Film, TV and Radio industries Books

Book SynopsisAn insightful and timely reappraisal of international broadcasting as an instrument of discursive rather than 'soft' power and its contested role in Australia's Indo-Pacific regional statecraft. This book re-appraises the concept and utility of state-funded, multi-platform international broadcasting as an instrument of statecraft, which offers cultural representation with the political purpose of contesting relations of power. This at a time when issues of transnational media, the credibility of news and the perils of disinformation and information warfare, figure worryingly in public discourse. The book reflects the perspective of middle power Australia, the circumstances and options of which differ from a great power. It dissects and evaluates the political purpose and efficacy of international broadcasting, its means as an instrument of inter-cultural communication and the variables that enable or impede its effectiveness. The author draws both on extensive scholarly research and his extensive professional experience in journalism, international broadcasting and media management in Australia and internationally. Heriot proposes a model for the strategic analysis, application, organisational design and operation of multi-platform international broadcasting. Necessarily, the model is informed by an analysis that situates international broadcasting in relation to contemporary theories of soft/hard/smart power projection and inter-cultural communication. He applies the model to the contentious political history and performance of Australia's international broadcaster, Radio Australia, during the late Cold War decades of the twentieth century and asserts the relevance of this approach to an increasingly media-dense - though asymmetric - international environment. The model eschews general or coded descriptions of purpose and identifies six specific functions appropriate to the circumstances and imperatives of Australia as a resident power in the Indo-Pacific region. The flawed success of Radio Australia during the later years of the Cold War arose from the interaction of a broad range of external and internal variables to which it was exposed. These included geostrategic and national political factors; the formal prerogatives and constraints of the broadcaster's mandate in pursuing defined objectives; institutional relationships across government; Radio Australia's programming or editorial outlook, which determined information agendas and framed the coverage of issues; the production norms and socio-linguistic processes involved with inter-cultural communication; resource constraints and the effect of work design on the character and performance of the broadcaster; and the management of professional and cultural biases (including boundary work demarcations and in-group/out-group rivalry). This book offers an insightful reappraisal of international broadcasting as discursive rather than 'soft' power in service of democratic statecraft. This at a time when issues of transnational media, the credibility of news and the perils of disinformation and information warfare, figure worryingly in public discourse. Reflecting the perspective of middle power Australia, author Geoff Heriot locates the strategic utility of multi-platform international broadcasting with reference to contemporary theories of soft/hard/smart power projection and inter-cultural communication. He applies a fresh model of strategic analysis to the political history of Radio Australia, examining the various external and internal variables that resulted in its flawed success in political communication during the late Cold War period.Trade Review"Combining his top-notch scholarship and personal experience, Geoff Heriot has created an insightful multidisciplinary account of the rise and fall of Australian international broadcasting. Heriot deftly blends theoretical insights from international relations and communication with history to explore Radio Australia's contribution to its country's foreign policy. This is an important addition to the literature on Australia's foreign relations and middle power foreign policy, as well as international radio, and public diplomacy" - Nicholas J. Cull, author, Public Diplomacy: Foundations for Global Engagement in the Digital Age. "This valuable and original book deftly combines attention to soft power and its limits as a tool of analysis with deep knowledge of international broadcasting, especially giving fascinating insights into the history of Radio Australia" - Rodney Tiffen, Emeritus Professor in Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney. "International Broadcasting and its Contested Role in Australian Statecraftexamines a national broadcaster's influence on overseas audience. Identifying variables hampering international broadcasting, it assays the instrumental efficacy of broadcasting practice. Multiple sub-focuses, interdisciplinarity, readability and scholarship will be appreciated by researchers, course convenors and students of media and international communication" - Naren Chitty AM, Professor Emeritus, Inaugural Director, Soft Power Analysis and Resource Centre, Faculty of Arts, Macquarie University.Table of ContentsForeword - Professor Geoffrey Wiseman, DePaul University, Chicago; 1: Introduction; 2: Media and the Contest of Ideas; 3: International Broadcasting and Its Discursive Properties; 4: Mobilizing 'Softer' Power in a Hard World; 5: State Interests, National Evolution; 6: Framework of Functions and Performance; 7: The ABC - Generation Next; 8: Policy, Priorities and Qualified Independence; 9: Engaging with Audiences; 10: Indonesia, the Crucible; 11: Strategic Contingency and Chaos; 12: In the New Disorder.

