Made in Scotland TV -1

made in scotland TV

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tv love

made in scotland TV

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made in scotland TV

ROBERTCARLYLE “ I never really set out specifically to do television or film work it’s always the scripts that get me interested.” page 4

made in scotland TV

“I can’t say too much about appearing with Kiefer Sutherland on 24,” says Scottish actor Robert Carlyle. “I’m afraid Jack Bauer might be sent round to stop me.”

Few actors can claim to be a genuine household name; Robert Carlyle is one of them. While closely associated with Trainspotting, The Full Monty and 28 Weeks Later, he’s also balanced his cinematic career with a string of high profile roles in theatre and television, which is where taking part in Jack Bauer’s latest adventure comes in.

“I’ve just got back from filming it, and while I’d love to tell you about what happens, I think I’d get myself into serious trouble. Jon Voight was in the same episodes, and he accidentally let a few details slip in a press conference, but I’m under strict orders not to give anything away; they like to keep these things under wraps,” says Carlyle.

“Sometimes the tight schedules of a television show can be just as enjoyable from an acting point of view, because there’s less time sitting around: you’re on from the start of the day. On a big budget film, you can just feel like an actor who sits around in a caravan.”

From playing Hamish Macbeth to Adolf Hitler in the mini-series, Hitler: The Rise of Evil, Carlyle has established himself not only as a charismatic on-screen presence, but also as one of the industry’s most versatile actors. For Carlyle, the diversification was a conscious move.

“All roles are different; if they were all the same, there wouldn’t be much point in me being an actor.

For a while, I think I tended to play roles that could be seen as a different version of myself, like a painter creating a self-portrait, playing someone I might have been if I hadn’t become an actor. But then one day, I was thinking about those roles - a troubled person with his past written on his face and I found myself asking about how I’d come to this point, why I kept playing that sort of character,” he says. “So you could say at that moment I had a kind of epiphany, a realisation that acting was giving me a way of expressing my angst, providing me with different ways of applying that to the characters I chose to play. In a way, acting can be great therapy.”

If Carlyle’s career is a method of exorcising demons, it’s proved to be a highly successful form of selfhelp. As well as recent television dramas like Flood and The Last Enemy, Carlyle has also been flexing his acting muscles on the big screen for Kenny Glenaan’s feature Summer, winning Carlyle the Best Performance award at 2008’s Edinburgh International Film Festival, of which he has also become a Patron.

always the case with the directors you get to work with,” says Carlyle.

“And I’ve just done a film project with Justin Kerrigan, who made the seminal rave film Human Traffic.

He’d spent six years working on a piece about his relationship with his father, who I play, and about the fact that, as a child, he had no idea about the double-life that his father was leading. It’s a beautifully written script; I never really set out specifically to do television or film work - it’s always the scripts that get me interested.”

With a possible future role in Scottish-set feature The Meat Trade and a project about RD Laing in the offing, Carlyle has lots to look forward to. And looking back on his career, he’s happy to think that from his early days at Glasgow Arts Centre, his career has panned out pretty well so far.

“I’ve been blessed, I really have.

That early stage of my career, it’s quite well documented, but it’s worth saying again that I never imagined it would lead to the kind of roles I’ve had,” he says. “I’ve had a long and varied career, and the kind of success I’d be happy to wish on anyone.”

“I’ve known Kenny since we worked together at 7.84 theatre company, back in goodnessknows when. I’d always been keen to work with him again. He was a real pleasure on Summer, because he’s got a real vision of the story and the characters, and that’s not

Robert Carlyle in Summer

Robert Carlyle

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Photo by Seamus McGarvey

The Book Group

Annie Griffin

The Book Group

Annie Griffin A

dventures in the screen trade is the objective of Annie Griffin’s Pirate Productions; the company has been responsible for programmes like theatrical troupe comedy Coming Soon and The Book Group for Channel 4, and the feature film Festival.

Writer-director Annie Griffin is keeping the wraps on her next series production for the BBC, but was prepared to talk about the influences that first awakened her interest in broadcasting.

“There were great TV programmes on in America in the 1970s when I was growing up, as well as great movies in the cinemas; we were definitely a TV-watching and movie-going family,” says Griffin. “My mother loved The Mary Tyler Moore Show because she went back to work after having us, and I think it was the first TV programme about a working woman. And there were great comedy programmes made from UK formats like All in the Family (based on Till Death Us Do Part) and Sanford and Son (based on Steptoe and Son). I remember that I particularly liked The Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents, as well as all the old movies they used to show in the afternoons when we got home from school.”

It’s easy to imagine a childhood in front of the box as a misspent youth, but Griffin’s interest in television has paid off, with The Book Group in particular catching the public’s imagination in the way that only TV can. Griffin modestly puts the programmes success down to good timing, and to the appeal of the series’ stars.

“I was glad that so many people talked about The Book Group - but if you spend any time in big bookshops, it's clear that people in the UK love books, and love to talk about them. The programme came out just as the trend for starting book clubs was taking off,” says Griffin. When informed that Rory McCann still gets recognised for his role, she replies, “I think the reason Rory gets stopped on the street so much is because he's six foot five and generally looks like he's just walked off a mountain or climbed out of a lake. Which he usually has.”

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“To have your programme dropped into the sitting rooms of millions of people.

There’s simply nothing like it.”

Part of Griffin’s gift is to be able to nail down a diverse range of characters without ever reducing them to stereotypes. She puts her success with multiple plotlines down to understanding the discipline of television writing, and to hard-won experience, which brings flavour to stories and characters to life.

“Yes, I enjoy writing things with lots of characters. We've just done a pilot for BBC One, which features a good number of them, although I think my next film will have fewer. Multiple character things are generally more suited to television where you have time to get to know more characters and have different story lines develop,” Griffin says.

When asked if her characters and plot lines are based on her own experience, she says, “I'm not sure what else there is besides experience - and your experience includes everything you've read or heard or watched or listened to. Or imagined. So to me, the question is a tautology - by writing something you've

necessarily experienced it.”

At present, Griffin is working towards getting an ongoing TV drama, as well as working on two feature scripts. She’s amongst those who believe that television is more than just a stepping stone for aspiring filmmakers, and recognises that it’s still the most popular art form around.

“I think it’s a big blind spot that so many filmmakers and producers focus on features and shorts and not on TV drama. The Scottish industry would be so much healthier if we had three or four ongoing dramas. Or ten or twenty!” she says. “It's understood in the US that there is more creativity in television than film at the moment.

And what an opportunity television provides! To have your programme dropped into the sitting rooms of millions of people. There’s simply nothing like it.” www.pirateproductions.co.uk/

Douglas Mackinnon Douglas Mackinnon

C

atching up with Douglas Mackinnon isn’t easily; he’s finally tracked down to Budapest, where he’s currently directing the BBC’s Robin Hood series. Together with recent episodes of Doctor Who and three episodes of the Jekyll series, which won James Nesbitt a Golden Globe nomination, he’s one of Scotland’s most in-demand directors.

He’s also recently directed his first feature film, The Flying Scotsman, starring Jonny Lee Miller as cyclist Graeme Obree.

“It’s funny, but it doesn’t always seem that way; the breaks always seem too long and I’m always hungry to get back on set and back into the next assignment,” says Mackinnon. “I don’t think there’s any secret to it other than sticking with it and persevering.”

And with a career spanning 20 years, Mackinnon’s a veteran of television, working on programmes such as London’s Burning, The Bill, Soldier, Soldier and Silent Witness. He’s currently shooting the first two episodes of the third series of Robin Hood. “The last series of Robin Hood ended with Maid Marian dying at the hands of Sir Guy de Gisbourne, so at the moment, we’re picking that up where we left off,” says Mackinnon.

It’s a very different job from the psychological darkness of Jekyll, a dark take on Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic story, updated to the 21st century by the pen of fellow Scot Steven Moffat, who takes over from Doctor Who creator Russell T Davies.

“I like to think I singlehandedly saved the TARDIS.” at the BBC wanted to get rid of it, and I remember seeing a memo saying that they were thinking of ditching the Tardis. I like to think I single-handedly stopped that from happening.”

Mackinnon is also well known in the folklore of the popular BBC series for breaking the Tardis as well, an accident that not only traumatised him, but his son as well.

“It was for an episode where the Doctor’s dark side has taken over, and I was trying to make things in the Tardis reflect that.

There’s a little engine inside the central console, on which we had the props guys working a little too hard, and the mechanism broke, leaving us with a two hour break in filming during which it was

repaired,” says Mackinnon. “Having said that, with David Tennant and Catherine Tate on the set, it’s not as if we had nothing to do. Working with talent like those two, it’s not as if you’re left standing around.

But when I got home and told my little boy, Thomas, he shouted, “Daddy, I can’t believe you’ve broken the Tardis!”

Next up for Mackinnon is a well-earned rest back at his home in Fife, but he’s looking forward to doing more drama work a little closer to home.

“You have to go where the work is, but I’d really like to do another drama back in Scotland,” he says. “It’s nice to travel around getting work, but right now, I’m looking forward to getting home.”

“I’m delighted for Jimmy about the Golden Globe nomination. Because of its intensity, Jekyll was a programme that people either loved or hated, but I think people that know the genre really appreciated it,” says Mackinnon. “Jekyll was really a great team effort, from the people who make the prosthetics, to Steven, who really is brilliant with the way he plays with time in his writing; I’m sure that will serve him well on Doctor Who.” Mackinnon directed two episodes for the 2008 series, a two-parter that saw the return of one of the Time Lord’s most feared adversaries, the Sontarans.

“I’m someone who really grew up with the programme from the Patrick Troughton era onwards, and I worked with Peter Davison on The Last Detective, so those episodes were a particular pleasure to do; it was very much old school Doctor Who, with a secret to be uncovered and a battle with aliens,” he says. “I’ve always had Doctor Who on the brain, and I’m pleased to say that at one point, I saved the Tardis. A not-to-be-named Head of Drama

Douglas Mackinnon with Dr Who, David Tennant

[ Scottish Screen National Lottery funded: Content Production ] page 7

made in scotland TV

Dr Who, David Tennant

Stephen Greenhorn

“I’m optimistic that over the next few years things will become much more vibrant and that the opportunities for writers will be more numerous and more varied.”

Stephen Greenhorn

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riter Stephen Greenhorn scored a notable theatrical success with Sunshine on Leith, a stage musical reworking the songs of popular Scottish band The Proclaimers. But when he’s not integrating songs like 500 Miles and Letter From America, he’s also become one of UK television’s most sought after writers, working his way through popular series like The Bill and Where The Heart Is to a key role in the creation of BBC Scotland soap River City. In 2007, he achieved a very personal goal: writing for one of the world’s most popular shows, Doctor Who. “My whole experience on Doctor Who was peppered with those Oh-My-God moments - when you lifted your nose from the grindstone and were suddenly reminded what you were doing - and being paid to do so, no less!” he recalls. “The most memorable ones were getting to wander around the Tardis, meeting the cast at the first read-through, and visiting the set during filming for one of my episodes.”

With fellow Scot David Tennant at the controls of the Doctor’s spaceship, and another Scot Steven Moffat taking over from Russell T Davies at the helm of the show, Greenhorn admits that there’s a high buzzfactor in his job; he created two episodes, The Lazarus Experiment for the 2007 season, and The Doctor’s Daughter in 2008, and found out just how high expectations are of writers on the show.

“One constant reminder that this is not an ordinary show or an ordinary writing job is the intense interest and enthusiasm you encounter from almost everyone you meet - from primary-age kids right through to middle-aged professionals,” he says.

“The kudos you gain by association with the show is extraordinary but the flip-side of it is the enormous sense of responsibility it engenders - a responsibility which can easily morph into abject fear at three in the morning when the latest draft isn't working!”

Greenhorn wrote every episode of BBC One’s 2000 series Glasgow Kiss, starring Iain Glen, an experience which has come in useful in terms of understanding the needs of the overseeing series producer. As well as doing Doctor Who, he recently completed two episodes of Echo Beach/Moving Wallpaper, the groundbreaking series from the Life On Mars team. Being drafted into the writing pool at short notice made for a tough assignment.

“Because I'd come onto Echo Beach at the last minute I had almost no input into the overall series arc, unlike the writers who'd been with it from the start. There was no sense of frustration about this - it was just the nature of the job at that point. The result was that all my energy was focussed on making the episodes I had work as well as possible; in the end it was quite liberating,” says Greenhorn. “Similarly, on Doctor Who, it was always clear that Russell was responsible for plotting the overall arc. He might ask you to plant certain things in your episode which he would pick up later or indicate the direction key relationships needed to move in, but I had no more idea than the average viewer how each series was going to end. I enjoyed the fact that I got to be surprised by the way things turned out.”

Russell T Davies is a notoriously stern taskmaster when it comes to ensuring that his work has a high-impact on the viewing audience. Another show that Greenhorn has a close association with is BBC Scotland’s regular soap, River City, which has made characters like Shellsuit Bob and Roisin McIntyre household names in Scotland.

Looking back to the show’s debut in 2002, Greenhorn is satisfied that the programme has found a firm connection with its audience.

“After a rather fraught start, I'd say that River City has settled down nicely. I think it's really found the right groove now - with a strong cast and a good mix of storylines. I'd always argued that it would need a little time to find its feet so I'm pleased that BBC Scotland's patience and hard work have been rewarded,” he says. “I wouldn't presume to suggest how it ought to develop but I'd like to think that if it can maintain a focus on strong storytelling it could be around for years to come.”

Greenhorn’s success disproves the notion that writers have to get swept along in a ‘brain-drain’ taking talent to London and beyond. As well as appreciating that working from Scotland can be an advantage, he’s also keen to see new technology used to further bridge the gap.

“I think we need to distinguish between working ‘from’ Scotland and working ‘in’ Scotland. I haven't found being based in Glasgow a problem at all - in some ways in fact it's a positive advantage. I think it's useful to have a non-London perspective on things, and on a base level it helps prevent being sucked into a culture of frequent,

pointless meetings - far better to travel only for the genuinely important ones,” he says. “Most day-to-day script stuff can easily be dealt with by phone or e-mail; a lot of my script meetings on Doctor Who were dealt with by conference call. I’d like to see some kind of UK-wide, easy-access, video-conference network which would allow a Glasgow-based writer to nip down to Pacific Quay, sit in a room and have a faceto-face meeting with, say, a script editor in Cardiff and an exec producer in Manchester.

The technology we have now makes this perfectly feasible.”

Greenhorn has set a dynamic example in using Scottish productions as a springboard to UK-wide series that sell well around the world. To ensure that others can make the same leap, he’d like to see more locallybased productions which give a leg-up to those starting out in the industry.

“Every writer I know feels that there needs to be more Scottish-produced drama.

I'd add to that a plea for a greater range of work. Of course, this only happens if there are some bold and imaginative commissioning decisions. The tendency to play it safe and work within comfort zones is completely understandable but needs to be resisted,” he says. “In the meetings and conversations I've had with various Scottish producers over the past year or so, I've been encouraged to see signs that this is happening. I'm optimistic that over the next few years things will become much more vibrant and that the opportunities for writers will be more numerous and more varied.”

And with an eye to the future, Greenhorn is looking for a labour of love to rival his adaptation of Jean Rhys’s atmospheric book Wide Sargasso Sea, a prequel of Jane Eyre.

The critically-acclaimed drama aired on BBC Four in 2006.

“I loved adapting Wide Sargasso Sea. The period setting, the shifting narrative, the lack of dialogue all made it a real challenge, but what made me want to take it on was the passion I felt for the book when I read it. It was a pleasure to work with and I was very proud of the end result,” says Greenhorn.

“Since then I've been looking to do another adaptation and have ploughed through dozens of books but – so far – haven't found anything which grabbed me in the same way. I don't think you can honestly take on a project like that half-heartedly, so I'm waiting until the right one comes along when it does I'll grab it with both hands.”

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made in scotland TV

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rom Trainspotting to Harry Potter, via winning a BAFTA Scotland award in 2005 for her role in Frozen, actress Shirley Henderson is one of Scotland’s most sought-after talents. Hailing from Kincardine in Fife, she’s managed to develop her career in both television and film, with just a little time-off to attend to the garden.

“I’m just in from the garden; you’re so often on the move in this business, it’s terrific when you finally get home and have a little time to take care of these things,” she says. “I have just finished the new television series for Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple: Murder Is Easy, which, for obvious reasons, I don’t want to say too much about plot-wise. But I can say it’s been a really nice shoot, down in England with all those quaint little villages. And it was wonderful to work with Julia McKenzie, I don’t think

Shirley Henderson10 as Kelly in Wedding Belles. Photo by Brian Sweeney Photography (www.sweeneypix.com). page

made in scotland TV

Shirley

Shirley Henderson. Photo by Carol Gordon

Henderson

“As an actress, you just have to go with your gut instinct and get on with getting into the part.”

I’m revealing any secrets by saying that it’s her that’s playing the role.”

Henderson’s roles are nothing if not varied; she played Kelly in Irvine Welsh’s Wedding Belles for Channel 4, while another recent film role saw her playing a 1930’s fashionista in Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day. The parts are worlds apart, but Henderson has no fear of expanding and diversifying her range.

“For Wedding Belles, my character, Kelly, was someone who was at once brazen and yet vulnerable, a tough girl but someone whose exterior hides a sadness within. It’s always a fast shoot in television, but sometimes that helps because you can sometimes have too much time to think about a role. I did do a bit of hanging around in Leith, trying to get the feel of the part; losing myself in the character is something I always

try to do as part of my preparation,” she says. “For Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day, I also wanted to make sure I could be equally truthful to the way people spoke in the pre-WWII period, so I was watching lots of old movies with people like Vivien Leigh and Rex Harrison. They had a kind of heightened elocution, very different from the Wedding Belles characters, but tremendous fun to play as well.”

mummy culture’, and John’s book takes an entertaining slant on the way that parents behave with their children. So yes, these are all very different roles, but as an actress, you just have to go with your gut instinct and get on with getting into the part.”

As well as an ongoing project reuniting Henderson with director Michael Winterbotton, Henderson has another project imminently due on television screens as Alice in May Contain Nuts, from the book by writer John O’Farrell.

“It’s a drama with a comedy slant about the lengths that people go to in order to get their children into particular schools,” she says. “It’s a topical piece which looks into the so-called ‘yummy-

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made in scotland TV

Eileen Gallagher “Lots of people have good ideas for series. But when it costs 5 to 6 million pounds to make them, you’re playing for high stakes, and broadcasters naturally want a company that has a track record for delivering.” So says Eileen Gallagher, CEO of Shed Media, the people who brought us Bad Girls, Footballers’ Wives and Waterloo Road, and who behind Hope Springs, a major new drama for BBC One. The prime time series stars ER’s Alex Kingston and One Foot in the Grave’s Annette Crosbie. Filming is entirely in Scotland, on location in Wanlockhead, Dumfries and Galloway, and interior shots will be filmed in BBC Scotland’s drama studios in Dumbarton.

“It’s a fish out of water story,” says Gallagher. “It’s about four women who leave prison and find themselves trapped in a beautiful Scottish village. It’s about people whose dream has gone wrong, and through interaction with the villagers, they eventually find out more about themselves in a way that helps them cope with life and who they are. It’s a fun, caper drama with a little bit of darkness about the edges.”

