Viewpoint 2 HD HotCam with X Factor 2-3 You`ve Got Mail 4

customer newsletter for Fineline Media Finance
Issue 18
Autumn 2010
Viewpoint
2
HD HotCam with X Factor
2-3
You’ve Got Mail
4-5
Divine Jazz
5
Getting On the Scoreboard
6
Making HD History
7
Financing a World’s First
8
Cruet Expands Stock
9
A Tapeless Splice
10
Into the Wide SeaBlue Yonder 11
On Tour with the PDW-700
12
Making Giant Strydes in OB
13
Multi-media Golf Challenge
14
Fineline Online
15
Confidentially - Sam Baker
16
2
VIEWPOINT
“Wisely and slow.
They stumble that run fast.”
William Shakespeare
Gareth Wilding,
Sales Director
The recovery appears to be under way for
some, but the industry continues to
polarise. The post sector is still enduring
parsimonious times, while the hire and OB
market has enjoyed the benefits of the
Winter Olympics and the World Cup, and
looks forward to London 2012.
For those that believe the worst is behind us,
these are still uncertain times and caution is
advised. A sad lesson of economic history is
that more companies will fail during the
recovery than the recessionary times that
precede it, as they overtrade while chasing
apparently easy business. Don’t lose sight of
the business life-blood – cash!
The new government is making swingeing
cuts to public sector costs in an effort to
reduce the budget deficit. One victim of the
cuts, the UK Film Council, is to be wound
up by 2012. The coalition vows to continue
supporting the UK film industry but in what
shape this will manifest remains to be seen.
In the short term this will likely have a direct
and immediate effect on many of your
businesses.
The executive refresh at ITV, Channel 4 and
Five, and the increasing scrutiny of the BBC,
will inevitably mean changes to production
schedules and pressure on budgets.
Meanwhile the 3D revolution gains
momentum, with the World Cup, along
with Sky’s 3D channel, demonstrating that
cinema is not the sole driver of change in
this medium.
Sky Sports News’ recent format dictate to its
contractors has been welcomed by a
freelance community concerned that their
ageing camcorders may not survive another
season. Would that other broadcasters
might exercise similar decisiveness!
As IBC approaches, there is a genuine sense
of anticipation surrounding it. The Fineline
team looks forward to catching up with
you there.
HD
HOTCAM
WITH
X FACTOR
HotCam facilitates the equipment and
crewing for all the UK auditions,
Bootcamps and judges’ worldwide
location shoots, all of which were
previously shot on DigiBeta. With ITV’s
requirement that the show transition to
HD, and given that these auditions take
place in some of the largest venues in the
country, HotCam’s MD, Trevor Hotz
decided that a fibre-based system was the
best route to take.
“As the shows are getting bigger, so are
the venues and consequently cable
lengths become more of a challenge with
copper,” comments Hotz. “However, cable
runs with fibre can happily be up to at
least two kilometres long, which means
we can set up in these venues exactly the
way the production wants us to.”
The fly-pack fibre system that HotCam has
developed involves kit from 10 different
manufacturers, and includes additional
Sony PMW-EX3 kits and fibre systems. This
innovative configuration means that the
camcorders can be used not only on PSC
shoots but also in a multi-camera set up.
This new system that Hotz instigated for
The X Factor is a significant financial
investment for Hotcam but as Hotz
comments, “in turn it provides many
advantages that are passed on to our
client, including picture quality, much
3
Broadcast rental and crewing
company HotCam has recently
supplemented its equipment
inventory with a major
investment in high definition
acquisition, principally based
around 10 Sony PDW-F800
XDCam camcorders, as part of its
project to take Talkback Thames’
light entertainment extravaganza
The X Factor fully HD this year.
improved efficiency with rigging and derigging times, increased flexibility and
communication, for example allowing key
personnel such as Engineer, Luke Chantrell
and Lighting Director, Mark Kenyon to sit
next to one another whilst setting up and
recording the show. Chantrell
commented: ‘Normally I don’t get excited
about engineering but this new system
excites me’.”
