Televisual articles from September 2003

Televisual archives from September 2003

Discovery Channel UK ramps up its local commissions.(Broadcast)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Discovery Channel UK has upped the amount of UK-produced programming in its autumn/winter schedule to 45 hours, a 50% increase on its spring/summer schedule. The shows are the fruits of UK programme director Katy Thorogood's ambition to...

C4's Gardam pledges 1.6m [pounds sterling] for new animation.(Animation)(Channel 4's Tim Gardam promises additional funds for original UK animation)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Channel 4's outgoing director of television Tim Gardam has promised a further 1.6m [pounds sterling] for commissioning original UK animation. The money will go towards funding shorts and specials for the channel's three animation...

The Sheffield Documentary Festival has unveiled next month's film programme, including Marc Isaac's Calais, about asylum-seekers in the French port town, and Mark Moscowitz's Stone Reader.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... The Sheffield Documentary Festival has unveiled next month's film programme, including Marc Isaac's Calais, about asylum-seekers in the French port town, and Mark Moscowitz's Stone Reader (pictured). Bristol's Brief Encounters also returns in...

ITV2.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... ITV2 is looking to commission more 60-minute standalone films for its newly-launched Celebrities Exposed strand for autumn 2003 and for 2004. So far, for a September delivery, head of programmes Daniela Neumann has ordered Love on the Rocks and...

Pinewood Studios' executive director of TV Steve Gunn is leaving the studios to develop plans for iTV projects and a new channel launch.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Pinewood Studios' executive director of TV Steve Gunn is leaving the studios to develop plans for iTV projects and a new channel launch. Gunn joined Pinewood in 2000 to oversee the conversion of two film stages into an 18,000-square foot...

The American Film Institute, BBC Training and Development and Bafta are teaming up to launch Interaction 03: a Transatlantic Producers' Forum.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... The American Film Institute, BBC Training and Development and Bafta are teaming up to launch Interaction 03: a Transatlantic Producers' Forum. To be held at Bafta's London HQ on 18 September, the event will feature case-studies and discussions...

APA and Bafta focus on UK ad talent.(Commercials)(the Advertising Producers Association and Bafta are jointly running events)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... The Advertising Producers Association (APA) and Bafta have teamed up to run the APA show, a series of events focussing on the work of UK commercials producers. At the centre of events is the APA 50, a showcase of the best commercials made...

Ice Films turns on the heat.(Commercials)(Ice Films is formed by Nicholas Burgess-Jones)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Ice Films is the new outfit set up by Nicholas Burgess-Jones for the production of promos and commercials. The roster includes Angus Cameron, Nikolai Galitzine and Dominic Hailstone, who has just completed Ice's first promo following his recent...

Lipsync hits the road for BBC's Canterbury Tales.(Film)(the BBC's 'Canterbury Tales' launches with a title sequence created by Lipsync Post)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... The BBC's drama Canterbury Tales launches this month with a title sequence created by Lipsync Post. Producer Kate Bartlett's brief was to portray a sense of pilgrimage while also introducing key protagonists. The titles for the...

Grey Day for Shadforth at Black Dog Films.(Promo)(Black Dog Films' Dawn Shadforth films the promot for Zoot Worman's single 'Grey Day')(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Black Dog Films director Dawn Shadforth was behind the camera on the promo for Zoot Woman's new single, Grey Day. The film was commissioned by John Moule and Toby Peacock at Wall of Sound, and was produced by Phil Tidy. Shot on HD, Grey...

Baraka.(Film Four gets a new on-air look from Baraka)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Film Four gets a new on-air look this month from Baraka. The package includes on-screen graphics, idents and trailer end-pages, as well as cross-channel ad spots. Working from designs by Film Four designers Pete Muckleston and Tom Briton,...

Music Video.(Marcus Warren directs a promo for Audio Bully's 'Snake')(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... QD Music Video director Marcus Warren has directed the promo for Snake, the new single from Audio Bully's. The film was commissioned by Jane Newton at Virgin Records and sees duo Simon Franks and Tom Dinsdale perform in a sci-fi influenced...

Firehouse.(is commissioned by Target Direct to put together an ad for the Royal National Institute for the Blind)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Firehouse was commissioned by agency Target Direct to put together the Royal National Institute for the Blind's first direct-response TV ad. Three case-studies, including a girl who lost her sight in the Omagh bombing, urge viewers to donate....

