Encore Magazine articles from November 2004

Encore Magazine archives from November 2004

Editor's note.(NEWS)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
November 1, 2004... It was great to see so many Australians at this year's MIPCOM. Despite the fact that drama production in Australia is going through the doldrums, or perhaps because of this, producers presented the international market with a healthy slate of...

'Somersault' scores perfect 13 at AFI Awards.(NEWS)(Australian Film Institute)
November 1, 2004... THE word on everybody's lips at the Australian Film Institute's (AFI) annual awards was: "Somersault", as Cate Shortland's debut feature scored wins in every local feature category and made short work of the competition. There was little...

FFC green lights kids' drama.(NEWS)(Film Finance Corporation)
November 1, 2004... THE animated series Deadly and drama Streetsmartz have been greenlit by the Film Finance Corporation Australia (FFC) as part of its new Distinctly Australian Children's Drama Fund, which was established to facilitate the production of...

Eymann spies Wake film.(NEWS)(Janice Eymann)(Participant Productions)(film on Nancy Wake)
November 1, 2004... A FEATURE on the extraordinary life of Australian war heroine Nancy Wake is a step closer, with Australian producer Janice Eymann of Filmworks partnering with US production company Participant Productions to further the project's development....

Robertson seeks film 'Prodigy'.(NEWS)(Michael Robertson)
November 1, 2004... PRODUCER Michael Robertson is developing four feature projects under the mantle of ProdigyMovies, the feature production offshoot of Sydney-based TVC company Prodigy Films. Robertson has severed official ties to Prodigy Films, having sold...

Enterprising producers complete first round.(NEWS)(conferences)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... THE first stage of the Enterprise Tasman business skills initiative was held in NSW from November 7 to 11. A successor to the 2003 Enterprise Australia program, the workshop was the brainchild of UK producer and management consultant...

Writers muster in Melb.(NEWS)(Melbourne)(Australian Writers Guild)
November 1, 2004... THE Australian Writers Guild (AWG) devoted the weekend of October 22-24 to celebration and introspection, at the AWGIE Awards and Writers' Muster in Melbourne. Cate Shortland's assault on the 2004 awards season began in earnest on October...

Hand on the heart: AusFILM spreads the word.(LA INSIDER)
November 1, 2004... There have been many times in my life when I wish I had a video camera to record something I had just seen. I had this moment recently when at the AusFILM reception in Hollywood to promote the Australian film industry, Rob Cohen stood up to...

Broad buyer interest makes for buoyant MIPCOM TV market: stronger advertising revenues worldwide translated into more money at buyers' disposal on the show floor. Tracey Prisk reports on how this benefited Australians at the market.(MIPCOM 2004)
November 1, 2004... This year's MIPCOM television market has seen near record numbers of Australians travel to the French Riviera to seek co-production partners, presales and strengthen existing international relationships. Australian Film Commission (AFC)...

HD and workflow productivity the buzz of IBC: IBC 2004 was all about high definition broadcasting, from debates about transmission standards to the showcase of latest equipment aimed at easing the migration from SD. Fiona Williams reports.(IBC 2004)(International Broadcasting Convention)
November 1, 2004... A sizeable number of Australians make the annual pilgrimage to Amsterdam to inspect the latest product releases at the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC). And you run into them with alarming frequency, even on any of the Number 4 trams...

IBC demonstrates Europe's digital cinema focus: Europe's adoption of digital distribution and exhibition was a hot topic in Amsterdam in September. Fiona Williams reports.(IBC 2004)(CinemaNet Europe)
November 1, 2004... As Australia's exhibitors and distributors debate the likelihood of digital cinema becoming a reality in the next decade, a pan-European initiative is set to launch this month that will convert 180 independent cinemas to digital. CinemaNet...

'Holly's Heroes' court teen market: relationship-themed Holly's Heroes has been described as A Secret of Life Us for teenagers. David Hull sat courtside on the Melbourne set of the Tosi Westside-produced series.(ON LOCATION)
November 1, 2004... Just several days shy of the wrap of a six-month shoot, the general feeling on the set of Holly's Heroes was sadness production on the series was coming to an end. The crew again faced the unwelcome reality that work for them remains scarce,...

'Before Sunset': lovers, camels & politics.(ROUGH CUT)
November 1, 2004... The one-night stand of Jesse and Celine ended, after two fucks in the park, propitiously: they agreed to reconverge in Vienna in six months time. But, as with other star-crossed bonkers, in An Affair to Remember and my very own Unfinished...

Screen producers association of Australia--monthly update.
November 1, 2004... The election has been decided. Another three years of Coalition rule. This will pose a serious challenge for our industry, which in some quarters has a reputation for siding with Labor in the run up to federal elections. I think support for...

Digital content on agenda.(X/MEDIA/LAB)
November 1, 2004... AUSTRALIA'S digital media producers and content creators discussed the brave new world of content creation and delivery at the X|Media|Lab conference, held at Melbourne's Australian Centre for the Moving Image in October. A think tank on...

