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Event for MPs at the House of Commons puts spotlight on the huge economic and cultural value of the creative industries in the South West
MPs including Andy Burnham - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Ben Bradshaw - Minister for the South West and Jim Knight - Minister of State for Schools and Learners, as well as more than twenty MPs with constituencies in the South West joined creative people and companies from across the region yesterday at a reception at the House of Commons. Over 150 people came together at 'Made in the South West,' an event celebrating the strength of the South West's creative and media industries hosted by South West Screen. Special guests included Mike Bailey star of Bristol-based hit Channel 4 / E4 drama Skins, Bath-based creator and writer of the BBC's Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes Ashley Pharoah plus key figures from some of the South West's most successful creative companies: Aardman, the BBC's Natural History Unit and Plymouth-based Twofour.

Joining the MPs and creative industry representatives were senior figures from the South West Regional Development Agency (RDA), the UK Film Council, and other government departments and bodies including the department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and the department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS).

South West Screen presented a showreel of work produced in the South West including excerpts from Endemol's Deal or No Deal, Channel 4 / E4 hit series Skins, Aardman Animations' Shaun the Sheep and Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg's cult comedy Hot Fuzz. In addition, Mike Bailey- one of the Bristol-based stars of Skins - and Aysha Rafaele (one of the directors) talked about the huge opportunity the series had given them, and how important it was for them to be able to start their careers in their home city.
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Creative Media Workforce Survey 2008 - Skillset wants to hear from you
Skillset is currently conducting a survey of the creative media workforce. The information collected will give everyone an invaluable insight into how the industry is shaping up in terms of training, qualifications and skills. It will tell Skillset about who is working in the industry, what you do and what you need to do your job effectively. This is your chance to have your say on the future needs of the industry and ensure that your needs are met. It will provide a crucial opportunity for industry professionals to have their say on the future needs of their particular sector and also ensure that their own needs are met.
Those interested in participating in this important piece of research can access the survey online by clicking here. If you would like an electronic copy (PDF), please visit Skillset's website. If you require a paper version or any other format, please contact Karen Muir, 0113 244 6795. The closing date for completed questionnaires is Friday 30 May 2008. Every response will be invaluable in ensuring that future resources can meet the needs of all.

Encounters now open for submissions
Now in its 14th year, Encounters Short Film Festival has become known world-wide for the extraordinary community of filmmakers it attracts, and for the quality and scope of its programming. This celebrated event is the largest festival of its kind in the UK, showcasing over 250 new international short films each year. The HP Digital Viewing library offers more than 600 films for on demand viewing available to all delegates' buyers, distributors, programmers and press.

Submissions for this years festival are now open via the 'new look' website. The short listing takes place throughout the summer and selected films will be announced by the end of August.

Channel 4 unveils digital media fund
Channel 4 is setting up a £50m fund to support public service digital media content over the next two years and has promised to show more new programmes in peak time than any other public service broadcaster. Andy Duncan, the Channel 4 chief executive, has just announced the creation of the 4 Innovation for the Public fund as he unveiled the Next on 4 statement of promises.

Designed to "kick start a wave of new investment in public service digital media for audiences around Britain" the £50m 4IP fund will launch in July as a collaboration between Channel 4 and a series of development and media agencies from around the UK. Channel 4 also pledged to broadcast the equivalent of at least one new documentary in peak time each weekday - a minimum of 260 hours across the year.

The Next on 4 "blueprint" is the culmination of an internal review that included consultation with staff, creative and commercial partners and the government, as well as extensive audience research including a YouGov survey of 11,000 members of the public. The broadcaster will also introduce a New Talent Month in 2008 and has promised to commit £10m annually to support a range of schemes through 4Talent. A further £10m a year is to be ring-fenced for investment British film-making, with Film4 committing a "significant proportion" of its spend to development, short films and low-budget features. The broadcaster intends to spend an initial £10m on a major pilot fund for cross-platform projects for 10- to 15-year-olds from 2008 and invest £6m a year in educational multimedia content for teenagers.

Aardman shines at animation awards
Aardman was the big winner at the British Animation Awards last night, picking up four gongs including two for children's series Shaun the Sheep. The CBBC show, which features the sheep that was first seen in the 1995 Oscar-winning Wallace and Gromit short film A Close Shave, won best children's series and the children's choice award.
Bristol-based Aardman also took the craft award for The Pearce Sisters, a short film by Luis Cook, and the new media: best commissioned animation gong for The Peculiar Adventures of Hector, by Sally Arthur and Sarah Cox.
"The mix of winners at the 2008 British Animation Awards reflects the continued strength of the British animation scene," said awards director Jayne Pilling. "The diversity of style, technical ingenuity and choice of subject matter reflects the reasons why the UK animation scene continues to thrive."
The awards, hosted by comedian Joe Pasquale at the British Film Institute in London, were chosen by members of the animation industry and the general public through a series of public choice votes across the UK.

NESTA and UK Film Council to drive growth in UK independent film
NESTA and the UK Film Council are calling for film companies to come forward who want to explore the potential of online sales, distribution and marketing. Many UK independent films released in the UK each year do not make it to DVD release. 'Digital Innovation in Film' is a new project which will team-up independent film companies with specialist partners to reach audiences in new ways. The £500K project is the first in a series from NESTA's new Innovators Growth programme, which will explore ways for creative businesses to grow by exploiting new technologies.

Over the next few months, NESTA and the UK Film Council will select up to 10 film companies from across the UK to take part in the project. They will be involved in workshops and receive one-to-one support from "innovation partners" to explore emerging opportunities for new revenue streams. The new ways of driving business growth that emerge from the project will be shared with support agencies across the UK to help other businesses. With this in mind, the pilot is being developed in conjunction with national and regional development agencies. The UK Film Council estimate that if the pilot is successful, over 100 independent film companies could stand to benefit from the pilot's success. Film businesses interested in taking part in the pilot or potential partners should visit the NESTA website. The deadline for applications is 1 May 2008.

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