South West Screen E-Bulletin #147

26 June 2008

contents: news; opportunities; cluster groups; training; screenings/events/exhibitions;

news

Wildscreen finalists announced
Wildscreen are delighted to announce the finalists of this year's prestigious Panda Awards. The Nomination Panel met over a week in Bristol and comprised of thirteen judges from nine countries, who represented a wide range of industry skills and backgrounds. The team was also joined by an editor and an earth sciences expert, who helped provide those particular categories with additional expertise. Separate specialist judging panels were assembled for the New Media, Theatrical and Children's Choice Awards (the latter comprising school children in both Bristol and Zimbabwe).
The judges identified 62 films which will go forward to the final jury in October, just prior to the Festival which takes place from 19 - 24 October 2008 in Bristol. The full list of finalists can be found here.

£300,000 for Creative Training in Gloucestershire
The Gloucestershire Media Group has just launched its brand new EVOLVE training scheme which will see an investment of £300,000 from the European Social Fund channelled into the county specifically aimed at up-skilling young adults as well as professionals within the Creative industry over the next three years. The scheme will provide a variety of training opportunities and development programmes specifically designed by industry professionals to ensure that all activity is purely demand-led. To ensure the scheme is a success, detailed research of industry skill needs will be undertaken locally that will help in putting together a diverse and unique training scheme. GMG hope to conclude the research by the end of July and roll-out GMG EVOLVE in late autumn this year. Keep an eye on the GMG website for more details.

Screenwriters Festival - limited tickets remaining
1 - 3 July 2008 at Manor by the Lake, Cheltenham
The Third International Screenwriters' Festival takes place next week providing three days of insightful presentations, key-note speeches, interviews, workshops, screenings, Q&As and a series of networking opportunities that will allow delegates to get up-close-and-personal to the festival's influential guests. Speakers this year include: writer Terry Pratchett; award-winning writer and director Mike Leigh; producer Stephen Woolley; screenwriter Christopher Hampton; writer-producer Barbara Machin; director Vadim Jean; Jane Tranter Head of BBC Fiction; and writer-director Peter Kosminsky amongst many others. For full details of the line-up visit the website. Tickets are now very limited, to secure your place at the festival visit the website.

Comfort of Strangers launches in New York
Simon Evans and Simon Johnson took Comfort of Strangers, a street game using wifi and handheld devices developed as part of Media Sandbox, to Come out and Play Festival in New York City this month. In the game, players have to identify and keep close to their team mates, whilst avoiding the other team. The game is played in busy city spaces such as shopping malls. You can find out more and watch a film of the performance of Comfort of Strangers in Union Square on their blog.

Final podcast from Access to Digital Media Finance now available
The last in our series of Podcasts from our 'Access to Digital Media Finance' event, which took place in March, is now available. Paul Fisher from Advent Venture Partners gives a presentation on advertising and Digital Media, and where the money will come from in the future. To subscribe click here.

Christmas with Dad wins award at Edinburgh International Film Festival
Clarity Productions' short documentary Christmas with Dad, by Bristol-based director Conor McCormack, has won the Scottish Short Documentary Award at the 62nd Edinburgh International Film Festival. Christmas with Dad follows 23-year-old AJ as he and his family prepare for the festive season and the arrival of an eighth child. With remarkable access and insight, the film reveals a young man struggling to define his role as a father, haunted by his own childhood and facing an uncertain future... The film was named the winner of the Scottish Documentary Award at a screening of the seven nominated films at The Edinburgh Film House on Saturday 21 June 2008. For more information please click here.

opportunities

Apply to the South West Post Graduate Bursary Fund
Deadline: 5pm, 29 August 2008
For the fourth year running, South West Screen is offering an industry-backed Post Graduate Bursary Fund. The fund will make awards of up to £3,000 each to students based in the South West who are looking to attend a post graduate course with Skillset accreditation and/or industry approval. For more information and details of how to apply please see the training section of our website.