“good television always requires passionate writers with the ability to realise their ideas.”

If Hope Springs sounds like an ideal package for a returnable series, the holy grail of television development, that’s because it’s been carefully nurtured and tailored by a company who have a rocksolid reputation for television drama.

Gallagher is happy to point to Shed’s remarkable financial figures as evidence of their success; with involvement in over 100 shows, the company’s most recent results in December 2007 stated a £63 million turnover and gross profit of £23 million. But balancing the books is one thing; coming up with the goods is a whole different ball game. And that’s where Shed’s motto comes in: ‘we know drama’.

“We’d been pitching dramas in America, specifically to the network, and we knew there was a market for a strong female drama,” says Gallagher. “We pitched Hope Springs to Anne Mensah at BBC Scotland

Eileen Gallagher 12 page

and she loved it, but that’s where things get difficult; good drama doesn’t write itself, and it’s hard work to ensure that the story you come up with has a good predetermined arc.”

BBC Scotland has had a series of notable drama successes with Hamish Macbeth and Monarch of the Glen, but Gallagher wanted Hope Springs to be a series with a more contemporary feel to it.

“While these series were very successful, they draw a certain picture of Scottish life which could be seen as a cutesy, shortbread tin image of the country.

Anyone who lives in a city like Glasgow knows that there’s also a modern, urban feel to Scottish life, and we wanted to capture that side of things,” says Gallagher. “There’s huge potential in a project like this; both export and remake potential.”

Gallagher herself served as a writer on Bad Girls, so she knows the development process from both sides. One aspect that Gallagher highlights as an area she’d like to see developed in Scotland is increased recognition of the highly specialised skills involved in television writing. While there are dozens of courses devoted to writing feature films, she’d like to see more opportunities for budding writers to learn their craft and hone their skills for the small screen.

“I think there’s 17 film courses in the UK, but only one for television, and that seems to me to be an area which could be improved upon; writers are much more likely to get work in television than the tiny amount who get to write features,” she says. “If we want to have a sustainable industry, we need to stop being obsessed with shorts and feature films, and start thinking about the practicalities of writing television drama. That’s where the future of many potential writers is, and good television always requires passionate writers with the ability to realise their ideas.” www.shedproductions.com

made in scotland TV

a la sta i r ma c ken z i e “I seem to have played a number of darker characters lately.”

“I seem to have played a number of darker characters lately. This is not an attempt at exorcism, but I am interested in exploring the darkness we all have inside us.”

It wasn’t so long ago that Alastair Mackenzie was lighting up the nation’s television screens as Archie in the much-loved BBC series Monarch of The Glen. But since then, he’s carved out a successful career in film and television, scoring a notable critical and public hit with Reichenbach Falls, playing opposite Alec Newman and Laura Fraser in a dark detective story from the pen of Scottish crime-writer Ian Rankin.

“It was an extraordinary situation because I played several characters, some of whom exist within the subconscious of the others, so it was something of a challenge,” he says. “Fortunately there was a bit of makeup involved and when you’re wearing a wig and make-up, it really helps you to remember which character you’re playing.

It can sometimes be hard to delineate the different characters when you’re playing more than one role, but the truly nasty nature of that character also really helped in that case.”

Reichenbach Falls was made for the BBC, and Mackenzie is amongst those who believe that the fast shoots and lower budgets of TV dramas can often provide a more fertile ground of good acting than many big budget productions.

“Sometimes when you’re on a short shoot

like that - I think it was only five weeks there’s a lot less ‘faffing’ around. But there was still time for me to develop a great rapport with Al Newman, and John McKay, the director, was terrific in making sure that we managed to deliver the cerebral ideas of the script while still having a good time onset,” says Mackenzie.

Another high-profile production that Mackenzie recently worked on was BBC Films’ The Edge of Love, with Scottish writer Sharman Macdonald creating a dramatic reimagining of WWII Britain.

“The character I played, Anthony Devas, was a relative of a friend of mine, which was great; it was really helpful when doing the research, because I could go through the family annals and look at photographs of the real-life version of the character I was playing,” says Mackenzie. “But the other side was that there is more pressure because you know that surviving relatives will see your interpretation, and so if you’re playing a character with, say alcohol problems, as in this case, it can be tricky. And because we had Keira Knightley and Sienna Miller out in the middle of Wales, we also had the problems of the constant presence of the paparazzi, which made filming very difficult at times.”

Mackenzie has recently completed work on a Canadian production, The Murdoch Mysteries; “It’s a great idea, a detective story set in the Victorian era: kind of CSI 1890,” he says. And he’ll next be seen

opposite Dougray Scott in Richard Jobson’s forthcoming Edinburgh-set action thriller New Town Killers.

“The character I play, Jamie, is the sidekick to Dougray’s character, which makes him the moral barometer of the story. New Town Killers deals with nihilism, and Dougray’s character is particularly dark: he’s practically Lucifer himself; Jamie’s sense of who he is becomes continually under question,” says Mackenzie. “A friend of mine told me that he felt making a film was almost like making a documentary about actors, that the camera is constantly picking up whether the way they act is right for the situation. So you have to play the truth of what you’re given in the script, and I think Richard has done a brilliant job of nailing these dark, nihilistic characters for whom human life has lost its value.”

Which brings Mackenzie back to the notion of embracing darkness, something that the long night-shoots for New Town Killers led him to appreciate the hard way.

“We shot nights in Edinburgh for four and a half weeks, and when you’re coming home at seven in the morning, your metabolism has to completely reverse itself,” he says.

“I ended up going out to the shops on a mission to buy blackout fabric to paste over my windows - I was obsessed with having complete darkness to help me get to sleep; so never mind the darkness of the character I was playing, I found I literally couldn’t survive without darkness.”

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Kathleen McDermott as Shaz in Wedding Belles.

Photo by Brian Sweeney Photography (www.sweeneypix.com).

made in scotland TV

“Lots of people dream about how differently they might live their lives; as an actress, I get to find out by doing it!”

Kathleen McDermott F

rom the pen of Irvine Welsh, Channel 4’s Wedding Belles proved itself a controversial success for the broadcaster, largely thanks to an ensemble cast including Shauna McDonald, Michelle Gomez, Shirley Henderson and Kathleen McDermott. Having shot to fame with the high profile role of Lanna opposite Samantha Morton in Lynne Ramsey’s adaptation of Alan Warner’s Morvern Callar, Wedding Belles came at an ideal time to cement McDermott as an exciting new acting talent.

“Alan Warner is good friends with Welsh, so although I didn’t know it at the time when I auditioned, they had asked for me specifically for Wedding Belles, which I’m really chuffed about now,” says McDermott. “It was the same for the four main parts; we were the only people auditioned, although we were allowed to try different roles within the four. So while Shauna and I auditioned for each other’s roles, we were both happy with the ones we got.”

As always with Welsh’s work, Wedding Belles pulls no punches in its account of a group of brides-to-be. For McDermott, it provided a chance to move away from her role in Morvern Callar.

“Shaz was definitely the part I wanted most, because I didn’t want to play another character with a drug problem, as I felt I’d done that with Morvern Callar. When I read the script I was genuinely shocked, I think we all know that Irvine Welsh is always pretty good with the ‘shock factor’ of his work. I like that quality; he gets people talking, and I like to play a character who stands out rather than blends in. Wedding Belles does have controversial content, and a lot of that is to do with my character, Shaz.

So I gave the script to my father to see what he thought about it, as I was worried about what he might say. Fortunately, he thought it was hilarious!”

McDermott has just finished a new production for E4 (“It’s a comedy drama thriller, but I can’t say too much about it yet,” she says), and has also been enjoying the process of winning her acting chops by appearing in popular dramas like Casualty.

“You learn from the different experiences you have. Casualty was particularly enjoyable for me because of working with Alex Ferns, who you think might be a real baddy because of his role in Eastenders, but is actually a real softy. But you also see how differently TV programmes are made; Wedding Belles had a shoot of over six weeks, while Casualty was very fast indeed,” she says. “So I’m keen to avoid doing a soap. I think what I’ve found out about myself is that I like the challenge of playing different roles, and want to play characters who are nothing like each other. Lots of people dream about how differently they might live their lives; as an actress, I get to find out by doing it!”

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Angela Murray “There’s a very definite air of optimism in Scotland at the moment.”

“It’s never been easy and never will be easy to produce. If it was, then everyone would be doing it!” says producer Angela Murray.

Running her own production company, Oxygen Films, she’s currently working with Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill’s Effingee Productions, producing the sixth series of the much-loved sitcom, Still Game, and the first two series of Dear Green Place. During filming of the second series of the latter, Murray took a break to look at the challenges that face creative producers.

“Working with a talent whether in comedy or more serious drama is essentially the same.

It’s about creating an environment where people feel supported and where ideas can flourish,” she says. “Dear Green Place is filmed entirely on location in Glasgow’s beautiful parks and the surrounding city, and we’re fortunate in that the Glasgow City Council Land Services Dept is incredibly supportive of the series. This eases the potential logistical problems presented to our locations team as we endeavour to schedule around the many events which take place in Glasgow and its popular parks over the summer.”

Dear Green Place isn’t the only string to Murray’s bow; through Oxygen Films, she’s formed a wide view of the potentialities of television and film production. From working as a trainee on Lord Attenborough’s Chaplin, she was recently UK production manager on the Oscar-winning The Last King of Scotland.

Working on high and low budget features has given her valuable experience of working with different amounts of finance, but to high creative standards.

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Angela Murray

“I’d say that creatively the differences between high and low budget productions are minimal, but logistically and financially they are obviously very different; however, whether you have £500,000 or £50million, oddly enough, you never seem to have quite enough money, as ambition grows with the size of the budget,” she says. “The real key to success is to find the most creative solutions to help release and support the director’s vision, without him or her feeling compromised creatively. And this comes from a mutual respect and trust which is forged over a period of time and a shared vision.”

Murray works across both film and television. “Before I got to grips with the television commissioning process, I had purely thought of myself as a film producer, having produced six shorts and was focussed purely on feature films, but now I’m developing a drama series with both new and more established talent,” she says.

“Freelancing in television gives me a much greater freedom to choose who I want to work with as an independent film producer, and has certainly broadened my experience and creative vision. TV informs my film work and vice versa. The TV and film industries are hardly mutually exclusive entities – they have a more symbiotic relationship these days, as most independent production companies appreciate, TV pre-sales of an independent feature being an important element to financing a film.”

Murray’s other projects include an international feature film co-production with Carlo Dusi of Aria Films, Numb, an urban

contemporary comedy set in Edinburgh from writer/director Colin Hutton. She’s also working on a feature project with writer David Greig and director Marisa Zanotti, with whom she produced one of her short films, At the End of the Sentence, and is developing a television series about Glasgow’s rich music hall history. It’s a wide and varied slate, and one which Murray admits is only made possible by the wealth of talent she has to chose from.

“There’s a very definite air of optimism in Scotland at the moment. In the past few years there’s been a real commitment to nurturing producers and production companies, the result of which is a strengthening of our production base as we invest our time and talents developing creative and business relationships both within the UK and internationally,” says Murray. “We’re a country positively brimming with writing, and directing talent, which, combined with wonderfully talented actors and highly skilled and loyal technicians is the life blood of the industry. So I see the future of Oxygen lies in developing these talents, and in producing inspiring and entertaining drama for both film and television from Scotland, for both UK and international markets.” www.oxygenfilms.co.uk mail@oxygenfilms.co.uk

made in scotland TV

“Dear Green Place allows us to stray a little bit further away from Still Game, to get a bit more involved in the pathos and the dramatic side of the characters we create.”

Dear Green Place

Dear Green Place

Ford

Still Game

Ford Kiernan

Kiernan

I

t’s a Thursday morning in July, and Ford Kiernan has just finished a morning session making Dear Green Place for BBC Scotland. It’s one of a number of projects he’s developed as part of Effingee Productions, the company he created with Greg Hemphill, the team behind national institutions, Chewin’ The Fat and Still Game.

That success encouraged Kiernan and Hemphill to start up their own company, but right now, it’s not the business that’s bothering Kiernan, it’s the sunshine.

“The clouds were passing over really quickly yesterday, and we do a lot of the shoot outdoors,” says Kiernan. “Although they do try and put a little UV protection under your make-up, I still managed to get a bit burnt.”

A little sunburn isn’t likely to be a substantial problem; Kiernan and Hemphill have braved the warmth of public adulation for over a decade, with catchphrases like, ‘Gonnae no dae that’, entering the cultural lexicon.

“There’s was a time when that phrase really haunted us, if you parked your car on a double yellow line, someone always shouted ‘Gonnae no dae that!’ It became a tabloid staple; if someone had a cone on their head, the caption would be, ‘Cone-y no dae that’. Fortunately, it went away after a while, although they recently revived it for a health board campaign to stop people smoking outside hospitals,” says Kiernan.

“On Chewin’ The Fat, we’d got used to playing every character known to man including Jack and Victor. Some people thought it was career suicide for us to get out of a network show to write and produce an opt-out sitcom. But we were keen to show that there was more to us, and that there were legs in the Still Game format. By the third series, we’d been picked up by the national network; that led us to move on from The Comedy Unit, and set up our own production and studio space in Hillington for our own projects.”

Now in its second series, Dear Green Place has allowed Kiernan and Hemphill to advance from comedy into comedy drama, retaining many of the characteristics, which made them household names, but also developing their talents.

“Like Still Game, Dear Green Place is an ensemble piece; a big part of the attraction of a sitcom is the different storylines and the way the audience can get to engage with a number of different characters, like Woody and Wallace in the show,” says Kiernan.

“It’s also gloriously scenic; the nature of the show allows us to exploit the parks of Glasgow so that the backdrop on-screen is fantastic looking, making the production aesthetically pleasing, and of course, there’s the brilliant writing and performances!

Dear Green Place allows us to stray a little bit further away from Still Game, to get a bit more involved in the pathos and the

dramatic side of the characters we create.”

Kiernan may be the star of the show, but Dear Green Place also has a large and dedicated team helping to realise the Effingee dream, not least Paul Riley, who wrote and also stars in the programme, for which he won a BAFTA Scotland Best Performance award in 2006, the show itself picking up the Best Entertainment Award; Kiernan is also warm in his praise for the efforts of director Don Coutts, cameraman Gerry Kelly and producer Angela Murray.

And it’s only one of a number of projects that Effingee is working on. He admits that cinema is always a goal for them, but there’s also a brand new show written by and starring Kiernan and Hemphill, set for 2009, and a number of TV pilot ideas.

Kiernan and Hemphill have now worked together for a number of years, as their writing and other talents have evolved.

“It’s true that we used to down tools religiously for Countdown every day, after a hard days’ writing, and have a ten quid bet on it, but I think that’s one element that’s not so important to us now, since the passing of Richard Whiteley,” says Kiernan. “But there’s plenty of writing in the pipeline. Greg’s writing a film, and I’ve just written a play as part of Oran Mor’s lunchtime theatre. So I’m hoping to exercise my dramatic talents, or at least find out if I’ve got any!” www.effingee.com

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made in scotland TV

“What’s the job of a composer?

To help enhance the impact of the film, and sensitise an audience's appreciation - and to be relatively inconspicuous in doing so.”

Boy A was one of 2007’s most talked about television productions. By August, it was on US theatrical release thanks to the Weinstein Company, a rare achievement for any television show. But it’s not the success of the programme that’s the talking point - it’s the content. Working from Jonathan Trigell’s novel, and adapted for the screen by Mark O’Rowe, director John Crowley created a brutal yet tender account of the tortured rehabilitation of Jack Burridge (Andrew Garfield), a young adult who struggles to re-enter society after serving time for a murder he committed as a child. The drama provided an emotionally charged experience for audiences and critics worldwide. A key element in the film is composer Paddy Cunneen’s elegant yet emotive score.

“The main requirement for Boy A was to try to find a musical style for the film that would allow it to breathe rather than to dictate what the audience should think and feel at any given point.

We decided that what was required, page 18

for the most part, was a contemplative simplicity, and that we'd handle moments of dramatic tension mostly without music,” says Cunneen. “It was a real collaboration, very stimulating and tremendous fun to do. I think John has a real gift for bringing actors to just the right pitch in performance, and he brought this same sensibility to bear in getting me to the score.”

Boy A’s score was written in close collaboration with Crowley in a reprise of a director-composer combination which began over the course of a number of successful theatre productions.

“We've worked together on theatre productions at The Donmar, The National Theatre, and on Broadway so we have a good rapport and share a wide range of interests, musical tastes and bad jokes. When you’re working in theatre, music has two principle functions. Firstly, it can be a rehearsal tool, and this is an aspect I love. Almost any musical idea can be grabbed or invented and worked with the actors into something that has impact on rehearsals. The music created may or may not feature in the finished play - I call this ‘disposable music’,“ says Cunneen. “More often though, working in the rehearsal room

is an excellent way to generate music cues for a production - the music comes from the same process the actors go through. So the drive here is basically for improvisational ideas polished according to resources of the production, whilst maintaining some license to shape performances around the music.”

Applying the working methods from theatre to film and television is by no means an exact science, but it’s a process that has to be done in exactly the right way for each and every production. For Boy A, Cunneen had greater resources in terms of potential for arrangements and orchestrations, but the same objective: to serve the story’s emotional through-line.

“With Boy A, I also took the view to let images themselves act like a melody and so provide accompaniment to that; in the hope that this gives the visual material a primacy, and makes the music serve the storytelling,” says Cunneen. “In film, music is a much more considered form - measured against the pre-existing phrasing of the narrative and the emotional framing of the characters. It asks tougher questions of the composer and is enjoyable in a completely different way. Issues of structure are more important and often

made in scotland TV

the edit provides a ‘shape’ that the music must fill.”

Working on a Macintosh computer using a Logic composition programme, Cunneen set out to compose a score, which would underpin Jack’s experiences, without being too intrusive.

“We felt it important to leave the audience enough space to make their own minds up about the characters, story and meaning. We wanted to keep Boy A balanced between something of a documentary feel and a film.

The camera work was deftly placed between these two styles, often looking over the shoulders of the characters, and taking viewpoints that were not entirely conventional for a narrative film,” he says. “So the music was to follow suit: not saying too much about the characters, giving an understated sense of what Jack might feel as he made his way back into the world, and providing a dignified sense of loss when he realises that the past will not let go of him and that he can never re-integrate with society - and especially that he will never ‘get the girl’.”

And with Boy A captivating audiences around the world, Cunneen is looking forward to applying his skills to fresh projects.

“What would I like to see for the future? That’s simple.

Make more films and employ composers to work on them. The successful composers probably don't need that much help, it's the emerging composers who should be developed,” he says. “So more films, particularly shorts, would bring increased opportunities to learn, experiment and develop the craft of film scoring.”

page Boy 19A

made in scotland TV

Ewan Angus

BBC Scotland

“We are always looking for ways to engage our audience,” says Ewan Angus, Commissioning Editor OF Television at BBC Scotland. “That means we have to both reflect current tastes and innovate with completely fresh ideas.”

Ewan Angus has over 20 years’ experience as a producer and director in broadcasting, but given that he’s responsible for commissioning the television output produced for audiences in Scotland, plus additional responsibility as Head of Sport since 2005, it’s experience he has to put to good use on a daily basis.

