Televisual articles from November 2005

Televisual archives from November 2005

FID teams with Sony BMG to make music TV shows and DVDs.(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... Fremantle International Distribution (FID) has signed a joint-venture agreement with music publisher/record label Sony BMG to make and distribute music event programming and DVDs worldwide. The 50:50 joint-venture will see FID and Sony BMG...

UK children's licensing business now tops #2bn.(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... The childrens' licensing business in the UK is now worth over #2 billion a year. A report commissioned by the Brand Licensing Show and research company NPD Licence Tracker has found that whereas girls are more driven by off- screen...

IN BRIEF: Five commitment.(Channel Five Holdings Ltd contract with Chorion)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... Five has made a commitment to broadcasting Chorion's Make Way for Noddy until 2012. It will be shown at least 30 weeks a year; currently it airs daily at 7.45am. Alongside the core programme, Chorion is to produce 100x2-minute shows called...

IN BRIEF: New directors.(Nice Shirt Films appoints Sean Meehan )(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... Nice Shirt Films has taken on a new director in the shape of Australian Sean Meehan. He has already worked on ads for Shell, ANZ, Volkswagen and Quantas. Meanwhile, Nexus Productions has signed the Swedish directors RBG6. Otherwise known as...

IN BRIEF: New channel for die-hard romantics.(Tony Brill and Tony Hazell plans for new channel)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... Tony Brill, former Yorkshire Tyne Tees md, and business partner Tony Hazell are to launch a new channel for die-hard romantics in 2006. Amore? TV will be dedicated to shows of a romantic nature, and will launch on Sky. Brill and Hazell...

BT makes move into TV business.(British Telecommunications PLC)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... BT is to make its move into the TV market with the upcoming launch of a Freeview box with PVR capabilities. The box, which will be on the market next year, will also allow viewers to access video-on-demand services that will include the...

BAA to awards more artists.(British Animation Awards to include three other categories)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... Next March's British Animation Awards will include three new categories: best european feature, new platforms for animation and best voice artist. That will bring the total to 15 categories for the 10th year of the BAA. The three finalists for...

IN BRIEF: Creative and practical training.(National Film and Television School teams with The Script Factory )(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... The National Film and Television School has teamed up with The Script Factory to launch the new NFTS Short Course Factory. The idea of the new venture is to combine the best of both organisations, and offer creative and practical training for...

Mayfly's fun-filled life in a day created for Vodafone.
November 10, 2005... Gorgeous's Peter Thwaites brought in Passion Pictures and Absolute to help create Vodafone's new spot for BBH. The ad is BBH's debut for Vodafone. It concentrates on the "fun" aspects of Vodafone's various chat, romance, gaming and video...

Pioneer makes drama out of Challenger shuttle crisis.(Pioneer Productions documentary film)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... Pioneer Productions has picked up a commission from Channel 4 and Nat Geo Channel in the US to make a drama-doc about the destruction of the Challenger space shuttle. Challenger tells the story of how the 25th shuttle flight took off...

IN BRIEF: New idents for Canvas.(BBC Broadcast rebranding)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... The artist formerly known as BBC Broadcast - now Red Bee Media - is behind 12 new idents for Canvas, VRT's flagship channel in Germany. The rebranding is based around the idea of serendipity, and includes an onscreen presentation system. This...

IN BRIEF: Campaign for Deli Sandwiches.(McDonald advertising campaign done by Quiet Storm )(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... Quiet Storm has whipped up a new viral campaign for McDonald's new range of Deli Sandwiches. Each of the short spots features a lifestyle coach - played by Russell Bentley - encouraging people to make the most of their lunchtimes. Kate...

A little more camp.(Studio AKA Ltd advertising campaigns for upcoming series)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... Studio AKA was asked to inject a little more camp into the idents for the upcoming series of Granada's celeb reality series, I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, which is back on air this month on ITV1. AKA director Grant Orchard created...

OSF makes meerkat TV special.(Oxford Scientific Films)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... Oxford Scientific Films (OSF) is making a one-hour special on the meerkats of the Kalahari desert for the BBC's Natural World Strand. It's being made with the help of Cambridge University's department of animal behaviour, which has been...

