Cyfrwng 2009 Welsh Media Conference hosted by BBC Cymru Wales, Cardiff 7-8 May 2009

CYFRWNG 2009 CONFERENCE

hosted by BBC Cymru Wales, Cardiff

7-8 May 2009

‘Audiences’

The Cyfrwng 2009 conference will be held at the BBC Cymru Wales Broadcasting Centre, Cardiff on 7-8 May and this year’s theme is ‘Audiences’.

During the two day event, an array of speakers, papers and panels will consider many different aspects of media Audiences in Wales from the changes in audience usage of media to issues of regulation and accountability.

Emphasis will be on the specific needs of Welsh audiences in a range of areas including children’s programming and theatre audiences. Attention will also be paid to the impact of new media technologies within the multiplatform era.

The future of news in Wales will also be considered with the plurality of news a key aspect for discussion. The conference aims to bring together scholarly voices and industry professionals and to encourage dialogue between the academy and the media industry.



[Pictured above: Menna Richards, Director, BBC Cymru Wales]

Confirmed speakers include:

Menna Richards, Director of BBC Cymru Wales

Alun Ffred Jones, AM and Welsh Assembly Government Heritage Minister

Professor Sylvia Harvey, Professor of Broadcasting Policy, Lincoln School of Media

Judith Isherwood, Chief Executive of the Wales Millennium Centre

Alun Davies, AM Labour

Alan Edmunds, Editorial Director of Media Wales and Western Mail Editor

Claire Fox, Director of the Institute of Ideas

Elis Owen, Controller of ITV Wales

Professor Kevin Williams, Swansea University

John McGrath, Artistic Director, National Theatre Wales

Elwyn Williams, Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru

Simon Popple, Director of the Louis Le Prince Centre, University of Leeds

Dr Cynthia Carter, Cardiff University

Keith Towler, Children’s Commissioner for Wales

Tony Wearn, Research Director, BARB

Sangeet Bhullar, Wise Kids

Mandy Rose, BBC Cymru Wales, Creative Director, Multiplatform

Tony Jordan, Red Planet

Nick Beasley, Chief Executive of Audiences Wales

Professor Hamish Fyfe, University of Glamorgan

Simon Marshall, First Light

Siân Eirian, Head of Children’s Service, S4C

Hywel Wiliam, Ofcom Head of Broadcasting & Telecommunications, Wales

Dr Ceri Sherlock, BBC Cymru Wales Commissioning Executive, Arts

Nia Ceidiog, Cynyrchiadau Ceidiog Creations



[Pictured above: Alun Ffred Jones, AM and Welsh Assembly Government Heritage Minister]

The conference programme and registration form are available at
www.cyfrwng.com


The programme will be updated regularly.

For further information, contact Dr Rebecca Williams, Swansea University at r.s.williams[at]swansea[dot]ac.[dot]uk



AIM: ATRiuM Intelligent Media

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Rumbles in the Dragon's Belly? Plagued by delays, Welsh Studio promises news coming soon

The start of building work on £330m film studio complex, dubbed Valleywood, has been plagued by repeated delays.

According to icWales:

Valleywood dream moves step closer to becoming reality
May 30 2007

by Abby Alford, South Wales Echo

ACTION could finally be called on the much-hyped £300m Valleywood film studio after years of delays.

The Echo understands a major announcement signalling a significant step forward will be made in the next couple of months.

A source close to Dragon International Studios, which is chaired by film-maker Sir Richard Attenborough, said the contract for building work on the £50m first stage of the project in Llanilid near Bridgend – five giant TV studios known as silent sound stages – is due to be awarded.

“We haven’t got a definite date for an announcement but the tenders for the work are in,” said the source.

Work is expected to start on site once the name of the firm that has won the contract is revealed. Today, Ogmore AM Janice Gregory, a long-time supporter of the studio project, said: “I am glad that things appear to be moving on and I am sure it will allay the fears of many people locally who were worried that things were a bit too quiet.”

Lord Attenborough publicly announced in July 2005 – after an earlier delay to hunt for rare dormice – that the complex on the vast 760-acre former opencast coal mining site would be completed by spring this year.

Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries

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If British film industry loses its incentive, can low-budget Welsh film production still prevail?

Photo from BBC Film Network

Pictured above: The Baker (2007) filmed on location in Cardiff, South Glamorgan, Grosmont, Abergavenny, Gwent, and the South Wales Valleys, Wales, UK, directed by Gareth Lewis and starring Damian Lewis.

London-based productions tend to be bigger films that need 'gap financing' to get made -- many Welsh film productions are 'low-budget' and have 'limited pre-sales potential' (although we believe expanded marketing imagination, investment capital, and persistance could change this . . . )

So the question is, while larger London productions are sitting around waiting for funds, can the 'lean and mean' Welsh Indie Film Production cadres slip ahead of the British pack, this year?

Adam Dawtrey writes in the London Eye Feature Article for Variety:

"But even in a good year, the British film industry doesn't generate anywhere close to $400 million of indie production. And 2007 is not shaping up to be a good year."

"Word on the Soho street is that production activity is grinding to a halt, as the effects of the end of sale-and-leaseback kick in. Other factors in the slowdown include the transition to the tax credit, the weak dollar, and the double clampdown in March on GAAP equity funds and Enterprise Investment Schemes."

"Limelight would have to scoop up every single film made in Blighty this year, and then some, to reach anywhere near its target. And while its terms certainly look attractive for some projects -- notably low-budget films with limited pre-sales potential -- bigger movies needing gap finance might find other deals more competitive."

A coalition of Welsh Indie production groups seem poised to seize the opportunity, should financing for 'low budget films' be the only level of funding in Britain, for the time being.

AC (Teledwyr Annibynnol Cymru/Welsh Independent Producers) and Pact, the trade bodies representing the interests of the independent television sector in Wales and UK respectively, have announced in December 2006, the approval of joint heads of agreement to move towards a formal merger.

Dafydd Rhys Chairman of TAC TAC/ says of the merger of TAC Welsh Indie Producer's Group with PACT:

Dafydd Rhys, Chairman of TAC, said, “This is very good news for the future development of a vibrant independent sector in Wales. TAC, which was established in 1984, currently represents some 70 businesses primarily involved in the production of programmes and content for Welsh based broadcasters and other providers of audio visual services.

TAC (Teledwyr Annibynnol Cymru/Welsh Independent Producers)

PACT

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© 2007 Mark Leslie Woods