Encore Magazine articles from May 2004

Encore Magazine archives from May 2004

Editor's note.(News)(issue preview)
May 1, 2004... In this month's audio feature, Encore finds sound facilities diversifying into a broader range of jobs to complement television work and what there is of feature work. The emerging demand for sound mixing for DVD releases and several...

Pratt to leave AusFILM.(News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... AUSFILM'S commissioner in Los Angeles David Pratt will not renew his contract and will leave the organisation in July. Pratt has been with AusFILM, the representative body that markets Australia as a film and television production...

US heavyweights back '41 North' and head south for seminars.(News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... FIRST-TIME scriptwriter Heather Morris's script 41 North, set in a children's oncology ward, has been optioned by US production company Talk Story Productions. The script was first pitched to Talk Story principal Kathie Fong Yoneda 18...

LWT brings 'Holiday Airport' to Australia.(News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... KINGSFORD Smith Airport in Sydney is currently a hive of filmmaking activity, playing host to two observational documentaries from LWT and the Seven Network. Granada Productions is facilitating the 10-week shoot of LWT's Holiday Airport, a...

Deneen in deep grass for 'Kraal'.(News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... COMMERCIALS and short film director David Deneen is set to helm his debut feature, Kraal, a $10.5-$11m horror that is in the final stages of financing and casting negotiations ahead of an August/September Queensland shoot. Executive...

'Drowner' to shoot.(Production)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... "A frontier western and a love trilogy" is how director Jeff Darling describes his $20 million feature The Drowner, which is set to go into production in September this year. The film, which will be shot in Broken Hill and Sydney, follows the...

French take 'Day off'.(Production)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... French actor Sophie Marceau will travel to Australia to shoot the French-financed feature RTT or Day Off, which is due to be shot here in September. It's believed the big budget film, which will be shot in Paris, Sydney, Cairns and an outback...

'Clancy' for 2005 shoot.(Production)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... US-based Australian director and producer Simon Wincer (Phar Lap, Free Willy) has confirmed he will start shooting a feature based on Banjo Paterson's Clancy of the Overflow in autumn 2005. Wincer has been developing the project for a number of...

'Ashley' for Docklands.(Production)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Hating Alison Ashley, the adaptation of the Robyn Klein novel starring pop star/actor Delta Goodrem and produced by John Brousek and Elizabeth Howatt-Jackman, will shoot at the Victorian Docklands studio site this month. Central City's chief...

'Pink Ladies' develop.(Production)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Tasmanian writer Belinda Bradley is collaborating with Franz Docherty on a feature script, The Pink Ladies, which follows the formation of a women's soccer team in a rural community. The script is currently in its third draft, with development...

'Twist' to shoot in NSW.(Production)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... First time feature filmmaker Mark Eder has mortgaged his house in order to finance the low budget feature Twists of Fate for which he takes director, scriptwriter and producer credit. The film shot from April 13 until May 3 in the NSW central...

Vixen develops 'Break In'.(Production)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Fox-Studios Australia-based production company Vixen is in development on a telemovie Break In. The telemovie, which has no cast attached, will be directed by Denise Roberts working with producer Allan Bruty.

SBS goes for song.(Production)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... SBS is in the early stages of developing a documentary series looking at the phenomenon of karaoke, with researchers attending suburban karaoke venues to observe multicultural Australians in full voice. SBS independent general manager Glenys...

FFC backs 'Boys' and digital thriller.(News)(Film Finance Corporation Australia)
May 1, 2004... A BIG-SCREEN adaptation of the novel December Boys and the low-budget thriller Wolf Creek received production finance from the Film Finance Corporation Australia (FFC) at the organisation's March board meeting. December Boys, based on...

Marshall sadly missed by all.(Obituary)(Obituary)
May 1, 2004... Bill Marshall, a significant figure in the Australian film industry, died in Melbourne in early April after a long illness. He was a founding partner of the legal firm Marshalls and Dent, and had been executive producer of 18 film and...

RIP Simmonds.(Obituary)(Obituary)
May 1, 2004... Writer James Wulf Simmonds passed away on March 21 in Queensland, just weeks before production was to commence on his latest screenplay, Down & Dirty--a heist film to be directed by Geoff Cox for producer Phil Avalon. Simmonds began his...

Burstall passes away.(Obituary)(Obituary)
May 1, 2004... Director and producer Tim Burstall passed away on April 19 after suffering a stroke. Burstall was chair of Hexagon Film Productions and a board member of Film Victoria. As well as receiving awards from the Venice and Sorrento Film...

