Digital Orchard appoints Craig Parker to lead Orchard Film client services

Digital Orchard welcomes Craig Parker to their Orchard Film team in a newly-created client-focused role.

Digital Orchard has announced the appointment of Craig Parker to the newly created role of Producer – Film Services, designed to enhance support for their clients across the board.

In this new role, Craig will act as the primary point of contact for all Digital Orchard and Kodak Film Lab London clients, ensuring they are fully supported and informed at every stage of their journey. Based at Kodak Film Lab London, Craig will manage communications and workflows between Orchard Film, Kodak Film Lab London, and the wider Digital Orchard team, ensuring seamless collaboration for all clients.

With over two decades of experience in post-production, Craig brings a deep understanding of both the creative and technical processes behind high-end film and television. Originally from South Africa, his career includes work on notable titles such as Bridget Jones, Maze Runner, Black Sails, and Strike Back. His career has developed from dailies colourist, final colourist, technical manager, workflow supervisor and most recently a senior dailies producer working on big budget productions.

We’re very pleased to welcome Craig to the team. His depth of experience and technical knowledge make him an incredible asset, and his appointment marks an exciting step forward in our commitment to delivering the highest level of service to our film clients.

Callum Just, CEO of Digital Orchard Group

This position further strengthens the strategic partnership between Kodak Film Lab London and Digital Orchard, enabling us to combine our expertise and deliver a seamless, unified workflow for all our valued clients. Together, we’re continuing to raise the standard of service and innovation in film production’.

Antonio Rasura, Director of Motion Picture Services at Kodak

This appointment marks a continued investment in the future of film, reinforcing our commitment to celluloid excellence and ensuring the highest level of service for productions working on film. Craig’s blend of creative insight and technical know-how makes him the ideal person to support our clients and help them get the most out of their projects – from shoot through to post.

Union go intergalactic for Black Mirror: USS Callister

Union was the lead VFX vendor for the finale of Black Mirror’s seventh series, USS Callister: Into Infinity.

This feature-length episode is a sequel to the acclaimed series four opener, USS Callister, first released in 2017. Written by Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker and directed by Toby Haynes for Netflix, the episode revisits the original characters and storyline. The plot resumes with Captain Nanette Cole and her remaining crew struggling to survive within the Infinity game while grappling with the consequences of their digital existence on their real-world counterparts.

Union’s extensive VFX work encompassed over 200 shots – many of them complex, fully CG – and delivered by more than 90 artists across Union’s London and Montréal studios. DFX Supervisors David Schneider in London and Iain Read in Montréal led the charge, supported by Tallulah Baker producing across both sites. Together, they worked closely with overall VFX Supervisor James MacLachlan and VFX Producer Josie Henwood to bring the episode’s striking visuals to life.

Union’s remit covered the entire episode – from hero spaceships and teleportation to respawning effects, expansive galactic environments and a climactic showdown around the colossal Heart of Infinity.

Spaceships and battles

The episode’s epic space battles bring a distinctly Black Mirror spin to the genre. Union was given access to the original USS Callister model and brought it up to date for their cutting-edge USD-based CG pipeline.

The final battle, staged in the dark and dangerous heart of the Infinity game, was realised with strong, hard lighting and atmospheric effects to create an ominous, charged atmosphere.

We took the designs of the fighter jets, modelled them and accentuated them with coloured emissive lights reflecting the costume design of each character. This really helped the audience follow the action and added that retro game feel.

The action constantly evolved through collaboration with Toby, Charlie and the VFX production team. Union was supplied with previs mapping out the action beats which was ingested into our pipeline once we entered full production. We were then able to iterate on the animation until we achieved a clear, exciting action sequence true to the Black Mirror world.

David Schneider, DFX Supervisor at Union

Heart of Infinity

The Heart of Infinity was the largest CG build of the episode. The team began with a concept supplied by Toby Haynes, Charlie Brooker and Production Designer Miranda Jones. The brief involved large concentric rings rotating around one another in an ominous fashion. Union modelled and animated the Heart of Infinity, presenting various iterations before settling on enormous concentric rings constructed from computer parts, passing around one another at high speed, chopping like guillotines.