“There are numerous projects worth highlighting for the way they demonstrate the range and commitment we have to high quality programming. We produced a big series with Phil Cunningham called Scotland’s Music, looking at the influence and impact that Scottish musicians have had. While at the same time, we’re also committed to providing cutting edge coverage of live events like T in the Park.”

Angus points to not only the standard but the variety of programmes created as evidence of BBC Scotland’s commitment to satisfying a large and diverse audience.

“We’re very proud of Ko Lik’s Glendogie Bogie animation; they’re a company we’ve supported since their early Cineworks film, and it’s great to see them producing full length animations. And we’re proud of individual programmes like the recent documentaries under the BBC Scotland Investigates banner reflecting very personal

page 20

explorations of important medical issues.

These have complemented Scottish filmmaker, Sue Bourne’s, acclaimed account of her mother’s life with Alzheimer’s, Mum and Me,” says Angus.

“I’d also point to shows like The Real Monarch of the Glen, telling the story of Paul Lister’s dream of reintroducing once common species of wildlife into his Highland estate. Or our involvement with Nick Higgins’s project The New Ten Commandments, which was premiered at the 2008 Edinburgh International Film Festival. We’re always looking for ways of challenging our audience while building on popular favourites - we’re currently working with some of the talent behind Still Game and Chewin’ The Fat on a second series of Dear Green Place as well as piloting new comedy projects.”

Finding the right balance of programming is one of the daily challenges of Angus’s job, but he’s quick to point out that his choices are less a question of personal taste than one of anticipating and responding to current issues and audience trends.

made in scotland TV

Live Shinty

Scotland’s Music with Phil Cunningham

Glendogie Bogie

Alzheimer’s, Mum & Me: Sue, Ethel, Holly

Dear Green Place

Scottish Cricket

“Yes, there has to be a degree of subjectivity, but audience tastes and interests play a crucial part in determining what kind of content we produce and how we make it available. It’s important to feel that there will be an appreciative audience for any project commissioned, whether that audience is large or relatively niche,” says Angus. “People in Scotland should feel ‘this programme is made for someone like me and in some way reflects the world I live in’. That most certainly doesn’t mean ‘tartan wrapped’; there’s nothing ‘tartan wrapped’ about the award-winning series Boys Behind Bars, for example, which exposed viewers to the chaotic lives of inmates at Polmont Young Offenders Institution.”

Recent technological innovations like the BBC iPlayer have provided the corporation with a much-envied mechanism for public consumption of their programmes. Angus feels that it’s important to enthusiastically embrace such new technologies but also remember that the majority of the viewing public are still watching programmes as part of the BBC’s schedules.

“Obviously the iPlayer has already proved itself a popular success, but a recent report revealed that only 53% of homes in Scotland have broadband,” says Angus. “So we can’t assume that people can always access programmes in this manner; the linear schedule is still of vital importance.”

website. There are certainly changes in the way people access content, and the audience for this kind of offer is growing exponentially. There’s also a large amount of interest in events such as rugby’s Six Nations tournament and a passionate fanbase for sports like shinty and golf so it’s important that we reflect that too.”

As the Head of Sport for BBC Scotland, Angus also plays a key role in putting Scots in touch with the many live sporting events, which provide an undeniable focal point in the country’s culture.

Ensuring that the high quality of BBC Scotland programming is retained is a challenge that Angus believes is possible amongst the technological changes the modern media is constantly adapting to. And he’s currently looking forward to increased drama production commissioned in response to audience.

“I do think we offer a very high quality coverage of sports events along with news, comment and analysis. There’s no doubt that football is the most popular sport in terms of our audience, and through Radio Scotland in particular we have a unique way of reaching the supporters of individual teams,” he says.

“We’ve had some huge audiences for live televised football this year; having over a million viewers for a match means a significant section of the audience is tuning in. One significant change recently is the increasing number of people who watch SPL highlights on our

“New platforms provide us with exciting and innovative ways of telling stories, be it through factual, news, comedy or drama, and we’re putting more emphasis on fiction with three original 60-minute dramas on their way,” says Angus. “We’re expanding drama because that’s what our audience are telling us they want to see, but whatever is produced, it’s got to have the same high standards expected of any BBC programmes.”

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made in scotland TV

Elizabeth Partyka

Goodbye Mr Chips

Jack Osborne: Adrenaline Junkie

STV There’s always an elephant in the room when you’re talking about the content broadcast on Scottish television, and its name is Taggart. Scotland’s longest running series (25 years), and its most widely seen (200 countries buy it), might be a success that gets taken for granted, but Managing Director at stv’s production arm, SMG Productions, Elizabeth Partyka, recognises that it’s still the jewel in the broadcaster’s crown.

“It’s a super-brand, and we see having Taggart on our books as a huge positive in terms of many different aspects of life at the station. It underpins our global identity and allows us to have our own drama team. It opens doors for us and provides status; not many companies can say they’ve a drama series which has been returned for 25 years, and there’s plenty who would like to,” she says. “There have been many changes to Taggart on and off screen over the last 25 years. I do think it’s underestimated how much work goes into maintaining the standards of the programme while also keeping the format fresh and alive; for example, we’ve produced versions for various different timeslots, three hour, two hour, one hour and ninety minutes. We have to keep updating the format to ensure it’s relevant to today’s television market.”

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made in scotland TV

“stv is getting back to our television roots.”

Elizabeth Partyka, SMG Productions The emotional outpourings at the Taggart reunion featured onstage at the 2006 Scottish BAFTAs demonstrated the warm emotions that the brand name still evokes from audiences. But Partyka can also point to its network successes like Martin Clunes in Goodbye Mr Chips, and popular local drama High Times as evidence that stv has more to offer than one of the world’s favourite detective programmes.

“I think the importance of content is evident to everybody; you could say that stv is getting back to our television roots,” she says. “Over the past five or six years, SMG’s (stv’s parent company) interests in radio and billboard advertising maybe meant we took our eye off what we’re best at, which is making content. So I see the sales of assets like Virgin Radio as evidence of the start of the TV renaissance for us.”

For Partyka, working closely with stv’s Bobby Hain is a key element in developing innovative programming.

“It’s obviously particularly exciting for the content division right now. Part of my job is to pitch programming ideas to see how they might fit with Bobby’s vision for the future of the station, and also bring him ideas from external companies - that’s a new thing,” she says. “Like other broadcasters, Bobby’s looking for ideas which have extra

forms of life, on TV, but also online, or with potential for exploitation in other ways. I think fewer broadcasters are interested in ideas that lead to programmes which are broadcast once and never heard of again. We want formats which are attractive internationally; it’s important for us to create something with longevity is some shape or form.”

Amongst the programmes that Partyka highlights as having potential is Jack Osbourne: Adrenaline Junkie; “It could be Tom Smith: Adrenaline Junkie - the important thing is that it goes to 92 territories,” she says.

“Another example would be DNA Stories, a series we make for Sky, presented by Lorraine Kelly, which is about looking into family mysteries that go back several generations, and using modern DNA technology to solve them. As you can imagine, it’s a format that has brought us a lot of interest from overseas. That’s the formula in a nutshell: a format that attracts interest and has potential to grow.”

Partyka is aware of the potential competition offered to television broadcasters through the internet, but although she accepts that things are changing, certain aspects of programme making will always be consistent.

Taggart

“The bottom line – regardless of whether a programme is on television or the internet – is that people will only watch if there’s compelling content. I personally see the internet as less of a revolution than just another delivery mechanism; most people are still watching television - they’re just doing it through the internet,” she says.

“You’ve Been Framed is a very old and established format; the internet has provided a new way of accessing that format, but there’s nothing new about the actual programme. If a programme isn’t any good, putting it on the internet won’t make it any better. The same skills which go into making Taggart work will still make a programme work on the net; you still have to tick just as many boxes.” www.stv.tv

made in scotland TV

Aside from his well-known expertise as a football pundit, Stuart Cosgrove is also Director of Channel 4’s Nations and Regions, with a unique perspective on the way that television is changing and adapting to the digital age. After thirteen years at the station, he still retains an evangelical belief in the power of television.

“TV is one of the great agents of change in our lifetime and almost all the signs suggest it will be important for decades to come.

One of the key changes that Channel 4 has played is in reflecting the journey to greater tolerance within the culture whether that's to do with sexual or ethnic diversity,” he says. “But change can also mean developing energetic talent or provoking fresh perspectives, and C4 is better positioned to do that than any other broadcaster.”

The out-of-London spend of major broadcasters is a major topic of discussion in the television industry, and Cosgrove has a wealth of programming to chose from to exemplify how Channel 4 operates.

“Channel 4 sources £115m worth of originated content from producers outside London including major shows like

CHANNEL 4

Skins; Location, Location, Location; and Shameless,” he says. “There could be more in Scotland but our delivery is in every respect caught up in the strength of the sector, which is strong in single-film culture and weaker in key industrial areas like returning drama and factual formats.”

Ensuring a level playing field for programme makers is one of the responsibilities of Ofcom, the UK’s independent regulator and competition authority for the communications industries. It’s a difficult role to play, but is one which Cosgrove believes has been a success.

“For my money Ofcom has been a very engaging forward-looking and evidencebased regulator,” says Cosgrove. “I cannot see that changing fundamentally unless there are step-changes in the constitutional arrangements of the UK.” New platforms created by new technologies have created new opportunities for programme creators looking to find ways of creating direct connections with their viewers. Cosgrove sees Channel 4 show, Embarrassing Bodies, as a good example of how this can work in practice. “Channel

Stuart Cosgrove

4 was the first broadcaster in the world to launch a dedicated video-on-demand platform, but change is not always just about technological innovation – it’s about ideas,” he says. “A series like Embarrassing Bodies with the dedicated web-service that supported it allowed people to discuss very private and scary illnesses in a protected environment. Taking marginalised illnesses to mainstream discussion is something doctors struggle with but intelligent media can achieve.”

And demonstrating that he’s thinking well outside the box when it comes to metaphors, Cosgrove’s response is as follows when asked if the digital era has moved the goalposts for Scottish programme makers and broadcasters.

“I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that it uses male dominated football metaphors,” Cosgrove says, instead replying, “I’d prefer to say that digital media provides an ovulation of new opportunities for all creative companies.” www.channel4.com

“TV is one of the great agents of change in our lifetime and almost all the signs suggest it will be important for decades to come.” Stuart Cosgrove, Head of Nations and Regions page 24

made in scotland TV

Alan Esslemont and Margaret Mary Murray

“Gaelic has a huge cultural contribution to make to the future of Scotland.”

Margaret Mary Murray, BBC Scotland

O

ne of the cornerstones of Scottish culture is Gaelic, an ancient language dating back over 1500 years. Now, modern technology is making it possible for Gaelic programming to ensure that the language and culture of Gaelic can be part of the everyday life of Scots.

Two of the prime movers in the process are Margaret Mary Murray, Head of Gaelic Digital Service at BBC Scotland and Alan Esslemont, Head of Content at MG ALBA, formerly the Gaelic Media Service. Their challenge is to find the right balance of programming to retain the vibrancy of Gaelic culture in the twenty-first century. In 2008, the new MG ALBA/BBC partnership plans to launch a Gaelic language TV service in Scotland, and Murray and Esslemont are charged with the responsibility of making it work.

“Since the 1990s many people in Scotland have had access to literally hundreds of new TV channels, but quite uniquely, the new service which we plan to air in September is the first home-grown television channel to launch in Scotland for a long time,” says Murray. “The BBC has been in discussion for some time with MG ALBA trying to focus all of the available resources for Gaelic media towards a shared cross-media vision, for the benefit of all. In January 2008, the BBC Trust agreed to grant the partnership a service licence, making this the first BBC licensed service to be managed within a partnership framework. It will be a much-needed service for Gaelic speakers but hopes to reach out to communities throughout Scotland with the aim of attracting new speakers to the language.”

Things have come a long way since the BBC’s first Gaelic programme, a fifteenminute radio sermon broadcast way back in 1923. But it was only from the 1970s onwards that any kind of sustained broadcast service came into operation. With the advent of a fund for television in the 1990s, stv and Grampian played a key role in broadening the range of Gaelic TV programming, including the production of a soap opera, Machair, and a daily news programme, Telefios, plus the BBC’s award-winning Eòrpa, which looks at international affairs

from a Scottish perspective. But now, that tradition looks set to expand dramatically as the BBC and MG ALBA seek to broaden the programming remit to include a wider Scottish audience.

“MG ALBA is funded directly by the Scottish Government and has historically been the funder of the majority of new Gaelic television programmes for over 15 years, broadcast both on stv and the BBC,” says Esslemont. “This new partnership with the BBC moves us from being solely a funder of programmes to the role of joint broadcaster, partnering with one of the biggest global brands in television. It is a hugely demanding change for us, but one we are relishing.”

Esslemont, who worked in a Skye knitting factory for two years while learning the language, has plenty of experience to draw on; he was member of the senior management team which set up and launched the Irish language channel TnaG in 1996.

“We rebranded the TnaG service as TG4 in 1999 and the channel is now widely seen a playing a huge role in revitalising the image of Irish culture and language, and contributing to the new growth in its communities of speakers,” he says. “I don’t think we got everything right immediately but were carried through the tough times by the original demanding vision for the channel and for its role in Irish society. For me, it has been hugely exciting to work with Margaret Mary and our team to develop a vision for a new channel in Scotland.”

Creating a modern tri-media service that links television, radio and online is an ambitious project; Esslemont admits that, “there is absolutely no ‘off-the-shelf’ Welsh or Irish model for what we are attempting to do”. But both Murray and Esslemont are united by their passion for the language, and hope that the increased provision for Gaelic broadcasting will create the same levels of interest in the new station’s viewers.

“I was born and brought up in Lewis with Gaelic as my first language and for me

Gaelic is something that is an intrinsic part of me and my life: it is real and alive,” says Murray. “It is alive not just for me but for my Glasgow-born children, and indeed for all of the schoolchildren throughout Scotland who can now benefit from Gaelic-medium education.” She hopes that Gaelic will be able to flourish when it has a place in the mainstream life of Scotland, and believes that Gaelic language media services will play a key role in ensuring this: “Gaelic has a huge cultural contribution to make to the future of Scotland.”

One practical way in which Gaelic programming might appeal is through the often mooted idea of a Gaelic soap. But for Esslemont, drama is only one of a number of potential opportunities for Scottish programme makers.

“As well as a weekday half-hour Gaelic news bulletin from the BBC, a wide variety of factual shows, entertainment, music and sport have been commissioned for the new channel, including programmes for learners and bi-lingual strands,” he says. “Our first commissioning round this year attracted 169 submissions. We green-lit 14 of those; that’s less than ten per cent of the total submissions, spending £1.35m. Our second commissioning round brought almost 250 submissions and again we have around £1m to spend.”

With such a high level of investment in the opportunities for Gaelic broadcasting, both Esselmont and Murray have their work cut out to ensure that the best possible choices lead to the best possible programmes.

There are few precedents for what they’re doing, but the freshness of the opportunities ahead ensures that their enthusiasm is undimmed. “Yes, it is daunting to think that this opportunity falls to us all at this time in Scotland,” admits Murray. “But it is a historic chance to begin to address the needs of the Gaelic language community and a unique window of opportunity to provide something attractive and different for Scotland’s society and culture.” www.mgalba.com

Seachd: The Inaccessible Pinnacle

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made in scotland TV

“I wanted to do something which dealt with real people’s lives and how we deal with adversity through humour.” John Rooney, writer

High Times High Times: Alice and family

John Rooney

“Why is High Times so big in South America?

It’s hard to say, but maybe it’s an antidote to all the overheated soap operas they have,” says writer, John Rooney. “It’s nice to think that someone in Latin America prefers watching Stephen McCole and Alison Peebles to Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek.”

The second series of High Times, transmitted by stv in 2008, gave audiences another taste of Rooney’s blackly comic vision of life in a Glasgow high-rise. But for Rooney, it’s the latest phase of a career that started from humble beginnings.

“When I was 17, that’s when punk was happening, but I realised that I couldn’t play any instruments,” he says. “And I was too self conscious to stand up with a microphone, so writing seemed like an obvious thing to do.

After working for various ad agencies, I had a period of ill health, and I used that to write my first feature film. I got some positive readers reports and with my wife’s support, decided to dedicate myself to writing for a few years. I had a short called Blackout made as part of a Scottish Screen and stv new talent initiative called New Found Land, which was also well received, and High Times came directly out of that.”

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High Times: Tex and Jimmy

Despite a fiercely Scottish setting, High Times has gone on to sell well around the world, particularly in Latin America (“I heard Stephen McCole ended up doing 17 interviews with the media there one day,” says Rooney. “They couldn’t believe he could walk down the street here without being mobbed by fans!”). For Rooney, that universal appeal comes from dodging obvious issues and focusing on the personal.

“I’ve been lucky to come a long way in a short time; there’s a lot of talented people around, and a finite number of opportunities,” he says. “The business of making television and film is often perceived as very glamorous, but it takes more than good intentions to make it work: it takes a lot of hard work too.”

“I didn’t want to do something which dealt with, say, religious bigotry or alcoholism, but which looked at real people’s lives and how we deal with adversity through humour,” says Rooney. “I saw the idea of doing an ensemble piece set in flat immediately, and saw the lifts as a great device for bringing the characters together. That turned out to be a big challenge when you’re working on a budget of £70,000 an episode, but we managed to make it work.”

With High Times under his belt, Rooney has a number of pilot and series ideas in development, as well as ambitions to direct a short film. “It’s difficult to do something guerrilla style,” he says, “every time a big production gets made up here, you can lose half your crew.”

But having worked his way up from writing advertising copy and jingles, Rooney deserves to enjoy the view from the top for a while.

High Times: Rab and Jake

Stephen McCole

“One of the great things about High Times is that John Rooney writes the characters so well, it makes it seem natural to play them.”

Stephen McCole, Rab

Stephen McCole A

ctor Stephen McCole’s on a day off, but spending time at home doesn’t mean a chance to put his feet up. With two children running around at his feet, he’s got plenty to keep him occupied.

“My PlayStation is gathering dust in the corner,” he muses. “It’s not the kind of situation that Rab, the character I play in High Times would enjoy. I kind of think of Rab as a version of what I might have turned out like if I hadn’t gone into acting, so it was quite an easy part for me to play. I’ve known a couple of people like him; he’s lazy, an expert in nothing but signing ‘on the broo’.

One of the great things about that show is that John (Rooney) writes the characters so well, it makes it seem natural to play the character.”

and there’s a great camaraderie about it,” he says. “I remember that when we shot the first series, we were all working on one floor of a tower block, and if you wanted to smoke, you had to go out and stand by the bin-chute. I don’t know whether it’s something that happened by association with the bin-chute, but by the time of the second season, I’d given up the fags.”

McCole says that the key element of the show is its “honesty”, and pays tribute to the rest of the cast.

McCole is one of those faces that’s never off the television screens. From The Crow Road to A Young Person’s Guide to Being a Rock Star in the 1990s, he’s since appeared in Band of Brothers, Holby City, Rebus, Taggart and most recently the second series of High Times.

