[press release from Neon Pictures]
Neon Pictures and Blacksheep Productions (Australia) have announced their recent merger. Effective immediately, Blacksheep will operate under the Neon umbrella already encompassing Neon Online, Neon TV, Popcorn Taxi Events and the newly formed Neon Agency.
Separately, Neon and Blacksheep have carved their niche in the film, television and event production arena. Collaboration has been on the cards since the two companies met in 2008 and their first joint venture was the online dating show That’s Why You’re Single. A permanent partnership was a natural progression. Joining forces has served to strengthen Blacksheep’s position as a market leader while augmenting Neon’s production infrastructure as it looks to forge a unique presence through professionally produced online video content.
Managing Director Peter Taylor established Neon Pictures with producing partner Chris Murray in 2007. Taylor, a UK expat, cut his teeth developing national sales and marketing campaigns for Twentieth Century Fox before relocating to Australia to head up local distribution for Beyond Films Australia. Murray brought to the table over fifteen years experience in publishing during which time he launched Australia’s Empire magazine and established himself as an international film and music commentator.
In the Blacksheep corner is CEO Ben Alcott. Alcott formed Blacksheep Video Productions in 1987 and the company has since expanded to encompass event and project management as well as lighting, sound and audio-visual staging. “We’re excited to be working with Blacksheep who have an admirable reputation and an established client base developed and nurtured over two decades,” Taylor says. “In the current financial climate, pooling resources and diversifying can only benefit the company, clients and staff.”
Together Neon and Blacksheep offer the full gamut of film, television and event production services from development to post production. Based in Ultimo, the company has a fully equipped studio recently utilised by Andrew Denton’s production company Zapruder’s Other Films for the production of the advertising sit-com 30 Seconds as well as complete edit facilities.
Moving forward Neon and Blacksheep have numerous projects in the works including Blacksheep’s ongoing relationship with Jamie Oliver; Popcorn Taxi, now entering its tenth year; and Revenants, a Neon Pictures Production in conjunction with Yurei Films and co-producing partner BBR in Canada.
The jewel in Neon’s crown is Neon TV, an online TV platform. Catering to the growing consumption of online video, Neon TV offers professionally produced ongoing video series’ created specifically for the web, designed for targeted brand integration. In 2008 professionally produced content accounted for 41.6 billion views of online video* and a portion of that can already be credited to Neon TV. Popcorn Taxi TV (www.popcorntaxi.tv) and the dating makeover program That’s Why You’re Single (www.twystv.tv) launched late last year and several other shows will roll out in 2009 including lifestyle program Family Matters and mind body spirit show Destiny TV providing a highly targeted engaging digital and mobile solution for brands wanting to connect and interact more effectively with their ‘content hungry’ target market.
* Source: AccuStream iMedia Research.