Changing legislation: proves taxing for procedures; Recent changes in the interpretation of Australian income tax legislation has implications for producers seeking to raise film finance under Divisions 10B or 10BA. Lawyers Ian Robertson and David Whealy* examine the issue.(Taxation)(Income Tax Assessment Act 1936)
May 1, 2004... The most important provisions of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (ITAA) relevant to the investment by Australian taxpayers in Australian films are Divisions 10B and 10BA. In simple terms, these provisions enable what would otherwise be a...

Lum joins FTO Board.(People Moves)(New South Wales Film & Television Office)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Hopscotch film distributor Troy Lum was appointed to the Board of the New South Wales Film & Television Office (FTO) in April. Lum is head of independent film distribution company Hopscotch and was previously head of Dendy Films from 1998-2002....

Barber heads up SFF.(People Moves)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Lynden Barber is the new Sydney Film Festival director for the 2005 and 2006 event--taking over from Gayle Lake at the close of the 2004 Festival in June. Barber has been a film journalist at The Australian newspaper for the past 10 years and...

Berryman upped at SBS.(People Moves)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Broadcaster SBS has promoted new media head Will Berryman to the post of chief technology officer, a new position created to tackle the challenges posed by digital broadcasting. Berryman joined SBS in 2000 as head of new media to integrate...

Walters tops Hoyts.(People Moves)(Hoyts Exhibition)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Hoyts Exhibition has enlisted Darin Walters as its new chief executive. Executive chair Paul Johnson will handle negotiations with local distributors, as well as oversee distribution and Hoyts' cinemas in the US and Argentina. Johnson will also...

Donaldson joins Atlab NZ.(People Moves)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... David Donaldson has been appointed general manager for Atlab New Zealand, replacing Bruce McArthur, who has scaled back his role to part-time sales manager to concentrate on personal projects. Donaldson has worked in the post-production...

May leaves Ten.(People Moves)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Network Ten's national publicity manager Beverley May retired from the network in April after more than 30 years of service. May joined Ten in 1971 as a PA to national sales manager Wilf Barker and from there has worked her way up to senior...

Avviso takes on AFC PR.(People Moves)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Sydney-based public relations company Avviso Public Relations will take over all of the Australian Film Commission's public relations work following Tracey Mair's retirement in April. The company also took over PR work for the Sydney Film...

Mohr for Norm Marshall.(People Moves)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Product placement/entertainment marketing company Norm Marshall & Associates Asia Pacific has opened a Melbourne office that will be managed by Melissa Mohr. She was previously the director of Showcase Placements.

Ellis misses point of 'Passion'.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2004... I read Bob Ellis' column in last month's Encore ("'Passion' leaves a nasty stain on biblical memory") with great interest. For someone who displays such insight into the minor biblical inaccuracies of the film, he seems to have been...

Do I need to say that? Avoiding costly defamation litigation when making biopics.(Defamation)
May 1, 2004... The risk of a defamation claim regularly arises for filmmakers and the producers of television drama who often make reference to a living person in defamatory terms. The best example of this is the "biopic". There are a number of steps a...

'Irreversible' classification stays that way: controversial French film irreversible narrowly escaped a ban from the censors this month when its graphic sexual content drew the ire of conservative groups. Fiona Williams looks at how it avoided being the latest casualty of the censorship debate.(Censorship)
May 1, 2004... Gaspar Noe's controversial French film Irreversible has been spared from becoming the latest film to fall foul of the censors with the Classification Review Board rejecting belated complaints from conservative groups about the film's strong...

Delany gets gong at ASTRA: foxtel digital head Patrick Delany was honoured at the 2004 ASTRA Awards for his efforts in spearheading the pay TV group's transition to digital, taking out the top gong.(ASTRA Awards)
May 1, 2004... The event was held in Sydney on April 6 and the Lifestyle Channel took out honours for Channel of the Year. The full list of winners is as follows: BEST PROGRAM EVENT Winner: The Channel [V] Billabong Bus--Channel [V] ...

Deathly misjudgment marks: 'The Fog of War'.(Rough Cut)
May 1, 2004... Two men whose lives and work I envied and whose passing for long fearful years I dreaded, Sir Peter Ustinov and "Sir" Alistair Cooke (the title was real but always, by this British-born loyal American citizen, unflaunted) died within a day of...

Lovelorn 'Sheila' ignites: DOCO debate; A 6 X 1-hour documentary series on the romantic hardships of western Australia's farmers has fanned the flames of debate about the definitions of documentary, with many asking 'what's love got to do with it?' Fiona Williams went on location for Artemis international's Desperately Seeking Sheila to find out. Photos: Megan Lewis.(On Location)
May 1, 2004... In an unassuming bowling club in the Perth suburb of Mount Lawley a string of lovelorn ladies each patiently awaits their turn to convince similarly afflicted bush bachelors their search for love is over. Battling nerves, self-consciousness and...

