Christy Media

The Rise of FinOps

Fri, 03 Oct 2025 13:44:00 GMT

…and why it matters for Media & Entertainment.

One of the highlights of this year’s IBC Devoncroft Executive Summit in Amsterdam was seeing Tyrone Donnelly from Sky on stage, leading the discussion on FinOps in Media & Entertainment. For me personally, it was more than just another panel, it was a reminder of the power of long-term partnerships and the way careers evolve in our industry.

I first worked with Tyrone back in 2007, when we placed him on his very first contract assignment with Sky. Since then, our paths have crossed many times and supporting him in finding further roles both in the UK and in the Middle East. It has been a privilege to watch his career develop over nearly two decades. Today, he leads a team of 80+ at Sky and is responsible for overseeing their group platform infrastructure and FinOps practices for Media & Entertainment. To see him share that expertise on stage, in front of an industry audience, was inspiring and a proud moment.

Why FinOps Is now a Core Skillset in M&E

The discussion Tyrone contributed to could not be more relevant. Financial operations (FinOps) is no longer a back-office consideration – it’s a strategic enabler. As more of the Media & Entertainment supply chain shifts toward cloud, SaaS, and OpEx-based consumption models, the ability to monitor, optimise, and govern cloud spend has become mission-critical.

What we’re seeing is that FinOps is now a role in its own right – not just a finance responsibility, and not purely a technical one. It’s a blend of commercial acumen, operational oversight, and technical awareness. The very best FinOps leaders are those who can connect cost transparency with business decision-making, ensuring spend is not only managed but aligned to long-term strategy.

For M&E organisations, that makes FinOps both a competitive differentiator and a new talent challenge!

Building FinOps capability: Scoping Requirements & New Talent

Media companies are now considering creating FinOps-specific roles for the first time. Some may consider trying and hire from within the industry, drawing on people with a mix of engineering, commercial, and financial backgrounds. Others are bringing in expertise from adjacent sectors, such as telecoms, enterprise IT, or cloud services, where FinOps practices are more mature.

This is where Christy Media comes in. With over 20 years’ experience of recruiting for Sky and many of the industry’s leading broadcasters, service providers, and media technology vendors, we have a deep understanding of how these roles in our industry are always evolving. We’ve also seen firsthand how careers like Tyrone’s can grow and transform over time, which is why we know what to look for when helping our clients hire into new disciplines like FinOps.

Whether you’re looking to bring in a dedicated FinOps specialist, or you want to upskill your team by finding hybrid talent from adjacent industries, we can help you identify, attract, and secure the right people.

Closing Thoughts

The Devoncroft Summit reinforced just how fast our industry is changing and how important it is to build the right skills for the future. FinOps is no longer optional. It’s central to how M&E organisations will compete, grow, and innovate in a cloud-first world.

And as I was reminded while watching Tyrone on stage, finding the right talent, at the right time, can make all the difference. At Christy Media, we’re proud to have been part of that journey, and we look forward to helping organisations identify their future FinOps leaders.

Written by Christian Magill, CEO

AI? What’s that?!

Tue, 21 Nov 2023 16:03:00 GMT

The rise of streaming services and the ever-growing popularity of mobile devices, has long been forcing traditional broadcasters to rethink how they create and deliver content. One of the most promising technologies that is helping broadcasters to adapt to this changing landscape is artificial intelligence (AI) that is being used to automate tasks, improve efficiency and create new content experiences that are more engaging and interactive than ever before.

Thus, how AI is changing content production? AI’s role is already substantial and continues to expand. There are numerous examples of AI’s existing integration into everyday broadcast, live production, filmmaking and post-production. One of the most common applications of AI across this landscape is subtitling and captioning, in which AI automatically transcribes audio into text very quickly with a high degree of accuracy, making it super cost-effective, more scalable and more adaptable across multiple languages and territories. Overall, this means businesses can take important steps towards the most accessible and inclusive content possible, whilst still managing their resources efficiently.

Another interesting impact of AI we observe is in virtual studios. This is especially visible in live events, such as sports broadcasts and news coverage where AI is being used to automate tasks such as camera operation, video editing and even sound generation. The effective use of AI here not only increases production efficiency, reduces room for human error and increases audience engagement, but also allows humans to focus on more creative tasks, such as storytelling and directing.

However, despite these advancements, it is still critical to acknowledge the limitations of AI. Simply, it cannot replicate the creativity and intuition that humans have, meaning content may lack the ‘human touch’ in terms of emotional nuances and expression. It is also important to recognise the high initial costs of implementing the technology, as well as various ethical and security questions that AI raises.

Here we start wondering how the future of artificial intelligence might look. The potential to revolutionise the broadcast industry is undeniable and we can certainly expect to see even more innovative and exciting applications, however we can’t wait to see how the collaboration of both humans and AI technology unfolds together.

Meet Roxy!

Thu, 02 Nov 2023 13:57:00 GMT

We are thrilled to announce a fantastic addition to our team here at Christy Media Solutions. Roxy Galuba joins our European operation as Principal Consultant with an impressive five years’ broadcast recruitment experience and passion for Video Delivery Technology.

Upon joining the Christy Media team, Roxy shared her excitement about this new chapter in her career. She said, “I am excited to be joining the Christy Media team, a company that has set the standard on providing quality recruitment services to the Broadcast industry for the last 20 years. I hope my experience can add value and further propel our legacy across the industry. Exciting things to come for sure!”

Managing Director, Christian Magill, added, “I’m delighted to welcome Roxy to the Christy Media Solutions team. Her experience and deep understanding of the broadcast and video industry align perfectly, and I’m confident that Roxy will contribute significantly to our continued growth, innovation and quality standards. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s to come as we further deepen our capabilities across Europe!”

Whilst Roxy brings a remarkable track record placing candidates across 20 different European countries (yes, 20!), she has also brought her quick wit, impressive multi-lingual skills and some fantastic performances at the office dart board…!

Meet James!

Tue, 10 Oct 2023 14:55:00 GMT

Christy Media Solutions welcomes James Pearson as Associate Director, North America.

James has proven his dedication to the industry, developing a deep understanding of the video technology landscape and forging strong relationships within it. He is committed to staying ahead of the technology curve across broadcast media, OTT and streaming and you’ll often find him sharing his latest findings with his LinkedIn network.

James will be focused on further increasing our capabilities across North America and beyond as we continue to expand our presence in the United States. With experience placing candidates across the East and West Coasts, as well as Canada and Latin America, James is well placed to support our clients across our North America territory. His proven track record placing elite talent with leading media video technology organisations is testament to the knowledge and industry connections that James brings to the table for our clients.

Managing Director, Christian Magill, shared his enthusiasm for James’ appointment, saying, “We are thrilled to have James join our team as an Associate Director for North America. His extensive regional recruitment experience, dedication to understanding our industry and the technology behind this, are qualities that align perfectly with Christy Media’s values. I have no doubt that James will contribute significantly to our continued success and growth in the North American market.”

In the words of James himself, “I am really excited to join the team at Christy Media Solutions with a view to expanding our US capabilities. I’m passionate about the broadcast media space across the US market, which aligns well with Christy’s market position and reputation, so I’m excited to see what we build together.”

James has also brought with him an impressive array of jokes (debatable), some reasonable table tennis skill (also debatable), and more Arsenal fandom in the office! You’ll be able to catch him at US tradeshows such as NAB and NAB New York, as well at SVG events across the US.

Watch this space to see what unfolds as we look to further grow our North American team and business.

Take a look back at the evolution of virtual production and CGI…

Thu, 24 Aug 2023 14:31:00 GMT

Virtual production involves displaying computer generated imagery on a screen behind the talent whilst filming or during post production. In broadcasting this can be seen in virtual studios like in sports commentary studios at the Olympic games or in filming for adding VFX. This can take the form of greenscreens which were used in blockbuster films like ‘300’, as well as on LED plate screens as seen in Disney’s ‘The Mandalorian’.

This technique first came about in 1930 with Fox’s ‘Liliom’ in the form of front and rear projections where pre-recorded footage was put on a screen directly behind or in front of the subject. It has been used in a variety of classic films as a staple technique in filming, particularly when filming driving scenes. The issue however with this technique is that the illusion is broken when the camera is moved from a particular angle.

One way of solving this was by utilising camera tracking. This process involves following the camera’s position in a physical space and coordinating its movements with animated elements added in post-production. Initially this form of motion capture was done via rotoscoping: a technique created in 1919 and more famously seen in early Disney animated films like ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarves’ and ‘Alice in Wonderland’ which involved tracing over each frame of recorded footage. Over the decades, this has developed into motion capture that we see today. The actor wears a body suit with dots or strips of material on specific points for CGI animators to track their movements and add the VFX in post. Since the 1980s, this technology has evolved exponentially, from using LED lights on the body suits for camera trackers to pick up, to simply marking dots on the actors’ faces like for Bill Nighy during his portrayal of Davey Jones in ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’.

For some of the bigger and more fantastical blockbusters, mass CGI is regularly used for the set as well as the actors. Chroma key screens, or ‘greenscreens’ as they’re more commonly known as, have been used regularly since the 1930s but were first used in ‘The Great Train Robbery’ in 1903. 120 years on and it’s still being used today! But why is it green? Whilst any colour can be used, the issue occurs when that colour features on the subjects or the scenery, causing it to blend in with the background. For example, warm colours like red, browns and yellows are found in people’s skins tones, as would neutral colours like black, white and grey which would also appear on people’s clothing. Whilst there are still issues with greenscreens having the same effect, it is a lot less frequent. You may have also seen blue screens being used for certain productions and the main reason is that green screens have a better luminosity so keep shots bright and well lit. Blue screens are occasionally used for low light shots. However, the issue with having an almost fully virtual background can make it hard for the actors to contextualise the scene without any solid environment around them. It does however give testament to the skills of actors who can perform with more or less nothing around them.

In recent years, technology has evolved to move beyond greenscreens to LED panels to provide more interactive lighting and background for the cameras and actors respectively. Whilst the LED screen has been used commercially on billboards for many years, its use in blockbuster films was pioneered in ‘Gravity’ in 2013 and has seen great success in ‘The Mandalorian’. By having these fully immersive screens set up in a semi-circle it allows for more seamless shots across multiple angles compared to rear projection rigs. As they are becoming more affordable for lower budget productions and independent studios, it is becoming an increasingly common piece of technology in a Producer’s wheelhouse and we can’t wait to see how the technology is used next.

IBC 2015..

Tue, 08 Aug 2023 15:21:40 GMT

Christy Media Solutions will be exhibiting at IBC in Amsterdam again this year. We’re on Stand C29, in Hall 6 as usual and hope to see many of you at the show.

The 2015 show dates are as follows:

Conference: 10-14 September 2015

Exhibition: 11-15 September 2015

To visit the IBC website, please click here.

To pre-book a meeting with one of our team at the show, please click here.

For more information about the show, or to use our customer ticket for free registration, please use the button below.

Amsterdam events , broadcast event , broadcast recruitment , Christy Media Solutions , IBC 2015 , international broadcast recruitment

Meeting the next generation of broadcast talent…

Fri, 04 Aug 2023 15:18:56 GMT

As part of Insights Meeting the next generation of broadcast talent…

As part of our broadcastgraduate.com initiative, Christy Media’s Maddie Turner will be attending Ravensbourne’s Futures Fest on Wednesday 13 May.

It’s a great opportunity to meet up with the next generation of broadcast talent from Ravensbourne, providing CV advice and talking about the opportunities available to graduates in the sector.

To find out more about the day, or to pre-book a meeting with Maddie at the event, please follow the link below.

We’re off to BroadcastAsia

Mon, 10 Apr 2023 07:56:01 GMT

Christy Media’s Deborah Cross and Cindy-Marie Leicester are attending BroadcastAsia in Singapore this week.

This well-established event is a comprehensive digital and multimedia tradeshow for the pro-audio, film and TV industries.

BroadcastAsia is a key event in the region’s broadcast calendar, it’s a great opportunity for professionals to network, exchange business ideas, gather market information and source the latest products and solutions.

Deborah and Cindy will be available for meetings on Wednesday 18 and Thursday 19 June. If you would like to meet with either of them, to discuss your company’s recruitment plans or your own career, please click here.

More about the show:

Around 17,000 visitors are expected to attend the exhibition which will show-case technologies from around the world, including:

NextGen Broadcasting – OTT / Hybrid / LTE / Broadband / Cloud
4K / UHD
Sports-casting
Multi-Platform Streaming
Satellite / Terrestrial / Cable Broadcasting
DVB-T2
Video Content Delivery Network
Broadcast IT Networking / Automation
Content Security
File-based Management Systems

APAC broadcast recruitment , Broadcast Asia 2014 , broadcast events , broadcast recruitment Asia , BroadcastAsia2014 , international broadcast recruitment

IBC 2010

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 10:25:21 GMT

The Christy Media team have returned from Amsterdam after a very successful show at IBC. This year’s show was one of the busiest ever with over 48,000 visitors, and we welcomed hundreds of those to our stand in Hall 6.

The team met with interesting potential candidates from a range of backgrounds, and we discussed some exciting new recruitment projects with our clients. With so many visitors from the broadcast industry, we found the show a fantastic place to network and meet up with contacts – both old and new.

3D was a major theme at IBC this year, and we were able to experience some of the most exciting new innovations in the sector at many of the 1,300 other stands at the exhibition. New developments in mobile, digital and IPTV platforms were also on display.

Thank you to everyone that visited the stand, and to all those that we met with at the show. We are looking forward to a busy time following IBC, and are already excited about planning next year’s event.

Christy Media Solutions plays football for children’s charity

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 10:23:59 GMT

Christy Media Solutions, the broadcast recruitment specialists, recently participated in the tenth annual Broadcast Fives Competition which is run in aid of The Vision Charity.

It was a great day out, with men and women’s 5-a-side football teams from companies across the sector, getting together for one day to claim the title of ‘Best Broadcast Industry Footballers in Britain’. Teams entered this year included key players in the business such as Disney, Avid, Arqiva, Bloomberg, MTV and of course, Christy Media Solutions.

In the ladies’ football, Christy Media were only narrowly beaten by the pink clad Princess Ladies in the semi finals. The Princess Ladies went on to win the group, but Christy were strong competitors and were only defeated after a nail-biting penalty shoot out.

Christy Media Solutions men’s team, previous winners in 2007, was sadly less successful this year. Used to leading the field of broadcast recruitment, the team battled bravely, but despite some close run matches, failed to do the job in either the Men’s Cup or the Men’s Plate. Football may not have been Christy Media’s forte on this occasion, but keeping their eye on the ball, when finding the right person for the right position definitely is!

The twenty-eight teams who lost in the first round of the Cup were entered into the Plate Competition and Christy were knocked out 2-0 in the second round of the plate by the eventual winners, Bloomberg. Bloomberg were surprise participants in the Plate, as they were former two-time winners of the Cup.

With a great turn out, fifty-two teams entered the men’s competition and the Cup was eventually won by Disney who had looked strong all day. Despite their results, both Christy Media teams had an enjoyable day and raised a lot of money for a worthwhile cause.

The Vision Charity declared the day a success as over £100,000 was raised for the benefit of Blind & Visually Impaired children. The charity funds projects throughout the UK providing equipment, activities & skills to broaden their horizons and engage with the community.

Join us at IBC 2011!

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 10:21:40 GMT

This week, the Christy Media team is exhibiting at the International Broadcast Convention in Amsterdam for one of the biggest annual events in the broadcast calendar. IBC is a broadcast industry event that focuses on the creation, management and delivery of entertainment and news content around the world.

The exhibition runs from the 9- 13 September and is one of the key events in our calendar. Christy Media Solutions frequently exhibits at key industry shows. This allows us to expand our knowledge about cutting-edge developments in broadcast technology and make great contacts within the industry.

Our team will be on hand to discuss our worldwide recruitment solutions over the coming week. If you are a candidate we will also be able to help you start looking for new opportunities in the broadcast sector. This year we are exhibiting in Hall 6, stand C20, so please drop by our stand, or contact us to arrange an appointment or informal chat.

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IBC 2011

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 10:20:24 GMT

IBC 2011 proved to be another successful show for Christy Media. Visitor numbers have increased again this year, with over 50,000 visitors to the RAI in Amsterdam.

The team took the opportunity to meet with many of our clients and discussed some exciting new ventures. We thoroughly explored the surrounding halls and stands, keen to find out what is new and in the pipeline in the industry.

IBC is an excellent place to network with existing contacts and make new ones. We talked with many potential candidates from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds and are looking forward to working with lots of them in the coming year. We also enjoyed catching up with our contractors and people we have successfully placed in new roles.

As we begin to plan next year’s IBC and follow up our meetings at this one, we’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who took the time to visit our stand and we hope to catch up with you again soon.

Streaming Media Competition Result

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 10:18:48 GMT

On Thursday we drew the winning name for our competition to win a ticket to the Streaming Media Conference and Expo.

Congratulations to Peter Marriott who was the lucky winner! We look forward to seeing you next week at the Expo. For those who didn’t win a ticket to the Conference, please come along to the Streaming Media Expo, it is free to enter and we would love to see you at Stand 47.

Join us at BVE North, 13-14 November, Manchester Central

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 10:17:30 GMT

Christy Media Solutions is pleased to announce we are sponsoring BVE North again. Taking place at Manchester Central on 13 and 14 November, BVE North celebrates the thriving content production and broadcast industries based in northern England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

The show features new and used professional broadcast, post and production equipment and related services and has an average attendance of 3,000+ broadcast industry professionals, with over 80 exhibitors. It provides a great opportunity to test the latest kit, interact with product demos and see brand new, high profile product launches.

Not just an exhibition, the 2012 BVE North Seminar programme offers 40 free sessions that are open to all. For further information about the seminar programme and speakers, please click here .

Representatives from Christy Media Solutions will be based at the Information Point and available for meetings or informal chats during the two days.

Show dates and times:

Tuesday 13 November 10.00 – 18.00

Wednesday 14 November 10.00 – 16.3

IBC 2012

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 10:15:33 GMT

The team have now returned from another successful show at IBC.

This year’s show was one of the busiest ever with over 50,000 visitors, and we welcomed many of those to our stand in Hall 6.

The Connected World was a major theme at the show and new developments in 3D and mobile technologies, digital and IPTV platforms were also on display.

As always, the team were keen to broaden their knowledge and enjoyed experiencing some of the most exciting new innovations in the broadcast sector while exploring the fourteen halls at the exhibition.

We met with interesting potential candidates and clients from a range of backgrounds, and discussed some exciting new recruitment projects.

The team also enjoyed meeting our existing contractors and clients and catching up on their news. With so many visitors from the industry, we find the show is always a fantastic place to network and meet up with contacts – both old and new.

Thank you to everyone that visited the stand, and to all those that we met with at the show. We anticipate a busy time following IBC, and are already looking forward to next year’s event.

Meeting the next generation…

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 10:13:15 GMT

Christy Media Solutions’ team have spent two interesting days at Ravensbourne recently, meeting students to talk about the broadcast and media industries and exploring their options post graduation.

As a specialist broadcast recruitment agency, we place many graduates in their first roles in industry and value the close links we have with the universities supplying the next generation of broadcast talent.

If you are a broadcast graduate or third year student, you can register via our candidate portal to get ahead with your job hunting plans.

BVE North 2012

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 10:11:29 GMT

Christy Media Solutions supported BVE North by sponsoring the Information Point again this year.

We had a busy two days, exploring the show, meeting new faces and catching up with existing clients and contacts. Manchester was its usual lively self and the local ladies on the Information Point were cheerful, welcoming and helpful; Patty from the Information Team and Katrina from Christy Media, did their best to ensure everyone else found their visit as hassle-free as we did!

We are already looking forward to visiting again next year…

BVE North 2011

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 10:09:57 GMT

The very first BVE North proved a busy two days and it was nice to see so many of you!

Christy Media Solutions sponsored the Information Point at the show and our staff enjoyed chatting to familiar faces who sought us out and new contacts who wanted to know more about us.

Once Christmas is over, we will be looking forward to BVE 2012 in London and CABSAT and Satellite MENA in Dubai – we hope to see lots of you at these events next year!

BVE 2012

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 10:08:26 GMT

In February we exhibited at BVE 2012, which was held at Earls Court in London. We also sponsored the Information Point again this year.

It was a busy show and we enjoyed making lots of new contacts as well as meeting many of our existing clients. The team appreciated the candidates who came along to our stand, it is always nice to put a face to the voice we’ve been chatting to on the phone!

It’s also good to hear the updates from those we have placed in the past and we enjoyed hearing how you have been getting on. We hope that those of you who did drop by to see us enjoyed the show and the catch-up as much as we did.

Summer 2012

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 10:07:09 GMT

29 August – 9 September will see the Paralympic Games taking place in the UK.

Want to be part of it?

We have a range of exciting contract roles available…

Sound Engineers – 2711NB – Now Filled

Camera Operators – 2710 – Now Filled

EVS Operators – 2712ER – Now Filled

Graphics Operators – 2713DW – Now Filled

How to apply:

Anticipated dates will be 28th August through to 10th September. Applicants MUST be able to commit to the entire duration of the assignment.

If you are interested in applying for any of these roles, please email a current CV to admin@christy-media.com with your contact details and the role you are interested in, and we will call you to discuss it further. We expect that these roles will be filled quickly, so if you are interested, please don’t delay in applying!

Worth Noting:

We would like to make it absolutely clear that we do not charge our contractors for working with us , the rates quoted are the rates you will receive.

BVE 2013 Coming

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 10:05:26 GMT

Christy Media Solutions are looking forward to BVE 2013, which is being held at ExCeL, London on 26-28 February 2013.

We are sponsoring the Information Point again this year and will also be exhibiting at stand J42 , if you would like to come along and have a chat about either your company’s recruitment needs, your own career plans or simply to catch up or arrange a meeting for a later date.

BVE is one of the largest broadcast industry shows in the UK and more than 300 companies will be attending, so it’s an ideal place to find out what is happening in the industry as well as an amazing opportunity to network with your industry peers. There is also an extensive free programme of expert-led seminars. Pre-Registration online is free and you can register via the web

We hope you will come and visit our stand, J42. If you would like to pre-book a meeting with one of our consultants, please click here.

The Media Festival 2011

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 10:04:04 GMT

The Media Festival, running from 15-17 November in Manchester, promises to be an exciting event.

Important decision makers and creative thinkers in the industry will be attending the conference for sessions with some of the most influential and innovative minds in broadcast and media today.

The Festival opens with an industry debate and party which is followed by two days of informative and interactive conference sessions. These will include industry keynotes, panel discussions, workshops and strategic networking.

Join us at BVE North, 16-17 November, Manchester Central

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 10:01:48 GMT

Christy Media Solutions are proud sponsors of this year’s BVE North show, the North’s largest event for broadcast, video and audio professionals. Representatives from Christy Media Solutions will be available for meetings or informal chats throughout the two days. If you would like to pre-book an appointment, please click here .

The show opens on 16 November 2011 at Manchester Central.

BVE 2013

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 10:00:29 GMT

In February we sponsored and exhibited at BVE, which moved from Earl’s Court to the ExCeL Centre this year.

It was a busy show and the team appreciated the chance to catch up with so many of their clients in one place. We also met lots of new faces and spent some time exploring the other stands. As always, the team enjoyed meeting the candidates who came along to our stand, it is always good to put a face to the voice we’ve been chatting to on the phone!

We like to hear the updates from people we have placed in the past and we enjoy finding out how you have been getting on. We hope that those of you who did drop by to see us found the show worthwhile and enjoyed the catch-up as much as we did.

Red Nose Day

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 09:53:37 GMT

Mark Burke is participating in fund raising activities in Milton Keynes this Red Nose Day. Planned activities include devouring half a cucumber and eating as many hot dogs as possible in 3 minutes – we wish him well and hope to follow up with some pictures!

Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 09:52:12 GMT

Mark Burke took part in some interesting eating challenges today to raise funds for Comic Relief…

Cheered on by the crowd, Mark Burke managed to eat a stomach churning 5 1/2 hot-dogs in 3 minutes, coming a close second to the winner who ate 6. Well done to everyone involved, all monies raised have been donated to Comic Relief, a very worthwhile cause.

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Positive News for the UK Jobs Market

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 09:50:57 GMT

The REC’s April JobsOutlook Survey has recorded the highest level of employer confidence so far this year.

60% of the 600 employers surveyed stated they expect their permanent workforces to increase in the next three months and 36% stated that they expect staffing levels to remain constant
86% expect their use of agency workers to remain constant or grow within the next three months
In the longer term, 94% of employers expect their permanent workforce to grow or remain static, over the next 12 months
One in three employers (compared to last month’s one in four) expect to increase or maintain their use of temporary and contract workers in the next twelve months.

This highlights how important contract and temporary workers are as a flexible resource for businesses and how it has become an increasing route back into work for job seekers.

Roger Tweedy, the REC’s Director of Research has commented:

This is the most encouraging sign we have had so far that the jobs market is now gathering momentum led by a higher demand for temporary workers. Following last month’s slight dip in employer confidence businesses are forging ahead with plans to stabilise or expand their workforces. This fits with the feedback from professional recruiters on the ground, who are reporting increased hiring activity in most sectors.

Source: The Recruitment & Employment Federation website. Click here to read more on this

Race for Life

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 09:49:50 GMT

Our Contracts and Payments Manager, Sandra Breeze will be taking part in Cancer Research UK’s 5km Race for Life at Waddesden Manor this weekend, raising money for a brilliant cause. Cancer Research UK’s work has helped to save millions of lives in the UK and across the world and they are entirely funded by the public, so fundraising events like this are essential to the charity.

Sandra has been training hard, come rain or shine, and has promised not to let the predicted wet weather this weekend deter her from completing the 5km race. Good luck Sandra from all the Christy Media Solutions team!

If you are interested in finding out more or supporting the Race for Life campaign, please click here . If you would like to support Sandra and Cancer Research by donating, please click here to visit Sandra’s just giving page .

Sandra did it!