“That’s what makes the show, and I think the audience at home can see that we’re having a ball making it. It’s something special to be part of, even if it can be difficult at times working on a small budget,” he says. “It was a real high to get a Scottish BAFTA and a second series, although it took a while for the programme to find a place in the schedules. I think one programme that I’ve ended up being a regular on is TV’s Naughtiest Blunders, because there are so many clips of me cracking up during scenes and swearing a lot!”

“I’m sure the producers of Rebus or Taggart would forgive me for saying so, but my favourite has to be High Times, just because you’re working with a terrific ensemble cast

McCole has also made a successful jump from television to film, appearing in Wes Anderson’s Rushmore, with Michael Caine in Last Orders, and in the recent Stone of

Destiny film. He’s also involved with director Justin Molotnikov on a new film production which has taken him into uncharted realms: stand-up comedy.

“It’s a product I’ve developed with Justin and another actor called Malcolm Shields, called Crying With Laughter. I had to play four stand-up gigs, and they went surprisingly well, although I decided to quit before I had a bad one,” says McCole. “It’s probably the best preparation I’ve ever had for a role, and I haven’t even started filming yet.”

And while McCole isn’t planning on a stand-up career, the number of prominent television roles he’s getting should ensure a few more layers of dust on his PlayStation yet.

“All I can say is that I’ve been lucky, and I hope that continues. It’s been worth all the years of ballet-school,” he jokes. “Whether you’re working on a Wes Anderson film or High Times, it’s all the same kind of feeling as an actor - same as being a stand-up you’ve got to have the cojones for it!”

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Laura Fraser as Florence Nightingale

Cast and crew at Lea Hurst made in scotland TV

“To tell stories with pictures creates such emotional involvement for the viewer - it’s something I’m always interested in.”

Norman Stone, 1A Productions

Florence W

Nightingale

ith over three decades of experience in the television and film industry, Norman Stone has an enviable reputation as one of Scotland’s most successful producerdirectors. Amongst the raft of successful projects, the stand-out is probably his 1984 television creation of Shadowlands, written

by William Nicholson and starring Joss Ackland and Claire Bloom as CS Lewis and Joy Davidman. Originating the project for the BBC, this story went on to become an Oscar-nominated feature film by Sir Richard Attenborough, and was one of the formative experiences which led Stone to form his own production company, 1A Productions. Since then, he’s written and directed for ITV (Pied Piper in 1989, Ain’t Misbehavin’ in 1996), as well as feature films (Man Dancin’ in 2003), and scored a major rating success with Florence Nightingale for BBC One in 2008.

“Sometimes you come across a story and think - that’s a heck of a good piece of material,” says Stone. “But there’s so much more to her story that the image of the Lady with the Lamp; from reading her letters, you find that she’s a feisty woman with a winning personality, struggling to make a difference in a man-centred society. When you find out the details of her story, you think to yourself, that’s like nothing that’s ever been done before.”

Having the creative instinct to mine the dramatic kernel, or ‘elbow’ as Stone terms it, is one of the hardest things about making good television drama. For Stone, the key points of Nightingale’s story emerged from the research process.

“The first thing you say to yourself is ‘where’s the drama?’ But when you read about her life, doubting her own abilities in Scutari, blaming herself because she’d been unable to save

page 28

more lives, that’s where the dramatic elbow seemed to be for me. Something that made her story particularly interesting to me was to see how different her own experience was to the image we have of her; the ‘spin doctors’ of the time had a real go with her, creating the story of this saintly lady with the lamp. The ‘lady with the bedpan’ would be more like it.

So that contrast between the public image and her own personal vulnerability provided a starting point for the programme.”

Getting the right star to play Florence Nightingale was one of the first pieces of the jigsaw; Stone was able to cast Glasgowbased actress Laura Fraser, known to millions from roles in Hollywood films like A Knight’s Tale and Vanilla Sky. “As soon as we got the project up and running, I couldn’t think of anyone else for the role other than Laura; the kind of feistiness and vulnerability that we wanted was exactly what she projected when we got to the rehearsal process,” says Stone. “Watching her pacing out the role, I could see that she got the character right from the word go; she fitted right in.”

To set a drama during the Crimean war is something of a logistical nightmare, but Stone came up with an ingenious way of setting the scene that not only put over the key information, but provided a sense of social context.

“When you’re doing a costume drama for television, there are limitations to how you can depict the period; it’s not that easy to bring in some sixty-foot schooners, or to depict a journey from Hyde Park to Turkey. So we came up with the idea of using music hall performances to link the scenes together,” says Stone. “In 1852, the music hall has really

Norman Stone

just come into existence and that worked perfectly for us; we got a great performer in Roy Hudd to perform our own songs and music in the style the time, and that set the scene nicely. That also allowed us to add another level to the story; when part of the story is happening in Scutari Hospital, with legs being amputated and lots of gruesome stuff going on, the music hall scenes allowed us to have some humour to ensure the overall production wasn’t too gloomy, and to show how Florence Nightingale’s work was sentimentalised in song. It’s a device that really helped us lighten a potentially gloomy load.”

The programme proved itself a more than healthy success; 1A Productions’s version of Florence Nightingale garnered nearly five million viewers for BBC One, and is about to be picked up by BBC Worldwide (“You’d be surprised how popular Florence Nightingale is in Japan,” says Stone). It’s a success which bodes well for Stone, and for 1A. “I think it’s something that’s rarely spoken about, but creating good television is an intensely competitive business, and there are plenty of painful knock-backs to be endured along the way,” he says. “Yet to tell stories with pictures creates such emotional involvement for the viewer, it’s something I’m always interested in.”

Next up, Stone is out garnering finance for Raising Hell, a feature film and true story, dealing with child prostitution in Victorian times. “It’s an idea which, while in the past, has particular relevance in terms of the sextraffic industry of today,” says Stone, who is looking forward to this next project and a bright future for 1A Productions. www.1aproductions.co.uk

made in scotland TV

“The script really made me laugh out loud.”

Chris Young, Young Films

B

ased on the Isle of Skye, Young Films has an enviable track record for cinematic features, from Venus Peter and Prague to Festival and the recent Gaelic language feature Seachd, the Inaccessible Pinnacle. They might not have been the obvious choice for E4’s first ever commissioned comedy series, The Inbetweeners, admits producer Chris Young. But somehow it all worked out.

“Caroline Leddy is Head of Comedy at Channel 4 who exec-ed Festival; we got on very well, and she asked about going into TV comedy. I’m open to new things, so I said yes,” says Young. “She commissioned a pilot to see where it might go, called The Smallest Game in Town, which we shot in Glasgow over a year ago from a script by John Milarky. That came out well, and so Caroline said they had another pilot they’d like us to get involved with, which became The Inbetweeners.”

Young describes the genial, observational comedy of The Inbetweeners as “very Mike Leigh or Shane Meadows”, but the process of creating the show’s package was sometimes anything but easy. E4 were looking to follow up the success of Skins with another youth culture programme, and Young found himself with a huge challenge: how to fully realise the programme’s potential whist working within a tight time-scale.

“The script really made me laugh out loud, which is something that I rarely do, and I was glad to click straight away with the writers, who have their own company called Bwark Productions. But we were still up against it; we saw over a thousand adolescent boys last summer, but still founds ourselves weeks away from shooting without a cast in place,” says Young. “Eventually we had a casting day in Edinburgh, and found some great actors for the four main roles. It turned out that they were well-known to the writers - in fact, they were already on Bwark’s pay-roll. I was slightly furious at the time, although it’s a bit funnier when I look back on it now.”

The Inbetweeners

The Inbetweeners has now won a second series commission for eight episodes, and Young is hoping for a smoother preproduction this time around.

“The scripts can be a bit more finely tuned this time around; the first series was a bit more anxious because we knew that the casting was so important - so much depends on the charisma of the actors,” he says.

And as well as continuing with The Inbetweeners, Young is also setting up a new company in Skye to provide material for the new Gaelic digital channel.

“I’m trying to expand at an exponential rate; TV is a new environment for me, but that age group which The Inbetweeners is aimed at is very attractive, so securing that second series gives me experience I can use for the Gaelic channel,” says Young. “If can make a hit series for E4, I’m hoping I can transfer those skills to making successful programmes for the Gaelic television channel.” www.youngfilms.co.uk www.e4.com/inbetweeners/

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Raven made in scotland TV

We had no idea that the show would be so popular.” James Mackenzie, Raven

“Are you ready? Then let the challenge... begin!”

Since 2002, BBC Scotland’s innovative children’s game show Raven has challenged young people to complete a difficult set of tasks and feats in their quest to become the Ultimate Warrior, with their travails presided over by the stern form of immortal Scottish warlord Raven. Edinburgh-based actor James Mackenzie brings the shape-shifting taskmaster to life, and looks back with pleasure over seven years of mystery and magic.

“My agent sent me for an audition back in 2002, and all I knew was that they wanted someone who was Scottish and had dark hair,” says Mackenzie.

“When we made the first series, we had no idea that the show would be so popular; we had no grand plans, but after winning a BAFTA we got a second series, and Raven just grew from there.”

Mackenzie had already experienced television acting after appearing on popular Scottish-made detective shows like Rebus and Taggart, but Raven gave him a completely different challenge to anything he’d done before: playing a half man, half bird.

James McKenzie as Raven

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“It’s a very different kind of exposure on a programme like this; it can be a bit of a shock for kids if you run into them at the supermarket!” he says.

“Fortunately I don’t dress much like the character I play, I’m much more at home in jeans and a t-shirt. Raven has a very striking beard, so when I’m not filming, I usually shave it off for the sake of my own anonymity.

Getting into the right mind-set to play a medieval fantasy character is a tall order, especially when Mackenzie is expected to be in character on other programmes.

“The character for the first series was very different; when I first came up with the voice, it was a lot deeper and sterner, but that changed as we beefed up his character in the next series,” he says. “Sometimes if I’m appearing on another programme as Raven, I have to think carefully about what Raven would think about the situation he’s in. He can’t do anything too contemporary, so he wouldn’t understand what a videotape is,” says Mackenzie.

Raven’s young viewers will be familiar with the innovative and imaginative special effects that accompany the challenges that Raven sets. Rotating blades and barrels forming obstacle courses are created using physical effects and visual trickery.

“There’s a lot of work done in postproduction, so when we’re actually

shooting, you learn how to keep the right eyeline for the camera, and to work out which moments you have to freeze at, in order to allow an effect to be inserted in post for the finished programme,” says Mackenzie. “The children taking part will often have no experience of how a programme is made; it takes them a while to get the hang of the large crew we have, and how long the shooting process takes. So I have to maintain the Raven persona to keep the banter going between takes. When we’re making the show, there’s sometimes a little bit of teasing with the kids - it’s fun to hear them impersonate the character.”

After seven series, Raven’s success has now taken the format away from the lochs and glens around Castle Toward to new locations; one recent series saw the games take place in India.

“We realised that because of his powers, Raven could go pretty much anywhere he likes, so the 50th anniversary of Indian and Pakistani independence provided a perfect opportunity to take the show abroad,” says Mackenzie. “It worked fantastically, so in future, who knows where Raven will go?” www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/raven

made in scotland TV

Nina and the Neurons Katrina Bryan as Nina

“the kids who watch are so honest; they either like it or they don’t and fortunately for us most of them seem to like it.”

Katrina Bryan, Nina

With a number of great inventors in its history, Scotland prides itself on its role in the history of science. One BBC Scotland programme which aims to ensure that the next generation of budding chemists and physicists are encouraged and challenged to pursue their interest, is Nina and the Neurons, with Nina played by actress Katrina Bryan.

“My character, Nina, is a scientist who works in a Science Centre and does experiment shows for pre-school children. She has five animated Neurons in her head, whom she can chat to and who represent the five senses. In each show a child contacts Nina and asks her a question like, ‘Where do the stars go during the day?’ or ‘Why are fish slimy?’’’ she says. “And we then spend the next 15 minutes doing fun experiments out and about to help answer their question.”

Nina and The Neurons works closely with other bodies with a similar bent towards getting kids interested in science, including Glasgow Science Centre, which is next door to the BBC studios in Pacific Quay. “Yes the Science Centre do help us a lot,” says Bryan. “They suggest experiment ideas and check scripts before they get signed off, and they help us take complex scientific theories and simplify them so our 4-6 year-old audience can grasp them,” she says. And the programme has recently branched out with specifically eco-friendly shows like Nina and the Neurons - Go Eco. As anyone will remember from learning science at school, not every experiment goes as planned, and the results can be messy.

“In the first series we didn't have time to rehearse the experiments that we do in the lab at the top of the show, and we would often discover, while a young audience of 6 year-olds waited to be entertained, that it wasn't going to work and we'd have to change everything last minute - that was pretty stressful on everyone, but it certainly improved my line learning skills!” says Bryan. “We’ve got it down to a fine art now, although there are always unreliable experiments like the one where I just had to put a playing card over a glass of water and turn it upside down and then explain how this was possible. But in rehearsals by the time I'd finished saying what I needed to say - with the glass still upside down - gravity kicked in and it spilled everywhere! So in the final one with the audience there, I'm talking really quickly, and when I watch that episode now all I can see is the fear in my eyes and me expecting the water to go everywhere any second!”

Now in its third series, Nina and The Neurons is a dramatic change from Bryan’s other work; she is currently filming Taggart and has previously worked on other popular shows. Bryan says that each job has highly individual needs, requiring considerable readjustment to get the performance levels right.

easier if I help direct the kids as they already look up to Nina, and keeping their focus on me keeps it simple for them in what is often their first time on camera,” she says. “But on Nina, we have a small tight-knit crew of about eight of us when we're out filming so to go from that to Taggart, where there are 40 plus, is pretty scary! Luckily everyone at SMG and the Taggart cast and crew have been great and made me feel really comfortable. I just have to remind myself of the disciplines of being on set, but I do like having that structure around me as well.”

Nina and the Neurons carried off a coveted Scottish BAFTA award for Best Children’s programme in 2007, but for Bryan, the main reward comes from connecting with a young audience.

“I think winning awards definitely gives the producers a huge boost regarding re-commissions and pitching new series ideas. But I don’t think it makes any difference to our audience. One of the best things about doing a show for preschoolers is that the kids who watch are so honest; they either like it or they don't and fortunately for us most of them seem to like it,” she says. www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/nina/

“They couldn't be more different! I'm really lucky to be doing Taggart now as I was worried Nina was giving me bad habits as an actor! In Nina I have some input with the script; they allow me to make it my own so I'm used to having that flexibility. We also found that it's

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made in scotland TV

l:r Jacqui Hayden, Phil Spencer and Kirstie Allsopp (Location, Location, Location) and Stephen Fry (The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive)

“Our ambition is to make quality network and international productions from a regional base.” Jacqui Hayden, head of development Scotland’s biggest television independent, IWC has a proven track record for providing factual and drama series; working from their Glasgow office as Head of Development, Jacqui Hayden is amongst those responsible for some of the UK’s most identifiable shows, with their output largely created through the efforts of over a hundred members of staff in Scotland.

“What programmes are we most proud of? I think the glaring answer would have to be Location, Location, Location, and its sister programme Relocation Relocation. They’re smart channelbranding programmes and they’re not only returnable series, but ones which have managed to grow their audience as they’ve returned,” says Hayden. “But we’ve also become known for making content-rich and entertaining authored journeys. It started with the series we made with Stephen Fry on manic depression (Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive), which won an international Emmy. That led us to create series with top talent like Griff Rhys Jones (Mountain for BBC One) and Robbie Coltrane (B-Road Britain for ITV). We’re currently in production on two series for Five: one about fishing with Robson Greene; the other a journey that will see Rory McGrath and Paddy McGuiness take on Britain’s most eccentric sportsmen.”

In 2007, IWC were responsible for over 200 hours of broadcast programming, but the high quantity of television created has to be balanced with the quality of the subjects.

“Another major production for us last year was an access documentary for ITV following JK Rowling as she finished the Harry Potter series. As

page 32

Head of Development, a big part of my job is ensuring that IWC have good relationships with the best talent possible,” she says. “We’ve just completed our third series with Richard Dawkins (The Genius of Charles Darwin), and are hoping to work again with Stephen Hawking. The great thing is that when you’re working with on-screen talent, they don’t care where you’re based, what they’re interested in is that you’re the best possible person to work with.”

As well as looking after high profile talent, one aspect that IWC prides itself on is the training of its own staff.

“We take our staff training very seriously, in terms of growing, developing and retaining our in-house staff; it’s important to give people a reason to stay with your company, and that means in-house courses, on-the-job training, plus links with the Channel 4 Researcher Training Programme run by The Research Centre and with Scottish Screen’s NETS programme. I think that we make just as ambitious, bold and clever programmes as London companies, and that helps us to attract new talent. But we also want to ensure that the same talent sticks with the company.”

Maintaining close relationships with commissioning editors is another aspect of the IWC success story. Hayden is quick to point out that while there’s no exact science about how to do this, there are certain rules worth following.

“They must know that you’re hungry for the work, so anything you can do to keep yourself and your company at the forefront of their minds is important.

It’s not enough to have great ideas,

commissioners have to be confident in your ability to deliver on them. So you have to build up a relationship of trust,” she says. “Big meetings and emails are important, but don’t underestimate the power of the telephone when it comes to building a good working relationship and winning business. Markets are always tough, so you can’t just sit back and see what happens to a proposal you’ve sent in by email.”

And what does she think is attractive about IWC to commissioners? “We bring energy, enthusiasm and expertise to all our projects. I think that the range of genres we’re committed to makes clear our ambition to make quality network and international productions from a regional base,” Hayden replies.

IWC is an independently owned subsidiary of RDF, but has its own separate business objectives and financial targets. That also means an independent management team and ideas. “The important thing is that RDF Rights has the right to sell our programmes, which really helps, given that according to a recent Broadcast poll, they’re the number one sales company in the UK,” says Hayden.

“Our longer term objectives are to grow our core areas of features and specialist factual programmes, to build a presence in entertainment in Scotland and to contribute to the growth of Scotland overall as an area of known television expertise.” www.iwcmedia.co.uk

made in scotland TV

TernTV “With the internet, you might say we’ve arrived at the age of Martini programming; anytime, anyplace, anywhere,” says Tern TV Creative Director, Harry Bell. With a roster of successful factual shows starting with television’s most hardy perennial The Beechgrove Garden, Tern has grown from a small acorn to a large tree, with Bell involved in making sure its branches spread as far as possible.

“We’re particularly fired up about how to inhabit the virtual digital world and the TV world; there’s a huge divide between traditional, linear television and the digital online world,” he says. “We saw that all the big independent companies, the Endemols and the Talkbacks, weren’t really engaged in multiplatform, because it’s notoriously difficult to monetise, so we saw a gap to get moving on this alongside our television projects.”

Since the dot.com era, many companies have tried and failed to make internet content pay, but Tern TV have made a point of working with the major outlets of online programming.

“On one hand, we’re thinking about the 4IP fund that Channel 4 are running in Glasgow, Manchester and Birmingham in terms of innovation in television, but on the other, we’re working with YouTube, Bebo and MySpace - you can’t ignore them because they’re the ones who are making the noise and the money. The great thing is that in the digital age, you have control of your content, but you also have direct interaction with your audience. We don’t see ourselves as programme makers; we’re content creators. I believe we’re doing something unique by bringing the two worlds of digital and TV together, creating ideas that play on different platforms.”