As ITV’s decision to migrate to HD for The
X Factor required immediate responsive
action, Hotz says: “From getting the green
light we had to guarantee the finance and
purchase of all the equipment and
peripherals within a couple of days before
production commenced. We’ve dealt
with Fineline for over ten years and their
industry knowledge and experience meant
they were able to respond just as quickly
as we needed them to.”
www.hotcam.co.uk
“As the shows are getting bigger, so
are the venues and consequently
cable lengths become more of a
challenge with copper. However,
cable runs with fibre can happily be
up to at least two kilometres long,
which means we can set up in these
venues exactly the way the
production wants us to.”
Trevor Hotz, Managing Director, HotCam
4
YOU'VE GOT MAIL
Documentary cameraman Peter Allibone has his email to thank for securing
the best finance deal for his new collection of lenses and peripherals. Allibone
actually had funding arranged, in principle, through an acquaintance of his
accountants, “but shortly before the whole transaction went through I
decided to try a few other places, just to see how they compared,” he
explains. “As I was on the phone to one lender waiting for a quote, I
downloaded some emails and one of them was a mailshot from the GTC
promoting the services of its sponsors, one of which was Fineline. With timing
like that, I thought it'd be crazy not to give them a try.”
Allibone, who trades as Camera Monkeys,
was in the market for a couple of HD
lenses, but needed to marry his technical
expectations to his budget. “In an ideal
world we would all work with prime, or
cine-style lenses,” he says, “but with time
and money constraints nowadays, ENG
lenses present the most realistic option.”
As such, they have essentially become an
industry standard and are expected by
most production companies for
documentary shoots.
“I didn't want to spend that much
money, only for it to sit on the shelf.”
Peter Allibone
Documentary Cameraman
Allibone opted for the Canon HJ14, “a
wide lens that's been around for less than
a year. I don't expect it to be superseded
for some time yet,” he anticipates. He also
got an HJ22, which he describes as “a
superb bit of kit; probably the best value
for money for an everyday-use long lens.”
In addition to the two lenses, Allibone
also bought a set of Sachtler tripod legs
with an Oconnor head, a full production
matte-box and other periphery items. In
total, he estimates an investment of
around £35k.
He had been planning to buy this
equipment for some time, but had to
wait for the right programme to come
along as the catalyst for his investment.
“I didn't want to spend that much
money, only for it to sit on the shelf,”
5
Allibone explains. “Then, I started
working on a 13-part series for National
Geographic where I would be providing
the equipment for the entire four-month
shooting period. It was a perfect
opportunity to get a lump of the value
of the kit paid off and make the initial
outlay more bearable.”
Having decided to follow his email lead
and check Fineline out, Allibone realised
the company could offer him the best
deal. “I also felt it would be better to
deal with a company who were familiar
with the industry and its unique
workings, rather than a bank or regular
financial lender,” he adds.
making the effort to come
and run me through all
the paperwork, rather
than just sending reams of
it in the post. When I've
had any questions or
queries, I've been able to
speak to Sam each time,
who is familiar with my
account details and what
we have previously
organised. This was worth
a lot to me and if I decide
to spend some more
money like this I'd
definitely use them
again.”
“Sure enough, Sam Baker has been very
professional and accommodating,
www.cameramonkeys.co.uk
Sam Baker
DIVINE JAZZ
Duncan Payne
The Isle of Wight is justly famous for its Festival, but there’s more than
that one, single event taking place in the Island’s cultural calendar. This
year, Jazz on the Meadow, for instance, was headlined by the jazz
legend Courtney Pine, and Island-based company Heaven Sent
Productions found itself with the contract to shoot the Festival along
with a sudden and fairly urgent need for some new cameras to do it
with. Thus, Fineline’s Duncan Payne found himself one night on the
21.00hrs ferry over to the Island to do a deal with an extremely rapid
turnaround on four new Sony PMW-EX1R camera kits.
Heaven Sent founder Rodney Hearth
chose the EX1s for a number of
reasons. “It’s wrist-moveable,” he says.
