A Tyneside production company is one of 10 firms to have secured the backing of Channel 4 and a fund designed to nurture new creative talent.
Gateshead-based Motif, founded two years ago by James Craggs and Tautyvdas Baranauskas, produces scripted and non-scripted programmes filmed in the region. The five-strong firm has already worked with Channel 4 on two commissions, programmes called How to make your boyfriend better and Things you wish you said in an argument.
The team has now secured support through the Emerging Indie Fund which aims to help new production companies widen their networks and grow. Motif will receive guidance to help it win new commissions, including access to a Channel 4 commissioning editor, development workshops and regular contact with the channel's head of indie relations, Rebecca Thompson.
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And there will further support from other Channel 4 departments including commercial affairs, the legal department and advertising funded programming teams; and advice from a business development consultancy. The firm's latest project is HD Cutz - an interview format for the FIFA+ streaming platform that is fronted by hair stylist to international footballers, Sheldon Edwards.
Lisa Laws, head of talent and business development at North East Screen said: "This is a huge achievement and we are delighted for Motif as they are a perfect example of an exciting new local production company understanding what TV commissioners want, being good at pitching and cleverly identifying the next step for their business."
She added: "We are wanting to support more companies like Motif to access opportunities and access funding from a range of sources. If you’re a new start up or creative enterprise interested in film and TV please get in touch with North East Screen. hello@northeastscreen.org."
James Craggs, managing director at Motif, said: "We established the business through lockdown and have worked hard to understand the commissioning mindset of broadcasters. We are constantly looking at the small steps we can take to move forward and are open minded and adaptable. We’ve learned to listen and understand what commissioners want and apply it to our ideas.
"The Emerging Indie Fund felt like the next logical step and will provide us with practical support and a chance to grow our regional based company becoming more established in the industry and the North East. We won the fund for comedy and are accepting submissions from talent in the scripted comedy genre. If local comedy writers and performers are interested they can send submissions to hello@motifpictures.co.uk."
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