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 09:47:12 GMT

Well done Sandra for raising more than £200 for Cancer Relief and completing the 5k Race for Life at Waddesden Manor!

BroadcastAsia 2013, next week

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 09:43:25 GMT

We will be attending BroadcastAsia next week and are looking forward to meeting new contacts and catching up with existing clients at the show.

Based in Singapore, the show runs from 18-21 June and this year it has moved to a new venue, Level 4, Marina Bay Sands.

The event is Asia’s largest show for the pro-audio, film and TV industries and it serves as the regional launch pad for the latest broadcast technologies by some of the largest companies and most cutting edge enterprises from around the world.

The show is a comprehensive broadcasting, digital multimedia and entertainment technology event, and promises to deliver the latest broadcast technologies, with over 700 exhibitors from around the world and visitors from more than 80 countries.

If you would like to pre-book an appointment with a Christy Media Solutions consultant please click here .

BroadcastAsia 2013

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 09:41:54 GMT

Last week Christy Media Solutions attended the BroadcastAsia 2013 show in Singapore.

Whilst the exhibition was smaller than IBC and BVE, we nevertheless enjoyed meeting up with people we have placed in the region, made some interesting new contacts and got to see a little of Singapore – despite the increasingly poor visibility due to the much reported smog.

2013 Contractor Survey

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 09:40:11 GMT

A recent survey of Pulse Umbrella contractors has revealed that:

85% of contractors would recommend contracting to a friend
72% are confident that there is continued demand for their services
56% say rates are remaining static whilst 16% have seen an increase and 28% a decrease in the last 12 months

Apparently the best thing about contracting is that the money is better than working as a permanent employee.

The survey respondents also revealed that the worst thing is having to find more work when a contract ends.

If you are a contractor working within broadcast, please get in touch and keep us updated as your contract end approaches. We have many contract roles that are not advertised on our website and we always check our database for suitable matches before advertising roles.

For the full survey, please see: www.pulseumbrella.com

Another successful IBC…

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 09:38:32 GMT

The Christy Media team have now returned from the IBC exhibition, thank you to everyone who came to visit our stand, we’ve had a very busy 5 days and it was great to catch up with so many of you.

IBC’s main themes this year were cloud services and 4k resolution (and what’s next in the pipeline). There was also significant interest regarding the possibilities of big data and how it can provide detailed information on audiences so that broadcasters can deliver tailored services and grow revenues. As usual, there were some amazing displays and creative uses of technology and we enjoyed exploring our individual areas of interest within the 14 halls of exhibitors.

Next year’s IBC exhibition runs from the 12th to the 16th September at the RAI in Amsterdam and we’re already looking forward to it!

Photos from IBC 2013

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 09:36:54 GMT

More photos from our recent trip to the IBC exhibition in Amsterdam, double click on the image for the big version!

BVE North 2013

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 09:34:57 GMT

Christy Media Solutions is proud to sponsor BVE North again this year.

BVE North is a broadcast and production technology event in Manchester, providing broadcast professionals in the north of the UK with a fantastic opportunity to explore the latest kit and network with their peers.

As well as hands on kit experiences and product demos, BVE North offers visitors the chance to see brand new product launches.

New for 2013, the “Kit-Off” Stage is a technology hub and the launchpad for broadcast kit into the UK market. Located opposite the central bar, the “Kit-Off” Stage will give visitors the latest news and provide exhibitors with a free platform to showcase new product launches.

There will be informal 15-minute demonstrations followed by Q&A sessions, providing visitors with a chance to see the latest products, hand selected by a panel of experts.

The show runs from 12-13 November at Manchester Central and includes a comprehensive free seminar programme . Entry is free to all visitors who register in advance – entry on the day without a badge is £15.

To register for BVE North, please click the BVE banner below and quote Priority Code CM1.

BosomBuddiesUK

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 09:33:10 GMT

Our Principal Consultant, Deborah Cross will be taking part in the Buckingham 10k run on Sunday 13 October.

Deborah is braving the predicted poor weather to raise money for BosumBuddiesUK, a charity that aims to educate men and women, providing information on the signs and symptoms of breast cancer. The charity also provides ‘Buddies’, a support network of people who have survived breast cancer, giving women of all ages someone to talk to if they are worried about breast cancer.

If you would like to find out more about BosumBuddiesUK please click on the link below.

Win Adobe Creative Cloud with BVE North!

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 09:30:45 GMT

As sponsors of BVE North we’re pleased to announce that attendees can now win a 12-month subscription to Adobe’s Creative Cloud at the show…

Adobe are supporting BVE North with two days of free demonstrations of their software – including Creative Cloud, After Effects, Premiere Pro and Story – in a specially constructed theatre.

All visitors to BVE North will also have the opportunity to win a one-year subscription to Creative Cloud by entering their prize draw. One lucky winner will be drawn at the close of each day of the show at their workshop theatre.

As well as hands on kit experiences and product demos, BVE North offers visitors the chance to see brand new product launches.

The show runs from 12-13 November at Manchester Central and includes a comprehensive free seminar programme . Entry is free to all visitors who register in advance – entry on the day without a badge is £15.

To register for BVE North, please click the BVE banner below and quote Priority Code CM1.

BVE North

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 09:28:29 GMT

We’re at BVE North today – please pop by the Info Point to say hello if you are there!

UK TV industry enjoys global boom

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 09:26:17 GMT

As the United Kingdom slowly emerges from the recent recession, the UK TV industry is looking decidedly healthy…

Film London recently stated:

“The UK is wooing international broadcasters with its wealth of creative talent and production capability and the majority have now based their European headquarters in the country. London is at the heart of this booming television economy – employment in the industry has doubled in the last decade”.

The UK is now a leading exporter of television, thanks in part to the unprecedented growth in the country’s multichannel sector. This sector is now worth £5bn a year and broadcasts 127 non-UK channels to the rest of the world. Multichannels have established global and European commissioning hubs in the UK, bringing greater overseas investment into domestic production. In fact, the sector has increased investment in UK content by nearly 30% in the last 3 years, rapidly growing its commissioning from UK independent producers.

These figures were published in a recent report by the Commercial Broadcasters Association (COBA) supported by Film London and the British Film Commission.

The report’s key findings included:

The UK is one of the most important broadcasting hubs in Europe
The UK is building scale and competitiveness through an increasingly diverse ecology of domestic and multinational players and is a leading global centre for television.
The multichannel sector is growing fast
It has grown investment in UK content by nearly 30% in the last three years, rapidly increasing its commissioning from UK independent producers
Production investment is increasingly global
Whilst expanding their investment in UK production, multichannels have brought more overseas investment into domestic production.
Growth in ‘inward investment’
The range of investment in the UK production sector is expanding further, as it attracts large scale ‘inward investment’ productions, bringing long term investment in multiple series over a number of years.

For the full Building a Global TV Hub report and analysis, please visit www.filmlondon.org .

Sources:
www.filmlondon.org www.4rfv.co.uk

New Appointment for Film London

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 09:23:32 GMT

Film London has announced the appointment of David Shepheard as their new Inward Investment Manager. With more than a decade of experience, Shepheard will be working with the Inward Investment and Business Development team, headed up Helena Mackenzie. He will be responsible for attracting inward investment into the UK by promoting London as a world-class production location.

Shepheard is a former Film Commissioner, and has previously formed and led Film Commissions and Media Development agencies at city, regional and state levels. With a deep understanding of the international government and commercial support mechanisms for developing the Creative and Media economy, he is now responsible for showcasing the city globally. His remit also includes ensuring London remains film-friendly and is ready to accommodate domestic and international film, television and animation productions.

Adrian Wootton, Chief Executive of Film London and the British Film Commission says of the appointment,

“I am delighted David will be driving this work forward. His experience in this area will ensure we capitalise on London’s assets and deliver more investment into the capital, creating jobs and new opportunities for the benefit of the city.”

For more on this story please visit filmlondon.org

Applications Open for Business Incubation at Ravensbourne

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 08:19:41 GMT

Ravensbourne’s Digital Media Innovation Consultancy (DMIC) is now accepting applications from London-based media, technology and design businesses to join its 2014/15 Incubation Programme.

Having successfully supported more than 200 creative technology companies in the past four years, Ravensbourne is now offering an expanded Incubation Programme for 2014/15.

The Programme, which is offered free of charge, aims to support London’s media, design and technology companies with access to the university college’s technical facilities, extensive networks and professional business support, to enable them to innovate, collaborate and grow. Support provided includes:

Access to cutting-edge multimedia technical equipment
Access to high-end hot-desk workspaces
Professional Business Support with regular ‘Business Surgery’ sessions
Informal networking events
Access to larger events run by Ravensbourne’s commercial team.

Carrie Wootten, Head of Commercial Development says,

“Ravensbourne is well-known as a leading digital fashion, design and media college and having developed the incubation programme over the last four years, we’re now enhancing our offer significantly… On top of great workspaces and facilities, Incubation at Ravensbourne offers networking, personalised business advice, and access to specialist technical equipment. It’s a unique offer, opening up Ravensbourne’s wider network and facilities to London’s high-growth creative digital businesses.”

The application window for 2014/15 closes on 10 February 2014.

broadcast news , business opportunities , Digital Innovation Consultancy Project , Ravensbourne

University of Salford: Acoustics, Audio & Video Engineering Event

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 08:16:24 GMT

We’ll be attending the University of Salford’s Acoustics, Audio and Video Engineering recruitment event in Manchester on Wednesday 12 February, to meet students who will be graduating later this year.

The event will be held in the Foyer of the University of Salford Media City building and runs from 1.30-3.30. There will also be an Employer Panel taking questions from students later in the afternoon and our Senior Consultant, Natasha Booluck, will be participating in this.

If you’re studying a broadcast related degree at Salford and would like to meet up for a chat about your career plans, please drop by our stand during the show.

employment fair , graduate recruitment , University of Salford

Christy Media Solutions is at Sochi!

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 08:14:57 GMT

Cindy-Marie Leicester, our Senior Consultant (APAC) is currently attending the Sochi Winter Olympics.

She’s already met the mascots and is busy meeting lots of you, as well as enjoying watching the events. If you would like to meet up with Cindy-Marie in Sochi, to discuss your recruitment needs or potential career plans, please email us .

broadcast events , Sochi 2014

BVE 2014

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 08:13:17 GMT

Christy Media Solutions is looking forward to BVE 2014, which is being held for the second year at ExCeL London, from 25-27 February.

Our stand is L50, if you would like to come along and have a chat about either your company’s recruitment needs, your own career plans or simply to catch up or arrange a meeting for a later date.

BVE is one of the largest broadcast industry shows in the UK, featuring technologies and services for the production, management and broadcast of audio visual content. More than 250 companies will be exhibiting, so it’s a great place to find out what is happening in the industry as well as an excellent opportunity to network with your industry peers. There is also an extensive free programme of expert-led seminars. Pre-Registration online is free and you can register via the web

We hope you will come and visit our stand, L50. If you would like to pre-book a meeting with one of our consultants, please click here.

For more information about BVE 2014, or to register for free, please click on the image below.

broadcast events , BVE 2014 , London event

IBC 2014…

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 08:10:45 GMT

Christy Media Solutions will be exhibiting at IBC again this year. We’ll be on Stand C.29, in Hall 6, if you would like to come along and say hello, or you can pre-book an appointment with one of our consultants.

More about the show:

IBC is regular fixture on the global media and entertainment industry calendar, it is an exhibition and conference for the broadcast sector, held annually in Amsterdam at the RAI. This year the exhibition runs from 12-16 September and the conference runs from 11 – 15 September.

Hosting an influential conference and world-class exhibition, IBC immerses 50,000+ professionals from 170+ countries in an unrivaled experience, affording the opportunity to trade, educate, debate and connect with companies and leaders shaping the broadcast market.

With 1500+ exhibitors to visit, a comfy pair of shoes is essential!

Christy Media Solutions will be providing a customer code for FREE REGISTRATION to the exhibition, this is available on our website from April 2014 and will be valid until the show opens.

broadcast events , broadcast news , European broadcast event , free ticket to IBC , IBC 2014

Bill Vinten GTC University Awards

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 08:07:51 GMT

Entries are now invited for this year’s Bill Vinten GTC (Guild of Television Cameramen) University Awards.

The awards are open to all final-year undergraduates completing their courses this summer and the closing date for entries is 23 May 2014.

Bill Vinten Awards , broadcast news , Guild of Television Cameramen Awards

BroadcastAsia 2014

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 08:05:55 GMT

Christy Media will be attending BroadcastAsia in Singapore next month. The show is in its 19thyear and is a comprehensive digital and multimedia tradeshow for the pro-audio, film and TV industries.

BroadcastAsia is an important event in the region’s calendar, a great opportunity for professionals to network, exchange business ideas, gather market information and source the latest products and solutions.

Christy Media’s Deborah Cross and Cindy Marie Leicester are visiting the show and will be available for meetings on Wednesday 18 and Thursday 19 June. If you would like to meet with either of them, to discuss your company’s recruitment plans or your own career, please click here.

More about the show:

Around 17,000 visitors are expected to attend the exhibition which will show-case technologies from around the world, including:

NextGen Broadcasting – OTT / Hybrid / LTE / Broadband / Cloud
4K / UHD
Sports-casting
Multi-Platform Streaming
Satellite / Terrestrial / Cable Broadcasting
DVB-T2
Video Content Delivery Network
Broadcast IT Networking / Automation
Content Security
File-based Management Systems

APAC region , broadcast events , broadcast recruitment , BroadcastAsia2014 , Christy Media Solutions , international broadcast recruitment

National Women in Engineering Day – 23 June 2014

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 08:03:09 GMT

National Women in Engineering Day has been set up by the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) to celebrate its 95th anniversary.

The aim of the day is to celebrate the work that women do in engineering, and to showcase the great engineering careers that are available for girls.

On 23 June, WES wants to focus attention on opportunities for women in engineering, at a time when it has never been more important to address the engineering skills shortage. By encouraging girls into engineering careers we will not only be increasing diversity and inclusion – a business imperative – but also enabling us to fill the substantial future job opportunities that have been predicted in the engineering sector.

The idea behind National Women in Engineering Day (NWED) is to encourage groups to organise their own events in support of the day, linking them together for maximum impact through the use of the NWED logo, corresponding website , and supporting resources .

There is also a conference in London, “Women in Engineering: The Challenge” on 23 June. For further details please follow the link below.

Pictures from our trip to Broadcast Asia

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 07:51:49 GMT

Deborah and Cindy-Marie are currently visiting the Broadcast Asia exhibition in Singapore. Here are some snaps from their trip so far…

If you want to find out more about the show, please click here .

APAC broadcast recruitment , Broadcast Asia 2014 , broadcast events , international broadcast recruitment

Broadcast Asia: More snaps from Singapore!

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 07:49:50 GMT

Deborah Cross and Cindy-Marie Leicester have had a very successful trip to the Broadcast Asia show, exploring the exhibition and the latest broadcast technologies as well as catching up with old and new contacts. Here are some of their photographs…

APAC broadcast recruitment , Broadcast Asia 2014 , broadcast events , international broadcast recruitment

IBC 2014 – free registration

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 07:48:26 GMT

IBC is a world leading trade show for professionals involved in the creation, management and delivery of electronic media and entertainment content. The show runs from 12-16 September at the RAI, Amsterdam.

Christy Media Solutions will be exhibiting at the show again this year. We’ll be on Stand C.29, in Hall 6, if you would like to come along and say hello, or you can pre-book an appointment with one of our consultants.

More about the show:

Industry led 5 day, 4 stream conference programme
More than fourteen packed halls with over 1,500+ exhibitors displaying the industry’s most hi-tech products
FREE – IBC Content Everywhere
FREE – IBC Big Screen Experience
FREE – IBC Workflow Solutions
FREE – Future Zone
FREE – IBC Awards Ceremony

The customer code below will allow you to register for the IBC Exhibition for FREE, even after early bird registration has closed. With your registration pass, you will also receive a travel pass for the show, which you can pick up from Information Points onsite. Just click on the ticket below to visit the IBC website, to find out more about the show and to register for your free entry. You can also register for free onsite at IBC2014 by bringing your customer code with you.

broadcast events , Christy Media Solutions , European broadcast event , free ticket to IBC , IBC 2014 , Stand 6.C29

Seroj Baghdasarian

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 07:46:30 GMT

The team at Christy Media Solutions were saddened by the recent news regarding the death of Seroj Baghdasarian.

Seroj worked for Christy for a number of years, at a range of client sites as a contractor, prior to us placing him at Sky.

We will remember him with great fondness, not only for being the consummate professional that he was, but also for his amazing sense of humour. We would like to express our deepest condolences to his family at this sad time.

Christy Media Solutions at Nanjing!

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 07:45:14 GMT

Cindy-Marie Leicester, our Consultant covering APAC, is currently in Nanjing, China, at the 2ndSummer Youth Olympic Games. Here are some behind-the-scenes photos she has snapped, as the event preparations reach their final phase, with the Games opening on 16 August.

More information about the Games:

The 2nd Summer Youth Olympic Games will be held from 16 to 28 August 2014.
The 1st Summer Youth Olympic Games were held in Singapore in 2010.
The games are open to athletes between the ages of 14 and 18 .
Approximately 3600 athletes from around 200 nations will be competing at the Games.
The scale of the Youth Olympic Games is smaller than that of the Olympics, which allows smaller cities to host an Olympic event; potential host cities are required to keep all events within the same city and no new dedicated sports venues should be built.
The Nanjing Youth Olympic Games are already proving popular with more than 390,000 tickets already sold and events selling out fast.
The sports contested at the Youth Games are the same as those scheduled for the traditional summer Olympics, but with some adaptations, and a limited number of disciplines spread over 222 events.
Golf and Rugby Sevens will also be included for the first time in this event, prior to their debut at the Rio 2016 Games.

Find out more about the Nanjing Olympics…

APAC broadcast recruitment , broadcast events , international broadcast recruitment , Nanjing Youth Olympics

More photos from the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing..

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 07:42:59 GMT

Cindy-Marie Leicester, our Senior Consultant (APAC) is currently in Nanjing, China, at the 2ndSummer Youth Olympic Games, here are some more of her photos…

Find out more about the Nanjing Olympics…

APAC broadcast recruitment , broadcast events , international broadcast recruitment , Nanjing Youth Olympics

IBC 2014

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 07:35:12 GMT

We’re currently at IBC in Amsterdam, exploring the latest innovations in broadcasting and meeting up with lots of our clients and candidates. If you’re at the show and you’d like to meet up, please drop by our stand in Hall 6 (Stand C.29) or email us to arrange a meeting.

As usual, we’ve also been taking plenty of photos to share with you, so here’s a selection from the 1st two days at the show…

Amsterdam events , broadcast events , broadcast recruitment , Christy Media Solutions , IBC 2014 , international broadcast recruitment

IBC 2014 – more photos…

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 07:33:14 GMT

A further selection of photos from the show… did we snap your stand?

Amsterdam events , broadcast events , IBC 2014 , international broad cast recruitment , RAI

IBC – All over for another year…

Sat, 08 Apr 2023 16:20:44 GMT

Another IBC is over and the Christy Media team are all back at our desks, catching up with everything that has happened while we’ve been in Amsterdam. We had a very busy show and would like to thank everyone who took the time to stop by and have a chat with us.

IBC report that there were more than 55,000 attendees at this year’s show, from over 170 countries, making it the largest IBC show to date.

A popular theme this year was “content everywhere” and how broadcasting is evolving, with much discussion on the show floor regarding mobility and connectivity and the technical, operational and commercial challenges that broadcasters face in this new era.

The keynote speeches also identified the need to attract and retain fresh young talent with the necessary software skills, into the industry, as broadcasting transitions into more IP-based workflows and systems.

During the show, IBC TV featured interviews and coverage of major events, including the keynote speeches and many of the other presentations. You can view these here: www.ibc.org/VOD .

broadcast events , broadcast recruitment , broadcast shows , Christy Media Solutions , IBC 2014 , international broadcast jobs , international broadcast recruitment

Finalists for the Bill Vinten GTC University Awards announced

Sat, 08 Apr 2023 16:18:49 GMT

The Bill Vinten GTC University Awards will be presented at the University of York’s Heslington Studios on October 22nd 2014. The competition focuses on the undergraduates’ use of camera skills to enhance the content of the films submitted and this year’s talented finalists have taken to boats, filmed underwater, shot in cinemascope, and worked into the night, with smoke, lights and mirrors to make it to the final shortlist.

The six short-listed graduates are as follows:

Adam Grasso – Director of Photography
S.O.S. (for the artist Femme)

Vince Knight – Director of Photography
The Domestic Lives of Mollusks

Jacob Leese – Camera Operator
Scarlet

Thomas McKie – Director of Photography
The Last Fisherman

Daniel O’Flaherty – Director of Photography
Sunday Dinner at the Morgans

Thomas Reed – Director of Photography
Flypaper

The competition has been fierce with entries from universities increasing by over a third this year; the institution with the highest scoring portfolio from the films submitted by their undergraduates will win the prestigious Bill Vinten GTC University Trophy.

The universities competing for the Bill Vinten GTC University Trophy are:

Birmingham City University
Bournemouth University
Buckinghamshire New University
Cambridge School of Art, Anglia Ruskin University
Edge Hill University
Kingston University, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Computing
Northern Film School, Leeds Metropolitan University
Southbank University
Staffordshire University, Media (Film) Production Course
University for the Creative Arts
University of Lincoln

Guests to the event will be able to view the entries on the night or you can click here to visit the GTC’s website and view the short-listed films.

About the Guild of Television Cameramen

The Guild of Television Cameramen is an independent non-profit-making international organisation that cares about television camerawork and the people who make it their craft. The GTC has over 1,000 members, in the UK, Europe, Australia, Russia, Singapore, South Africa and the USA. Most members work in aspects of television ranging from production through documentary and drama, live events, news and current affairs, sports and light entertainment, to corporate video.

Run by a council of volunteer television professionals, the GTC is financed by subscription from its members as well as sponsorship from equipment manufacturers and suppliers. As a result, the GTC offers a channel for manufacturers to consult with working cameramen when designing new equipment. GTC membership is open to anyone employed in single or multi-camera television operations or in any associated occupation.

Bill Vinten Awards , broadcast events , graduate news , Guild of Television Cameramen Awards

1 October: It’s File Delivery Day!

Sat, 08 Apr 2023 16:16:20 GMT

In September 2013 the Digital Production Partnership, an organisation formed to support collaboration in the UK TV industry on standards and practices in digital production, announced 1 October 2014 as ‘File Delivery Day’ – the date on which all the UK broadcasters, post-production companies, indies and programme makers would adopt the DPP common standard for the delivery of television programmes as digital files rather than on tape.

The date marks a major change in the way that TV programmes are delivered and broadcasters, post production facilities and manufacturers have spent the last year working together to make the change as smooth as possible.

The DPP has produced a number of informative documents which are available as downloads from their website, including advice for people working in production and post production. You can visit the DPP website to find out more via the button below.

The BBC Academy has also produced a variety of resources to help support the change and raise awareness and you can find more about these on their website.

Bill Vinten GTC University Awards Winners

Sat, 08 Apr 2023 16:14:08 GMT

The University for the Creative Arts won the prestigious Bill Vinten Guild of Television Cameramen (GTC) University Award Trophy, at the recent GTC University Awards event, hosted by the University of York at their Heslington Studios.

Bill Vinten OBE, presented the award to the Vice-Chancellor of the University for the Creative Arts, Dr Simon Ofield-Kerr who said, ‘It’s a great honour and a great prize. I’m proud of the staff team from the School of Film and Media who’ve made winning this award possible for our students.’

Course leader at UCA, Claire Barwell, who was at the event with lecturers Noski Deville and Chris Pinnock said,

‘I had not prepared a speech, so I missed the opportunity to say how close the values of the GTC are to what we try to teach our students – that the technical proficiency of the camera department must serve the story above all! I also particularly welcome the Bill Vinten GTC University Awards for recognising the importance of the craft skills in our teaching. Too often the reward and recognition goes to the directors and the films rather than the crew, so this award is especially important to us.’

Vince Knight from Bournemouth University won the individual prize for his work on ‘The Domestic Life of Mollusks’. The judges said it was a ‘beautifully filmed drama with a variety of camera skills used to enhance the storyline’ with ‘a style and pace that was hypnotic.’ They said the results were ‘absolutely astonishing’. Vince will be taking work experience with the production team and crew on the BBC daytime drama ‘Doctors’.

Three of UCA’s student films were in the shortlisted six, scoring more points collectively for the camerawork than the other universities that entered. The runners up, Daniel O’Flaherty and Thomas Read, are both from the University for the Creative Arts. Dan’s film, ‘Sunday Dinner with the Morgans’, mixed ‘a range of different movements into this one film seamlessly as each element fitted the storyline’. One judge said ‘ I can’t find anything to drag this film down’. Tom’s work on ‘Flypaper’ was ‘very mature and confident’ with ‘great hand held work’ and ‘fantastic underwater photography’. Dan will also be gaining experience on the set of ‘Doctors’ while Tom will work with Lion Television in the New Year.

GTC Chairman, Keith Massey, hosted the award ceremony attended by GTC members, sponsors and representatives of the eleven competing universities. On hand to present the individual awards were judges GTC President Dick Hibberd, Karen Hall and Graham Reed. Judge Anna Carrington said ‘The quality of student work this year was fantastic, all of those who entered should feel very proud of their work and what they have achieved.’

At the time of writing, all the shortlisted films can still be viewed on the GTC website, please click on the button below.

Bill Vinten Awards , broadcast news , GTC , Guild of Television Cameramen Awards

Ravensbourne’s Futures Fest

Sat, 08 Apr 2023 16:11:09 GMT

Our broadcastgraduate.com team of Maddie Turner and Sophie Scard will be at Ravensbourne’s Futures Fest on Wednesday 18 November, meeting the next generation of broadcast talent.

If you’re at the event, please do drop by our stand and say hello!

broadcast event , broadcastgraduate

Merry Christmas..

