Copy
Searchlight Freelance provides a Fast Payment Service for Freelancer Invoices.

If you choose our Fast Payment Service you will receive payment in the same week as you invoice.

If you are interested in our Fast Payment Service, please ask your consultant for details.

Email: conor@searchlight.com or ian@searchlight.com 
 
We charge a small administrative fee for this service.
Autumn is upon us and we all know what that means, a new flurry of TV series, or “seasons”, as they say over the pond. But before we jump on the bandwagon for the latest must-watch programmes that'll litter our twitter feeds, what have been your TV & VFX highlights of the year so far?
 
Kicking off on UK soil, an entertainment high point has been the BBC’s adaptation of the award winning novel Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, penned by Susanna Clarke and written for the small screen by Peter Harness.
 
Charting the rise of a 19th Century wizard, his failing relationship with his mentor and the involvement of magic in historical events, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell was not shy when it came to spectacle. Luckily, the 1000 odd VFX shots across the seven episodes were in the capable hands of Milk VFX (based in Soho) who managed to successfully bring to life the novel’s melting pot of magic and war.

Many of the VFX demands saw Milk having to create creatures summoned by the magicians, with visual effect standouts being the sand horses charging across the beach into the sea, the battle ships made out of rain and the climatic Battle of Waterloo.

In keeping with the fantasy genre, any article mentioning TV highlights is not complete without a mention of Game of Thrones, and this season was populated with cinematic-like effects including; now fully grown and fire breathing dragons, ice giants and full white walker armies.

Impressive to say the least, especially the latter mentioned white walker invasion scene, named The Battle of Hardhome. Spanish VFX company El Ranchito took the reins and managed to get a mass battle between wildings and white walker’s onto the small screen, rivaling any Middle Earth based affair.

This coming season will see another addition to the anthology show American Horror Story, with the previous season Freak Show garnering its host channel FX its highest TV viewing figures yet.

FuseFX (with offices based in Burbank, New York and Vancouver) have been in charge of the popular horror programme’s VFX since its first season back in 2011. This previous season featured some of its biggest challenges yet with many character based special effects (and mutations) required. These included a jaw-less clown, conjoined twins, and a man with two faces.

This year also saw the popular trend of binge watching reach new heights as VOD services continued to offer us new original content, with Netflix’s comic adaptation Daredevil being a stand out.

Following in the trend of Nolan’s Batman, it went for a darker tone and the visual effects to match were helmed by Shade. Episode 9 Speak of the Devil included it’s Red Ninja fight scene which sent fans into overdrive and managed to snag it an Emmy nomination this year.  

Of course, summing up an entire year's worth of TV seasons’ is never going to be a short process, so what VFX highlights have we missed which shone for you, and what are you looking forward to kicking off this Autumn?
 
The Walking Dead season 6 anyone…?

Tech giant Apple held their Apple Event this September to reveal further improvements to their industry dominating devices. 

Luckily for us, Adobe were also at hand during their iPad Pro keynote which showcased their new mobile creativity apps. 

Eric Snowden, Adobe Director of Mobile Design went through app versions of Adobe Comp CC, Adobe Photoshop Sketch, and Photoshop Fix, demoing the new creative workflows we could all be using.

You can watch the keynote here.


And to read Adobe's overview of the changes these Apps can bring click here.

In our last newsletter we reported that the 2015 Emmys were bringing in a new category to celebrate Motion Design, alongside their usual Title Design category.

The first ceremony for the 67th Emmy's took place on Saturday 12th September, ahead of last weekend's Emmy awards on Saturday 20th.

The Creative Arts Emmy for Outstanding Motion Design went to Peepshow Collective for their work on the PBS & BBC production How We Got To Now with Steve Johnson.

Imaginary Forces went onto win the Title Design award for their work on Manhattan.

To see the full list of nominees and winners click here.
    
 
Stan Mytkowski is a highly experienced Director / Creative Director who has worked across a large portfolio of clients, ranging from corporate and broadcast work, through to brand films and video game adverts. 

His recent projects have included creating a comprehensive identity for Verimatrix which encompassed a s­tylish animated visualisation of their product portfolio, as well as bespoke live action filming, bringing the company’s personality and global perspective to life (see here).

Stan also rebranded Virgin Atlantic's in-flight entertainment network (see here).

With further projects in the pipeline via his own company Bo Blue Creative, we recommend checking out his profile and portfolio via his website.





Another day, another report on how productions across the UK continue to boom, which is never a bad thing.

Tax incentives brought in over the past few years have increased productions across the UK, with blockbuster franchises such as The Avengers and Star Wars filming on English soil, Ireland setting the scene for Game of Throne’s Westoros and Wales playing long term host to globally popular programmes such as Doctor Who & Da Vinci’s Demons.

With England, Wales and Ireland reaping in the economic benefits, more attention has turned to Scotland.

A new £1.75million Production Growth Fund was announced at the start of September by Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop with a view to get more international filming crews over to Scotland. 

 

5th - 8th October
MIPCOM
Cannes France
The industry’s major players converge at MIPCOM in Cannes for four days of meetings, screenings and conferences.


7th - 18th October
BFI London Film Festival
London
238 films. From 71 countries. 16 cinemas. 12 days. One Festival.


22nd October
TVB Awards
Bloomsbury Ballroom, London
The TVBAwards were created to celebrate the many and various success stories in our industry by recognising those pushing the boundaries in the production, management, and delivery of today’s media content. 

5th - 6th November
4K World Summit
Seville, Spain
Producers, professionals, consultants, broadcasters, distributors and 4K manufacturers will share great experiences, needs and solutions in a unique event in Seville.

2nd - 4th December
MOTION+
France
MOTION + offers a selection of short films created with motion design, graphic arts, 2D / 3D animation, and visual effects.
Newsletter Editor

James Cheetham      

Group Marketing Executive
 
Please note, any opinions expressed here are those of the newsletter editor and do not represent Searchlight Group as a whole. 
Follow us for more industry and vacancy updates:
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Instagram
Website