IN BRIEF: Packaging and menu design.(Nathan Barley DVD packaging desing given by Framestore CFC)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... Both the packaging and the menu design for the Nathan Barley DVD were created by Framestore Design. The menus feature Barley (Nick Burns) filming himself with his Wasp T12 mobile phone; Framestore CFC's engineers had to build a special...

Talent hunts most married man.(Talent Television wins commission)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... Talent Television has bagged its first Channel 4 commission - a documentary special called The Hunt for the Man with 80 Wives. The 60-minute doc is about the search for the 49-year-old Warren Jeffs, a wanted man who has 80 wives and over...

Mel and Griff return to the BBC with "new" show.(Talkbackthames contracts with Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones )(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... Talkbackthames has brought Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones back together for a new programme reminiscing over their old Alas Smith & Jones shows for BBC1. The series pulls together classic Smith & Jones footage from the first series in...

IN BRIEF: Titles and graphics.
November 10, 2005... No Brake created the super-heroine-inspired titles and in-show graphics for the Alfresco-produced S4C show Ydy Gwenno'n Gallu. The programme has presenter Gwenno Saunders trying jobs she's never done before. Dave Wiffen was compositor, Paul...

IN BRIEF: Terrible Tim.(animation review )(Brief Article)(Television Program Review)
November 10, 2005... The hero of Terrible Tim - an eight-minute Flash animation that Uli Meyer Animation created for Nicktoons and Nickelodeon UK - causes chaos with his regular emissions of wind. The script was written by Brian Boyle, who also co-directed and...

Regenerating a London tower block.(BBC1 series info)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... A new 8x40-minute BBC1 series will follow the two-and-a-half-year process of regenerating a London tower block. The Pepys estate in Deptford was one of the poorest council estates in the country, but is being turned around following the sale of...

Hopeless housewives Perfect Housewives.(RDF Media selects Anthea Turner for its new show)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... RDF Media has enlisted Anthea Turner to try to turn hopeless housewives into domestic goddesses for a new show commissioned by BBC3. Each episode of the 8x60-minute series will attempt to transform two women in a light-hearted manner. To do...

Ragdoll commissions.
November 10, 2005... Ragdoll is knuckling down to two new commissions from CBBC, both of which are due to air in 2007. The first is called In the Night Garden and is a 100x30-minute series. It has been devised by Anne Wood and Andrew Davenport, who are the team...

Robin Hood drama.(Tiger Aspect shows)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... Tiger Aspect is to bring Robin Hood to lifein a 13-part drama for BBC1's 2006 Saturday-night schedule. Written by Dominic Minghella, the show has been commissioned by Jane Tranter and Peter Fincham. Minghella will also be an executive...

Hat Trick commission.(Hat Trick North )(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... Hat Trick North has won its first commission from BBC3 to produce Teenage Supermodel, a comedy by Carmel Morgan with additional material from Jan McVerry and Stephen Russell. It tells the story of the Webb family, and what happens when...

IN BRIEF: New film for Ford.(Imagination film for Ford Iosis concept vehicle)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... Design and communications company Imagination has produced a new "dark and brooding" and "highly stylised" film for the Ford Iosis concept vehicle. It was directed by Mike Gosbee and produced by Angus Elliot and Dan Beak of Imagination. The...

RDF on expansion trail.(IWC Media contract)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... RDF Media has re-entered takeover talks with IWC Media and has poached BBC3 boss Stuart Murphy to become its new creative director. RDF and IWC were in talks earlier this year but no agreement was reached. But now RDF has issued a...

Tinopolis takes aim at TVC buyout.(The Television Corporation)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... Welsh independent Tinopolis is attempting a takeover of The Television Corporation. The company has bid 90p a share, valuing TVC at about #37.5m (Tinopolis is valued at just #10m). Tinopolis floated on Aim last year and has been...

Upwardly mobile Endemol.(launching of two mobile channels )(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... Endemol is launching two mobile channels and creating a division to plan further growth in the sector. The two channels will focus on reality and comedy, showing reversioned clips from Endemol Group's own content. The new division, headed...