Sat, 08 Apr 2023 16:08:29 GMT

Wishing you a Merry Christmas from all the Christy Media Solutions team.

Christy at Christmas…

Sat, 08 Apr 2023 16:07:13 GMT

The Christy Media team enjoyed an excellent Christmas Party on Friday 12 December in Woburn.

BVE 2015..

Sat, 08 Apr 2023 16:05:34 GMT

Christy Media Solutions is exhibiting at BVE in London, 24-26 February 2015, Stand M44.

BVE is the largest broadcast and technology event held in the UK, showcasing technologies and services for the production, management and broadcast of audio visual content. The exhibition is also free to attend for people currently working in the broadcast and production industries.

There will be more than 200 exhibitors at BVE, displaying a comprehensive mix of products and services for broadcast technology and creative content, covering all areas of the workflow and more than 15,000 visitors are expected to attend during the 3 days of the show.

If you would like to pre-book a meeting with one of our team, during the show, please get in touch .

Entry is free if you register in advance or £15 on the door on the day. Please click the button below to register for BVE for free.

broadcast events , BVE 2015 , Christy Media Solutions , London events

CABSAT 2015…

Sat, 08 Apr 2023 16:02:48 GMT

Now in its 21st year, CABSAT has evolved to be the main event in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia regions for industry professionals within the Broadcast, Satellite, Content Delivery and Digital Media sectors. The show covers the creation, exchange, distribution, management and monetization of all filmed entertainment and radio content and features more than 900 exhibitors with representatives from 60+ countries.

Christy Media Solutions will be exhibiting at the show on Stand D3-43 in the UK Pavillion, please click here if you would like to prebook a meeting with one of our team.

The CABSAT show is held over 3 days at the Dubai World Trade Centre, from 10 -12 March 2015, and the associated conference, in partnership with the NAB Show, is aiming to deliver a world-class content management conference programme covering the latest trends, technologies and innovations in the global broadcasting and media market.

To find out more about the show, please visit the CABSAT website .

broadcast events , CABSAT 2015 , Christy Media Solutions , Dubai events

We’re at BVE this week…

Sat, 08 Apr 2023 16:00:52 GMT

We’re exhibiting at BVE this week, in London’s Excel. The show is open from Tuesday to Thursday and our stand is M44.

There’s still time to register on line for free rather than paying £15 on the door – just click the button below.

BVE 2015

Sat, 08 Apr 2023 15:58:38 GMT

Christy Media Solutions had a great show at BVE in London again this year. The show was very busy and we met lots of new faces as well as taking the opportunity to catch up with our existing clients and candidates.

We’d like to say thank you to everyone who took the time to visit our stand and we hope to see you at the show again next year.

If you didn’t manage to visit BVE, you can still catch up on all the latest news from the show via the BVE Daily newspapers – just click on the image below to visit the BVE website.

broadcast recruitment , BVE 2015 , Christy Media events , Christy Media Solutions , London event

CABSAT 2015

Sat, 08 Apr 2023 15:56:47 GMT

Christy Media Solutions is looking forward to exhibiting at CABSAT next week.

The show is an important event for industry professionals within the Broadcast, Satellite, Content Delivery and Digital Media sectors in the Middle East, African and South Asian regions.

CABSAT runs for 3 days at the Dubai World Trade Centre, from 10 -12 March 2015, and the associated conference, in partnership with the NAB Show, is aiming to deliver a world-class content management conference programme, covering the latest trends, technologies and innovations in the global broadcasting and media market.

The show covers the creation, exchange, distribution, management and monetization of all filmed entertainment and radio content and features more than 900 exhibitors with representatives from 60+ countries. It should be a busy 3 days and we are looking forward to catching up with many of our contacts in the region, as well as making new connections while we are there.

We will be exhibiting at the show on stand D3-43 in the UK Pavilion, please click here if you would like to prebook a meeting with one of our team. Our team at the show this year will be Christian Magill and Deborah Cross .

You can find out more about the show by clicking the button below:

broadcast events , broadcast jobs , broadcast recruitment , CABSAT , international broadcast recruitment , Middle East broadcast jobs

Pictures from Day One at CABSAT

Sat, 08 Apr 2023 15:54:33 GMT

We’re exhibiting at CABSAT this week on stand D3-43, please do come and say hello to Christian and Deborah if you are at the show.

Pictures here snapped by us from Day One at the show.

broadcast event , CABSAT 2015 , international broadcast recruitment , Middle East

More snaps from CABSAT…

Sat, 08 Apr 2023 15:52:36 GMT

A few more photos from our trip to Cabsat in Dubai…

Thursday is the final day at the show and we’d like to thank everyone who has visited our stand so far. If you’re at the show today, you can find our stand at D3-4

broadcast events , CABSAT 2015 , international broadcast recruitment , Middle East

Congratulations to the Christy Media Team!

Sat, 08 Apr 2023 15:27:35 GMT

We’d like to congratulate Christy Media Solutions team members who have recently passed their IABM exams.

Deborah Cross, Natasha Booluck, Emily Randall and Sophie Scard attended training with the IABM Educational Foundation, before sitting and passing their exams, and are now certified as Broadcast & Media Technologists (Associate level) by the IABM. The training that the team have received is not tied to any particular broadcaster, manufacturer or vendor and aims to provide a balanced and impartial view of the subject.

Here’s what the team thought about the training:

“It gave me a much better understanding of the workflows and technical processes involved in making television.”

“It has really helped to further develop my knowledge when discussing technological requirements with potential candidates and clients.”

“It gave me a sound understanding of the business threats that our more traditional clients face from internet based content providers and the ways that they are evolving to combat these.”

“I was interested in the impact that digital technology has had on the broadcast industry and the future developments that are predicted within the industry. I also found it very helpful to see where our clients “sit” within the broadcast workspace – who are their customers and competitors, what are their routes to market etc.”

Our company’s investment in our team through industry specific education, underlines our commitment to continuously improving the quality of the services we provide to our clients.

As a service-led business, the quality of our service is a key differentiator from our competitors’ offerings and we invest in it accordingly, which is why we are members of the IABM and ARC and why we ensure our team regularly attend industry events and further their knowledge through training.

Christy Media news , Christy Media people , Christy Media Solutions , IABM , Looking for staff

Rise Awards 2022

Wed, 09 Nov 2022 16:44:00 GMT

We are hugely honoured to be a sponsor for the 2022 Rise Awards, which are dedicated to celebrating the incredible female talent and their allies in the Media Tech space.

Congratulations to Lainey Scott-Campbell, Madeline LaRue, Shivani Kochhar, Swapna Nadkarni, Jane Sung & Amanda Wall for the amazing work contributing to their nominations in the Business Operations category.

We are so looking forward to celebrating at the awards evening with all the nominees, winners, organisers and incredible sponsors!

The State of Streaming

Tue, 01 Nov 2022 14:53:00 GMT

The move of several streaming giants towards ad-supported models has been commonplace in the news over the last 6 months and was also a hot topic at this year’s IBC.

It hasn’t just been Netflix, who initially stole the headlines with an unprecedented fall in subscribers leading them to consider adopting ads, but several other large services such as Disney+ that have also announced that they will be introducing a lower-priced tier with ads in late 2022.

There has, of course, been widespread outrage of consumers who see various streaming services as reneging on their promise of remaining ad-free. Luckily however, whilst being ad-free was certainly at the crux of some services’ business mantras, most prominently Netflix’s, it still doesn’t quite have the gravitas that streaming’s real focal point has always had, abundance. Abundance of content so that it can cater for all but specialise to the individual, and to specialise to the individual with maximum efficiency, you must be able to use and leverage data, another of IBC’s hot topics.

Fortunately, the digital age has enabled streaming services to be able to collect data far more numerously, accurately, and effectively than their predecessors. A session at the Showcase Theatre, “Insights from streaming UX: How UKTV’s data-informed culture drives revenue opportunities”, highlighted how important utilising data has always been to streaming in being able to make accurate suggestions to viewers, helping to keep subscribers on the service for longer. But data’s utility, especially when used with a bit of imagination, is far more expansive than that.

Speakers Marie Fenner and Andy Isaacs identified that you can collect data on other aspects of viewers’ behaviour including how they interact with the service’s interface, what suggestions they may skip, what catches the eye for longer. Even searching for titles that a service may not have in their content offering can be recorded, counted, and used for suggestions on what type of content may be more valuable to acquire or produce in the future.

Data can also be used to identify so called “high value” users and “sleepers” (users who barely use a service and may be more inclined to cancel it), and thus cater UXs and UIs to each respectively, perhaps even pushing lower-priced tiers with ads as a carrot to keep the “sleepers” rather than see them contribute to the perilous churn rate.

A separate seminar, “TNW Talks @ IBC: AdTech”, also explored different methods of using data in streaming, identifying the deployment of AI and machine use in collecting actionable insights into how to improve services.

It speaks volumes that several seminars at IBC either focused on or mentioned the importance of data to streaming services today, with one speaker even going as far as to dub it “the new oil” . Indeed, the precious resource that has supported streaming through so much of its journey so far seems set to be the saving grace to help navigate it’s move to ads too.

Just like how data is leveraged to make content suggestions to subscribers, data will dictate the algorithms that play adverts on different accounts, and different profiles on those accounts. Whether this be as simple as not playing a horribly inappropriate advert during family movie night, or to give users the impression of a more tailored experience, or to generate greater profits from more targeted and effective advertising, there is no doubt that data will be front and centre of the process.

Now that most of the streaming juggernauts are committed to bringing ads onto their platforms however, the sophistication of ads will take place rapidly, and who knows where data will allow them to take it?

Written by Saul Gunn, Consultant

How FAST?

Fri, 07 Oct 2022 09:41:00 GMT

We spoke to Associate Director, Emily Oliver, to get her thoughts on the latest industry surge and discuss what FAST really means to the consumer…

The IBC 2022 exhibition, which was held in person for the first time since 2019 saw industry professionals and technology enthusiasts gather to see first-hand, what the latest trends and new innovative solutions the broadcast & media entertainment industry had to offer.

The buzzword of the exhibition, FAST (free ad-supported television), is really growing fast and seems to have overtaken SVOD (subscription-based video on demand). FAST channels, offer viewers the opportunity to view content, much like linear TV channels, but for OTT and connected TV platforms and without the need for expensive subscriptions. In this modern world, there is so much content available for the viewer and some households find themselves subscribing to multiple streaming platforms and subscription-based providers based on their demographic, interests and gender. FAST is becoming increasingly popular due to the fact it is free to the consumer, making its money from advertisements and not the audience, giving them the option to view content on multiple platforms and channels without incurring a monthly cost.

FAST offers more traditional broadcasters the opportunity to be innovative with their content and have a greater footprint across new devices and services. The growth of FAST channels will bring with it a big change to the industry whilst still maintaining some aspects of traditional broadcast television that some viewers love.

It was clear to see from the seminars I was lucky enough to attend, that this growth will continue over the coming years, transitioning linear and VOD, making viewing even more simple for it’s audiences.

News from HQ!

Wed, 24 Nov 2021 15:44:00 GMT

There’s a big announcement from Christy Media HQ. We are thrilled to announce that after 16 years with Christy Media Solutions, both Mark Burke and Deborah Cross have been promoted to Directors of the business.

Christian Magill, Founder of Christy Media Solutions said: “Deborah and Mark are integral parts of the team and critical to our success. They are at the forefront of our delivery efforts and have been catalysts in the development of our brand and reputation. Both have an incredible amount of talent and expertise and I’m absolutely delighted to see them being appointed as Directors and continue to work alongside them as we grow and develop Christy Media.”

On her work to date and future plans, Deborah said: “It’s been a fantastic journey. I’m immensely proud to be part of the team who have established ourselves as a highly respected leader in our sector. In my new role of Commercial Director I will be focusing on maintaining existing industry relationships as well as forging new key partnerships. It’s also essential that we continue to offer our candidates and clients the quality, professional and valuable experience that they have come to expect from us.

“The cornerstone of the success of our organisation is our culture. We have a very low turnover of staff which is unusual in the recruitment industry, and we actively encourage career development and progression for all our consultants. My favourite part of my job is the incredible people I get to work with. Not just the amazing team we have here, but also the candidates and clients I’m so lucky to help. This is a really special industry to work in.”

Mark said about his new role and time at Christy Media: “Watching the company grow from just Christian, Deborah and myself, to an industry renowned, global organisation with a strong and successful team is a privilege and something I’m extremely proud of. A key focus for me as Sales Director will be ensuring we continue to adapt to the ever-changing needs of our industry while helping our consultants develop their knowledge and experience and excel in their careers.”

“Our objective has always been to position ourselves as well respected, knowledgeable industry leaders and we continue to achieve this. We value building strong connections across the industry and developing genuine knowledge of our sector. My favourite thing about being part of the Christy team is the opportunity to see individual careers flourish knowing that I had a small part in that success. I have placed some incredible client contacts in their first roles in the industry, and after all these years I still get a genuine buzz to see career progression and help others to climb the career ladder.”

We are immensely proud to celebrate their commitment, passion and expertise and are excited to see them continue driving Christy Media forward.

Could office life be a thing of the past?

Tue, 15 Jun 2021 13:01:00 GMT

It’s been over 14-months since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, with millions of people adapting to lockdown-life and abrupt changes to working patterns, but has this forever affected working life as we know it?

Like many around the world, we as a team have moved to remote working and virtual communications, with lots of us spending the last year waving at colleagues through screens, offering virtual meetings to our clients and getting very familiar with everyone’s kitchens… however as life looks to be resuming some normality, which of these patterns are here to stay?

Some of the biggest changes we’ve seen have been around interview styles. Remote, video interviews offer increased flexibility for busy diaries, often a more relaxed and familiar environment for candidates, and a better chance of getting more decision-makers in one place, so many hiring processes can move quicker and more efficiently.

Many of our clients are still adopting virtual interviews and believe they change the recruitment process for the better. With video interviews being the lockdown salvation for many recruitment campaigns, it doesn’t look like they are set to disappear anytime soon.

We are also seeing a rise in jobs offering hybrid working patterns, with employees splitting their time between homeworking and office time. The benefits can be endless; organisations can hire the best talent regardless of location, employees can save both time and costs on commuting and the flexibility lends itself to that all important work-life balance.

From talking to professionals in our industry every day, the consensus seems to be that while most workforces still appreciate the opportunity to spend time in an ‘office’, interact with their colleagues, meet their clients and attend social events, there is more appreciation than ever for flexibility, so perhaps the hybrid models are here to stay.

We’re working closely with our clients and candidates to support them whatever their new work life looks like – if you would like to talk about your next move or new hire then get in touch!

Let’s Talk About IR35

Fri, 26 Mar 2021 12:35:00 GMT

With the IR35 changes fast approaching, we are still seeing a lot of people unsure if and how IR35 will impact them, and what they need to do about it.

Now is the time to get informed and make sure you know how the legislative changes are likely to impact you, so we’ve created a ‘Need to Know’ document to hopefully answer some of the questions we’ve been asked often by both our candidates and our clients.

[pdf-embedder url=”https://www.christy-media.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/letstalkaboutIR35compressedcms.pdf”]

The year ahead

Wed, 06 Jan 2021 11:20:00 GMT

There are reasons to be cheerful within an industry that continues to adapt

Despite the challenging start to 2021 for many, including a new national lockdown in the UK, the broadcast media world continues to showcase it’s resilience and agility.

Only a few industries were fortunate enough to see demand from their customers maintained during 2020. Broadcast media was one of those – it has been relied upon to entertain and inform an audience that has been craving content while forced to stay indoors.

There is no doubt that certain revenue channels will have taken a hit but there has been an opportunity to embrace new captive audiences. This has resulted in many organisations accelerating projects which may have already been planned pre-COVID.

With a 3rd lockdown now in place across the UK, media organisations are immediately faced with an opportunity to reach consumers who will be actively hunting entertaining and engaging content.

Linear broadcasting has been, and will continue to be, pushed even further to the back of consumer’s minds as organisations look to grab the share of growing audiences with screen-time shooting up across devices. To capture these viewers, creative projects need to be carefully executed. This could be done through the construction of new platforms or perhaps a rebuild of existing OTT platforms to bolster the choices of content for savvy end-users.

Blending this all together means there continues to be a real demand for skills to facilitate these new projects in broadcast media. We have certainly found this to be the case with our work at Christy Media over the course of 2020.

Throughout the pandemic we have been able to successfully place and support candidates with the appropriate transferable skills to help organisations efficiently accelerate these plans.

As we look ahead to 2021, we know that the talented individuals and innovative organisations at the heart of the broadcast media industry will continue to develop new ways to deliver great content, when we all need it most.

Get in touch if you’re looking for your next role or require the right new skills to take your organisation’s value proposition to new heights.

Investing in potential at CMS & UWS

Thu, 10 Dec 2020 12:13:00 GMT

Building on industry expertise with a commitment to ongoing training & development.

Continuous learning and professional development is hugely important to us at Christy Media Solutions. As a company focused on human resources and professional talent across the broadcast media industry, it’s critical that we, as a team, continue to learn, develop and nurture our expertise.

Training is just one of the ways we do that. We support a learning culture to keep our team motivated, and to continue to offer the best level of service to our clients and candidates. As well as tailored internal training and support, we also work with our training partner, Recruitment Juice , to help facilitate our team’s learning.

Across the team we have completed 300 hours of learning in 2020, covering topics that include candidate and client care, recruitment processes and effective working. This is a tool that can be leveraged online so it allows us to benefit from a range of expert trainers remotely without being affected by the coronavirus restrictions.

Recruitment Juice have teamed up with United World Schools on their Teach the Unreached programme, which is dedicated to improving the lives of children through education. Through this project every two hours of training completed by our team is redeemed and donated as a day of school for a child in Cambodia, Myanmar or Nepal so that their potential can be turned into reality.

So far through our learning, we are proud to have donated 133 days of schooling to the campaign, and we look forward to donating many more.

Work feels good when we are inspired and motivated, and learning is a central part of that. Staff are our most valuable asset and we are committed to helping everybody at Christy Media continue to develop and thrive as we head into 2021 and beyond.

Insights Uncategorized Seven ways to make the best of your time spent on furlough – Broadcast Media professionals

Thu, 26 Nov 2020 12:24:00 GMT

Still on furlough or working reduced hours?

There are still huge numbers of employees on furlough and similar schemes around the world. Here in the UK the furlough scheme could be in full effect until the end of March, with a review in January.

If you’re currently furloughed then you’re almost certainly going to be kept on the scheme in some capacity until the end of the year….

This means that many will have been furloughed for almost 10 months by the end of 2020 and it’s now becoming more of a challenge for employees in the industry to stay busy and motivated while not directly working for their respective organisations.

From a wellbeing perspective it’s important to be able to make use of this time to keep your mind engaged and it’s also a good time to reflect on your career. So, we’ve come up with some top furlough tips for putting this continued extra time to good use.

1. Stay professional
This era of furlough or reduced hours will inevitably come to an end eventually and when it does everybody will return to a more traditional working routine. It’s important therefore, to be ready to hit the ground running when this time comes as the vast majority of organisations will be playing catch up. In readiness for this, try retaining a professional daily routine with activities at the same times you would normally be working. This should hopefully mean there is less of a body shock when returning to full time work.

2. Stay active
It’s very easy to fall into a cycle of doing much less exercise than you normally would around a normal working calendar. Why not just make the most of your extra time to complete your exercises when you feel most motivated in the day? There will also be less of a rush before and after your exercise to sprint back to your desk! Staying active is one of the ultimate stress relievers, even if it is just getting out for a walk and some fresh air.

3. Volunteering
It’s a great time to volunteer for a cause that is important to you. Most charities and not-for-profit organisations have adapted to the current restrictions so that volunteers can help out in some way remotely. Why not?

4. Stay informed
It’s always important to keep up to date with the latest developments in the Broadcast Media world. The backbone of the industry is new technology driving engagement among consumers and this is constantly being refined as organisations battle for eyeballs so stay informed on advancements that could affect you and your company.

5. Boost your learning and personal development
Normally our day-to-day work responsibilities keep us occupied to a level where our own personal learning and development is not always valued highly. Now could be a great time to consider some courses and training that YOU feel are important. Use this time to reflect on what you may want to brush up on and then go and seek the type of learning you want to engage in.

6. Allocate some extra time for your own hobbies.
It’s hugely unlikely we will be in this position again. So, in moderation and combined with the other points listed here, do something you enjoy. Did somebody say PS5? Xbox? A page-turner you’ve been eyeing up for a while? A continuation of a streaming binge? Whatever suits, it’s all about that escapism!

7. What’s next in your career?
This is also an excellent time to reflect on your career and what you want next. Perhaps you want to assemble the material needed for that next promotion or maybe you are looking for a different challenge. Either way this time can be used to consider what has and has not been achieved in your career.

If you are looking for a role in the Broadcast Media space then get in touch

The future of Broadcast Media and Entertainment

Mon, 21 Sep 2020 13:52:00 GMT

What does the future for the broadcast media and entertainment industry look like?

Like much of the rest of the world, over recent months the broadcast media and entertainment industry has been forced to adapt. Organisations and individuals have been responding to the challenges of COVID-19 by creating new models, ideas and ways of doing things. While much of this was born from necessity, as we begin the new normal, many of these changes will bring benefits to the industry beyond the pandemic.

Content creation

Lockdown meant the broadcast media sector had to adjust to physical limits on filming and production. New guidelines, social distancing precautions and the need to keep staff safe were paramount. Remote production has significantly grown as many broadcasters looked at new and innovative ways to create content during lockdown.

These changes have impacted our expectations from broadcasting and it will be interesting to see if we ever get used to seeing presenters sitting next to each other again for example.

Trade Shows

Large scale trade shows are an integral part of the broadcast media and entertainment industry calendar. As a result of COVID-19, many conferences and exhibitions have gone virtual in 2020, offering a very different online experience.

While shows can be a significant investment for organisations, they do offer an important focal point in the industry, so we’ll be watching closely to see if this trend continues.

Shows are typically a key time for product launches, and we often see a lot of new technology unveiled at the same time each year.

It may be that a reduced focus on shows means a democratising of launches, so perhaps we will see a steadier stream of new technology throughout the year, not tied into major events.

Likewise we have seen a rise in individual businesses creating their own virtual events during lockdown – there have been more webinars and a greater focus on creating tailored content.

Organisations may well look to continue this after lockdown, with a focus on building online communities and adding value for customers.

HR and recruitment in Broadcast Media

Many organisations have used lockdown as an opportunity to review processes and systems. Businesses are now more open to remote and flexible working, which has been proved as viable during lockdown for many. Although a number of roles in the broadcast media sector naturally require in-person working, we do expect there to be a pick up in home and remote working where this suits both employer and employee in the future.

Black Lives Matter has led to new and important calls for diversity and anti-racism in the broadcast media and entertainment sector. During lockdown, many businesses have pledged to do more to combat racism and we hope to see real action and implementation of this over the coming months.

One major trend is a rise in video interviews ( please watch our video interviews tips ) and remote recruitment. This will have major positive impacts long term, with reduced costs, time and resources needed for interviewing, meaning a better experience for candidates and recruiters alike.

The impact on staffing and careers in Broadcast

The pandemic has naturally impacted the broadcast media recruitment sector. Many organisations paused recruitment during lockdown, although it’s positive to see this is now picking up again.

Many freelancers in particular have suffered during the pandemic, with these workers often the first to lose work and many not being eligible for government support. One small silver lining has been the delay to IR35 ( what is IR35? ) which will prove helpful to some people.

Generally we have seen an upskilling of the workforce during the lockdown with many people using this time to undergo training, develop new skills and diversify either on their own or with the support of their employers. Many individuals have also used this time to carefully assess their career paths and what they want from future employment so we expect to see a strong market for talent after lockdown. Many candidates are now prioritising roles that offer career development, work life balance and creative and inspiring work.

Welcome to our team!

Wed, 05 Aug 2020 07:34:00 GMT

We are delighted to welcome Robert Dugmore to the Christy Media Solutions team, joining us as a Business Development Manager. Rob has a wealth of experience in the broadcast media industry with a background in B2B sports media, including working at SportsPro and as a Sports Reporter for Brighton & Hove Albion FC.

Rob says: “There are a few exciting trends in the industry especially when considering sports media platforms and the streaming of large scale live sports; are the traditional subscription models for OTT going to stick around or will an AVOD approach take over the media we consume?

“Another interesting trend we are starting to really see take effect now is the rise in importance for remote production. Given the knock on effect of COVID-19, it’s becoming more and more important to be able to engage fans remotely and we have seen many esport events and returning live sports events embrace this with great results.”

Rob will be supporting the growth of the business and our global network of broadcast media, sport & entertainment customers.

Tips for video interviews

Tue, 12 May 2020 14:27:00 GMT

There has been a big rise in the use of video interviews in the broadcast and media sector over recent weeks. In response to the need for social distancing, new hiring methods have been forced to the fore, but in our opinion this could also have long term positive impacts for both employers and candidates in the future.

The benefits of virtual recruitment models have been known for a long time. Remote interviews are easier and faster to set up, attend and staff. There is no additional cost or time spent physically getting to them, or requirement for meeting rooms to host them in. Videos can also be easily recorded and shared with other people.

Video interviews are a relatively new concept for most of us and they require a slightly different form of preparation if they are to be successful.

We’d like to share our advice on how to make your next video interview a success.

Video interview tips for candidates in the broadcast and media sector

Research the company

Whilst there are clear differences, you should treat a video interview in the same way you would treat a normal face to face interview. This means doing your preparation and remembering that this opportunity could lead to a brand new job. Take some time to research the company beforehand and ensure you fully understand what they do as a business, the key products and services they offer and who their main customers and competitors are in the market.

Refresh your technology knowledge

Be sure to refresh your knowledge of any key technologies or skills mentioned in both the job description and your CV.

Prepare Q&As

Interviews often include opportunities for you to ask questions about the job and company, so take some time to think through what you want to know. It’s a win-win, as it will give you the information you need and also show the hiring manager that you are genuinely interested in the job.