Promo.(News in Production)(Elton John's 'Are You Ready for Love' is being re-released)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... The re-release of Elton John's 1977 disco hit Are You Ready for Love gets a promo with the required 70s vibe courtesy of Intro. Ordered by Tom Bird at Mercury Records/Southern Fried, the video was directed by K8 (Kate Dawkins). K8 took existing...

Zeal and Exit serve it up raw.(Broadcast)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... A gameshow based on other gameshows is the latest format to come from Zeal TV. Sushi TV plays clips of bizarre Japanese gameshows to a studio audience; if they guess what the clip's about correctly on their keypad, they win 100 yen. The...

Zenith partners with Scorsese.(Broadcast)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Zenith Entertainment is to co-produce with Martin Scorsese's production outfit De Fina/Cappa on The 12 for the Sci-Fi Channel. The series, a 6x60-minute mystery-thriller written by David Pirie (Murder Rooms, The Woman in White), was...

English & Pockett wins Champions League re-brand.(English & Pockett wins a contract to re-brand the Uefa Champions League)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Broadcast design agency English & Pockett has won the contract to re-brand the Uefa Champions League across on-and off-air applications. The brand re-launch is required for the start of the 2003-2004 season and coincides with a revised...

Cheerful Scout.(Eureka Video)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Cheerful Scout is behind the forthcoming DVD of 1980s adult animation Wicked Willy. Commissioned by distributor Eureka Video, the DVD features extras shot and edited in-house at Cheeful Scout. These include an interview with creator Gray...

MPC.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... MPC has created 650 effects shots for the forthcoming Jackie Chan feature The Medallion. Working for more than two years on the project, MPC's Paddy Eason took the role of vfx supervisor on the film, overseeing a number of key sequences...

Quiet storm.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Quiet Storm kicks off Ford's Destination Football campaign with a series of broadcast idents along with viral, online and SMS versions. As well as Sky's Premiership coverage, Ford is sponsoring the Uefa Champions League coverage, entailing 17...

Talent TV has been commissioned by Disney Channel UK.(The Green Light)(Disney Channel UK)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Talent TV has been commissioned by Disney Channel UK's James Neal to make a 13x30-minute family gameshow to air this winter. The as-yet-unnamed show is among the first fruits of a new commissioning policy to harvest more home-grown programming....

Lion TV has orders for three BBC series.(The Green Light)(British Broadcasting Corporation Ltd.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Lion TV has orders for three BBC series for the autumn schedule. Time Commanders ordered by Jane Root for BBC2 takes a team into a virtual cg arena to do battle with history's greatest generals in history's greatest conflicts. It is produced by...

Kudos has won an order from Lorraine Heggessey.(The Green Light)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Kudos has won an order from Lorraine Heggessey and Gareth Neame for a third series of Spooks and a new BBC1 drama. Hustle, set in London, is a 6x60-minute series about a gang of young con-artists led by Marc Warren (State of Play). It's written...

Gasp, the joint-venture indie set up by Hat Trick.(The Green Light)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Gasp, the joint-venture indie set up by Hat Trick and Anil Gupta, Sharat Sardana and Richard Pinto (producers behind The Office and The Kumars), is to make a new BBC1 sitcom. The seven-part Worst Week of my Life, ordered by Jane Lush for a TX...

Daisy Goodwin and Ruth Wrigley of Talkback Thames.(The Green Light)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Daisy Goodwin and Ruth Wrigley of Talkback Thames are joint-executive producers on a major new ITV1 property show to air this autumn. Design Wars takes six houses from the same street in Nottingham and lets designers from different countries...

Move a Mountain Productions has picked up an order from Fr3.(The Green Light)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Move a Mountain Productions has picked up an order from Fr3 to make a 52-minute documentary marking the end of German occupation of France. Saumur Under the Boot (working title), for summer 2004, focusses on the small Loire valley town and its...

ITV trio clinch Chrysalis deal.(Deals)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... The bid by three former ITV chiefs for Chrysalis's TV interests has finally gone through with a price-tag of 51m [pounds sterling]. Ex-ITV programme head David Liddiment, former Granada chief executive Steve Morrison and ex-Granada...