Teleportation and fragging

Teleportation is a key element of the episode, with characters using it to travel between the spaceship and planets. The teleportation effect is visually distinct, with characters dissolving into digital cubes, reflecting the game-world aesthetic. David Schneider worked closely with the production’s creative team to establish the look.

We came up with the idea of how, in games, you have elements that progress from low detail to high detail as more data is loaded. We used this as the concept behind the teleporting. The first thing you see is a low-resolution, blocky structure, roughly the shape of the character. It then refines through several levels, resolving into the exact scan of the character’s body. It was a lot of fun to develop, and you really get the feeling of being in a video game. We carried that concept through to the design of what happens when somebody gets killed in the game – players explode into a shower of digital cubes.

David Schneider, DFX Supervisor at Union

Environments & LED screens

To create the show’s expansive galactic environments, the shows production team drew on the work of artist Mark Kolobaev, whose concepts were adapted into animated, moving images by Union.

The production also embraced a large LED wall for the Callister Bridge’s viewport, giving the cast real images to interact with and enabling natural lighting from the on-screen visuals. This approach created realistic reflections on the chrome surfaces of the set, reducing reliance on green screens and cutting down on green spill.

Union delivered high-resolution sequences of space environments, planets, hyperspace and laser fire effects for live playback on the LED wall, with green and grey screens available at the push of a button.

Union have recently completed work on 28 Years Later (Sony/Danny Boyle) and the newly released Mountainhead (HBO/Jesse Armstrong).

Black Mirror Season 7 is streaming now on Netflix. Watch the VFX breakdown reel below.

From fossil to frame: Lola reimagines the age of dinosaurs for BBC Studios’ Walking With Dinosaurs

BBC Studios’ Science Unit has reimagined one of its most iconic titles with a bold new vision in Walking with Dinosaurs, a six-part series that blends the latest scientific discoveries with natural history storytelling.

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The production was created in close collaboration with Lola Post (now marking its 25^th year), who crafted the visual effects and animation for the series. Working together with the BBC Science Unit throughout production, Lola delivered scientifically authentic sequences that bring the prehistoric world to life.

Led by Executive VFX Supervisor Rob Harvey, VFX Supervisors He Sun, Sam Reed, and Cesar Nunes, Executive Producer Katherine Smith and VFX Producers Lizzie Hill, Sam Rocca and Rebecca Kelly, Lola completed 791 shots. More than 200 VFX artists contributed to the project, working across every stage of the pipeline, from preproduction to final frame, to deliver a scientifically accurate prehistoric experience.

Lola’s work began with storyboarding and real-time previsualisation in Unreal Engine. Using the series director’s vision and scripts, the team planned out sequences ahead of global location shoots in the UK, Portugal, Canada, Scotland, and Spain. Lola’s data capture team visited each location to gather reference photos, lighting information, and details about the local environment and vegetation, everything needed to help the digital dinosaurs blend naturally into the real-world scenes.

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Working closely with the BBC Studios Science Unit, Lola created 21 unique dinosaur species — including Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops, Albertosaurus, and Gastonia. Each creature was meticulously built from the inside out, layering bone, muscle, skin, scales, and feathers. Guided by the latest scientific research in close collaboration with leading palaeontologists, the team realised the dinosaurs based on the most current understanding of their anatomy and behaviour.

For each shot, Lola’s animation team followed extensive studies in real-world animal behaviour, allowing even the subtlest gestures, a head twitch, an alert posture, a cautious glance, to convey credible emotion and intention. Custom animation cycles, reviewed and approved by scientific advisors, were developed for a wide range of behaviours including hunting, herding, and courtship rituals. These cycles fed into Lola’s crowd systems, enabling realistic simulations of mass migrations involving thousands of independently behaving Edmontosaurus and Pachyrhinosaurus.

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Several key sequences pushed the boundaries of creative and technical execution. The pond sequence was especially complex, spanning three environments, above water, underwater, and shoreline, and required precise environmental blending and FX integration. The burning forest sequence combined practical fire elements with dense CG foliage and volumetric effects, rendered in Unreal Engine. For the climactic Triceratops battle, Lola stitched together multiple live-action plates in Nuke to create expansive environments that supported dynamic dinosaur movement and staging. The series culminates in the final hunt, featuring CG stampedes and dramatic creature interactions.