Prepare your device

Decide if you are going to use your phone or computer for the call. There are pros and cons for each; the camera may be better on your phone, but using a laptop can make for easier hands-free discussion. Whichever you choose, make sure your device battery is fully charged, and if you live with anyone else, ask them to stay offline during your video interview, so you have maximum bandwidth to minimise any connectivity issues.

Familiarise yourself with the technology ahead of time

There are a huge number of platforms that offer video conferencing and they all have slightly different settings. Make sure you are familiar with the technology before the call; some will require you to download a new app or software. It’s best to do this well ahead of time, rather than having a last minute rush or even being late to the interview.

Choose your ‘office’

Your backdrop is important. Find somewhere you can sit where you have good internet signal and lighting. Choose a spot where you won’t be disturbed, where there won’t be too much noise from people you share a home with, and where you can easily position your laptop or phone. Think about what is visible behind you and what it says to your interviewer. You don’t need to rearrange your whole house, but do think about where you will be and what else will be in shot.

Dress for the job you want

Avoid the temptation to dress down because you are ‘only’ video chatting. It’s really important to give a good first impression and dress appropriately for video interviews. Yes, that means wearing proper trousers even though you’ll only show your top half! It can be a good idea to wear solid colours too, as very busy clothes can be distracting on video.

Be yourself

Don’t let the fact it’s an interview stop you from being yourself. Organisations, especially in our sector, want to see your personality and getting this across in a video chat can be different to real life. First impressions count, so make sure you are positive and up beat and don’t let the screen stop you from showcasing who you really are.

International Recruiters Day

Thu, 09 Apr 2020 09:02:00 GMT

It’s International Recruiters Day today, and we’re here to help you find and hire the best people for your team worldwide.

We don’t know how the current situation will play out, but one change we have noticed is that organisations now have access to candidates in a way they have never had before.

With so many people working at home or furloughed, this is a unique time to reach and talk to new talent.

Many organisations are now interviewing candidates via video and are finding it very effective and easy to set up.

In these unprecedented times, many candidates are eager and open to new roles, and are happy to secure roles with an unknown start date.

Dispite the unusual circumstances this could be a real opportunity to get to know some of the most talented individuals in the industry. Our team is working working from home and available to discuss your recruitment plans today on International Recruiters Day and everyday.

IR35 – what you need to know

Sun, 23 Feb 2020 10:01:00 GMT

changes

What is IR35?

IR35 is a reform to off payroll working regulations. From April 2020, it will come into force for all medium and large private sector organisations, following the rollout to the public sector in 2017. Small companies are exempt – a company qualifies as small if two of the following conditions apply; less than £10.2 million annual turnover, less than £5.1 million balance sheet total or fewer than 50 employees.

From 6 April 2020 responsibility for working rules moves from individual contractors to the organisation they are working with. It will be up to the organisation to determine if contactors fall inside or outside IR35. Where IR35 is applicable, the contractor’s fees will be subject to tax and National Insurance contributions.

What is status determination?

Organisations can determine if their contractors are inside IR35 (performing the role of a permanent member of staff) or outside IR35 (self-employed) by looking at a number of criteria. These include having little or no supervision, direction or control over the contractor and the contractor being able to perform the work independently, with the right to use a substitute if required.

HMRC’s check employment status for tax ( CEST ) tool can be used to give a good idea if you and or your contractors fall inside or outside IR35. This is not a perfect tool and has been criticised but it can be useful as an indicative measure for both organisations and contractors, and can be used in order to support (or appeal) a status determination assessment.

Remaining compliant is critical. Many organisations are in the process of finalising their contractors’ status determinations. It is important to act now – if status determination is not complete before the deadline, contactors will automatically be deemed outside IR35. If this is incorrect and audited, the organisation will face significant penalties applied by HMRC.

Many contractors mistakenly assume IR35 does not apply to them because they have multiple clients. However, it is each individual role that matters – if you are performing the same job as your permanent counterparts then you will be deemed inside the new legislation.

What if you are inside IR35?

IR35 aims to tax all workers at the same level, and ensure the same level of workers’ rights across the board. However, it raises many questions for organisations and individuals.

IR35 does not achieve its stated aim of taxing those within IR35 at the same level as employees since those within IR35 will also be subject to employers NI deductions as well as employees NI, without an uplift in the rate they are paid. This results in much higher levels of tax being paid by those within IR35.

Examples are shown below in this table from NASA Group – a UK contractor accountancy solutions provider. It has projected that someone with a £200 day rate who falls inside IR35 using an umbrella payroll solution would take home £118 less per week, and a £500 day rate would would result in £235 difference in weekly take home pay.

One solution to IR35 is for organisations to offer their contractors permanent jobs. As these roles include benefits such as holiday, sick and parental pay, bonuses and share schemes, and do not carry additional overheads of running a company, the annual salary can for some be comparable to contractor income.

While this can work well, in the broadcast and media industry contractors play a significant role. The flexible workforce suits many organisations who can use such workers to fulfil work at peak times, and at unsociable peak hours for broadcast, including evenings, nights and weekends without needed to make redundancies when they are not required. It also has a number of benefits for individuals too, allowing them to work flexibly and autonomously and to gain exposure to a variety of working environments, teams and assignments.

Other solutions include contractors bearing the full cost by accepting the reduced net pay or a hybrid solution where employers bear the cost of the employers NI, and the contractor covers employees NI and PAYE tax.

Every contactor and organisation is different so it is impossible to give blanket advice on IR35. Seeking independent advice from a tax specialist or consultant will help you fully understand were you sit within the new legislation so you can best plan for the future. If you are a contractor and are keen to discuss your career path, or an organisation and would like to know more about how IR35 will impact your team, do get in touch with us.

Why we’re excited to see it differently at IBC 2019

Wed, 31 Jul 2019 23:00:00 GMT

There’s a buzz of excitement in the air at Christy Media Solutions as our recruitment consultants get geared up to exhibit at IBC 2019 – the world’s most influential media, entertainment & technology show, which takes place 13-17 September 2019 at the RAI, Amsterdam.

As a global executive search & recruitment specialist in the broadcast media & entertainment industry, we’ve been a proud exhibitor at the 5-day event for over a decade. This year, you’ll find us in our usual spot – Stand C29, Hall 6 .

With over 1,700 exhibitors across 15 halls and a staggering 50,000+ visitors each year, IBC offers an unrivalled networking opportunity for our recruitment team. As a leading provider of staffing solutions worldwide, we see the exhibition as a unique place to connect with our international clients and the best, brightest candidates in the media market, new and existing alike.

It’s also crucial for us, as media recruitment experts, to stay ahead of the curve and ensure we fully understand the ever-changing digital landscape and subsequently, the ever-evolving skill sets our clients need to help drive their businesses forward. IBC presents a vital opportunity for our recruiters to learn about the latest product releases, emerging technologies, industry trends and market insights from key speakers.

This year’s conference theme is “Consumers First: A New Era in Media”. It’s no surprise the media industry is constantly evolving, with major acquisitions such as Comcast’s recent takeover of Sky, brands becoming digital broadcasters, FAANG giants going head-to-head with Hollywood studios and SVOD platforms like DAZN offering more bang for your buck in sports content. Whilst the race is on to produce more engaging, immersive content for consumers, technology is rapidly advancing to deliver it with faultless OTT streaming quality, faster, anytime, anywhere.

IBC 2019 will unveil the world’s first working DVB-I demo for OTT, innovations in disruptive AI, VR, 5G, tourism & mobile newsgathering technologies as media and telecom companies join forces and a brand new Esports Showcase. Being a recruitment partner to Riot Games & Ginx Esports TV, we’re particularly looking forward to exploring the technical complexities of esports production vs. traditional sports broadcast and experiencing the live esports tournament too!

It’s free to attend the show if you register using our unique customer code 12529 before Friday 16th August 2019, via the IBC website .

If you’re heading to IBC 2019, whether you’re looking to recruit fresh talent for your organisation or you’re a media professional looking for your next challenge, please pop by our stand to find out how we can help or complete the form below to arrange a meeting.

We look forward to seeing you there!

IBC 2019 Meeting Request

Innovation and Talent in Asia Pacific

Mon, 10 Jun 2019 23:00:00 GMT

We’re getting ready to pack up our bags again and head out to Singapore to meet up with clients and the brightest and best candidates in the broadcasting industry who will be converging there for Asia’s MEGA Technology Event, ConnecTechAsia. Through three specialised shows – BroadcastAsia, CommunicAsia and NXTAsia – the theme this year is “Capture the Future” and brings together technology’s rising stars, showcasing state-of-the-art communication, enterprise, broadcast technologies and innovations.

With convergence continuing to grow, more and more content is being distributed over digital networks, and we have a growing number of new clients from cloud media technology start-ups to telecommunication fixed line operators, seeking to utilise our global database and connections to find the right people.

According to the latest State of the Broadcast Industry 2019 Report from Ooyala, OTT video has now disrupted the broadcasting and pay-TV industry to the point that it is the key driver behind cross-industry megamergers between broadcast, telecoms and media companies that aim to transform broadcasters into ‘diversified media companies’.

In Asia-Pacific in particular, the report says, regional players like iFlix, HOOQ and Viu will drive OTT growth and carve a sizable niche in the market by leveraging local content and affordable prices, especially in high-growth markets like Indonesia.

The broadcast media industry never sits still, it’s fast-moving and always evolving; whilst new developments at home and abroad mean it’s an exciting time to be involved in international executive search and recruitment. The team at Christy Media like to keep updated with the latest media technology trends, and equally to spend time meeting up with the brightest talents in these new technologies and regions.

Christy Media partners with broadcasters, content creators and distributors, creative digital agencies, eSports organisations, live production facilities, OTT/VOD platforms, post-production houses, system integrators, technology solution providers and telco operators.

The three-day event that is ConnecTechAsia represents the only business platform in Asia that covers the whole ecosystem of info-communications, broadcasting and emerging technologies.

“New emerging technologies such as IoT and AI present significant opportunities for businesses but are at the same time causing disruption across all industries,” said Victor Wong, Event Director, UBM Singapore, organiser of ConnecTechAsia. “Bringing our shows under one brand has allowed us to better serve our core audience and build a new segment amidst the backdrop of converging industries and an increasingly inter-connected landscape brought about by digital transformation.”

As regular exhibitors at BroadcastAsia, we like not only to connect with our clients and meet up with new candidates, but also to invest in educating our team in the emerging trends of the Broadcast Industry. We’re keen to understand the impact of these new disruptive technologies on the skillsets required by companies moving with the times, helping them capture the talent required to shape the future of the industry.

We believe the ongoing investment we make in our team will benefit our clients; our delivery team have an enhanced understanding of specific technologies, the candidate skillsets required for technical roles and a better appreciation of our clients’ commercial concerns and business priorities.

This investment, over the last fifteen years, is also apparent by visiting and exhibiting at key trade shows to reinforce our relationships with many important players in the industry. ConnecTechAsia is just one of the many events on our calendar.

If you are going to ConnecTechAsia this year, whether you’re an organisation looking for staffing solutions, or a media professional looking for your next opportunity, please come and find us on stand no. 6J3-15 at BroadcastAsia in Suntec, or email sales@christy-media.com to arrange a meeting.

Rise @ Sky: Insight into Women in TV Engineering at Sky

Thu, 23 May 2019 23:00:00 GMT

As a strong advocate of the aims of Rise and an active participant in its driving goal to redress the gender imbalance that exists, in multiple respects, in the broadcast engineering industry, I was delighted to be asked to speak at “Rise @ Sky: Insight into Women in TV Engineering at Sky”. This was a highly productive and enlightening after-work event at Sky Central, Isleworth, on 15 May.

After a warm welcome and introduction by Rise Director Carrie Wootten, the event was divided into two panel discussions, each as compelling as the other. The first, chaired by Annette Leonard, Head of Technology Communications, Sky, was comprised of a wide range of female engineers at Sky, everywhere from systems and support to design and project leads. We heard first-hand from some inspirational female role models who shared with us their journey in TV engineering.

Among many takeaways from this panel discussion, it’s clear that Sky is very progressive and in many areas leading the way in ensuring equal opportunities are available in terms of recruitment, internships and in-house advancement. There are always improvements to be made, but, on the evidence, Sky seems to be getting the balance right.

The second panel, also chaired by Annette and which I was honoured to participate in, was designed to dig deeper into the historical cultural challenges for females in what is admittedly still a predominantly male dominated industry; the current issues we face from a recruitment perspective; and what is being done overall to address these challenges. It was a very interesting and stimulating discussion by everyone involved and I have no doubt that it advanced the understanding of everyone present, as well as advancing the goals of Rise to raise such awareness.

From start to finish, Rise @ Sky was an incredibly insightful and inspiring event to be part of. The clear message from the evening is that both Sky and the wider industry are keen to address the imbalance and are committed to make changes. It is hoped that this will come in the form of mentoring schemes run by Rise and other initiatives, such as targeting future talent with industry role models evangelising the opportunities available in engineering for females at school age; apprenticeship programmes; and return-to work-programmes. It also highlighted the need for collaboration across the entire industry so that there can be a universally committed approach.

And that universally committed approach to collaboration on equal terms, to me, seems to be the ultimate aim of Rise, and more broadly for society in general; and with continued support for and participation in events like this, we’ll get there.

We’re not there yet, but as we Rise each morning, we get closer every day.

Optimising Your Resources

Tue, 02 Apr 2019 23:00:00 GMT

It is obligatory for every article, blog, tweet or podcast about the broadcast industry to start out by saying it is in the middle of massive change. Yes, we know it is. What we really need to know is how to navigate the choppy waters of change and sail successfully into the future.

We are moving from traditional hardware devices towards software applications hosted on standard computers – in your building or in the cloud – connected over the sort of IP networks that until now you have only used to send documents from your laptop to the printer.

We are also moving from traditional broadcasters who tell us what programmes we are going to watch at certain times, to a vast number of channels, catch-up and VoD services, and streaming to multiple devices – including television.

This means that broadcasters and media companies, and the vendors that supply them, have to change almost completely. And if you are a telco, you probably understand network design, but now you are a broadcaster.

For vendors, the challenges are probably tougher than for anyone else. There is a fundamental shift from a broadcast lifecycle of (1) design and install a system; (2) run it unchanged and largely untouched for seven years; (3) redefine the requirements and go back to step 1.

Implementing media functionality in software, running on standard computers, changes everything. First, the hardware performance will improve, regularly, without you doing anything, which may or may not be a good thing.

Second, you are now expected to develop the product on software timelines, which means a new release at least once a year, and fixes to be developed immediately.

As a vendor, you identify the right direction for your products, identify a brilliant new idea that the market will love, but how are you going to develop the software (and, where necessary, the hardware)? And how are you going to support it once installed?

And now the biggie – how are you going to sell it? Can you reach the new potential markets? Do your sales staff know and understand the new market? Are they fluent in the new technology? Can they reassure your potential customers that you recognise and appreciate their pain points?

As in any business, your most critical asset is your people. This is the moment to invest in them, to ensure that you have the right skills in-house by bringing in fresh thinking. Without the right resources, can you really fulfil your business plan and therefore, potential? Do you risk the cardinal sin of over-promising and under-delivering?

Finding the right people in the right place at the right time is what we do. We have a global reach, headquartered in Europe, and bases in North America, the Middle East and the Far East.

We’re at NAB, on booth SL5130, or you can contact us at sales@christy-media.com

Why does a recruitment consultancy have a booth at NAB?

Mon, 01 Apr 2019 23:00:00 GMT

That seems like a reasonable question. People go to NAB to buy the latest technology, surely? Let us explain our thinking and logic…

First, and most obvious, NAB is where the people are, and the companies are. We should not shy away from the fact that individuals do take the opportunity to scout around for new career ideas, even while they are staffing the booth of their current employer. You may have concerns about it, but it certainly happens.

We all know about the massive changes in the industry and how NAB is not just about broadcasting anymore. Just in the last few years, the industry has gained the FAANG giants and their streaming platforms; interactive and targeted advertising; and new markets like eSports. Smart people will be looking for where the next big thing is, and hitching themselves to it.

And if there are jobs and people looking for jobs, then it makes sense for us – Christy Media Solutions, providing specialist recruitment and executive search services to media businesses worldwide – to be there too. We can be the broker for both companies and candidates, whether they are actively looking for new jobs or staff or whether they want to register their interest and plan their moves later. Our global reach means we can line up people and jobs from around the world.

We appreciate that this can be a very sensitive matter: no employer wants to see a member of their staff on the booth of a rival, engaging in detailed conversation. We are not just the broker, we are the confidential broker.

Being a specialist in this industry places responsibilities on us as a company. Our people have to understand the media industry if they are going to provide effective, professional services to the major players.

Another reason we attend NAB, and the other major exhibitions around the world, is to invest in our own people. The big companies – and the smaller, niche providers – time their major announcements for NAB. We cannot be behind the curve.

The Christy Media team at NAB will have their ears to the ground. They will be seeking out the shifts in direction, the new ideas which need support, and the companies on the up. It is all part of being in the industry, not observing from the side.

Being embedded in the industry also means we can see where there are potential gaps, maybe in skills or understanding. Our business is to provide professional services in support of a company’s HR department, and not restricted simply to identifying staff.

For example, with the wholesale shift from traditional hardware technology to software and IP connections, there is a skills gap. Do you recruit someone who understands broadcasting but is not a leader in networking or microservices, or do you recruit from the IT industry and accept that they do not appreciate the performance levels that broadcasting demands?

Or do you find the person most qualified for the job, and add targeted training and coaching to fill in some of the gaps? This is typical of the way that we could add value beyond simply finding potential recruits. And we only appreciate the requirements by being a part of the industry, and being at NAB.

So, if you are going to NAB this year, come and find us on booth SL5130 or email sales@christy-media.com

Christmas Jumper Day 2018!

Tue, 18 Dec 2018 00:00:00 GMT

The Christy Media Solutions team have been wearing their Christmas jumpers in the office to show our support for Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day.

You can find out more about Save the Children here .

If you’re also feeling the need to do something good, at the same time as sporting a natty acrylic jumper featuring something festive, then you can join in and support this great cause by wearing your Christmas jumper, terrible or otherwise, and donating £5 by texting TEAMCHRISTYM to 70050.

SportsPro OTT Summit 2018

Fri, 07 Dec 2018 00:00:00 GMT

When: 28 – 29 November 2018
Where: Melia Castilla, Madrid, Spain

This week Christy Media Solutions’ consultants are attending the SportsPro OTT Summit in Madrid.

The event comprises two full days of data led presentations,

inspiration, interactivity and insight from sports broadcasting strategists, trail-blazers and practitioners. The event has 2 key themes: Technology and Strategy. The Strategy track hones in on direct-to-consumer services whilst the Technology track puts a spotlight on digital broadcasting solutions and how they can enhance fan experience and drive engagement.

The event is a useful networking opportunity for our consultants, meeting with our existing clients and making some new connections, but also gives our team a great understanding of our clients’ business priorities for the year ahead and the technological changes that are driving and affecting the sports broadcasting industry.

You can find out more about the event here.

View more of our photos!

BBC Children in Need Day 2018

Fri, 16 Nov 2018 00:00:00 GMT

This week the Christy Media Solutions Team have been raising money for the BBC’s Children in Need Day with an in-house Bake Off competition!

The event raised £60 towards this great cause and we all enjoyed sampling the delicious entries. This year’s run-away winner were the lovely piping hot pasties from our Accounts team, the solitary savoury entry, but all the bakes were definitely appreciated! Natasha came second with her yummy peanut cookies and Mark took third with an impressive sticky toffee cake.

If you’d like to get involved with Children in Need Day you can find out more on the website here .

If you’d like to donate you can send in money in a variety of ways this year, including via text, phone call, post, or by visiting BBC Children in Need’s website :

You can call 0345 7 33 22 33 and make a donation over the phone (standard geographic charges from landlines and mobiles will apply), using your debit, credit or PayPal account.
You can donate £10 just by texting the word DONATE to 70410. To donate £20 text DONATE to 70420, or to donate £30 text DONATE to 70430.
You can send a cheque or postal order to BBC Children in Need, PO Box 648, Salford, M5 0LB.
You can pay in your fundraising money at all major banks, building societies, or the Post Office.

Case Study: Delivering the best creative talent

Wed, 14 Nov 2018 00:00:00 GMT

We work hard to deliver the best creative talent…

The Client

A major UK public service broadcaster.

The Terms

Recruiting in competition with other agencies.

The Brief

To increase a pool of freelance Motion Graphic Designers for our client’s high-pressure, 24/7, news broadcast environment, that was experiencing a very busy period.

We faced a number of challenges:

Tight time constraints
Sourcing multiple candidates with previous live news broadcast experience
Finding candidates willing to work on a shift basis that included 12-hour shifts (Motion Designers are typically used to working standard hours).

Our Approach

We set to work quickly, reaching out to our network of creative professionals within our database and advertising to active candidates through relevant job boards, on our own website and social media.

Alongside this we performed extensive, proactive searching across online creative platforms and networking forums, to target passive candidates.

We analysed profiles, interviewed and screened candidates in depth. This included reviewing showreels to identify individuals with the best creative flair, strong infographic and data graphic design skills and proven live broadcast environment experience.

The Outcome

We successfully placed 2 Motion Graphic Designers, initially for 3 months, who were then extended for over 12 months, due to their strong skillset.

Our ability to deliver skilled candidates on time and within budget led to further recruitment requirements, including: Art Directors, Digital Content Producers and Digital Editorial Assistants.

Case Study: Executive Search – A New CTO

Mon, 05 Nov 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Recruiting for a senior executive with strategic vision…

The Client

A multi-national Pay-TV broadcaster with channels in over 50 countries.

The Terms

Recruiting in competition with other agencies.

The Brief

To recruit a Chief Technical Officer with strategic vision and the ability to lead future technology developments.

Our Approach

Given the nature of this very senior, critical position, our search was highly targeted and direct.

Having built close relationships with executive level staff in the broadcast sector over the years, our consultants worked as a team, pooling our collective knowledge and shared network of contacts to identify prospective candidates fitting the bill.

Through deep searching, active head hunting and referrals, we presented a selection of 10 short-listed profiles to the client for consideration.

The Outcome

We successfully filled the CTO vacancy within a 2-month timeframe. Our performance and reliability led to further recruitment engagement and placements across the company’s other business areas.

Thinking about contract work?

Mon, 01 Oct 2018 23:00:00 GMT

If you are considering contracting or freelancing roles for the first time, our approachable consultants can also help you to explore your options for payment, including Limited and Umbrella company options. Many of our contractors have used Christy Media Solutions for a number of years, as we provide a highly professional service and a good understanding of our contractors’ individual needs.

Contract work has some great advantages:

Interesting assignments, fresh challenges, short term commitments and the opportunity to work with a range of employers across your chosen field. Contractors enjoy good financial rewards and a flexible work lifestyle.

Would contracting suit your personality?

Here are some of the key personality traits we feel make a successful contractor. You need to be:

Friendly – You will have to ‘gel’ with teams on a temporary basis.
Organised – You will need to manage contracts / timesheets and possibly invoicing or other business admin, depending on what type of payment solution you opt for.

Flexible – You may be given more menial tasks to do and must be prepared to have a flexible attitude to your role. You must also be flexible on where you will work and for what rate.

Motivated – You will have to secure your own work, so will need to network with agencies and directly with hiring managers to ensure you are constantly employed.

Your choices:

Contract workers can choose between joining an umbrella company, or being a director and shareholder of their own Limited Company, often referred to as a personal service company or PSC.

Some agencies also offer the option of agency PAYE for temporary workers. Generally, agencies do not reimburse your business expenses, therefore your remuneration package will not be enhanced. Christy Media Solutions does not offer a PAYE scheme to contractors.

If you do decide to work as a contractor, whether as a Limited Company or as an umbrella company, you will need to obtain suitable insurance to protect yourself and your client. Christy Media Solutions’ consultants can provide details for several insurance companies when we agree a placement with you and some umbrella companies also provide insurance as part of the service they offer to contractors.

Our visit to IBC 2018

Sun, 23 Sep 2018 23:00:00 GMT

The Christy Media Solutions team returned from the IBC show in Amsterdam almost a week ago and we’d just like to take this opportunity to thank all the visitors who made the time to stop by our stand and have a chat with our consultants while they were at the show.

As usual, the team reported that they had a busy trip, meeting new clients and candidates as well as taking the opportunity to catch up with our existing contacts over the five days of the event.

If you didn’t make this year’s show, you can catch up with all the news from IBC via the IBC Daily .

We hope to see you at IBC next year – the dates for IBC 2019 are:

Conference: 12 – 16 September 2019
Exhibition: 13 – 17 September 2019

Case Study: Building strong partnerships

Tue, 18 Sep 2018 23:00:00 GMT

We build strong partnerships with our clients and candidates…

The Client

A major Caribbean broadcaster and sports rights holder.

The Terms

Exclusive recruiter.

The Brief

Our client was looking for a highly experienced Director of Post-Production to head up their Editing and Graphics division based in Jamaica and strategically drive forward all creative output for the business.

We had a big challenge ahead of us to source candidates not only willing to relocate to the Caribbean, but with a niche combination of proven managerial skills and hybrid ,hands-on experience of both non-linear editing and graphic design.

Our Approach

We mapped out major competitors within the sports broadcasting space, identifying household brands and hard-hitting candidates worldwide.

Through searching our global database, and proactively head-hunting, we maximised our referral channels across our international network of contacts, to identify fresh talent.

We also implemented targeted recruitment campaigns, advertising across industry-specific job boards, our own website, mail shots and social media channels.

The Outcome

We presented a short list of 8 candidates to provide the client with a skilled selection to choose from and interviews took place in London. We successfully filled this position in 2017.

What is the IABM?

Mon, 17 Sep 2018 23:00:00 GMT

Christy Media Solutions is a member of the IABM – the International Trade Association for broadcast and media technology.

Membership benefits include technology briefings, networking events and access to a wealth of knowledge and support.

As members we have sponsored IABM events, including the 2015 Annual International Business Conference and the Broadcast & Media Technology Industry Woman of the Year Award.

