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WColin Paterson
hen Christopher Price, presenter of the BBC’s Liquid News died sudden- ly last year, the big question was who would fill his shoes. Step for- ward twenty-eight year old Scot, Colin Paterson, one of the pro- gramme’s correspondents, who now co-hosts the show with Claudia Winkleman.
A City University broadcast graduate, Paterson worked on GLR and The Guardian trying to decide whether he wanted to do “serious news or trash.”
He moved on to doing film segments for The Big Breakfast, interviewing top stars and “going to lots of nonsense premieres” where his highlights included making a bored Julia Roberts laugh and having Madonna do an impression of him.
In September last year he started as a reporter for Liquid News where his off-kilter reports garnered him attention. When Price tragically died, Paterson reluctantly found himself in the hot seat.
“I never wanted to be a TV pre- senter but when I started I found I quite enjoyed it. But yes, it was a strange time with Christopher’s death and things have only really
got back to normal with the re- launch of the show.”
The re-launch has proved incredibly successful and Paterson admits he’s having great fun and hopes to have the gig for “a long, long time.”
And if everything goes wrong tomorrow, he has a job wish list for prospective employers: “My dream is still to be the roving reporter for World Darts.”
FWfion Elinor
ho says the Welsh film industry isn’t booming? Thirty-five-year old Ffion Elinor has designed costumes for two big name film projects in her home country in the last year – Plotz With A View starring Christopher Walken and Brenda Blethyn and The I Inside with Ryan Phillipe.
Although she has travelled extensively in her job, the oppor- tunity to work at home has suited her. “I think people don’t realise how much is happening here – a lot of good films are coming out of Wales and I find it easier to work here – but I go where the work takes me.”
The work has taken Elinor all over the place since she started out in TV after training at the Welsh
College of Music and Drama. With a full CV of films under her belt as wide ranging as Goodbye Charlie Bright, Sorted and Lucky Break, she has designed a diverse collection of costumes from period to mod- ern day.
“Challenges keep me going and as long as there are chal- lenges with each new project I’ll keep being inspired,” she says.
As if to prove her point, Elinor has just returned from a charity trek for The Teenage Cancer Trust in Chile.
But the costumier’s blood still runs through her veins and even in the middle of nowhere she had her eye on pieces to use in her work. “I am a bit of a magpie,” she admits with a laugh.
Dan Barrow
an Barrow got a career break most eight-year olds can only dream about. As a drama graduate who had been travelling for a couple of years he sent his CV to the visual effects team working on the pro- duction of Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone and was hired as a runner.
He quickly moved on to visual effects assistant and then co- ordinator – and was soon sorting
out Hagrid’s dog from Harry’s broomstick for The Philosopher’s Stone and the recent Chamber of Secrets. He is now part of a dedi- cated team sorting out the magic for the third adaptation of JK Rowling’s hugely successful series.
Although he studied TV pro- duction as part of his degree at St Mary’s College in Surrey, Barrow, 30, admits the last couple of years have been a major eye- opener into the film business
“I had an idea about the process but it was almost a verti- cal learning curve! There’s every kind of visual effect you could possibly do in Harry Potter so it’s a great experience and I’m work- ing with some of the best people in the industry.”
The industry is evolving so rapid- ly that every new project is excit- ing and keeping Barrow extremely busy. So does he ever regret giv- ing up the acting? “No, I think that’s well and truly laid to rest!”
talent spotting
Focusing on tomorrow’s generation of movers and shakers compiled by Jane Crowther
new talent, new media
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