Walking With Dinosaurs marked a milestone for Lola, with Unreal Engine used not only for previsualisation but also for some shot’s final pixel renders. Full sequences, including underwater and forest environments, were developed entirely in-engine, accelerating workflows and enabling rapid iteration while maintaining cinematic quality. To ensure visual cohesion between live-action and CG, lens data from physical cameras was applied to Unreal-rendered shots, allowing seamless cuts between formats.

ADRENALINE Studios expand into France

The London-based dubbing specialist further strengthen their offering in Europe.

The prolific dubber and producer of audio description has announced the addition of a new facility in the French city of Lyon, growing their service offering in the process. Carole Tranchand will run and provide the creative direction within the facility.

The creation of ADRENALINE Studios France adds a further four studios to the growing group, and will play an important role in bolstering much needed capacity in voice origination and dubbing for animation, live action, audio description and post production.

Carole Tranchand

Emanuele Latina, operations director at ADRENALINE Studios, has spent the past two years overseeing the rapid growth of the company’s original voice origination (pre-lay), and ADRENALINE Kids. He is particularly excited about one element the new studios provide the group.

The magnificent Foley stage in the new facility will make a valuable contribution to our sound design both for animation and live action.

Emanuele Latina, Operations Director at ADRENALINE Studios

It marks a major step in the company’s strategic international expansion, providing a springboard for future developments that will support our ability to serve clients with even greater flexibility, creativity and local insight.

John Harley, Founder and Group CEO of ADRENALINE Studios

All inquiries or collaboration opportunities should be directed to ADRENALINE Studios’ global head of sales, Jean-Luc Bertin jean-luc@adrenaline.global.

Cinelab Film & Digital acquires fluent/image to enhance post-production infrastructure and workflow services

The acquisition brings trusted imaging and media workflow expertise to Cinelab’s growing service portfolio.

Cinelab Film & Digital the UK’s only full-service film laboratory, digital dailies, and postproduction facility, has acquired fluent/image, a respected provider of imaging services, media workflows, and developer of Coherence, a powerful automation platform for managing VFX pulls, QC and submissions.

With a reputation for innovation and reliability, fluent/image joins Cinelab to offer expanded support across feature films, episodic productions and high-end content creation. The move reflects a shared commitment to removing friction from complex workflows and providing greater clarity and control to production teams at every stage.

fluent/image brings a depth of expertise that complements our existing services perfectly. Whether you’re working on a tentpole feature or a high-end series, joined-up thinking between picture post and VFX is essential. fluent/image shares our obsession with quality and efficiency. Their team strengthens our ability to support clients across the full production pipeline, whether working on film, digital or hybrid projects. Together, we’re offering smarter, more scalable support at the point where it’s needed most.

Adrian Bull, CEO of Cinelab Film & Digital

fluent/image has delivered media and VFX workflows on major productions including The Martian, The Matrix Resurrections, Prometheus, The King’s Man, The Last Duel, Argylle, and Mission: Impossible – Fallout. The team specialises in high-performance media management across the full content lifecycle, including ingest, metadata indexing, editorial media oversight, version control, VFX turnover and submission workflows, archive creation, and secure infrastructure design. Their review solutions and automation tools have become trusted components of post pipelines for studios, streamers and production companies alike.

At fluent/image, we’ve always built tools and services that keep pace with the real-world challenges of production. Joining Cinelab allows us to scale those services and offer even closer support to our clients.

Jon Ferguy, founder of fluent/image

The integration is already underway, with fluent/image’s tools and expertise now integrated into Cinelab’s infrastructure, clients can expect faster turnarounds, fewer handover headaches, and greater confidence in managing complex workflows.

UK Screen Alliance at Cannes 2025

Earlier in May, UK Screen Alliance was kindly invited by the British Film Commission to attend the Cannes Film Festival to speak about the UK’s new visual effects tax credit in two special panel sessions.

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On Friday, 16 May, UK Screen Alliance’s CEO Neil Hatton MBE participated on the panel “Crossing Channels: Production and VFX in the UK and France”, which was presented by the British Film Commission (BFC) in partnership with Film France-CNC. Neil was joined by Laurens Ehrmann (Founder & Senior VFX Supervisor, The Yard), Michael Illingworth (Founder & Creative Director, Vine FX), and Daphné Lora (Head of Film France – CNC) in a session moderated by Adrian Wootton OBE (CEO of the British Film Commission), which looked at the production, post-production and VFX strengths of the UK and France, and the many benefits of cross-border collaboration.

