Category Archives: Media Management

JCA selected by Shine International as UK vendor

Posted on March 27, 2012 by | Leave a comment
The Hour (Shine International), digital distribution, digital asset management, digital services

The Hour (Shine International)

Following the launch of our international partner program earlier this year, which saw us collaborate with London-based SMV Complete Media, we are thrilled to have started work with Shine international, the sales and distribution arm of Shine Group. Shine International is a leader in handling global rights to television formats and is responsible for the distribution of more than 3,000 hours of broadcast content annually.

Under the two-year deal, we shall now be looking after Shine International’s tape duplication, encoding, digital delivery and quality control of both tape and file assets. We will deliver services to Shine International through our online Media Window platform, enabling an end-to-end management system from initial order entry to final delivery tracking and even digital distribution of content.

With the recent relocation of Shine International’s headquarters to London, it needed a local partner to assist with managing the transition. Our experience and expertise set us apart from the rest making us a natural partner choice.

We look forward to working with Shine International and helping it reach its business objectives by efficiently and effectively supplying it with services that will fully support its global reach.

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Posted in Digital, Media Management

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JCA host Pub Quiz night

Posted on November 15, 2011 by | Leave a comment

The ultimate quiz battle took place last Thursday as a mixture of JCA clients and journalists from some of the industries leading publications went head to head in a bid to be crowned the winner of the first ever JCA Media/Distributor Pub Quiz.

In true quiz form we had an eclectic mix of questions, of varying levels of difficulty ranging from general knowledge and sport to music, media and broadcasting. There was even a round about JCA, although nothing too technical. For instance, “JCA’s home is in Acton, West London, but Acton is also the home of which English rock band?” For those for you who don’t know it’s The Who, although there were some interesting alternative answers.

The event, which took place at the Glassblower pub, right in the heart of the West End, saw Fremantle Media declared as the winners, with an impressive score of 69 out of 95.

The whole JCA team was on hand throughout the night, as the drinks flowed freely and the platters of food arrived to quell people’s appetites. Commercial Director Matt Bowman, assisted by Richard Cook from our PR team Champion Communications asked the questions whilst Managing Director Simon Kay was the master of the scores and prizes.

The atmosphere throughout the night was electric, as everyone became increasingly rowdier and competitive in a bid to win themselves a trophy, one of the star bottles of liquor, chocolates and the much sought after flashy JCA pens.

The JCA pub quiz was a huge success and a thoroughly enjoyable evening. Special thanks all the teams who attended from TVB Europe, C21, Disney, KidsCo, BBC Worldwide, BBC Motion Gallery and congratulations to Fremantle Media for taking home the trophy.

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Posted in Company News, Digital, Events, Media Management, Television

JCA restores classic British films for Film4

Posted on October 21, 2011 by | Leave a comment

One of the benefits of digitisation is that it provides content/rights owners with the opportunity to restore and re-master classic content which it can then sell to broadcasters for new audiences to enjoy.

Our recent partnership with Film4 to re-master the 1986 British comedy classic Rita, Sue and Bob Too, along with other titles including Brassed Off in true High Definition is a core reflection of this.

We have worked with Film4 on many HD restoration projects in the past, which include removing all dirt, scratches and occasionally continuity errors. We were thrilled to be an integral part of these new film projects for Film4’s international distribution channel.

During this process the film elements are scanned at 2k via our Arriscan Scanner into a DPX file sequence. The DPX files are then graded to the clients’ specification  and then rendered into the file. The restoration artists utilise a vast array of restorative tools ranging from automated passes through to frame by frame hand painting – whatever the project requires, before the grain and sharpness treatments are applied.

For Rita Sue and Bob Too we were able to access the original negative. Whilst this made the grading process more challenging it did allow us to deliver the film, as it has never been seen before.

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Posted in Business Development, Company News, Media Management, Online, Television

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JCA drives Intercontinental Le Mans Cup around the world

Posted on October 19, 2011 by | Leave a comment


As the demand for original digital content intensifies from both broadcasters and viewers around the world the requirement to deliver content 24/7 in rapid time is becoming more and more important.

