Televisual articles from June 2004

Televisual archives from June 2004

Flextech and UKTV to ramp up ad-funded programming.(Broadcast, advertiser-funded programming)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Flextech and UKTV are to signal their commitment to advertiser-funded programming with the appointment of a head of AFP, the first post of its kind at a UK broadcaster. Claire Heys becomes head of commercial partnerships and will work...

Electric Sky goes for growth with new hiring.(Distribution)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Factual distributor Electric Sky is planning to take its business "up a notch," according to ceo David Pounds, with the appointment of a senior acquisitions executive and an expanded catalogue. Pounds says the moves are "not entirely...

First Post scheme to fund trainees.(Facilities)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Up to 25 recent graduates are to receive funding in a new scheme to train in the broad cast post-production sector. First Post is a joint initiative from Skillset, PPTI, ChEFF and UK Post, the new post-production and graphics trade body. It...

BDA makes move into Far East.(Bruce Dunlop Associates)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Design and promotions specialist Bruce Dunlop Associates (BDA) is opening an office in Singapore; the company already has branches in Sydney and Munich. Phil Kitcher, previously creative director of Discovery in the region, heads up the...

Animators in Residence.
June 1, 2004... Applications are again invited from recently-graduated animators for the Channel 4 funded Animators In Residence scheme at the NMPFT. Previous winners include Ignacio Ferreras (How to Cope With Death, right); visit www.a-i-r.info for details....

Anglia.(East of England Development Agency)(contract with Imago, Eye Film and TV)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... ITV Anglia has teamed up with independents Imago and Eye Film and TV, the East of England Development Agency (EDDA) and the University of East Anglia's renowned creative writing course to develop two half-hour dramas; the bulk of the budget has...

Docspace.(European Docuzone)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Docspace is looking for big-screen documentaries to represent the UK in the first pan-European documentary film festival, European Docuzone, in November. Three UK does will be selected for the international shortlist to compete against entries...

Fast Forward Features.(Scottish Screen, BBC Scotland, BBC Elms, ContentFilm have launched a new film)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Scottish Screen, BBC Scotland, BBC Elms and ContentFilm plc have launched a new low-budget film scheme Fast Forward Features for Scottish writers, directors and producers. The scheme follows on from the recent Tartan Shorts, but the new...

TwofourTV on the starting grid for Le Mans doc.(Broadcast)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... TwofourTV has been commissioned by Channel 4 sport to tell the behind-the-scenes story at the inaugural Le Mans Endurance Series. The 5x30-minute documentary series will follow the fortunes of the Audi Sport UK Team Veloqx as they prepare...

3DD, Fremantle and Metropolis team on punk doc.(3DD Entertainment, Fremantle Entertainment, Metropolis Productions)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... The history of punk from the late 60s right through to the 90s is to be put under the microscope in a documentary co-production from Fremantle Home Entertainment and 3DD Entertainment. The 90-minute Punk: An Attitude (working title) traces...

Studio AKA has made the fifth in its series of ads for Bupa Healthcare through WCRS, and has a sixth in the making.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Studio AKA has made the fifth in its series of ads for Bupa Healthcare through WCRS, and has a sixth in the making. Pet Rescue has a slightly less than "super" superhero with a bad knee, attempting to save an elderly lady and her cat who are...

Mummy returns for museum show.(a documentary by Windfall Films)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Windfall Films brought in Thumbprint Animation to provide cg for a new exhibition at the British Museum Mummy--The Inside Story. A broadcast documentary is also in production for a transmission after the show opens. Manchester University's...

Uli Meyer Animation.(advertising contracts with FCB)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Uli Meyer Animation has made its first Raid commercial for Chicago-based agency FCB. The 2D animation was directed by Uli Meyer and produced and edited in London by Matt Saxton. In Chez Garbage, Meyer's 2D animated cockroaches rampage through...

Extreme Entertainment.(managing the 2004 Gumball rally)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Factual producer and distributor Extreme Entertainment will follow the exploits of 150 cars and their celebrity drivers during the 2004 Gumball rally. In six days, drivers cover 3000 miles in souped-up supercars. Extreme is producing a...

Sumners.(construction work for the titles of British Broadcasting Corp.)
June 1, 2004... Sumners constructed a world of sun, sea, yachts, supercars and "bling" jewellery in the titles for BBC3's forthcoming Liquid Assets series. Illustrations were composited and layered in Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects and Lightwave, with...