Many of our team members have also completed and passed IABM accredited training to become Certified Broadcast and Media Technologist Associates. We believe the ongoing financial investment we make in our team benefits our clients, as our delivery team have an enhanced understanding of broadcast specific technologies, the candidate skill-sets required for technical roles and a better appreciation of our clients’ commercial concerns and business priorities.

You can find out more about the IABM here.

IBC 2018 – snaps from the show

Sat, 15 Sep 2018 23:00:00 GMT

Christy Media Solutions’ team is currently exhibiting at IBC in Amsterdam and our consultants have taken some pictures from around the show to share with you. If you would like to meet up with the team, please visit Stand C29 in Hall 6.

If you would like to find out more about IBC, please visit the IBC website.

Case Study: Sourcing a specialist UX Designer

Thu, 06 Sep 2018 23:00:00 GMT

We know how to deliver the best creative talent…

The Client

A world-renowned entertainment brand and Pay-TV broadcaster.

The Terms

Recruiting in competition with other agencies.

The Brief

Our client required a very talented User Experience Designer, with excellent creative and strategic vision, to produce innovative UX designs for a brand new, cutting-edge digital streaming platform.

This was a challenging recruitment drive to source contract candidates with previous experience of new product development and the full spectrum of digital media (online, streaming, on-demand, mobile, interactive and 10-foot TV sert interfaces), within a strict daily rate budget.

Our Approach

After defining the skill-set required, we searched extensively across our internal database of UX and UI professionals working within the digital, broadcast and media space.

We utilised industry specific job boards and our own advertising avenues that included our website and social media channels. We focussed on attracting candidates with responsive UX design experience and the ability to demonstrate the thought processes behind their UX design decisions.

The Outcome

We placed the perfect candidate on an initial 3-month contract basis, which was subsequently extended 3 times due to his talent and excellent cultural ‘fit’.

IBC 2018: Meet our team at IBC

Sun, 02 Sep 2018 23:00:00 GMT

Christy Media Solutions will be exhibiting at IBC in Amsterdam this month – will we see you there?

When: 14 – 18 September 2018
Where: RAI, Amsterdam
Our Stand: C29, Hall 6

Next week Christy Media Solutions will be exhibiting in Amsterdam at IBC. The IBC Exhibition hosts over 1,700 exhibitors, spanning the media, entertainment and technology industries and is spread across fifteen halls within the capacious RAI, with halls themed by creation, management and delivery. The exhibition covers more than 55,000 sqm of space, so comfortable shoes are recommended as there is a lot of walking to do!

With more than 57,000 visitors expected through the doors of the RAI during the 5 show days, this year’s IBC promises to be a must-attend event. You can read our review of IBC 2017 and view photos from last year’s show here .

If you would like to find out more about IBC, please visit the IBC website . You can also register for the exhibition for free , as our guest, using Exhibitor Customer Code 12529.

(This code does not apply to the IBC Conference but will give you 5 days’ access to the Exhibition and a free tram pass).

If you would like to arrange a meeting with one of our team at the show, please get in touch .

Case Study: That crucial first hire

Sun, 19 Aug 2018 23:00:00 GMT

A candidate we placed previously re-engaged Christy Media Solutions to help build his new team…

The Client

A major international brand, broadcaster and media network.

The Terms

Recruiting in competition with other agencies.

The Brief

Following the successful placement of the Procurement Manager, the candidate we placed re-engaged Christy Media to help build his team, starting with a Senior Procurement Analyst for their London office.

This was the Hiring Manager’s first hire and a crucial one at that. The challenge was to find a senior-level candidate who could hit the ground running and be relied upon to deliver exceptional results.

Our Approach

We researched the technologies for the area this role would sit in, enabling us to build a strategy targeting specific candidates with relevant procurement experience.

We mapped out the local market of candidates within the industry, identifying profiles with the closest match to the criteria defined with our client and targeting those with specific technology knowledge that our client would gain most value from.

The Outcome

We presented a short list of strong options and managed these candidates throughout the process through to final placement, ensuring our client’s first hire was successful and supporting him in achieving his objectives for departmental growth.

Case Study: Targeted international recruitment

Tue, 14 Aug 2018 23:00:00 GMT

We work with broadcast and media organisations, telco operators and technology manufacturers to source suitable industry candidates across their wider commercial functions.. .

The Client

A global sports broadcaster with headquarters in the Middle East.

The Terms

Recruiting in competition with other agencies.

The Brief

Our client required a highly experienced Senior Strategy & Investment Manager, with in-depth industry knowledge, to lead their newly formed department based in France.

This was a crucial strategic appointment for the company that needed to be filled urgently.

Our Approach

We drilled down on the core strengths that candidates needed and the specific knowledge areas that were most important to the client.

We devised and executed a highly targeted headhunting campaign.

The Outcome

We rapidly identified and qualified several excellent candidates, providing our client with a short-listed selection of 6 strong options, enabling them to make the best hire, as quickly as possible.

IBC 2018 – Registration is now open…

Wed, 27 Jun 2018 23:00:00 GMT

When: 14 – 18 September 2018
Where: RAI, Amsterdam
Our Stand: C29, Hall 6

Christy Media Solutions will be making our annual trip to Amsterdam in September to exhibit at IBC. The IBC Exhibition hosts over 1,700 exhibitors, spanning the media, entertainment and technology industries and is spread across fifteen halls within the capacious RAI, with halls themed by creation, management and delivery. The exhibition covers more than 55,000 sqm of space, so comfortable shoes are recommended as there is a lot of walking to do!

With more than 57,000 visitors expected through the doors of the RAI during the 5 show days, this year’s IBC promises to be a must-attend event. Combining a world-class exhibition with a conference that features some of the foremost thought-leaders, innovators and policy makers in their fields and a wide breadth of topics, IBC provides a great opportunity for our team to network and build relationships with clients and candidates, whilst exploring the latest trends and technologies. Visitors are not only able to see the latest media technology, but also to touch, test, compare and the show is always at the forefront of industry innovation.

The event hosts a number of specially curated Feature Areas and events that tie into the associated IBC Conference to enrich visitors’ understanding of technologies and trends that are driving the industry. You can read our review of IBC 2017 and view photos from last year’s show here.

If you would like to find out more about IBC, please visit the IBC website. You can also register for the exhibition for free, as our guest, using Exhibitor Customer Code 12529.

(This code does not apply to the IBC Conference but will give you 5 days’ access to the Exhibition and a free tram pass).

Photos from Broadcast Asia 2018

Tue, 26 Jun 2018 23:00:00 GMT

Christy Media Solutions is exhibiting at Broadcast Asia in Singapore this week (stand 6K3-06) and our team have taken some snaps to share with you.

Broadcast Asia is a 3 day show and is the region’s main international event for the pro-audio, film and broadcasting industries and a part of the larger ConnecTechAsia event. In addition to the exhibition, there is an accompanying international conference and you can find further details about the event on BroadcastAsia’s website.

There is also a link to the event’s daily newspaper where you can catch up with the latest news, here .

Update: The Broadcast Asia Show is now over, but if you would like to get in touch, please click here .

Broadcast Asia 2018

Sun, 24 Jun 2018 23:00:00 GMT

When: 26 – 28 June 2018
10am – 6pm daily
Where: Suntec Singapore
Our Stand: 6K3-06 (Part of the UK Pavilion)

Christy Media Solutions is exhibiting at Broadcast Asia 2018 in Singapore this week, as part of the UK Pavilion.

Broadcast Asia is the region’s main international event for the pro-audio, film and broadcasting industries and is part of the larger ConnecTechAsia event. This year’s theme is ‘Capture the Future’ and the show will feature state-of-the-art technologies and solutions presented by leading brand owners and solutions providers.

In addition to the exhibition, there is an accompanying international conference and you can find further details about this on BroadcastAsia’s website.

You can also register to attend the show here.

Update: The Broadcast Asia Show is now over, but if you would like to get in touch, please click here .

International Women in Engineering Day 2018

Wed, 20 Jun 2018 23:00:00 GMT

International Women in Engineering Day is an international awareness campaign, held every 23 June, to celebrate the outstanding achievements of women engineers around the world, raise the profile of women in engineering and focus attention on the amazing career opportunities available to girls in engineering.

The UK has the lowest percentage of female engineering professionals in Europe, at 11%, while Latvia, Bulgaria and Cyprus lead with nearly 30%, so there is clearly work to be done in the UK to redress the balance and this is supported by 64% of engineering employers saying a shortage of engineers in the UK is a threat to their business*.

As recruitment consultants working within engineering and technology related fields, we are also very aware of the gender imbalance within these disciplines. We strive to raise awareness of the opportunities that are available to women and men within broadcast media technology, as well as being an equal opportunities employer ourselves, recognising that there is strength in diversity and equality – you can read more about our Equality & Diversity Policy here.

Last year’s INWED event was a huge success, with record levels of engagement and reach, and you can find out more about joining in by downloading the Resource Pack from the INWED website .

You can also show your support via the Thunderclap campaign on Twitter on Saturday. For 2018 the theme is #RaisingTheBar.

Some background to the event:

National Women in Engineering Day was launched for the first time in the UK on 23 June 2014 by the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) to celebrate its 95th anniversary. Since its launch in 2014 the day has grown hugely over subsequent years to the point where it received UNESCO patronage in 2016.

In 2017, National Women in Engineering Day became international for the first time due to the interest and enthusiasm developed by the international audience and participants in the previous years. International Women in Engineering Day (INWED) was born to allow the celebration of women in engineering to become global.

What is WES?

The Women’s Engineering Society (WES) is a UK charity which started in 1919 at the end of the First World War when the women who had worked in technical jobs during the war wanted to continue with this work. Click here for more information.

A change of law to ensure that the country reverted to a pre-war setting when the War finished meant that women were unable to continue with their (engineering) jobs, and were unwanted in the technical professions. The pioneering and influential women of the time set up the Women’s Engineering Society, and have been working since that time to ensure equality for women in this non-traditional sector. Today WES is a membership organisation which has the following three roles:

Women: Support women to achieve their potential as engineers, applied scientists and leaders and to reward excellence.
Education: Encourage and promote the education, study and application of engineering.
Sustainability: Work with organisations and influencers to promote gender diversity and equality in the workplace and sustain the historic legacy and future effectiveness of the Women’s Engineering Society.

You can find out more about WES here.

*Source: http://www.inwed.org.uk/uploads/2/6/1/1/26111168/inwed18_resource_pack_-_13.6.18.docx.pdf

Writing your CV

Mon, 18 Jun 2018 23:00:00 GMT

Your CV is the most important tool you have to sell yourself to potential employers – so how can you make yours stand out?

Don’t sell yourself short

Many professionals think two pages is the maximum length for CVs – but it doesn’t have to be. If you are experienced in the broadcast sector, then three or four pages is a good length, because it gives you space to mention all the technology you are familiar with.

A longer CV will be more searchable and help increase your chances of finding work – so include all your previous experience and don’t be afraid of going over two pages.

Looks matter

Keep your CV neat and well presented – use readable fonts and logical formatting. Some employers will have hundreds of CVs to look through so try to make yours as easy as possible for them to digest.

Always proof read

Double check spelling, grammar and dates – nothing will undermine you more than simple typos on an otherwise perfect CV. Always proof read your CV, and it can be helpful to ask someone else to double check it for you too. At Christy Media Solutions, we can help with any additional advice or support regarding writing your CV, for more information please contact us.

Opening statement

Open your CV with a profile to sell yourself for your next career move. This should summarise your most relevant experience, qualifications and what role you are ideally looking for next.

Employment and education

List your previous employment history, with your most recent job first. State dates, your job title and the company you worked for. Provide an overview of your main responsibilities for each role – you could include number of staff you managed, technologies you used, customers you worked with and project values you delivered.

List your educational history and qualifications with the most recent first. Start with any industry qualifications, then details of your degree or diploma and finally an A-Level and GCSE overview.

Skills and hobbies

If you are working in a technical role with measurable experience, such as programming or engineering, then a matrix of your technical skills can be really useful. You could also give details of any additional languages you speak, which are an added bonus in many areas of the broadcast industry.
Our broadcast clients often like to know a little bit about what you do outside of work – so list a few hobbies and interests that will give an impression of who you are.

Personal details

Make it easy for your potential employers by giving clear personal and contact details. Include your address, telephone number and email address, date of birth, nationality, and if you have a current driving license or residency / work visa, mention it.

World Cup 2018

Sun, 17 Jun 2018 23:00:00 GMT

The Christy Media team is looking forward to tonight’s England match and we’ve been enjoying the other matches so far in what promises to be an exciting and unpredictable tournament!

Here’s some snaps from in and around the public areas of the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) in Moscow. The IBC is a temporary hub for broadcasters during major sporting events and it is where the host broadcast feed for the 64 matches will be processed, monitored and beamed to TVs, radios and digital devices in more than 200 territories around the world.

“The IBC is the 13th ‘official venue’ of the FIFA World Cup, beside the 12 stadiums; but in terms of audience, it is in fact the first,” said the FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, at the IBC opening on 9 June. “The entire world will be able to benefit from this beautiful and fantastic FIFA World Cup thanks to what is happening here in this IBC. For the best ever FIFA World Cup, we have the best ever IBC as well.”

We can’t wait to view the IBC’s feed for the England game this evening and wish the broadcast team behind it a hitch-free event – we don’t want to miss a minute of the match!

The Media Production Show Review

Thu, 14 Jun 2018 23:00:00 GMT

This week our consultants have been visiting The Media Production Show at Olympia in Kensington, London.

The Media Production Show is an annual event, now in its 3rd year, that focuses on the creative industries – specifically on the areas of pre-production, post production and content distribution. This year’s show was bustling with visitors and the team met up with a number of key clients and candidates throughout the two-day event.

We enjoyed exploring the exhibition, which featured a good mix of industry stands, with something for everybody working in production, services and supporting roles. Some of our consultants also attended the free seminars and workshops on offer, to expand their industry knowledge and keep up to date with the latest developments. Of particular note were the seminar talks around content distribution and storage across digital platforms and the cloud. There were also a number of storage solution providers present at the event, offering a range of innovative options for the collation and storage of content.

Our consultants were particularly impressed with the Telegenic mobile production gallery (T29) and P40 truck. T29 featured great gallery space for production teams, 4K feeds, comfortable seating for up to 20 people and was somewhat like the Tardis, but rather better equipped for mobile production!

Many of the exhibitors were also showcasing ways to enable the production and dissemination of high-end content on a very limited budget, expanding the opportunities for delivering cost-effective, quality productions, but with a price point that makes these more accessible to smaller production companies.

A particular feature of the Media Production Show is the number of smaller exhibitors present, which serves to provide a great illustration of the thriving and diverse creative industries within the UK currently.

We had a great time at The Media Production Show and look forward to visiting again in 2019. If you weren’t able to visit this year, you can still view video footage of the event at The Media Production Show website.

The next Media Production Show will be held at Olympia, London on 11 and 12 June 2019.

The Media Production Show

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 23:00:00 GMT

The Media Production Show

When: 12-13 June 2018
Where: Olympia West Halls, London, UK

We’re looking forward to attending The Media Production Show next week at London’s Olympia. The show is an annual 2 day event that includes a range of free seminars and workshops, alongside an exhibition featuring products and services across pre-production, post production and content distribution. If you are currently working in the creative industries and able to attend, the show is well worth a visit and is a great place to network with industry colleagues, as well as exploring the latest innovations in the field.

Christy Media Solutions’ consultants will be attending the show on both days and will be available for meetings during the event.

If you register online , the show is free to attend. Find out more about the show here .

If you would like to meet up at The Media Production Show, please complete the form below and we’ll be in touch.

We’re sorry but we are no longer accepting meeting requests for The Media Production Show 2018 as the show is finished – please visit our Contact Us page to get in touch.

London event , post production event , production event , The Media Production Show

Case Study: Recruiting for the 2012 Olympics

Thu, 24 May 2018 23:00:00 GMT

Delivering multiple skilled operatives to tight timescales…

The Client

A host broadcaster for landmark live sporting events.

The Terms

Recruiting in competition with other agencies.

The Brief

Having exhausted their own network of contacts in the UK, our client still had several contract vacancies to fill, in a very short space of time, ready for the kick-off of the London Olympics 2012.

Candidates were urgently required for multiple operational and production roles: Camera, EVS, Graphics and Sound Operators, Commentary, Vision Control, Ingest, MCR, Transmission Control / TX, Venue Logistics, Librarians, File Transfer, VTR Logging, Producers and Administrators.

This was a very exciting yet tough challenge, requiring all hands-on deck and a highly dedicated approach, given the limited timescale and the fact that a lot of contractors and freelancers were already booked for this event.

Our Approach

Delving into our international candidate database and searching extensively across our global network of industry contacts, we quickly identified highly skilled options both locally and from a variety of European countries.

The Outcome

We successfully placed over 40 candidates initially, with several re-engaged to work on the Paralympic Games that year.

Since this initial engagement, we have built a very strong partnership with our client, that has led to our team delivering staffing solutions for the Rio Olympic Games 2016 and the PyeongChang Winter Olympics 2018, in addition to permanent staff placements within our client’s European operation.

Case Study: OTT Platform Launch: 85 Candidates Placed

Tue, 15 May 2018 23:00:00 GMT

Recruiting for multiple roles to a short time-scale…

The Client

A global sports rights holder and digital content provider.

The Terms

Exclusive recruiter.

The Brief

To recruit a brand-new team of highly skilled technical staff ready for the launch of a cutting-edge OTT platform. Our client was urgently looking to fill multiple vacancies across various UK offices, including a new facility in Leeds. Roles included Broadcast Engineers, Post Production Engineers, Engineering Supervisors and OSS Engineers.

This presented a real challenge given the large volume, the short-turnaround over the Christmas period and the base locations away from typical broadcast hubs.

Our Approach

We utilised our extensive database and network of contacts, particularly those who had an association with the North of the UK. Our in-depth searches identified Engineers not only based locally but those who had previously studied or grown up in the region.

All competitor companies were mapped out within the local area to identify fresh talent and we also went further afield to recruit European candidates keen to relocate to the UK.

The Outcome

We successfully placed 37 candidates in 2016, to agreed timescales. Our proven ability to deliver quality candidates, within a tight deadline, led to a strong ongoing partnership.

A year later, we were engaged to recruit for a further 48 vacancies, on an exclusive agency basis, for our client’s launch in Canada and other regions worldwide.

Broadcast Asia 2018…..

Thu, 03 May 2018 23:00:00 GMT

When: 26 – 28 June 2018
10am – 6pm daily
Where: Suntec Singapore
Our Stand: 6K3-06 (Part of the UK Pavilion)

Christy Media Solutions is exhibiting at Broadcast Asia 2018 in Singapore next month, as part of the UK Pavilion.

In addition to the exhibition, there is an accompanying international conference and you can find further details about this on BroadcastAsia’s website.

You can also register to attend the show here.

Update: The Broadcast Asia Show is now over, but if you would like to get in touch, please click here .

TV Connect 2018

Wed, 02 May 2018 23:00:00 GMT

When: 9 May & 10 May 2018
Where: Olympia, London
Opening times: Wednesday: 8.45-18.00, Thursday: 9.00-16.35

Christy Media Solutions is looking forward to visiting the TV Connect exhibition in London next week.

The show focuses on video distribution and IP technology and visitors will be able to explore ad and content delivery, personalisation, the latest content distribution technologies, and effective monetisation packages.

You can find out more about the show and register to visit, here .

Update: We’re sorry, but the TV Connect show is now over. If you would like to get in touch, please click here .

Interview Tips

Mon, 19 Mar 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Your CV has helped show a potential employer you could be right for them, but now you need to prove you are the best person for the job at an interview.

Research your potential employer

Good preparation can help you feel much more relaxed and perform better. Research the company you are applying to – visit the website and try to understand key corporate messages and themes. What does the company do? What are its products and what technologies does it use? Who are its competitors and major clients? Are there any press releases about recent sales or contracts?

Often the first question you’ll be asked is what you know about the company. If you can answer this well you will be off to a strong start and will feel more confident about the rest of the interview.

Prepare questions and answers

Think about the questions you could be asked and prepare responses. Why do you want the job? What are your strengths and weaknesses? What could you bring to the role?

Just as the interviewer will prepare questions for you, make sure you think of some questions for them – this makes you look interested, informed and enthusiastic about the role.

Use specific examples

If you are asked a general non-technical question – for example how you managed risk in a project – it is much better to refer to specific examples of how you have managed risk rather than give theoretical, textbook answers.

Refresh your skills

Sometimes our clients tell us candidates aren’t familiar with certain basic skills which are important for the role they are applying for. To avoid this try to refresh some of simpler parts of your experience and skill-set as well as the more technical elements.

Double check your supplies

Turn up prepared with a copy of your CV and the job specification. Take ID and certificates of your qualifications if you’re asked to. If you are presenting, check what equipment is provided and that it is compatible with your presentation.

Plan your journey

Being late will make you stressed, which is never a good start to an interview. Plan how you will get there – check the route, how long it should take and if you are driving find out if there is on-site parking. At Christy Media, we are familiar with most of our clients’ sites so will be able to give you advice.

Make a good first impression

Turn up smartly dressed even if the role won’t require it on a day to day basis. The way you present yourself at an interview makes a statement about your work – so even if the company is a jeans and t-shirt kind of place, wear smart business-dress to the interview.

Case Study: A brand new role

Thu, 15 Mar 2018 00:00:00 GMT

The job description had an element of fluidity dependent on the candidate skill-sets available as this was a new position within the company…

The Client

A major broadcast, test and measurement product manufacturer.

The Terms

Recruiting in competition with other agencies.

The Brief

Our client required an experienced Regional Sales Manager, with in-depth technical sales knowledge and contacts within the China territory.

This was a new position within the company, rather than a direct replacement for a predecessor, and the job description had an element of fluidity dependent on the candidate skill-sets available on the market.

The challenge here was managing both client and candidate expectation, as the requirements and the regional remit of the role evolved during the recruitment process.

Our Approach

We listened carefully to our client to fully understand the reasons behind the hire, to identify the type of candidate they would need to succeed in this role.

We then devised and executed a targeted headhunting campaign to generate a shortlist.

We maintained excellent communication with our candidate to ensure they were kept informed and were happy with the changes that developed along the way.

The Outcome

We successfully filled the role and have subsequently worked with the client on other international vacancies.

The Media Production Show..

Tue, 13 Mar 2018 00:00:00 GMT

When: 12-13 June 2018
Where: Olympia West Halls, London, UK

The Media Production Show is an annual 2 day event in London that includes an exhibition featuring products and services across pre-production, post production and content distribution, alongside a series of free seminars. If you are currently working in the creative industries and able to travel to Olympia, the show is well worth a visit and is a great place to network with industry colleagues, as well as exploring the latest innovations in the field.

Christy Media Solutions’ consultants will be attending the show on both days and will be available for meetings during the event.

If you register online , the show is free to attend. Find out more about the show here .

Update: The Media Production Show is now over, but if you would like to get in touch, please click here .

International Women’s Day 2018

Thu, 08 Mar 2018 00:00:00 GMT

The team at Christy Media Solutions is celebrating International Women’s Day today – many of our team are women, and our senior team are predominantly female.

Here’s a snap of some of our female team members giving a big shout out to other women around the world today and our thanks to Mark Burke for making us all a cup of tea this morning!

If you would like to find out more about the role of women in the recruitment industry, and how supporting gender equality can help your business to achieve its goals, APSCo has further information available here .

BVE 2018

Fri, 02 Mar 2018 00:00:00 GMT

The BVE show is now over for another year, the stands are packed away and the Christy Media Solutions team are all safely back from London, busy following up the meetings we had at the show.

The event was noticeably quieter than last year, especially on the last day – probably due in large part to the inclement weather and associated disruption to the UK’s transport network. Despite the snow, all of our recruitment consultants were able to spend at least a day at the show, manning the stand, exploring the other stands on the show floor and meeting clients and candidates. Members of the team took a few photos while they were at the show and we thought we’d share them with you here.

Thank you to everyone who braved the snow to attend the show and stopped by our stand for a chat, and if you didn’t make it to the show this year, we do hope to see you there in 2019.

broadcast jobs , broadcast recruitment , BVE 2018 , Christy Media Solutions , London event

BVE 2018 – snaps from the show

Tue, 27 Feb 2018 00:00:00 GMT

BVE 2018 is now open at London’s ExCeL…

Our stand has been busy during the show so far, but the team have made time to take a few snaps from around the venue to share with you here…

broadcast jobs , broadcast recruitment , BVE 2018 , London event

Broadcast Asia 2018..

Fri, 16 Feb 2018 00:00:00 GMT

When: 26 – 28 June 2018
10am – 6pm daily
Where: Suntec Singapore
Our Stand: 6K3-06 (Part of the UK Pavilion)

Christy Media Solutions is exhibiting at Broadcast Asia 2018 in Singapore, as part of the UK Pavilion, from 26-28 June.

There is an accompanying international conference in addition to the engaging and informative activities on the exhibition floor.

You can register to attend the show here.

6K3-06 , Broadcast Asia 2018 , broadcast event , broadcast jobs , broadcast recruitment , Christy Media Solutions , Singapore event

Meet our team at BVE 2018…

Tue, 13 Feb 2018 00:00:00 GMT

When: 27 February – 1 March 2018
Where: ExCeL London
Our Stand: F43

About the show:

BVE is the UK’s largest event for professionals from the media, entertainment and creative industries to explore and experience the future of content creation, commercial innovation and cutting edge technologies. The show, held at London’s ExCeL, regularly attracts over 15,000 visitors from 60+ countries and will feature more than 300 exhibitors.

Christy Media Solutions has exhibited at BVE for more than a decade and we’re looking forward to this year’s show as it is a great opportunity for our team to meet candidates and clients face to face, as well as providing the team with the chance to learn more about the latest innovations in content creation and broadcast technology.

You can find out more about the show and register to attend here.

Update: BVE is now over, but if you would like to get in touch, please click here .

