Bristol

Our Friend in the West: Mike Gunton

Mike Gunton

Last week, I was standing in a fly-fishing shop in a small town in Montana telling the owner I worked for the BBC Natural History Unit. "Oh, so you're from Bristol," was his reply.

OK, he was a wildlife fan and did then ask if David Attenborough was my neighbour, but it does illustrate that Bristol and the NHU's reputation go far and wide.

I joined in my late twenties to work on the Attenborough blockbuster The Trials of Life. I thought I'd stay for the three years it took to make the series and then move on.

RTS Centres' Council gets animated

Morph modeling

The chairs of the Society’s 13 regional centres, along with representatives from RTS HQ and Board of Trustees chair John Hardie, were tasked with creating their own Morph figurine.

Led by Aardman Productions animator Jim Parkyn, the group set about crafting their own plasticine creations, and photographer Jon Craig was on hand to capture the results.

While the RTS Midlands Chair, Isabel Clarke, scooped up the prize for the best likeness with her well-made Morph, it’s safe to say that the Centres’ Council won’t be giving up the day job yet.

Scriptwriting for TV

The bad news for Lisa Holdsworth, en route to addressing a Bristol Centre meeting, was that her train had no internet access; the good news was that she could spend the time writing an extra two pages of the current script. Lisa's talk, attended by local university students as well as RTS members, was peppered with such practical insights into the modern TV writer's day. You'll have seen and heard Lisa's work on Waterloo Rd, or New Tricks, or Robin Hood, or previously on Emmerdale (of which she has written 40 episodes).

Alan Roberts speaks to Bristol Centre

Event Summary

'Things we forgot we knew' was one of the themes of Alan Roberts' recent talk to the Bristol Centre. Familiar to many from his talks at IBC, Alan is one of the pioneer workers on HD cameras, the expert behind the 'BBC settings' for HD photography, and is the recipient of the 2009 Guild of TV Cameramen Award for contributions to the art and science of TV camerawork.

Sir Ambrose Fleming Award

The Bristol Centre presents the Sir AMBROSE FLEMING MEMORIAL AWARD for outstanding contribution to television in the RTS Bristol area.

The award was established in 1960, to recognise achievement in television by those in our area. Since then it has been awarded 26 times. Competition is very stiff, with all the strengths of achievements made by teams and individuals in the Bristol region we are never short of contenders.