes were commissioned by CBBC head of entertainment, Anne Gilchrist

Ian Hart will star as Beethoven in Eroica, a drama by Nick Dear that maps the day the composer's third symphony premiered in 1804. (The Green Light).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Ian Hart will star as Beethoven in Eroica, a drama by Nick Dear that maps the day the composer's third symphony premiered in 1804. It will feature the Orchestre Revolutionaire et Romantique conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner, who will play...

RDF is to make a new quiz show for BBC2. (The Green Light).(RDF Media plans "Nobody Likes A Smartass")(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... RDF is to make a new quiz show for BBC2. Nobody Likes A Smartass, fronted by Jo Brand, features a team of four self-confessed smartasses, including one celebrity panellist, battling it out against a 50-strong studio audience. Guests in the...

MAP-TV, the independent set up by former Five. (The Green Light).(commissioned for Myra Hindley film)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... MAP-TV, the independent set up by former Five senior programme controller Michael Attwell, has secured a commission from the channel to make a 90-minute film on Moors murderer Myra Hindley, who died last year. The transmission date is set for...

Aardman. (In Brief).(creates an ad for Kraft Foods' Ritz Crackers)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Aardman's latest cg spot is a cheesy offering for Kraft Foods' Ritz Crackers. Ordered by JWT Chicago, the ad shows a skateboarding cracker demonstrating his skills to the crowd. It was produced by Louise Holmes and directed by Steve Harding...

New Addiction. (In Brief).(Rosco & best complete animated video promo)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... New Addiction signings Rosco & Best have completed their first promo for the production company, an animated video for Stylophonic's Soul Reply. The initial idea was a journey through a perfect summer's day in a crude collage style. After an...

Exit Studios. (In Brief).(creates the ghostly title-sequence for Psychic School)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Exit Studios is behind the ghostly title-sequence for Psychic School, Living TV's attempt to swell the UK's ranks of mediums by taking 10 psychic prodigies to a haunted castle in Scotland for a weekend of intensive training and...

Muppets go back home. (Finance).(The Henson Company sold to Jim Henson's children)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... The Henson Company, owner of major kids' property The Muppets, has been sold to founder Jim Henson's five children in a deal worth $89m. Both the Walt Disney company and media investor Haim Saban had also expressed an interest. ...

RDFI flexes its muscles. (Distribution).(RDF International)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... RDF International has promoted head of acquisitions Lilla Hurst to be its new head of co-production, and has launched an initiative that will help producers find gap-financing for high-end series. The initiative will source funding on...

Murdoch won't buy five. (Deals).(Rupert Murdoch accuses British media of being paranoid over speculation that he plans to buy Channel 5)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Media magnate Rupert Murdoch has accused the British media, of being paranoid over speculation that he plans to buy Channel 5 if the communications act clears the way. The House of Lords is currently fighting for an amendment to the bill...

C4 and BBC clash over licence fee. (Broadcast).(Channel 4 financing)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Channel 4 director of programmes Tim Gardam has publicly 4, suggested that his network should receive a slice of the BBC's [pounds sterling]2.6bn licence fee. In a speech to the Royal Institute of British Architects, he said that a central...

How to think outside the box. (The Business News).(interactive television)
June 1, 2003... Tor McLaren, Sci-Fi Channel director of programmes (UK and South Africa), argues that interactive television needs to think bigger if it is to make the break into the mainstream. Interactive TV emerged alongside prophecies of its...

Bigger and bigger is beautiful. (Independents).(independent television production companies face consolidation)
June 1, 2003... The communications bill has still to become a fully-fledged act, but already tremors are being felt that could herald a huge shift in the shape of the indie production sector. The act looks set to consolidate an industry that is made up of...

Topless Darts. (Month in Review).(Live TV revival)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... At last, fears over the future of public-service broadcasting can be laid to rest Because the champion of all that's truly Reithian is rising from the grave. Live TV, home of the news-bunny (no, not Huw Edwards), Topless Darts and Edwina...

BBC does its best to run with the baton dropped by Live TV. (Month in Review).(viewer complaints)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Meanwhile, the BBC does its best to run with the baton dropped by Live TV, pulling in close to twice the number of programme complaints this year. Greg Dyke maintains it's the medium not the message that did it, citing viewers' ability to...

C5 storms into a recent Guardian survey of arts TV with 48 hours of peak-time high-brow viewing. (Month in Review).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... C5 storms into a recent Guardian survey of arts TV with 48 hours of peak-time high-brow viewing, snatching the crown from the BBC and ITV and making Jane Root's 1999 claim that arts TV was dead appear more than a little exaggerated. It also...

