ScreenACT Newsletter: September 2009

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

ScreenACT Project Grants deadline Friday 18th September.

The deadline for the ScreenACT Project Grants is almost here... applications are due this Friday. They can be posted or hand delivered to the ScreenACT Office.

If you are posting your application, they must be post marked 18th September:

Monica Penders
ScreenACT
PO Box 132
Campbell ACT 2612

If you are hand delivering them, they will need to be in the office no later than 5.00pm on Friday 18th. Address for delivery is:

Monica Penders
ScreenACT
C/- Canberra Business Council
National Associations Centre
Unit 4, 71 Constitution Avenue
Campbell ACT 2612

Want more information? - click here for guidelines and application form.

Other items

Canberra Children’s TV Workshop

Robert Greenberg’s “Everything you wanted to know about children’s TV – a crash course” is almost completely full but we have a few places left.

Robert is an award-winning writer with over 25 years of experience in Children’s TV – having written, script edited and script produced for TV in Australia, Canada and the US. It’s a fun, informative and intensive one day introduction and covers a wide range of topics including:

• What exactly is children’s television drama.
• Where it sits with commercial and non commercial broadcasters
• ABC3
• Comparing apples with apples. The Simpsons - is it a children’s drama show?
• Financing - a broad overview of how Children’s TV drama is financed including co- productions.
• Rules and regulations
• Key People and commissioning editors in Commercial and Non Commercial Broadcasters
• How to write pitch documents to interest investors and broadcasters

This is a great course for those wanting to know more about children's tv, some of the issues that you will face and particularly focuses on drama in both live action and animation.

Cost: $95 per person

Venue: Public Meeting Room
Canberra Museum & Gallery
Cnr London Circuit & Civic Square
Canberra City

Course will run from 10.00 - 5.00pm on Saturday, 19th September. More information and registration form available here.

Other items

Production Directory – now live.

ScreenACT’s “self-serve” production directory is now live. The new production directory allows industry professionals in the Canberra/ACT region (or those who service this region) to list their services and profile themselves and their organizations. And as information changes (for example, adding your latest Oscar, or new joint venture with Spielberg), you can do this yourself and keep your information up to date – immediately.

If you would like to be listed on the ScreenACT production directory, please email and you will be provided with log in information.

Other items

Producer’s Offset presentation – October 6th, 2009 12pm – 2.00pm

Alex Sangston, Senior Manager, Producer Offset at Screen Australia will be giving a talk on the Producer Offset, in Canberra.

What exactly is the Producer Offset?

The Producer Offset is a refundable tax offset (rebate) for producers of Australian feature films, television and other projects.

The Producer Offset is worth:

* 40 per cent of qualifying Australian production expenditure (QAPE) incurred on a feature film

* 20 per cent of QAPE incurred on programs other than feature films (TV series, mini-series or telemovies, short-form animations, non-feature documentary, or direct-to-DVD or web-distributed programming).

The Producer Offset is administered by Screen Australia and Producers in the Canberra/ACT region should come to this talk to meet Alex and get to know more about this rebate which, for an Australian qualifying film, can represent a significant part of your project's budget.

If you are interested in attending, please send an email to RSVP.

Other items

Screen Australia Springboard Short Film project – Deadline 28th September

Screen Australia has invited applications for Springboard, a unique development and production opportunity for creative teams to write and produce a short film that acts as a creatively and professionally relevant calling card for their proposed first feature project.

Springboard is aimed at outstanding aspiring filmmakers with a demonstrable commitment to a professional feature film career. Six teams will be selected to take part in two high-level workshops to develop and hone a short film proposal from scratch. Following these stages, Screen Australia will select the three most promising short film projects to go into production, with a budget of up to $120,000 each. Screen Australia will continue to support the teams on completion of their short film, including providing festival strategy advice to assist the short in being showcased at national and international festivals.
“We are committed to galvanising the connection between short filmmaking and a feature film career,” said Martha Coleman, Head of Development at Screen Australia.

“A team’s short films are vitally important in raising marketplace interest in their first feature film. Springboard will provide an essential stepping-stone in a professional filmmaking career path. It is about career building for the long term."

The Springboard workshops will be run by Simon van der Borgh and Jonathan Rawlinson, screenwriting teachers and script consultants with extensive international experience. Simon and Jonathan have previously designed and delivered film training programs for the UK Film Council, the European Union’s MEDIA Programme, the British Council, the Fulbright Commission and screen agencies in the UK, Europe and Australia.
As well as Springboard, Screen Australia’s support for short films includes its Short Animation Production program, and a new Shorts Completion Fund that provides finance for distinctive shorts that show outstanding potential but lack the funds to finish. Screen Australia also supports the Raw Nerve initiative, which provides opportunities to new filmmakers to create short films in collaboration with the Screen Development Australia (SDA) network.
Further information and application forms are available from www.screenaustralia.gov.au/springboard

The deadline for applications for Springboard is 28 September 2009. Successful applicants will be announced on 13 November, with the first Springboard script development workshop scheduled for December 2009. The deadline for Short Animation Production is 30 October 2009, and for the Short Film Completion Fund, 29 January 2010.

Other items

Going to SPAA

The Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA) annual conference has moved from Brisbane to Sydney which makes it much more accessible to the region's producers. If you are an emerging, mid level or established producer, SPAA is a great opportunity to learn more about funding, meet other producers and pitch your projects to industry professionals.

ScreenACT is offering 2 travel grants of $750 each that can go towards registration and travel costs. Check out the guidelines and also the SPAA website for more details on SPAA and the conference.

Also if you are from the ACT/Capital region and are you going to SPAA, drop ScreenACT a line so we can all meet up at the conference.

Other items

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Wednesday, September 16, 2009

ScreenACT Project Grants deadline Friday 18th September.

Canberra Children’s TV Workshop

Production Directory – now live.

Producer’s Offset presentation – October 6th, 2009 12pm – 2.00pm

Screen Australia Springboard Short Film project – Deadline 28th September

Going to SPAA