Oxford Scientific Films
Encyclopedia
Oxford Scientific Films (OSF) is a British
company that produces natural history and documentary programmes. Founded on 8 July 1968 by noted documentary filmmaker Gerald Thompson, the independent film company broke new ground in the world of documentaries, using new filming techniques and capturing footage of never before filmed activities of its various subjects. In 1996, Oxford Scientific Films was sold to Circle Communications, where it retained its own identity as a division within the company. The following year, Circle Communications was taken over by Southern Star Entertainment UK. Under the new ownership, Oxford Scientific Films continued to enhance its reputation for innovative film-making, producing multiple award-winning series and films, including the highly acclaimed Animal Planet
series, Meerkat Manor
.
In March 2008, Southern Star merged its Sydney
-based factual business division into the Oxford Scientific Films division, retaining the brand name for specialist documentaries, while using "Southern Star Factual" as the brand name for its features and entertainment style documentaries. When Southern Star was sold to Endemol, Oxford Scientific Films was retained by parent company Fairfax Media
.
, 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 travelled 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, he 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 travelled 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.
The company focused initially on filming nature at a microscopic level, including insect and aquatic wildlife. Using specialised equipment and camera techniques the developed themselves, the company gained fame for its ability to record never before seen footage of the natural world. Its cinematographers became experts in micro, macro, snorkel, slow-motion and time-lapse photography. As the company grew, it expanded into other innovating filming and post-production techniques, and moved from creating short loops to creating television programmes and series, commercials, and feature films.
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.
In March 2008, parent company Southern Star Group merged its Sydney
-based "factual business unit" into the Oxford Scientific Films division. The merged company now uses two brands, with the existing Oxford Scientific Films name being used for its "specialist factual programmes", while the Southern Star Factual brand will be used for "features and factual entertainment shows."
's long-running series The Natural World and WNET Nature, won seven industry awards. Heroes of the High Frontier, produced as a National Geographic Special, won four awards and was a finalist for the Best of the Show Grand Award Trophy at the New York Festivals.
In 2005, the company launched Meerkat Manor
, a docu-drama commissioned for Animal Planet
. The series has since become Animal Planet's highest rated series, and has been nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards
,, two Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival Awards and was a finalist at the 2006 Wildscreen Festival
It won multiple awards at the 2006 Omni Awards and 2006 and 2007 New York Festivals Award Gala. The series is also noted for capturing never before seen aspects of the lives of meerkat
s, being the first to capture meerkat infanticide
on film, and for expanding the boundaries of the documentary genre.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
company that produces natural history and documentary programmes. Founded on 8 July 1968 by noted documentary filmmaker Gerald Thompson, the independent film company broke new ground in the world of documentaries, using new filming techniques and capturing footage of never before filmed activities of its various subjects. In 1996, Oxford Scientific Films was sold to Circle Communications, where it retained its own identity as a division within the company. The following year, Circle Communications was taken over by Southern Star Entertainment UK. Under the new ownership, Oxford Scientific Films continued to enhance its reputation for innovative film-making, producing multiple award-winning series and films, including the highly acclaimed Animal Planet
Animal Planet
Animal Planet is an American cable tv specialty channel that launched on October 1, 1996. It is distributed by Discovery Communications. A high-definition simulcast of the channel launched on September 1, 2007.-History:...
series, Meerkat Manor
Meerkat Manor
Meerkat Manor is a British television programme produced by Oxford Scientific Films for Animal Planet International that premiered in September 2005 and ran for four series until its cancellation in August 2008...
.
In March 2008, Southern Star merged its Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
-based factual business division into the Oxford Scientific Films division, retaining the brand name for specialist documentaries, while using "Southern Star Factual" as the brand name for its features and entertainment style documentaries. When Southern Star was sold to Endemol, Oxford Scientific Films was retained by parent company Fairfax Media
Fairfax Media
Fairfax Media Limited is one of Australia's largest diversified media companies. The group's operations include newspapers, magazines, radios and digital media operating in Australia and New Zealand. Fairfax Media was founded by the Fairfax family as John Fairfax and Sons, later to become John...
