february 2010 news 

Since 1985 EastEnders has been filmed at BBC Elstree Centre in Hertfordshire and this week the soap celebrates by broadcasting its first live episode

The cast and crew of EastEnders will mark its silver anniversary by broadcasting a live episode from BBC Elstree Centre in Hertfordshire on Friday 19th February. Viewers can anticipate drama and excitement with a week of special episodes which will feature the second wedding of Ricky Butcher (Sid Owen) and Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer). Their second marriage, filmed on location at St Peter’s Church in St Albans, comes 12 years after their 1997 wedding watched by 22 million people. The finale to the week, the live episode, will see the resolution to the big storyline, who killed Archie Mitchell?

Alongside series rival, Coronation Street, EastEnders ranks as one of the most popular shows in the country. The series follows the lives of the residents of Albert Square in the East End of London. Screen East works closely with the production team to secure locations in the region when filming dramatic scenes away from set are required. Some of the soap’s most dramatic endings have been filmed on location in Hertfordshire, even the fictional resting place of many of the most memorable characters such as dirty Den and Angie Watts is located in Watford.

The anniversary of EastEnders coincides with the recent launch of Scene on Screen - www.sceneonscreen.co.uk - an interactive movie map promoting accessible locations that have appeared in popular film and television programmes. Head of Locations & Inward Investment for Screen East, the regional screen agency, Kerry Ixer, said: “Given the cult status from its legions of fans, the filming heritage of EastEnders is a great addition to Scene on Screen. Popular film and television programmes provide an unparalleled opportunity to showcase filming locations around the globe. Production companies pay the location owners a fee to use the location after which they can experience free, and potentially worldwide, advertising for their location if they are accessible to the public. The Scene on Screen website aims to show visitors where filming occurred enabling them to follow in the footsteps of popular screen characters.” Visit www.sceneonscreen.co.uk to find out more.

If you would like to see your property appearing on the big or small screen, please contact Screen East for a free entry onto the Location Library by calling 01923 495051, emailing locations@screeneast.co.uk or by visiting www.screeneast.co.uk. They’d also like to hear from companies that could supply services such as those offered by dry cleaners, florists, wood suppliers and cleaning companies as well as crew who reside in the region.

An Economic Impact Assessment of the proposed development by Warner Bros. at Leavesden Studios

Screen East seeks to commission an authoritative and independent economic impact assessment of the current operation and the proposed development to assess its contribution to the national, regional and local economies. The tender needs to be available in a timely manner to inform the assessment of the Leavesden Studios planning application by Three Rivers District Council and Watford Borough Council.

Please download the Invitation to Tender document and the EEDA Impact Evaluation Toolkit before submitting proposals to:

Laurie Hayward
Chief Executive
Screen East
2 Millennium Plain
Norwich
NR2 1TF

If you would like to discuss the Tender prior to submitting a proposal, please email laurie@screeneast.co.uk or telephone 01603 776921

The Low Carbon workshop and the Investment Readiness workshop are now fully booked. More workshop dates will be announced soon.

Screen East is delighted to announce the launch of a new £3.5 million Low Carbon Fund. Further information about the production, development and business support fund and application documentation is now available online. The announcement follows a successful launch event that took place in the East of England on Thursday 28 January.

Dozens of leading lights from the UK’s film, TV and computer games industry attended the launch of the £3.5m Screen East Low Carbon Fund at The Forum in Norwich. The innovative scheme is anticipated to be the biggest low carbon initiative to come out of the East of England this year for film, documentary, TV and computer games.

More than 45 business leaders and producers working within the content sector expressed an interest in the new Low Carbon Fund supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), which is managed by the East of England Development Agency (EEDA).
Prior to launch event, a UK Film Council consultation was held to encourage the region’s content industries to feed into the UK Film: Digital Innovation and Creative Excellence online consultation.

Both events were introduced by Laurie Hayward, Chief Executive of Screen East. Guest speakers included Tina Mc Farling, Head of Industry Relations at the UK Film Council, Alan Harris, producer of Dean Spanley from Atlantic Film Group, David Wilkinson Screen East Head of Business, Marcus Armes from the Low Carbon Innovation Centre, the University of East Anglia (UEA) and Alastair Rhind from EEDA.

Laurie Hayward said: “It had been a fantastic launch event for the Low Carbon Fund and it was great to see so many of the content community making the effort to be there. I was delighted to celebrate the launch of the new fund with our funders ERDF, EEDA and the UK Film Council, and the Low Carbon Innovation Centre who are a key partner in the project.

“The Low Carbon Fund will encourage the creation of low carbon content products and services by businesses and we believe that it is a ‘first’ for the UK, and possibly the world, in incentivising low carbon production techniques as a criterion for investment.”

David Morrall, Director International, EEDA said: “The East of England is unique in having an ERDF Competitiveness programme that is focussed exclusively on low carbon economic development. This collaboration with Screen East is another example of how sectors such as the film industry are being incentivised through a dedicated European Programme to adopt low carbon technologies and practices. This fund will bring important economic benefits for businesses in the film sector and the region’s flourishing creative economy.

“The involvement and interest of the UK Film Council in this initiative really demonstrates the national leadership role being taken by the East of England in supporting our industries and business to embrace a low carbon approach.”

The Low Carbon Fund is split into two phases. The first is a business support programme, including up to ten workshops on business planning and carbon reduction, which provides practical examples to reduce carbon emissions, particularly in relation to crew travel, electrical generators on location and the use of next generation lighting technology.

The second phase is an Investment Fund, providing up to £250,000 investments for 15-20 individual investment projects and a unique referral system to link creators with commissioning editors, games publishers and film financiers within this area of expertise.

Supported by an innovative partnership between the Low Carbon Innovation Centre at UEA and the UK Film Council, the outcomes of the fund will be shared with the content industries nationally and will contribute to the strengthening the leadership of the region in the content industry’s response to climate change, meeting the requirements of the government’s carbon reduction targets set for 2050.

Laurie concluded: “The lack of tailored, sector-specific business support is one of the main barriers to growth in the content industry so we are absolutely delighted that the ERDF is supporting the Low Carbon Fund. We expect approximately 105 companies to benefit from the project with an anticipated 30 per cent reduction in carbon emissions, helping both individual companies and the region as a whole.”

The Low Carbon Fund is being funded over the next five years by ERDF and EEDA and is also supported by the UK Film Council and Skillset.

For further information about the fund, please contact Michael Lavery on 01603 776927 or email m.lavery@screeneast.co.uk. Guidelines and application forms can be downloaded from the Low Carbon Fund page.