Tiger expands and bags MTV job.(Broadcast)(contracts and appointments Tiger Aspect )(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Tiger Aspect has picked up another US commission for MTV Networks and is expanding its comedy and entertainment department with the appointment of two new development producers. The expansion follows the company's recent successes with My...

Code transforms players for Umbro's Evolution X.(Umbro International Ltd., contract)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Manchester-based digital agency Code has teamed with director Richard Oliver on a series of commercials launching Umbro's Evolution X range of products. England players Michael Owen, David James and John Terry are seen to "evolve" as they...

Rushes is responsible for the composites on the new spot for Sugar Puffs, shot at Walthamstow baths for Godman.(Rushes Productions)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Rushes is responsible for the composites on the new spot for Sugar Puffs, shot at Walthamstow baths for Godman. "Getting the Honey Monster in to the pool was extremely challenging," explains director Tim Kirkby. "Three people had to support him...

Road to Lisbon, the latest Adidas spot from Agency 180 Amsterdam/TBWA, takes Zidane, Raul and Beckham on a European trip.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Road to Lisbon, the latest Adidas spot from Agency 180 Amsterdam/TBWA, takes Zidane, Raul and Beckham on a European trip that culminates in an Italian Job-style descent on to a Portuguese piazza, Directed by Ringan Ledwidge for Small Family...

Pepper.(advertising, Pepper Communications Inc.)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Director Bill Marshall worked with Pepper's technical director Jamie Russell to create a spot for Swiss Milk, the latest in the client's decade-long campaign. Devised by Advico Young & Rubicam, each ad features a cow performing different tasks...

Pioneer Productions has picked up an order from the National Geographic Channel.(The Green Light)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Pioneer Productions has picked up an order from the National Geographic Channel in the US for a 13x60-minute scientific detective series Naked Science. The shows pose questions like "can we survive a super-volcano?" and "does telepathy exist?"...

Channel 4's head of features Sue Murphy has ordered spin-off series Grand Designs Abroad.(The Green Light)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Channel 4's head of features Sue Murphy has ordered spin-off series Grand Designs Abroad following Britons building homes in Europe, Kevin McCloud will again present the Talkback-produced 6x50-minute show.

Stephen Fry is to star as the headmaster in a new adaptation of Tom Brown's Schooldays.(The Green Light)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Stephen Fry is to star as the headmaster in a new adaptation of Tom Brown's Schooldays, in production at Company Pictures. The one-off drama was ordered for ITV1 by head of drama Nick Elliot to air over Christmas. Tom is played by Alex Pettyfer...

Wall to Wall's New York office has bagged a 13x60-minute order from the US's Bravo.(The Green Light)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Wall to Wall's New York office has bagged a 13x60-minute order from the US's Bravo. The show is based on Wall to Wall's Five Things I Hate about You format that ran on BBC2 in the UK last year. It was commissioned by Shaft Levine. Leanne Klein...

The BBC is filming a four-part adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's Victorian novel North and South.(British Broadcasting Corp.)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... The BBC is filming a four-part adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's Victorian novel North and South about a middle-class woman from the south forced to relocate to the industrial north. Jane Tranter ordered the drama starring Daniela Denby-Ashe....

A show about shocking pop promos has been commissioned by Channel 4's Andrew Mackenzie for a Saturday night showing.(The Green Light)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... A show about shocking pop promos has been commissioned by Channel 4's Andrew Mackenzie for a Saturday night showing. Visual Voodoo (an offshoot of ITN) is making the 1x90-minute X Rated:The Pop Videos they tried to Ban for an airing this...

Keating bags BBC2 spot.(Broadcast)(Rely Keating appointed as controller of British Broadcasting Corp.)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... This month the head of BBC4, Rely Keating, takes up his new position as controller of BBC2. Keating has been widely-expected to land the role since the previous controller, Jane Root, announced her decision to go to the Discovery Channel...

New dawn for ITV daytime schedules.(Independent Television, management)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... ITV has scrapped the role of daytime controller as part of a management shake up. Current controller Liam Hamilton will oversee plans for ITV's 50th birthday celebrations. The broadcaster has yet to reveal who will be responsible for the...

BBC factual cuts.(Factual)(job cuts)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... BBC has cut 37 specialist factual jobs in London and Bristol. It blames the move partly on more being commissioned from indies and from the regions. Fewer landmark shows and more long-running ones also need fewer staff producers.