Christy Media’s trip to ISE 2018

Mon, 12 Feb 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Last week Christy Media Solutions visited Integrated Systems Europe , an annual four day event that takes place at the RAI in Amsterdam. Billed as the world’s largest AV systems integration show, ISE 2018 showcased the latest cutting-edge technology, products and solutions for both channel and end-user professionals.

Our team is now back from ISE and report that in addition to meeting up with existing clients at the show, we also made some interesting new connections at the busy exhibition. Our impressions were that the show is definitely bigger than IBC but also busier, as ISE is open to the general public as well as AV professionals. As usual with a RAI event, aching feet were par for the course, with miles of show floor to cover and spots to sit at a premium!

Our team took photos of the stands around the show that caught the eye, but their favourite stand was the HD golf stand which featured a fantastic simulator and the ladies long drive champion hitting golf balls into it!

We are already looking forward to visiting next year’s show.

Snaps from the Winter Olympics…

Fri, 09 Feb 2018 00:00:00 GMT

The Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang in South Korea officially opens today, although some events began earlier this week.

Cindy-Marie Leicester , our APAC Consultant, is also part of the broadcast team at the event and has sent us some snaps from the broadcast facilities in Pyeongchang to share with you.

The Winter Olympics will feature the following sports disciplines and you can click on the links below to find out more about each sport and when it will be featured during the event:

The Winter Olympics will be covered extensively by broadcasters around the globe, with daily live broadcasts and catch-up video highlights across multiple channels, and the event promises to be another visual feast of sporting achievements!

We wish all the competitors an excellent event and look forward to watching the competition for medals and records in the coming weeks.

You can visit the Olympics website here for full schedule listings .

ISE 2018

Fri, 26 Jan 2018 00:00:00 GMT

When: 6 – 9 February 2018
Where: RAI, Amsterdam

Our team will be attending Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) at the RAI in Amsterdam on Thursday February 8th.

As the European destination for the international AV and systems integration industry, this annual event is the world´s largest AV systems integration show. ISE 2018 will showcase the latest cutting-edge technology, products and solutions being produced for both channel and end-user professionals. Visitors to ISE can also take advantage of a busy conference schedule, keynote speeches and exciting show-floor features in addition to an expansive education and personal development programme produced by AVIXA and CEDIA.

ISE is a great base for networking, socialising and developing new business contacts and we are looking forward to meeting with many existing clients as well as making new contacts at the show.

You can find out more about the show here.

Meet our team at CABSAT…

Mon, 15 Jan 2018 00:00:00 GMT

The Christy Media Solutions team is currently exhibiting at CABSAT in Dubai – pictured here: Phillip, Craig and Christian.

The event is a leading platform for the broadcast, production, content delivery, digital media and satellite sectors across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA). Established for 24 years, it is also the largest trade show in the region for Broadcasting, Satellite & Connected digital media. Find out more about the show.

You can meet up with the team on Stand ZB6-C56 at the show – please stop by our stand. Alternatively if you would like to arrange a meeting after the show, please get in touch .

Join us at CABSAT in January!

Fri, 05 Jan 2018 00:00:00 GMT

When: 14-16 January 2018
Where: Dubai World Trade Centre
Our Stand: ZB6-C56, part of the UK Pavillion

About the show:

Christy Media Solutions is exhibiting at CABSAT from 14 January. The event is a leading platform for the broadcast, production, content delivery, digital media and satellite sectors across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA). Established for 24 years, it is also the largest trade show in the region for Broadcasting, Satellite & Connected digital media, with 13,000+ visitors, 900+ brands and 130+ countries expected at the show next week.

If you would like to prebook a meeting with any of our team members at the show, please complete the form below and we’ll be in touch…

Visitor registration for CABSAT is now open and you can register for the show here .

Merry Christmas

Thu, 21 Dec 2017 00:00:00 GMT

We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of our contractors, candidates and clients for working with us during the past year.

We wish you all the best for the festive period and look forward to working with you again in 2018.

Merry Christmas,

from all the team at Christy Media Solutions.

It’s Christmas Jumper Day!

Fri, 15 Dec 2017 00:00:00 GMT

Christy Media Solutions is pleased to be supporting Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day 2017 – pictured here our team gathered round the office Christmas tree, looking rather festive!

You can find out more about Save the Children here .

If you’re also feeling the need to do something good, at the same time as sporting an acrylic jumper featuring something festive, then you can join in and support this great cause by wearing your Christmas jumper, terrible or otherwise, and donating £5 by texting TEAMCHRISTYM to 70050.

“Not the IBC Pub” LinkedIn Group event..

Fri, 01 Dec 2017 00:00:00 GMT

Christy Media Solutions is pleased to be sponsoring the ‘Not the IBC Pub’ LinkedIn Group’s annual networking drinks on Tuesday 12 December at The Marquis of Westminster, London, SW1V 1RY

We are very much looking forward to attending this get together in the run up to the festive season.

You can find out more information about the Group here .

Want to meet up at CABSAT in January?

Tue, 21 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMT

When: 14-16 January 2018
Where: Dubai World Trade Centre
Our Stand: ZB6-C56, part of the UK Pavillion

About the show:

Christy Media Solutions is looking forward to the 24th edition of CABSAT. The show is a leading platform for the broadcast, production, content delivery, digital media and satellite sectors across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA). It is the largest trade show in the region for Broadcasting, Satellite & Connected digital media, with 13,000+ visitors, 900+ brands and 130+ countries represented.

If you would like to prebook a meeting with any of our team members at the show, please complete the form below and we’ll be in touch…

Visitor registration for CABSAT is now open and you can register for the show here .

Dates for BVE 2018:

Thu, 02 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMT

When: 27 February – 1 March 2018
Where: ExCeL London
Our Stand: F43

About the show:

Christy Media Solutions will be exhibiting at BVE again next year, from 27 February – 1 March 2018, at the ExCeL in London.

BVE is the UK’s largest event for professionals from the media, entertainment and creative industries to explore and experience the future of content creation, commercial innovation and cutting edge technology and an event that we have attended and supported for a number of years. The show regularly attracts in excess of 15,000 visitors from more than 60 countries and will feature more than 300 exhibitors.

During the 3 days of the show, visitors can attend expert-led free seminars in six dedicated theatres, as well as exploring an exhibition that includes the leading manufacturers, distributors and resellers of professional production and broadcast equipment and systems and covers everything from camera accessories to 360 workflow solutions.

Entrance is also free if you book your ticket in advance.

Find out more about BVE

Congratulations to Emily & Dan!

Mon, 02 Oct 2017 23:00:00 GMT

Christy Media Solutions is delighted to announce that Principal Consultant Emily Randall married Dan Oliver on Saturday 30 September in Oxfordshire. We wish the happy couple all the best and a long and happy life together.

The team had a lovely time at the wedding in the evening and we’re looking forward to seeing snaps from the honeymoon!

Join us at Cabsat 2018!

Fri, 29 Sep 2017 23:00:00 GMT

When: 14-16 January 2018
Where: Dubai World Trade Centre
Our Stand: ZB6-C56, part of the UK Pavillion

About the show:

Christy Media Solutions regularly exhibits at CABSAT and the 24th edition of the show – a leading platform for the broadcast, production, content delivery, digital media and satellite sectors across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) – aims to continue to represent disruptive innovation and monetisation opportunities across the filmed & audio entertainment media market.

CABSAT is the largest trade show in the region for Broadcasting, Satellite & Connected digital media, with 13,000+ visitors, 900+ brands and 130+ countries represented. Show regulars will also note that the dates are a little earlier for 2018 than previous years.

CABSAT provides an excellent opportunity for broadcast industry experts to engage, strategise and debate future market trends, and explore the latest technologies in a region that is experiencing superlative growth.

IBC 2017 Review

Tue, 26 Sep 2017 23:00:00 GMT

The 50th IBC show closed a little over a week ago, the stands have been dismantled, the crowds departed and the Christy Media team are all back in the office, busy following up after the show.

We walked miles around the RAI, shook hundreds of hands and caught up with many of our contacts in the bars of Amsterdam over the 4 evenings at the show, with the Old Bell pub deserving a special mention! We welcomed lots of visitors to our stand and we would like to thank everyone that made the time to stop and have a chat with us.

IP was, as ever in recent years, a very hot topic. IP based systems offer scalability, flexibility and resilience and the industry has now embraced the technology, with widespread enthusiasm expressed across the exhibition for IP based solutions.

An expert panel of media company heads were tasked by IBC with assessing the latest technology trends at the show. Their verdict was that AR (augmented reality) and AI are now on the ascendant and VR (virtual reality) appeared to be less popular at this year’s show.

The panel suggested that VR (virtual reality) has definite issues that make it a less attractive proposition than AR, whilst proponents of VR have admitted that the uptake of the technology has been hampered by consumer perception of the technology being “isolationist”. Consumers have been slow to uptake VR technology as VR headsets are often bulky and expensive, single user items and those consumers who are early adopters have also experienced issues linking hardware with content. AR is of interest because it will work with existing technology, so there is less of a barrier for end users and hence more possibilities for broadcasters to utilise the technology to create more immersive, and therefore potentially lucrative, viewing experiences.

Another exciting technology identified by the panel was Voice UI, which broadcasters feel will offer exciting new ways to bring viewers closer to their content, when combined with the increasing prevalence of AI in smart devices around the home. Consumers have surprised the industry with the very positive uptake of devices such as Amazon’s Alexa, which suggests that the viewing public are keen to explore voice activated devices and applications. Steve Plunkett, CTO of Ericsson’s Media and Broadcast Services, declared, “I think voice will become the most pervasive ordinary interactive technology we will see”.

Monetisation and management of content
Parallel distribution possibilities for consumers
Storage solutions for high resolution content
IT Security

When the Christy Media Solutions team were asked what they were most impressed by at the show, a clear winner was Timeline’s UHD IPTV truck on the SAM stand, the first uncompressed IP 4K HDR truck in Europe. A triple expanding OB truck, UHD2 displayed a range of SAM technology that included: Kahuna IP production switchers and IP Multiviewers, with SAM’s IP infrastructure technology providing the backbone. Also on display in the truck was SAM’s LiveTouch 4K/UHD replay, with its highlights system, used for demonstrations. UHD2 seamlessly handles fully uncompressed 4K/UHD, IP and HDR and with comments like, “very cool” and “to see all the kit fitted in to such a small, mobile space was amazing”, most of our team managed to stop and explore the truck while they were at the show.

The 2017 IBC awards celebrated the pursuit of science and creativity, with Dolby receiving this year’s IBC International Honour for Excellence for its ground-breaking ATMOS sound system and BT Sport receiving an Innovation Award for its Champions’ League coverage. Other Innovation Awards were made to Voot for its new, low impact, VoD platform for smart phones and Groupe Media TFO for its pioneering use of the Unreal gaming engine, creating virtual worlds for its children’s programming.

For more on the show, here’s some links to the IBC website where you can catch up on all the IBC news and watch IBC’s VOD from the show .

Post-show there has been talk within the industry about whether the show really needs to be 5 days, and it’s true that the last day of the show is always a lot quieter in terms of footfall. At the time of writing however, the show will be 5 days again in 2018, and the dates for next year’s IBC are as follows:

Conference: 13–17 September 2018. Exhibition: 14–18 September 2018.

We look forward to seeing you there!

IBC is now open!

Thu, 14 Sep 2017 23:00:00 GMT

Last night’s rain has gone and the sun is now shining in Amsterdam today, with the 50th IBC Show kicking off at the RAI.

Christy Media Solutions is exhibiting on Stand C29 in Hall 6 and we hope to see lots of you here today at the show!

Pictured here: Deborah Cross, Jessica Clarke and Emily Randall, our team on Day 1.

Meet our team at IBC 2017 in Amsterdam

Tue, 08 Aug 2017 23:00:00 GMT

When: 15-19 September 2017
Where: RAI, Amsterdam
Our Stand: C29, Hall 6

We are busy getting ready for our annual trip to the IBC show in Amsterdam next month, all of our Consultants will be visiting during the 5 days of the show as it is a very important event in our annual calendar.

The exhibition encompasses more than 15 halls and is located at the capacious RAI building in Amsterdam. Comfortable shoes are definitely recommended as there is a lot of walking to do, to try and see everything!

IBC brings together more than 55,000 professionals from over 170 countries, working across broadcasting, cloud, mobile, telecoms, social networking, OTT, AR and VR, The show is therefore a great environment for networking. IBC also showcases some of the world’s latest innovations in media technology and visitors are not only able to see the latest media technology, but also to touch, test, compare and place orders at the show. IBC attracts more than 1,700 exhibitors from all around the world and over 1,000 of the world’s top media technology journalists.

The exhibition features a number of specially curated Feature Areas and additional events that tie into the associated IBC Conference to enrich visitors’ understanding of technologies and trends that are driving the industry. You can read our review from our trip to IBC 2016 here .

If you would like to find out more about IBC, please use the button below. Free online pre-registration has now ended, but you can still register online to visit the exhibition for free, as our guest, using Exhibitor Customer Code 12529 – without the code it’s now €75 to preregister or €160 on the door.

(This code does not apply to the IBC Conference).

We’ve moved!

Sun, 25 Jun 2017 23:00:00 GMT

Christy Media Solutions is pleased to announce that as of Monday 26 June we are now located at new offices in Stony Stratford, Milton Keynes.

After 14 years in our previous home in Linford Wood in Milton Keynes, we have relocated to 4 St Paul’s Court and are currently settling in to our new premises in the historic market town of Stony Stratford, on the edge of Milton Keynes, and about 10 minutes drive from our previous location.

Our telephone number has also changed – the new number is: 01908 22 90 22.

IBC 2017 – Registration is now open…

Tue, 20 Jun 2017 23:00:00 GMT

When: 15-19 September 2017
Where: RAI, Amsterdam
Our Stand: C29, Hall 6

Christy Media Solutions will be making our annual trip to Amsterdam in September to exhibit at the IBC show in Amsterdam. The exhibition encompasses more than 15 halls, located at the capacious RAI building in Amsterdam. Comfortable shoes are recommended as there is a lot of walking to do!

Bringing together over 55,000 professionals from over 170 countries across broadcasting, cloud, mobile, telecoms, social networking, OTT, AR and VR, IBC is a great environment for networking. It also showcases some of the world’s latest innovations in media technology. Visitors are not only able to see the latest media technology, but also to touch, test, compare and place orders. It attracts over 1,700 exhibitors from all around the world and more than 1,000 of the world’s top media technology journalists.

If you would like to find out more about IBC, please use the button below. You can also register for the exhbition for free as our guest using Exhibitor Customer Code 12529. (This code does not apply to the IBC Conference).

If you would like to arrange a meeting with one of our team at the show, please complete the form below and we’ll be in touch.

Visit IBC website

If you would like to arrange a meeting with a member of our team at IBC, please complete the form below and we’ll be in touch.

Update: IBC 2017 is now over, but if you would like to get in touch, please click here .

The Media Production Show 2017

Mon, 19 Jun 2017 23:00:00 GMT

The Christy Media Solutions team had a very productive two days at the Media Production Show last week. The event had moved to London’s Olympia after a successful debut the previous year and we enjoyed a steady stream of visitors to our stand. With the latest kit on display and free seminars and lectures across a range of production and post production related topics, the feedback from visitors was that it had been a day well spent.

Our team (Deborah, Maddie, Simon, Amy and Sophie) would like to thank everyone who stopped by our stand for a chat and if you didn’t make it to the Media Production Show this year, we hope you like the snaps the team took during the show.

You can also see the highlights from Day One here :

London Calling!

Mon, 12 Jun 2017 23:00:00 GMT

Christy Media Solutions is exhibiting at The Media Production Show in London’s Olympia, today and tomorrow.

If you are visiting the show, please do stop by our stand (100), and say hello. Pictured here, Deborah Cross and Simon Ly. You can find out more about the event by clicking the button below.

broadcast jobs , broadcast recruitment , Christy Media Solutions , London event , The Media Production Show

The Media Production Show opens next week…

Tue, 06 Jun 2017 23:00:00 GMT

When: 13-14 June 2017
Where: Olympia, Hammersmith, London
Stand: 100

The Media Production Show opens its doors next week, on Tuesday 13 June, and the team at Christy Media Solutions is looking forward to welcoming lots of visitors to our stand (100). It’s not too late to register for the show if you have not done so already and you can find out more about the event by clicking the button below.

Visit Show Website Register to attend

If you’re attending the show, please do stop by our stand for an informal chat, or if you would prefer to pre-arrange an appointment, please complete the form below and we will be in touch.

broadcast jobs , broadcast recruitment , Christy Media Solutions , London event , operations and production jobs , The Media Production Show

Our trip to Broadcast Asia 2017

Wed, 31 May 2017 23:00:00 GMT

The Christy Media Solutions team has now returned to the office following an excellent trip to Singapore for Broadcast Asia 2017; whilst we have visited the event in previous years, this was the company’s first time exhibiting at the show.

The team made many new connections during their 3 days at the show and we would like to thank everyone who took the time to visit our stand in the UKTI pavilion.

Away from the show, in between various evening events, the team enjoyed exploring the local food markets and had to visit the iconic Raffles Hotel once to sample a genuine Singapore Sling! We hope you enjoy some of our snaps from the trip and if you would like to find out more about the show, please visit: http://www.broadcast-asia.com/.

Broadcast Asia is not as large as exhibitions like IBC or NAB, but with the continuing growth of the broadcast market in the Asia Pacific region, it is definitely an event worth attending. Many of our APAC based contacts attend the show and it is a great place to catch up with them under one roof and to see what technology is making an impact in the region.

She did it!

Thu, 18 May 2017 23:00:00 GMT

We’re proud to announce that our Principal Consultant, Deborah Cross, has successfully completed her sky diving challenge, and thrown herself out of a plane for a good cause!

Deborah chose to jump out of a plane to raise funds for Willen Hospice , a great local charity that provides palliative care for people with life limiting illnesses. Like many people in Milton Keynes, Deborah has experienced first-hand the support Willen Hospice provides to families and she wanted to give something back to this very worthy charity.

Returning to the office this week, remarkably unscathed, Deborah commented:

We’re very glad that she has returned to us in one piece and very proud that she had raised so much for such a good cause.

If you would like to show your support for Willen Hospice and Deb, it’s not too late to donate, please just click the button below to visit her Just Giving page.

I’d like to thank Christy Media for supporting me and covering the initial overhead of the jump itself, this meant that all sponsor money goes straight to the Hospice. I’m delighted that £523.75 has been raised for Willen. The jump itself was an incredible experience – very surreal and literally breathtaking!

The Media Production Show 2017…

Wed, 17 May 2017 23:00:00 GMT

When: 13-14 June 2017
Where: Olympia, Hammersmith, London
Stand: 100

Christy Media Solutions is exhibiting at the second annual Media Production Show which, following a very busy debut show last year, has moved this year to the larger venue of Olympia in Hammersmith, London.

The Media Production Show is a trade event for people working in the creative industries, including the genres of television, film, music video, documentaries and commercials. The two-day event features an exhibition and a high-calibre, free seminar programme , with some of the biggest names in the industry. Speakers will be sharing their insights and knowledge and in-between seminars, visitors can explore a range of relevant exhibitors, presenting products and services for pre-production, production, post and content distribution, on the show floor.

If you are attending the show and would like to meet up, please do get in touch via the form below, or stop by our stand (Stand 100) at the show.

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Broadcast Asia 2017

Thu, 04 May 2017 23:00:00 GMT

When: 23 – 25 May, Tuesday – Thursday
10.30am – 6pm daily
Where: Level 3 to 6, Suntec Singapore
Our Stand: 6J4-05

Christy Media Solutions is exhibiting at Broadcast Asia 2017 in Singapore, as part of the UK Pavilion, from 23-25 May. Craig Oliver, Senior Consultant, and Christian Magill Principal Consultant, are our team at the show and will be available for appointments during the event.

Broadcast Asia is the region’s main international event for the pro-audio, film and broadcasting industries. This year’s theme is ‘Imagination Unbound’ and the show will feature state-of-the-art technologies and solutions presented by leading brand owners and solutions providers. There is an accompanying international conference and additional various engaging and informative activities on the exhibition floor.

Christian and Craig will be available for meetings at our stand (6J4-05) during the show. If you would like to meet with either of them, please complete the form below.

Sky diving for a good cause…

Tue, 18 Apr 2017 23:00:00 GMT

Christy Media’s Deborah Cross will be facing her fear of heights and jumping out of an aeroplane on Sunday 14 May.

Deborah has chosen to jump out of a plane to raise funds for Willen Hospice , a local charity that provides palliative care for people with life limiting illnesses. Like many people in Milton Keynes, Deborah has experienced first-hand the support Willen Hospice provides to families during very difficult times and she wanted to give something back to this great local charity.

Willen Hospice’s dedicated team of doctors, nurses, social care professionals and other health care staff, provide round the clock care to patients and provide ongoing support for their families. Being diagnosed with a life-limiting illness can often leave people in a lonely, uncertain and confusing place, and the charity aims to offer individuals comfort, help them find confidence, ease their pain and reduce their anxiety.

Many people in Milton Keynes and the surrounding areas have found the specialist care provided by Willen Hospice an invaluable support during some of the darkest times of their lives and the charity offers wider services to support families, with counselling and bereavement support as well as specialist nursing services.

Christy Media Solutions is proud to support Deborah in her fundraising efforts for this great local charity. If you would like to support her too, please click the button below to visit Just Giving and donate.

CABSAT 2017 in Dubai

Thu, 23 Mar 2017 00:00:00 GMT

Here’s some pictures from our trip to CABSAT in Dubai.

The weather in Dubai has been rather wet this week, but our CABSAT team report that the show has been busy and they have met many Middle East based clients and contacts at the exhibition, whilst the rest of our team are already recruiting for several new opportunities gained at the show…

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At the time of writing, the show is still open, so if you’re there and haven’t managed to pop by, we’re on Stand B2-54 and we’d love to see you before it closes later today!

CABSAT opens today!

Tue, 21 Mar 2017 00:00:00 GMT

Members of the Christy Media Solutions team are currently visiting the Middle East and exhibiting at the CABSAT show in Dubai (Stand B2-54).

The 23rd edition of CABSAT runs from 21-23 March. The show is a leading platform for the broadcast, production, content delivery, digital media and satellite sectors across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA); it is the largest trade show in the region for Broadcasting, Satellite & Connected digital media, and the third largest event in this sector globally. The MEASA broadcast market is continuing to expand and CABSAT provides an excellent opportunity for industry experts in the region to engage, strategies and debate future market trends, and source the latest technologies.

If you would like to meet up with our team at the show, please pop along to the stand or complete the form below to prearrange a meeting:

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IBC 2017

Tue, 14 Mar 2017 00:00:00 GMT

Christy Media Solutions will be exhibiting at IBC this year, from 15-19 September 2017, in our usual place on stand C29 in Hall 6.

The IBC Exhibition encompasses more than 15 halls, within the enormous RAI building in Amsterdam. Comfortable shoes are recommended as there is a lot of walking to do!

The event hosts more than 1,700 exhibitors, spanning the creation, management and delivery of electronic and media entertainment. Integral to the IBC Experience are a number of specially curated Feature Areas and events. These are hosted throughout the IBC Exhibition and tie into the IBC Conference to enrich visitors’ understanding of technologies and trends that are driving the industry.

If you would like to find out more about IBC, please follow the link below.

Visit IBC website

If you would like to arrange a meeting with a member of our team at IBC, please complete the form below and we’ll be in touch.

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BVE 2017

Tue, 07 Mar 2017 00:00:00 GMT

What a busy show!

BVE ended last week and the Christy Media Solutions team are all back in the office now, following up the many meetings we had on our stand. The show was very successful for us; we had lots of visitors to the stand, stopping by to take a pen and have a chat or a drink with us and we have a number of new assignments on our board as a result of the event. We are grateful to everyone who queued patiently to speak with us.

Due to our proximity to London and despite issues with the DLR and Northern Line, all of our recruitment consultants were able to visit the show for at least a day, to meet clients and candidates. It’s a long day on the stand and like most shows, the networking continues after the show closes with after-show parties and networking events to attend, so comfortable shoes and plenty of energy are mandatory for show days!

If you were at the show and visited our stand, we’d like to thank you for stopping by, and if you didn’t make the show, we hope we will see you there next year.

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Join us at CABSAT 2017

Fri, 03 Mar 2017 00:00:00 GMT

When: 21-23 March 2017
Where: Dubai World Trade Centre
Our Stand: B2-54, part of the UK Pavillion

About the show:

Christy Media Solutions regularly exhibits at CABSAT in Dubai. The 23rd edition of CABSAT – a leading platform for the broadcast, production, content delivery, digital media and satellite sectors across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) – aims to continue to represent disruptive innovation and monetisation opportunities across the filmed & audio entertainment media market. It is the largest trade show in the region for Broadcasting, Satellite & Connected digital media, and the third largest event in this sector globally.

It has been predicted that entertainment and media spend within the MEASA marketplace will reach US$66 billion by 2018, as the sector continues to grow in this region. CABSAT provides an excellent opportunity for industry experts to engage, strategies and debate future market trends, and source the latest technologies.

You can find out more about the show here…

broadcast event , international broadcast recruitment , media recruitment

Meet our team at BVE

Tue, 14 Feb 2017 00:00:00 GMT

Our stand at BVE: F43

We’re looking forward to another busy BVE exhibition at the end of this month and hope that you will visit our stand if you’re at the show; you can arrange a meeting with us or just drop by to say hello – we always enjoy catching up!

If you would like to pre-book a meeting with any of our team, please complete the form below and we’ll be in touch. For free tickets to the exhibition and for more information about the show, please click the button at the foot of this page.

broadcast event , BVE 2017 , London exhibition , meet the team

Chris Gilliam

Mon, 13 Feb 2017 00:00:00 GMT

The team at Christy Media Solutions were very saddened this weekend to hear the news regarding the death of Chris Gilliam.

Chris worked via Christy Media as a contractor over the years, at a range of customer sites and most recently for the past 4 ½ years in Doha, Qatar.