Read more less

Book SynopsisRocliffe Notes is a compendium for screenwriters and filmmakers which brings together tips and opinions from over 140 film and TV industry professionals, and provides a step-by-step, common-sense guide on how writers and writer-directors can best present themselves to the industry. Including insider insights from award-winning industry players, it details their habits, writing processes, daily passions and preoccupations, whilst also looking at the nuts and bolts of the industry, aiming to motivate writers on their own creative journey, maximise networking opportunities and encourage a professional approach to writing. An essential armament in any writer's store, contributors include: Moira Buffini, Danny Huston, David Parfitt, Jack Thorne, Sarah Gavron, John Madden, John Yorke, Nik Powell, Peter Kosminsky, Christine Langan and Asif Kapadia.Trade ReviewA really useful guide to getting on in the world of film -- Richard EyreAn indispensable addition to the writer's bookshelf * Lock and load, brides of Christ *

Read more less

Book SynopsisA second book in the ROCLIFFE NOTES series, formed from the questions of newer filmmakers. This is a practical compendium for screenwriters and filmmakers in the form of notes and opinions. These provide a step-by-step, common-sense guide, with suggestions on how filmmakers package a film. The book covers everything you need to know to get a low-budget film made, from understanding budgeting and different types of finance, to casting, crewing, scheduling, production and festival strategy. This book explains how to turn your script into a film. It offers a unique insight by providing insider confidences, from established industry players to peers, on how you don't need permission to make films. A revelation for all would-be filmmakers, this is a guide to the nuts and bolts of making a film.Trade ReviewTakes you through every stage from conception to distribution in clear concise steps. Brilliant -- Colm Meaney, Actor & ProducerWritten in a clear, concise style - full of useful information. This is a must-have for any aspiring filmmaker -- Karol Griffiths, author of The Art of Script Editingacked full of really useful guidance and easy to understand chapters -- Anita Lewton-Moukkes, Screenwriter, Director & MD of Corazon Films UK an insightful and crystal clear read for anyone wanting to produce their first film be it a short or a feature -- Fodhla Cronin O'Reilly, ProducerA really useful guide to getting on in the world of film -- Richard Eyre, Writer & Director

Read more less

Book SynopsisFilm production in Latin America is as old as cinema itself, but local film industries have always been in a triangulated relationship with Hollywood and European cinema. This book situates Latin American film industries within the global circulation of film production, exhibition and distribution, charting the changes that the industries have undergone from the sound era to the present day. Focusing in particular on Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, Tamara Falicov examines commonalities among Latin American film industries, such as the challenges of procuring funding, competition from Hollywood, state funding battles, and the fickle nature of audiences, as well as censorship issues, competition from television, and the transnational nature of Latin American film. She addresses production, exhibition, and distribution contexts and financing and co-production with Europe and the United States, as well as the role of film festivals in funding and circulating films both within and outside of Latin America. Newer trends such as the revival of protectionist measures like the screen quota are framed in contrast to the U.S.'s push for trade policy liberalization and issues of universal concern such as film piracy, and new technologies and the role of television in helping and hindering Latin American cinema.Trade Review[T]here is no denying that Falicov has done her research. The result is an ambitious and timely elucidation of contemporary Latin American cinema as a complex and highly varied set of interconnected national industries * The Journal of Cinema and Media Studies *Table of ContentsIntroduction.- Chapter 1.- The Historical Development of Latin American Film Industries.- Founding of the studio systems in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico.- The coming of sound and the issue of language.- The demise of the studio system.- State-supported filmmaking in Latin America.- Chapter 2.- Public Financing in Latin America.- Film Institute Support.- Co-production initiatives such as Programa Ibermedia.- Film festival financing such as the Hubert Bals Fund (Rotterdam).- Public television support.- Chapter 3.- The Role of the Private Sector.- The MPA as co-producer and distributor.- Television channels as investors.- Television-Film dynamics.- Chapter 4.- The Exhibition Sector and Audience Tastes.- The Evolution of Movie Theaters.- Segmentation of film industries.- Marketing Latin American film.- Chapter 5.- Going Global: Film Distribution and Film Festivals.- Film Distribution in Latin America.- Overview of Distribution Outlets.- Film Festival Opportunities for Distribution.- Financing via festival markets, labs, seminars.- Chapter 6.- Film Policy in Latin America.- Protectionist Policies: Are they working?.- Film Piracy in Latin America.- The Role of New Technologies in Exhibition and Distribution.- Emerging Industries in Latin America.- Conclusion.- Bibliography.- Tables and Charts.

