Rise of the planet of VFX in Scotland
Brian Cox is back in Scotland to open a new post-production facility at the University of Dundee.
A legendary actor, he's most recently starred in "Rise of the Plant of the Apes" and "Ironclad".
Part of the EU funded North Sea Screen Partners, the lab has been created to produce cutting edge visual effects and is also the focus for the new Visual Effects Research Network.
The Ôé¼6 million project aims to help companies produce, shoot, post and learn across all media and the partners had Oscar success this year with "In a Better World" supported by Film Fyn in Denmark. Dundee itself is already a hub for the games industry. The Lab offers companies the chance to work with the latest technology and the network is helping post-production companies to network and collaborate so they can get involved in bigger projects.
There's more on NSSP at their website www.northseascreen.eu
Councillor Will Dawson, convenor of the City Development Department at lead partner, Dundee City Council says: [We're delighted that the Lab has been developed in Dundee and adds to the city's growing reputation in games and digital media."]
Director is Peter Richardson. He started directing music videos in 1990 with the first ever Blur video and went on to bands such as 808 State, The Stranglers and the Happy Mondays. He's also directed commercials including global campaigns for Proctor and Gamble, Chrysler Jeep and Pepe jeans. His latest projects include a commercial for Nike, documentaries for UK broadcaster, Channel 4, and Fox Sports.
The NSSP project is funded by the EU's North Sea Interreg Programme IVb.
Photography: Images to be supplied on Monday, 29th August 2011
Note to Editors:
NSSP is led by Dundee City Council's City Development Department and is coordinated by their screen office, TayScreen.
TayScreen markets direct to the global advertising, film and TV sectors and helps projects find locations, facilities and crew to attract production, post-production and animation to the region.
Media production is a significant earner for the Scottish and UK economies and has brought over £1.2 million of spending to the Fife and Tayside region in the last year. Recent production has featured Hollywood movie, "Captain America" due to be released this year.
Julie Craik, Project Manager of FifeScreen and TayScreen says "the region offers such amazing locations and we're delighted that so many great projects have chosen to film here over the last twelve months. Producers consistently let us know that they have a great time working in the area. It's a pleasure to be working with our inspirational North Sea Screen Partners."