Sharman seeks morning ideas.(Daytime, Alison Sharman )(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... BBC daytime head Alison Sharman has a 9.30 slot to fill after axing Kilroy replacement show Now You're Talking for its poor ratings against ITV's Trisha. The move means major job losses at Kilroy TV, which has no other shows in production...

Tucker in at Zeal.(Formats)(Simon Tucker appointed head )(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... I'm a Celebrity series producer Simon Tucker is going to Zeal as entertainment head. He will create formats with Chatterbox's Ben Hall and Tom Ellman, who have an exclusive deal with Zeal. Co-founder Mark Linsey is soon to leave, along with two...

New programmes for old: Flashback md Taylor Downing, sees reversioning as one of TV's greatest hidden skills.(Business News)
June 1, 2004... We've just passed a milestone. Last month Flashback delivered the 2000th hour of reversioned programming for The History and The Biography Channels. We've had the contract since 1996, and we're very proud of these 2000 hours. We're also proud...

TV exports hit $1 bn.(Broadcast)(television)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... The UK TV industry posted a record year in 2003, with revenues up 22% to $921m. This is the single-largest annual increase since 1998, a rise of 80% since then. The formats sector has seen exponential growth, with format sales up 62% (only...

Cineflix's reality travels to Asia.(Broadcast)(programs sales)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... London sales house Cineflix International has sold more than 100 hours of reality programming into Asia. Discovery Asia picked up the 6x1-hour technology series The Ultimates, which was co-produced with Wark Clements, One on One and...

Celador eats it up.(Formats)(sold its show to Nine Network)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Celador has sold the format and eight finished episodes of new reality show You are What You Eat to the Nine Network in Australia. The show, which sees Celador move towards reality and features, will air in the UK on CA this year.

Kiwi deals for All3Media.(Broadcast)(television programs)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... All3Media's BBC drama Hawking has been picked up by TVNZ, along with Midsomer Murders, Fifth Gear and the doc Britains's Biggest Brood. TV3 took Serious Jungle and Serious Desert, while Prime TV picked up Airport Miami 2. Living TV bought...

RDF on holiday.(Formats)(contracts for Holiday Showdown series)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... RDF's Holiday Showdown, series one, sold to Prime TV in New Zealand, while the second series was picked up by Nine Network. TF1 acquired the format, as did Endemol Germany for ProSeiben.

Canada's special relationship: Slawko Klymkiw, CBC executive director of network programming, shares his UK wish list.(International News)(Brief Article)(Interview)
June 1, 2004... How much do you co-produce with the UK? Four to six projects a year in drama, youth and documentary: recently, we've co-produced Sex Traffic with Granada and Fungus The Bogeyman with the BBC. How much of the budget do you put in? And...

Is Freesat the digital answer?(Digital TV)
June 1, 2004... The government has said that it wants the analogue television signal switched off by 2010, when it reckons that the magic figure of 95% of the population will have made the decision to switch to some form of digital signal. But the BBC...

This year's line-up of speakers at the Edinburgh TV festival should be aware that they may be in danger of a wigging from Simon Cowell, the fearsome judge from American Idol who makes his first podium appearance among the great and the good of TV for the Richard Dunn Memorial Lecture.(Month In Review)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... This year's line-up of speakers at the Edinburgh TV festival should be aware that they may be in danger of a wigging from Simon Cowell, the fearsome judge from American Idol who makes his first podium appearance among the great and the good of...

Forget the MMR jab or the great fluoride debate: entire towns around the UK are to be drip-fed digital TV next year if a proposed trial by the DCMS gets the go-ahead.(Month In Review)(Department for Culture, Media and Sport )(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Forget the MMR jab or the great fluoride debate: entire towns around the UK are to be drip-fed digital TV next year if a proposed trial by the DCMS gets the go-ahead. Their analogue signal will be switched off just as soon as the chosen hamlet...

The indignity of being shunted off his 10pm stump in favour of the BBC's Match of the Day revival proved too much for Michael Parkinson, who broke the habit of a lifetime and moved over to ITV, taking BBC producer Michael Parkinson Jr along with him.(Month In Review)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... The indignity of being shunted off his 10pm stump in favour of the BBC's Match of the Day revival proved too much for Michael Parkinson, who broke the habit of a lifetime and moved over to ITV, taking BBC producer Michael Parkinson Jr along...