We shall remember Chris with great fondness; he was the most kind, generous, considerate, thoughtful and helpful man. So many happy times spent together, full of stories, drinks and laughter. Chris will be sorely missed by us all and taken too soon; we offer our deepest condolences to Chris’s family.

BVE 2017…

Wed, 18 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT

When: 28 February – 2 March 2017
Where: ExCeL, London
Our Stand: F43

BVE is the UK’s largest event for professionals involved in taking content from creation to consumption and an event that Christy Media Solutions has attended and supported for a number of years. The show regularly attracts in excess of 15,000 visitors from more than 60 countries.

During the 3 days of the show, visitors can attend expert-led free seminars as well as exploring an exhibition that includes the leading manufacturers, distributors and resellers of professional production and broadcast equipment and systems and covers everything from camera accessories to 360⁰ workflow solutions.

BVE provides a great opportunity for visitors to network, share knowledge, upskill via the free training sessions and learn about the latest technology and kit directly from the manufacturers. Entrance is also free if you book your ticket in advance.

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Christy Media Solutions joins APSCo!

Wed, 07 Dec 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Christy Media Solutions is pleased to announce that following an internal review, we are now members of APSCo (The Association of Professional Staffing Companies).

Deborah Cross , Principal Consultant:

A professional body for recruitment agencies, APSCo provides advice and support to members, keeping us up to date with the latest legal developments in the recruitment sector and providing opportunities for our consultants to improve their skills through specialist training and development. Contracts Manager, Sandra Breeze , was very involved in the review and explains why we chose APSCo, “Our company is dedicated to offering the best possible service to our clients and candidates, and as such, we wanted to be part of a membership body we can trust and which will support us in all areas of compliance. ASPCo is also invaluable in keeping us up to date with relevant UK legislation and regulations.”

Ann Swain, APSCo Chief Executive commented:

Christy Media Solutions looks forward to working with APSCo and using our membership to best serve our clients and candidates.

“APSCo was an obvious choice for us as it perfectly mirrors our own company ethos – providing an efficient and friendly service, whilst ensuring professionalism and quality is at the forefront of everything they do.”

“APSCo is delighted to welcome Christy Media Solutions into its membership. All of our members have to commit to a strict Code of Conduct and a rigorous, independently verified, referencing process that means that APSCo is a trusted badge of quality for candidates and employers. It’s not easy to become an APSCo member and the fact that Christy Media Solutions embraced this process shows their commitment to excellence.”

CabSat 2017

Tue, 22 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT

When: 21-23 March 2017
Where: Dubai World Trade Centre
Our Stand: B2-54, part of the UK Pavillion

About the show:

The 23rd edition of CABSAT – a leading platform for the broadcast, production, content delivery, digital media and satellite sectors across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) – will continue to represent disruptive innovation and monetisation opportunities across the MENA filmed & audio entertainment media market. It is the largest trade show in the region for Broadcasting, Satellite & Connected digital media, and the third largest event in this sector globally.

With the MENA market undergoing a fascinating transformation, it has been predicted that entertainment and media spend will reach US$66 billion by 2018. In this lucrative environment, CABSAT provides an excellent opportunity for industry experts to engage, strategies and debate future market trends, and source the latest technologies.

You can find out more about the show here…

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Dates for BVE 2017

Thu, 27 Oct 2016 23:00:00 GMT

Christy Media Solutions will be exhibiting at BVE again in 2017 – the show is scheduled a little later than previous years and will be held from 28 February – 2 March 2017, at the ExCeL in London. We will be Stand F43.

BVE is the UK’s largest event for professionals involved in taking content from creation to consumption and an event that we have attended and supported for a number of years. The show regularly attracts in excess of 15,000 visitors from more than 60 countries.

The show provides a great opportunity for visitors to network, share knowledge, upskill via the free training sessions and learn about the latest technology and kit directly from the manufacturers.

Entrance is also free if you book your ticket in advance.

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NAB Show New York

Wed, 05 Oct 2016 23:00:00 GMT

Christy Media Solutions will be visiting the US in November, attending NAB Show New York .

NAB Show New York is relatively new, and was formerly known as Content & Communications World (CCW) before its acquisition by the National Association of Broadcasters and subsequent rebranding as NAB Show New York in 2015.

Held at the Jacob K Javits Convention Centre, New York, on Wednesday 9 and Thursday 10 November, the show promises to bring the power, passion and connection of NAB Show to the thriving New York media and entertainment market.

Christian Magill , Principal Consultant, is attending the the show and will be available for meetings on 9 and 10 November. If you would like to meet up with Christian in New York, to discuss your company’s recruitment needs or your own career plans, please complete the form below and we’ll be in touch.

More about the show:

NAB Show New York will feature 60+ educational sessions as well as additional attractions and pavilions including:

broadcast event , Christy Media Solutions , international broadcast recruitment , US broadcast event

Cake Bake in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support

Thu, 29 Sep 2016 23:00:00 GMT

The Christy Media Solutions team have been busy baking cakes this week for our Coffee Morning today, in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support – a charity that provides practical, medical and emotional support to people living with cancer.

The team have had varying degrees of success with their baking as this is not something most of us do regularly; whilst there were lots of excellent and rather delicious home-baked cakes, one baker did confess to forgetting to add flour and a couple of offerings looked suspiciously shop bought!

We look forward to seeing how much we have raised for this very worthy cause from cake sales at the end of the day…

cakes , Christy Media news , fundraising

IBC Review 2016

Tue, 20 Sep 2016 23:00:00 GMT

The annual IBC exhibition closed a week ago, the stands have been packed up and the Christy Media team have all returned to the office, busy following up on the meetings we had at the show.

Our team at the show this year included new trainees as well as IBC veterans, with everyone spending at least a couple of days at the 5 day exhibition. There were almost 56,000 visitors to IBC this year, from over 160 countries, exploring the stands of 1,700 exhibitors, across fifteen halls. New for this year were a number of Feature Areas that tied into the IBC Conference that runs alongside the exhibition.

The Future Zone was popular with our team when they explored the show – it’s home to exhibitors displaying cutting edge prototypes and projects, usually hidden away from public view. The 8KTV, augmented reality graphics solutions, fun VR headsets, stunning holographic display and the visually impressive Pufferfish globes were all mentioned as “wow” moments. Our newer team members also really enjoyed finding out more about the green screen displays, watching how the presenter “interacts” with the graphics and seeing the technology they have read about in action for the first time.

Key themes at this year’s show included:

IP based production – with the new IP Interoperability Zone, IBC brought to life the reality of IP technology. The new zone showcased the work of the Joint Task Force on Networked Media (a combined initiative of EBU, AMWA, SMPTE and VSF). Verified technical interoperability over IP from more than 30 diverse companies was demonstrated, and during the show visitors were able to watch live IP production courtesy of the VRT-EBU Live IP Sandbox project, which featured a real studio, control room and data centre.

VR – there were many impressive VR products and solutions on display, although it has been said that after the poor consumer uptake of 3D technology, the broadcast sector appears more cautious about embracing VR until there is a clearer consumer demand for it.

Personalisation – In response to the continuing move to IP delivery systems and increasing personalisation of the end-user experience, the industry is focussing again on the issues of monetization of content and the predicted death of traditional TV advertising models. With the popularity of ad-blockers, and increasing on-demand viewing habits, advertisers and broadcasters are looking for new ways to personalise and deliver content to the end consumer and exhibitors like ContentWise and Singular.Live in Hall 14 and Kaltura in Hall 3 displayed products to serve these needs.

Conference & Awards:

The theme of the IBC Conference was “Transformation in the Digital Era: Leadership, Strategy and Creativity in Media and Entertainment” and more than 300 speakers were featured during the 6 day conference, sharing insights on key issues.

This year the IBC’s Awards Ceremony honoured the movie director Mr Ang Lee with the IBC2016 International Honour for Excellence. As part of the IBC Big Screen Experience the audience were treated to a brief retrospective of his films and Mr Lee’s keynote speech was delivered to a packed auditorium. He commented during his speech that “In the past few years, I have come strongly to believe that new technology will upgrade film-making in terms of story-telling… IBC has done so much to bring together new technology and old-fashioned creativity… I am delighted to be part of this exciting dialogue.”

IBC presented the Judges’ Prize to NASA this year, for its work collaborating with film makers, making content available and advancing the science and craft of imaging. The Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers (SMPTE) was also presented with an IBC Special Award to recognise its centenary year and its important continuing role within the industry. The IBC Innovation Award for Content Creation was awarded to The LIVEIP Studio project, with trophies presented to EBU and the Flemish broadcaster VRT for hosting the project. BT Sport won the award for Content Delivery for its launch of an Ultra HD channel last year, and the Content Management award went to Endemol Shine Germany.

For more news from the exhibition and conference, you can view the IBC Daily here .

As well as touring the exhibition halls and meeting with a huge variety of visitors at our stand, IBC also enables the team to socialise with our clients, away from our stand. This year our favourite post-show parties included our IBC neighbour Object Matrix’s annual Welsh Evening (this year featuring the Welsh bagpipes – a lesser known instrument than its Scottish cousin!), FileCatalyst’s Hard Rock Café party and the Imagine Live! Party in Hall 4.

The show is massive and as usual, sore feet were the biggest complaint we had from our team, as they did their best to see as much as possible during their time at IBC.

We’d like to thank everyone who stopped by the stand to say hello, have a beer or take a pen or two; we’ve had a great show again this year and it is largely thanks to you all. We’re looking forward to next year’s event already!

IBC 2017 – Dates for your diary:
Conference: 14-18 September 2017 Exhibition: 15-19 September 2017

Here’s our report on our trip to IBC…

IBC photos

Mon, 19 Sep 2016 23:00:00 GMT

Photos from IBC 2016 by the Christy Media Solutions team…

broadcast event , IBC 2016 , international broadcast recruitment

Snaps from IBC…

Sun, 11 Sep 2016 23:00:00 GMT

It’s Day 4 of the IBC show in Amsterdam, we’ve had a busy show so far and thought we’d share some of the pictures we’ve snapped from around the 14 halls of the IBC exhibition. If you’re at the show and haven’t stopped by the stand yet, there’s still time to meet up with our friendly team for a beer and a chat – you can find us in Hall 6, stand C29, opposite the UK pavilion.

You can catch up on the latest news from the show below:

broadcast event , Christy Media exhibiting , Christy Media Solutions , European broadcast event , IBC 2016

IBC 2016 – Meet the team…….

Tue, 30 Aug 2016 23:00:00 GMT

Christy Media Solutions is exhibiting at IBC in Amsterdam next week. The exhibition runs from 9 – 13 September and you can find our stand (6.C29) in its usual place in Hall 6.

We’re looking forward to a busy IBC and hope many of you will visit our stand, please do stop by to say hello, we always enjoy catching up!

For in-depth discussions, we also have facilities for private meetings at our stand as we appreciate that clients and candidates may prefer to discuss career plans or recruitment opportunities in confidence. If you would like to pre-book a meeting with any of our team, please complete the form below and we’ll be in touch to arrange it. For free tickets to the exhibition and more information about the show, please click the button at the foot of this page.

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Discovery visit

Tue, 12 Jul 2016 23:00:00 GMT

On Tuesday our Senior Consultants, Natasha Booluck (Broadcast Operations & Production team) and Emily Randall (Technical Recruitment team) visited Discovery, where they spent a productive afternoon seeing the facilities and networking with some great people.

Discovery is a major player in the international broadcast market, delivering content over 110 channels and broadcasting in more than 27 languages. Natasha and Emily learned about how Discovery have changed their operating structure following the acquisition of Eurosport as it has involved them in live content broadcasting, which is a new area for their business. They also really enjoyed the tour of Discovery’s pre-recorded and live TX suites, rack, server and archive rooms, learning about the technologies that Discovery is currently using and the roles that are likely to be required in the future as the company builds on its success in the global broadcast market.

We’d like to say thank you to Discovery for their excellent hospitality and to the IABM for organising.

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Free entry to IBC 2016

Tue, 05 Jul 2016 23:00:00 GMT

Christy Media Solutions is exhibiting at IBC in Amsterdam again this year. We’re on Stand C29, in Hall 6 as usual and hope to see many of you at the show.

The 2016 show dates are as follows:

Conference: 8-12 September 2016
Exhibition: 9-13 September 2016

To pre-book a meeting with one of our team at the show, please click here .

More about the show:

IBC 2015 attracted over 50,000 attendees from more than 170 different countries to its exhibition and conference. The 2016 event aims to provide a unique, rich experience; connecting, enthusing, inspiring and informing the professionals engaged in the creation, management and delivery of content worldwide. The show is held at the Amsterdam RAI , every September, and the exhibition is always at the forefront of industry innovation, with more than 1,600 companies exhibiting, spanning the creation, management and delivery of electronic and media entertainment, ranged across fourteen halls.

The show also provides excellent networking opportunities, with plenty of breakout areas, where you can catch up with existing contacts or make new acquaintances.

The IBC Conference features more than 300 speakers and is a global destination for discussion and debate about the many different challenges facing the electronic media and entertainment industries, both in its sessions and in the range of networking opportunities it affords. This year’s theme is Transformation in the Digital Era: Leadership, Strategy and Creativity in Media and Entertainment.

Featuring some of the foremost thought-leaders, innovators and policy makers in their fields, and covering a wide breadth of topics, it is a great place to explore new strategies, understand business disruptors, chart future technological progress and uncover the future roadmap of the industry. Each day is anchored by a keynote session, which provides context to the day’s theme. Selected conference sessions are streamed live around the RAI and online here and are also available post-show via IBC TV VOD .

Free entry to the exhibition:

To register for free for the IBC exhibition, as our guest, please click on the ticket below and enter the customer code 12529 at the Customer Pass Selection stage of registration.

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National Women in Engineering Day 2016

Thu, 16 Jun 2016 23:00:00 GMT

The United Kingdom currently has Europe’s lowest proportion of women working in engineering and the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) is seeking to address that issue.

Thursday 23 June is the UK’s National Women in Engineering Day (NWED), it takes place annually and in this, the third year, the campaign has expanded internationally to raise the profile of women working in engineering and focus attention on the amazing career opportunities available to women in these disciplines. To coincide with this there are various events around the UK aimed at promoting the role of women in engineering.

The sub-theme for 2016 is #RaisingProfiles and to celebrate this theme, WES is issuing a list of the Top 50 Women in Engineering , to be published in the Daily Telegraph on 23 June 2016, coinciding with NWED and aiming to inspire a new generation of women engineers.

For a list of activities planned around National Women in Engineering Day 2016, please click here.

You can explore a selection of engineering roles currently available through Christy Media Solutions here.

Find out more about the Women’s Engineering Society here.

The 2016 NWED Resource Pack is also available. You can download or request your copy here .

#NWED16 , #RaisingProfiles , engineering opportunities , National Women in Engineering Day , WES

Snaps from the Media Production Show 2016

Wed, 15 Jun 2016 23:00:00 GMT

A week after the show and the team have now returned to the office and have more snaps to share with you…

The Media Production Show….

Thu, 09 Jun 2016 23:00:00 GMT

We’ve had a busy couple of days, manning the stand at The Media Production Show this week. The Media Production Show was a brand new event for 2016, held at the Business Design Centre in Islington, London and on the opening morning, visitors, eager to see the 130+ exhibitors and attend the free seminars, queued around the block.

Our team had an excellent show, with many visitors to the stand. The hall was buzzing (literally, when the drones were active!) and the team enjoyed catching up with our existing clients, as well as meeting lots of new faces.

Thank you to everyone who came along to our stand, for a drink and a chat, or just to take home one of our pens and a postcard – we hope you all enjoyed the show as much as we did and we look forward to working with many of you in the year ahead.

As usual, we’ve been taking plenty of photos to share with you, so here’s a selection from the first day at the show, with more to follow later…

broadcast event , Christy Media Solutions , London event , production recruitment , The Media Production Show

The Media Production Show 2016..

Sun, 05 Jun 2016 23:00:00 GMT

We’re looking forward to The Media Production Show later this week on 9 and 10 June. The show is held at the Business Design Centre in Islington, London and we are Stand 204.

The Media Production Show is new for 2016 and focuses on the services and technology used in pre-production, production and post.

With more than 130 exhibitors, the exhibition will feature the latest kit from leading manufacturers, as well as companies working in associated fields. The show aims to bring together producers and creatives with the latest technology to deliver the very best content.

The accompanying free to attend conference programme includes more than 60 seminars covering: production, planning, post production, VFX, colourists and content distribution. Speakers will reflect on their recent projects, offer insights into their techniques and processes and their thoughts on the future of the creative sectors.

Our experts in creative and post recruitment, Natasha Booluck and Maddie Turner , will be part of the team manning our stand at the show. As a division they work closely with many leading post production houses, digital and creative agencies, film studios, broadcasters, studios and content creators, to provide permanent staff and freelance solutions. With their respective backgrounds in Media Production and TV Technology & Production, as well as their extensive experience recruiting in this sector, they are perfectly placed to understand the roles they recruit for and the challenges facing both employers and job seekers in the creative industries.

If you’re considering looking for a new opportunity, or faced with the challenge of recruiting new team members, why not stop by our stand at the show for a chat? Alternatively, if you would like to pre-book a meeting during the show, please complete the form below and we will be in touch.

Registration to attend this event is free and you can find out more by clicking the button below:

broadcast events , broadcast jobs , broadcast recruitment , London event , London exhibition , production and post production event , The Media Production Show , UK event

Snaps from our trip to Broadcast Asia 2016

Tue, 31 May 2016 23:00:00 GMT

Craig Oliver, Senior Consultant, is currently visiting the Broadcast Asia 2016 show in Singapore and has sent a few snaps back for us to share with you.

He reports that the show is very busy and has a real buzz about it. The exhibition is held within the Marina Bay Sands Hotel/ Shopping Centre, a massive complex and amazing venue, complete with boats in the basement!

The weather in Singapore has been slightly overcast this week, with quite a lot of rain today and very hot and humid on other days, but thankfully without the smog that has been present when we have visited previous shows here.

You can find out more about the show here .

Broadcast Asia 2016 , broadcast event , international broadcast recruitment , Singapore event

Broadcast Asia 2016 opens today!

Mon, 30 May 2016 23:00:00 GMT

Christy Media Solutions is visiting the Broadcast Asia show in Singapore this week.

The show is in its 21st year and is an international trade event for the pro-audio, broadcast and film industries. Held at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore from 31 May – 3 June, Broadcast Asia is an important event in the region, providing a great opportunity for professionals to network, exchange business ideas, gather market information and source the latest products and solutions.

Craig Oliver is attending the show and will be available for meetings from Tuesday 31 May to Thursday 2 June. If you would like to meet up with Craig in Singapore, to discuss your company’s recruitment needs or your own career plans, please complete the form below and we’ll be in touch.

More about the show:

Around 15,000 visitors are expected to attend the exhibition, which will show-case the technologies of more than 650 exhibitors from around the world, including:

NextGen Broadcasting – IP / OTT/ Hybrid / LTE / Broadband / Cloud
4K / UHD
Live Production Systems
Microwave / RF Transmitters
Broadcast IT Networking / Automation
Multi-Platform Streaming
Satellite / Terrestrial / Cable Broadcasting
Video Content Delivery Network
File-based Management Systems
Content Security
ProAudio and many more

BroadcastAsia website

APAC broadcast recruitment , APAC region , Broadcast Asia 2016 , broadcast event , Craig Oliver , international broadcast recruitment , Singapore event

Race for Life 2016

Sun, 22 May 2016 23:00:00 GMT

Christy Media’s Natasha Booluck has taken on the challenge of the Race for Life again this year, running to raise funds for Cancer Research UK in Northampton’s 10K Race for Life on Sunday 5th June.

Cancer Research UK is the world’s leading charity dedicated to beating cancer through research. They are fighting cancer on all fronts, finding new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat it to save more lives. Events like this are vital in funding Cancer Research UK’s life-saving work into preventing, diagnosing and treating cancer.

We’re wishing Natasha all the best and hope she raises lots of money for this very worthwhile cause. If you would like to sponsor Natasha, please follow the link below:

Natasha Booluck , Race for Life

Broadcast Asia 2016

Wed, 18 May 2016 23:00:00 GMT

Christy Media Solutions will be returning to Singapore at the end of May, visiting the Broadcast Asia show.

The show is in its 21st year and is a comprehensive, international trade event for the pro-audio, broadcast and film industries. Held at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore from 31 May – 3 June, Broadcast Asia is an important event in the region’s calendar. It provides a valuable opportunity for professionals to network, exchange business ideas, gather market information and source the latest products and solutions.

More about the show:

Around 15,000 visitors are expected to attend the exhibition, which will show-case the technologies of more than 650 exhibitors from around the world, including:

NextGen Broadcasting – IP / OTT/ Hybrid / LTE / Broadband / Cloud
4K / UHD
Multi-Platform Streaming
Satellite / Terrestrial / Cable Broadcasting
Video Content Delivery Network
Broadcast IT Networking / Automation
Content Security
File-based Management Systems
Live Production Systems
Microwave / RF Transmitters
ProAudio and many more

APAC broadcast recruitment , APAC region , Broadcast Asia 2016 , broadcast event , Craig Oliver , international broadcast recruitment , Singapore event

The Media Production Show 2016

Wed, 04 May 2016 23:00:00 GMT

Christy Media Solutions is exhibiting at The Media Production Show (Stand 204) on 9 and 10 June 2016, at the Business Design Centre in Islington, London.

The Media Production Show is new for 2016 and focuses on the services and technology used in pre-production, production and post. The show also incorporates the Production and Post Forum, previously a stand-alone event.

With more than 70 exhibitors, the exhibition will feature the latest kit from leading manufacturers, as well as companies working in associated fields. The show aims to bring together producers and creatives with the latest technology to deliver the very best content.

The accompanying free to attend conference programme includes more than 40 seminars covering: production, planning, post production, VFX, colourists and content distribution. Speakers will reflect on their recent projects, offer insights into their techniques and processes and their thoughts on the future of the creative sectors.

Our experts in creative and post recruitment, Natasha Booluck and Maddie Turner , will be manning our stand at the show. As a division they work closely with many leading post production houses, digital and creative agencies, film studios, broadcasters, studios and content creators, to provide permanent staff and freelance solutions. With their respective backgrounds in Media Production and TV Technology & Production, as well as their extensive experience recruiting in this sector, they are perfectly placed to understand the roles they recruit for and the challenges facing both employers and job seekers in the creative industries.

If you are considering looking for a new opportunity, or faced with the challenge of recruiting new team members, why not stop by our stand at the show for a chat? Alternatively, if you would like to pre-book a meeting during the show, please complete the form below and we will be in touch.

Registration to attend this event is free and you can find out more by clicking the button below:

broadcast events , broadcast jobs , broadcast recruitment , London event , London exhibition , production and post production event , The Media Production Show , UK event

The Media Production Show 2016…

Mon, 11 Apr 2016 23:00:00 GMT

Christy Media Solutions is exhibiting at The Media Production Show, from 9 – 10 June 2016, on Stand 204.

The Media Production Show is a new event for 2016, featuring all forms of content creation across a variety of mediums, but with a focus on TV, film & the advertising sectors. The show will be held at The Business Design Centre, Islington, London.

As the name suggests, the event’s focus is on the production side of broadcasting and media, with more than 70 exhibitors covering production services, equipment, post production tools and content distribution platforms, as well as 50 free seminars from some of the best talent in the industry. Speakers will reflect on their recent projects, offer insights into their techniques and processes and their thoughts on the future of the creative sectors.

Registration to attend this event is free and you can find out more about it by following the links below:

broadcast events , broadcast operations jobs , broadcast production jobs , creative , London events , London exhibition , post and film jobs , The Media Production Show

Dates for IBC 2016…

Thu, 24 Mar 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Christy Media Solutions will be exhibiting at IBC this year, from 9 – 13 September 2016, in our usual place on stand C29 in Hall 6.

The IBC Exhibition covers fifteen halls across the RAI in Amsterdam, hosting more than 1,600 exhibitors, spanning the creation, management and delivery of electronic and media entertainment. Integral to the IBC Experience are a number of specially curated Feature Areas and events. These are hosted throughout the IBC Exhibition and tie into the IBC Conference to enrich visitors’ understanding of technologies and trends that are driving the industry.

broadcast event , broadcast recruitment at IBC , Christy Media Solutions , European broadcast event , European broadcast recruitment , IBC 2016 , IBC Hall 6

CABSAT 2016 – Snaps from the show…

Thu, 10 Mar 2016 00:00:00 GMT

It’s the final day at CABSAT today and we thought you might like to see some of the snaps that our team have taken during this year’s trip to Dubai…

broadcast event , broadcast jobs , broadcast recruitment , CABSAT 2016 , Christy Media Solutions , Dubai , international broadcast jobs , international broadcast recruitment , Middle East

Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards nominations now open

Tue, 08 Mar 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Celebrating inspirational female engineers on International Women’s Day, the Institute of Engineering and Technology has opened nominations for its Young Woman Engineer of the Year (YWE) Awards.

These awards recognise talent and professionalism, demonstrating to young women across the UK that engineering is a diverse and exciting industry, offering creative and challenging careers.

The Women’s Engineering Society provides the WES Prize as part of the YWE Awards and this is awarded to a young female engineer who is able to engage and inspire young people’s involvement in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Find out more about the awards here .

International Womens Day , WES , women in engineering

CABSAT 2016..

Mon, 07 Mar 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Christy Media Solutions is exhibiting at CABSAT in Dubai this week.

The CABSAT show is held over 3 days at the Dubai World Trade Centre, from 8-10 March 2016. It is the most established and widelyknown trade show in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia regions, for industry professionals within the Broadcast, Satellite, Content Delivery and Digital Media sectors. The show covers the creation, exchange, distribution, management and monetization of all filmed entertainment and radio content and features over 950 exhibitors with representatives from more than 120 countries.

