out post sound blog

So the broadcasts have happened, the votes have been counted and verified and we can now reveal that the nominations for both the BAFTAs and the OSCARs are now in.

Being a sound company, we are just really interested in the sound departments - oh go on then.. Best Film as well...

THE BAFTAs

SOUND

AVATAR Christopher Boyes/Gary Summers/ Andy Nelson/Tony Johnson/Addison Teague

DISTRICT 9 Brent Burge/Chris Ward/Dave Whitehead/ Michael Hedges/Ken Saville

THE HURT LOCKER Ray Beckett/Paul N. J. Ottosson

STAR TREK Peter J. Devlin/Andy Nelson/Anna Behlmer/ Mark Stoeckinger/Ben Burtt

UP Tom Myers/Michael Silvers/Michael Semanick/ Doc Kane

MUSIC

AVATAR James Horner

CRAZY HEART T-Bone Burnett/Stephen Bruton

FANTASTIC MR FOX Alexandre Desplat

SEX & DRUGS & ROCK & ROLL Chaz Jankel

UP Michael Giacchino

THE OSCARS

Sound editing
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds 
Star Trek
Up

Sound mixing
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Best picture

Avatar (James Cameron – director; Brooke Breton , Laeta Kalogridis, Jon Landau, Josh McLaglen, Janace Tashjian, Peter M Tobyansen, Colin Wilson – producers)

District 9 (Neill Blomkamp – director, Bill Block, Philippa Boyens, Carolynne Cunningham, Elliot Ferwerda, Paul Hanson, Peter Jackson, Ken Kamins, Michael S Murphey – producers)

An Education (Lone Scherfig)

The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow)

Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino)

Precious (Lee Daniels)

A Serious Man (Joel and Ethan Coen)

Up in the Air (Jason Reitman)

The Blind Side (John Lee Hancock)

Up (Jonas Rivera, producer)

Our predictions are:

BAFTAs - Sound, AVATAR — Music, UP

Oscars - Sound Editing,  STAR TREK — Sound Mixing, AVATAR, Best Picture, AVATAR

Anyone else want to have a little wager, please leave a comment.

It amazes me how many production companies of varying levels have either no website or a very poor website. As we look to generating new business we look at companies web presence before we speak to them so that we can best pitch our services. It is at this point that we often discover either a lack of a site, a half working site or something without useful information on it.

Don’t get me wrong, out post doesn’t have the fanciest all singing all dancing site in the world, but it works. It does what it is supposed to. It gives clients an overview of what we do and how we do it. At the very least there is a phone number and a way to contact us.

It just astounds me that this very cheap method of marketing is oft overlooked by companies in all areas of production and post!

Well, at least out post can be confident that our website is getting over the proper message to prospective clients... we hope!

It was interesting to see Skillset announcing that there is an ‘urgent’ need for standards in Post Production skills.

As with many areas of the visual arts, but especially the technical side of things, it can be very hard to keep pace with technological advances. It is very easy to get left behind in a world where formats, software and workflows change at an alarming rate. Add to this decreasing budgets and tighter schedules, working efficiently and effectively is ever more important.

Evoloutions Managing Director, Simon Kanjee, and one of the members of the Skillset Facilities Skills Council stated: “Drawing up these occupational standards is about making sure that the sector has the right people with the right skills. It is vital that we attract people who can drive our industry forward and grasp opportunities as they emerge."

These issues do not only effect people coming into the workplace but also those who may have been in it for some time. Let’s face it, work is just an extension of education, we should learn something new everyday to be on top of our game.

Do check out Skillset if you are at the start a career in any area of Creative Media industries as well as if you have been involved in the sector for a while. They might even give you some cash to do some training!

The Guardian reported this week that the British film industry, certainly in terms of admissions, was in a very good place even with the recession, increasing numbers of cable and satellite film channels, downloads and all the rest of it.

Quoting UK Film Council figures, Mark Brown stated that admissions last year had hit 173.5 million while box office takings in the UK and Ireland exceed £1bn for the first time ever.

However, in terms of production the figures where not so great, and this is something we are certainly seeing on the ground. The level of inward investment, mainly from Hollywood, was recorded as it's highest ever, while the amount spent on co-productions was down to a measly £35 million, not a patch on 2003 when it hit £169 million.

The level of co-production investment is largely, according to the UKFC, due to 'the one flaw' in the film tax credit scheme introduced by Labour and that being that co-productions have to be shot in the UK - film it in another country and the co-production doesn't get tax relief.

Market share for UK films, and we are talking the ones from the bigger studios here, fell by almost half to 16.5% from 31% in 2008. On the flip side, independent films, the ones that we at out post like to get involved with, took their biggest market share in the last 10 years, up to 8.5%. This figure was helped along, not surprisingly by Slumdog Millionaire, St. Trinian's 2 and In The Loop.

It is great to see the indie market pushing forward, Hollywood blockbusters are great (on the whole) but it really does give the whole thing a bit of a shake up when relatively low budget features hit the big time.

Long may it continue!