Read more less

Book SynopsisFilm production in Latin America is as old as cinema itself, but local film industries have always been in a triangulated relationship with Hollywood and European cinema. This book situates Latin American film industries within the global circulation of film production, exhibition and distribution, charting the changes that the industries have undergone from the sound era to the present day. Focusing in particular on Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, Tamara Falicov examines commonalities among Latin American film industries, such as the challenges of procuring funding, competition from Hollywood, state funding battles, and the fickle nature of audiences, as well as censorship issues, competition from television, and the transnational nature of Latin American film. She addresses production, exhibition, and distribution contexts and financing and co-production with Europe and the United States, as well as the role of film festivals in funding and circulating films both within and outside of Latin America. Newer trends such as the revival of protectionist measures like the screen quota are framed in contrast to the U.S.'s push for trade policy liberalization and issues of universal concern such as film piracy, and new technologies and the role of television in helping and hindering Latin American cinema.Trade Review[T]here is no denying that Falicov has done her research. The result is an ambitious and timely elucidation of contemporary Latin American cinema as a complex and highly varied set of interconnected national industries * The Journal of Cinema and Media Studies *Table of ContentsIntroduction.- Chapter 1.- The Historical Development of Latin American Film Industries.- Founding of the studio systems in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico.- The coming of sound and the issue of language.- The demise of the studio system.- State-supported filmmaking in Latin America.- Chapter 2.- Public Financing in Latin America.- Film Institute Support.- Co-production initiatives such as Programa Ibermedia.- Film festival financing such as the Hubert Bals Fund (Rotterdam).- Public television support.- Chapter 3.- The Role of the Private Sector.- The MPA as co-producer and distributor.- Television channels as investors.- Television-Film dynamics.- Chapter 4.- The Exhibition Sector and Audience Tastes.- The Evolution of Movie Theaters.- Segmentation of film industries.- Marketing Latin American film.- Chapter 5.- Going Global: Film Distribution and Film Festivals.- Film Distribution in Latin America.- Overview of Distribution Outlets.- Film Festival Opportunities for Distribution.- Financing via festival markets, labs, seminars.- Chapter 6.- Film Policy in Latin America.- Protectionist Policies: Are they working?.- Film Piracy in Latin America.- The Role of New Technologies in Exhibition and Distribution.- Emerging Industries in Latin America.- Conclusion.- Bibliography.- Tables and Charts.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe history of London’s West End cinemas dates back more than one hundred years. This book details all of them, in chronological order, totalling well over one hundred. The best of the West End’s cinemas were outfitted to a very high standard to match their role as showcases for new films, hosting press shows and premieres, as well as a being a magnet for film enthusiasts anxious to see films on exclusive premiere runs. Even now, when films are available everywhere at the same time, the West End’s cinemas are a vibrant attraction to visitors from all over the world as well as for Londoners having a night on the town. The oldest survivor is the Cineworld Haymarket, dating back to 1928 as a cinema. Other famous cinemas with a long history include the landmark Odeon Leicester Square and nearby Odeon West End as well as the Curzons in Mayfair and Soho, both replacing earlier picture houses. Many cinemas survive in other uses, such as the Rialto as a casino and the New Victoria as the Apollo Victoria live theatre. But here also are dozen of long vanished cinemas, some lasting only a few years and forgotten, others like the original Empire (1928 to 1961) – the largest cinema ever built in the West End – still living on in fond memory. There are interior views as well as exteriors of most of the cinemas, and over 50 illustrations are in full colour. This is a valuable and comprehensive addition to the history of the West End that will appeal to cinema enthusiasts as well as social historians and students of London and of architecture and design. Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction Map – Victoria area Map – Inner West End Map – Outer West End The Cinemas [in chronological order] Some Club Cinemas Theatres as Cinemas Cinema Name Index

