The Barcud Derwen Group

The Barcud Derwen Group is an independent group of television and AV facilities in Wales claimed to be the largest in the UK outside of London [Televisual ??/??/200?] . [http://www.walesontheweb.org/cayw/index/en/791/450232/] [http://www.ukscreenassociation.co.uk/resources/membersDescription.htm?orgId=28] [http://www.mediabase.org.uk/Facilities.aspx?id=28]

Company History

The original company, Barcud, was formed in 1982 by independent producers, to provide tv production facilities, originally for independent companies based in Caernarfon, Gwynedd working for S4C. However the group now provides facilities for producers working for all of Wales' broadcasters, as well as many network and international producers and broadcasters.

The merger with Derwen [http://www.derwen.com] - a Cardiff based post production facility - in 1992 created Barcud Derwen. The new company then began a process of expansion. In 1990(?) the company issued shares to the public to finance the building of Studio 1 in Caernarfon. The company is owned by its 200+ shareholders.

Consituent Companies of the Group

The group now comprises 14 companies, namely:

"Barcud" [http://barcud-derwen.co.uk] : Based in Caernarfon the oldest company in the group celebrates 26 years trading this year. The facility comprises; Studio 1 - built in 1990 - a purpose built 6,500 sq ft, fully air-conditioned and acoustically treated studio, with saturation lighting grid, retractable audience seating, ancillary rooms and production offices, bar and canteen. Studio 2 is a 1,500 sq ft presentation studio, a 16x9, SDI Gallery capable of driving either studio (both studios are also capable of being controlled from a drive-in scanner). 5 Avid off-line suites, HD and SD capable Avid Symphony Nitris, 5 Audio Dub suites comprising a mix of AMS Audiofile and Protools, Stereo and 5.1 Surround. Barcud is also the base for 2 OB trucks A1 – 12 Camera, 8VT, rigid body and A8 a 6 Camera, 4 VT unit based on small Iveco truck. Barcud is a BBC preferred supplier for OB’s.

"Derwen" [http://www.barcudderwen.com/english/derwen.php] : Celebrating 20 years as Cardiff’s premier post production facility with 14 HD and SD edit suites running on Avid Symphony and Smoke. Programmes edited at Derwen have won an impressive array of awards for broadcasters such as the BBC, ITV, S4C, Discovery, [http://dsc.discovery.com/] National Geographic [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Geographic_Channel] amongst many others. Derwen is a BBC preferred supplier for Post Production.

"Omni" [http://www.omnitv.co.uk] : The HD Outside Broadcast arm of the group, with two large units, both capable of up to 24 camera’s. These units have the contract to cover BBC Wales rugby for the next 3 years as well as BBC Wales music and events OB’s. Omni is a BBC preferred supplier for OB’s. Omni also runs two studio’s in Cardiff; Studio 1 is a 7,500 sq ft purpose built, air-conditioned and acoustically treated studio with Studio 2 being a 400 sq ft presentation studio. Both were originally built for the local ITV franchise operator - HTV Wales. HTV [http://www.itvlocal.com/wales/]

"Eclipse Creative" [http://www.eclipsecreative.co.uk] : A design, compositing and 3D animation company specialising in the multimedia and corporate sector based in Cardiff

"4.2.2." [http://www.422.com/422.php] : Based in Bristol, 4.2.2. is an Emmy-winning group of directors, designers, animators, architectural visualizers, digital effects artists, medial animators, and compositors working for BBC 1, National Geographic, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Geographic_Channel] , Discovery [http://animal.discovery.com/] and other international broadcasters.

"Burning Gold" [http://www.barcudderwen.com/cymraeg/burning_gold.php] : Again based in Bristol Burning Gold is a production company, initially making natural history films from within the BBC, but whose sphere of activity has expanded to include natural history, history and science production for clients worldwide. Burning Gold travels the world making films for broadcasters including National Geographic [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Geographic_Channel] , the BBC, ORF Austria [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ORF] and Animal Planet [http://animal.discovery.com/] .

"Awen" [http://www.awenmedia.com/] : For over 10 years Awen has been creating educational software, both disk and web based for both corporate clients, schools and educational establishments as well as products for release onto the retail market.

"Arc" [http://www.arcfacilities.com/] : A broadcast Post Production company with offices in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Arc has 17 edit suites running Avid Media Composers, Adrenalines, Nitris, Smoke and Editbox for all picture editing, grading, compositing and effects. Arc also has 2 Sound Dubbing Suites, a Voiceover & Foley Suite as well as Graphics, 2D & 3D animation, content graphics, CD-ROM & DVD design & authoring & Interactive Media services based on Maya, AFX, Photoshop, Macromedia Director etc..

"Safon" [http://www.safon.co.uk/] : The Events division of the Barcud Derwen Group. Safon has organised and run events as diverse as the concert to celebrate the opening of the Welsh Assembly to a book launch. The company has run and co-ordinated events and launches for national broadcasters BBC and S4C, public and private sector companies and organisations.

"Picardy" [http://www.picardy.co.uk] : With offices in Cardiff and Glasgow, Picardy is the corporate video arm of the group with a wide range of Welsh, Scottish, UK and International clients.

"The Farm" [http://www.thefarm.ie/] : Established in 1995 and with a range of post production services including audio, graphic and video including HD Flame & Rostrum Camera/ Motion control.

The Farm works on broadcast, commercial and corporate projects as well as promos and music video. Clients include BBC, BBC World, RTE [http://www.rte.ie/] & TG4 [http://www.tg4.ie/] and U2. In addition to an Emmy nomination for sound, The Farm has also won numerous industry awards including PROMAX [http://www.promaxbda.org/] and SHARK.

"Aontel" [http://www.barcudderwen.com/english/aontel.php] : A joint venture between Barcud Derwen and Galway based facilities house Telegael [http://ga.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telegael] , the Aontel OB vehicle is an articulated SDI 16:9 Scanner capable of controlling with up to 12 Cameras and 8 VT’s.

"The Assembly" [http://www.barcudderwen.com/english/assembly.php] : Barcud Derwen is the Host Broadcaster at the National Assembly for Wales. Both the audio and video coverage of the Plenary chamber of the new Senedd and the old chamber were designed and installed by the company. All pictures from the main chamber and all the committees are relayed by Barcud Derwen to broadcasters as required as well as being streamed live and stored to an on-demand site on the web. [http://www.senedd.tv/]

"Cymru International" [http://s4ci.com] : A joint venture between Barcud Derwen and Parthenon Entertainment [http://www.parthenonentertainment.com/] . Cymru International won the competitive tender to trade under the S4C International brand and distribute all programmes belonging to the channel. In addition the company has developed and invested in numerous new programmes and series which have been sold to broadcasters around the world.

Previous members of the Group

The Barcud Derwen Group has also sold its share in companies.

The Group has previously owned or part owned: Men from Mars [http://www.men-from-mars.com/] - now part of Centuary Communications, [http://www.century-communication.com/CCLWebsiteFinal09042007.swf] and Platform Post [http://www.platformpp.tv/]

External links

* [http://barcudderwen.com official site]