Culture minister Tessa Jowell may be forecasting a viewer's revolt over reality-TV. (Month in Review).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Culture minister Tessa Jowell may be forecasting a viewer's revolt over reality-TV, but none of the smart money is -- not after I'm a Celebrity again set the ratings on fire and BB swings around for its fourth run. And there'll be no shortage...

Sony fanfares optical disc. (Technology).(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2003... I write in response to Televisual's April article that heralded a new technology emerging at Nab. Tapeless acquisition is a concept that the broadcasting industry has been striving to deliver and that we at Sony have collaborated on with...

It's just sound second sense. (Audio).
June 1, 2003... I have been very interested to read the article in April's Televisual about audio post houses. I was, however, disappointed not to find my company listed among your 100 audio companies. We are the only audio facility based in Borehamwood,...

Nothing if not compressed. (Technology).(Correction Notice)
June 1, 2003... Avid Technology would like to bring to your attention a factual error in the article entitled "Avid defends its product makeover" (p49, May 2003). DS Nitris can handle two streams of real-time uncompressed 10-bit HD footage (not compressed...

New wine in old bottles. (Opinions).(BBC Drama is developing 'The Canterbury Tales' for television)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... You can see why BBC Drama fell for this month's cover-story: "The Canterbury Tales," pitched the producers. "They've been a good strong brand for 600 years. Curriculum-culture spiced with naughtiness, capped by the BBC imprimatur: perfect for...

Bill of rights. (Interview Eileen Gallagher).(Interview)
June 1, 2003... It's been a long year of meetings, speeches and industry events for Eileen Gallagher. The Shed md and chair of Pact has spent the last 12 months in an almost constant round of government lobbying-putting the indies' case to the fore in the...

Chaucer on the road again. (In Production Canterbury Tales).(the BBC is developing Chaucer's 'The Canterbury Tales' for television)
June 1, 2003... Courting controversy with the purists and aiming to woo a new audience, the BBC brings Chaucer to the screen this autumn. James Hamilton stops on the road to Canterbury to find out more. Pete Bowker is regressing. He's back in Liverpool,...

New and not-so-new. (New Media).(new media market survey)(Directory)
June 1, 2003... Leaner times and a consolidating landscape mark Televisual's sixth survey of the new media market, as prices are honed, applications defined and then adopted in-house by mainstream moving image-makers. Belts are worn tighter this year in...

Remote control freaks. (Interactive TV).
June 1, 2003... The life of the interactive TV designer is a happy one -- there's more work, more toys to play with and a growing fan base of viewers at home. James Hamilton finds out who's pushing the right buttons at last. Six or seven years ago, when...

Disney opens up. (James Neal the Commissioner).(Disney Channel UK )
June 1, 2003... The Disney Channel UK has, until now, preferred to take care of its programming needs in-house rather than look outside. But, as Jon Creamer discovers, that situation is slowly starting to change. Up until now, the Disney Channel UK has...

Feeding time: social climbing or social commentary? Rachel Murrell takes a look this month's new reality format from Talkback and finds out whether it will travel. (Dinner Party Inspectors in Production).
June 1, 2003... As the production company behind I'm Alan Partridge, Da Ali G Show, Life Laundry, Grand Designs, House Doctor and Jamie's Kitchen, Talkback is well-accustomed to being a topic of dinner party talk-which may be what gave it the idea to apply...

Film and tv studios. (Studios Production File).(a directory of UK production studios)(Directory)
June 1, 2003... Once a definite plus for a TV entertainment show, the polished studio environment has to be roughed-up a bit for today's reality-addicts. But, as Richard Dean discovers, the UK's studio sector is nothing if not adaptable. Virtual-reality...

Triangle invests for the future. (Facilities).(Triangle Television announces investments as it expands)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Triangle Television, part of The Facilities Group, has purchased a second Flame and upgraded its first as part of an expansion scheme. Further investments include a Final Cut Pro suite with Cinewave realtime effects and 500Gb storage, and a...

Future Post partners Edit-Hire. (Facilities).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Feature film audio specialists Future Post and dry-hire operation Edit-Hire have joined forces. Both companies will continue to operate independently but, according to Future md Steve Cook, "this new venture will offer producers an...

Framestore CFC. (In Brief).(wins a Bafta TV Craft Award)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Framestore CFC has won a Bafta TV Craft Award for its vfx on Walking with Dinosaurs special, The Giant Claw. The programme was one of two half-hours the company created with Impossible Pictures and showed cg creatures roaming the earth with a...

Henson's develops liquid asset. (Technology).(Jim Henson's Creature Shop develops a suite of liquid dynamic tools to animate the title character of 'The Water Giant')(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Jim Henson's Creature Shop has developed a unique suite of liquid dynamic tools for the animation of the title 'character in the $20m feature The Water Giant. Directed by John Henderson (Loch Ness), The Water Giant is the tale of a small...