Speaking on the UK’s appeal, Neil highlighted recent reforms to the Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit (AVEC) and the new VFX tax credit uplift. With the UK now offering a 29.25% net rate for VFX, enhanced by an exemption from the 80% cap, and the new independent film tax credit of 39.75% for projects under £15 million, these offerings have strengthened the UK’s position as a global destination for VFX work.

My members in the VFX community are starting to see more enquiries and more people booking in. There are many reasons why you would want to use the UK, we’ve got the depth of talent and the track record of excellence.

Neil Hatton MBE, CEO of UK Screen Alliance

Apart from tax incentives, the discussion also covered topics such as continued decentralisation, and also looked at two case studies of cross-Channel collaboration in action.

Watch the full session below.

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On Saturday, 17 May, the BFC and UK Screen Alliance presented “Working with the UK: A New Opportunity with Post-Production and VFX” panel at the UK Pavilion. The session included presentations from Neil and the BFC’s Adrian Wootton OBE and Gareth Kirkman (UK Business and Industry Development Manager), to introduce independent producers and filmmakers to the UK’s VFX and post-production infrastructure and highlighted how to access our tax incentives via the post and VFX spend.

Screen Scotland’s Isabel Davis (Executive Director, Screen) and Cheryl Conway (Head of Screen Commission) then followed up with a presentation on their recently launched Project Post Fund, designed to encourage large-scale film and TV productions to undertake their post-production and VFX work in Scotland. The competitive fund will support live-action and animated features, and live-action and animated high-end television drama or factual returnable series that demonstrate the ability to boost Scotland’s economy by bringing in high-value post-production and/or VFX work to Scotland; create inclusive employment opportunities for Scotland based crew and technicians; use Scotland’s post-production facilities for services such as editing, sound, VFX, and music scoring; support diversified skills development and career progression in Scottish post-production sector; and align with Screen Scotland’s broader strategic goals.

Watch the full session below.

Following the presentations, international producers, and representatives from award-winning UK post and VFX companies – including many UK Screen Alliance members – mingled over a networking breakfast in the Cannes sunshine.

Behind the post: Walking with Dinosaurs

ENVY takes us behind the scenes of BBC Studios’ latest series on which they provided a full range of post-production services.

More than 25 years after it first stomped onto our screens, the ground-breaking Walking with Dinosaurs is back in a major new BBC Studios production for BBC and PBS, co-produced with ZDF and France Télévisions. This six-part series reimagines the much-loved original with cutting-edge science, cinematic storytelling, and state of the art visual effects.

Walking with Dinosaurs reflects the most up-to-date discoveries about the biology, behaviour, and environments of these extraordinary creatures. Fresh insights into how dinosaurs hunted, fought, and died, this series offers an unparalleled window into a lost world.

Each episode explores the dramatic life story of a different dinosaur, drawing directly from real- time fossil discoveries made by the world’s leading palaeontologists. As these ancient bones emerge from the earth, the show uses the latest scientific evidence and stunning visual effects to bring their prehistoric stories vividly to life, guiding audiences back through the Mesozoic Era like never before.

To help bring this historic era to life, ENVY played a big part providing a full range of post-production services. Guiding us through the post process are Colourist, Sonny Sheridan; Online Editor, Adam Grant; Re-Recording Mixer, Bob Jackson; and Technical Operations Manager, Matt Cole.

Laying the bedrock

Bob Jackson, Re-Recording Mixer, also mixed the audio of the 1999 series.

This latest series has come a long way both in terms of technology and production. I began working on this new series in May 2024 where we set out how we would deliver the most accurate series we could.

During this process, ENVY and the BBC Studios Production Team were in regular contact with academics who advised us on sounds that would have been true to the time, such as birds and insects that would have been living. As an example, we could use the sounds of crickets but not cicadas. This consultation period was ongoing for the first 6 months that I was involved in the project and we were able to build up a collection of sounds to design the environments.