“It’s a very compact and user-friendly
camera and it’s definitely good to have
HD capability. It’s also really good in
low light conditions and even though
its compact, like the Sony DSRs we
previously used, it’s built like a brick
outhouse.”
happily film many of the richly diverse
events on the Island and beyond. “It’s a
great camera for us as you can climb
into corners with it and a lightweight
tripod,” comments Hearth. “And given
some of the places we end up filming
that’s a really useful attribute.” As for
Duncan, he managed to get the 23.10
ferry back to the mainland the same
night – just.
Heaven Sent has forged an enviable
reputation for shooting music and
theatre productions – it exclusively
films live events for sister companies UK
Entertainment Channel and UK Arts
Channel - and is now using the EX1s to
www.mitv.tv/heavensentproductions/
index.htm
6
GETTING ON THE SCOREBOARD
Two miles from the centre of Leeds, the Headingley Carnegie Cricket
Ground is home to Yorkshire County Cricket Club, and is one of the most
famous cricket grounds in the world.
It was here in 1977 that Geoff Boycott scored
his hundredth first class hundred, it was here
in 1999 that Australia tied against South
Africa in what is widely regarded as the best
one day match in World Cup history, and it
was here in 1981 that Ian Botham and Bob
Willis famously staged one of the most
dramatic comebacks in all sport, never mind
cricket, to overcome 500/1 odds, beat
Australia and go on to win the Ashes.
It is a ground not only steeped in history,
but also one, in common with many cricket
stadia, looking firmly towards the future.
As part of its recent £21m redevelopment
and construction of the Carnegie Pavilion, it
has installed the largest professional sport
replay screen in the UK. “It’s 102 square
metres and essentially the largest
widescreen television in the country,”
comments Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Chief Executive, Stewart Regan.
The screen was bought, along with a new
state of the art PA system, via Fineline, who
were introduced to Yorkshire CCC by screen
manufacturer, displayLED. Total investment
was around £500k, which is a substantial
amount of money, but one that Regan says
was absolutely crucial to the Club. “It’s
important on two fronts,” he says. “On one
hand, it’s a requirement from the regulatory
body, the ECB, for us to maintain our
Category A Test Ground Status. On the
other, screens such as this showing instant
replays are expected nowadays from both a
commercial and a customer experience
perspective.”
The screen will next be on the international
stage when England play Pakistan in a One
Day International on September 12, but
Regan doesn’t expect Headingley Carnegie’s
investment in new technology to end there.
“Sponsors and advertisers are constantly
looking for better quality delivery
opportunities being made possible by all the
new developments with Digital Signage,
such as the giant screen, perimeter
advertising, text message interaction and so
on,” he says.
And the next time an historic event
happens in a cricket match at Headingley
Carnegie, it will be available for instant
replay up on the big screen – all 102
square metres of it. You get the feeling
that even Fred Trueman, the fiery and
irascible Yorkshire pace bowler who once
famously said that black and white film
made it seem as if he was bowling slower,
might approve.
www.yorkshireccc.com
7
MAKING
HD HISTORY
Title Role has built a name for itself in filming factual and entertainment
programmes for terrestrial and satellite broadcasters. Traditionally, the
company shot in SD using DVCAM – until the History Channel, one of its
main clients, specified that it wanted material delivered in HD.
It wasn’t a great surprise – as a
cameraman of over 15 years standing,
Technical Director, Ian Bradshaw knew
that broadcasters, especially those in the
US, are increasingly specifying HD, and
if you want to work internationally
that’s the standard you have to meet.
The ‘nudge’ from the History Channel,
did however mean that a new HD
camcorder had to be sourced, and fast,
as Title Role already had contracts in
place for upcoming productions.
Bradshaw admits to “a few sleepless
nights” before settling on the Sony
PDW-700 camcorder.
“I chose this camera as you can remove
the disk, and you have archive footage
right away,” he explains. “Also there
was the camera’s versatility; you can
transfer data to USB sticks, for example,
and in action, you can view clips
without losing timecode.” And that’s
even before looking at picture quality.