Companies - can you host a talented newcomer?
'Next Generation' is an exciting new entrants' scheme supported and funded by the Skillset TV Freelance Fund and delivered by South West Screen, designed to create a generation of Digital Production Assistants. We will soon be recruiting talented newcomers and equipping them with skills to meet the demands of an increasingly fast-paced digital workflow. We want to hear from companies in the South West who are producing digital content for TV, corporate or interactive sectors and can offer a work placement to a trainee starting in late September. For more information click here.

Second Post - Coming Soon!
Second Post will provide continuing support for both freelancers and employees in the post production sector, who are looking to grow their skills for current and future markets, with particular emphasis on new technologies. Designed for edit assistants who want to progress on the ladder to editing. Supported and funded by the Skillset TV Freelance Fund and delivered by South West Screen, the scheme will be held over 6-months and training will be offered as master classes, workshops, peer review groups and online forums, plus industry visits and networking. For more information click here.

Mediabox Roadshow
16 July 2008 - 2pm to 3.30pm, Watershed, Bristol
In the run up to the next Mediabox Application Round, come along to this roadshow and learn more about the fund. Find out what makes a great application, what the priorities are for the South West, meet the regional Mediabox co-ordinator and view some of the successful projects from last year. Places are limited so please book a place by e-mailing Sas Bonser.

ArtsMatrix wishes to recruit two new Board Members
Deadline for expressions of interest: 31 July 2008
ArtsMatrix, the skills and enterprise development agency for creative professionals in the South West, are seeking two new Board members to complement their existing Board of six. They are particularly seeking someone interested in taking the Treasurer role, to contribute to their future planning and development. Potential candidates should have an empathy and understanding of the creative sector, be dynamic and motivated, and bring a strong commitment to support ArtsMatrix's vision. They are actively seeking expertise in one or more of the following specific areas: finance, diversity and disability, workforce development, fundraising and commercial expertise. Positions are unpaid (expenses only), with honorarium of £150 per month for Chair and Treasurer. Board members are required to attend six board meetings a year, held in Exeter. Detailed roles and responsibilities will be sent as part of the board recruitment pack. Please email ArtsMatrix for a recruitment pack.

Camera Craft Workshops & Consultancy - Book Now!
Jeremy Humphries, one of the UK's most experienced cameramen, has developed a workshop programme to provide camera craft skills training to those needing to hone their competencies in camera operation. These workshops provide a fully rounded learning experience with hands-on and interactive learning from foundation level to intermediate and advanced. For more information click here.

Can you help Bristol University?
The University of Bristol is celebrating its centenary in 2009. As part of the celebrations, the university is creating a website which will include an interactive timeline showing highlights of the University's history over the past 100 years. Highlights will include: pictures, audio and video. Are you aware of any digitised footage (audio or video) relating to the University of Bristol that could be used in this timeline? Items of interest include: students, research, major events, building projects, and famous visitors etc from the last 100 years. All footage used can be credited. Please e-mail Urfan Ali if you have footage you are able to provide.

Cornwall Film Festival Deadlines Looming
First Deadline: 15 July 2008
Second Deadline: 29 July 2008
This year's Cornwall Film Festival sees the launch of 'ANOTHER COUNTRY', an International Short Film Award which aims to bring interesting and diverse filmmaking from the world's towns and rural areas to Cornwall. There is a £1,000 cash prize for the winning film. The Festival's uber-popular Board Shorts event which showcases new talent in surf/skate/snowboard filmmaking is also opening to international submissions this year. The Cornwall Film Festival, which takes place 6-9 November 2008, is dedicated to showcasing new and existing Cornish talent. Go to the festival website for more information on all our film categories and to submit your film.