The associated conference, in partnership with the NAB Show, will feature 40+ international speakers, 20+ sessions, new industry reports and whitepapers, interactive panel discussions. The conference will cover the latest trends, technologies and innovations in the global broadcasting and media market and will feature case studies about all filmed entertainment content across broadcast, satellite, Film/TV and content delivery.

Christy Media Solutions is exhibiting at the show on Stand ZL2-25 in the UK Pavillion, please scroll down if you would like to prebook a meeting with one of our team.

To find out more about the show, please visit the CABSAT website .

broadcast events , broadcast jobs , CABSAT 2016 , Christy Media Solutions , international broadcast recruitment , Middle East

BVE 2016 – Round up

Fri, 26 Feb 2016 00:00:00 GMT

The stands are packed up, the halls have emptied and everyone is now back in the office, after our trip to London’s BVE this week…

Christy Media Solutions had an excellent 3 days at the show, with a record number of visitors to the stand this year. The hall was buzzing every day and the team enjoyed catching up with our existing clients, as well as meeting lots of new faces, visiting our stand for the first time this year.

Thank you to everyone who came along to our stand, for a beer and a chat, or just to take home one of our pens and a postcard – we hope you all enjoyed the show as much as we did and we look forward to working with many of you in the year ahead.

In case you didn’t get to the show, BVE have put together some video highlights with snapshots and information about the key speakers at the show here .

broadcast event , broadcast jobs , broadcast recruitment , BVE 2016 , Christy Media Solutions , London event , London exhibition

Our team at BVE 2016

Mon, 15 Feb 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Our stand at BVE: G43

We’re looking forward to another busy BVE and hope that many of you will visit our stand, please do drop by to say hello, we always enjoy catching up! If you would like to pre-book a meeting with any of our team, please complete the form below and we’ll be in touch to arrange it. For free tickets to the exhibition and more information about the show, please click the button at the foot of this page.

BVE’s 14 second film challenge…

Thu, 28 Jan 2016 00:00:00 GMT

BVE has launched their first ever 14 Second Film Challenge this year, aimed at the filmmakers and content creators of the future.

The competition aims to bring industry commissioners and producers together with the rising stars in film-making and production, under the hashtag: #BVEfilmchallenge

The judging panel, that consists of leading DoPs, commissioners and content creators, will be searching for visually exciting, bold, one-of-a-kind 14 second films. With creativity today thriving across these multiple platforms, BVE is really excited to shine the spotlight onto the industry’s rising stars and connect them with leading commissioners and producers through this 14 second challenge.

The contest opened on Wednesday, 13th January and closes on Sunday, 7th February 2016. The submission platform for the challenge is Instagram

Prizes

First place will be awarded with £1000 worth of vouchers towards any of Raindance’s industry-leading courses, a £500 cash prize from BVE towards your next film project, and an exclusive screening of your film on ‘The Screen @ BVE’ next year. BVE will also be awarding prizes for two runners-up in the form of Raindance training courses and regular exposure of their future short films across BVE social media platforms throughout 2016.

To find out more about the challenge, please visit the BVE website .

BVE 2016 , competition

BVE 2016

Tue, 05 Jan 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Christy Media Solutions is looking forward to BVE, which is held at ExCeL London, from 23-25 February 2016.

Our stand is G43, if you would like to come along and have a chat about either your company’s recruitment needs, your own career plans or simply to catch up or arrange a meeting for a later date.

BVE is one of the UK’s largest events for professionals involved in taking content from creation to consumption, with a wide variety of exhibitors and free seminars on offer.

The show team has predicted more than 15,000 visitors from 60+ countries will come through its doors this year and the scope of the exhibition has been broadened for 2016, to include AV, live entertainment and production technology sectors.

The show will combine expert-led, free seminars, with an exhibition that features 250+ of the leading manufacturers, distributors and resellers of professional production and broadcast equipment and systems. Covering everything from camera accessories to 360 workflow solutions, BVE is a great event for people involved in broadcast and production technology to attend and it’s free if you book your ticket in advance.

broadcast recruitment , BVE 2016 , Christy Media Solutions , jobs in broadcasting , London event , London exhibition , media recruitment

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We wish you a Merry Christmas…

Mon, 21 Dec 2015 00:00:00 GMT

We had our annual Christmas party on Friday night, but most of the team kick-started the festivities by joining in with Christmas Jumper Day … Spot the person who forgot to bring their festive jumper!*

We’d like to take this opportunity to wish you a Merry Christmas from all the Christy Media Solutions team.

* yes it’s Craig, and we agree, the scarf round the neck isn’t fooling anyone!

broadcast recruitment specialists , Christmas Jumper Day , Christmas Party , Christy Media Solutions

IABM Annual International Awards 2015 – Winners Announced

Fri, 18 Dec 2015 00:00:00 GMT

The IABM Annual International Business Conference & Awards 2015 were held in early December and Christy Media Solutions was proud to be involved with this event as a sponsor.

The awards recognise outstanding achievement in four key areas of the industry which the IABM views as central to its mission. A fifth award — Honorary Membership of IABM — is presented to an individual who has made a key contribution to the broadcast and media industry over the course of their entire career.

This year’s winners were:

IABM Broadcast & Media Technology Woman of the Year – Michelle Munson

“The high calibre of all the shortlisted candidates for this year’s Woman of the Year award clearly demonstrates that our industry is moving on from its male-dominated past,” commented Peter White.

“This year’s winner, CEO and Co-Founder of Aspera, Michelle Munson, has not only led the business in a stellar, profitable growth path culminating in its recent acquisition by IBM, she has also played a key role as co-inventor of the company’s FASP® high-speed data transport technology, transforming the way big data is ingested, processed, managed, distributed and delivered today.”

Deborah Cross of Christy Media Solutions presented the award to Michelle Munson at the event (pictures above).

IABM Young Person of the Year – Ludovic Michaud

A graduate of Valenciennes University in France, this year’s winner of the IABM Young Person of the Year is Ludovic Michaud. “Ludovic Michaud has demonstrated a strong understanding of transmission, compression and workflows and how they can be better applied to meet the challenges of delivering content everywhere,” said IABM CEO, Peter White. “Our challenge is to ensure that the broadcast and media technology business continues to attract the brightest talent; Ludovic Michaud demonstrates that we can.”

IABM International Award for Excellence in Sustainability – Coronation Street/ITV Studios

When long-running British serial drama Coronation Street relocated its production site to MediaCityUK in 2014, it pledged to deliver ‘television drama of the highest quality with the lowest possible environmental impact’.

“Coronation Street/ITV Studios has provided a blueprint for sustainable television production,” said John Ive, IABM Director of Technology and Strategic Insight. “They have assessed and minimised the environmental impact of every element of the production from renewable energy to power the site, to electronic scripts and ‘paperwork’, recycling and minimising waste across the entire production chain.”

In addition, GENELEC was highly commended in this category for its 30-year commitment to sustainability, which it regards as a core part of its business values.

IABM Peter Wayne Award for Design and Innovation – IntoPIX

IntoPIX’s development of TICO lightweight visually lossless compression enables 4K/UHD to be transported over legacy SDI infrastructure and 10GbE networks with the smallest latency and minimal complexity while preserving image quality.

“In bringing TICO to market, IntoPIX has amply met all the criteria we set for judging the Peter Wayne Award – innovation, performance, value for money and tangible end-user benefits,” said John Ive. “As we continue our march to ever higher resolutions and framerates, this is a perfect illustration of how innovative engineering can help to make it happen quickly and cost-effectively.”

IABM Honorary Membership – Clyde Smith

Now Consultant for New Technologies at US broadcaster FOX’s Network Engineering and Operations, Clyde Smith has been at the forefront of digital imaging innovation throughout his career. Having spent eight years at the Kennedy Space Center supporting numerous shuttle missions and interplanetary probes, Smith is quite literally a rocket scientist. Smith has also led technology development at Speer Communications, Turner and Turner Broadcast System, along the way contributing to many key international standards initiatives. Smith has been recognised with numerous awards, including the SMPTE David Sarnoff Gold Medal.

“As well as his innumerable achievements in the industry, Clyde Smith has provided valuable support and advice to the IABM over many years, and I’m delighted that the IABM has honoured him in this way,” said White.

For more information about the awards, photos and content from the conference, please visit www.theiabm.org .

broadcast events , Christy Media Solutions , IABM 2015 Awards

IABM Annual International Business Conference & Awards 2015

Wed, 02 Dec 2015 00:00:00 GMT

Christy Media Solutions is sponsoring the IABM’s International Business Conference & Awards 2015, which are held on 3 and 4 December 2015, at the Radisson Blu Edwardian Heathrow Hotel, London.

The IABM’s Annual Conference looks exclusively at the ‘big picture’ and strategic changes within the industry, at an executive strategic level.

Attendees encompass a broad section of the broadcast sector, with a significant number representing the technology supply industry, as well as professional end users to help stimulate the debate about where the industry is going. The IABM also make a point about inviting the people who are creating change in the industry with emerging trends.

In addition to sponsoring the Conference, Christy Media has also sponsored the Broadcast & Media Technology Industry Woman of the Year Award , which our Principal Consultant, Deborah Cross , will be presenting at the Gala Dinner this evening – pictures to follow.

To find out more about the event, please follow this link .

broadcast event , broadcast manufacturing event , broadcast manufacturing recruitment , broadcast technology recruitment , IABM 2015 Awards , IABM 2015 Conference , London events

AfricaCom 2015

Fri, 27 Nov 2015 00:00:00 GMT

Christy Media’s Karolin Etzel recently attended the 18th annual AfricaCom event in Cape Town, South Africa. She took lots of photos during her visit and we have included a selection here.

AfricaCom welcomed 10,000 visitors over 3 days; more than 200 companies exhibited at the show and Karolin was impressed by the range of international companies and visitors attending the event.

The main theme for this year’s show was “Innovation, Transformation, and Leadership for Digital Africa”, alongside the ongoing concern with the transition to digital operations in the region. Leading experts from the largest digital entertainment companies gathered to discuss these issues at the conference and visit the exhibition.

A full range of keynote speeches and masterclasses were on offer during the show and international exhibitors included service providers, networks, broadband technologies, and device manufacturers, such as Alcatel and Huawei.

After exploring the exhibition hall, Karolin joined the SES presentation: SAT IP: Distributing Satellite TV over IP Networks, which discussed the SAT>IP network and related technologies and the benefits they can offer to end users and broadcasters in Africa.

Whilst Karolin visited many stands at the show, she was particularly impressed by ONTAPtv, Gilat, and Thomson Video Network.

ONTAPtv is a VoD service which is especially optimized for the low bandwidth environments in South Africa.
Gilat offers satellite-based connectivity solutions, together with rural communication networks. Their on-the-move tactical communications for land, air, and sea fleets of public security and news organisations, showcased their solutions for rural broadband via satellite.
Thomson Video Network provides advanced video compression solutions.

Karolin enjoyed her trip to AfricaCom, meeting with representatives from some of the most prominent names in broadcasting in the region, and discussing what lies ahead for the industry in Africa. The company looks forward to visiting the region again soon.

AfricaCom 2016 will return to Cape Town again next year, from 15-17 November. You can find out more about AfricaCom here .

AfricaCom , broadcast event , broadcast jobs in Africa , Karolin Etzel

IABM Broadcast & Media Technology Industry Woman of the Year Award 2015

Tue, 10 Nov 2015 00:00:00 GMT

Christy Media Solutions is pleased to announce our sponsorship of this year’s IABM Broadcast & Media Technology Industry Woman of the Year Award, which will be presented at the IABM’s Awards Dinner, as part of the annual IABM International Business Conference. This year the Conference will be held on the 3-4 December at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Heathrow.

Pictured here: Naomi Climer accepting the 2014 Award

The award was launched by the IABM in 2014, to champion the achievements of business women on the supply side of the broadcast industry; acknowledging enterprising spirit, determination and the drive to perform. This is the first international award created to specifically recognize the contribution that a woman has made within the industry.

Last year’s winner was Naomi Climer, who began her career as a Broadcast Engineer for the BBC in the 1980’s and is currently President of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), the first member of the broadcast manufacturing fraternity to hold this office.

Nominations for the award will close on Monday 16 November 2015 and you can submit entries for the award here .

Christy Media Solutions is proud to support this key industry event and we are looking forward to presenting the 2015 winner of the Broadcast & Media Technology Industry Woman of the Year Award with their prize in December.

Christy Media Solutions , IABM , IABM 2015 Awards

Bill Vinten GTC University Awards – Winners announced

Sun, 18 Oct 2015 23:00:00 GMT

This year’s Bill Vinten GTC University Awards were hosted by the University for the Creative Arts in Farnham on October 15 2015.

The results were as follows:

Bournemouth University collected the Bill Vinten GTC University Trophy, scoring more points for their portfolio of undergraduate films than the fourteen other establishments that entered this year’s competition. The Trophy was presented to Mark Bond, the Programme Leader at Bournemouth University, by Stuart McKears who devised the Awards.

Angus Mitchell (Bournemouth University) received first prize for his work on Brackish Water, available to view on the GTC website .

Runner up James Matthews (Northern Film School) will be travelling and shooting adventure footage in Vietnam and Australia over the next few months before he begins his work experience. Lawrence Fish (University of Portsmouth) will take his work experience at the end of October with the ‘Doctors’ production team in Birmingham.

The event was streamed live by GTC member Jay Rozanski from oXyFire Media Creative, with help from members Jenny Alsina, Steve Acton and James French. Sponsors, Media Dog Camera Hire, provided an extra camera which was operated by student member, Kate Priestman, who is specializing in camera skills at UCA.

The evening was a great opportunity for GTC members to meet colleagues, university staff and students and to listen to Billy Williams BSC OBE. Billy entertained the audience with anecdotes from his career with directors such as Ken Russell, John Schlesinger and Richard Attenborough. It was with the latter director that Billy won an Oscar for best cinematography on Gandhi.

The Guild of Television Cameramen (GTC) is an independent, international organisation that cares about TV camerawork; its members are professional cameramen and camerawomen who operate in all areas of broadcasting. You can find out more by visiting the GTC website .

Bill Vinten GTC Awards 2015 , broadcast event , Guild of Television Cameramen Awards , UK news

Angus commented, “I had a brilliant time, and was overjoyed at receiving this prestigious trophy and award package. I cannot wait for the exciting opportunities that my work experience will bring me, along with being a member of the GTC.” Angus will be working with Martin Hawkins who received the GTC’s TiCA earlier this year.

IBC 2015 – Executive Summary

Mon, 12 Oct 2015 23:00:00 GMT

The IBC Executive Summary has now been published, featuring a range of articles by keynote speakers and individuals who took part in the IBC Leaders’ Summit – the conference that is held at the same time as the IBC exhibition.

Please follow the link to view the digital magazine.

broadcast events , European broadcast event , IBC 2015

Bill Vinten GTC University Awards – Finalists announced

Thu, 01 Oct 2015 23:00:00 GMT

Now in its third year, the Bill Vinten GTC University Awards will be hosted by 2014’s winning university, the University for the Creative Arts in Farnham , on October 15 2015.

The guest speaker at the event will be Billy Williams OBE, who won an Oscar (Best Cinematography) for Gandhi. Tickets are available by contacting university.award@gtc.org.uk

Shortlisted for the Awards are:

Lawrence Fish (University of Portsmouth) – Automated Teller Man
Tomas Frigstad (University for the Creative Arts) – Deep Pan Fury
James Mathews (Northern Film School) – Mako
Ronnie McQillan (University of York) – When the Dust Settles
Angus Mitchell (Bournemouth University) – Brackish Water
Hamish Saks (Northern Film School) – Desire Lines

In addition to the individual awards, the university with the highest scoring portfolio of three films will also receive the Bill Vinten GTC University Trophy, in recognition of the standard of teaching at that university. The three films submitted must be from three different genres to encourage students to adapt their skills to a variety of disciplines.

The Awards organisers were delighted with both the number and standard of entries for the competition; the number of entries has increased from previous years and the range of universities submitting entries has also widened.

The shortlisted films and other submissions are available to view on the GTC website here .

Bill Vinten GTC Awards 2015 , broadcast event , Guild of Television Cameramen Awards , UK news

IBC 2015 – more photos from the show!

Sun, 13 Sep 2015 23:00:00 GMT

Christy Media Solutions is exhibiting at IBC in Amsterdam until 15 September (stand C29 in Hall 6).

As usual, we’ve also been taking plenty of photos to share with you, so here’s a further selection from the first few days at the show and you can click on the link below to view a few more snaps!

broadcast events , broadcast jobs , IBC 2015 , international broadcast recruitment

IBC 2015

Sat, 12 Sep 2015 23:00:00 GMT

Christy Media Solutions is exhibiting at IBC in Amsterdam until 15 September; the team have been busy looking round the show, perusing the latest innovations in broadcast technology and meeting up with lots of our clients and contacts. If you’re at the show and you’d like to meet up, please drop by our stand in Hall 6 (Stand C.29).

Advice for a successful telephone interview…

Wed, 12 Aug 2015 23:00:00 GMT

Companies often use telephone interviews as a first stage screening process as they can save the applicant and the company both time and money. Telephone interviews are often very straightforward, short conversations, seeking to find out if the applicant meets the employer’s basic requirements; but sometimes they can be far more thorough, delving into technical competencies and a detailed discussion of your CV.

More…

advice for telephone interviews , Christy Media Solutions , hints and tips , telephone interview advice

IBC 2015…

Wed, 15 Jul 2015 23:00:00 GMT

Christy Media Solutions will be exhibiting at IBC in Amsterdam again this year. We’re on Stand C29, in Hall 6 as usual and hope to see many of you at the show.

The 2015 show dates are as follows:

Conference: 10-14 September 2015
Exhibition: 11-15 September 2015

To pre-book a meeting with one of our team at the show, please click here .

More about the show:

IBC 2014 attracted over 55,000 attendees from more than 170 different countries, to its exhibition and conference. The event aims to provide a unique, rich experience; connecting, enthusing, inspiring and informing the professionals engaged in the creation, management and delivery of content worldwide. The show is held at the Amsterdam RAI , every September, and the exhibition is always at the forefront of industry innovation, with more than 1,700 companies showcasing the latest products and specialist technologies in electronic media and entertainment, across fourteen halls.

The show also provides excellent networking opportunities, with plenty of breakout areas, where you can catch up with existing contacts or make new acquaintances.

The IBC Conference features more than 300 speakers and is a great opportunity for international discussion and debate about the many different challenges facing the electronic media and entertainment industries, both in its sessions and in the range of networking opportunities it affords.

Featuring some of the foremost thought-leaders, innovators and policy makers in their fields, and covering a wide breadth of topics, it is a great place to explore new strategies, understand business disruptors, chart future technological progress and uncover the future roadmap of the industry. Each day is anchored by a keynote session, which provides context to the day’s theme. Selected conference sessions are streamed live around the RAI and online at www.ibctv.org and are also available post-show via IBC TV VOD.

Free entry to the exhibition:

To register for free for the IBC exhibition, as our guest, please click on the ticket below and enter the customer code 12529 at the Customer Pass Selection stage of registration.

Amsterdam events , broadcast event , broadcast recruitment at IBC , Christy Media Solutions , free ticket to IBC , IBC 2015

Well done to Christy’s Angels!

Sat, 27 Jun 2015 23:00:00 GMT

Well done to Deborah, Natasha and Sandra for braving the rain and wind to successfully complete the Milton Keynes 5K Race for Life this morning.

Despite the inclement weather, there was a great turn out and Campbell Park became a sea of pink as the runners flowed down from the start. All the runners bravely negotiated the rather large hill on the run back to the finish, cheered on by the crowds of well-wishers.

At the time of writing the event had raised in excess of £330,000 in aid of Cancer Research UK, and our ladies have smashed their original £300 sponsorship target.

Well done ladies!

It’s not to late to show your support for this great cause, just follow the link to the Christy’s Angels Just Giving page , and give what you can, it all helps.

Christy Media news , Christy Media Solutions , Christys Angels , Race for Life

National Women in Engineering Day 2015

Sun, 21 Jun 2015 23:00:00 GMT

National Women in Engineering Day was set up in 2014 by the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) to celebrate its 95th anniversary. After the success of the first event, raising awareness about engineering opportunities for women, this year’s event aims to provide a great opportunity for schools and organisations across the UK to promote gender equality in engineering by hosting their own engineering-related event or activity.

Through various events on the day, WES is seeking to raise awareness regarding the shortage of women engineers in the UK, and focus attention on opportunities for women in engineering, at a time when it has never been more important to address the engineering skills shortage.

Although women are not faced with the same legal pressures preventing them from becoming engineers as in post-World War Britain, there is a serious issue in how engineering is perceived. WES argues that encouraging girls into engineering careers will not only increase diversity and inclusion – a business imperative – but also enable employers to fill the substantial future job opportunities that have been predicted in the engineering sector.

As well as events around the UK, there is also a conference in London, “Women in Engineering: Are they returning to work?” on 23 June. For further details please follow the link below.

Women’s Engineering Society Get involved! Conference Details

broadcast engineering recruitment , National Women in Engineering Day , WES

Christy’s Angels are in the news!

Mon, 15 Jun 2015 23:00:00 GMT

With the Cancer Research Race for Life getting closer on the 28 June, our Christy’s Angels have been busy training and their story has been picked up by our local newspaper, The MK News .

Here is an extract from the article published on their website today:

You can read the full article here .

You can support our ladies by donating on their team page: Just Giving

Deborah Cross , Natasha Booluck , Race for Life , Sandra Breeze

The Angels are back – but this time with plenty of pink mesh, accessories and running shoes for the Milton Keynes Race for Life at the end of this month.

Christy’s Angels, Deborah Cross, Natasha Booluck, and Sandra Breeze, are donning their shoes and tutus at the 5k on Sunday, June 28.

Named after the company they work for, Christy Media Solutions, the trio have emphasised the importance of team spirit after all their lives being affected by cancer…

…Each Angel has her own experiences with the disease in their life so they hope to raise over £100 each for Cancer Research UK…. All are active and training is underway, but this year they are taking it at their own pace in their funky outfits….

Deborah said: “This is my first time dressing up for a race. I always think the people who do dress up add a lot more to the atmosphere. Hopefully, our colleagues from the office, family and friends will cheer us on next weekend.”

Congratulations to Maddie Turner!

Mon, 18 May 2015 23:00:00 GMT

We’re pleased to announce that Maddie Turner is our latest team member to successfully complete IABM training and pass her exam to achieve Certified Broadcast and Media Technologist Associate status.

Well done Maddie!

>> Read more about the IABM

Top interview tips from recruiters…

Mon, 13 Apr 2015 23:00:00 GMT

Reed have surveyed more than 600 employers to find out what UK employers do and don’t want to see every time you interview for a new job.

Read on for the results…

candidate advice , interview tips

Christy Media

The Rise of FinOps

…and why it matters for Media & Entertainment.

Why FinOps Is now a Core Skillset in M&E

Building FinOps capability: Scoping Requirements & New Talent

Closing Thoughts

AI? What’s that?!

Meet Roxy!

Meet James!

Christy Media Solutions welcomes James Pearson as Associate Director, North America.

Take a look back at the evolution of virtual production and CGI…

IBC 2015..

Meeting the next generation of broadcast talent…

We’re off to BroadcastAsia

More about the show:

IBC 2010

Christy Media Solutions plays football for children’s charity

Join us at IBC 2011!

IBC 2011

Streaming Media Competition Result

Join us at BVE North, 13-14 November, Manchester Central

Show dates and times:

IBC 2012

Meeting the next generation…

BVE North 2012

BVE North 2011

BVE 2012

Summer 2012

BVE 2013 Coming

The Media Festival 2011

Join us at BVE North, 16-17 November, Manchester Central

BVE 2013

Red Nose Day

Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day

Positive News for the UK Jobs Market

Race for Life

If you are interested in finding out more or supporting the Race for Life campaign, please click here . If you would like to support Sandra and Cancer Research by donating, please click here to visit Sandra’s just giving page .

Sandra did it!

BroadcastAsia 2013, next week

BroadcastAsia 2013

2013 Contractor Survey

Another successful IBC…

Photos from IBC 2013

BVE North 2013

Christy Media Solutions is proud to sponsor BVE North again this year.

BosomBuddiesUK

Win Adobe Creative Cloud with BVE North!

BVE North

UK TV industry enjoys global boom

New Appointment for Film London

“I am delighted David will be driving this work forward. His experience in this area will ensure we capitalise on London’s assets and deliver more investment into the capital, creating jobs and new opportunities for the benefit of the city.”

Applications Open for Business Incubation at Ravensbourne

University of Salford: Acoustics, Audio & Video Engineering Event

Christy Media Solutions is at Sochi!

BVE 2014

IBC 2014…

Bill Vinten GTC University Awards

BroadcastAsia 2014

More about the show:

National Women in Engineering Day – 23 June 2014

Pictures from our trip to Broadcast Asia

Broadcast Asia: More snaps from Singapore!

IBC 2014 – free registration

Seroj Baghdasarian

Christy Media Solutions at Nanjing!

More photos from the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing..

IBC 2014

IBC 2014 – more photos…

IBC – All over for another year…

Finalists for the Bill Vinten GTC University Awards announced

Adam Grasso – Director of Photography S.O.S. (for the artist Femme)

Vince Knight – Director of Photography The Domestic Lives of Mollusks

Jacob Leese – Camera Operator Scarlet

Thomas McKie – Director of Photography The Last Fisherman

Daniel O’Flaherty – Director of Photography Sunday Dinner at the Morgans

Thomas Reed – Director of Photography Flypaper

About the Guild of Television Cameramen

1 October: It’s File Delivery Day!

Bill Vinten GTC University Awards Winners

Ravensbourne’s Futures Fest

Adam Grasso – Director of Photography
S.O.S. (for the artist Femme)

Vince Knight – Director of Photography
The Domestic Lives of Mollusks

Jacob Leese – Camera Operator
Scarlet

Thomas McKie – Director of Photography
The Last Fisherman

Daniel O’Flaherty – Director of Photography
Sunday Dinner at the Morgans

Thomas Reed – Director of Photography
Flypaper