As an example, Bell points to the KNTV project, already a successful television brand, but now expanding with KNTV: Sex.

KNTV

“We’re interested in making big programmes with big budgets and getting big audiences.”

Harry Bell, CREATIVE DIRECTOR

“I know how it sounds, but yes, we’re launching our own sex channel,” says Bell. “KNTV: SEX, is using Jackass-style clips and Gorillaz-style animation to deal with quite controversial subjects like fetishes, sexually transmitted diseases, all the topics that teenagers need to learn about, but presented in a funny, accessible way. So we’ll have a channel on Bebo where teenagers can play interactive sex games, in the style of the old Marie Claire questionnaires, and we hope to do this is association with The Terrance Higgins trust or a similar sex-orientated charity; it’s a project with education at its heart.”

But such ambitious and innovative content is some way from the programme that first put the company on the map the show which showed the nation how to aerate their lawns, The Beechgrove Garden.

“It might sound banal, but our basis is The Beechgrove Garden, which has allowed us to build and grow. Beechgrove is a lifestyle programme, and that’s what the broadcasters want. The key to our growth has been the returning brands; we did eight hours of Great British Journeys and The Spa of series of programmes,” says

Bell, who has vision and ambition for the company. “It’s great that there are small companies making small films, but we’re interested in making big programmes with big budgets and getting big audiences; I want to communicate with as many people as possible.”

As well as their ongoing and wellestablished Scottish bases, Tern have recently opened offices in Belfast and London, an achievement which reflects their desire to compete on a national and hopefully international scale.

“On a metascale many companies struggle to get beyond a ten million turnover; it’s called ‘the bog’ because overheads and everything else gets bigger at that stage, so that’s our goal right now – to get beyond that,” says Bell. “From Scotland, you’re close to the large honeypot that is London, so you have the opportunity to be part of the deals there. But you also have to poach. That’s why we’ve opened an office in London - we’re taking the game to them.” www.terntv.com

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made in scotland TV

Amy McDonald (photo by Miles Goodwin)

BBC Scotland’s backstage set (photo by Mark Munro)

Everything Stops For T Behind the Scenes with the BBC Coverage of Scotland’s Biggest Music Event

I

t’s 6.15 on Sunday night, and Amy Winehouse is standing in the centre of a large field in the rolling countryside of Balado, Kinross. To most of a crowd of near Biblical proportions crowded around the main stage, the singer is roughly the size of a wasp. But like the viewers at home, the video screens broadcasting live coverage to the crowd, and to homes across the UK, brings the singer into sharp focus.

Covering Scotland’s biggest music festival is one of the tentpole events of BBC Scotland’s live coverage. For the millions who’ll see the event on television or the internet, the coverage is a way of sharing the best-loved music of the year.

“BBC Scotland broadcast over 13 hours of live television across the 3 days of this year's festival. We covered over 60 bands on 3 stages across the weekend. A total of 36 cameras filmed the stages, our presentation area and single camera features,” says Tony Followell, producer of the BBC’s T in the Park coverage.

It took just over 250 people to make all of the BBC's TV, radio, interactive and online output for the event. It’s a massive undertaking and as such detailed planning for the coverage starts in April and all has to be pulled together in time to go live.

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Directing the cameras is Ralph Spark, who is amongst the first to get involved with organising the coverage. His first meeting to start work on this year’s event was back in January.

“Every artist and performance has different requirements, “ he says, “but when we first start planning, we don’t know who will play where. When this is locked down, we’ve got to look at the staging plans and work out how best to film them. For Amy Winehouse, she’s got a big brass section to cover, whereas with KT Tunstall, she’s simply standing with an acoustic guitar, so we’re going in close with more static shots.”

Linking the BBC’s broadcast together are presenters including Edith Bowman and Vic Galloway. Interviewing rock musicians isn’t easy, but Galloway has an love of music that helps to smooth over any potential nerves about his television presenting duties, plus a three hour Radio 1 show.

“I'm always enthusiastic about festivals, and I don't necessarily find the live aspect stressful.

Things go wrong now and again, and you end up talking nonsense sometimes, but all in all live broadcasting is superb fun!” says Galloway.

Together with Bowman, Galloway was the connection point between the audience at home and the bands on stage, a vital element in conveying the flavour of the event.

“Our stage coverage, insert material, acoustic performances and interviews are about giving viewers intimate access to the artists and a strong sense of actually being there,” says Followell. “Our presentation set is unique across music festival coverage in that it is pitched in the middle of the artists' area. The enormous American rig, which forms the centrepiece of the set, has proved a big attraction to the bands; many of them end up hanging out with the BBC around their stage performances. This means we get fantastic interviews and exclusive acoustic performances especially for the television audience.”

All through the weekend, television units are roaming all over the site speaking to the crowds, checking out life in the campsite and recording performances on some of the smaller stages. But not everything can go as planned at an event of this size. Saturday night headliners Rage Against The Machine refused to let their set be recorded, on television or radio. In the studio, Vic Galloway is gutted: “It’s a real low point, for me, they were probably the hottest ticket of the entire weekend.”

made in scotland TV

T in the Park presenters: Edith Bowman, Vic Galloway, Nick Grimshaw, Laura Marks and Jeff Leach (photo by Mark Munro)

“It’s one of those things that happen, usually with US bands rather than British ones.

Green Day did it too. I guess the have their reasons,” says Ralph Spark. “I used to shoot Top of the Pops, and I think most American bands underestimate how good out coverage is; I think it’s the best in the world. REM were very happy with the coverage this year, and I remember The Killers being the same last year.”

As with every festival there are no-shows and surprise guests. But with pre-recorded inserts ready and plenty of other coverage to cut away to, the infrastructure of the BBC’s coverage stands strong.

“We work closely with the wonderful team at DF Concerts; they keep us up to date on their artist bookings, stage times and, on the weekend, any no-shows - we have to expect the unexpected anyway,” says Followell.

“That's where our brilliant gallery teams come in, peddling frantically underneath the surface to turn what is a highly complex operation and a fast moving situation in to stunning, seamless television.”

Meanwhile, Vic Galloway is still penned up in the studio, but nipping out when he can to take in some new talent on the T Break stage. With his own BBC Scotland radio show

for new music, and a band of his own, he’s got to balance up being a presenter with his professional need to hear as much new music as possible. “The more you work, the less you see – that’s a general rule for covering T In the Park,” says Galloway. “However, because I have to talk about what's happened each day, I do make a point of getting to see as many bands as possible, even if it's for a short period of time.” This year, he’s only managed to fit in “Aphex Twin, Battles, Biffy Clyro, Glasvegas, Rage Against the Machine, Vampire Weekend, Joe Acheson Quartet, No Kilter, Kings of Leon, Figure 5, The Blackout and quite a few more…”.

The net result of the team effort? 13 hours of live programming for BBC Three and BBC Scotland on the weekend of T, plus another 5 hours of highlights shows. And once the BBC leave the site, they’ll put together another 10 hours of highlights programmes for broadcast on BBC Two, capturing the memories, sounds and iconic images of the weekend.

On the Sunday night, as the clouds clear to allow a few beams of sunshine to pour down, there’s a classic T in the Park moment taking place. One of Ralph Spark’s camera team captures an image of Amy Winehouse by twilight, her beehive hairdo blocking the sunlight and framing her like the statue of liberty in silhouette. For most of the crowd, it’s an image that’ll bring back memories of 2008’s festival. Vic Galloway isn’t making any other plans for the weekend of 10-12 July 2009.

“I thought that this year's T in the Park ranked very highly in the 15 years it's been going. I've been to them all, whether going as a punter, playing in a band or in 9 years of broadcasting!” he says. “The weather was good, the sound was excellent, the vibe seemed friendly, and I thought the coverage worked better than ever this year. It was great fun... roll on 2009!”

“Live broadcasting is superb fun!”

Vic Galloway, presenter

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made in scotland TV

Alabama 3 (photo by Mark Munro)

T in the Park (photo by Mark Munro)

Biffy Clyro (photo by Mark Munro)

Kings Of Leon (photo by Miles Goodwin)

“I think viewers will see us move increasingly towards covering niche events that won’t feature on the broadcast TV channels.” Tony Law, bbc scotland

D

o you prefer Black Kids to Counting Crows? Are you more turned on by Vampire Weekend than Primal Scream?

‘Press your red button now’, has become the catchphrase of interactive television, and a key part of the BBC’s coverage of an event like T in the Park is about giving music fans more choice in what they can see and hear. Since 2006 the BBC has provided wide-ranging coverage online, with interactive TV services behind the BBC Three and BBC Scotland programming.

“In 2006 we decided to negotiate rights deals with the record labels to provide performance-led interactive coverage of T in the Park. The expanded T in the Park coverage gave us the opportunity to ramp up our investment in multiplatform, and we have attempted to build on that offering in subsequent years,” says BBC Scotland’s Tony Law. “The technical set-up at T in the Park allows us to re-purpose for the web any performance that is being filmed for TV. Separate feeds from the stages come in to the production so really it’s an editorial decision what we cover - generally we’ll try to offer as broad a range of interactive coverage as possible so that the viewer can make their own choices.”

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That means that music fans can access extra songs from the main bands and some smaller acts; there’s two extra channels of coverage available each night, each transmitting for 5 hours, and highlights running all week with one band featuring each day. In 2008, that included headline acts like REM, Stereophonics and The Verve. But to capture the larger picture of the festival’s musical content, the BBC managed to persuade bands to provide them with extra, exclusive content that even the most sunburned fan at the event wouldn’t have the chance to see.

“On the web we also featured acoustic sessions filmed in Radio Scotland’s camper van mobile studio, while the radio production was recording sessions and interviews with many of the smaller acts for Radio 1, particularly Scottish-based bands playing on the T Break stage as well as established acts like 1990s who were playing the Pet Sounds stage,” says Law. “The production team filmed these sessions, taking sound from the radio desk - a set-up that benefited both productions.

This enabled us to bring smaller acts from parts of the festival not being broadcast on TV to a wider audience.”

And with professional photographers covering the stages and the atmosphere on site, there’s not much that happens on the Balado site that viewers at home will miss.

“I think viewers will see us move increasingly towards covering niche events that won’t feature on the broadcast TV channels; either in partnership with radio or as stand-alone web coverage. We also want to feature trusted personalities in interactive coverage using talent from radio and TV, and also to introduce new talent on the interactive platforms,” says Law. “But choices in live performance will remain the bedrock of interactive festival coverage, and we will also increase our on-demand niche and local offerings on multiple platforms in the future.” www.bbc.co.uk/tinthepark/2008

All T in the Park photos ©BBC Scotland

made in scotland TV

Lauren Laverne and Mark Kermode

W

ant to read a positive review of a film, book, album or band? You’ll get one if you watch a television show owned by an affiliated network, but can you rely on it? With many publications and programmes tightly linked, the line between arts coverage and publicity material can become blurred.

The BBC takes its independence seriously, and one programme that embodies the interests of corporation’s public is The Culture Show. Split between bases in Glasgow and White City in London, it covers pretty much all the bases on terms of arts and entertainment coverage.

“If its Glastonbury or Glyndebourne, Dylan or Keats, we’re there,” says series producer Edward Morgan. “We’re magpies in that respect. We’re not taking a tape measure to high or low culture, we just want to take a look at it and find out if it’s any good.

Whether it’s architecture or hip-hop, film noir or indie music, we’ve always got people with a passion giving their verdict.”

One show can cover this kind of variety; one presenter can’t. The Culture Show has an ever-expanding line-up of experts, a policy they’ve cultivated from the first series.

“There’s plenty of people who can do the job of television presenters, to walk, talk and do pieces to the camera. But too often, they’re boring. On other programmes, I

enjoy watching Jeremy Clarkston or Jeremy Paxman. They’re people who give a damn, not just going through the motions,” says Morgan. “So it’s great to hear Mark Kermode talking about his passion for the film of Terence Davies, who Mark describes as ‘the British Fellini’. Or Verity Sharp on Metallica; she’s on tour with them and thinks they’re the loudest, most influential band in the world. But they don’t have to love it either.

From Shakespeare to Hitchcock, there’s no such thing as a great artist who creates great art every time, and when they don’t, we say so.”

Rather than just sitting back and taking a lead from the interviewees, The Culture Show’s presenters are encouraged to go for the jugular, taking risks and sometimes coming away with a major exclusive.

“We asked Martin Scorsese about the painter Caravaggio when he was promoting The Aviator, and I could see PR people around him shaking their heads as if we’d done something wrong by mentioning it. But I had a hunch that he’d be interested, and he was. I thought it was there in his films, and he went on to go into fantastic detail about how he’s been inspired by Caravaggio’s paintings to create scenes in Taxi Driver or Goodfellas. It makes you see his films in a different light,” says Morgan. “Similarly Mark got into a real conversation with Leonardo di Caprio when he was promoting Blood Diamond, when he said he didn’t like Leo’s

performance in Titanic. And he discussed why he didn’t like Amistad, Munich or Hook with Steven Spielberg, who actually asked for the interview to go on longer so he could discuss it. Being honest makes for a more informed programme.”

Another well-remembered moment is when director Werner Herzog was shot while recording an interview for the programme (“It’s one of the most watched films on YouTube, and it’s already appearing on lists of great television moments,” says Morgan).

But it’s not the only piece of The Culture Show that’s gained an online platform.

“We’re hoping to have over 600 films on our website as a resource; after all, the licence payers pay for it, so they should have access to it,” says Morgan. “The audience is the real boss, and that’s why we make a feature of our blogs, so we can forge the closest possible relationship with our audience.

We operate out of two cities not for any tokenistic reason, but because the breadth of our audience drives our choices for the programmes. Whether its busking with Frank Black in Glasgow or The Charlatans in Manchester, talking to Paul McCartney about meeting John Lennon for the first time, or a look at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, we’re always looking for the best possible way to discuss the best arts stories.” www.bbc.co.uk/cultureshow

“Whether it’s architecture or hip-hop, film noir or indie music, we’ve always got people with a passion giving their verdict.”

Edward Morgan, producer Verity Sharp

Andrew Graham-Dixon

Tom Dyckhoff

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made in scotland TV

HopscotchFilms Director Abbas Kiarostami, On the Road with Kiarostami

“Attracting the right talent to work with is a key element of sustaining an independent business.” Having previously served as Scottish Screen’s Chief Executive, John Archer is in a better position than most to cherry-pick emerging voices in Scottish culture. So it’s not surprising that his company, Hopscotch Films, have a roster of significant talent on their books. Specialising in high quality arts, documentary and film production, Hopscotch is building a reputation on the small screen, while constantly looking towards the big screen.

“For me, factual productions are what sustains and builds the company; our plan has always been to expand into drama and features from a television factual base,” says Archer. “It’s not always as easy to get to know commissioning editors as you’d like it to be, but once you get a chance to properly sit down and start to discuss things, sharing information and getting to know them, things get a lot easier.”

Hopscotch has a particularly Scottish bent to their output; they’ve completed projects like Writing Scotland, an eight part series for BBC Scotland, fronted by writer Carl MacDougall. Another successful partnership is with film critic and director Mark Cousins.

“Hopscotch has a definite interest in covering the arts for television. Mark’s a great talent with a passionate and deep knowledge of film combined an ability to talk about cinema in an accessible way; he doesn’t assume academic knowledge about film, but addresses a wide audience. He’s someone I think should be on television a lot more,” says Archer. “We made Cinema Iran with Mark for Channel 4, travelling to Tehran to interview the great Iranian directors. While we were there we got a second commission, On the Road with Kiarostami, solely with the great Abbas Kiarostami. The big factual project we’re currently working on is a television version of Mark’s book The Story of Film. With help from MEDIA and Scottish Screen, we’ve already filmed in Egypt and China; it’s ambitious, but it’s exactly the kind of project we think is worth doing.”

Shooting The Story of Film in China

McDougall and Cousins aren’t the only talents Hopscotch Films are involved with; John Wallace’s documentary about Chapelcross Cooling Towers also met with considerable acclaim. And Zam Salim’s film David Gillanders: Black and White examined the work processes of the internationally acclaimed photojournalist, and won the award for Best Short Documentary at the European Independent Film Festival.

“That programme emerged from working with Zam on some Three Minute Wonders, and although we originally had another director in mind, we decided it was worth taking a risk by giving Zam his first documentary television project, and it paid off,” says Archer. “That kind of low-budget, authored documentary is ideal for us, and with established drama producer Carolyn Sinclair Kidd recently joining the company, we can develop the company through a wide variety of projects. Commissioning editors often think cautiously; at Hopscotch, we want to persuade them to look beyond tired reality-show concepts and take risks with more high-concept ideas, in terms of both factual and drama projects.” www.hopscotchfilms.co.uk

“We want to persuade commissioning editors to take risks with more high-concept ideas, in terms of both factual and drama projects.”

John Archer, Managing Director page 38

Black & White

“We want to make it real, keep it real and make a difference.”

Marie Olesen, managing director

nts

The New Ten Commandme

Kurdi

“Why did I come to Scotland? Because it’s potentially the best place in the world, that’s why,” says Danish producer Marie Olesen.

“People here are genuinely the nicest you could imagine, and most tend to have a social conscience far superior to almost anywhere else that I've experienced.”

Autonomi set up six years ago and diversity is a key notion in the development of the production outfit. The company’s output ranges from primetime observational documentary for television to film drama.

Together with Diversity Films, Autonomi has also taken part in public forums and discussions about the way media coverage can impact on individuals, and can point to recent educational projects like As It Is, which deals with gang fighting, to indicate the kind of direction they’ve partly taken.

“Doug Aubrey is someone we work with, who has had great success translating difficult subject matter into hard-hitting pieces such as Wasted Nation (BBC) and This is what happens to Black Boys with Big Mouths (one of The New Ten Commandments films about Aamer Anwar’s contempt of court trial). It’s one of the areas we want to keep getting involved in producing human interest docs in the sort of alternative news vein, and producing quality dramas around the same kind of themes,” says Olesen. “These might sound like lofty ideals, but they’re what we believe in and why we do what we do! We want to make it real, keep it real and make a difference.”

Along with a string of other filmmakers, Aubrey in one of the talents that Autonomi is developing. His Kurdi is an observational independent documentary about a former freedom fighter, who shares the alienating experience of living in exile with another estimated four million Kurds. Another project with Aubrey is Islamophobia, which looks at how an international anti-racist message

Kurdi

90 Minutes

can be conveyed in sport, and features interviews with stars like Thierry Henry and Rio Ferdinand. But they’ve also got lighter items on their slate like La Banda Europa, a look at the continent’s weirdest orchestra, and 90 Minutes, about a swearing football coach taking on pretty much everybody in order to obtain a ceasefire prior to the 2010 World Cup.

Olesen is currently working to create a slate of television and film projects that reflect her company’s diverse interest in subject matters ranging from Indian street children, Muscovite stray dogs to revolutionaries. And that includes developing features, with awardwinning director Peter Mackie Burns, who won the coveted Golden Bear award in Berlin for his short Milk.

“We’re not interested in producing ‘salami’, or lowbrow output. There’s simply no point in putting yourself, never mind people you employ, through months or even years of hardship if you don't enjoy what you're doing. And trying to serve some imaginary audience who certainly won't enjoy it either would be a pointless exercise,” says Olesen.

