Seadog Newsletter 1
Transcription
Seadog Newsletter 1
3 November 2015 SEADOG N e w s l e t t e r More shares available Taster Films New Partners, Fresh The Next Step With high demand and new So what are the taster films, Projects What are the immediate plans projects, the equity available and where will they be pitched? Partner organisations and a for the company, and when do description of our new projects. you get to meet us? Page 4 Page 5 has increased. Page 2 Page 3 WELCOME TO SEADOG PRODUCTIONS We’ve been absolutely delighted with the support we’ve received to date, and of course the fact that we’ve hit our equity target so early. We’re energised and inspired that we now have a shareholder community, and thought we’d take this opportunity to let you know of our immediate plans for the company. If you are receiving this newsletter you have either already invested, or expressed an interest in doing so. If you have seen fit to invest your money in Seadog, it’s a responsibility that we feel very keenly. It is therefore incumbent on us to keep you our investors, both actual and potential - fully informed as to developments and activities within the company. With that philosophy firmly to the fore we are sending out this newsletter. We already have a number of developments to pass on - this being our first real opportunity to go into more detail about the next twelve months or so. This newsletter describes, in essence, how your investment will be utilised as Seadog continues to grow and develop over the next few years. It’s also a chance to say welcome - you are part of a dynamic company, with an enviable track record, and extraordinary potential. Seadog has been a trading style within Monty Halls Ltd since 2009, operating mainly as a specialist dive contractor for underwater filming. Seadog has been involved in productions for the BBC, Channel 5, and the Discovery Channel. Latterly the company also provided aerial filming support for the Discovery series Lost Worlds, filmed in Guyana and Borneo in 2014. This year Seadog provided all of the marine logistical support for a 1,000km Land Rover expedition in South Africa, resulting in a one off documentary to be screened later this year. The equity raised will be used to upgrade Seadog to a full scale production company, creating new commercial and media opportunities. Seadog Productions ltd • Dartmouth • Devon, UK • [email protected] 3 November 2015 S EA D O G P RO D UC TIO N S - M O RE S H A RES M A D E A V A ILA B LE Why Increase the Equity Available? Seadog has been presented with several new projects recently, one of which in particular has extraordinary commercial potential. Although the equity already raised puts the company in a strong position, to fully explore and develop some of these new concepts will require a dedicated team. As such, much of the new equity will go towards a fully staffed and resourced R&D facility within the company. Does this dilute previous investments? The way the equity is structured has no impact at all on previous investments. The new equity target of £500,000 will come out of existing shares - and in fact will decrease Monty Hall’s own share holding within Seadog although not to the point that effects the day to day running of the company. Investors and current shareholders will note the equity percentage increase on the Crowd Cube site as more shares are purchased - this is a reassuring sign that your share value remains undiluted. Might there be another round of equity? It’s a possibility, but only if the company is expanding very rapidly and we need more resources to meet demand very quickly. As we are a production company this would be unusual, as equipment gets hired in as a rule once a commission is secured for a series or a film. At this stage there is no second round of equity planned. A “Critical Mass” Moment Many companies speak of “Critical Mass” moments in their development, when all the right contacts and market forces combine to present a moment of rare opportunity. It would appear that such an opportunity has recently been presented to Seadog. It is a project of considerable scope, that has the potential to be rolled out on a national scale.. The increased equity is extremely useful for any company looking to grow, but in this case it particularly provides the means to properly develop these contemporary projects. The project in question is expanded upon in the “New Projects” section of this newsletter. How do I purchase more shares? The equity pitch at present on Crowd Cube is due to end on 19th November, however there is the potential to extend the pitch if required for another fifteen days beyond this point. There is an investors event in London in mid November at which Seadog will be presenting it’s plans, and several smaller meetings planned with large scale investors who have expressed an interest in coming on board but wish to meet first. To purchase some of the shares that remain available simply visit our pitch on the Crowd Cube site: https://www.crowdcube.com/investment/seadog-productions-20510 The ability to utilise any means possible to explore potential has always been a Seadog characteristic In the interim, please don’t hesitate to drop us a line if you have any questions at all about the equity available, or indeed any queries relating to the allocation