Category Archives: Production

May 15

ENGINEERS AS CREATIVE PARTNERS – HOW THE FILM & TV INDUSTRY CAN LEARN FROM MUSIC PRODUCTION

A post I wrote for the National Film and Television School https://nfts.co.uk/news/engineers-creative-partners-–-how-film-tv-industry-can-learn-music-production NFTS Head of Technology, John Maxwell Hobbs, believes the film and television industry should view and work with engineers as creative partners as the music industry does and has designed the School’s new Production Technology MA to do just that. Why it is […]

May 12

WHY ARE WE FIXING WHAT ISN’T BROKEN? MOVING TO IT-BASED PRODUCTION 18th May: Free Production Technology Taster Workshop

I’ll be teaching a taster workshop for the Production Technology MA I’m developing for the National Film and Television School on the 18th of May. More details here: https://www.nfts.co.uk/news/why-are-we-fixing-what-isn’t-broken-moving-digital-based-production  

April 10

STEAM POWERED: WHY ARTS IS KEY TO ENGAGING STUDENTS IN ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY

A blog post of mine for the National Film and Television School:  https://www.nfts.co.uk/news/steam-powered-why-arts-key-engaging-students-engineering-technology National Film and Television School Head of Technology, John Maxwell Hobbs considers why the UK is facing a skills gap in broadcast engineering and how an increased focus on the arts could be the key: “There’s a lot of focus on what’s […]

October 03

Why the industry needs more broadcast engineers 

An interview I did for the National Film and Television School https://www.nfts.co.uk/news/why-industry-needs-more-broadcast-engineers Top technologist and former BBC Scotland Head of Technology John Maxwell Hobbs has been appointed to lead the National Film and Television School Production Technology MA. The Masters has been introduced to tackle a shortage of broadcast engineers and fill a looming skills […]

November 04

Talking about the future of traditional broadcasting

I’m really excited to be giving one of the keynotes for this year’s conference of the International Associates of Broadcast Manufacturers on the 4th of December in London. I’m talking about how traditional broadcasters can adapt to a radically changing world. http://www.theiabm.org/events/iabm-2015-annual-conference/schedule.html

January 18

Film soundtrack project

Lights Out by Chris Leslie My friend, the documentary photographer and filmmaker, Chris Leslie has been working on and off for three years on a film project called “Lights Out,” about the closing of the Bluevale/Whitevale public housing complex in Glasgow and I’ll be providing the soundtrack. From Wikipedia: “Faced with crippling housing shortages in the immediate post-war period, the city undertook […]

September 01

Waiting for the Sergeant Pepper Moment

I’ll be chairing one of the featured panels at IBC this year called, “Waiting for the Sergeant Pepper Moment,” looking at the potential technology has to change the way we make television. You can read about the panel at the IBC website. In 1967, The Beatles released their album “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” […]

August 08

BBC Academy – Technology – Out with the old, in with the new

I’ve written an article for the BBC Academy looking at the dramatic changes we’re experience in broadcast technology. Check it out here: BBC Academy – Technology – Out with the old, in with the new.

October 11

To the Spoils Goes the Victor (now, the hard work begins)

In my last post, I only half-jokingly asked, “What do you do when you’ve won the revolution?” The answer to that is, “get working.” A revolution overturns the old order. Most revolutions fail because they’ve only focussed on the negative, with the only goal being the elimination of that negative. Once that’s accomplished, for most […]

October 10

The Future is Yesterday

This autumn, BBC Scotland, passed the fifth anniversary of the opening of our new  facility at Pacific Quay in Glasgow. When we opened our doors, we were the most advanced broadcasting facility in Europe, and arguably the world.  We had a full HD infrastructure, production was mostly file-based, and with the exception of live video, all our media […]