Two Companies Join Bottle Yard Studios' Creative Hub

Two companies have joined a growing creative hub at The Bottle Yard Studios in Bristol.

The newest additions to the on-site business community are Figure Nine and Briz Kidz Casting.

Figure Nine provides rope access, rope rigging solutions and safety support to productions shooting around the world, working in remote, urban, industrial and studio environments. An approved provider for the BBC Natural History Unit, the team has extensive experience working in tropical forests, and has most recently worked on the 'Jungles' episode of BBC One series, Planet Earth II. Established in 2011, the team at Figure Nine can provide cable dolly rigging, location safety at height and near water, rigging for movement of persons and cameras, lifting and lowering, positioning and safety of camera operators, safety and rescue cover.

Ollie Laker, Rope Access Specialist, Figure Nine, said: "Being based at The Bottle Yard has been a total game changer for us. We are now firmly situated within the TV and film industry and have a greater network that we support with our skillset. The ability to network from within the industry is key for us and we are excited about the potential and our future at the Studios."

Briz Kidz Casting specialises in providing children aged 0 to 18 for paid on-screen work with film and TV productions. It can also provide chaperones and assist with licence applications. The company was founded earlier this year by director Dawn Smith, who has a proven background in film, TV and theatre, having worked in the production office of a number of titles including We Can Be Heroes, Trollied and Wolf Hall, all of which were based at The Bottle Yard Studios. The agency's ethos is to be production-friendly, while also promoting local talent for roles filming in Bristol and surrounding areas.

Dawn Smith, Director, Briz Kidz Casting, said: "Setting up Briz Kidz Casting has been a very exciting adventure and the support from Fiona and her team has been phenomenal. Being able to benefit from the wealth of expertise on site has been invaluable and having worked on productions based here over the last three years there was never a doubt as to where to base the agency. It's great to be part of this growing creative family of businesses and I look forward to linking exciting young talent to upcoming productions filming here and across Bristol."

Fiona Francombe, Site Director, The Bottle Yard Studios, commented: "It's fantastic to welcome these two excellent companies to our creative hub. Each new tenant that joins us adds their own specialism to the increasingly comprehensive checklist of services we can offer to productions, whilst also fortifying the already thriving atmosphere generated by our resident businesses working alongside one another.

"The technical skills and professionalism of Figure Nine sees the team travel the world to support filming for an impressive calibre of titles, including cutting-edge BBC Natural History Unit output. We're hugely proud to be their new UK home. Our tallest stage boasts a ceiling height of 65ft, so we are also looking forward to having their services on hand for productions filming right here on-site. It's also a great pleasure to welcome Briz Kidz Casting, the first agency of its kind that we've had here at The Bottle Yard. Incoming productions are often interested in drawing from local young acting talent so to be able to link them quickly to an on-site agency will be a massive plus."

Image: Figure Nine's Ollie Laker in the Atlas Mountains Cedar Forests, Morocco. Credit: Tom Laker.

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(JP/LM)