Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Keeping it in the family: creating a piece of broadcasting history

04/04/2025

In our latest article on a piece of broadcasting history, Vizrts Russell Leak tells TVBEurope how his Dad created the motor used in a BBC 1 ident from the 1980s

By Jenny Priestley

Published: April 4, 2025 Updated: April 7, 2025

In our latest article on a piece of broadcasting history, Vizrt's Russell Leak tells TVBEurope how his Dad created the motor used in a BBC 1 ident from the 1980s

target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin>

In February, TVBEurope published an article on how the team at BBC Wales resurrected the BBC's Computer Originated World (COW) to help mark EastEnders' 40th anniversary. We had lots of feedback from readers who enjoyed taking a trip back in time.

Now, we're able to go back even further to when the idents were all mechanical models filmed by a black and white camera with colour added electronically. The motor used to spin the globe has an unlikely connection to many of the graphics we see on TV screens today.

It was created by William Lambton Leak, owner of Enicron Ltd in Bicester, Oxfordshire. His son Russell has gone on to work in the TV industry and is currently senior customer success manager for Vizrt. But Russell wasn't aware just how influential his dad was until his sister had a clearout at her home in Australia.

She found a clipping of my dad from the local paper in Oxford, he explains. Dad's company built and sold electronic motors throughout Europe and the world. One of his claims to fame, and the thing that he had in the entrance to his office when you went in, was that his electronic motor turned the BBC globe.

When I saw that newspaper clipping it brought up a couple of memories for me of going into Dad's office and seeing the globe, and as a kid, wanting to touch it and poke it. The model was silver and black, and I remember saying to my Dad, when you see it on TV, it's gold and blue, how do they do that? And he just said it was some camera trickery.

The newspaper clipping found by Russell Leak's sister

Leak Senior didn't have a background in TV, but that didn't stop him from bragging about his exploits to potential customers. He would say, the BBC used our electronic motor and here's the proof. I often wonder what happened to that BBC model. It would be worth something now.

Russell isn't sure whether his father's role in creating the ident inspired his own career in TV but he remembers his Dad telling people that his son carried on where he left off. Before I saw the clipping I'd never even thought about it, but it might subconsciously have inspired me.

There is a slight caveat to this story as Leak says his Dad was something of a character. I wouldn't be surprised if he made it all up and got that BBC model and just told his customers that, he laughs. But, I remember a piece on Tomorrow's World about the new computer-generated ident (COW) and my brother saying, that's Dad's motor out the window. My brother's comment sort of corroborates that it happened, and he knew that it was part of the family history.

Russell's own TV career has been heavily involved in computers, something his Dad often found difficult to understand. Dad was a brilliant engineer with a brilliant mind for invention, and able to do great things, but when it came to computer generation, he was completely lost, he recalls. I got into computer programming at school, and I remember having to help him with his emails.

When he saw what we were doing with graphics he had no concept of how that was created. To him that was part of Hollywood. He retired and lived in Ireland, and the guy who helped him out would introduce me by saying I'd just flown in from Hollywood, which was not the case. I'd flown in from Luton Airport!

Those generational differences are something Russell is now navigating with his own children and he's seeing echoes of his Dad. It's funny, my six-year-old loves to take things apart and work out how they work. He'll ask, why does that connect to that? It's something you're born with in some respects, that engineer's brain to look at things in a different way.

My brain never stops, and I'm always thinking about technology, and how technology can help people, and how I can improve workflows, he continues. That's one of the things I love about my job, working with TV companies and saying, how are we going to do this, or how we're going to make this work, or make it better.

Do you have a story to tell about a piece of broadcast technology history? Get in touch with the TVBEurope editorial team here.
LINK: https://www.tvbeurope.com/production-post/keeping-it-in-the-family-cre...
See more stories from tvb

Most recent headlines

04/09/2025

Monumental Sports & Entertainment and Dalet Win Prestigious 2025 NAB Show Project of the Year Award

Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...

28/04/2025

From Audio to Video, Spotify's $100 Million Payout Fuels Creator Success Stories

Podcasts have become a cornerstone of the Spotify experience, evolving from a ni...

28/04/2025

Spotify Lends a Helping Hand to NYC Neighbors, the 9/11 Memorial & Museum

Each April, runners and walkers of all stripes gather together in Lower Manhattan for the 9/11 Memorial & Museum 5K. This race remembers those killed on Septemb...

28/04/2025

L3Harris to Present at Three Upcoming Investor Conferences

MELBOURNE, Fla., April 28, 2025 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) Chief Financial Officer and Aerojet Rocketdyne President Ken Bedingfield will present at Bar...

28/04/2025

LiveU Acquires Actus Digital

HACKENSACK, NJ LiveU, a global provider of live IP-video contribution, production and distribution solutions, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Actus...

28/04/2025

LiveU Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire the Business...

LiveU, the global leader in live IP-video contribution, production and distribution solutions, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Actus Digital's ...