Changing channels: whether because of legislative restrictions or strategic planning, there remains no harmonised approach towards digital TV. Nicole Manktelow reports.(DIGITAL TELEVISION)
November 1, 2004... With Australia's digital deadline looming, these are crucial years for television production. Broadcasters are currently preparing for the nation's biggest switch--when analogue transmissions cease and their fledgling digital services take...

Seven completes centralisation: when the Seven Network's new Sydney Broadcast Centre went live in late August it marked the final step in the digitisation of its broadcast facilities. David Hull reports.(DIGITAL TELEVISION)
November 1, 2004... Seven's general manager, group broadcast services, Andrew Anderson described the network's recently completed implementation of centralised news operations as "a tough four years of project control as well as making television". The shift...

Interactive TV gets personal: the pay television sector is counting on the introduction of PVR (personal video recorder) devices to reinvigorate digital TV.(DIGITAL TELEVISION)
November 1, 2004... Commercial applications of interactive TV (iTV) have more or less been limited to the pay TV platform and there is a view that this model leaves few openings for emerging designers and producers to put their ideas into practice and is in any...

Stats provide leap for NBL: fox sports launches enhanced coverage of the national basketball league (NBL) this month.
November 1, 2004... Operations manager for Cutting Edge Post Michael Burton is hopeful the company's involvement in the implementation of Sports Active for this season's NBL coverage will lead to increased opportunities in the digital TV sphere. "With the...

Sanken microphones.(PRODUCTS)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Latest release Sanken mics include dynamic and condenser models plus a microphone pre-amplifier. The MO-211 dynamic mic features an aluminum voice coil, which makes it extremely light, while also achieving fast transient response, and natural...

Newtek LightWave 3DR [8].(PRODUCTS)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... LightWave 3DR [8] animation and effects software features added character animation tools complementing modelling, animation and rendering capabilities. These include faster inverse and forward kinematics, import and export of character rigs...

Virtual Katy.(PRODUCTS)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Virtual Katy's time saving tools for editors include the VK Premium software change agent that automates painstaking manual processes associated with picture changes during postproduction and the Virtual Studio Runner, which provides Virtual...

Didjiglove.(PRODUCTS)
November 1, 2004... A plug-in for 3D Studio MAX and Alias-Wavefront Maya software, the Didjiglove multiple control device provides direct interactive multi-directional control over anything that can be animated. Users can capture key frames while a model is being...

Apple iMac G5.(PRODUCTS)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Starting at $2199, the iMac G5 (available with either a 17- or 20-inch active matrix widescreen LC) features a high-performance G5 processor running up to 1.8 GHz and a new design integrating the whole computer into the two-inch thick flat...

Rising effects save 'world of tomorrow': the producers of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow placed a huge amount of faith in Australian VFX house rising sun pictures. David Hull reports.(POST PRODUCTION)
November 1, 2004... Despite only coming on board in February this year. Rising Sun Pictures (RSP) took the lead visual effects credit on Paramount Pictures' US$70 million feature Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, after expanding to 60 staff to handle 150 of...

Production report.
November 1, 2004... ENCORE's production report includes all known features and television drama and non-drama television programs which have a network presale. Projects in the planning stage appear once only and the listing ends when a project goes into post...

Australians show their wares at MIPCOM.(PEOPLE)
November 1, 2004... NEAR RECORD NUMBERS OF AUSTRALIANS ATTENDED THIS YEAR'S MIPCOM TELEVISION MARKET IN CANNES, FRANCE IN OCTOBER. Row one: 1. Mumbo Jumbo Animation's Cecile Blackman and International Entertainment Services' Gary Rogers. 2. Catching up at the...

Writers down pens to party at AWGIES.(PEOPLE)
November 1, 2004... THE AUSTRALIAN WRITERS' GUILD HELD ITS ANNUAL AWGIE AWARDS AT MELBOURNE'S REGENT THEATRE ON OCTOBER 22. TONY SQUIRES HOSTED THE EVENT. A FULL REPORT ON THE AWARDS APPEARS ON PAGE 8. 1: AWG executive director Megan Elliot, flanked by...

Book reflects Campion films.(PEOPLE)
November 1, 2004... ATOM, THE AUSTRALIAN FILM INSTITUTE AND DEAKIN UNIVERSITY HELD A LAUNCH FOR SUE GILLETT'S BOOK, VIEWS FROM BEYOND THE MIRROR: THE FILMS OF JANE CAMPION, AT MELBOURNE'S METROPOLIS BOOKS ON SEPTEMBER 21. 1: At The Movies' Margaret Pomeranz...

Rating the research: well connected industry columnist Harvey Shore keeps his ear close to the ground for the latest gossip doing the rounds at the major broadcasters.(HARVEY'S HEARSAY)
November 1, 2004... Shaun Micallef's first book Smithereens was released (some say it escaped) last month. The book contains a long series of short musings epitomising the Micallef style of humour; sometimes funny, often abstruse, occasionally impenetrable to...