Categories
ABC1 Videos: Promos

Get your download on with the ABC.

UPDATE: The ABC served over 5 million downloads last month!

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Its been over a year since the ABC began their trial of video podcasting, and what started out with just two shows has now expanded to over a dozen of the national broadcasters news and entertainment programs.

And while the video is far from DVD or DivX quality, at 8-cents a day I’d say their doing a pretty good job. While the BBC has taken the iPlayer route allowing you to download a DRM protected version of videos that automatically deletes itself, I hope the ABC keep on with the podcasting, keep far away from DRM, improve the video quality and keep adding shows.

The ABC’s enormous archive would probably make for a pretty good for-pay download store, amd I’m sure the ABC are already looking at something like that. For now though, no other network in Australia comes close to the video download offerings of the ABC and I look forward to seeing what they do next.

Categories
ITV Videos: Openings

Opening Sequence Sunday: The Bill

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The Bill isn’t a show I’ve ever really watched, but at 3000 episodes theres obviously an audience for it. I believe the above video is the refreshed opening sequence, and while its no Six Feet Under, it certainly has a memorable tune I’ve been hearing most of my life.

Categories
ABC1 Videos: Idents

Books on your ABC Television, Radio and Shop.


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Music, the arts, science, kids, news, and now books. The ABC continues to remind us of all that “cultural stuff” they do so well. Check out the whole collection here.

Categories
Videos: Openings

The making of the Six Feet Under title sequence.

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The iconic opening sequence of HBO’s Six Feet Under raised the bar for television everywhere, with music by Thomas Newman and creative by Digital Kitchen and winner of the 2002 Emmy for main title design, nothing comes close to Six Feet Under.

The shows creator Alan Ball describes them as “elegant, cinematic, and so unlike tv”. The video above is a fifteen minute behind the scenes look at the creation of this beautiful opening. Watch the sequence in full from the final episode after the jump.

Continue reading “The making of the Six Feet Under title sequence.”
Categories
BBC Two Videos: Idents

The Heroes of BBC Two.

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BBC Two are certainly making a big deal about Heroes, and at £500,000 per episode who wouldn’t. The first episode premiered last week to over 4 million viewers, beating BBC One by its biggest share since 1994.

The videos above are a special BBC Two ident and teaser. I still don’t quite understand why Heroes premiered on subscription television in the UK and is only just getting a terrestrial broadcast now, but the oddities of British television are what make this blog so fun.

– Thanks for the videos Graham.

Categories
ABC1 Videos: TV

At The Movies with The Simpsons.

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For someone who makes quite as big a deal about The Simpsons as me, I have to admit.. I still haven’t seen the movie, although not through lack of trying.

Watch David and Margaret’s review above (and David’s virginity admission), or check out what Triple J’s resident critic thought about it here.

Categories
Foxtel Videos: Idents

Quoting a Movie Extra.

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Movie Extra, part of the Movie Network available on subscription television is the channel that “dares you to expand your view with compelling and diverse movies and television series that will stay with you long after the movie ends.”

These short idents created (and supplied to me) by Tactic visualise the quotes of some of Hollywood’s famous, specially Britney, Christina, Tarintino, Ebert and McGregor. Tactic also did some stuff for the Comedy Channel not too long ago.

Categories
BBC Two Videos: Promos Videos: Top Gear

Top Gear goes to the pole.

Update: Read what the producer has to say about this episode here.

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Top Gear is back! A special race episode from Canada to the North Pole goes to air in the UK on Wednesday night. And while its probably going to take a lot to top the insanity of the American road trip episode I can’t wait to see what they get up to racing each other to the top of the world.

In other Top Gear news, another American version has been scrapped for now.

– Thanks for the video Graham.

Categories
Videos: Broadcast News

Floodwatch 2007: A video essay in news coverage.

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There’s nothing quite like a natural disaster to compare news broadcasters, and with the flooding going on in the UK, and journalists standing knee deep in water all over the country, it seemed like a good time.

Above is the coverage from the BBC, Channel 4, Sky News and ITV.

– Thanks Craig for the videos.

Categories
ABC1 Videos: Idents

Melbourne Lives on the ABC.

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Sydney isn’t the capital of Australia?! No, its actually my home town Canberra. And feeling good about where you live is a nice thing. That is probably part of the motivation behind this “Melbourne Lives” campaign running on the ABC in Victoria.

Melbourne, always playing second fiddle to Sydney must get tiring, but the ABC isn’t having a bar of it, instead promoting all the great stuff that Melbourne does for the national broadcaster.

The song is “Light My Way” by Al Harding, which you can read all about here.

– Thanks for the video Tim.