Sound diversity is a necessity: sound facilities are diversifying while the wait for an upturn in local production continues. David Hull reports.(Audio)
May 1, 2004... Audio facilities are taking on increasingly diverse jobs in order to stay afloat as long-form production continues to slow to a trickle. The tactic of looking to supplementary markets, for instance the emerging need for sound on DVD releases,...

Sound for 'here' and 'now': putting Soundfirm to work on a Final Cut Pro edit helped the producers of a low-budget feature. David Hull reports.(Audio)
May 1, 2004... Mixing the sound for Matthew Newton's directorial debut Right Here Right Now necessitated that all resources were directed wisely in order to stretch a small budget as far as possible. Drawing on producer David Gross's experience with Final...

The dirty sound of 'Cooks': a desire to maintain the energy provided by its locations meant sound became a very important factor in the production of the Cooks.(Audio)
May 1, 2004... The 13-episode television series for Network Ten and Fox8, based on two fictional warring restaurants in Sydney's inner west, was developed by producer Penny Chapman together with script producer and writer Sue Smith. Having previously produced...

Time to start scoring: the availability of an orchestral ensemble and purpose-built scoring stage in tandem could be the final piece of the puzzle needed to attract film-scoring work to Sydney. David Hull reports on the developments at the Trackdown Scoring Stage.(Audio)(Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Trackdown Scoring Stage)
May 1, 2004... The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is now strongly targeting soundtrack work, hoping its association with the Trackdown Scoring Stage will attract filmmakers and composers who would otherwise look overseas for film scores. Already,...

Soundwaves tunes into 'Tom White': despite the slim pickings of local production Soundwaves has kept busy, most recently working on both a feature and a rather successful short. David Hull reports.(Audio)
May 1, 2004... Melbourne's Soundwaves recently completed the sound design on Tom White, the local feature produced by Daniel Scharf and director Alkinos Tsilimidos for Rescued Films. This job came on the back of the sound work for Adam Elliott's Oscar-winning...

Peter Jackson opens Park Road.(Audio)(Park Road Post complex )
May 1, 2004... New Zealand's increasing production capability will take another significant stride when Peter Jackson's Park Road Post complex--successor to The Film Unit--officially opens next February. Already the facility's sound division has completed...

Digital pictures: boosts its sound.(Audio)(AAV Digital Pictures Group, Flagstaff Studios, Wharf Studios)
May 1, 2004... Sound facilities operating under the umbrella of the AAV Digital Pictures Group, have undergone recent technological upgrading with Melbourne's Flagstaff Studios and the Wharf Studios of Sound Reservoir in Sydney now running off Pro Tools HD...

Audio Loc acquires Harrison Series 12 console.(Audio)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Sydney sound specialist Audio Loc is installing a large-format Harrison Series 12 film mixing console, which company director John Dennison says will "offer increased compatibility with other facilities in Australia and allows us to satisfy the...

AFTRS composing courses.(Audio)(Australian Film Television and Radio School)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... The Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS)'s new Screen Composition Department has begun offering short courses covering changes in technology, compositional principles, the works of great composers and classic periods in film...

Southbank gets three-way audio.(Audio)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Atlab Image and Sound Technology has outfitted Brisbane's Southbank 5 Cinema Complex with Queensland's first active three-way audio speaker system. The Atlab group company supplied the cinema with a range of equipment from Australian...

Universal/Telstra in supply deal.(Audio)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Universal Music has agreed to supply Telstra's music download site, following the lead of fellow record companies Sony. Warner. EMI and Festival Mushroom who are already signed with BigPond Music. BigPond's customers will have access to...

BMG to handle Fremantle admin.(Audio)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... BMG Music Publishing is set to handle the worldwide music publishing rights of the FremantleMedia television production company (a sister firm within the Bertelsmann group). Fremantle, comprising of labels such as Grundy and Thames, is...

Shure SLX Wireless Systems.(Audio)
May 1, 2004... Shure's SLX Wireless Systems sit in between its Performance Gear and ULX Wireless products to provide audio for installed sound applications and working bands. Supporting up to 20 compatible systems, the SLX features automatic synchronisation...

Soundcraft MH4 console.(Audio)
May 1, 2004... Soundcraft's dual-purpose console, the MH4, has been upgraded to include new mono and stereo input modules. Expanding the use of the Aux busses in monitor mode, the console offers true mono/stereo switching in conjurations of 16 mono, 12 mono/2...

