Ikandi: Television Production MA graduates

Tom Eldridge - 2003 graduate
Toby Lobb - 2003 graduate

Founded by MA Television Production graduates in 2005, Cornwall-based Ikandi Media is a youthful and energetic production company producing independent films, documentaries and corporate productions. The company has won several awards and its productions have been shown at festivals worldwide including the Sundance (2006) and Edinburgh (2005) Film Festivals.

So what is Ikandi all about? Quite simply, passion. The Ikandi team is passionate about any project it takes on and its team know that this reflects in the look and feel of their films and documentaries.

UCF graduate Tom Eldridge kick-started his production career working on music videos with bands such as REM, and perfected his craft through working with people such as the legendary music video maker, Nigel Dick. Fuelled by vegetable juices and a healthy addiction to snowboarding, he joined forces with his brother John to produced the cult snowboard flick ‘The Invasion', which in turn produced two popular sequels and an idea to form a new TV production company.

When discussing how Ikandi happened, Tom said: "All of us had experience working on various productions and broadcast companies and decided that together we could offer clients a complete package."

Tom's best mate and fellow UCF Television Production graduate, Toby Lobb, was another founding Ikandi partner. Toby had previously worked on various productions for ITV Westcountry and Satellite Park before launching Ikandi. With a solid background in broadcast production and management Toby has also been credited for directing, camera work, research and promo production.

Tom, John and Toby were soon joined by Annalisa Hodgkins, who oversees operations in America and consistently lands the team high profile international client accounts.

"Individually, we all specialise in certain areas of production," says Toby. "However, we believe it is necessary in today's competitive production industry to be a jack of all trades and we are a ‘four of a kind.' Each of us is capable of directing, editing and filming to a high standard. That's what University College Falmouth's courses train you to do."

Recent clients include Euro RSCG Bliss Lancaster, where the team produced a stylish corporate DVD documenting Kelly Brook's Swimwear launch at New Look Stores throughout the UK. The team have also produced commercials for Carve and 360 Magazine which have been broadcast on Sky channels.

Ask the team, however, and they will say their collective highlight to-date was the making of the short ‘Beyond Iraq'. A moving and inspirational documentary, the film follows a group of severely disabled Iraq war veterans as they find freedom and adventure in the Rocky Mountains. The film was selected for the Sundance Film Festival in 2006 and also came second at the Independent Producer Awards.

"Working with disabled war veterans was an inspiration," says Tom. "The film has now been shown at over 15 film festivals worldwide, including the Aspen Shortsfest and Edinburgh Film Festival. But the Sundance Film Festival was the most amazing for me. Meeting screen legend Robert Redford and director Michael Gondry, and receiving such overwhelming encourage from both, is something that will always stay with me."

At the time of writing, Toby and Tom are in production on their new feature film ‘Crawl, Walk, Run' which is a follow-up to ‘Beyond Iraq'. The film follows a group of recently disabled US soldiers on a 226 mile river trip down the Colorado River and through the Grand Canyon.

"We were keen to make a documentary that didn't take a political stance, such as questioning whether these soldiers should have been sent to war," says Toby. "We wanted to make an intimate look at how these brave young men were using this amazing trip to come to terms with their injuries and begin to plan for their future." The project has been funded in part by Cornwall Film and should be finished by the end of the year.

Tom and Toby attribute the foundation for their success to the core production skills and practices learnt during their time at University College Falmouth.

Tom said: "The course at Falmouth gave me the chance to become proficient in all areas of production, which has been key to setting up the company."

Toby agrees: "Not only did the course enable me to develop my practical skills as a director, camera operator and editor; it also gave me an idea of what it takes to succeed in the media industry."

Having just finished filming a women's snowboarding video and a Surfers Against Sewage documentary, are there any plans for the team to move out of Cornwall?

"No way!" laughs Tom. "One of the main incentives in setting our company up was so we could live here. We love Cornwall and in the industry loves Cornwall too. Even though we work on projects across the country and overseas, we are still successfully operating from our Padstow base."

"The county has such a positive and inspiring influence," adds Toby. "If we can continue to work on projects with a diverse range of clients that inspire us and others, from a county that we feed off creatively, I'll be more than happy."

For more information about Ikandi Media, visit: www.ikandimedia.co.uk