Elstein plots ITV coup.(Broadcast)(David Elstein)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Former Channel 5 chief executive David Elstein has assembled a secret management team to oust Carlton's Michael Green and Granada's Charles Allen if the proposed ITV merger goes through. Elstein argues he can raise the company's pre-tax...

Lighting to up C5's budget.(Broadcast)(Channel 5 CEO Jane Lighting)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Channel 5's new ceo Jane Lighting used her first season-launch to promise an increased programme budget for 2004. Lighting put no figure on the increase, as negotiations arc still going on with the channel's owners, United Business Media...

Sky music boss Mordue ousted.(People)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... The head of Sky's newly-launched music channels Lester Mordue has left the company after only six months in the job. Flaunt, Scuzz and The Amp, the three channels he was headhunted from VH1 to run, have so far failed to garner expected...

New Freeview channel axed.(Deals)(CBM)(Crown Castle UK Ltd.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... The planned Freeview channel CBM hit the buffers when channel 22's licence-owners Crown Castle pulled out of a deal with a consortium led by ex-TV-am executive, Mike Hollingsworth. The reason it gave was CBM's "slower than expected" progress...

Rights revolution and evolution: with the communications bill now an act, Optomen MD Peter Gillbe foresees a brave, but commercial, new world.(The Business News)
September 1, 2003... For the majority of independent producers, the only secondary income is from international programme-sales. Relying on distributors to find that extra income has been a relatively easy option, often the only one, but this business model is...

News Storyboard.
September 1, 2003... This month we give Storyboard over to Cartoon Forum, this month's animation market in Varese, Italy. Look out for farmyard advice from Siriol; a hunt for all that's cool from Lupus Films; a sneak peak under Blue Zoo's bed; and some...

Investors eye up independents.(Broadcast)
September 1, 2003... The sands are well and truly shifting for independents after the communications act. Business is looking up, and outside investment is coming in. But haven't we been here before? At the end of the 90s, too, money was pouring into the...

"Watch out, the appetite's back," warns the media's tidiest beard, Noel Edmonds.(Month in Review)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... "Watch out, the appetite's back," warns the media's tidiest beard, Noel Edmonds. At first, Televisual assumes this is a desire for new knitwear after publicly auctioning his infamous jumper collection for charity. But no, a more detailed read...

The ITC changed its stance last month on the murky world of "psychic" entertainment shows like Living TV's Crossing Over and 6xth Sense.(Month in Review)(United Kingdom Independent Television Commission)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... The ITC changed its stance last month on the murky world of "psychic" entertainment shows like Living TV's Crossing Over and 6xth Sense. An ITC statement, penned in what appears to be chicken's blood, lands on Televisual's news desk. It...

Uneasy speculation mounts in Soho's bars as to whether Chris Morris's new show will star Nathan Barley, the creation of co-writer Charlie Brooker, and whether it will reveal exactly which self-orbiting upper-middle-class media ego the character is based on.(Month in Review)
September 1, 2003... Uneasy speculation mounts in Soho's bars as to whether Chris Morris's new show will star Nathan Barley, the creation of co-writer Charlie Brooker, and whether it will reveal exactly which self-orbiting upper-middle-class media ego the character...

Good news for those 70s sci-fi fans left languishing in a Doctor Who-deprived purgatory: B7 Enterprises has secured the remake rights to Blake's 7, a quarter of a century after the show first aired on the BBC.(Month in Review)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Good news for those 70s sci-fi fans left languishing in a Doctor Who-deprived purgatory: B7 Enterprises has secured the remake rights to Blake's 7, a quarter of a century after the show first aired on the BBC. B7, set up by ex-BBC Worldwide...

Fred Barron's family matters.(Broadcast)
September 1, 2003... Further to your profile for Fred Barren (The team player, July issue), I appreciate that this was a profile of Fred, but I want to express our disappointment at a number of inaccuracies in relation to our show My Family. The profile states...

Killer-app from NatGeo library.(Broadcast)(Brief Article)(Correction Notice)
September 1, 2003... I would like to point out that in August's issue of Televisual, it was incorrectly stated that Partizan had sourced and licensed their footage of a killer whale from the National Geographic Channel. This was, in fact, provided by the National...