“The pictures were fantastic too – for
Bridging Britain I filmed a lot of timelapse footage and I was surprised by the
quality of what I was seeing,” Bradshaw
explains.
When it came to financing the PDW700, Bradshaw did pursue other sources
of financing, including his bank, which
had already successfully financed
camera equipment purchases in the
past. This time, it was very different. “In
the financial market at the time, they
just weren’t interested, and crucially,
didn’t understand why this camera had
such high value. They told me they
‘couldn’t sell the camera on’ – they
simply didn’t know what to do with it.”
Following a recommendation from
authorised Sony reseller Mitcorp,
Bradshaw then contacted Fineline, with
the stipulation that a finance deal
needed to be in place, quickly. “Fineline
turned it all around quickly, in around
two weeks from start to
finish,” Bradshaw recalls.
“There was a lot of
money involved, but,
unlike the bank, they
never queried it. They
understood that this was
the quality HD camera
that we needed.”
www.titlerole.co.uk
“There was a lot of money involved, but,
unlike the bank, Fineline never queried it.
They understood that this was the quality
HD camera that we needed.”
Ian Bradshaw, Technical Director
8
FINANCING A
WORLD’S FIRST
It’s not often you get to be the very
first person in the world to hold
something in your hands, but
Fineline helped Movietech to do just
that, when the company was the first
in the world to take delivery of a set
of new Cooke 5/i T1.4 Prime lenses.
Movietech, an independent camera
and grip rental company based at
Pinewood studios, supplies a range
of 35mm and 16mm film and digital
cameras, lenses, grip and crane
packages, and prides itself above all
on being ahead of the competition.
“Movietech has been using Cooke lenses
for a long time now,” explains Movietech
MD, John Buckley, “so we know how good
they are. For us, it’s important to be
synonymous with new technology, so
when the lenses came out we acted fast to
get to the front of the queue of companies
we knew would all be wanting the new
lenses.”
and electronic cameras. The /i
technology provides camera
operators with information on
lens setting, focusing distance,
aperture and depth of field,
hyperfocal distance, serial
number, owner data, lens type
and focal length in both metric
and footage measurements.
The Cooke 5/i T1.4 Prime lenses include /i
technology, and are designed for all PLmounted professional motion picture film
John Bartlett
“We’ve always dealt with
Fineline and they’ve put
together many different kinds of deals for
us – too many to list. In that time, we’ve
built up a good relationship with John
Bartlett, who looks after us really well,”
Buckley explains. “We had our new lenses
in a matter of weeks, and the only reason it
wasn’t sooner was because Cooke was
very meticulous in checking they were
perfect before they were sent. The lenses
have really lived up to our expectations.”
www.movietech.co.uk
9
CRUET EXPANDS STOCK
The Cruet Company is no stranger to the big time, supplying equipment and
crew for a number of high-profile productions, including Masterchef and The
Apprentice. However, the company also works with corporate clients, all striving
to capture that elusive professional look without blowing the budget. Satisfying
both groups of clients, while staying on top of the latest technology, meant the
company identified several pieces of new kit in which it wanted to invest.
In all, Cruet's shopping list included two
Sony PDW F-800 camcorders, four Canon
HD lenses and two Canon 5D DSLR
camera kits. Cruet usually finds itself
starting work on its large broadcast
projects in the autumn, so summer tends
to be the time when MD Emma Dow and
her team start to assess what kit they
might want to invest in. “We're quite
selective about what we purchase – we
won't go out and buy something new
for the sake of it,” Dow maintains. “I
think the current economic climate
makes it particularly important to spend
time on buying decisions, and discuss
them with clients and technical
specialists.”