Jobs at Watershed - Bristol
Following major capital investment Watershed is expanding its team in order to achieve the next stage of challenging and exciting developments. The following vacancies are open for application:

• iShed Project Manager - Manage creative technology projects.
• SW Creative Innovation Co-ordinator - Networking innovation in the South West.
• Pervasive Media Studio Administrator - Provide support to the Pervasive Media Studio and iShed team
• Communications & Marketing Manager - Watershed promotion and profile raising.
• Development Manager - Develop funding and income generation.
• Finance Co-ordinator - Financial monitoring & reporting.

For more information on all the above vacancies click here.

Where to be trained in Europe
The 2008 edition of the MEDIA guide to training for professionals in the audiovisual industry in Europe is now available. The guide presents the 34 training projects selected and funded by the MEDIA Training Programme for the year 2008. They include continuous training activities in the field of project development; management and finance; animation; new technologies; scriptwriting as well as training for trainers and internship programmes. To view the guide, please click here.

BBC New Music Shorts 2008
Deadline: 7 July 2008
The BBC New Music Shorts scheme is now open for submissions. Now in its third year, the BBC Electric Proms is challenging filmmakers to make original new films inspired by new music tracks. BBC Electric Proms have partnered with Domino, Ninja Tune/Big Dada and Mute Records, who have provided some of their latest release tracks. Three New Music Shorts will be commissioned - the winners will get to work with Warp Films and will receive up to £5,000 to make their film, which will be premiered live and online at the BBC Electric Proms in October. For the full details go to the BBC Electric Proms website.

Film London launches call for Production Finance Market
Deadline: 25 July 2008
UK and international producers and financiers are invited to apply for registration at the second Film London Production Finance Market (PFM). The market will be held on 20-21 October 2008 in association with the Times BFI 52nd London Film Festival and is particularly keen to increase European presence. The Film London Production Finance Market is a two-day event that focuses on facilitating face-to-face meetings between producers and financiers from the international marketplace and the UK to encourage and foster new financing relationships. The market also includes a key note address, workshops and networking events. Applications to qualify for potential invitation to the PFM must be submitted to Film London by 25 July 2008 - full details can be found here.

DepicT! '08: Now Accepting Submissions
Deadline: 8 September 2008
Now in its tenth year, ultra-short film competition DepicT! continues to celebrate the imagination, style, emotion, drama, mystery, humour and passion that can be packed into one captivating mini-movie. Can you do it in 90 seconds? DepicT! offers emerging filmmakers the opportunity to win a range of unique prizes and to gain priceless exposure through Encounters International Short Film Festival, the Digital Screen Network, depict.org and beyond. Judges, who in the past have included directors Peter Jackson, Terry Gilliam and Royston Tan, film critic Nigel Floyd and Aardman Animations' David Sproxton, are looking to discover distinctive voices which evidence originality, creativity and the ability to engage the viewer. First Prize: £2000 cash. For more information and to submit your film, visit the DepicT! website.

Five Minutes of Mystery - a short film competition
Deadline: 15 August 2008
Calling all mysterious moving-image makers, enigmatic engineers of the silver screen - Five Minutes of Mystery challenges you to create and submit short films around a theme of mystery. Part of 'The Compass of Mystery Festival', Five Minutes of Mystery will bring together film-makers from far and wide to exhibit their work in Bristol. Judged by a panel of industry experts, awards will be for Best Film, Audience Award, Local Film-maker and Youth Award. Entries must be no longer than five minutes. Guidelines & entry forms are available at .

Interdoc - strategies for documentary producers to access the international market
Deadline: 1 August 2008
Interdoc is a training programme for documentary producers who want to develop strategies for accessing international finance. The programme is run by Scottish Documentary Institute and Initialize Films and is funded by Skillset as part of A Bigger Future, with additional support from ECA, Edinburgh Film Focus, and Sheffield Doc Fest. Initialize Films created and first ran the course with great success in London in 2006, helping filmmakers like Geoffrey Smith (Hot Docs winner The English Surgeon) get finance for their projects. They are now looking for 12 ambitious producers, with an outstanding documentary project in development, who want to engage with the international market. As long as you have one producer credit on a completed documentary film and live in the UK, you can apply. For more information click here.

cluster groups

There are five media cluster groups in the region - Bristol Media, Cornwall Media Focus, Gloucestershire Media Group, Plymouth Media Partnership and Wessex Media Group - offering support including regular events. If you're not a member, why not join your nearest group now?