28/04/2025

Ikegami to Demonstrate IPX-100 Compact IP Base Station an...

Ikegami Electronics (Europe) will promote the latest additions to its range of broadcast-quality television production equipment at Broadcast Innovation Day (BI...

28/04/2025

Intinor Partners with Zest Technologies to Present Advanc...

Intinor is once again set to collaborate with its UK partner Zest Technologies at MPTS 2025 (Olympia, 14-15 May 2025). Following the recent launch of key update...

28/04/2025

CJP Broadcast Highlights Scalable Studio Solutions at MPT...

CJP Broadcast, the UK-based systems integrator specialising in virtual production and broadcast studio design, installation, commissioning and support, will ret...

28/04/2025

Interra Systems to Bring Comprehensive Suite of Video QC...

The media landscape in the Middle East continues to see a rise in OTT platforms, regional content creation, and expanding viewer expectations, which means the d...

28/04/2025

StreamPort Media Appointed as Official Distributor for Cl...

Clear-Com has announced the appointment of StreamPort Media as its authorized distributor in the Middle East. This partnership will expand access to Clear-Com&...

28/04/2025

nxtedition to Highlight AI Agents and Intuitive Productio...

nxtedition will showcase its unified production platform at CABSAT 2025, featuring advanced AI automation, open-source integrations and a seamless approach to l...

28/04/2025

nxtedition to Showcase Faster, Smarter, Seamless Storytel...

nxtedition will demonstrate its story-first production platform at MPTS 2025, highlighting integrated AI Agents, open-source language models, and frictionless c...

28/04/2025

Keepit and leading B2B platform company Ingram Micro anno...

Keepit has teamed with Ingram Micro, a leading business-to-business platform company for the global technology ecosystem, to expand access to Keepit's vendo...

28/04/2025

Ross Video to Showcase Hyperconverged Live Production Sol...

Ross Video, a global leader in video production technology, is participating in CABSAT 2025, taking place at the Dubai World Trade Center. CABSAT is the leadi...

28/04/2025

Disguise Appoints Media and Entertainment Leader Jake Sto...

Disguise, the leading platform and solutions provider driving the next generation of visual experiences, has appointed Jake Stone as its Senior Vice President o...

28/04/2025

Lightware Brings its Latest USB-C Innovation and Integrat...

Lightware, a global leader in connectivity and signal management solutions, is set to return to InfoComm 2025 with a dynamic showcase of industry-first innovati...

28/04/2025

EASY IP from arkona technologies Wins Futures Best of Sho...

arkona technologies GmbH, provider of cutting-edge IP core infrastructure solutions has announced that its EASY-IP platform is the recipient of Future's Bes...

28/04/2025

TMT Insights Wins Two Project of the Year Awards at NAB...

TMT Insights wrapped up an award-winning NAB 2025 with two of its high-profile customer engagements recognized with Project of the Year Awards: Content Acquisit...

28/04/2025

Fix Format Issues & Enhance Videos 80% Faster with VideoProc AI - Major Update

Fix Format Issues & Enhance Videos 80% Faster with VideoProc AI - Major Update Brie Clayton April 25, 2025 0 Comments VideoProc Converter AI just got ...

28/04/2025

New in Premiere Pro and After Effects at NAB 2025 - Larry Jordan with Kylee Pea of Adobe

New in Premiere Pro and After Effects at NAB 2025 - Larry Jordan with Kylee Pe a...

28/04/2025

The Text Selector Expression is arguably the most elusive Adobe After Effects Feature and yet it's its most powerful Text Feature

The Text Selector Expression is arguably the most elusive Adobe After Effects Fe...

28/04/2025

Master your music for free with a new desktop app from Brainworx

Master your music for free with a new desktop app from Brainworx Brie Clayton April 27, 2025 0 Comments bx_mastering studio promises free streaming-re...

28/04/2025

LiveU Inks Deal to Acquire Actus Digital, Boost Video Monitoring and Analytics Capabilities

LiveU Inks Deal to Acquire Actus Digital, Boost Video Monitoring and Analytics C...

28/04/2025

Small Van, Big Story: Changing the Game in Sports Broadcasting with Obvious C

Small Van, Big Story: Changing the Game in Sports Broadcasting with Obvious C By SVG Staff Monday, April 28, 2025 - 10:51 am Print This Story | Subscribe ...

28/04/2025

SVG Sit-Down: ESPN's Chris Calcinari on New Flagship Mobile Unit, Cloud and REMI Production, Early Prep for Super Bowl LXI

SVG Sit-Down: ESPN's Chris Calcinari on New Flagship Mobile Unit, Cloud and ...

28/04/2025

A Swiss Soccer Summer: Previewing UEFA Women's Euros 2025 with BBC Sport and Sunset+Vine

A Swiss Soccer Summer: Previewing UEFA Women's Euros 2025 with BBC Sport and...

28/04/2025

New research from Sky Sports looks at the role of Womens sport fandom in the future of sports

Monday 28 April 2025 New research from Sky Sports, released today, shows that w...