The Sony camcorders were purchased to
supplement Cruet's existing stock of
PDW F-700 cameras, while the Canon
DSLRs were purchased specifically for a
corporate client – many of whom, Dow
explains, are on the look out for a
budget-friendly format in which to
shoot. “The client didn't, however, want
to buy and use DSLRs themselves, as
they rely on us for guidance and
support,” she explains. “We offer
comprehensive, 24-hour technical
support, so they preferred to have us
supply both the kit and the support. For
clients that might have shot in DigiBeta
in the past, for example, shooting on
DSLR is a good alternative, as they can
still achieve a high quality result with the
right lenses and post,” she adds. “I think
they could become a lot more popular;
it's an interesting route to follow.”
Having identified the kit to use, it made
sense for Dow to go to Fineline for the
financing. “We have used them before and
they're really good people to deal with, but
most essential is that they understand the
business – they're not just finance people
or sales people,” she explains. “We're not a
very big company, so it's important too
that they offer us backup. It's also crucial
that as well as having a good relationship
with us, Fineline is also well-known by both
the companies supplying the kit to us, and
by the manufacturers who made the kit in
the first place.”
www.cruet.com
10
A TAPELESS SPLICE
A fully file-based workflow is at the heart of how Splice Television works,
with many of its key clients choosing to shoot on varied formats including
RED, EX, P2, XDCAM and Canon. The company also has Baselight grading,
DS suites and multi-channel audio, and works with many of the UK’s
leading independent production companies, as well as advertising agencies
and corporate sectors.
“Receiving finance at a competitive
rate is becoming more difficult;
nevertheless, Fineline offered us a
deal we couldn’t refuse.”
Damian Dolniak
Splice MD
Splice’s file-based set-up has been
invaluable in producing shows featuring
the well-known TV chef Jamie Oliver.
Splice has three studios on the top floor of
its building, which can be set up in kitchen
mode, allowing Oliver’s shows to be shot,
with footage sent straight to Splice’s Isilon
storage, then proceeding to post and
grading: all without a tape in sight.
When Splice recently secured a new
contract with Warner Bros.,“it meant we
were going to be using a Sony SR deck on
a 24-hour basis,” explains Splice MD
Damian Dolniak. The company opted to
purchase a Sony SRW-5800 HDCAM SR
VTR and upgrade to its current Evertz
Quartz router. “Due to Sony SR becoming
the preferred delivery format, adding more
machines to our MCR became our priority,
so we took advantage of Sony’s current
0% finance scheme through Fineline,”
Dolniak adds. “This was an attractive
opportunity in the current financial
climate.”
Splice was, however, in a strong position,
as it possesses all the credentials Dolniak
believes are crucial when securing finance
in a risk-averse market. “We generally have
a good credit rating, strong trading
accounts, and the company owns its own
property, so getting finance has never been
an issue. However, receiving finance at a
competitive rate is becoming more
difficult,” he admits. “Nevertheless, Fineline
offered us a deal we couldn’t refuse.”
Splice was introduced to Fineline by WTS
Broadcast, who supplied the kit, “which
made the transaction a lot faster than it
might have been,” says Dolniak. “I found
Duncan Payne really easy to work with,
and he put a very compelling deal
together for us.” The Evertz Quartz router
is already hard at work, allowing seamless
integration of all the decks and systems at
Splice, “and the SR deck has more than
lived up to my expectations,” Dolniak
adds.
www.splicetv.com
11
INTO THE WIDE SEABLUE YONDER
When Seablue Media MD, Anthony Palmer, acquired his Sony PMW-EX3
camera with Fineline financing, he was buying much more than a piece of kit
– he was updating his entire business. Seablue Media produces videos for a
range of clients, from national organisations to smaller local businesses, for
TV, web and DVD. It’s an end-to-end production service, with Palmer
delivering hands-on services ranging from scriptwriting to editing, as well as
high-quality video.
Palmer’s new EX3 has already been in
use on a one-hour Keo Films
documentary for BBC4, which he
describes as “a real visual feast”. The
doc, Hidcote (working title) on which
Palmer doubles up as director and DoP,
explores Hidcote Manor garden, one of
the most influential English gardens of
the last hundred years. “The EX3 was
great for this, delivering fantastic shots
of the garden and at the same time
being very portable and discreet,” says
Palmer.