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe story of Eastmancolor's arrival on the British filmmaking scene is one of intermittent trial and error, intense debate and speculation before gradual acceptance. This book traces the journey of its adoption in British Film and considers its lasting significance as one of the most important technical innovations in film history. Through original archival research and interviews with key figures within the industry, the authors examine the role of Eastmancolor in relation to key areas of British cinema since the 1950s; including its economic and structural histories, different studio and industrial strategies, and the wider aesthetic changes that took place with the mass adoption of colour. Their analysis of British cinema through the lens of colour produces new interpretations of key British film genres including social realism, historical and costume drama, science fiction, horror, crime, documentary and even sex films. They explore how colour communicated meaning in films ranging from the Carry On series to Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979), from Lawrence of Arabia (1962) to A Passage to India (1984), and from Goldfinger (1964) to 1984 (1984), and in the work of key directors and cinematographers of both popular and art cinema including Nicolas Roeg, Ken Russell, Ridley Scott, Peter Greenaway and Chris Menges.Trade ReviewRooted in detailed primary research into aesthetics, production practices, technologies and institutions, Colour Films in Britain, provides a comprehensive and illuminating consideration of the adoption, diffusion and popularization of colour in British cinema from the mid-1950s. -- Duncan Petrie, University of York, UKColour Films in Britain is a landmark study of the transition to colour that occurred in the 1960s and 1970s. No other book has yet tackled this transition with such depth, breadth and precision. The collaborative efforts of Sarah Street, Keith M. Johnston, Paul Frith and Carolyn Rickards are a model for research that I hope will soon be taken up in other national and transnational contexts. -- Joshua Yumibe, Michigan State University, USATable of ContentsIntroduction Section 1: What is Eastmancolor? 1. Branding and Marketing the Eastmancolor Revolution 2. Eastmancolor, the British Film Industry, and Institutions Section 2: Eastmancolor and British Genre Films 3. Comedy and Satire 4. Social realism / contemporary drama 5. The Colour of Crime 6. Fantasy, Horror and Science Fiction 7. Historical and costume films 8. Musicals, pop films, and the concert film Section 3: Eastmancolor Outside the Mainstream 9. Key colourists, 1955-85 10. Art, experimental, and avant-garde practices 11. Eastmancolor and the Amateur Film 12. Short and Documentary Films 13. The Colour of Sex? Eastmancolor and the Sex Film Section 4: Preservation and Restoration 14. Cultures and Practices of Preservation and Restoration Conclusion First Appendix: Eastmancolor Film List, 1954-85 Second Appendix: Technical Appendix

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book describes the astonishing achievements of John Angus Mackay – a man whose intelligence, humanity, political nous, people skills, wit, steely resolve and courage, were such that, what lesser beings regarded as impossible, he made possible. Through his efforts in concert with a small group of others, a thousand year process of ‘ethnic cleansing’ of the Gaelic language and culture was challenged and new means created to rebuild that which the powers-that-be had long sought to destroy. These efforts were so successful that now, the Scottish Gaelic language and culture has turned the corner and the number of young Gaelic speakers is increasing. How this was achieved, against a sustained barrage of negativity, is described, but perhaps his most obvious achievement is his long, dogged and forensically focused campaign, against huge establishment resistance, to win a Gaelic television channel. That channel now provides a fascinating range of programming at times attracting viewership figures well in excess of the total number of Gaelic speakers in Scotland. But that is only part of the story. John Angus was also a gifted teacher, pivotal in developing community co-operatives in his native Lewis, in paving the way for the creation of the Crofters’ Union and leading the development of the Gaelic Comunn na Gàidhlig, Bòrd na Gàidhlig, An Lanntair multi-arts venue, the University of the Highlands and Islands, and as its chairman, in turning round NHS Western Isles from crisis into a model small health board.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisAlthough the "decline" of network television in the face of cable programming was an institutional crisis of television history, John Caldwell's classic volume Televisuality reveals that this decline spawned a flurry of new production initiatives to reassert network authority. Television in the 1980s hyped an extensive array of exhibitionist practices to raise the prime-time marquee above the multi-channel flow. Televisuality demonstrates the cultural logic of stylistic exhibitionism in everything from prestige series (Northern Exposure) and "loss-leader" event-status programming (War and Remembrance) to lower "trash" and "tabloid" forms (Pee-Wee's Playhouse and reality TV). Caldwell shows how "import-auteurs" like Oliver Stone and David Lynch were stylized for prime time as videographics packaged and tamed crisis news coverage. By drawing on production experience and critical and cultural analysis, and by tying technologies to aesthetics and ideology, Televisuality is a powerful call for desegregation of theory and practice in media scholarship and an end to the willful blindness of "high theory."Trade Review“An original and outstanding contribution to television scholarship…. Illuminating both in its examination of television at a specific historical moment and in challenging common academic conceptions about the medium for their failure to engage with the historical changes in television production.— Allan D. Campbell, Velvet Light Trap “Engrossing and thought-provoking…. Televisuality points to a hole in television studies and highlights an interdisciplinary approach-combining the economic with the aesthetic and ideological-that could help to plug it.”