Bob Jackson, Re-Recording Mixer at ENVY

Prior to ENVY working on the series, BBC Studios had already begun storyboarding and previsualising sequences in collaboration with VFX vendor Lola Post Production. ENVY and Lola subsequently worked together to facilitate the turnover of plates and delivery of VFX.

During this period, which lasted between 12-18 months, we turned over more than 2000 plates as well as the lens grids and photogrammetry Lola needed for their work.

Matt Cole, Technical Operations Manager at ENVY

Sequences were shot on location with a crew going out to record clean plates. Lola would ‘de-age’ the location before adding the dinosaurs into the environment.

Sonny Sheridan, Colourist at ENVY

State of the art colour management and imaging workflows guaranteed quality and consistency across a range of camera formats that were used to shoot the plates.

These workflows played a vital role in maintaining interoperability between parties and ensured our artists had the latitude they needed to achieve the creative ambition of the project.

Matt Cole, Technical Operations Manager at ENVY

The edit received multiple submissions of each VFX shot to review milestones and provide feedback to Lola. Once the edits were picture locked and final VFX approved, ENVY’s online and grade support teams prepped material for Sonny Sheridan and Adam Grant to begin their work.

Mixing the mesozoic

For each of the 6 episodes, unique atmospheres and environments were created, comprising of various audio elements including sound effects, atmos layers, foley, voiceovers and music, across 200 different audio tracks. Each soundscape having differing characteristics to represent the time and the location on the planet.

Well renowned for their work within the natural history genre, Wounded Buffalo designed and created the sounds of each of the dinosaurs, from every roar, screech and cry. Providing foley on the series were Mahoney’s, providing extra layers of sound to enrich the bed of sounds.

It is really impressive how they were able to add depth to the sounds to emulate the size and weight of the dinosaurs, you can truly feel it.

Bob Jackson, Re-Recording Mixer at ENVY

We also added in camera shakes to amplify the sound effects and add to the drama. As a dinosaur gets closer to the camera, the shakes increased in magnitude and became more intense.

Adam Grant, Online Editor at ENVY

Guiding us through the prehistoric past was Tony and Olivier award-winning actor, Bertie Carvel. His narration blended with the amazing score, composed by Ty Unwin truly adds to the drama and the tension that the dinosaurs face.

To differentiate between modern day and the prehistoric past, the flashback sequences were mixed in Dolby 5.1 surround sound but when we transition back to present day, the audio changes to stereo which the audience will pick up on and subconsciously be brought back to today.

Bob Jackson, Re-Recording Mixer at ENVY

There were different versions delivered for BBC, PBS, in addition to mixes for other countries including France, Germany and China – each have their own specifications for delivery.

Grading a prehistoric palette

With the grade taking place in parallel to the mix, Colourist Sonny Sheridan explains the technical differences with the series, whilst also taking audiences on a journey into the prehistoric world. VFX shots were supplied with embedded mattes allowing Sheridan more control over the grade.

Having access to the mattes was so beneficial to the grade and it gave me closer control of all the individual elements. I was able to create an even more realistic grade on the dinosaurs and how the lighting on their bodies would change as they move across the shots and engage with their surroundings.

Sonny Sheridan, Colourist at ENVY

Finessing the timeline, bone by bone

Working with the final sequences, Online Editor Adam Grant was one of the final steps of this colossal production.

My primary focus was working on the final plates, ensuring any objects that didn’t belong in the time period were removed, stripping it back to prehistoric times. In some instances, I was painting in layers such as sand and dirt to build up the environment.

Adam Grant, Online Editor at ENVY

To add to the realism of the scenes, shots were made to look handheld which added to the drama and tension of the sequences without being made to feel static and disconnected from the stories.

Grant completed a thorough quality control (QC) check of all 6 episodes paying particular attention to the dinosaurs and VFX elements.

To make the series feel as real as possible, we needed to make sure the dinosaurs were interacting with the plates correctly. For example, making sure the dinosaurs were in contact with the ground when the terrain changed.

Adam Grant, Online Editor at ENVY

The post-herd

In order the deliver to project to the highest standard possible, a great deal of planning and collaboration was required.

This was a very technical project for everyone involved. The implementation of different workflows gave us a solid structure to work from.

