ScreenACT Newsletter

Happy New Year to you all. 2010 is shaping up to be a busy and exciting year at ScreenACT. And already many deadlines for great events are looming! Check out below.

Remember if you have an event or news you would like to share with the Film, TV and Digital Media communities in the ACT and the rest of the country, drop us an email

The ScreenACT production directory is growing – are you and your company on it? If you are a professional in the film, TV or digital media industry and have services to offer – you should be listed. Please email some details and you will be given log in information.

This intensive two-day course offers processes and insights necessary for professional screenwriters to expand their skills base into narrative comedy for television and film. Attendees will be shown how to construct a sitcom from the ground up, making choices in terms of theme, sub-genre, character, structure, morality, style and tone. The principles of comedy film’s sub-genres and styles (i.e. pastiche, parody) will be outlined, along with tips and strategies for crafting a funny feature.

The course focuses upon the principles of jokes and narrative humour. These principles are ancient, fixed and universally applied through all comedies. Attendees are presented with processes and principles for devising comic conflict, metaphors, juxtapositions, reversals, story structures, knowledge differentials, pathos, subtext and the rhythms of comic dialogue. The course operates by way of lectures, script analysis and the viewing of narrative comedies. Some class time will also be devoted to exercises and workshopping. The course concludes with tips for formulating series bibles and pitching concepts to the film or television markets.

Tim Ferguson is Australia’s internationally-acclaimed ‘Comedy Doctor’. He lectures in narrative comedy and screenwriting at the RMIT School of Media & Communication in Melbourne and works as a script consultant and editor for production companies and networks in Australia and Britain. For over twenty years, Tim has toured the world performing stand-up and musical comedy, writing dozens of live stage comedy shows as well as writing or producing sitcoms and a comedy film. His work includes Doug Anthony Allstars, Daas Live In New York, Daas Kapital, The Big Gig, Daas Love, 01 For London, Friday Night Live, Juste Pour Rire Specials, The Edinburgh Years, Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush, IMT, Unreal TV/Ads/Stuff-Ups/Pink-Label & Big Brother Insider and Shock Jock. Tim’s book The Comedy Manual (Currency Press) is due for release in 2010.

This workshop is presented in collaboration with the University of Canberra.

Venue: Workshop Room, ACT Writers Centre, Gorman House Arts Centre, Ainslie Ave, Braddon.
Cost: Members: $200, fulltime students and concessional members: $185, non-members: $250 (includes 12 months of membership).
Limited seating so bookings are essential on 6262 9191 or admin(a)actwriters.org.au

Screen Australia recognises rigorous craft-based script development as an essential part of the feature filmmaking process. The foundation of good development is the ability to read and analyse a screenplay in order to ascertain its potential strengths as well as correctly identify the source of its weaknesses. As a stand-alone practice in Australia, the script developer role demands specific, tailored support from a number of experienced and relevant sources.

Following the success of the inaugural workshop in October and with a view to strengthening and advancing Australian screenwriting culture and its practitioners, Screen Australia is once again working with development training pioneer the UK Script Factory to assist producers and script developers to hone their skills in a practical environment. Four Australian tutors will be involved in teaching the workshop alongside the Script Factory principals.

What is it?

A four-day workshop will be offered nationally in Melbourne during March 2010.
The workshop process is designed to enable individuals with high-level story analysis skills to focus on the nuts and bolts of script developing. Individuals apply to Screen Australia with demonstrated script development experience.

Participants will be introduced to a structured approach of assessing scripts, writing script reports and preparing a development strategy. By examining produced screenplays and reading early work by new screenwriters, participants will consider what makes a good screen story and learn to recognise screenwriting talent. This workshop focuses on how to translate the analysis into constructive feedback for writers so that the script report becomes the first stage of script development.

The workshop includes time for participants to prepare written work, on which they will receive feedback from the tutors.
Click here or more information

Dates: 09/02/2010
Venue: Meeting Room, Belconnen Arts Centre, 118 Emu Bank, Belconnen ACT
Description: Risk Management for the Arts
Contacts: Jennifer Innes on (03) 9616 0314 or at skillsdev@abaf.org.au

Time: 9:30AM - 12:30PM
Cost: $90.00 AUD

Topics include:

• an introduction to the principles of risk management including the Australia standard
• the importance of integrating strategy and risk management
• consideration of how to implement risk management into an arts company.
• Includes practical tools to use in the arts environment, and examples drawn from actual scenarios of failed arts companies.

Ideal for general managers and finance managers of key medium, small and project-based organisations together with the chair of their board or another appropriate board member.
This workshop will be presented by John Irving.

Places are limited! Register now

The Australian International Documentary Conference is taking place end of February in Adelaide. Click here to register.