Palmer has also used the EX3 on a series
of 30 short information videos, of up to
two minutes each, all shot in HD,
teaching people to sail. The intention is
that iSail will be available to download
to iPhones and other mobile devices.
Palmer decided to purchase the EX3, he
explains, having shot in HD himself and
having seen the camera used by
colleagues, who rated it as a reliable and
professional piece of kit. But besides
delivering good-looking pictures, Palmer
also wanted the EX3 to herald a new era
of tapeless workflow for Seablue. “We
had been working with a tape-based
workflow, and as I edit myself, I decided
it was time to change to a new way of
working,” he explains. “Talking to post
houses, they were full of enthusiasm for
working tapeless, so I decided to look
into it.”
Having settled on the EX3 camera,
Palmer contacted authorised Sony dealer
Creative Video, as well as Fineline as
they manage Sony’s 0% finance
programme. With deadlines
approaching for two projects for which
Palmer planned using his new EX3, time
was tight, but as he explains; “Fineline
had all the paperwork completed within
a week. They were efficient, clear and
well-organised, which is what I’d hoped
for, as colleagues had recommended
them to me. It was important to me that
I dealt with a company I knew I could
trust.”
www.seabluemedia.co.uk
12
ON TOUR WITH THE PDW-700
The Tour de France is one of the most intriguing and arduous sports events
in the world. Twenty teams of nine cyclists race some 3500km around
France in an event that often ends up being won by a mere matter of
seconds in a mass sprint on the Champs Elysees in Paris after a whole three
weeks of heroic effort. More a game of high-speed chess than anything, it
climbs up gradients that cars struggle with in both the Alps and Pyrenees,
thinks nothing of travelling 200km plus in a single day, and hosts sprint
stages that are won in 40mph bursts of astonishing speed.
But if it’s tough on the cyclists it’s tough on
the crews as well, as a huge broadcast
operation weaves its way across the country
documenting every agonised turn of the
pedals. Freelance cameraman Liam MacLeod
knows this better than most, having just
completed his fifth tour for production
company V Squared which produces ITV4’s
coverage of the event and clocking up
6,600km in the process.
“There’s nothing quite like it,” he says. “From
a broadcast point of view you can only
describe it as epic.”
MacLeod, who also lists Sunset + Vine
amongst his other major clients, works with
the start crew who film overnight breaking
stories and mini-featurettes before then
driving to join the other crew working at the
finish. They then head on to the following
day’s start, hence the sheer amount of France
he sees every year.
This year he’s been filming Le Tour with his
new Sony PDW-700 XDCAM bought via
Fineline after he was let down by his bank at
the eleventh hour (“They just don’t
understand the industry and that’s £60k of
business that’s walked out of their offices for
good,” he says).
“It’s an excellent camera,” he adds. “It
worked well as a studio camera going SDI
into the truck and it’s also great in the field.
One of its most useful features is that you
can record proxy recordings onto a memory
stick, which meant that I could look at rushes
on a laptop in the car as we headed to the
next location.
“Plus, of course, the pictures are incredible,”
he adds. “It’s a stunning bit of machinery
really.”
Beyond the pictures, Macleod’s reasons for
purchasing the camera make sound
economic sense too: not only will its HD
capabilities allow him to move further into
the feature and documentary fields, but also,
as he points out, owner/operators are very
much ahead of the game in the freelance
cameraman market. “To sub-hire and remain
competitive while you line up equipment
and absorb that extra cost can be very
difficult,” he says.
liam.macleod@mac.com
13
MAKING GIANT STRYDES IN OB
“If you can’t find it, build it” might be an appropriate motto for Steve Ryder,
MD of Stryder TV. Stryder provides broadcast camera crews and satellite
trucks for news, sport, current affairs and corporate productions and its
camera crews have operated in 45 countries: from the Arctic to the tropics,
the back seat of a fighter jet to the front seat of a Le Mans car, the company
works for broadcasters on both sides of the Atlantic.