BBC3 drops news.
November 10, 2005... BBC3 has been given the go-ahead to ditch its 7pm news and plough money saved back into factual programing. DCMS boss Tessa Jowell gave the all-clear for the move from 2 December. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

Beazley makes it official.
November 10, 2005... Jon Beazley has now officially taken over from Jane Lush as head of entertainment at the BBC. He has been acting controller since Lush's departure to start up her own indie. He reports to director of TV Jana Bennett. Copyright:...

How to exploit your DVD potential.(DVDs market is increasing)
November 10, 2005... Strawberry Entertainment's md Caroline Holden casts an eye over the growing DVD market DVD rights have long had great financial potential for producers. But over the last few years they have grown in status considerably/from an...

Lion roars for China.(Lion TV renewed its agreement with Chinese satellite broadcaster Phoenix )(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... Lion TV has renewed its agreement with Chinese satellite broadcaster Phoenix in a deal that ensures "unique access to aspects of Chinese culture," according to md Richard Bradley. Joint-programming about China for the global TV market...

Antipodeans acquire from BBC WW.(BBC Worldwide Ltd. television show Honey we're Killing the Kids is sold to Ten, an australian network)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... BBC Worldwide has sealed a format deal for Honey we're Killing the Kids with Australia's Network Ten. An Australian version will be produced by Freehand Productions for broadcast in 2006. BBC Worldwide also sold a raft of shows:...

Silver River picks Fremantle.(distribution agreement)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... Daisy Goodwin's new production company Silver River has chosen FremantleMedia to handle distribution of shows, formats and ancillary rights outside of the UK. "I was lucky enough to have been approached by a number of distribution...

Dogs go global.(Channel 4 Television Co. sold It's Me or the Dog television show TV Norge, YLE, TV4)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... C4I has sold Ricochet's 6x25-minute series It's Me or the Dog to Norway's TV Norge, Finland's YLE, Sweden's TV4, Hong Kong's TVB, Holland's SBS and Denmark's TV2. M6 in France has also bought the format. C4 has commissioned a second...

RDF gambles on late-night poker.(RDF Media's poker based shows)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... RDF Rights has signed an agreement with Welsh indie Presentable to represent the worldwide rights to its 80 hours of poker-based shows, including Late Night Poker, All Star Poker Challenge and the William Hill Grand Prix Poker Tournament. ...

Minotaur moves at Mipcom.(Minotaur International licensed the documentaries to TV2 ASA)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... Minotaur International has licensed Ginger TV's new 3x60-minute documentary Jack Osbourne - Adrenaline Rush to TV2 in Denmark and TV400 in Sweden. Made for ITV2, the show follows him as he trains to climb El Capitan in Yosemite National...

Animation.(Celador International has licensed the new television series to ABC Television)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... Celador International has licensed Roobarb and Custard Too, the latest incarnation of the cult series, to Australia's ABC Television. The new series was written by creator Grange Calveley and again features Richard Briers as the voice of the...

The appropriate channels.(television production companies review of broadband services)
November 10, 2005... With consultation on Ofcom's review of the TV production sector due to start before the year-end, questions are popping up that the regulator may not have envisaged when it launched that review in May. One issue was always going to be...

MONTH IN REVIEW.(British Broadcasting Corp.)
November 10, 2005... BBC execs enjoyed a couple of weeks Blackberry-free when their gizmos were disabled after going berserk and dishing out emails randomly among the BBC's top 300 Very Important People. For a while, Mark Thompson was perplexed to be receiving...

Letter: An eye for detail: Dog House story.(Letter to the Editor)
November 10, 2005... Thanks for the piece on Dog House in last month's Televisual; things are certainly vibrant in Bristol at the moment. However, to avoid any confusion that may have been caused by the article, I'd like point out that we are not responsible for...

Letter: Lipsync's good year in bad times.(Letter to the Editor)
November 10, 2005... I read the article accompanying the top post-production companies with some interest. Anyone talking to post supervisors, the barometer of post activity, knows they've been extremely concerned over the lack of films in production - and...

Letter: Beam staff leave with no WPP ties.(Letter to the Editor)
November 10, 2005... I was rather surprised to read in Televisual that Imagevault's rather exciting new venture with four of the originating members of Beam.tv had been taken over by WPP and Clockwork while I wasn't looking. I look forward to being able to...

