Member Article

Film company starts new marketing drive thanks to Transmit Start-Ups

Gateshead-based Transmit Start-Ups has now given £1.5m loans to companies since setting up just under a year ago and awarded a £7k loan to its 250th client, a Newcastle film-maker who has worked on the Game of Thrones TV series and major feature films.

The latest business to be supported is the brainchild of 30 year old Maria Caruana Galizia who runs Candle and Bell Limited from Clavering House in the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, and has a wealth of experience behind her.

She will invest her Transmit Start-Ups loan primarily on marketing her film, animation and video production services. Maria said: “I shopped around to find the best place to get business support and decided Transmit Start-Ups was ideal for me as the directors are all so experienced in the creative industries. They are really pro-active with me. I know they have been in some of the situations I need help with and always nudge me in the right direction.”

Damian Baetens, director and mentor, Transmit Start-Ups said: “Maria is set for great success as she has all the essential skills you need to be self-employed. She has drive and determination as well as first class creativity and professionalism. We are delighted to have been able to help her achieve her dream of running her own business.”

Maria, who grew up in Malta, had her first taste of production experience while she was still studying Digital Filmmaking at the SAE Institute in Glasgow and worked as an assistant film editor on Taggart. Once she had completed her studies she learnt more skills as an advertising copywriter by day and gained experience as a post-production assistant at Scottish TV at night.

Her big break came with her work on a €50m film Agora by Academy Award winning Director Alejandro Amenabar starring Rachel Weisz. Maria was supposed to have five weeks’ experience and ended up being mentored by the director and working on the film for seven months. After this film she gained knowledge of film production with contracts for Friends of the Earth and the Office of the Commissioner for Children in Malta.

Co-incidentally Malta was chosen as the location for Moby Dick, starring Ethan Hawke and Maria worked as cast assistant and an assistant editor on this TV mini-series. Her next contract was an assistant digital imaging technician, role on the hit show Game of Thrones which was also filmed in Malta.

Before starting her own business she had a further contract on Sky TV’s Sinbad programme and was then employed by Steve Bowden of Vita Nova Films in Newcastle, working on the development of a number of feature films.

Candle and Bell has now produced its first pop video for the UK rapper Example, directed by local filmmaker Kristian Young, and further information on its latest contracts and services is on candleandbell.com.

Details of how to apply for a Transmit Start-Ups loan is available on transmitstartups.co.uk.

The loans are part of the Government’s national start up loan initiative which is backed by former Dragon’s Den entrepreneur James Caan.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Transmit Start Ups .