.
Formation and growth
In 1967, cinemicrophotography pioneer, professional film maker, and Oxford University lecturer 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 YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, 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
Plankton
Plankton are any drifting organisms that inhabit the pelagic zone of oceans, seas, or bodies of fresh water. That is, plankton are defined by their ecological niche rather than phylogenetic or taxonomic classification...
; 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 travelled 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, he 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 travelled 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.
The company focused initially on filming nature at a microscopic level, including insect and aquatic wildlife. Using specialised equipment and camera techniques the developed themselves, the company gained fame for its ability to record never before seen footage of the natural world. Its cinematographers became experts in micro, macro, snorkel, slow-motion and time-lapse photography. As the company grew, it expanded into other innovating filming and post-production techniques, and moved from creating short loops to creating television programmes and series, commercials, and feature films.
Southern Star acquisition
In September 1996, Oxford Scientific Films was purchased by film and television rights company Circle Communications for £3.9 million. £3.85 million of the purchase price was paid in cash, with the rest paid through a stock exchange. Less than a year later, in May 1997, Australia-based Southern Star Entertainment made a £8.3 million take over bid for Circle Communications, due to its distribution business, strong catalog, and the company's drama and factual production business. Oxford Scientific Films, which had retained its own identity under Circle Communications, became a core division of Southern Star Entertainment.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.
In March 2008, parent company Southern Star Group merged its Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
-based "factual business unit" into the Oxford Scientific Films division. The merged company now uses two brands, with the existing Oxford Scientific Films name being used for its "specialist factual programmes", while the Southern Star Factual brand will be used for "features and factual entertainment shows."
Notable works
Oxford Scientific Films has produced numerous award winning programmes and films. In 1998, its film "The Forbidden Fruit" produced for the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's long-running series The Natural World and WNET Nature, won seven industry awards. Heroes of the High Frontier, produced as a National Geographic Special, won four awards and was a finalist for the Best of the Show Grand Award Trophy at the New York Festivals.
In 2005, the company launched Meerkat Manor
Meerkat Manor
Meerkat Manor is a British television programme produced by Oxford Scientific Films for Animal Planet International that premiered in September 2005 and ran for four series until its cancellation in August 2008...
, a docu-drama commissioned for Animal Planet
Animal Planet
Animal Planet is an American cable tv specialty channel that launched on October 1, 1996. It is distributed by Discovery Communications. A high-definition simulcast of the channel launched on September 1, 2007.-History:...
. The series has since become Animal Planet's highest rated series, and has been nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards
59th Primetime Emmy Awards
The 59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on September 16, 2007 and were televised live on Fox at 8:00 p.m. EDT for the first time in high definition...
,, two Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival Awards and was a finalist at the 2006 Wildscreen Festival
Wildscreen Festival
The Wildscreen Festival, an initiative of The Wildscreen Trust is an international festival of film, television and digital media inspired by nature and natural places...
It won multiple awards at the 2006 Omni Awards and 2006 and 2007 New York Festivals Award Gala. The series is also noted for capturing never before seen aspects of the lives of meerkat
Meerkat
The meerkat or suricate, Suricata suricatta, is a small mammal belonging to the mongoose family. Meerkats live in all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, in much of the Namib Desert in Namibia and southwestern Angola, and in South Africa. A group of meerkats is called a "mob", "gang" or "clan"...
s, being the first to capture meerkat infanticide
Infanticide
Infanticide or infant homicide is the killing of a human infant. Neonaticide, a killing within 24 hours of a baby's birth, is most commonly done by the mother.In many past societies, certain forms of infanticide were considered permissible...
on film, and for expanding the boundaries of the documentary genre.