Meet the Commissioner - Sue Davidson Factual at Five
2 July 2008 - 2pm at University of Plymouth
A chance for PM-P members to find out more about the commissioning requirements at Five TV. Sue Davidson will talk about Five TV schedule, target audiences, current commissioning requirements and commissioning procedures. Sue is responsible for science within the factual department which includes Five's highly successful strand of documentaries; Extraordinary People. Sue also commissions general factual series ranging from observational documentaries to factual formats. After the main presentation there will also be an opportunity for a limited number of ten minute one to one meetings for producers with broadcast track records on a first come, first served basis. Book early to guarantee your slot - the registration fee is £10. If you would like to register a place at this event please contact the PM-P office on: 01752 346530 or email PM-P.

training

How to fund and sell your documentary
5-6 July 2008 - London
Get the low-down on how to get ahead in the realm of documentary funding and selling at this course from the Documentary Filmmakers Group. Participants will learn about both the models of film financing in the UK and overseas, as well as current funding opportunities and schemes - including online opportunities. You will also learn about what different channels and broadcasters are looking for; how to best approach them - and how to build and maintain these relationships; and how to write proposals and complete applications effectively. To book or find out more please click here.

Make Genre Work for You
8 July to 12 August 2008 - London
This brand new series of workshops from Euroscript spread over six evenings will help you clarify your genre and deliver your story in surprising and satisfying ways. You can book selected evenings or the whole course for a thorough fine-tuning of your skills. Each evening session will focus on one genre or a related group of genres, to help you clarify your understanding of genres and how they can be used to act on the viewer. The course will help you tease out which genre or genres are at work in your own projects, and give advice and feedback on how to strengthen their effect and make them work to the advantage of the script. Sessions may be booked individually or together. Individual sessions cost £45 each (concessions £41), all six sessions - cost £225 (concessions £205). Book now - numbers are strictly limited to ensure personal feedback. Full details can be found here.

Final Cut Pro for APs and PDs
12 - 13 July 2008 - London
This course from DV Talent is aimed at self-shooting Assistant Producer's and Producer/Director's to give them the basic skills needed to create 'final rough cut' assemblies for the factual entertainment programmes and documentaries they have shot. Crucial theory is interspersed with practical exercise designed to test and challenge the trainees newly learned skills. This course is subsidised by Skillset and attendance costs £210 plus VAT. To find out about this and other courses offered by DV Talent see their website.

Practical Press Relations for film events
23 and 24 July 2008 - London
Do you struggle to secure press coverage for screenings and events at your venue? Finding it tough to get national media interest in your festival with so many other festivals out there? The Independent Cinema Office and tutor Clare Wilford present two training courses for anyone who is aiming to maximise media coverage for film-related events or festivals and is working with limited time, money and resources. Practical Press Relations I: An Introduction to Film Festival & Event PR takes place on Wednesday 23 July 2008 and Practical Press Relations II: The Bigger Picture takes place on Thursday 24 July 2008. The second day is particularly suitable for people who have already attended the first, whether this time or in previous years. Attendance costs £120 + VAT (£141) per day, or a discounted rate of £200 + VAT (£235) for both days (£90/£160 + VAT for ICO client venues). For further information and booking click here.