“Sometimes we feel we're being asked to pitch projects going down a line where the audience possibly cannot be bothered to follow. Any film or project has to talk to us as individuals as well as have something that makes it stand out.”

“We’ve continued working with Peter, doing his follow-up short Run, which, although didn't bag as many awards, found a sound audience too, including screening at the prestigious Telluride Film Festival,” says Olesen. “We’re now developing his first feature as writer and director with support from MEDIA Plus, Glasgow Film Office and Scottish Screen.”

we cannot but help maintain a certain continuous creative drive. As a company, we are in the process of opening up to Europe - and beyond - in order to fulfill our international aspirations to be a solid producer of both drama and documentary,” says Olesen.

She feels positive about the future and identifies securing network commissions as a key factor in the company’s growth. “It’s vital that Scottish indies get their fair share of network output. We still have a lot to do in terms of building trust and confidence with what is a London-centric commissioning system, and that’s why we have to look to the continent as well.

There’s no reason or excuse for being insular.” www.autonomi.tv

Olesen muses on the ethos and vision for Autonomi. “Small is indeed occasionally beautiful and certainly valid as a business strategy. I think being a company of our size means

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page 40

Limmy

made in scotland TV

Comedy Still Game

Empty

The Will and Greg Sketch Show

Rab C Nesbitt

Chewin’ the Fat

Blowout

The

Unit

“Comedy is great in the sense that you’re working with very funny people.”

Rab Christie, head of comedy

If there’s one quality that Scots are known for worldwide, it’s their sense of humour.

Spreading that quality around the world is part of the remit of The Comedy Unit, the Glasgow based company that has been responsible for many of the most popular comedy shows the country has ever produced, from Still Game to Rab C Nesbitt.

Rab Christie (no relation) is a Head of Comedy at the company, which is part of the RDF group, and has an innate understanding of what makes the nation laugh.

“The Comedy Unit was originally part of the BBC and went independent in 1996 when it won three network commissions, Rab C Nesbitt, Athletico Partick and The Baldy Man,” says Christie. “Since then we’ve also focused on domestic products like Chewin’ the Fat, The Karen Dunbar Show and our football show Offside, but recently we’ve returned to network commissions with shows like Empty, The Will and Greg Sketch Show for Channel 4 and the forthcoming return of Rab C Nesbitt for the end of this year.”

Christie went into comedy direct from University, after performing at the Edinburgh fringe in the Trio Brothers Troupe at the Edinburgh Fringe. He earned his spurs working with Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill on the daunting project of adapting 24 radio episodes of Chewin’ The Fat for six episodes of television.

“Comedy is great in the sense that you’re working with very funny people, and when they’re trying out new material, it often does make you laugh, but script editing comedy can also be a very painful process when you’ve having to chose between different pieces of material,” says Christie. “And there’s always someone keen to tell you what they like and don’t like, usually taxi drivers.”

Recent successes include sitcom Empty starring Billy Boyd, and Blowout, a comedy pilot that won the BAFTA Scotland Best Entertainment award in 2007.

“On the strength of Blowout, Channel 4 has given us a Comedy Showcase for Greg McHugh and Will Andrews (The Will and Greg Sketch Show), following in the footsteps of Kevin Bishop, who starred in a Showcase last year and went on to make a full series on Channel 4 on Friday nights,” he says. “That kind of project is interesting in that when you do, say, an Only an Excuse? special, there’s stories from the football world that people will expect to see covered, but with new talent, you can take the jokes in new directions. We tend to build the shows around talent, rather than vice-versa, and I think we’ve built up a great deal of talent.”

Working with Glasgow comic Limmy is another Comedy Unit project, and using the internet now joins television, radio and live stage shows amongst the Comedy Unit’s favoured platforms.

“We did a recent project called Gags To Go which was about writing sketches for mobile phones, and we’re also looking to set up dedicated online comedy channels,” says Christie. “One key element is that we have an open door policy for writers, with regular nights at The Stand Comedy Club in Edinburgh and Glasgow, and we welcome new material for Jonathan Watson’s live radio show, Watson’s Wind Up,” he says. “Many of our best writers have come from that intake, so it’s something we’ll continue with in the future.” www.comedyunit.co.uk

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angel EYE MEDIA

made in scotland TV

Delta Forever

“There’s a surprising amount of cross fertilisation between comedy and education.”

John O’Callaghan, creative director

M

aking people laugh can be big business. From their offices in Glasgow and London, Angel Eye Media has built an impressive track record in cutting edge comedy, across television, film, radio and new media platforms, working with leading industry talent both in front and behind the camera. Creative Director John O’Callaghan is amongst those responsible for keeping the company at the forefront of a number of different media.

“Our BBC Four comedy series, Cowards, is a good example of the kind of programme Angel Eye is most proud of, demonstrating our commitment to developing new talent as well as developing multi-platform potential,” says O’Callaghan. “Cowards was produced as an exclusively online comedy show for BBC Three in a ten week ‘take-over’ of its homepage, and we were the first company to do anything like that. The project was nominated for a DADI innovative award and was a huge success with up to 25,000 views a week. Now the series for the show is currently in production, directed

by League of Gentlemen director, Steve Bendelack.”

Angel Eye began in 1998, producing Edinburgh Or Bust, an anarchic documentary deriving energy from the melting pot of comedic talent at the capital’s Fringe Festival. Since then they’ve involved themselves with a number of other projects, including a feature Beginner's Luck, starring Julie Delpy and Steven Berkoff.

“Angel Eye has now completed two comedy drama series for Channel 4, and we are building on this narrative comedy base with a slate of new productions for the coming year. This autumn we are producing a series of comedy shorts for MTV and developing a oneoff comedy drama film for the BBC,” says O’Callaghan.

And Angel Eye Media aren’t just there for the funny things in life; they’re increasingly involved in educational programming. Branching out into different areas of the media is part of the company’s mindset.

“We have always focused on comedy and entertainment, but in the past three years we have been developing a separate division of the business, making educational programmes,” says O’Callaghan.

“There’s a surprising amount of cross fertilisation - both teams develop up factual programmes with either an educational or comic spin. The education team produced a Channel 4 Dispatches, which featured Rowan Atkinson’s campaign for freedom of speech, and the comedy team produced a BAFTA-nominated documentary about The Broons, narrated by Ewan McGregor.” www.angeleye.co.uk

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made in scotland TV

Claire Mundell Justin Molotnikov

Synchronicity “Synchronicity has an ambitious approach to its international strategy.”

Claire Mundell, creative director Peter Mullan, Shoebox Zoo

T

ogether with Synchronicity Films’ co-founder, Justin Molotnikov, Claire Mundell scored a notable success with the BBC’s popular children’s television show Shoebox Zoo. But aside from developing the series into a film, to be titled The Brotherhood of the Book, Mundell and Molotnikov have also been working on a slate of other projects.

“Synchronicity Films is a boutique drama production company working across television and feature film drama, scripted comedy and improvised projects. Our company’s ethos is to develop and produce really ambitious, bold and quality drama for UK and international audiences,” says Mundell, who is currently on TRC’s international programme.

“Synchronicity has an ambitious approach to its international strategy; we are now actively pitching projects to the major US networks and cable channels, and we intend to build on our relationships and contacts in Canada and the US as we go forward.”

Scottish Screen National Lottery funded: Business Development Loan

Currently their slate includes a six-part television drama series, Venus Rising, in development for Channel 4; a co-production with French company, The Bureau, of James Marsh’s (The King, Man on Wire) second feature, Rise; a series of morality tales/murder mysteries based on the short stories of esteemed US author Patricia Highsmith in development with LA’s Minerva Films; and a contemporary version of Jack London’s classic story White Fang.

Such a diverse range of projects requires a close-knit team, and Mundell is enthusiastic in her appreciation of what she and Molotnikov have achieved so far, while also looking towards the appointment of Synchronicity’s first development producer.

“As co-creative directors, Justin and I are a long-established creative partnership from our time together at the BBC. We have extensive drama development, production and international co-production experience, in terms of live action/CGI hybrids,” she says. “In addition to continually refining and refreshing our slate of projects, we will be looking to deepen our relationships with North America and to see the key projects on our slate go into production.” www.synchronicityfilms.co.uk

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made in scotland TV

RedKite Marvo Goes Ballistic

Norm

The Green Man

“The relationships that are fostered and networks created through festivals and markets should not be underestimated by any professional in our business.�

Ken Anderson, Managing Director page 44

made in scotland TV

E

dinburgh-based company Red Kite are one of the animation industry’s leaders. From 1997, when he founded the company with director Rachel Bevan Baker, Managing Director, Ken Anderson, has been looking for ways to use the unique discipline of animation to create high quality television and short films.

A quick look at the company’s current projects gives some idea of the range of projects with the Red Kite stamp. They’re bringing the famous striped jumper of one of the UK’s favourite cartoon characters to life for DC Thomson with an animated series of Dennis and Gnasher, while also providing a batch of short animated funnies, Marvo the Wonder Chicken. And with a new CGI show for pre-teen girls looking to start production early 2009, there’s clearly plenty of recognition for the company’s innovative output.

“When we first started there were two of us in the back room of the Edinburgh Film Workshop Trust offices on Albany Street. We then filled that room, had people working upstairs in a store room and even someone next door in what was the rostrum camera room,”

flash animation; cel action; computers increasing in power and capabilities, and so on,” says Anderson. “We have tended to focus our attention on the front end of the process – the ideas, design, writing, production and financing – so the technology has been something we have either drawn on when needed, or subcontracted to those really great animation studios who live for the technology and what it can do.”

To maintain their position, Red Kite has a responsibility to stay on top of the need for state of the art software and equipment, vital for realising the dreams of programme makers. The advent of the internet has also been an obvious catalyst for change.

“I think that the internet has had a massive impact on the way that animation companies work together – digitally sending and downloading work to one another from one side of the globe to the other. That has already happened but no doubt we’ll see further improvements in this area as well, with new better interfaces for creating animation such as WACOM tablets or motion capture technology.”

Bungee Jump Blues The Imp

says Anderson. “When we started production on The Green Man of Knowledge and The Many Deaths of Norman Spittal, we took on an additional set of offices in the lane behind Albany Street. At that point we had two producers and ten or twelve animators and artworkers, working directly onto acetate cel, which was then sent to London where it was filmed under a 35mm rostrum.”

The company’s hard work has been rewarded, not just in terms of fresh contracts, but in the form of awards; films like The Tree Officer and Pablo The Little Red Fox have carried off top awards at the Scottish and UK BAFTA ceremonies. That kind of recognition brings not only job satisfaction, but an international reputation as one of the rising stars of animation.

Finding the right place to house a thriving business can be a problem for a developing company, but Red Kite found happiness in their own backyard in Edinburgh’s Leith district, where they are now based in state of the art offices; the company has evolved over the last ten years.

“It is important for us that our directors and producers are recognised for the world-class professionals that they are. In turn we as an organisation benefit from this kudos,” says Anderson. “The world of animation is not a huge one and people are very well connected – always keeping in touch with who is doing what across the globe – so we have always tried to make sure we maintain a good profile for our films overseas. That has enabled us to gain name recognition, which helps when it comes to getting through the first couple of barriers at studios and TV channels. The relationships that are fostered and networks created through festivals and markets should not be underestimated by any professional in our business, so yes, winning awards matters.”

“We had started of as a creative animation studio in 1997, producing one-off short artistic films for Channel 4, S4C, MG Alba and Scottish Screen. But now, in 2008, we are a TV production company with the ability to develop, finance and produce long-form TV series with multiple partners in countries across the globe.”

With new and exciting technical opportunities, Red Kite has been able to move forward from specialising in 2D drawn or painted animation, to stop-frame and 3D computer animation, and all forms in between.

www.redkite-animation.com

“The technologies we use have been changing since we started the business. We saw the end of film and the advent of digital painting and compositing. We have seen the growth of CGI; of multi-layered animation software that allows just about anyone to create animation;

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made in scotland TV

KO LIK FILMS “Work harder, get funnier….,” is the admirable company ethos of Ko Lik Films, an Edinburgh-based animation company who have gained an international profile for innovative work, as well as big network television commissions for pieces like Haunted Hogmanay and Glendogie Bogie for the BBC.

“Who do we admire? Pixar, Aardman, Disney, Dreamworks, in fact, everyone who gets good work finished! Animation takes ages and it's really hard so you've got to admire anyone who gets anything made,” says Cameron Fraser, who runs the company with fellow filmmaker, Neil Jack.

“Usually we're straight into the office by mid-day, a quick browse on Ebay to check if there are any interesting guitars for sale, grab a coffee and then home. It's a pretty punishing routine that's only occasionally interrupted by endless months of writing and development,” he jokes.

Such modesty about the famously rigorous demands of animation aside, since their BAFTA Scotland winner The Tree Officer, Ko Lik have built up a reputation for high quality animation, backed with intense preparation at script level.

“Since The Tree Officer, all our films have been captured digitally and we use a lot of compositing in our films. We tend to work within pretty tight budgets and we rely on getting the best from the technology available to allow us get as much on screen as we possibly can,” says Fraser. “It’s the same for any kind of animation; I guess whether you're Ray Harryhausen or Rockstar, you're always trying to push the technology

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Haunted Hogmanay

“Our approach is very simple: get the very best people we can and trust them to do their best.”

Cameron Fraser, Co-Director

available to its limits to be constantly improving what you do.”

Making the best use of their Edinburgh studios is one of the challenges for Ko Lik; despite the effortlessly enjoyable appeal of animation, scheduling the use of sets, equipment and talent is one of the hardest aspects to master.

“On the last couple of films, we usually have four or five sets animating at any one time with another couple of sets being dressed and lit; the challenge is trying to make sure things remain consistent across several different sets and animators,” says Fraser. “We use digital SLR cameras which are fitted with manual lenses.

Lighting inconsistencies and flicker are two big problems in stop-frame animation and the older manual

35mm lenses give a little more control but it's always something we're battling with and it eats up a lot of time in post-production and at the grading stage.”

problem... something in the reading that needs to be delivered a specific way.

Otherwise, we just try to let the actors do what they do best.”

Bringing in voice talent is also a vital aspect of the animation process; Ko Lik recognise that finding the right voice for their creations is a key element of the animation process.

And with award recognition, the Ko Lik goal of making animated features is kept alive and well, while they continue to garner success in the television world.

“It's something that's really key to the success of the whole film and it's so easy for it to go wrong. Our approach is very simple: get the very best people we can and trust them to do their best. We talk to other producers and friends about casting ideas and we listen to what they think,” Fraser says. “In terms of actual direction during the voice recordings, we only intervene if there's a specific

“BAFTA nominations are a great honour, not just for us but for everyone connected with our films.

You can’t quantify exactly how much impact BAFTA nominations have on the company profile... but to be on the safe side we've both had massive tattoos that say ‘BAFTA nominated’.. you can't be too shy about these things!” www.kolik.co.uk

made in scotland TV

Brocken Spectre B

rocken Spectre is a Glasgow-based production company which have picked up two BAFTA nominations for their short film work with David Yates, Rank in 2001 and Jim McRoberts’ Kissing, Tickling and Being Bored in 2006.

And their latest project sees them getting into television production, working closely with Channel 4, with a commission to make a 30-minute drama for the PILOT scheme called Stacked.

PILOT provided an opportunity for drama screenwriters to take part in a unique training and development programme and win the chance to have their work produced and screened on Channel 4.

“Brocken Spectre was identified by 4Talent and Channel 4, along with Scottish Screen and Highlands & Islands Enterprise, who are supporting the PILOT initiative, as a potential provider of drama; I think it’s important that innovative drama comes out of Scotland,” says Brocken Spectre’s David Smith.

Three Scottish companies developed four writers after a nationwide search, and from that pool, Bryony Ive was selected and paired up with Brocken Spectre to pitch to Channel 4 Drama and 4Talent. Stacked was their winning commission.

“It’s about three teenage sisters, Ginny, Tallullah and Shona Turner,

who live in Glasgow’s West End, and they’re dealing with the pressures of young women in their teens, balancing pressures of sexism and feminism,” says Smith. “A recent poll said that many young women want to be glamour models. The girls’ ambitions to make it big in this world, and the conflicts created, are exacerbated by their father’s return to Glasgow to edit a lads’ magazine called Stacked. It’s less of a precinct drama than a family drama dealing with contemporary issues. I think it fits in well with Channel 4’s irreverent but thoughtful mindset.”

David Smith

With an August 2008 broadcast slot, Stacked’s pilot has a chance to get a wide audience, and a potential series commission. The pilot was developed very much with the potential to become a full series.

“PILOT has been a very quick turn-around, so it’s been a fast development process for Brocken Spectre to show that we’re now a company who can do television.

We’ve made something professional and polished, and we hope it’ll go to series,” says Smith. “It will encourage us to develop other ideas and build up our company’s unique knowledge of broadcasters, so that we’re in the strongest possible place for future growth and development in television.” www.brocken-spectre.com

“I think it’s important that Innovative drama comes out of Scotland.”

David Smith, managing director

Scottish Screen National Lottery funded: PILOT initiative (Stacked)

Kissing, Tickling and Being Bored

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made in scotland TV

Photos copyright: McAteer Photograph

Digital Media Quarter The banks of Glasgow’s Clyde has always been a hive of industry, but while the modern ship-building traditions are still going strong, space has also been freed up to provide a home to leading media companies in the Digital Media Quarter (DMQ). Not only have industry leaders like the BBC, STV and Film City Glasgow set up shop there, but DMQ is also setting out its stall as a hub for new developments.

BBC Scotland

page Glasgow Science 48 Centre

SMG

River Clyde

made in scotland TV

Film City Glasgow

BBC Scotland

“Scotland has a wealth of digital media and related technology expertise.”

Claire Scally, Scottish Enterprise

“You could say that advances in technology mean that companies working in a related sector do not need to be colocated, but evidence from similar developments shows that co-location increases contact and knowledge transfer between related businesses, which can lead to the generation of more ideas and business,” says Scottish Enterprise’s Claire Scally.

“We are already hearing of this from companies who have yet to move into the quarter but their intention to do so has lead to a more involved relationship with a partner in the area. And it is also important from a profile-raising point of view. Scotland has a wealth of digital media and related technology expertise but this is not often recognised outside of Scotland because there isn’t a recognisable focus. As more and more countries go down the road of creating sector ‘hubs’ it becomes the short hand for international business to recognise centres of excellence.”

New tenants for the DMQ include Glasgow School of Art’s Digital Design Studio, which is moving to custom-built premises that will provide them with space to expand, and scope to work on bigger projects. Their new space will include a state of the art 3D visualisation studio.

“We want to attract a wide range of companies working across the digital media sector. Enquiries to date have come from companies across television production, digital design and communications, data management and digital distribution.

The wider area already has post-production facilities, facilities

All photos Clyde Waterfront/McAteer Photography

hire, special effects, digital animation, and radio alongside the larger more established broadcasters,” says Scally. “We have left the scope for occupancy quite wide across the DMQ and related technology and support services in order to ensure that we have the best mix of creatives and enablers. We are also keen to attract major global players to the development and work has already begun to engage with the larger multinationals and significant international players.”