Another commercial challenge.(top 30 commercials)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... It's November again so it must be the Commercials Top 30, Televisual's yearly ranking of the best and the brightest of those production outfits that create the mini-epics we watch in between the TV shows and before the movie. Once again,...

INTERVIEW - IONA JONES: The right questions.(Interview)
November 10, 2005... Without pausing to settle into her new role at S4C, Iona Jones is pursuing a radical new approach to the rights - and responsibilities - of the independent production company. Poz Hulls finds out more Going over and above what the terms of...

THE SNOW QUEEN: The killer queen.
November 10, 2005... Like The Snowman, It's a Wonderful Life and the Queen's speech, The Snow Queen is set to become a televisual Christmas classic. But getting it made was anything but a fairytale, as Poz Hulls finds out Once upon a time, in a magical land...

MUSIC FOR PICTURES: Beat on the box.(music for television programs)
November 10, 2005... Music remains the unsung hero of the television and film industries, but has the power to transform a scene completely. Simon Meek listens up for the latest trends in composition Outer space. Absolute quiet. Sound bleeds in: low-level...

PAUL MARQUESS: He's got a show to run.(television producer for The Bill)
November 10, 2005... What will the man behind the gay kiss on The Bill, the first stab at interactivity for Family Affairs and the very existence of Footballers' Wives do next? Poz Hulls visits new indie Showrunner to find out The timing was perfect. When...

COMMERCIALS TOP 30: The ad spot's hotshots.
November 10, 2005... New production houses have emerged over the year, old names have bitten the dust and, on the horizon, some more radical changes loom. But first, who gets the top spot for 2005? The main change to the top of the commercials league-table...

COMMERCIALS TOP 30.
November 10, 2005... 1 RSA 42 Beak Street, London W1F 9RH, 020 7437 7426, rsafilms.com, md Kai-Lu Hsiung directors Acne, J Ackerlund, Angel, Babak, S Bayer, L Briet, L Dunmore, S Ellis, B Foraker, H5, J Hardstaff, C Hartwill, B Howells, H Johnson, A...

COMMECIALS TOP 30: Who's in, who's out?
November 10, 2005... Top directing and editing talent comes to the fore as commercials producers vote for their favoured suppliers - as well as their favourite clients As well as ranking the top production outfits in the advertising world, the Commercial Top...

AWARDS - COMMERCIAL TOP 30: And the winners are.
November 10, 2005... The top five UK awards are the BTAA, Creative Circle, D&AD, Cannes Lions, KinsaleSharks and APA 50... atRADICAL MEDIA Surf for ALMAP BBDO Sao Paulo/Pepsi APA 50 Saturday Hip Hop for TBWA Chiat Day/Apple Creative Circle bronze ...

CHANNEL LAUNCHES: The channel churn.
November 10, 2005... Becoming a broadcaster is now a relatively simple affair. The real challenge is to stay afloat in the sea of channels that have flooded the market in the past few years. Simon Meek checks out what's going on It's all about brands and...

SKY BRINGS HDTV TO THE UK.(British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC introduces high definition services)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... BSkyB launches its HD service across the UK and Ireland in the new year. Sky HD ("a premium proposition, but priced in a way that is attainable") will include a Sky Sports channel, Sky1, Artsworld, a Sky Box Office channel and two Sky Movies...

Tiny HD camera takes to the air.(Extreme Video teams up with Pi in the Sky to develop a remotely operated Television camera system)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... Extreme Video has teamed with blimp-hire specialist Pi in the Sky to develop a remotely operated HD TV-camera system, which it claims is the smallest and lightest of its type. The custom-built HD camera weighs in at 2.5kg and is fitted...

Soho dry-hire grading suite planned.(London Editing Machines Ltd.)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... Hire outfit London Editing Machines plans to build a digital grading suite in the heart of Soho which it will dry-hire to independent film- makers. The company, which has made its name in the film market for supplying editing kit and...

IN BRIEF: Wordley Production upgrade.(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... Cardiff's Wordley Production has bought a Smoke DI and upgraded its existing Smoke to match. It has used the kit to reversion the Mitsubishi spot, Colt Ooh Aah. The Mill has installed a Digital Vision DVRN grain-management system. De Lane...