Identity parade.(Storyboard News)
June 1, 2004... The insatiable quest for identity in a multichannel world makes branding a major part of the TV game. Televisual's storyboard special picks out some of the best from the past year. Intro and Make Creative demonstrate both sides of VH2, while...

Branded TV will have its day.(Broadcast)(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2004... I was pleased to see the short profile "in my view" from Mark Boyd of BBH purely because it mentions advertiser-funded programming in the introduction. Ad-funded programming--or "branded content" as we like to call it--hasn't really...

Hullabaloo about audio.(Broadcast)(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2004... I write with reference to an article in the April edition of Televisual entitled Local Knowlege, an introduction to the regional Top 30 facilities. Flix was called upon to complete a questionnaire for the regional Top 30 poll as we have...

The star pet of animal planet.(Broadcast)(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2004... Many thanks for carrying the interview with me in your last issue. However, I would like to clear up one area of confusion. Anglia produces Animal Cops and Animal Precinct for us. Pet Star (above) is produced by Brad Lachman Productions. I...

Indies must hold the line on fees.(Opinions)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Last month some extremely bouyant figures from the BTDA, which showed UK TV exports in 2003 increasing by 22% year-on-year to "almost a billion dollars, served to raise the stakes in an already fervid UK distribution sector. It's...

Market trader: as the distribution market gets ready for the back-end harvest that's being sown by broadcasters' new terms of trade, the md of RDF International talks to Kate Large about getting and spending.(Interview: Matthew Frank)
June 1, 2004... What keeps Matthew Frank coming into the office every day rather than putting his feet up in some sunny pied a terre, is that "I meet so many amazing people; and I still get that trader's thrill from doing a deal." And he knows more about that...

Look no strings: nearly 40 years after his debut Captain Scarlet returns, this time as his creator intended. Gerry Anderson tells Adrian Pennington about his innovative cgi series.(In production: Captain Scarlet)(Cover Story)
June 1, 2004... Gerry. Anderson's ambition always lay with live action rather than marionettes. "Frankly I hate them," he says. After reluctantly taking on children's puppet show The Adventures Of Twizzle in 1955, he vowed to make it look so real that...

Watch this space ...(UK Studios)
June 1, 2004... For a sector which has hitherto proved as sturdy as the bricks and recharge assets, the UK studios market has recently seen a period of alarming subsidence. Elstree Studios, home of Big Brother and Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, requires...

Make mine a double: writer-director Terry Johnson's follow-up to his Carry On hit, Cor Blimey, is a fictionalised account of the on-off relationship between Peter Cook and Dudley Moore.(In production: not only ... but always)(Movie Review)
June 1, 2004... Taking two of the best loved names in British comedy and imagining the semi-fictionalised drama of their working and persona] relationships sounds like a recipe for, if not disaster, certainly a critical mauling from a legion of fans. So when...

Red button revenues: commissioners' demand for interactivity, combined with a new access to rights, means the brightest producers are making money off the screen as well as on.(Interactive TV)
June 1, 2004... Five years of Big Brother: as it comes around again, these words may sound to some like a sentence uttered by a judge before banging down his gavel. But, reality TV refuseniks aside, they are testimony to a ground-breaking format's ability to...

Quantel's software advance.(Technology)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Quantel has released the next generation of software for its two-year-old Q range of compositing and editing kit. Key features include a multiview compositor combining blender, camera, schematic process and DVE axis views; unlimited layer...

VTR remasters BBC's Deep Blue.(BBC Worldwide Ltd., Greenlight Media)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... VTR has completed digital intermediate remastering for Deep Blue, a 35mm ocean documentary for UK theatrical release this summer. Deep Blue was conceived by the Natural History Unit at the same time as The Blue Planet series to meet the...

Golden Square Post.(Colin Oaten appointed)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Golden Square Post has appointed Colin Oaten as senior producer. Oaten's experience includes two years at MPC and nine at VTR. Among recent production credits are campaigns for Vauxhall Corsa Wacky Racers and Orange. Golden Square's Ewan...

Digidesign joins the console market.(Technology)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Audio systems developer Digidesign is entering the high-end digital console market for the first time. Icon is described as an integrated sound console environment which comprises the D-Control worksurface; Pro Tools I HD Accel which is the...

Ascent markets new network services.(Ascent Media Group)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Ascent Media, which operates facilities in Santa Monica, New York, Singapore and London, has unveiled a range of services which manage and deliver a client's assets digitally. Its digital screener service, developed by Ascent Network...