As well as the Digital Design Studio, academia will also be represented by The Scottish Centre for Enabling Technology – a collaboration between three universities: University of the West of Scotland, University of Glasgow and Glasgow School of Art. And with space at the DMQ becoming an increasingly soughtafter commodity, Scottish Enterprise wants to ensure that there’s still room for the area’s hard-working media folk to enjoy their ‘down-time’, highlighting that a further plot on the DMQ has been put out for tender as a commercial leisure development for a restaurant/bar, and that The Hub development will have a late opening fully licensed café to enable residents to work and play. www.pacificquaydmq.com

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made in scotland TV

Filiming Transmission (all photos by Iain Smart)

Film City Glasgow Creating a full production facility and ideas factory is not an easy task, but Glasgow’s Film City studios are measuring up to the task through the ongoing redevelopment at their site, ensconced in the building that was once Govan’s Town Hall.

“Film City is a great example of indigenous ideas and talent being supported by local strategic partners on an ambitious level,” says Film City’s Operations Manager, Tiernan Kelly. “The project got off the ground when Gillian Berrie of Sigma Films, frustrated with the lack of facilities available in Glasgow, looked to the Danish Film industry for inspiration, most significantly, to Filmbyen, a media hub created by Zentropa Films in decommissioned army barracks on the outskirts of Copenhagen.”

With help from Glasgow City Council, and local economic development agency Scottish Enterprise Glasgow, and with additional assistance from the European Regional Development Fund, £3.5 million was raised to redevelop the town hall into a state of the art production facility.

“In addition to production offices and studio space, Film City houses two of Scotland’s leading post production companies, Savalas (audio post), and Serious Facilities (picture post),” says Kelly. “Brought on board at an early stage, both companies have been given

the chance to have an input on the design of purpose-built, state of the art post-production facilities.”

Film City has so far been used extensively by the TV industry. Studio use has included T4 Transmission

by Eyeworks UK for Channel 4 and Dollshouse by Pour Voir Productions/ ARTE. Those taking advantage of the extensive office accommodation and rehearsal space at the facility have included comedies Life of Riley by Catherine Bailey Ltd and How not to live your Life by Brown Eyed Boy for the BBC, and Hat Trick Productions’ God on Trial, for BBC Drama.

Feature films shooting wholly or partly at Film City have included Sigma Films’ Red Road and Hallam Foe, Black Camel’s zombie horror Outpost, Mob Films & Infinity Features’ Stone of Destiny with Robert Carlyle and Charlie Cox, Hadrian Productions’ Doomsday, and Viking epic, Valhalla Rising.

But such success only comes from an appreciation of how Denmark’s film industry works.

“Film City is the antithesis of an insular, fragmented production community,” says Kelly. “The example of the industry in Denmark is a good model – we hope to apply the same innovation and irreverence to what we do. Sigma Films is the ideal example: they themselves are a micro-ideas

factory, with projects like Advance Party, demonstrative of successful collaboration on an international level.

The prospect of up to 20 other screen and creative businesses under the one roof with the same mindset and desire to create, is tantalising.”

And while Scotland’s screen talent has been making waves internationally for decades, having a practically orientated studio facility should provide a crucial stepping stone to creating an environment where the talents of tomorrow can flourish.

“Assisting and nurturing talent is key for us. The low cost rental model we are working to allows us to offer affordable accommodation to those emerging in the industry, and the invaluable opportunity to work and collaborate alongside established industry professionals. This incubation concept, if applied in the correct way, can only add impetus and energy to the building,” says Kelly. “The very existence of such a facility in Glasgow engenders confidence, belief, and in turn, investment, in the indigenous industry, and benefits the deep pool of creative and technical talent we have in the country.” www.filmcityglasgow.com

“Assisting and nurturing talent is key for us.”

Tiernan Kelly, OPERATIONS MANAGER

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SAVALAS Savalas

“WE deliver the highest production values on every project.”

Giles Lamb, managing director

T

en years ago, Giles Lamb, Michael McKinnon and Kahl Henderson set up Savalas, a sound post-production company which is now recognised as one of the UK’s best, working on internationally acclaimed projects like David Mackenzie’s Hallam Foe and Peter Mullan’s The Magdalene Sisters.

“Our team is one of the most innovative in the industry, offering exceptionally broad expertise encompassing feature films, television drama, factual, commercials, games and exhibition design,” says Lamb. “Unique for a facility of our size, Savalas is wholly owned and operated by its founding team of creatives and engineers.

This feeds our ethos of complete commitment to the work, helping us to deliver the highest production values on every project, regardless of budget or size.”

To accommodate increased demand, Savalas have moved into a customdesigned £2 million premises at Film City Glasgow, complete with a 60 square metre Dolby Premier mix theatre – the first in Europe. This state of the art facility is already hosting some of the industry’s most anticipated projects.

“Our most enjoyable recent TV drama has been the pilot for Annie Griffin’s new BBC One series, Purves + Pekkala.

Right now, we’re starting on another BBC show, PAs, set in the City of London,” says Lamb. “Following on, we’ve got the first full series of Jamie Hewlett’s Phoo Action and the animated shows, One Star and KNTV. Recent films we have worked on include Kenny Glenaan’s Summer and Duane Hopkins’ Better Things. We’re currently working on Zentropa/Sigma Films’ Rounding up Donkeys and Nicolas Winding Refn’s Viking movie, Valhalla Rising, is coming soon.”

Scottish Screen National Lottery funded: Business Development Loan

With the growing need for full in-house facilities for sound post-production and music services, Savalas can offer cutting rooms for dialogue, effects and music, a dedicated Foley stage with artists, a live room, and three further mid-size surround mix theatres.

“Ultimately, our goal is to be able to win projects from beyond the UK by securing an international reputation,” says Lamb. “And to achieve that kind of growth, we want to keep up our reputation for insightful, innovative work and exceptional client care.” www.savalas.co.uk

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Serious Facilities

Serious Facilities

“We’re offering a full post-facility in Glasgow that’s as good as any in London.”

Brendan Reilly, VFX Supervisor It’s a Thursday morning, and a courier with tapes of the new BBC drama, PA’s, is standing at the door of Serious Facilities, which is housed within the Film City Glasgow complex, based at Pacific Quay.

The door buzzes open and the tapes are delivered safely into the hands of VFX Supervisor Brendan Reilly, who takes his precious cargo upstairs to the cavernous machine room where the material can be prepared for the complex process of editing.

“For PA’s we were approached by the series’ line producer; he came round and took a look at what we could do, then came back with the series DOP and the director of first two episodes,” says Reilly.

“Everything is working out well; they’re working with our portable, flightcased ‘flying Avids’, which are basically an edit facility in a box.

It’s our first major drama for the BBC, the first of many, we hope.”

“Simon is on the board of Film City Glasgow, and so the company had lots of input into having a custom built, state of the art facility. I can send an online edit straight to the dub rather than going through a courier. And with Savalas directly across the corridor, it’s like having an inhouse sound facility under the same roof. For PA’s, the fact that we could work so closely together was a definite factor in getting the gig. In October, there’s four productions in; it’s nice to have the capacity to do that.”

In the past, going to London to do edits, grading and general finishing used to be the norm. Since being set up by Simon Cull in 1998, Serious has expanded to the point where they can offer Scottish programme makers the chance to work on their own doorstep.

Serious has been in existence for ten years, and now have six permanent members of staff; as well as television dramas, they are also involved in post-producing nearly all of the commercials work in Scotland, for companies like, Subway, Tennent’s, Coors and Bank of Scotland, with the recent Irn Bru campaign fresh in Reilly’s mind.

“We’re offering a full post-facility in Glasgow that’s as good as any in London, whether for online or offline, grading, effects or title sequences, I don’t think there’s anything we can’t do in post,” says Reilly. “We expanded when we moved in here and set up the first and only Baselight Digital telecine suite.”

“Every shot in the ad had to be amazing, but it helped that the director Martin Wedderburn and Simon had worked together on many projects over the years. Although it looks deceptively simple on screen, these things take a long time

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Serious Facilities

to get right. In post, we had all kinds of tweaking to do: creating 3D midges, adding new signs in the airport, and highlighting the writing on an envelope.

Martin wanted the stadium shot to have more scale so we shrunk the shot down and painted in more stadium seats in post. If I’ve done my job right, for most of the work I do, you shouldn’t know that I’ve done it.”

experience and we believe that looking after our clients as well and their projects is critical.”

Serious has built up a strong client base on word of mouth, however now, buoyed by a large number of successful projects, they are being a bit more boisterous and are taking on the UK

market and succeeding. “The bottom line,” says Reilly “is that people don’t come in just once, they always come back.” www.seriousfacilities.co.uk

Reilly fires up one of the machines and plays the company’s VFX showreel, which uses ‘before’ and ‘after’ shots to explain how the company works to create the best possible visual quality.

“Here you can see the original shot, then the finished version. I can tell people how we spent weeks compositing a figure and putting flames on a rubber masks (for a advert for Tyne and Wear Fire Department), but it makes more sense when you can see the difference on-screen. In the showreel, there’s also examples of transitions between 3D wire-frames, reworking the details on a Subway advert from the US, or something as subtle as grading up costumes,” he says. “Sometimes you’re making it more real, sometimes more unreal.”

With Serious able to compete with anything that London have to offer, it’s the start of a new era for them, moving into film and television production work. But Reilly points out that the ethos of the company is exactly the same.

“We’re taking our skills crafted in high end commercials and moving them towards longer form, but the ethos hasn’t changed: we’re still trying to get the best picture on the screen,” he says. “We have the kit, we have the

T in the Park advert

Sterling advert

Tyne and Wear advert

Subway advert

Hydro advert

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M8media made in scotland TV

“We are moving towards offering a complete solution to the post-production process with all the bases covered.” Jim Allison, managing director

M8 Media

“Today, you can shoot, edit and do a complete Dolby sound mix on a film, all within walking distance of where I’m sitting now,” says Jim Allison, of M8media, from his new offices at Pacific Quay digital media quarter. “What’s new is that feature films, TV dramas and generally all genres of TV can now be made without leaving Scotland.”

Having formed his own editing company with his wife Jill back in 1994, Allison moved his business to a custom-built facility at Pacific Quay Media Park, offering in-house editors, colourists and dubbing mixers, together with a television studio and digital cinema facilities.

While the basics of editing can be learned on a home computer, when work gets to a professional level, M8media offers tried and tested broadcast-quality facilities. “For many people editing is something which can be done as a hobby at home, but the equipment which is used for today’s film editing needs to be professionally operated,” says Allison. “From my point of view, the cost of buying equipment like an Avid Media Composer has fallen by almost 50 per cent recently, which makes it easier for us to ensure that we’re offering the

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most up to date facilities possible. This also allows us to provide craft editors on projects with tight budgets.”

In terms of television work, M8media have creatively navigated their way through everything from Robbie Coltrane’s B-Road Britain and Britain’s Lost World for IWC, to studio-based network programmes like the Kids Are All Right and Hot Rods for Endemol. M8media also post programmes such as IWC’s Location, Location, Location shown on Channel 4, now starting its eleventh series.

With more and more programmes being commissioned for HD channels, M8media deliver on HDcam SR. This allows programme makers to deliver all the elements of a programme, both pictures and 16 tracks of sound, at the highest quality. Keeping pace with the demands of an ever-changing field and exceeding expectations is part and parcel of M8media’s business.

“When it comes to new staff coming to work for us, what we’re looking for is a keen understanding of the industry and an understanding of the systems involved. That’s what we’re expected to provide as a company; editing has come a long way from the ‘black art’ people used to see it as,” says Allison.

“As a company we are moving towards offering a complete solution to the postproduction process with all the bases covered. So rather than outsourcing it, which is what used to happen, we can now provide everything from the initial shoot through to final delivery, including an integrated graphics capability. That lets us be incredibly efficient plus it helps keeps costs down.” www.m8media.co.uk

made in scotland TV

A rt em sc o tla n d

A

nimatronics, models and miniatures, physical special FX, prosthetics, atmospherics, mechanical rigs, action props, camera rigs, pyrotechnics, puppets and special costumes.

The list of specialised subjects which special effects production facility Artem are prepared to tackle sets the imagination racing. Having serviced effects-heavy films like Hot Fuzz and The Da Vinci Code from their London facility, as well as high profile commercials work like the BT Gremlins ad and the Play Doh bunnies for Sony Bravia, Mike Kelt's company set up a workshop in Scotland to cater for the growing number of productions requiring their services.

Kelt, originally from Scotland, reflects on the experiences, which led him to create the company. "I moved to London to work for six months at the BBC, which somehow became nine years. While I was working there, I began to see that to make things work as well as they could on screen required raising and spending considerable amounts of money, and I wanted a management structure that would allow that to happen smoothly. So Artem was created as a one-stop shop – one place which could provide pyrotechnics, models or prosthetics."

While many of the first films to use computer effects are now dated by the obviousness of the CGI, producers have gradually learned that only so much can be created effectively in post-production, and

Strathmore TV advert

that means more calls to Artem to provide physical effects that integrate with digital.

"We don't really do digital effects, although we will advise, our expertise is physical. Any project needs a discussion between physical and digital; I know from experience what works best in which area."

Artem has provided their expertise on a number of high profile feature films in Scotland over the last year including, Stone of Destiny, Clive Barker’s Book of Blood, Doomsday and more recently Valhalla Rising, and when Next required snow in September for their new Christmas campaign, Artem were the people they turned to.

But, as well as the high profile film and commercials work, they are also doing a lot of television work: “I’m just going out to blow up a cafe near Glasgow Green for Dear Green Place,” says Kelt.

Amongst their TV work is Scotland’s longest running series, Taggart, with Artem providing the necessary bullet hits and various other murder effects.

They have also recently worked on new BBC dramas, Hope Springs and PAs, and beyond drama and comedy, have helped to realise the wacky imaginations of kids on a new children’s TV show, Ed and Oucho's Extraordinary Inventions.

Kelt enjoys Artem's role within the production team, contributing creative thinking at all stages of production, and says that big effects

don't always have to mean big budgets.

"Working on green-screen won't give you good performance, so relying on post automatically creates limitations.

That means that people are coming back to what they can do in camera," says Kelt. "Something that could be shot in a day for real can become a massive task that takes days in post.

Younger people may assume every problem can be solved by computer, but quite often that kind of thinking is a big drain on the budget; sometimes a simple approach is best. Even something as basic as a hanging miniature allows for acting in scene and requires no post-production."

While the results may be dazzling on screen, it's all in a day's work for Artem, whose Glasgow workspace is adorned with the animatronic heads of tigers, while their snow-machines are kept on ice in the storerooms behind the main office. Kelt sees the professionalism paying off on and off screen, and only sees more work in the pipeline.

"I think the physical and digital effects sides of the industry will come together, but ultimately it's all about trying to convince the guy in the cinema, or at home watching on the small screen, that something is real.

If you're animating a CG dinosaur, then you go out and film the clouds of dust coming from its footprints, that's the kind of attention to detail that makes people believe."

www.artem.com Mike Kelt

“THAT’s the kind of attention to detail that makes people believe.” Mike Kelt, managing director

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“It’s not only about stunning landscapes and old castles.”

Belle Doyle, Scottish Screen Locations “It’s Christmas come early,” or so it might have seemed to the passers-by on Edinburgh’s Princes Street last September. Clothing brand Next shot their Christmas commercial there, and the streets were decorated in a decidedly unseasonal fashion. But why, out of all possible locations, would they choose Scotland’s capital? There’s a number of other factors which made the snow fall in September.

Belle Doyle of Scottish Screen Locations works closely with television, film and commercials productions to ensure maximum exposure for the country. “Part of the reason for Next shooting in Edinburgh was the willingness and film-friendliness of the Edinburgh City Council Roads department who have a very positive attitude towards road closures, parking and filming on streets,” says Doyle. “Vodafone’s ‘Raining Time’ commercial shot in East Kilbride, Braehead Shopping Centre and other urban locations around Glasgow city centre. While nothing about these adverts really said ‘Scotland’ or ‘Glasgow’, the production companies were looking for a urban space that could have been anywhere in the UK.” Other Scottish locations are more distinctive, as the Volvo advert filmed on the Isle of Skye recently proved.

Land Rover, Aston Martin, Lexus and Smart Car have all made use of Scottish locations as the ideal setting to accentuate the attractive quality of their products.

“There’s sometimes a reluctance to travel beyond Scotland’s Central Belt, especially when production companies have to keep costs as low as possible, but the light quality and the landscapes on Skye bring an additional value to any shooting: it has a magic quality about it that you are not going to be able to manufacture in a studio.”

Scottish Screen Locations has a varied list of location owners on their books, including transport providers such as bus and train companies, the Ministry of Defence, Scottish Water, and large land management organisations like the National Trust for Scotland and the Scottish Government, as well as private house and estate owners.

“The more contacts we have, the more chance we have of fulfilling somebody’s requirements, however specific and detailed. These types of organisations often have interesting and unusual buildings that they have to maintain,” says Doyle. “We are also always looking for temporary production offices, set-building spaces or studio space so we are always talking to property developers and planners about potential short-term lets

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for production companies. So it’s not only about stunning landscapes and old castles.”

One first port of call for producers is the Scottish Screen Locations website, which includes over a thousand images, a small fraction of the digital library they have access to.

“The website is important, but I think what we’ve realised is how quickly images and information go out of date. The website is useful as a waymarker, and does show different locations in different areas, but we’re looking to really build the number of images to make it a better tool for producers, to give them a better idea of what is here,” she says. “Ultimately, though, we want people to contact us, not just look at the website, as only then can we get an idea of their project and what they are looking for.”

Scottish Screen Locations is more than just a service, it’s a well-known brand, used by many location managers around the UK as a fast, efficient and confidential locations service. They also foster close affiliations with

organisations like the Production Guild, the Guild of Location Managers, the Association of Film Commissions International and the European Film Commission Network. And to make sure that film and television producers and production companies are aware of Scotland and what it has to offer, the presence of Scottish Screen Locations on the Croisette in Cannes and sunkissed Santa Monica’s Locations Trade Show each year, is vital. They also offer familiarisation trips and have a fund for recces or to employ a local location manager to scout for locations.

“We have been really busy with a number of television series and dramas being in production all at the same time in Glasgow and Edinburgh. The fact that so much production has gone on in a fairly short space of time shows that we do have the crews and facilities here. One of our latest productions is Waybaloo, a children’s TV programme being shot in an industrial space in Westway, where they have built a forest surrounded by a blue screen; groups of local children have been drafted in to appear with the creatures in the forest. Shooting starts at the end of July and will carry on until the end of the year, with the completed show ready for broadcast in the summer of 2009.”

All the moving image material that gets screened or broadcast featuring Scottish locations bolsters the country’s presence as a filming location; there’s only one thing which Doyle admits that Scottish Screen Locations can’t always help with the weather.

“Commercials don’t have the flexibility of waiting for good weather, or shooting a different scene under weather cover while waiting for the right weather to come along,” says Doyle. “One of the issues now facing us in the light of climate change is the ever-changing weather – we are not able to guarantee any particular weather condition, like snow, as everything is unpredictable.”

Like Christmas in September. www.scottishscreenlocations.com

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Celtic Media Festival

2009 will see the 30th anniversary of the Celtic Media Festival, which promotes the languages and cultures of the Celtic countries on screen and in broadcasting. The annual event takes place in late March and plays host to over 400 delegates from various screen industries.