Reputation, reputation, reputation.(Opinions)
September 1, 2003... We've done some joined-up thinking in this issue and are offering our showcase of top broadcast independents a month earlier (see p19) to coincide with the Edinburgh TV festival. Simple really: why not parade the brightest and best UK indies in...

Channel switcher: a year into the job and the director of programmes at the Discovery Channel UK has stamped it with a very British feel. James Hamilton talks to her about making the news and building a loyal audience.(Interview: Katy Thorogood)
September 1, 2003... When Katy Thorogood took over control of the Discovery Channel in the UK, her stated aim was to make it more British, more energetic and fresher. Just over a year later, even the most cursory of glances at the schedules reveals that, although...

Highly-defined film-making: Elemental Films aims to rewrite the film-making rules with its new HD feature, Solid Air. Suzel Pitty meets a director-producer partnership hoping to upset the status quo.(In Production: Solid Air)
September 1, 2003... Director May Miles Thomas and her producer partner Owen Thomas are used to steering an uncharted course with their production company Elemental Films. They may well antagonise a conservative industry in their guise of pioneers of digital...

Who's who at Edinburgh: another Edinburgh TV festival, and another chance for commission-hungry producers to track down those with the cheque books. Below, how to recognise the ones it might just be worth buying a drink.(Edinburgh TV Festival)
September 1, 2003... Whatever the collective noun for broadcast commissioners is (a pitch? a schmooze?) they're certainly a restless breed. The individuals might be similar from one Edinburgh to another, but they rarely stay in the same job for too long. Dawn...

Production 100: the UK's top 100 independent producers of broadcast television.
September 1, 2003... Independents get rights in their sights A healthier turnover, with budgets back at 2001 levels even though fees are on the slide. That's this year's snapshot of a typical broadcast independent's balance-sheet. And with the communications...

A word from our sponsor: with the future of the traditional funding-model for broadcast TV looking bleak, advertiser-funded programming is being touted as a possible saviour. Jon Creamer finds out why the number of shows financed in this way has so far failed to live up to the massive hype.(Advertiser-Funded Programming)
September 1, 2003... The traditional TV funding-model has taken a battering in recent years. Advertising revenues, along with audiences, are being spread thinly across a range of channels and media, and there's no sign of any reverse in this trend. But just...

Cleared for take-off: the UK waits years for feature-length cg animation and then four come along at once. James Hamilton meets the men behind Shrek and An Ideal Husband and finds out just what they're doing in west London.(Valiant In Production)
September 1, 2003... Ealing Studios' perennial status as the resuscitation dummy of the film world--forever doomed to be practised on, but never fully reanimated--might now be over. Sold last year by the National Film and Television School and now run by a...

IBC unplugged.(IBC)
September 1, 2003... The continuing squeeze on production budgets leaves many facilities unwilling to invest unless they are absolutely sure they can see a financial return or genuine workflow efficiencies. Visitors to Amsterdam will hope to find some answers among...

Reputations.
September 1, 2003... In a technology-dependent business, the quality of the relationship with a kit supplier is as important as the quality of the kit itself. We sent detailed survey forms to 1500 UK facilities (including studios and OB firms as well as...

422 South tests Frame Factory.(Facilities)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... 422 South has completed the animated film The Painter, commissioned by Hewlett-Packard (HP) to test its new rendering service, Frame Factory. HP asked the facility to developed the concept and to produce and direct the animation. The...

On Sight launches HD dubbs arm.(Facilities)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Hire firm On Sight has invested 2m [pounds sterling] in an HD dubbing and duplication facility, On Sight Upstairs, at its Berners Street HQ. The facility offers transfers to and from all high-definition formats including HDCam, HD-D5 and...

Stream.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Stream is repositioning itself as an interactive design and authoring company. It will continue to work as a high-end DVD design and production house (it recently completed Doves' disc Where we're Calling From). Lucy Protheroe joins Stream from...

Sony previews 360-degree camera.(Technology)
September 1, 2003... Sony has demonstrated the latest advances in its 360-degree camera system, FourthView. The prototype, which debuted in 2000, is a multidirectional camera able to generate 360-degree panoramas in DigiBeta. Originally designed to create PS2...