Sonny Sheridan, Colourist at ENVY

There were plenty of discussions between us and BBC Studios with Mahoney’s and Wounded Buffalo throughout the entire process and together we created a rich and authentic mix.

Bob Jackson, Re-Recording Mixer at ENVY

The entire project was a real team effort. You can see all that work and collaboration paid off on screen!

Matt Cole, Technical Operations Manager at ENVY

Brand new Walking with Dinosaurs begins Sunday 25th May at 6:25pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, with new episodes released weekly/all episodes available on BBC iPlayer on release.

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ENVY Post Production Team

Colourist: Sonny Sheridan

Online Editor: Adam Grant

Re-Recording Mixer: Bob Jackson

Technical Operations Manager: Matt Cole

Post Producers: Jannine Martin, Edith Rivers C Emelie Bjork

VFX: Lola

Foley: Mahoney Audio Post

Additional Sound Effects: Wounded Buffalo Sound Studios

Company 3 delivers unique sound for BBC’s Reunion

Company 3 provided the colour grade for the BBC series by Senior Colourist Gareth Spensley and Colourist Gareth Thomas, as well as immersive sound that elevated the series’ storytelling, led by Senior Re-Recording Mixer Jamie Selway.

BBC’s latest drama, Reunion, has been praised by critics and audiences alike, with some calling it ‘an absolute revelation.’ The sound team worked closely with director Luke Snellin and the Warp/BBC team to create a nuanced and authentic sonic landscape that reflects the diverse experiences of the characters, particularly those with varying levels of hearing loss.

Reunion presented a unique opportunity for the sound team to push the boundaries of sound design, moving beyond conventional filmic representations of people with hearing loss.

This project was a real gift for us as the sound was such a big part of the storytelling in the script. We were lucky to get involved early in the project, which meant we had time to experiment and consider the approach we were going to take when tackling the complex direction the script was going to take us.

Jamie Selway, Senior Re-Recording Mixer at Company 3

Selway and his team collaborated with the production, focusing on portraying the characters’ experiences of sound through their hearing perspectives.

We had lots of conversations with Luke and the Warp/BBC team about how we could portray the different characters’ experience of the world through their multiple/varied levels of hearing.

Jamie Selway, Senior Re-Recording Mixer at Company 3

The team experimented with unconventional techniques to achieve this, straying from typical sound roll-offs and high-pitched tinnitus effects.

We wanted to stay away from filmic conventions of just rolling off the sound and using high pitched tinnitus style sound design to portray hearing loss, so we started experimenting with techniques more tailored to the authentic feel Luke wanted to achieve.

Jamie Selway, Senior Re-Recording Mixer at Company 3

One innovative approach involved reversing iZotope RX de-noising software to create a “ghost” of the original sounds layered with similarly treated foley. This proved particularly effective in recreating characters’ experiences using cochlear implants, drawing inspiration from the sounds of stethoscopes and hearing aids.

For profoundly deaf characters, the team employed contact microphone recordings and subharmonic layering to build a rich sonic palette.

For the characters who were profoundly deaf, we took another approach. Trying to convey the feeling of sound using contact mic recordings and layering/building up subharmonics to build a sonic palette tailored to each character’s different sound experience.

Jamie Selway, Senior Re-Recording Mixer at Company 3

A standout scene featuring the character Brennan, who enjoys bass-heavy music, required a particularly immersive approach.

Brennan, who is profoundly deaf, talks about enjoying super bassy music… especially in his car, which is fitted with huge speakers and subwoofers. There is a scene where we enter his POV while he is blaring a Prodigy track.

Jamie Selway, Senior Re-Recording Mixer at Company 3

To accurately depict this, Company 3 consulted with a sound bed company, experiencing first-hand the physical vibrations of sound.

To understand what this might feel like, we were lucky enough to consult with a sound bed business that brought it into Company 3 and demonstrated it for us. It’s a device you lie on; you can feel the sound through your body through physical vibrations. We used various techniques to portray that experience. We made recordings using contact mics to record the song and the vibrations you would feel through the seat. We also recorded the sounds a car of that age would make. There would be lots of rattles and shakes when music was played that loudly in an old car. This was all enhanced after using subharmonics to build low energy.

