Pig Productions was founded by Rik Mills in 1978 as a film studio.

The global media conglomerate we know today had humble beginnings in a small office in Bransholme, Hull. The production facilities were based in Park Street near the city centre and served the company well for many years. Production eventually outgrew the first studios and had to be moved out to the suburbs. The original buildings were subsequently demolished.

[Still from Park Street (Blue) showing demolition in progress.  Dave G. can be glimpsed at the left of shot using a camera for the famous closing diptych effect.]

Early output shows uncertainty over the direction the new studio should take. Bransholme High School (When You’re Not Looking) was a critique of modern education but also included elements of sport and dance. Agbo the Movie shows a shifting grasp of generic conventions within a gritty urban misé-en-scene. Its star, the method actor always known simply as Agbo, went on to become the lead in the Pig Productions repertory company. However, for the next production Rik tried out a leading man he had found in the world of avant-garde improvised theatre. The result was Tez: Secret Agent. This off-beat spy film was the studio’s first runaway success.

[Rik in the original Bransholme HQ of Pig Productions. The bidding war for the distribution rights for The Threat was so intense the telephone started to melt.]

 

Despite triumph at the box office its star decided he was happier behind the camera. Although he continued in supporting roles Tez was put in charge of TEZFX, a division of the parent company dedicated to visual effects.

In its huge purpose-built facility in Horsforth, Leeds, TEZFX has created some of the most stunning images in cinema history. Demonstrating technical wizardry of the highest order Doc Tez (as he is now known) and his team constructed stunningly realistic models for the series of Threat films. This long-running horror/sci-fi franchise was so successful it bankrolled the less commercially successful ‘arthouse’ films from Pig Productions.

TEZFX was behind the technical and creative innovations driving the evolution of visual effects in modern cinema. Special make-up effects helped transform Agbo into his most famous role as the Interstellar Vampire. Advanced puppetry techniques created the lovable comic aliens Brad and Cindy in The Threat 2000 AD and the terrifying ‘Rob the Bat’ in The Threat III and further instalments.

Rik wrote, produced, directed and edited most of the entries in The Threat franchise. As such he is viewed as one of the few genuine auteurs in modern cinema.

[Rik during the filming of Field Trip! in 1980. (photo credit: Dave H.)]

 

However, Rik was increasingly drawn towards novel-writing. Directorial duties on the later movies devolved to other members of the team. His Transmutations trilogy was published in 2014 and that was followed by Voiceover as Rik’s (unofficial) contribution to Hull as UK City of Culture, 2017.

Pig Productions continues to be a world leader in publishing and film production operating across multiple platforms.