28/04/2025

Official trailer released for Sky Documentaries three-part series, Bibaa & Nicole: Murder in the Park, airing 11 May

Monday 28 April 2025 To view this content, please enable our use of cookies. To...

28/04/2025

Victory lap for A League of Their Own

After 20 Legendary Seasons Sky is Hanging Up The Boots of its BAFTA-winning Sports Show. Production of farewell series tees off this summerMonday 28 April 2025 ...

28/04/2025

Netflix Celebrates the Creative Tapestry of APAC Films at Tokyo Showcase

Back to All News Netflix Celebrates the Creative Tapestry of APAC Films at Tokyo Showcase Entertainment 28 April 2025 GlobalJapanSouth KoreaIndiaThailandInd...

28/04/2025

Get Ready for Netflix Tudum 2025: The Live Event! Watch the Trailer for Our Must-See Celebration

Back to All News Get Ready for Netflix Tudum 2025: The Live Event! Watch the Tr...

28/04/2025

NVIDIA Brings Cybersecurity to Every AI Factory

As enterprises increasingly adopt AI, securing AI factories - where complex, agentic workflows are executed - has never been more critical. NVIDIA is bringing ...

28/04/2025

How Agentic AI Enables the Next Leap in Cybersecurity

Agentic AI is redefining the cybersecurity landscape - introducing new opportunities that demand rethinking how to secure AI while offering the keys to addressi...

28/04/2025

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Deploys Thousands of NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs for Agentic AI and Reasoning Models

Oracle has stood up and optimized its first wave of liquid-cooled NVIDIA GB200 N...

27/04/2025

A Tribute to Bruce Logan, Written By Steve Weiss

It's with deep regret that we share the passing of our dear friend Bruce Logan, ASC. Bruce was not just a collaborator-he was family. He worked with us at ...

27/04/2025

KAULITZ & KAULITZ - Launch date and first look for season 2

Back to All News KAULITZ & KAULITZ - Launch date and first look for season 2 Entertainment 27 April 2025 GlobalGermany Link copied to clipboard KAULITZ & ...

27/04/2025

'Senna' Wins Best Series Creator Category At The 2025 PLATINO Awards

Back to All News Senna Wins Best Series Creator Category At The 2025 PLATINO Awards Entertainment 27 April 2025 GlobalBrazil Link copied to clipboard This...

27/04/2025

Masterclass With Creative Team Behind 'Adolescence' Takes Filmmakers and Emerging Talent Behind the Scenes of Hit Show

Back to All News Masterclass With Creative Team Behind Adolescence Takes Filmma...

26/04/2025

Samsung Ads Launches New Interactive Ad Format

NEW YORK Samsung Ads has debuted a new interactive advertising format, Creative Canvas, that helps automate and deliver interactive ads....

26/04/2025

Sinclair Names Vincent J. Sollecito VP/GM of WPEC

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. Sinclair has appointed Vincent J. Sollecito vice president and general manager of WPEC, serving the West Palm Beach, Florida market....

26/04/2025

Comcast Technology Solutions, AD-ID Join Forces to Advance Ad Standards

NEW YORK and DENVER AD-ID and Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) have announced that they are working together to promote the adoption of industry standards in ...

26/04/2025

Cobalt Scores a Trifecta of Awards at NAB 2025

Cobalt Scores a Trifecta of Awards at NAB 2025 Brie Clayton April 25, 2025 0 Comments Company adds another Best of Show and two Product of the Year tr...

26/04/2025

FilmLight Colour Awards welcomes 2025 entries

FilmLight Colour Awards welcomes 2025 entries Brie Clayton April 25, 2025 0 Comments Entries open from 1 May 31 July to colourists on any grading pl...

26/04/2025

Blackmagic's Latest Products - Larry Jordan Guest Spots with Dan May at NAB Las Vegas 2025

Blackmagic's Latest Products - Larry Jordan Guest Spots with Dan May at NAB ...

25/04/2025

The Legend of Ochi Takes Families on an Adventure

Emily Watson, Isaiah Saxon, Helena Zengel, and Finn Wolfhard at The Legend of Ochi premiere (photo by Soul Brother/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)...

25/04/2025

Interoperability and Networked Electronic Warfare: Critical for the Modern Warfighter

Using its CORVUS portfolio, L3Harris created a highly adaptable battle network t...

25/04/2025

Agile Content and Tiscali team up to launch the tv service Linkem My TI-VI in Italy Agile TV

Agile Content joins forces with Tiscali to introduce a new platform in Italy, of...

25/04/2025

Agile Content is Now AgileTV Agile TV

The company positions Agile TV as the commercial brand focused on delivering TVaaS solutions for operators and media. The chosen tagline TVaaS your way enca...

25/04/2025

Agile TV, United Teleports, and BNS Launch a More Profitable, Hassle-Free TV Service Agile TV

A Fully Managed Solution That Maximizes Revenue for North American Operators Whi...