Now recruiting - Part time Diplomas in Writing and Film
Bristol University
The Department of Drama: Theatre, Film and Television at Bristol University is currently recruiting for two part time diplomas: Creative Writing for Performance and Film Studies. The diploma in Creative Writing for Performance (2008-2010) is a two year part time writing course which enables you to develop the techniques specific to writing for Theatre, Radio Drama, Television, Film and Animation. It is taught by experienced professionals, most of them working within the creative industries. The Diploma in Film Studies features lectures, screenings and lively discussion with a main focus on film language and theory. This two year part-time Diploma also includes a short introduction to some practical aspects of the filmmaking process and a close look at the way the industry works. For further information and application procedures for both diplomas email Bristol University or call 0117 9545471.

screenings/events/exhibitions

Last chance to book for Virtual Voices
10 July 2008 - 9.30am - 5pm, Watershed, Bristol
There are still a few tickets available for Virtual Voices, a one day conference looking at how we can help young people develop so they become the content-creators and storytellers of the future. Speakers include prominent political blogger, Iain Dale (http://iaindale.blogspot.com),Charlotte Black, Talent Executive, and Commissioning - Channel 4, Vicky Frost - Deputy Editor, The Media Guardian, Martin Fewel - Deputy Editor Channel 4 News, Paul Tarplee - MD of TwoFour Digital, James Birtels, Head of News Gathering and Online, Five TV News, blogger Dizzy Thinks and Derren Lawford - Multiplatform Editor of Panorama (BBC). Tickets are selling quickly so if you are planning to come but haven't got round to buying your ticket yet, please contact Watershed box office on 0117 927 5100 to ensure you don't miss out. Tickets cost £50. Full details of the event can be found here.

Knowle West's Amazing Archive Exhibition
25 June - 5 July 2008 at Knowle West Media Centre, Bristol
'Back in The Day' - Knowle West's Amazing Archive Exhibition is an exciting young person led exhibition which includes photography, illustration, sound and animation. Over the past 9 months a group of young people from Knowle West have met weekly engaging with the local community, understanding their roots, uncovering oral histories, artifacts, stories and photos. The exhibition sets out to challenge negative and complacent views of Knowle West by giving its heritage new depth and meaning. 'Back in The Day' brings together an exhibition that aims to address common misconceptions of the area. Admission is free. For more information contact Nicky Williams or Katie Taylor. For a location map of Knowle West Media Centre please see their website.

Inside Silicon Gorge
2 July 2008 - 6pm - 8pm, Watershed, Bristol
The South West is home to the UK's largest concentration of silicon designers, second only in the world to the USA, and is therefore at the forefront of developments in next generation mobile phone technology, consumer electronics and wireless communications systems. What do these developments mean for the media industry and how we consume and distribute media? This Creative Technology Network event will give an overview of the key players and research areas. This event is free - click here to book a ticket.

Animation Unlimited 2008
18 - 20 July 2008, Bournemouth
This summer the Arts Institute at Bournemouth is proud to host the 20th Anniversary Society for Animation Studies International Conference: 'ANIMATION UNLIMITED'. Pre-eminent scholars and practitioners from some of the world's leading institutes of animation education will converge in Bournemouth to discuss, debate and drive the industry forward. For more information click here.

Bagpuss and Friends
27 July 2008 - 3.30pm at Watershed in Bristol
Following the success of last years' Trumptonshire Tales, Encounters Festival is delighted to welcome Phill Jupitus back to Watershed to host a special event celebrating excellence in animation. Phill is a huge fan of Oliver Postgate's extraordinary cannon of now classic stop-motion animation. He will choose his favourite moments from timeless Smallfilms classics such as Ivor the Engine, Noggin the Nog, Pogles Wood, the Clangers and of course Bagpuss. Phill will be joined onstage by award winning stop-motion animator Barry Purves, and Small Films archivist and publisher, Loaf. Together they reveal the delights and magic of Oliver Postgate's extraordinary storytelling and Peter Firmin's incredible puppets and artwork. Tickets will be available from the end of June from Watershed 0117 927 5100 priced £8/£6 concessions.

Next e-bulletin: 10 July 2008
Deadline for submissions: 8 July 2008