Digital cinema initiative kicks off.(UK Film Council)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... The roll-out of an #11.5m project to install a network of digital screens across the UK has begun. The UK Film Council initiative will see 240 screens (211 cinemas) kitted out to show digitally delivered content by March 2007. So far 10...

Scotland's premiere facilities build ready in March.
November 10, 2005... Glasgow's #3.5m post-production facility and studio build has slipped slightly in its completion date, now with an anticipated March 2006 launch. Film City Glasgow is a project spearheaded by Sigma Films with the support of Glasgow City...

IN BRIEF: Final Touch system.(Mine company installs Final Touch's high definition grading platform )(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... South London post-house Mine has installed a Final Touch HD grading platform. The Silicon Colour system is being used on Creel Commission's promo This Life. Soho's Pogo Films is planning to buy a Final Touch system and is currently expanding...

IN BRIEF: W1 Broadcast outwits thieves.(British Telecommunications PLC's employees caught of selling a stolen video-recorder of the company)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... W1 Broadcast Shop managed to outwit thieves who were trying to sell a stolen HD video-recorder worh #40k. Two men - masquerading as builders and claiming the kit was given to them by a client in lieu of payment - were arrested after W1...

Brummy site for TVE hire business.(business expansion)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... Post-production kit hire specialist TVE is expanding operations into Birmingham. The Hampshire-based firm says the move is to improve service to its northern and Scottish customers. TVE's Anna Ranger is relocating to Birmingham to...

Mash of formats for Cullum promo.(The Facility handles Jamie Cullum's video)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... Soho post-outfit The Facility was behind the latest Jamie Cullum video Mind Trick - a promo built from five acquisition formats ranging from HD to a Nokia mobile phone stream. As Cullum plays his latest jazz number, his audience records the...

IN BRIEF: Soho Images facility.(Soho Images invests for a new film scanners and recorders)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... Soho Images has spent #1m on a digital film bureau, which enables the facility to record to 35mm from any video or data format. An ArriScan film scanner and two ArrisLaser film recorders have been installed in the Meard Street facility,...

AI breakthough for TV.(Televirtual develops Metvoice virtual weather reporter, which turns text into voice)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... The world's first synthetic presenter has been brought to life by Televirtual in a project that could cut costs for regional broadcasters. The virtual weather reporter, Metman, is generated automatically from a few lines of text-based...

Technicolor expands DVD services.(Technicolor Creative Services, recruitments)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... Technicolor Creative Services is creating 32 extra posts in its Perivale DVD operation to accommodate new business from UMD and next- generation DVD formats. By the end of the recruitment drive, DVD general manager Neil Bottrill says his...

Helping hand for techie women.(Women in Film and Television offers grades to technical women)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... An initiative to help women develop their careers in film and TV has been extended to cover technical roles. Technical change - an extension of Women in Film and TV's "directing change" initiative - will place six women alongside...

Autodesk pays $182m for Alias.
November 10, 2005... Autodesk is buying Alias for $182m in cash - a deal that will give it a stranglehold on the 3D graphics market. Autodesk says it will continue to develop Alias products in conjunction with its own. Redundancies are expected. Copyright:...

Beauty and the business beast.(Film and video production companies, strategic investment)
November 10, 2005... Ascent Media's chief financial officer Terry Downing takes a sobering look at the post market The new millennium has not coincided with a boom-period for the UK media industry - unless you consider boom more in the context of bust. The...

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM: How to make magic.(Director Ed Fraiman plans remaking of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream')
November 10, 2005... Director Ed Fraiman had a fresh take on Shakespeare's comedy classic and enrolled Pepper Post to bring his vision to life, looking for an elemental approach to the magical fairytale Early in the production cycle, A Midsummer Night's Dream...

Repeat success for More4's social drama.(television audience ratings)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2005... More4 had a strong start on Monday 10 October, with A Very Social Secretary from Mentorn picking up 484,000 viewers and a 2.9% share. C4 then screened the drama at 21.00 on Thursday 20 October, when it had 1.9m viewers, a 9% audience share. ...