Jamie Selway, Senior Re-Recording Mixer at Company 3

The collaboration extended to Company 3’s picture post team, with Senior Finishing Editor Clyde Kellet enhancing the sonic experience with visual shakes.

As we were also doing picture posts here art CO3, once the sound team and Luke were happy with the sound of the track through Brennan’s POV, we spent time with Clyde Kellet, the Senior Finishing Editor, to build visual shakes that further enhanced the idea, we were feeling the song rather than hearing it.

Jamie Selway, Senior Re-Recording Mixer at Company 3

A crucial scene involving a shout into a valley was brought to life using advanced reverb and reflection techniques.

There is a cool shot in the episode where Brennan shouts into the valley. Luke wanted this to have a far-reaching, extended canyon-style reverb and reflection to make a big thing of this moment, and we used multiple plugins to achieve this, including Slapper from Cargo Cult and Valhalla.

Jamie Selway, Senior Re-Recording Mixer at Company 3

Company 3’s innovative sound design in Reunion delivers a powerful and moving experience for viewers, showcasing the team’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of audio storytelling.

MPTS 2025 celebrates largest edition ever with record visitor numbers

The UK’s most powerful hub for the creative industries united for two days of engaged networking, passionate debate and exceptional insights into AI, the creator economy, production craft and more – helping attendees stay ahead-of-the-curve for the year ahead.

After two exceptional days of conversation, collaboration and community, the biggest and buzziest MPTS yet welcomed a record 13,000 attendees from 50 countries, uniting the UK’s media and entertainment industry together in the heart of London, like never before.

Hosted at London’s Olympia on 14 – 15 May, the red-hot editorially driven programme delivered 100+ free-to-attend sessions across eight theatres, showcasing the insight and passion of more than 350 expert speakers and guest keynotes. The bustling show floor was packed with more than 300 exhibitors and sponsors, showcasing imagination, determination and standout talent of the UK’s creative and technical communities – at a time of both global challenge and immense opportunity.

Setting the agenda for MPTS, a State of the Nation Production keynote outlined a media and entertainment landscape in which storytellers had to embrace screens, formats and creators of all kinds. “TV doesn’t exist anymore in the way we knew it,” asserted Kate Beal, CEO, Woodcut Media. “We are in the middle of a decade of profound transition, and we’re past the tipping point,” said Derren Lawford, CEO, Dare Pictures. “TV is part of a wider, connected series of industries around the creation and distribution and funding of content.”

Headliners at MPTS included:

• Producer and presenter Ross Kemp, who took us on an exhilarating tour of investigative documentaries on the front lines of conflict, drug cartels and organised crime gangs. “They will know in a second if you are not telling the truth,” he said. “I specialise in telling the truth, it is as simple as that.”
• Georgie Holt, whose company Flight Story produces the world’s second biggest podcast ‘Diary of a CEO’, declared “We are in the era of the Founder Creator” — creators who are now in charge of media content and able to monetise spectacularly outside of traditional gatekeepers.
• NFL professional turned American Football broadcaster Jason Bell explained how sports coverage was evolving into the F1 Drive To Survive model, in which athlete personalities and back stories were the keys to growing audiences.
• Blockbuster editor Eddie Hamilton gave a masterclass about the precision involved in making Top Gun: Maverick and five Mission: Impossible movieswith Tom Cruise. He said, “Every nuance is refined hundreds of times. Sometimes we watch a 10-minute scene 40 times in a day, checking to see where your eye is moving in the frame.”

Diverse representation is a vital sign of the industry’s health and MPTS is proud to set the benchmark to secure equal representation and attendance from the next generation, not only across the programme, but also something clearly witnessed across the show floor amongst exhibitors and attendees.

MPTS also prioritises the crucial importance of sustainability and, in continuing association with BAFTA albert brought this conversation to the fore with experts including Jimmy Keeping, director and co-founder of Sustainable Film; Nazia Zaman, Warner Bros. Discovery; Junaid Baig, Dimension Studio; and Claire O’Neill, A Greener Future, speaking in the Sustainability Series.

MPTS is a really key moment in our calendar. It is always so great to connect with suppliers, companies, studios and creatives who share our common passion for sustainability within screen industries. It has also been really valuable to curate our sustainability series of panels across this year’s show, we’ve had some really insightful discussions and emphasised the importance of environmental focus throughout the screen industries.