of shares in this new round. Seadog Productions ltd • Dartmouth • Devon, UK • [email protected] 3 November 2015 TH E TA S TER F ILMS Five Taster Films in Twelve Months Seadog has always had a clearly stated aim of producing five broadcast standard taster films in it’s first twelve months of operation. It is not unknown in the world of the media for ideas to be poached, so for this newsletter we will remain reasonably discreet! Suffice to say they will be high quality, and be precursors to films and series that have international appeal and good commercial viability. They will also retain the core values of Seadog - incorporating adventure, the environment, and natural history. The Titles • • • • • The Real Apprentice The Royal River Plan B Feast Conservation Heroes Why Make Taster Films? All of these tasters will be pitched to named individuals at commissioning level at the major channels, as well as at industry events such as MIPCOM and Wildscreen Tasters - sometimes known as “sizzlers” - are short films that encapsulate an larger scale idea for a series or a film. They are generally about three minutes in duration but, if done well, are very effective tools indeed for securing commissions. They not only pass on the concept for new programming, they also act as a showcase for the skills of the production company making them - in this case Seadog. Martin Pailthorpe - the executive producer we would use to make several of our tasters - has an excellent record in creating tasters that become series. He filmed a young Bear Grylls in his first ever taster, and also launched the tv careers of Chris Ryan and a certain Monty Halls. Important stories, beautifully told Seadog Productions ltd • Dartmouth • Devon, UK • [email protected] 3 November 2015 NE W P AR TN E RS AN D F R E S H P RO J EC TS Inspiring a New Generation Seadog has recently been a p p ro a ch e d by t h e H M C - t h e Headmasters and Headmistresses Conference - to create leadership content for the schools within their organisation. This will have a strong fi l m i n g a n d o n - l i n e element, and as such comes firmly under our remit as a production company. Utilising Industry Expertise Seadog is in discussion with several organisations that are, to use a good Royal Marines expression, force multipliers. These discussions are at an early stage, but offer the potential for Seadog to operate at a much higher level in terms of distribution and finance for our projects. We will keep all our investors fully informed as to how these discussions progress over the next few months. The project also utilises our excellent track record in the team building and leadership training environments, and as such combines our two key skills - creating video content, and creating viable leadership packages. It makes us uniquely suited to take on this task. The HMC represent 300 of the best independent schools in the world, but their avowed intention is to roll this content out to all schools. With 24,000 schools in the UK alone, this is a huge commercial opportunity for the company. Filming A Global Icon Through Monty Halls’ connection with Land Rover - he is a Global Brand Ambassador for the company - he has been invited to pitch a project to create global centres for expedition training. Seadog will be presented as the production c o m p a ny t o fi l m t h e establishment of these centres. The pitch to Land Rover at their invitation - will take place in January next year. On the pitching team is Ben Saunders - legendary Polar Explorer - and Roger Crathorne, known universally as “Mr Land Rover”. Ro g e r c r e a t e d t h e L a n d Rov e r Experience centres, who will advise the pitch team for the expedition academies. The filming of this programme is another potentially very significant commercial contract for Seadog. Seadog Productions ltd • Dartmouth • Devon, UK • [email protected] 3 November 2015 TH A NKS TO Y O U First Shareholders Meeting We’ll be holding our first shareholders meeting in London in early December - this will be our chance to present our plans to you in more detail, and to answer any questions you may have, but for now we just want to say..... ....thanks for investing in Seadog, and supporting us in making the films that matter. All of the projects discussed in this first newsletter will be actively pursued and developed over the next twelve months. As well as working on the more commercial aspects of filming, and creating projects with our corporate partners, we will continue to tell important stories about the world around us. That has always been the strength of Seadog, and will continue to be at the heart of everything we do. “The Great Shark Chase” This is our latest filming project that took us for 1,000km along the coast of South Africa. To create this documentary for Discovery, we worked in conjunction with Tigress Productions - an excellent company with which we have a long standing relationship - whilst we concentrated on the marine support and underwater filming. The project also told the stories on the land, visiting the Born Free Foundation to tell the tale of their work with the beleaguered large predators of Africa. If ever there was a project that summarised Seadog’s ethos going forward, this was probably it. Seadog Productions ltd • Dartmouth • Devon, UK • [email protected]