— Matthew P. McAllister, Film Quarterly “With its combined attention to television aesthetic, economic, and technological aspects, it [is] a highly innovative book that question[s] a great deal of conventional wisdom.”— European Journal of Media Studies “This may be the most sophisticated study of the American television medium, industry, and aesthetic to date. Caldwell ranges through industry bumf and the academic bibliography to rescue the medium from theoretical simplifications. [An] insightful and allusive text that leaves virtually no familiar generalization unchallenged.”— Choice, Outstanding Academic Title “Televisuality is a theoretical term coined by John Caldwell in the mid-1990s to characterize a change in the look and practice of television programming. This change began around 1980 and continues to the present day. Describing and discussing television through the lens of televisuality requires one to consider television as a mode of mass communication reliant on popularity with viewers and created in an industrial context whose labor relations affect how shows are produced. Overall, the main identifying feature of ‘the televisual’ is ‘an excess of style.’ Thus, programs produced from the 1980s onward are likely to break with traditional ‘invisible’ production styles and to innovate in ways that call the viewer's attention to the constructedness of the show—that it is a televisual text and that the viewer is watching (or, in a best-case scenario, participating) in the construction of meaning through attraction to or investment in the style of the televisual text.”— Encyclopedia of Gender in Media Televisuality "Intense and complex."— Markus Stauff, University of Amsterdam “[A] well-researched volume.”— Library JournalTable of ContentsContents Preface Part I The Problem of the Image 1 Excessive Style: The Crisis of Network Television 2 Unwanted Houseguests and Altered States: A Short History of Aesthetic Posturing 3 Modes of Production: The Televisual Apparatus Part II The Aesthetic Economy of Televisuality 4 Boutique: Designer Television/Auteurist Spin Doctoring 5 Franchiser: Digital Packaging/Industrial-Strength Semiotics 6 Loss Leader: Event Status Programming/Exhibitionist History 7 Trash TV: Thrift-Shop Video/More Is More 8 Tabloid TV: Styled Live/Ontological Stripmall Part III Cultural Aspects of Televisuality 9 Televisual Audience: Interactive Pizza 10 Televisual Economy: Recessionary Aesthetics 11 Televisual Politics: Negotiating Race in the L.A. Rebellion Postscript: Intellectual Culture, Image, and Iconoclasm Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisAlthough the "decline" of network television in the face of cable programming was an institutional crisis of television history, John Caldwell's classic volume Televisuality reveals that this decline spawned a flurry of new production initiatives to reassert network authority. Television in the 1980s hyped an extensive array of exhibitionist practices to raise the prime-time marquee above the multi-channel flow. Televisuality demonstrates the cultural logic of stylistic exhibitionism in everything from prestige series (Northern Exposure) and "loss-leader" event-status programming (War and Remembrance) to lower "trash" and "tabloid" forms (Pee-Wee's Playhouse and reality TV). Caldwell shows how "import-auteurs" like Oliver Stone and David Lynch were stylized for prime time as videographics packaged and tamed crisis news coverage. By drawing on production experience and critical and cultural analysis, and by tying technologies to aesthetics and ideology, Televisuality is a powerful call for desegregation of theory and practice in media scholarship and an end to the willful blindness of "high theory."Trade Review“This may be the most sophisticated study of the American television medium, industry, and aesthetic to date. Caldwell ranges through industry bumf and the academic bibliography to rescue the medium from theoretical simplifications. [An] insightful and allusive text that leaves virtually no familiar generalization unchallenged.” * Choice, Outstanding Academic Title *“An original and outstanding contribution to television scholarship…. Illuminating both in its examination of television at a specific historical moment and in challenging common academic conceptions about the medium for their failure to engage with the historical changes in television production. -- Allan D. Campbell * Velvet Light Trap *“[A] well-researched volume.” * Library Journal *“With its combined attention to television aesthetic, economic, and technological aspects, it [is] a highly innovative book that question[s] a great deal of conventional wisdom.” * European Journal of Media Studies *“Engrossing and thought-provoking…. Televisuality points to a hole in television studies and highlights an interdisciplinary approach-combining the economic with the aesthetic and ideological-that could help to plug it.” -- Matthew P. McAllister * Film Quarterly *“Televisuality is a theoretical term coined by John Caldwell in the mid-1990s to characterize a change in the look and practice of television programming. This change began around 1980 and continues to the present day. Describing and discussing television through the lens of televisuality requires one to consider television as a mode of mass communication reliant on popularity with viewers and created in an industrial context whose labor relations affect how shows are produced. Overall, the main identifying feature of ‘the televisual’ is ‘an excess of style.’ Thus, programs produced from the 1980s onward are likely to break with traditional ‘invisible’ production styles and to innovate in ways that call the viewer's attention to the constructedness of the show—that it is a televisual text and that the viewer is watching (or, in a best-case scenario, participating) in the construction of meaning through attraction to or investment in the style of the televisual text.” * Encyclopedia of Gender in Media Televisuality *"Intense and complex." -- Markus Stauff * University of Amsterdam *Table of ContentsContents Preface Part I The Problem of the Image 1 Excessive Style: The Crisis of Network Television 2 Unwanted Houseguests and Altered States: A Short History of Aesthetic Posturing 3 Modes of Production: The Televisual Apparatus Part II The Aesthetic Economy of Televisuality 4 Boutique: Designer Television/Auteurist Spin Doctoring 5 Franchiser: Digital Packaging/Industrial-Strength Semiotics 6 Loss Leader: Event Status Programming/Exhibitionist History 7 Trash TV: Thrift-Shop Video/More Is More 8 Tabloid TV: Styled Live/Ontological Stripmall Part III Cultural Aspects of Televisuality 9 Televisual Audience: Interactive Pizza 10 Televisual Economy: Recessionary Aesthetics 11 Televisual Politics: Negotiating Race in the L.A. Rebellion Postscript: Intellectual Culture, Image, and Iconoclasm Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisABOUT THE AUTHOR John was born in a big house next to Scotstounhill railway station, Glasgow, Scotland on 2nd of July 1947. He attended Hillhead High School but was expelled in the 6th year for truancy, as he preferred to spend his time at Scottish TV studios watching the production of their live lunchtime show The One O’clock Gang. His early railway influences resulted in an 8-year employment with British Rail (BR) after leaving school. BR put him through a 2-year course in Business Studies at the Central College of Commerce and Distribution in Glasgow as part of a Railway Studentship scheme. His enthusiasm for broadcasting had met with a major obstacle in finding a career entry point due to lack of experience, so he, along with a couple of friends started Radio Phoenix broadcasting to Forresthall Geriatric Hospital in Glasgow on a weekly basis. The Sound Broadcasting Act of 1972 presented the major opportunity for him with the commercial radio franchise for Glasgow being awarded to Radio Clyde. He was fortunate enough to join the pioneering team as a Production Assistant in November 1973. During his 34 years at Radio Clyde he became Production Controller, produced many award winning programmes, created the Kelvingrove Free Music Festivals and organised live broadcasts from the USA. He acted as Travel Editor taking opportunity to experience many overseas destinations. His enthusiasm for aviation resulted in several documentaries on the subject including “Tales from Kai Tak” about Hong Kong’s old airport. Parallel to this he became interested in the local music scene and formed Publishing and Management Companies to develop local talent. He travelled frequently to the USA West Coast ending up with Million Mile status on Northwest Airlines In 2007 he was made redundant by Bauer Media, the new owners of Radio Clyde, and took a year out to research a ten-part proposed TV series on aviation in Micronesia. This featured Air Mike – the Island Hopper at that time part of Continental Airlines. In 2008 he joined Travel 2 as a Sales Consultant advising UK travel Agents on worldwide travel. As part of this job he travelled to Australia and New Zealand many times. In addition he had a love of casinos as well as flying. So frequent trips were made to Las Vegas, and Australian cities like Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, Perth and Cairns. In November 2000 he took voluntary redundancy from Travel 2 and now works freelance consulting and writing.Table of ContentsCHAPTER INDEX Chapter 1 – Expelled Driving a steam train at the age of 8. Bad boy activities. Corporal punishment. Expelled from school. Chapter 2 - Pirate Radio Failed audition for pirate radio station - Radio Scotland. Billy Connolly encounter. BBC script rejection from That Was the Week That Was. Chapter 3 – 1965 to 1973 British Rail, Hospital Broadcasting and Israel Religious bigotry in Glasgow. Jewish girlfriend and trip to Israel. If you can't get in to broadcasting then start your own radio station. Chapter 4 - Radio Clyde December 1973 Pioneering radio days. Two months before the start of commercial radio in Scotland. Chapter 5 - Pan Am Flights to Trinidad December 1975 First Class travel reward for radio work. High powered executives steal the cutlery. First and only attempt at a drug deal. How radio in Trinidad was crudely relayed the BBC World Service Chapter 6 - SuperScoreboard Secrets How a radio guru creatively produced an image of predictive powers at football matches Chapter 7 - Into the Music Business My dislike of The Waltons on TV launches my ventures into the music business. Setting up two publishing and management companies - Jammy Music and Scotia Nostra. Devious publicity stunt banning a singer from getting married. Unexpected success from two customs officers. Chapter 8 - Kelvingrove Festivals Establishment of free open-air rock festivals in Glasgow for bands with original music. Chapter 9 - Braniff Flights 1980 with Andy Collier Amazing adventures on a trip round the USA on an