This is an old revision of this page, as edited by AnmaFinotera (talk | contribs) at 20:18, 29 August 2008 (→History: expand some more after reading/watching whole section). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 20:18, 29 August 2008 by AnmaFinotera (talk | contribs) (→History: expand some more after reading/watching whole section)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)| Company type | Private (division of Southern Star Entertainment) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Television production, Film production |
| Genre | Documentary, Nature |
| Founded | 1968  |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
| Key people | Clare BirksCEO |
| Products | Meerkat Manor, Lemur Kingdom |
| Parent | Southern Star Entertainment |
| Website | oxfordscientificfilms.tv |
Oxford Scientific Films, abbreviated OSF, is a company in the United Kingdom that produces natural history and documentary programs. It is one of three divisions of Southern Star Entertainment UK, itself a division of the Australia-based Southern Star Group. The company has produced multiple award-winning series, including the highly acclaimed Animal Planet series, Meerkat Manor.
In March 2008, parent company Southern Star Group merged its Sydney-based "factual business unit" into the Oxford Scientific Films division. The merged company will have two brands, with the existing Oxford Scientific Films names being used for its "specialist factual programmes", while the Southern Star Factual brand will be used for "features and factual entertainment shows."
History
In 1967, cinemicrophotography pioneer and professional film maker Gerald Thompson, was approached by the Ealing Corporation of Harvard about expanding its catalog of short educational films. Universal Education and Visual Arts, a New York, company also was interested in talking with Thompson about the works he'd produced. Thompson and five of his associates and former students: Peter Parks, who worked with plankton; John Paling, a fish specialist who worked with Parks; recent Oxford graduate Sean Morris; zoologist John Cooke; and Eric Skinner, who assisted Thompson with his films, wanted to form an independent film company. Thompson and Parks traveled to America to meet with the two companies to show their work. At the end of the meeting, they told the head of the company about their desire to open their own company and, impressed with the films he'd seen, offered to finance them for the first three years and give them the funds to build a place to work.
When they returned to the United Kingdom, Thompson sold them a quarter acre of his garden, at a steeply discounted price, to be the home for the new building. They formed Oxford Scientific Films, taking part of the name from Parks' existing company Oxford Biological Films. Thompson, Parks, Morris, Paling, and Thompson's son David, headed the new company, which began operating on 8 July 1968. Thompson remained at his position at Oxford University while the company building was being completed, while the other four traveled to America to make the film loops for Ealing. Thompson resigned from the university on 2 September 1969, taking on the work at Oxford Scientific Films full time.
On 4 December 2003, Oxford Scientific's extensive libraries of over 350,000 still images and over 2,000 of film footage libraries were acquired by Photolibrary. The acquisition was done as a share exchange,with Photolibrary acquiring shares in Oxford Scientific Films Limited, and Southern Star paying A$1 million to purchase a 46.46% equity in Photolibrary. Photolibrary retained existing employees of the library divisions, and continues using the names "Oxford Scientific" and "OSF" in promoting the libraries. Southern Star retained full control of Oxford Scientific Films production unit, and through that unit, continues supplying images and footage to the Photolibrary.
Filmography
Production
- Hello Culture (2001)
- Living with Bugs: War of Two Worlds (2002), TV
- Industrial Revelations (2002)
- Living with Bugs: Close Encounters (2003)
- Mark Williams on the Rails (2004)
- Massive Engines (2004)
- Ella: A Meerkat's Tale (2005)
- Meerkat Manor (2005-present)
- Death by Excess (2006)
- Lemur Street (2007)
- Jessica the Hippo (2007)
- Meerkat Manor: The Story Begins (2008)
Special effects
- Pink Floyd The Wall (1982) - micro photography
- DeepStar Six (1989) - optical effects
References
- "About Us". Southern Star Group. Retrieved 2008-08-29.
- ^ "Southern Star Announces Merger With Oxford Scientific Films". 4rfv.co.uk. Flagship Media Group. 2008-03-18. Retrieved 2008-08-29.
- ^ Christopher Parsons (Interviewer), Derek Kilkenny-Blake (Cameraman). Oral History Interview: Gerald Thompson - Chapter 8:Setting up Oxford Scientific Films (Flash) (Documentary). WildFilmHistory. Retrieved 2008-08-29.
{{cite AV media}}: Unknown parameter|date2=ignored (help) - Morris, Sean (2002-09-21). "Gerald Thompson: Pioneer of filming plants and small animals". The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-08-29.
- "Division Name - Southern Star Merger of Oxford Scientific Films Libraries And Photolibrary". Southern Star Group. 2004-04-30. Retrieved 2008-08-29.
- "Southern Star Announces Merger of Oxford Scientific Films Libraries And Photolibrary". Southern Star Group. 2003-12-03. Retrieved 2008-08-29.
- "Filming". Kalahari Meerkat Project. 2008-04-10. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
- "Animal Planet Begins Production on Third Season of Meerkat Manor". World Screen. 2007-03-12. Retrieved 2007-11-07.
- ^ "Production Programmes". Oxford Scientific Films. Archived from the original on 2007-08-30. Retrieved 2007-12-10.
- Scheib, Ronnie (2009-05-19). "Meerkat Manor: The Story Begins". Variety. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
External links
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