MTV Broadcast makes play for post market.(Facilities)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... MTV Broadcast Services, the Camden-based facilities provider for MTV Networks Europe, has created two new trading divisions in a bid to position itself as a leading full-service facility. MTV Studios, run by Peter Wright, will manage the...

Keith Williams has joined Ascent Media-owned St Anne's Post as general manager.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Keith Williams has joined Ascent Media-owned St Anne's Post as general manager. Williams's relationship with the facility group goes back many years: he co-founded Soho 601 (now Ascent-owned One Post), and was development director of Soho...

Mosaic Pictures.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Documentary production and post facility Mosaic Pictures has signed Peter Hodges, formerly of The Sound Designers, to head-up its new digital sound studio in Broadwick Street. The suite includes an Avid Audiovision and Nuendo digital editing...

Pepper.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Pepper has animated a TV and cinema spot for Swiss milk processor Advico via Young & Rubicam. It features three Fresian cows and a calf singing an acapella track. Four hours of 35mm film was shot of the animals on blue-screen. The mouth shapes...

New effects package in test.(Facilities)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... A new set of workflow enhancement tools for 3D and 2D work is in beta-test at One. The 50 [pounds sterling] standalone applications from UK developer KCIRA include Play, a resolution-independent player that lets 3D artists view images in a...

Tomb Raider action for Soho.(Facilities)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... UK post-houses have created the vfx for Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, directed by Jan de Bont for Paramount Pictures. MPC worked on around 200 shots including the space-pod below, six cg Shadow Guardians modelled and animated in...

Leitch raises $20m finance.(Technology)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Leitch Technology has raised C$20m (9.04m [pounds sterling]) in shares to shore up its business. The maker of video procesing and editing equipment entered into an agreement with underwriters to sell 4.45m shares at C$4.5 each. The firm...

Cinesite builds on new business.(Facilities)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Cinesite Europe has installed a Northlight film scanner and Arri laser recorder as part of its move to new and expanded premises. The Kodak-owned facility has taken a 15-year lease on two floors at Medius House, Sheraton Street. It win...

Outpost adds audio suite.(Facilities)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Outpost Facilities has allied with former LWT sound mixer David Taylor to offer sound dubbing at its Pinewood base. The facility has also added a sound suite to its eight edit suites including an Avid DS and Symphony. "The time was...

HD previews at De Lane Lea.(Facilities)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... De Lane Lea is offering what is claimed to be Soho's first HD preview theatre. The Digital Projection Highlite 6000DSX, installed by Gearbox, is available in either 37- of 60-seat rooms. De Lane Lea red Peter Joly says "the focus on HD...

Pause the red button for thought: Paul Jones, md of One Post, calls for more engaging forms of interactive advertising.(The Business)
September 1, 2003... Interactive advertising has always been something of a hobby of mine. I was lucky enough to attend a seminar in New York a couple of years ago, where the big noises in iTV regaled us with tales of their success. It only seemed a matter of...

If you build it ... the founders of a new multi-million-pound studio and sound recording facility in central London are banking on an high-definition future. Is their optimism justified?(The Hospital)
September 1, 2003... The first full HD television studio in Europe has opened for business in London's Covent Garden. The Hospital is a mixed-media facility created by musician and producer Dave Stewart and Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft. The studio, the...

Production directory: the A-Z of production services.(Directory)
September 1, 2003... 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 ACCOUNTANTS We are a small friendly firm...

Only golf and horses.(In My View)(Interview)
September 1, 2003... Do you get the chance to watch much TV? Watch may be an exaggeration. I am in competition with my three-year-old daughter who watches Nick Junior all day. However, when she's asleep I turn on all the TVs and "surf" from room to room. ...

September TX guide: a producer's guide to the month on the box.(The End)(Calendar)
September 1, 2003... The Games from Sunday 7 September, 21.00: C4 Week-long immersion in Endemol's reality sports-show in which the likes of Melanie C and James Hewitt vie for gold in judo or high-diving starts on Monday. At 18.00 hidden-cameras snoop around...

New Ealing comedy turns the cameras on TV.(Hair-In-The-Gate)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... E4's Pilot Show this month marks the TV debut of a reborn Ealing Studios, set on building on Ealing's comic tradition. But it's a far cry from Ladykillers or The Man in the White Suit, this show dupes the public into taking part in pilots for...