With over 30 years of industry experience,
Ryder got into designing satellite trucks
when he couldn’t find one that let him
work creatively enough. “There was a
spaghetti of cables at every outside
broadcast which made the coverage feel
too static to me,” he explains. “I didn’t
have the freedom to move around and get
different kinds of shots.” Frustrated, Stryder
put together his first sat truck vehicle in the
late nineties, financed by Fineline.
After this vehicle retired with honour,
Stryder built another with a fully-redundant
set-up, and its success was such that by
2005, the financing was completely paid
off. His current HD multi-camera truck is
fully-redundant, capable of multiple paths,
and features multiple satellite and off-air
receivers, on-board VTRs, a super silent
generator and nine metre mast - not to
mention his latest acquisition, a Sony
PMW-350K XDCAM EX camera financed
under Sony’s 0% promotion, which is run
by Fineline.
To Ryder, the camera is much more than
just a way of delivering attractive pictures –
it enables him to work much more cleanly
and efficiently, not to mention supporting
NTSC as well as PAL, a must for his
transatlantic clients.“What this allows me to
do is to send back to the vehicle, not just
video, but up to four embedded audio
feeds, over which I have full manual
control. Other cameras might allow full
control of two of the audios, with the other
two in auto mode. That’s probably fine for
others, but I might have three cameras
working at once, and the ability to send all
the audios down one cable at the correct
level is so helpful.” It also makes redundant
the reams of cable Stryder so detested in
the past. He also praises the camera’s
battery-friendly low power consumption.
Stryder acquired the camera from
authorised Sony dealer Top-Teks, a company
he has dealt with for decades. “It’s so
important to know your investment is in safe
hands, and Top-Teks have been invaluable at
giving me advice about the market. Fineline
is another company I’ve worked with for
decades, so I was delighted to discover they
are contracted to run Sony’s 0% promotion.
It’s so much better to deal with people who
properly understand the business. Back
when I was financing my first truck, I was
conscious that the figures I was discussing
seemed really massive. If I’d gone to the
bank, for example, they would have made
me jump through every hoop they could,
and still probably would have turned me
down in the end. But Fineline wasn’t fazed –
they understood that it was simply the
amount it took to create a really good OB
vehicle.”
www.stryder.tv
14
SPRING 2010
MULTI-MEDIA GOLF CHALLENGE
51 golfers were once again blessed with
fabulous weather for the Spring 2010
Multi-Media Golf Challenge.
Teams were sponsored by Fineline, Miranda, Amberfin,
Tektronix, Rom-Data, and CVP Mitcorp and the
magnificent prizes were once again sponsored by
Caspian One and Grab Networks.
1
2
The results were as follows:1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Winner
Runner Up
2nd Runner Up
Longest Drive
Nearest The Pin - Par 3
Nearest The Pin - Par 4
Endurance Prize
Team Trophy Winner
Best Staff Prize
Putting Contest
Tony Whybrow - Feltech
Sean Hughes - BBC
David Phillips - TSL
Lee Barnet - Caspian One
Peter Hampden - Lipsync
Simon Kay - JCA
David Cheesman - Sony
CVP Mitcorp
Duncan Payne
Lee Ballinger - Tektronix
3
4
The next event, Autumn 2010, will once again be held
at Beaconsfield Golf Club on 20th October. Invitations
have been sent out and the limited places will be held
on a first-come-first-served basis. We will have two
new additional generous sponsors on the day in
Panasonic and Hyperactive Broadcast, as well as a
slightly new format.
6
If you do not think you are on the current invitation list
but would like to join us, please send your details to
fineline@fineline.co.uk
8
7
9
10
15
FINELINE ONLINE
The world of social media is growing apace, with ever-increasing ways to stay in touch
with friends and colleagues, and reach a new and wider audience. Fineline has been
busy in this area over the last few months, developing new ways to communicate with
existing and prospective clients and inviting feedback and opinion.
www.fineline.co.uk
Firstly, we have revamped and streamlined our website to make it
easier to navigate and find what you’re looking for. Visitors can
now see our leading news stories on the main page, together
with live Twitter feeds for breaking news on industry topics. The
Contacts page now allows you to download e-business cards for
key staff members so that you can have their contact details at
your fingertips. You can also download back issues of Preview
from as far back as 2004.