Crown Xs 1200 amplifier.(Audio)
May 1, 2004... Crown international has introduced the high-powered Xs 1200 model to its Xs series of amplifiers. Offering a compact, lightweight design characteristic of the series, the Xs 1200 provides 1,100 watts per channel into four Ohms. The...

Quartz switchers and routers.(Audio)
May 1, 2004... Quartz Electronics demonstrated several new products at NAB 2004 including an enhanced version of the QMC HD Master Control Switcher, as well as Xenon and Topaz routers. New product enhancements to the QMC-HD include increased capability with...

Marantz PMD670 recorder.(Audio)
May 1, 2004... The Marantz PMD670 solid-state recorder expands on the capabilities of its predecessors to offer a USB port, as well as the CompactFlash and IBM Microdrive formats. The recorder operates in either stereo and mono for over 26 hours of stereo at...

Fairlight Dream Constellation.(Audio)
May 1, 2004... Fairlight's integrated audio editor and automated audio mixer, the Dream Constellation, is a piece of equipment that combines a digital audio mix console with a 48-track disk recorder and editor. The system runs on the QDC Engine fitted...

Sennheiser evolution G2.(Audio)
May 1, 2004... The second generation of Sennheiser's radio microphone series, the G2, offers a wider range of features within an enhanced design. Most significantly, the multipurpose wireless product provides the user with a 36MHz switching bandwidth and 1440...

HBB PortaDrive.(Audio)
May 1, 2004... HHB's new generation hard disk portable time-code recorder, the PortaDrive, records up to four hours of uncompressed 24-bit/96kHz audio over eight channels on its 40GB hard disk. Features include eight line inputs, four line outputs, eight...

Digidesign Icon.(Audio)
May 1, 2004... Digidesign's Icon integrated console, which premiered at NAB 2004, provides full control of the production and mixing process with the new D-Control tactile work surface. The console uses Pro Tools HD Accel as its core DSP engine and modular HD...

Production: report.(television programs )
May 1, 2004... [section] partly shot abroad v change to listing [phi] no Australian funding [approximately equal to] new listing ENCORE's production report includes all known features and television drama and non-drama television programs...

Cinema.(Audience)(Illustration)
May 1, 2004... National box office australian box office* [week ending: april 7, 2004] This Last % week week Film (Distributor) Weeks Total $ Change 1 (1) 50...

Video rentals.(Audience)(Illustration)
May 1, 2004... video rentals [week ending: april 11, 2004] This Last Week Week Film (Distributor) 1 (1) Pirates of the Caribbean (Buena Vista Home Entertainment) 2 (2) S.W.A.T. (Columbia TriStar Home Video) 3 (13) 28 Days Later...

DVD rentals.(Audience)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
May 1, 2004... DVD rentals [week ending: april 11, 2004] This Last Film (Distributor) Week Week 1 (1) Pirates of the Caribb, (Buena Vista) 2 (2) S.W.A.T. (Columbia TriStar) 3 (7) Matrix Revolutions, The (Roadshow) 4 ...

Calendar April 04.(Audience)(Calendar)
May 1, 2004... HOT DOCS FESTIVAL 23 Apr-2 May, Toronto, Canada. Info: www.hotdocs.ca CANNES FILM FESTIVAL 12-23 May, Cannes, France. The festival presents a wide range of films and events, both within the Festival de Cannes Official...

Film Australia's: Melbourne move.(People)(Film Australia-movie production)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... FILM AUSTRALIA MELBOURNE HAS MOVED INTO THE SAME BUILDING AS THE AUSTRALIAN CHILDREN'S TELEVISION FOUNDATION IN FITZROY. ON MARCH 16 MEMBERS OF MELBOURNE'S FILMMAKING COMMUNITY GOT TOGETHER AT THE NEW OFFICES FOR DRINKS TO CELEBRATE THE MOVE.

Gillezeau launches 'hands on'.(People)(Marcus Gillezeau-producer, director)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... PRODUCER AND DIRECTOR FOR FIRELIGHT PRODUCTIONS MARCUS GILLEZEAU LAUNCHED HIS NEW PRODUCTION GUIDE FOR FILM, TV AND NEW MEDIA HANDS ON AT SYDNEY'S FOX STUDIOS ON APRIL 6.

Love 'EM or hate 'EM awards shows are grist to the mill: well connected industry columnist Harvey Shore keeps his ear close to the ground for the latest gossip doing the rounds at the major broadcasters.(Harveys Hearsay)
May 1, 2004... The Academy Awards is not only a genuine spectacle, but also a competition between seriously famous rivals with much at stake--careers, reputations and a lot of money. For those in contention, winning an Oscar is the Olympic medal presentation...