airline with the big orange bird. Andy is a journalist who moved to Glasgow from England whom I helped with contacts. He asked me to go with him on a freebie set of flights to the USA. Chapter 10 - More Braniff Flights May 1981 Milking the First Class Airpass with Braniff. Music Producer Clark Sorley from Kilmarnock on a whirlwind trip around the USA. It was not surprising that the airline went bust shortly after this. Chapter 11 - Jammy Music Production Library Making music for TV, Radio and Movies at just the right length. The True Love Orchestra - Wedding Song for Sarah Ferguson and HRH Prince Andrew. Producing records with Craig Ferguson in the guise of Bing Hitler, and noted actors Alan Cumming and Forbes Masson in their comedy act Victor and Barry. Movie music success in the USA. Chapter 12 - The Dolphins Dangerous fireworks at a midnight open-air concert. Loyalty to individuals on management contracts when they go solo. Chapter 13 - USA Trips in search of fame Attempts to get record deals. Los Angeles attorney hired. Madam Wong's West is not a brothel! Foggy Bottom is not something you get from a strong curry! Chapter 14 - Music Scene at Radio Clyde Creating Stick it in Your Ear! Hoovered at the Albany Hotel at 3am - T shirts. Supercharge song story She Moved the Dishes First. Programme series "Hear Me Talking" - without the interviewer. Award winning production The Big Day. Chapter 15 - Million Miles on Northwest How to win as a frequent flyer. Thanks to Saddam Hussein for my Million Mile status. Sick Northwest aircraft gives me First Class Singapore Airlines experience. Finding the way to San Jose. Etiquette in Thailand. Chapter 16 - Doing the Continental How to emerge from bankruptcy in the USA. Hawaiian Goddess Madame Pele. Doing the tango in Buenos Aires Chapter 17 - Climax in Pattaya The Thai word "porn" is not what you may think. The horizontal leisure centre. Website for the Climax Rock Band. Chapter 18 - Claymores in Europe Why American Football has more hanging about than in a clothing warehouse. Chapter 19 - Crazy Radio Clyde Career How TV shutdown at 1030 pm made Radio Clyde an outstanding success. The Great Crossini escapologist on the radio. Princess Margaret meets the Wombles and Uncle Bulgaria is arrested. Winning a Rover Sterling car. Tales from Kai Tak. Mallan in Manhattan. The Assistant DA from Orange County, California becomes Radio Clyde presenter. Chapter 20 - Air Mike The Island Hopper America won Guam from Spain on a misunderstanding. The Romeo and Juliet story of the Lovers Leap. The significance of the Love Stick on Chuuk. Stone Money and bare breasts on Yap. The lifeline air service of Micronesia. Chapter 21 - Circus Circus Las Vegas The Ringmaster's club had me hooked. Do they send the elephant instead of the limousine? Hieroglyphs surprisingly accurate. How to make money from a casino - own it! The Mormons and the Mafia Mob. Chapter 22 - On the Fly Murphy's Laws of Hub Operation. Suitable for upgrade or friend of the gate agent? Hooters Air go bust! Chapter 23 - 21st Century Travel Lounging around the world Polaris style. Australian snake in the mouth. A pokie is not a sexual act. Enlightenment through beer. Over the North Pole in search of the sanity clause. The Lucky Shag may surprise you. I fall for a camel called Darcy. Grilled by the Feds in Las Vegas. Chapter 24 - 2020 Angel Number 2020. Quarantined in Australia. Escape home.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book shows how the unique characteristics of traditionally differentiated media continue to determine narrative despite the recent digital convergence of media technologies. The author argues that media are now each largely defined by distinctive industrial practices that continue to preserve their identities and condition narrative production. Furthermore, the book demonstrates how a given medium’s variability in institutional and technological contexts influences diverse approaches to storytelling. By connecting US film, television, comic book and video game industries to their popular fictional characters and universes; including Star Wars, Batman, Game of Thrones and Grand Theft Auto; the book identifies how differences in industrial practice between media inform narrative production. This book is a must read for students and scholars interested in transmedia storytelling. Trade Review“A solid and engaging examination of narrative and medium in the entertainment industries that will appeal to scholars in a wide range of fields related to media studies. This is an ambitious manuscript that accomplishes its goal of discussing the narrative differences between and within serial media in the current entertainment industries. … One of the things that makes this book such a joy to read is the wealth of information provided here.” (Jessica Bay, Projections, Vol. 15 (1), 2021)“This is an impressive study, drawing on significant archival resources, that dazzles with the breadth of knowledge of different fields, … to simplify occasionally.” (Elke Weissmann, Critical Studies in Television, Vol. 14 (1), 2019)Table of Contents1. Introduction2. Narratives in the Media Convergence Era: The Industrial Dimensions of Medium Specificity.3. Economic Specificity in Narrative Design: the Business of Television Drama Storytelling.4. Audience Specificity in Narrative Design: Comic-Book Storytelling in the Inclusivity Era.5. Technological Specificity in Narrative Design: Story-Driven Videogame Series in an Upgrade Culture.6. Conclusion.