BBC spins off R&D wing as commercial venture. (Technology).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... BBC Ventures, the corporation's commercial business-to-business division, has launched BBC Vecta, which aims to market patents developed at R&D group Kingswood Warren. Developers will be invited to participate in turning BBC intellectual...

Pepper/The Pavement in MBO. (Facilities).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Pepper md Patrick Holzen and director Shane Warden are finalising a management buyout of the facility from the Big Finish group with DVD production house The Pavement The management of both companies first met at TVI (now part of Ascent...

Big TV notches Donaghy promo. (Facilities).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Big TV directing duo Andy Delaney and Monty Whitebloom is behind the promo for ex-Sugarbabe Siobhan Donaghy's single Underrated. The promo, which shows Donaghy partying the night away, was shot on DVCam entirely from a hip-mounted camera...

Condor London. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Matt Fox has joined Condor London from Big Buoy, which he helped launch, as a post-production producer. His five years' experience includes work for The Fink Tank and TBWA and spans commercials, promos and dramas. Recent projects include the...

CV-1 video viewer. (In Brief).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... If you ever need to project camera images in front of your very eyes, help is at hand. The CV-1 video viewer attaches to an ordinary pair of eyeglasses, and provides a 16-bit colour image of a video screen. It accepts a standard PAL video...

Houdini. (In Brief).(Side Effects releases new version of animation software)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Side Effects has released version 6 of 3D animation software Houdini. It includes digital assets, a feature enabling technical directors to create and manage libraries of re-usable characters, and effects and other elements that can be set up...

Most profitable firms named. (Finance).
June 1, 2003... The Moving Picture Company, Roll to Record, NDS and Jacaranda Productions are among the most profitable UK broadcast service or manufacturing companies, according to a new a survey from Plimsoll Publishing. It names 47 private companies...

Picardy chief in business again. (People).(Chrles Kelly opens CSK Integrated Solutions)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Charles Kelly, the former operations director of Picardy Media Group which went into receivership in February, has set up a new communications company. CSK Integrated Solutions aims to deliver screen-based projects for television, digital media...

Goldpocket buys iTV solution. (Business).(Watchpoint Media)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Goldpocket Interactive, a provider of interactive television technologies, has acquired fellow US firm Watchpoint Media. Watchpoint develops the Storyteller authoring software and had recently launched in the UK. According to Scott...

MTV compiles facility list. (Facilities).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... MTV Broadcast Services, the production services wing of the music channel, is understood to have compiled a preferred-suppliers list of post-production companies in a bid to streamline its production process. MTV initially boiled down a...

How to crack the music conundrum: clearing music rights should not be such a bewildering and expensive process, says Audio Network's creative director Andrew Sunnucks. (The Business the Works).
June 1, 2003... The music industry is notorious for making its product incredibly difficult to use. It generally falls to some luckless PA to negotiate a way through the mystifying labyrinth of licenses and permissions to get tracks cleared for all uses. ...

Drama queen. (Boudica).(ITV may release television movie 'Boudica' theatrically)
June 1, 2003... It's ancient Britons v Romans in Box Film's [pounds sterling]3m dramatisation of the life of Celtic warrior Boudica. Its epic tale for ITV has prompted interest in an additional theatrical release Described by its writer Andrew Davies as a...

Production directory.(Directory)
June 1, 2003... THE A-Z OF PRODUCTION SERVICES ACCOUNTANTS BRECKMAN & COMPANY For friendly advice on all of your accounts and tax matters call 0207 499 2292. or visit our website www.breckmanandcompany.co.uk LINDFORD & COMPANY, CHARTERED ...

Turner's prize. (In My View).(Ben Turner, creative director of cgi, CHD)(Interview)
June 1, 2003... Do you watch a lot of TV? About an hour or two a day. Usually slumped on a sofa after 9pm with a glass of plonk. I'm such a Luddite, there's only the four "land" channels at home and the fifth, which is fuzzy. Is there a programme you...

June TX guide: a producer's guide to a month on the box. (The End).(Brief Article)(Calendar)
June 1, 2003... Strange Saturday May 31, 21.00: BBC1 Piloted last spring, Big Bear Films spooky drama starring Samatha Janus and Richard Coyle (as the former priest and demon-hunter), gets its six-part run this month. The writer is Andrew Marshall (One...

Gerry'll show them who's boss. (Hair-in-the-Gate).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Did Michael Green and Charles Allen stay home on Wednesday nights last month to catch words of wisdom about business dynasties from former Granada chairman Gerry Robinson? "It's not enough just to have good people," the designer-clad guru...