Salford University graduates work on Christmas TV event
Thursday 21 December 2017
A PAIR of University of Salford graduates have been working on one of the Christmas holiday’s biggest television events.
Michael Carr and Sunny Kang, both graduates of the University’s MA programmes in TV production, are now working for Salford-based Nine Lives Media, and were both involved in making Elf: The Musical – Live, being shown on Channel 5 over Christmas.
The hit production, which has been playing to sell-out audiences at The Lowry following a record run on the West End, is being broadcast on Channel 5 on December 23 and again on Christmas Day.
Nine Lives Media, based next door to the University’s MediaCityUK campus, were given special permission to film the entire production as a live event, as well as exclusive backstage footage including an interview with West End star Ben Forster.
The show was directed by Nick Morris, who brought Phantom Of the Opera and Les Miserables to the small screen and is now working on the new Avengers film.
Michael Carr began working with Nine Lives Media after gaining some work experience with them while studying on the University’s Children’s TV Production MA programme.
He worked on Elf: the Musical - Live production, while Documentary Film Making MA graduate Sunny Kang, who has also been chosen as a BBC young film maker of the year for a BBC3 documentary, worked as a producer director on one of the backstage segments.
Michael, who has also been working on the Dispatches documentary series and programmes for CBBC while at Nine Lives, said: “There’s been an enormous amount of work put into this, but I’ve seen the first cut and it looks really good. I’ve been very lucky over the last few months with the kind of things I’ve been involved with.”
Elf: The Musical is based on the 2003 film Elf starring Will Ferrell, telling the tale of Buddy, a young orphan child who mistakenly crawls into Santa’s bag of gifts and is transported to the North Pole where he is raised believing he is an elf.
As a grown man, he embarks on a journey to New York City to find his birth father, discover his true identity and help NYC remember the true meaning of Christmas.
Cat Lewis, CEO of Nine Lives Media and an honorary graduate of the University of Salford, said: “It’s really exciting to be able to make fantastic television content here in Salford with graduates from the University, on something that is going to be one of the big television events this Christmas.
“I’m a huge fan of The Lowry which is one of the most fantastic theatrical arts centres in the country and it’s great to be able to showcase it on national television in this way.”
Beth Hewitt, Director of the Nations and Regions Media Conference for the University of Salford, said: “We’re very fortunate to have such great companies as Nine Lives Media on our doorstep at MediaCityUK. We work with them as much as possible and Cat Lewis and her team at Nine Lives provide our talented students with unrivalled and invaluable industry experience. ”
Elf: The Musical will air on Saturday 23 December at 5pm on Channel 5 followed by the backstage special on My5 TV at 8pm. It will also air on Christmas Day at 6pm on Channel 5.