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book is the first authoritative account of the UK’s independent television production sector, following the creation of Channel 4 in 1982. It examines the rise of a global industry, increasingly interconnected through format development, distribution, ancillary sales and rights. Drawing on case studies, interviews and policy analysis; the author considers the cultural politics behind the growth of the ‘indies’, the labour conditions for workers in this sector, and some of the key television programmes that have been created within it. Filling an important gap in our understanding, this book constitutes a comprehensive account of this vital cultural industry for students, academics and researchers working in the areas of the cultural and creative industries, media and cultural policy and television studies. Table of Contents1. Chapter 1: Introduction: Situating Independent Television in the cultural economy.- 2. Part I: Independent transformations. The politics of independence: Contextualising independent television production in the UK - Chapter 2. The creation of the independent sector in the UK.- 3. Chapter 3. Creative Industries policy and the rise of the ‘mega-indies’; Independent television production in the age of New Labour.- 4. Part II: Working in independent television - Chapter 4: Creative labour and social change.- 5. Chapter 5 Working in the Indies: Precarity, value and burnout.- 6. Chapter 6 Networks, social capital and the burden of performativity.- 7. Part III: Cultural Value - Chapter 7 Independent Creativity.- 8. Chapter 8: Commercialisation, consolidation and cultural value: The restructuring of the British independent television industry, and the implications for production.- 9. Chapter 9. Conclusion: towards a moral economy of independent television production.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book seeks to investigate ‘platform power’ in the multi-platform era and unravels the evolution of power structures in the TV industry as a result of platformisation. Multiple TV platforms and modes of distribution are competing–not necessarily in a zero-sum game–to control the market. In the volume, the contributors work to extend established ‘platform theory’ to the TV industry, which has become increasingly organised as a platform economy. The book helps to understand how platform power arises in the industry, how it destabilises international relations, and how it is used in the global media value chain. Platform Power and Policy in Transforming Television Markets contributes to the growing field of media industry studies, and draws on scholarly work in communication, political economy and public policy whilst providing a deeper insight into the transformation of the TV industry from an economic, political and consumer level. Avoiding a merely legal analysis from a technology-driven perspective, the book provides a critical analysis of the dominant modes of power within the evolving structures of the global TV value chain. Trade Review“This book is a welcome addition to the fields of media policy, media industries and screen business. ... It is an ambitious book that tackles the emergence and impact of new players across the globe, detailing the complex interactions between national policy, business models and patterns of consumption. ... The breadth of the research is one of the strengths of this book.” (Jane Roscoe, Critical Studies in Television, Vol. 14 (2), 2019)Table of Contents1. Introduction: Planet Of The Platforms.- 2. From Local Utility To Global Commodity, Case Liberty Global: All Along The Value Chain.- 3. Game Of Screens, Case Netflix: Turning Data Into Content.- 4. Power To The Platforms, Case Hulu: Partners In Crime.- 5. The Retransmission Swamp, Case Fox Networks: The Howling Wolf.- 6. Regulating The Retransmission Swamp, Case Aereo, Bhaalu And Friends: Copyright In The Cloud.- 7. Policing The Platforms, Case Time Warner + AT&T: A Great Deal.- 8.Conclusion: Winner Takes It All.

Read more less

Book SynopsisSatyajit Ray first placed India on the map of world cinema with his 1955-classic Pather Panchali. In a career spanning nearly four decades and including twenty-seven feature films, Ray is undoubtedly the most-known Indian film-maker till date. It will probably not be an exaggeration to state that in Indian cinema Ray''s profiling of characters and his casting acumen resulted in some of the best on-screen performances it has ever seen. This book examines some of the most memorable characters put up by the maverick on the silver screen.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis collection of 51 essays contains rich memories of Singapore’s broadcasting pioneers based in their station atop Caldecott Hill. ON AIR captures the breadth and depth of their experiences over 82 years on the Hill; from the founding in 1936 of the British Malayan Broadcasting Corporation, to Radio and Television Singapore (RTS), to Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), and finally to what is today, Mediacorp. In this book, the writrers have recorded eight decades worth of work experiences and have shared untold stories from the Japanese Occupation of Caldecott Hill, to the fascinating behind-the-scenes happenings that cast light and well known and well loved shows. Illustrated with rare, archival photographs, many not seen before, this publication is the first of its kind that gives an insight into the development of broadcasting in Singapore.

Read more less