Facebook
Go on, friend us! We have a dedicated page which includes items
such as special offers, industry events and technology launches.
To find us, either click the Facebook icon on the home page of our
website, or go to www.facebook.com and search ‘Fineline Media
Finance’.
Twitter
An even more immediate way of finding our latest news is to
follow us on Twitter. Our little Fineline birds regularly Tweet away
about industry happenings and other interesting stuff. You can
see our live Twitter feeds on the website home page, or go to
Twitter and follow @FinelineFinance
LinkedIn
Follow the company and keep in touch with individual team
members on LinkedIn – you can click the icon on the website
home page or go to www.linkedin.com and search ‘Fineline
Media Finance’.
Blog…
Coming soon! If you can’t wait six months between issues of Preview to read the Fineline
team’s take on current industry events, fret no longer! This Autumn we will launch the
Fineline Blog, where we will delve deeper into a variety of topics – this will be the place to
come for thoughtful, in-depth insights into implications behind the brief Tweet or Facebook
news item. Visit www.fineline.co.uk/blog/
While these new communication tools are great for us to share our news and views, they
are also there to invite debate and opinion from you – so we look forward to catching up
with you in these new social spaces.
16
CONFIDENTIALLY
Sam Baker, Sales Executive
First industry job? - Sales Executive at TopTeks Ltd – Broadcast Equipment Reseller,
but I prefer selling finance as money
doesn’t keep changing formats!
What’s your current Facebook/
Twitter status? - I find the whole idea of
Facebook statuses really amusing. I always
try and post something suitably
ambiguous to keep everyone guessing!
Proudest industry moment? - Closing my
first deal within two weeks of joining
Fineline.
What makes you get up in the
mornings? - My inquisitive nature.
What’s the best bit of advice you’ve ever
been given? - Don’t put off until
tomorrow something you could do
today……because if you do it today and
like it…..you can do it again tomorrow!
What do you like most about the
broadcast industry? - Definitely the
people. It’s a very sociable industry with a
lot of business done on the basis of solid
relationships developed over time. Plus
from a cheeky perspective, it’s very male
dominated so I’m easily remembered.
How do you stay sane? - A week on the
slopes.
Star Wars, Lord of the Rings or Avatar?
- Lord of the Rings. I read ‘The Hobbit’
when I was 7 and they made Gollum
exactly how I’d imagined him to be. Plus
how cool is a world where you can
celebrate your eleventy-onety birthday?
You are Sir Alan Sugar for the day.
What task do you set the candidates
on The Apprentice? - If I’m Alan Sugar
I’ve obviously mastered the art of
delegation, so I’d get them to decide
amongst themselves who should be
fired!
What are you looking forward to at
IBC this year? - I’ve missed IBC the last
couple of years, there’s always such a
great atmosphere and lots of familiar
faces so I’m looking forward to catching
up with everyone and coming home
with some new contacts…….. and some
new stories to tell!
After answering this question, aliens
will kidnap you and maroon you on
another planet for a year. What do you
want to take with you? - Usually I’d say
my iPhone as I can’t survive without it,
but I’m sure they’d have lots of even
better gadgets! So to survive a year
marooned alone I would request my cat
for company and 365 books so I can
read one a day instead of my usual one a
week.
A division of Five Arrows Leasing Limited
Heron House, 5 Heron Square, Richmond upon Thames, Surrey TW9 1EL
Tel: +44 (0) 20 8334 2100 Fax: +44 (0) 20 8334 2101
Email: info@fineline.co.uk Web: www.fineline.co.uk
A member of the Rothschild Banking Group
The Preview is produced by Bubble & Squeak www.bubblesqueak.co.uk
What makes you want to stay in bed
with the duvet over your head? - That’s
not allowed……my motto is ‘snooze you
lose!’
Pitch us a new TV show - How about a
‘reality’ show that is actually real?