DIGITAL TRAINING DAY AT SCOTTISH TELEVISION

Scottish Television are hosting a Digital Training Day at their Glasgow Headquarters on Saturday October 28.
More than 170 people working, training or studying in the broadcasting industry throughout Scotland are expected to attend the event, which has been organised as part of the ‘New Found Land’ scheme.
‘New Found Land’ is a screenwriting initiative co-funded & sponsored by Scottish and Grampian Television, Scottish Screen and the SAC Lottery Fund. Entries were invited from screen, script and story writers around Scotland. Six winning scripts received budgets of around £45,000 to make a half-hour drama for TV. Each of the six will be shown on television later this year and two of the films are being considered for cinema release. The films attracted some of Scotland’s best known actors and actresses to take starring roles and encouraged novelist Ian Rankin to try his hand at his first ever screen play ‘Kings of the Wild Frontier’. Another film, ‘Long Haul’, which stars Simone Lahbib and Gary Lewis has already been adapted to 35mm film (cinematic format) and will be screened at film festivals worldwide.
The main theme for the Digital Training Day will be digital and widescreen technology. All six New Found Land dramas were produced using digital technology and will be transmitted in wide-screen format.
There will be a screening of each of the six films and the producers, directors and writers from the films will have the opportunity to discuss with a panel of experts and the audience, the production of the films, the problems they faced and how they were overcome.
Major players, including industry giants, Sony, Avid, Sonic and Panasonic will be making presentations and technical demonstrations, concentrating on digital technology, advancements in this field and the advantages they present.
The ‘New Found Land’ initiative and the Digital Training Day are part of overall investments that Scottish and Grampian Television have made over the last two years in technology and training. The companies have already made substantial digital and widescreen investments. For two years Scottish have operated Scotland’s only digital newsroom the launch of which was accompanied by an intensive staff training programme.
For further information contact Claire MacLellan, Scottish TV, on Tel: +44 (0)141 300 3670.