ABU DHABI // A local media company, twofour54, has hailed the success of its collaboration with the hit UK motoring programme Top Gear.
Twofour54 teamed up with the BBC to produce segments for two episodes, the first of which was broadcast last night on OSN, and the second will be shown next Sunday.
The media company’s intaj studio team worked with the Top Gear production crew and host of the show, Richard Hammond, to demonstrate a unique 6x6 vehicle and the sporty Porsche 918.
“We are delighted that the BBC selected us as their trusted partner in the production of Top Gear, which has enjoyed tremendous success and is aired in over 170 countries,” said Noura Al Kaabi, the chief executive of twofour54.
“Cars are very popular here in the UAE and luckily the infrastructure is available here in the UAE. Look at Yas Marina Circuit, it was one of the main attractions when it comes to production and if you want to do some tests with dune bashing there is nowhere better than the Western Region.
“We were dealing with a show launched in 1978, one of the most popular in the world, so you need to make sure you have a production team able to work at their standards.
“We facilitated the shooting in Abu Dhabi and Dubai and we are stressing the point of delivering a high-quality product,” she said.
Ms Al Kaabi said that the cooperation with the BBC had been fruitful so far, as the company had collaborated with teams at their Tadreeb training academy since 2008.
Top Gear was able to make use of the 30 per cent rebate on production costs offered by twofour54, designed to encourage more international brands to the UAE.
As with all of intaj’s collaborations that make use of the rebate, aspiring local media professionals were able to work on set, and learn more about the work from the experts.
ksinclair@thenational.ae