BBC leans toward XDCam.(Technology)(British Broadcasting Corp., contract)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... The BBC is testing Panasonic's P2 and Sony's XDCam format with a view to future replacement of tape-based acquisition. BBC head of technology Tiffany Hall says the decision will be the biggest she takes this year. Although Hall...

Abba gets Hensons makeover.(Facilities)(Sto.pp, contract)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Swedish facility company Sto.pp created effects for Abba's Our Last Video Ever, about four hopeful musicians in search of a record contract, directed by Carl Astrand at Radical Media. Abba band members appear alongside doll-size versions...

ETC UK.(Malta Welcome Europe celebrations, Ross Ashton)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... ETC UK's Ross Ashton designed the large format projection show for Malta's Welcome Europe event, part of the recent EU celebrations. The 15-minute work, commissioned by Ruben Caruana of Sign-It, was projected on to the Fort St Angelo in Valetta...

Cheerful Scout.(Rob King appointed)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Cheerful Scout has signed former lastminute.com sales executive Rob King as business development manager. He will focus primarily on the development of the firm's DVD business. He reports to director Peter Wrigglesworth (right) who was most...

Machine.(John Lockwood, Steve Street, Amy Robson)(new television studio)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Former Cinesite 2D and 3D heads John Lockwood and Steve Street and producer Amy Robson have set up sfx boutique Machine. It has already delivered a series of shots for Harry Potter 3. Facilities include Shake, Maya, Inferno and Combustion. "We...

Cut & Run makes LA move.(Facilities)(Los Angeles)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Commercials editing specialists Cut & Run has launched an LA offshoot. Cut & Run Los Angeles is a joint-venture between editors Dan Swietlik of Santa Monlca-based Swietlik Editorial, Steve Gandolfi of Cut & Run with executive director...

Kingston sells satellite division.(Technology)(Kingston Communications)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Kingston Inmedia, the satellite services arm of telecoms group Kingston Communications, has been sold to private equity firm The Carlyle Group for 34m [pounds sterling]. Kingston Inmedia, based in Buckinghamshire, offers broadcast and...

Gee acquires Lightworks.(Gee Broadcast Systems, LightWorks L.L.C.)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Gee Broadcast has taken over bankrupt editing systems vendor Lightworks from Fairlight Japan. Md Keith Gee says he will continue to develop and support Lightworks' products, including the Touch edit systems which are popular for longform...

APA's online link.(Facilities)(Advertising Producers Association, joint venture)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Ukshowreels, a new online joint-venture between the Advertising Producers Association (APA) and Beam.TV, will be used to collate and display APA members' directors reels. "Agencies get instant access to the reel they need, while production...

UK Post sector heads for 3bn [pounds sterling]: the post-production community must build on its international reputation, says UK Post chairman Mike Luckwell.(The Business: the works)(UNITED KINGDOM)
June 1, 2004... The UK is in the fortunate position of being a world leader in media technology, with only the US as a serious competitor. Yet the last few years have seen some major changes which present quite a challenge for any ceo. These changes...

We can be heroes: like the biblical silent epics, a cast of thousands assembled to besiege Troy. But unlike the classics, reports Michael Burns, Warner Bros' blockbuster required armies of digital extras.(Troy)(Movie Review)
June 1, 2004... Visual effects supervisor Nick Davis mustered the forces of several UK facilities for the battery of fx work on William Peterson's epic. Based on Homer's classic The Iliad, the feature is set amid the 10-year conflict and siege or Troy by...

Two sides of the pond.(In My View)(Don Taffner)(Interview)
June 1, 2004... The son of Don Taffner, who made Benny Hill a huge star in the US in the early 80s, Don Taffner Jr is vp of New York-based producer/distributor DLT Entertainment and exec producer of My Family What TV do you watch? Almost anything...

C4's hell in the kitchen beats ITV's blue lights.(Winners And Losers)(Channel 4, television program details)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Optomen's Gordon Ramsay reality show Kitchen Nightmares was an instant hit for Channel 4, attracting 4m viewers on debut and beating the concluding part of ITV1 police drama Fallen in the process, By week three, Ramsay's rants had attracted 5.1...

June TX guide: a producer's guide to the month on the box.(The End)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Big Brother from Friday 28 May 22.00:C4 Endemol's fifth outing for the show, promised this summer to be focussed on a "nastier" set of housemates than before, gets a leg-up from the last-ever episode of Friends. The Little Brother warm-up,...