“I was born in Belfast, and brought up on the Isle of Islay, so I feel very 'Celtic'. When I saw that there was an annual event which celebrated film, broadcasting, radio and digital media in the Celtic nations and regions, I knew it was the job for me,” says the festival’s Producer, Jude MacLaverty. “Those attending include broadcasters, producers, language experts and this year in Galway, we introduced a new student strand, Celtic Exposure, which welcomed 80 media students, travelling from as far away as Sabhal Mór Ostaig in Skye to University College Falmouth in Cornwall.”

With the picturesque streets of Galway City as a backdrop, the real business of the Celtic Media Festival was indoors, where workshops, panel sessions, lectures and discussions shared information, anecdotes and valuable experiences of working in the screen industries.

“This year's programme included an Up Close interview with documentary filmmaker Paul Watson; Jimmy McGovern talked about the importance of good drama within TV schedules, and Phil Edgar Jones, executive producer of Big Brother discussed getting ahead in TV with the media students,” says MacLaverty. “We also had BAFTA-winning producer Mark Herbert of This Is England fame in conversation, and countless sessions on everything from sports rights to multi platform programming.”

Then there’s a three decade celebration of Celtic Media to look forward to. “It's our 30th birthday next year, and our aim is to go from strength to strength, getting Celtic product out there in all the many forms it takes, while continuing to feed and inspire the future generations of Celtic practitioners,” says MacLaverty.

“Rather than looking to London, I think staying put and working within the media in the Nations and Regions has become a particularly exciting and viable option these days.” www.celticfilm.co.uk

Stuart Cosgrove

Stephen Rea

Derek Murray

Phil Edgar Jones

Paul Watson

John Sweeney

“working within the media in the Nations and Regions has become a particularly exciting and viable option these days.” Jude MacLaverty, FESTIVAL PRODUCER page 58

Scottish Screen funded

made in scotland TV

“We are looking for dramas which punch above their weight: big themes that are relevant to life in contemporary Scotland.”

LeslieFinlay, ScottishScreen

W

ith a maximum joint investment totalling more than £1.5million, BBC Scotland and Scottish Screen are continuing their creative partnership with The Singles initiative, which invited independent producers and production companies to submit ideas for 60-minute single films. The joint development slate is intended to find fresh, audacious and entertaining projects with universal appeal.

“The Singles has an important role to play in continuing to develop drama in Scotland and provide opportunities for independent production companies to work with BBC Scotland,” says Scottish Screen’s Development Executive, Leslie Finlay. “We are looking for dramas which punch above their weight: big themes that are relevant to life in contemporary Scotland.”

With the results heading for our screens soon, The Singles look to unearth new ideas and talent, while also strengthening relationship between key media players in Scotland.

Funded by BBC Scotland and Scottish Screen National Lottery

Gaynor Holmes, Executive Producer at BBC Scotland, TV Drama said: “This has been an excellent forum in which to continue to develop our long standing relationship with Scottish Screen.” www.scottishscreen.com www.bbc.co.uk/scotland

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Screen Academy ScotlanD “All of our efforts are directed at supporting new talent and helping them contribute to Scotland’s growth as a European filmmaking nation.”

Robin MacPherson, DIRECTOR The diverse communities of London’s Brick Lane might seem some distance from the Scottish Screen Academy. Yet there is a firm link to Sarah Gavron’s 2007 adaptation of the bestselling book; the director is a graduate of Edinburgh College of Art’s (eca) filmmaking courses. The Screen Academy Scotland, a collaboration between eca and Edinburgh’s Napier University, specialises in providing professionally oriented, project-based and practice-led film education and training, delivered in partnership with the screen industry.

The Academy brings together Napier University and eca’s postgraduate degree programmes in directing, producing, screenwriting and animation to which additional programmes will be added in the coming years. Ranging from low budget digital feature production (DigiDIY!) to collaborations with the School of Sound (The Soundtrack) and the Film Business Academy, the institution offers a growing range of short course and continuing professional development (CPD) opportunities for people entering or already working in the screen industry.

Students at the Academy collaborate with each other and with industry practitioners in the development and production of projects, with programmes encouraging personal creative development and a thorough engagement with industry practices, personnel and expectations. Typical of this approach are the three recent graduates of the producing, screenwriting and Advanced Film Practice programmes at Napier, whose short film collaboration, River Child, was recently awarded Best Short Drama at the Celtic Media Festival in Galway, and also won Best Fiction at the Scottish Students on Screen BAFTA awards in 2007.

The Academy offers a range of post-qualification support including career planning and, supported by the EU MEDIA programme, ENGAGE, a six-month series of international workshops to foster collaboration between students and graduates of European film schools.

The Screen Academy Scotland provides students with space to learn and a gateway to fully independent professional practice, as well as providing the screen industry

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Scottish Screen funded

with access to the next generation of ideas, talent and skill.

Director Robin MacPherson said: “Screen Academy Scotland is approaching its third birthday and, in that relatively short time, it and our students have achieved a great deal. From producing the students who won best short film at the Celtic Media Festival to leading a MEDIA funded international collaboration with the Irish and Baltic film schools, all of our efforts are directed at supporting new talent and helping them contribute to Scotland’s growth as a European filmmaking nation.” www.screenacademyscotland.ac.uk

made in scotland TV

“Creative Loop demonstrates how education and industry can work together to develop the next generation of talent.”

Helliate Rushwaya, project manager

T

he accelerating changes in the way we create and appreciate the media means that the skills required to work in the media industry have to constantly change. Scotland’s long-standing reputation for technical excellence and innovation is one which is developed through international initiatives like the Skillset Media Academy Network – a national footprint of colleges and universities to work with industry in developing a new wave of talent to create the media content of the future.

Created and endorsed by Skillset, the network is made up of 17 academies, drawing together creative education partnerships from 43 colleges and universities across the UK, which are already centres of excellence in television production and interactive media.

Within Scotland, the Creative Loop partnership sees Aberdeen College, Adam Smith College, Cardonald College, Dundee College, Perth College and Reid Kerr College join forces. Creative Loop strives to work alongside industry partners to build the capacity of the Scottish media sector to take advantage of the growing network opportunities and changing markets, by ensuring a healthy and competitive skills base is developed.

“The commitment of the six colleges within Creative Loop and our key national partners the Scottish Funding

Council, SQA, Scottish Screen and Skillset Scotland, clearly highlights the importance of partnership working in order to bridge the gap between Scotland’s colleges and industry,” says Creative Loop’s Project Manager, Helliate Rushwaya.

“Creative Loop demonstrates how education and industry can work together to develop the next generation of talent that’s equipped with the required knowledge and expertise to meet the demands of a vibrant creative media sector.”

Ensuring that the quality of students entering the labour market is high and enhances their employability, and also ensuring that students are in direct contact with industry standard practice, Creative Loop has already secured top level employer commitment to this work. So whatever the future brings, Scotland’s screen industries can expect a united understanding of the latest developments through close partnership between education, industry and the media talent of tomorrow. www.creativeloop.org

Aberdeen college

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Skillset Scotland K

eeping track of the constantly changing skills, required by the workforce engaged in Scotland’s screen industries, is part of the remit of Skillset Scotland. Guided by the Scottish Industry Skills Panel, which has a membership made up of leading employers, representatives from unions, trade associations, further and higher education and public agencies, Skillset Scotland is responsible for creating and delivering an action agenda for the industry, working with the Scottish Parliament, the Scottish Government and all other relevant agencies and organisations, including Scottish Screen.

In practice, that means developing the skills base of companies, employees and freelancers across the country, ensuring closer

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collaboration between training/ education sectors and industry in Scotland for better integration of skills demand and supply, while attracting, retaining and promoting skills and talent in Scotland by encouraging existing funding to be used in a more meaningful way.

Sector Skills Councils have worked closely with government, employers and other key stakeholders in Scotland, including the Enterprise networks, the Funding Councils, and the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) to develop the first Sector Skills Agreements.

These action plans for employers will help change the way training is delivered in Scotland, ensuring that Scottish employers have the people with the skills they need, when they need them.

Scottish Screen National Lottery funded

www.skillset.org/uk/scotland

made in scotland TV

BAFTA Scotland “Sometimes people outside the industry associate the BAFTA name with something either very posh, or remote and inaccessible, but we are much more inclusive that,” says BAFTA Scotland’s former Director Alison Forsyth. “To me, Scotland’s screen industries represent a very broad church. Much as I love music, theatre or opera, there’s nothing like film and television to get people talking, and that’s why the BAFTA Scotland Awards, a benchmark of really high quality, are so important.”

As well as running weekly preview screenings for members in Glasgow and Edinburgh, BAFTA Scotland’s ever-expanding roster of awards reflects the growth of creative industries in Scotland.

With the annual BAFTA Scotland Awards in November celebrating the cream of the established industry, there’s now the New Talent Awards, a new standalone event. This March event also incorporates the Scottish Students on Screen Awards and so encourages and rewards the newest intake of aspiring film and programme makers of tomorrow.

“The 2007 BAFTA Scotland Awards were streamed on the internet to over 20,000 people, and that’s vitally important because as wide an audience as possible need to see what’s good about Scottish talent,” says Forsyth. ‘‘It was the best awards show we’ve ever done in terms of structure and delivery, and we’ve had nine years of experience now – so it ought to be brilliant! In the future, I’d like to see the annual BAFTA Scotland awards broadcast on terrestrial television, because it’s an event directly celebrating Scotland’s moving image industry, and the hard work and creativity of these practitioners deserves to be promoted.”

Following hard on the heels of the November 2007 ceremony, which saw James McAvoy picking up the Best Actor award for The Last King of Scotland, the Scottish Students on Screen event in March 2008 saw over 450 students, tutors and industry professionals taking part in workshops, pitching sessions and a very informative ‘market-place’. The day’s events culminated in the New Talent Awards ceremony at Glasgow’s Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.

“We had a full day of events around Scottish Students on Screen and it’s great to see young people who are taking their first steps in the industry alongside a genuine Hollywood producer like Barry Mendel (The Sixth Sense, Munich, The Royal Tennenbaums),” says Forsyth.

“Barry’s a terrific example for them, a wonderful, self-effacing guy who I’m sure made a memorable impression.”

And looking to the future, Forsyth sees BAFTA Scotland continuing to highlight the best of creative work, and professional behaviour.

“After the 2008 New Talent awards, many people in the RSAMD said that they wished every Friday night could have that kind of excitement and atmosphere. We received many delighted and grateful responses from the nominees and winners – several saying that they’d had the best night of their lives,” says Forsyth. “Yes, an award in itself is important, but it also serves as an accelerator that gets you one more step on the ladder. Young people don’t have agents or promoters, they have to learn how to sell themselves, and the BAFTA Scotland Awards help create confidence by raising the standards but also by giving the outsider a real chance to compete.”

“Yes, an award in itself is important, but it also serves as an accelerator that gets you one more step on the ladder.”

Alison Forsyth, former Director of BAFTA Scotland

www.baftascotland.co.uk Lorraine Kelly

Scottish Screen funded: Scottish Students on Screen

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TRC MEDIA

Carol Sinclair

“The right content in the right genre pitched to the right international buyer can make its mark.” Carol Sinclair, DIRECTOR

L to R: Jo Hallows (Yo Yo Media); Margaret Scott (Fierce Associates); Ronan McCabe (ZZ Enterprises); Glynn Middleton (True North Productions) Katie Lander (Finestripe); Claire Mundell (Synchronicity Films); David Strachan (Tern); Justine Watmough (Yap Films); Laura Marshall (Icon Film).

TRC Media is the UK’s leading provider of high-end training initiatives working closely with industry and in partnership with network broadcasters (Channel 4 and the BBC), regional development agencies, and the creative content community. Their status as an independent, not-for-profit, charity enables them to take a broad and nonproprietorial view of what is good for the industry and their ‘honest broker’ approach to broadcasters, media businesses and talent has been widely recognised.

“The media landscape has changed very dramatically since TRC was launched as The Research Centre in 1998,” says Director of TRC Media, Carol Sinclair. “Our core purpose is still to help indies in the nations and regions to win network business, but now we advise on everything from international markets and rights management to multimedia opportunities. The vital thing is to have the trust of industry partners like Channel 4 and the BBC. We achieve that by following the advice we give to independent producers – understanding their needs and priorities and developing close relationships.”

Backing up their role supporting and advising indies, TRC Media are also closely involved

with research projects which ensure they’re on top of the key issues in the rapidly changing media scene.

“For us, everything connects. We stay very close to all sides of the industry and pick up very quickly on issues or trends that are emerging,” says Sinclair. “That will often determine the nature of our research projects and the design of our training programmes aimed at tackling problems or capitalising on opportunities. Our multi-media programme Cross Creative devised for interactive, games, digital animation and design companies, is a typical example of this.”

Right now, Sinclair sees particular promise for Scottish indies who are prepared to look at the bigger picture, and to think globally when it comes to finding an audience for their output.

“There is no doubt that the right content in the right genre pitched to the right international buyer can make its mark. Scottish indies need to be making more of the kinds of programme in the UK that will also sell overseas,” she says.

“We’ve been very active in the USA for some years now, the most lucrative international market there is. Indeed we’re just about to launch the fourth year of our International Development

Programme. It gives indies unprecedented access to a raft of international broadcasters like ABC, CBS, NBC, Warner Bros, HBO, Comedy Central and MTV amongst others. We open doors to all the top players in New York, Washington, and Los Angeles and connect indies with Hollywood agents and potential co-production partners. It’s a hugely successful project.”

And in terms of measuring the effect that TRC is having Sinclair can point to a number of satisfied customers who have acclaimed the help that TRC Media has provided in terms of bringing work to Scotland.

“We measure our success in a number of ways. We always focus on our reputation and what helps to strengthen and reinforce it. The indies tell us we’ve helped them bring six million pounds worth of business into Scotland over the last 3 years. The talent we’ve trained are our best ambassadors. And there’s no shortage of partners in the UK and US willing to work with us,” says Sinclair.

“We always go on the old advice that what matters is not what you say about yourself, but what others say about you.” www.trcmedia.org

Photos by Eve Carreno Steven Diamond Danny Khoudary

Lydia Farrell Andy Walsh

Nick Mottis

Eve Carreno

Dhivya Kate Chetty

nets

Laura Rooney

F

rom Mary Tyler Moore’s attempts to make it in the world of commercial television onwards, there have been plenty of entertaining fictions about making it big in TV. But what are the facts for new entrants to the media?

The New Entrants Programme (NETS) has been running for 30 years and is the longest running skills development programme for new entrants. Now, NETS offers a tiered programme of skills development for new or recently entered people to the screen industries, with a one-year programme and an advanced fast track, providing skills development for twelve trainees. The programme is funded by Scottish Screen and Skillset. That kind of insider backing ensures that those seeking to make it big in the media aren’t left on the outside of the industry, looking in.

“The training programme has been constantly adapted over the course of its life, to meet industry needs. We have industry figures on our informal steering committee, who are regularly consulted about which areas to train in, the skills gaps and shortages,” says NETS Manager, Kay Sheridan. “We have specific criteria about practical skills or experience, or transferable skills the trainees should have. They’re starting off learning from the bottom, and work their way up from there.”

For example, Sajid Quayum was an ex-BBC E-force trainee in broadcast journalism, and radio production, who worked in radio in a production capacity for Radio Ramadan, and was a project manager with an internet development company. On joining the NETS programme in 2000, he worked with a variety of independent TV companies as a production trainee and on completion of the NETS programme, was offered work by Caledonia TV where he has now progressed to Head of Production. From dramas like River City and Taggart to production

“The training programme has been constantly adapted over the course of its life, to meet industry needs.”

Kay Sheridan, NETS Manager companies like IWC and Caledonia, NETS graduates have found career paths opening through their learning experiences.

Nick Mottis is one of the current eight trainees on the NETS One programme, specialising in Production. He relocated from Liverpool, where he studied for a Masters in Television Production, and has worked for Hand Pict Productions and IWC Media since being on the programme. Eve Carreno is a Camera trainee, who has worked on a Gaelic documentary, Beasties, with Pelicula films, where she travelled around the Highlands; she has also worked on the drama, Fiona’s Story for BBC Scotland.

“We assess and monitor the experiences of those on all our programmes,” says Sheridan.

There is a built-in support network on the programme through Sheridan and NETS Project Co-ordinator, Mark Thomas – and this doesn’t end when the programme does. “As the trainees develop their skills, they also build up relationships with industry. There’s also an aftercare service, so that we can let them know about work coming up, and it also allows us to track their progress. There are lots of unwritten etiquettes about working in the media; NETS is one way of providing talented people with someone that’s on their side to help them navigate the various pitfalls.”

And NETS has branched out into animation too. They have just relaunched GASP! (Generating Animation Skills Programme), funded by Skillset and Scottish Screen and run by Project Manager, Penny Sharp. Now in its second year, GASP! is a ten month programme for animators to gain the skills required to work in the animation studios making animation for TV and film. www.scottishscreen.com/nets

NETS is funded by: Scottish Screen, The Film Skillset Film Skills Fund which is supported through by the National Lottery through the UK Film Council and the film industry through the Skills Investment Fund and the Skillset TV Freelance Fund.

Gasp! is funded by: Scottish Screen, The Film Skillset Film Skills Fund which is supported through by the National Lottery through the UK Film Council and the film industry through the Skills Investment Fund.

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made in scotland TV

T

here are many advantages to making your programme in Scotland:

Talented and experienced cast and crew / Excellent support and facilities companies to cover all aspects of production and post production / Competitive costs compared to the rest of the UK / A well organised network of film offices around the country which can assist productions with location searching, local information and practical support / A wide diversity of locations, from period buildings to unspoilt countryside to contemporary cityscapes.

For programme makers from overseas, there is a 17.5% sale tax (VAT) refund if your country has a reciprocal sales tax agreement with the UK. For more information, see www.hmrc.gov.uk or contact locations@scottishscreen.com.

Scottish Screen Funding Scottish Screen invests around £6m in the development and promotion of Scotland’s screen industries each year, including distributing £2.7m of National

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Lottery funds for production and content development.

Specific funding areas include: Production company growth / Short and feature film development and production / Freelancer and company skills development / Experimental, alternative and interactive digital screen content, formats and platforms / Development and production of television drama pilots / Distribution initiatives To find out more about Scottish Screen and the investment opportunities available please visit www.scottishscreen.com/funding.

Scottish Screen Locations offers a fast, free and confidential locations finding service, including a research service, an image library of over 60,000 images, locations breakdown for scripts, recce support, and finding locations crew.

The national office and the regional film offices around Scotland can provide a wide range of support for your project.

For more information, email locations@scottishscreen.com, or visit www.scottishscreenlocations.com.

MEDIA Antenna Scotland MEDIA Antenna Scotland is the office for Scotland of the European Union’s MEDIA Programme, based at Scottish Screen. MEDIA encourages and supports the European film, television and new media industries with funding in the following areas: Professional training / Project development / Distribution / Exhibition / Promotional activities at markets and festivals For more information visit the UK MEDIA team’s website www.mediadesk. co.uk, or email MEDIA Antenna Scotland at Scotland@mediadesk.co.uk.

tha YOU nk to the following people who helped put this publication together:

made in scotland TV

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