Dart Film & Video have been around since 1976, which is an awful long time in this particular…read morecreative industry. When I became an indie filmmaker about fifteen years ago, I was told that unless I went bankrupt at least once in my career, that I would only be considered to be playing at it! It's a rough old game, and a lot of small production houses struggle to survive,and to have been around for nearly thirty five years means that these boys have been doing an awful lot right! They are deservedly know for their religious adherence to the clients demands, whilst also taking the base ideas and applying a lot of creative magic to the finished results. This means that the clients are always happy, and the team at Dart Film & Video get to keep things fresh... a winning formula in anybodies book! They produce everything from TV programmes through to corporate videos, and have a long list of clients including private businesses, governmental departments and charitable organisations.

With a background in broadcast news and current affairs, Dart has been producing video productions…read morefor businesses, government agencies, and charities since 1976. This well-established business has earned a reputation for producing effective videos often on tight budgets, and works with a diverse portfolio of clients big and small. Their in house capabilities provide an end-to-end service. They include the scripting, filming, editing, graphics design, sound recording and the final audio dubbing of a production. Even if you're struggling for ideas for your corporate video they can help you come up with a well designed storyline, write the script, draw up a production schedule, get in the camera crew and film it - followed by a careful editing process. It's a very professional outfit and all their productions are made by broadcast trained camera crews, editors and production staff using SONY Professional Broadcast equipment. For non-profit educational, training or community projects they offer discounted rates - and their portfolio in this sector includes the likes of Survive International, The Prince's Trust and Velindre Cancer Centre.

This is a fantastic facility to have just outside of Cardiff. As part of the Media Center, housing…read moreITV Wales and other major media names, the studio is just right for small, musical endeavors. Run by a BAFTA award winning composer and arranger and his partner in crime, a well qualified and experienced sound technician, there is a wealth of expertise available. And what is best is that as much as it is run by specialists, it is a really friendly and down to earth environment. I've never seen so much shiny equipment, and there are facilities for recording, mixing and syncing with film and video. The main studio is fully equipped with some state of the art instruments, as well as some fantastic vintage gear. If you're looking for somewhere to record you next album then this would be a great place to start your search!

John Rea runs this fantastic recording studio out in the business park wilderness that is Culvers…read moreCross. Situated in the ITV Wales building, it shares its corridor space with the movers and groovers of the media scene. If you're a band, and you want to rehearse and record an EP, then John will be able to help you out for a reasonable fee. You can feel safe in the knowledge that you are in good hands here, as John is a BAFTA award winning composer. I don't know a lot about musical instruments, so am not going to pretend I do. What I saw was all very pretty and shiny, some of it was massively funky looking, in fact I feel a sudden urge to learn piano....

Grooveland Designs approached me about having a website through my advertisement in a local Ad Mag…read more When I eventually replied I found that they were very helpful and I gave them a rough idea of what I wanted and I let them do the design and what came back I was very pleased with. They were prompt and had my website up and running within about 6 weeks. I would recommend them.

I have recently used the services of "Grooveland Designs" to revamp three of my company websites…read more I received an outstanding service from Emil, which prompted me to writing this review. From the start, I received a very prompt and competitive quote, which was maintained without any unwanted surprises. The work was done very promptly, at a high standard and all corrections were accepted and completed timely. Emil went the extra mile in sorting out my hosting and domain associated e-mails, and I was very impressed with his attention to detail and costumer care. Without any prompting he was meticulous at the moment of making sure that everything was working correctly, and provided me with excellent advice and direction when things needed attention. I would highly recommend the services of Grooveland Designs, and would not hesitate to use them again.

A small but award winning Cardiff public relations firm. Warwick Emanuel has a small team of nine,…read morebut they're widely regarded as experts in their field and have a number of high profile clients. The firm specialises in utilities and energy, but they also have clients such as Job Match Wales (so they've been very busy in this recession). More recently they've started making corporate films, which team member Stephen Thomas is heavily involved in. These films are highly professional, and don't appear at all naff like so many corporate films. The staff are young, friendly, and energetic and if you're in need of a Public Relations firm, you won't have any disappointments when it comes to Warwick Emanuel.

It's a shame this video and event production company have such an old-fashioned logo and website…read moredesign, because I'm sure it puts off many clients before they've really looked any further than the homepage. Looking at their online showreel, it looks like they're very capable, creating productions for clients in various industries from sport (Cardiff Devils) to business and heritage (Cadw). They film live events, corporate training videos, adverts, and much more, offering clients as much or little guidance and control as they wish over the end product. Time for a rebrand of their own to do their business justice, perhaps?

