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HOW TV
In the heart of Soho, within easy reach of the offices of countless film and television companies, TVI has proved itself integral to the needs of a demanding industry for more than 30 years. Founded in 1965, it is the oldest facilities house in London and is involved in a broad spectrum of post pro- duction services, notably VT dubbing, duplica- tion, telecine transfers, online and off-line editing as well as the eye popping new technologies that are becoming ever more available.
Keith Williams has been managing director at TVI since March 1997. In that time he has overseen the sharpening of the company’s once formidable competitive edge, making itself more customer friendly in what has become an increasingly crowded industry.
“TVI has been through a lot of changes lately,” he explains. “We’ve splashed a bit of colour around the place and of course we’re putting new equipment in all the time. Recently we’ve put in a SoftImage digital studio, which is the new non lin- ear uncompressed edit system. There’s a second going in next month, and we’ve got two more on order as well.
“Gradually we’re moving away from tradition- al editing as well, to non linear tablet based edit- ing. Effectively in a conventional edit suite at the moment, you have a number of tape machines supplying your source material. So if you need a clip from one of those you have to wind through and find it. You have to then edit it onto another tape, and if you want to make a change you have to go back and rebuild that tape.
“With non linear, it’s all transferred from the tape machine onto disks, and you can then access it at any point, any time you like and you can cre- ate a virtual master in the disk. If you want to change anything, you don’t have to rewind any-
thing, you can just change it. And once you’re finally committed to that as your finished project, you put it back onto tape again.”
The same difference, effectively, as working with a typewriter and a PC, the advantages afford- ed by this kind of flexibility are enormous, fully justifying TVI’s continuing investment in these new technologies. But a firm that offers as diverse a range of services as this cannot afford to be com- placent about any one sector of its markets. Other details must be addressed, and filmmakers’ needs satisfied across the full range of their markets.
“We work on distribution with a lot of the major studios, which is the biggest sector for us,” Williams explains. “That’s closely followed by drama which is something that’s increasing signif- icantly, and documentaries. Then we have com- mercials, which are a tiny but growing part of our business.”
It is not unusual for several TV shows that have come through TVI to be screened on the same night. Recent hits include Jonathan Creek, Imogen’s Face, Bramwell, Soldier Soldier, Invasion Earth and Cadfael. Yet certain programmes, because of the time pressures involved in making them, do tend to pose particular challenges.
“Have I Got News For You is one,” Williams smiles. “Non linear editing equipment is great for giving you the option to change things quickly, doing lots of versions so you can decide what you want. But with a programme that topical you don’t have the luxury of time. They’ll record the show on a Thursday, the tape will arrive Thursday night and the producers will be in there editing at 7.30 next morning.
“They’re not absolutely sure of the structure they’re after, but they will sit there on a Friday, starting about 7.30, work away, and be due on air at 9 o’clock on a Friday night. They know they’re up against it, so the pressures can get pretty heavy. That kind of situation needs a particular kind of editor, to keep the show moving on and not upset anybody. There’s a lot of inter personal skills needed in that pressurised job. There have
Photos: top left: Managing Director Keith Williams; bottom left: Land Girls; main: Tom Courtenay and John Thaw in the new series Kavanagh Q.C.
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