Sam Street, Marketing Officer at BAFTA Albert

The brand-new ticketed AI Training programme and the expanded AI Media Zone drew exceptional attendance, with exhibitors such as Dot Group, Moments Lab and Software. Conversations in these packed-out sessions revolved around the impact of AI from ideation to VFX, featuring real-world insights and discussions on bridging the gap between theory and practice from speakers including Pete Archer, BBC; Jon Roberts, ITN and Damien Viel, Banijay Entertainment.

With a record number of exhibitors already rebooking for 2026, MPTS continues to prove its value as the UK’s number one event for media and production professionals, where brands, creatives and decision-makers come together to connect, collaborate and grow.

Without doubt, 2025 was the most stimulating, ahead-of-the-curve MPTS yet. At a time when we are seeing the industry under real pressure from budget cuts to talent shortages and perpetual change, the conversations and connections on the show floor were positive and demonstrated infectious community spirit. The level of attendance and the quality of attendees from across all sectors of the industry was incredible – not just stakeholders in technology but representatives from production and commissioning, the creator economy, those new to the industry and freelancers were all brought together by MPTS under one roof.

A huge amount of work goes into making sure that there is equal representation across our extensive conference programme. I am proud that MPTS is one of – if not the – most diverse shows both in terms of attendees and panellists.

Thank you to everyone for exhibiting, sponsoring, speaking, attending and engaging with the show to make MPTS such a thrilling success. We are already planning for 2026, which marks MPTS’ 10th edition, so look forward to a landmark celebration!

Charlotte Wheeler, Event Director at MPTS

Save the date for MPTS 2026 which returns to Olympia Grand Hall, London on 13 – 14 May 2026.

MPTS is more than just two days a year – it’s a connected, year-round community for the broadcast and media industry. From on-demand content to exclusive events, there’s still so much to explore. Stay connected here: https://www.mediaproductionshow.com/register-interest

To enquire about exhibiting at the landmark 10th edition, please go to: https://www.mediaproductionshow.com/stand-enquiry

Acclaimed Game of Thrones colourist Joe Finley joins Harbor as Senior Colourist

Joe Finley, an HPA Award-winning colourist known for his work on iconic television and feature film projects, has joined Harbor as Senior Colourist, announced EVP of Post Production Massimo D’Avolio.

With more than two decades of experience, Finley brings his keen eye for detail and deep technical expertise to Harbor’s growing global team.

Finley’s work on HBO’s Game of Thrones has earned him six HPA Award nominations and two wins for Outstanding Color Grading – Television: one for the season two episode “The Prince of Winterfell,” and another for the season eight premiere, “Winterfell.”

His television credits include 3 Body Problem (Netflix), The Lincoln Lawyer (Netflix), The Chair (Netflix), Hunters (Amazon), Jupiter’s Legacy (Netflix), and Insecure (HBO). On the feature side, Finley has contributed to over 100 films, including The Descendants (Fox Searchlight), 3:10 to Yuma (Lionsgate), and Walk the Line (20^th Century/Universal).

He has built a reputation as a trusted collaborator, working closely with directors, showrunners, and cinematographers including Alexander Payne, Tyler Perry, Adam McKay, James Mangold, Jonathan Freeman, Gregory Middelton, Anette Haellmick, and Frederick Elmes among many others to deliver visually stunning results.

Colour has the power to subtly shape emotions and enhance storytelling. I strive to bring out the best in every frame, ensuring that the vision of the director and cinematographer is fully realized.

Joe Finley, Senior Colourist at Harbor

Joe’s mastery of colour and storytelling embodies everything Harbor stands for—innovation, artistry, and an unwavering commitment to creative excellence. At Harbor, we champion the industry’s most visionary talent, providing them with the tools and environment to elevate storytelling to new heights. Joe’s ability to shape emotion and enhance the visual language of a project through colour is nothing short of transformative. His expertise will be an invaluable asset to our clients and the stories we bring to life.

Massimo D’Avolio, EVP of Post Production at Harbor

At Harbor, Finley will continue his collaborations on a wide range of projects across episodic television, streaming, and theatrical releases and will be available to work across all of Harbor’s US and UK studios.