This is the only agency for film in Wales, and it's basically responsible for helping to create a…read moreviable and sustainable Welsh film industry, and to promote the country's film culture. The agency carries out its work in various ways. They try to find and support both new and established film-making talent; they help fund some film education initiatives, for all ages, either in schools or other settings; they can support some events or festivals that showcase specialist or non-mainstream films; and they also find funding for some films, helping to boost the range of number of films being produced by Welsh talent. Fortunately, the Arts Council recently announced that it will continue to fund the agency's crucial work, and also review the amount of lottery funding it receives for production and development - so hopefully they may soon get a further boost to their income.

This company is the sole agency for film in Wales, with a remit to ensure that the economic,…read morecultural and educational aspects of film are effectively represented in Wales, the UK and the world. It isn't the best time for the arts at the moment, just look Central Government's proposal to abolish the UK Film Council. I say save it, save it! Despite such disruption, the Film Agency for Wales currently assures its clients that business remains as usual. Let's hope this remains the case. Established in July 2006 as a strategic agency, the Film Agency aims to facilitate the emergence of a viable and sustainable Welsh film industry and to promote a vibrant and dynamic film culture. Last month it announced plans for the provision of professional training for those in, or who aspire to be in, film education across Wales. The new project aims to increase the number of skilled film education practitioners in Wales to bring the demonstrable benefits - improved literacy, communication skills, IT abilities and improved social engagement - to young people across Wales, whilst also building the audiences of the future, widening the appreciation of a broad range of films. The agency are also great at finding and supporting new and established talent within the Welsh film-making industry. They can offer you development finance, advice and information so get in touch and make that movie.

Calon (Welsh for 'heart') is an award-winning Welsh company based in Cardiff Bay, making animations…read moreand live-action content for all platforms, but particularly TV - specialising mainly in children's entertainment. Some people may be familiar with some of the TV programmes they've produced, such as 'Igam Ogam' on Five - an animated series about a cavegirl and her prehistoric friends. They have also created a puppet show called Zoo Factor which takes the mickey out of talent shows such as the X Factor; it hasn't been screened yet, but is due to be broadcast soon on CBBC. All their productions seem to be bright, cheerful and colourful, and it looks like a cheery company to work for! They're widely known and respected amongst media types in Wales and beyond, and their creative team has won BAFTA awards for SuperTed, Under Milk Wood, Hilltop Hospital and Hana's Helpline. Update: I actually heard today, right after writing this review, that Calon are going into liquidation... I hope they are saved. http://www.c21media.net/resources/detail.asp?area=79&article=56697

I so want to tell you that this business is an enigma! I have walked past it often enough, not…read moreknowing what it is, and wondering what it all means, really enjoying my speculations. The hoarding reads Genesis, and the building says 'bank'... and so it looks like a branch of Nat West has been taken over by an advert for the Bible or something... But in actual fact, Genesis Media Group occupy this modest little outpost, and so there's nothing remotely Biblical about what is actually done here! Genesis Media Group are essentially a multi-media company that specialises in TV productions and corporate videos, and can handle cross-platform creative projects including new media, (websites and the like...), as well as the publication of marketing literature and books etc. They are pretty internet savvy, and manage a portfolio of domain names that have the potential to increase traffic to their clients websites. All pretty clever stuff!

Genesis Media is a new company that seems to have a fairly broad remit, offering Television…read moreProduction across all genres, Corporate video Production, New Media services (e.g. websites), and Events Management and PR. Behind the company is Alan Torjussen, who has spent over 30 years working in broadcast television production. He set up the company to combine the skills and experience of several TV professionals who specialise in a variety of genres including news and current affairs, arts, music, education and documentaries. They also branched out into new media and PR / events management, and organise the annual Digital Video Show, a TV and video trade show held each October at the Winter Gardens Exhibition and Conference Centre in Weston-Super-Mare. And not stopping there, Genesis also have a publishing arm which pubishes a variety of printed books (the latest is 'Black Pearls' by Tony Williams), text books (such as 'Living Religion in Wales), CD Roms and videos. Their main focus, however, seems to be on TV production, and they have a fairly diverse portfolio of production credits (Alan Torjussen himself has been involved in many music-related TV programmes).