Our recent partnership with sports distribution specialists, Cotterill & Associates Ltd., to deliver the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup to broadcasters around the world is a key indication of this.

This partnership allowed us to handle the worldwide physical and digital transmission deliverables for the ILMC series, which includes seven high profile races including the Le Mans 24 Hours. Other venues in the series include Serbing (USA), Imola (Italy), and the Zhuhai International Circuit (China).

We were delighted to be involved in this prestigious project and continue our long-standing relationship with Cotterill & Associates Ltd. By using our media window we were able to distribute race highlights to broadcasters quickly, efficiently, and economically.

This project has also highlighted many of the benefits of digital convergence. Many sceptical networks have historically wanted to receive tapes, but now more and more are prepared to try this method, which is very exciting as we move ever closer to fully digitised systems.

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Posted in Business Development, Company News, Digital, Media Management

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Tape: past, present and future

Posted on September 2, 2011 by | 1 Comment

The Sony tape shortage, which was a result of the devastating tsunami that hit Japan earlier this year, brought the ‘the status of tape’ into the limelight. Luckily, here in Acton in west London we had tape aplenty. But that was not the case for many companies. So here at JCA we decided to carry out a survey to find out how it affected the UK production industry. The crisis forced many production companies to review their distribution methods, and the study revealed that there was a great deal of concern surrounding the tape shortage. How can we get hold of tape? Are there other alternatives? Should we think about digital distribution methods? These questions were suddenly at the forefront of people’s minds.

We discovered that although the production industry still uses tape, there is an increasing demand for digital alternatives. Obviously there are technical obstacles to overcome when migrating distribution to digital methods, but this does not need to be a scary prospect. At the ERA event in July, we announced that we have adopted the LT05/LTFS format combination, as a contribution to an industry-wide campaign to standardise data archive tape formats.

As more and more companies shift to ‘file workflows’, we wanted to find a common file based distribution medium to make our clients’ lives easier and cheaper. After all, clients come to us to take care of the technicalities, so they can focus on the distribution. Our survey found that 50% of respondents do not yet employ digital distribution methods. However, if we can standardise data archive tape formatting, it will certainly be an even more attractive option for companies. The benefits of digital delivery methods are obvious. In terms of archiving, transportation and cost, the advantages are big, and can seriously transform the way a company functions.

Currently we are in transition. Yes, digital is the future, but historic formats may never be obsolete. They are often irreplaceable, and there is nothing more rewarding than discovering a reel of film or an old format video tape, digitising it, restoring it, and delivering it in high definition, better than ever before. At JCA we pride ourselves on bridging the gap betweenmedias’ legacy formats and digital’s exciting commercial opportunities.

Matt Bowman, Commercial Director – JCA

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Posted in Business Development, Digital, Media Management, Tape Storage, Television, Television Production

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JCA welcomes Sarah Wallis to company business development team

Posted on September 1, 2011 by | Leave a comment

We are delighted to announce that former BBC executive, Sarah Wallis, has joined our expanding business development team as we look to consolidate and extend our offering to clients, existing and new.

Sarah, who joins JCA with 11 years commercial and operational experience in the media industry, will be tasked with guiding our clients through the decision making process to ensure that all of the available options available to them have been properly evaluated so that they can make the best choices with regards to preservation, digitisation and restoration of content.

As the industry continues to embrace the digital revolution, we are expanding our team to support clients’ growing needs. At JCA we are committed to sourcing candidates attuned to our service ethic and “listen first” approach, so we are delighted to be further strengthening our first class team.

Matt Bowman, Commercial Director – JCA

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Posted in Appointments, Business Development, Company News, Digital, Media Management

JCA launches JCA In Conversation

Posted on August 31, 2011 by | Leave a comment

JCA, the media management company, have launched a brand new interactive blog – “JCA In Conversation”.

Our blog, which will be updated every fortnight is designed to highlight developments within the company, including personnel announcements and client projects as well as an insight into what happens inside a digital, media company. We will also be providing regular advice, top tips and insights into the work we do.

JCA In Conversation is designed to be a key way for us to engage with people interested in digitising, formatting, creating and delivering content across digital, video and film.

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Posted in Business Development, Company News, Digital, Media Management