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August 2019

Former Gaming Students become Teachers at Coventry College

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Two former gaming students at Coventry College are passing the pad to the next generation after making the transition from students to teachers. Joseph Casey and Karol Marchewka left the college in 2015 and 2014 respectively, and are already teaching young pupils how to make a career for themselves in the gaming industry and its many growing offshoots.

Joseph, who is based at the college’s Henley campus, teaches level 3 extended art and games design, while Karol teaches level 3 games development at the City campus on Swanswell Street. The pair see their youth as being a huge benefit in terms of understanding the industry that awaits their students and what opportunities lie ahead.

Joseph, 22, said: “The industry is developing so quickly and even from when I was a student here, provisions have improved to comply with that. The students are working on the best software possible – the industry standard – which will help set them apart when it comes to University and careers. We use software called Unreal Engine 4, which the most popular games of today are made on such as Gears of War, Fortnite and Borderlands 3 so this is a huge draw for students.

“As a former student, I am proud of how far the college has come and I am excited to see where we can take it. My teacher Rob Lambert is someone I really looked up to and I am very grateful that I can provide the same guidance to my students, as he did for our class.”

Other previous students have gone on to study subjects such as game art, games programming, 3D modelling, special effects for film and even screenwriting at university level. Some move on to jobs at huge gaming developers such as Rockstar, famous for creating the Grand Theft Auto series of games.

Karol, 23, said: “The industry is really booming now and there are so many opportunities open to games students, so we encourage them to think as big as possible. Having myself and Joseph teaching them also gives them someone to relate to. We have industry experience and we have not long finished university ourselves, so we can tell them honestly about what that experience will entail.

“There is a really positive social side to games studies too – you meet a lot of like-minded, creative people and you can really become yourself in this environment. We also organise our own Esports team, which competes on a national level with other schools and colleges. This provides excellent opportunity for the student to grow their industry contacts and get career help and advice from industry leaders.”

 

Source: https://www.fenews.co.uk

 

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Sustainable Filmmaking at Staffordshire University

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The film department has signed up to the BAFTA Albert Educational Partnership and is working with a number of other universities to contribute to a graduate training programme which promotes sustainable practices. The move was inspired by film production student Rebecca Head who researched eco-friendly filmmaking for her final year project and encouraged her lecturers to make the change.

Rebecca, age 25, from Birmingham, said: “The idea came after I saw a campaign to use different lighting in theatres – in the film industry we use very similar lights and they are not very eco-friendly. Then when I started researching it more, it just snowballed.” Through her project, Rebecca discovered a number of ways that film makers can embed sustainable practices into their productions.

“In pre-production, most of it is paper-based but we can try be more digital and have less physical paperwork. Then going into production, we can use LED lighting on film sets which represent colour better as well as being more efficient and cost effective.” she explained. “You can also do things like stop using single-use plastics, have vegan catering on set and recycle as much as you can – for example by re-using costumes. I’m also really excited about the idea of using more solar energy!”

Rebecca graduated this summer and hopes to become a cinematographer but continues to promote green filmmaking as part of her freelance work.

From September, Staffordshire University will include sustainability in all its film courses. Senior Lecturers Paul Ottey and Colin Mottram have attended training and development sessions in preparation for delivering the scheme.

Paul said: “We will aim to offer the training to all film students. There will be specific training days and we will integrate the principles of more sustainable filmmaking through all of our teaching. It’s a great opportunity to join up with the albert educational consortium, as a group we can make a real difference for more sustainable and environmentally friendly practices in the TV and film industries. Also, as Albert graduates the links to BAFTA and major companies such as BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and SKY give our students great opportunities.”

 

Source: www.expressandstar.com

 

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bafta award

BAFTA Announces New Casting Award

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The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has published the rules and timeline for the EE British Academy Film Awards 2020, following its annual review of all categories. BAFTA’s Film Committee undertakes this review each year in consultation with a wide range of stakeholders across the industry.

New Casting Award

BAFTA will be introducing a Casting award. This is the first new category since Outstanding Debut (as the Carl Foreman Award) was presented in 1999 and will recognise achievements in the craft of casting and its importance in film-making. A Casting award will also be introduced to the British Academy Television Craft Awards in 2020, marking the first time BAFTA has simultaneously introduced a category.

Pippa Harris, Chair of BAFTA, said “BAFTA’s Awards exist to recognise excellence across the industry and we are delighted this year to be including the highly skilled work of casting directors for the first time. Casting is essential to the screen industries, and vital in terms of promoting diversity and inclusion on-screen. We hope this Award will also help to promote an understanding of casting and look forward to seeing who will be the first winner in February!”

Lucy Bevan, Casting Director (Cats, Maleficent), said “I am delighted that a Casting award will be introduced at both the Film and Television Craft Awards this year, it is a great honour for our industry to be recognised by BAFTA and I look forward to seeing many deserving, talented casting professionals receive the award in the years to come. I would like to thank BAFTA on behalf of casting directors across the world, it is terrific news for our profession.”

BAFTA also announced that the Original Music category is to be renamed Original Score, underlining a focus on composer and score, and acknowledging the integral part they play in contributing to the narrative, atmosphere and emotional landscape of the film.

BAFTA Key Dates

The Film Awards will take place in London on Sunday 2 February, with nominations to be announced on Tuesday 7 January. The Film Awards will be returning to the Royal Albert Hall for a fourth year. The 2020 timeline is available in full at www.bafta.org

2019    

Monday 2 September              Deadline for Outstanding Debut titles

Tuesday 22 October                 Deadline for submission of Stage One entry forms

Thursday 21 November             Deadline for Stage Two entry submission

Friday 29 November                 Draft Entered Films list to be made available to voters and entrants

Friday 6 December                   Deadline for requests to changes to the Draft Entered, Films list and SVFX Statements

Wednesday 11 December        Films released in the UK after 1 January 2020 must be screened to BAFTA voters by this date to qualify

Thursday 12 December             Round One voting opens at 10:00

Monday 30 December             Round One voting closes at 18:00, Deadline for SVFX reels

2020    

Tuesday 7 January                   Nominations announcement, Round Two voting opens

Wednesday 29 January            Round Two voting closes at 18:00

Friday 31 January                     All entered films to have been screened to the public by this date (except for FNIEL titles, which must be screened to the public by Friday 28 February)

Sunday 2 February                   EE British Academy Film Awards

 

Source: www.bafta.org

 

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three women smiling holding trophies

BIFA 2019 Short Film Entries Open – Final Deadline 30th August

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BIFA is now accepting entries for the Best British Short Film Award, supported by BFI NETWORK, for the 2019 Awards ceremony. See the below call for submissions from BIFA, and please read carefully as there are a few small changes this year:

ENTRY DEADLINES & FEES

Entering a short film to BIFA is still free for the majority of the time that entries are open. However, there are some new deadlines and fees towards the end of the entry period. To avoid these, please enter your films as early as possible!

The new deadlines & entry fees for short films are*:

Entries open to midnight 8th August – FREE

9th August to midnight 22nd August – £15

23rd August to midnight 30th August – £30

(*These prices exclude VAT)

Friday 30th August is the final entry deadline and no entries will be accepted after this date.

If you can’t enter your film before the fees kick in (eg. if you won’t hear about a festival acceptance until after the 8th August), please contact us on hello@bifa.film and we may be able to issue a fee waiver.

QUALIFYING FESTIVALS / ONLINE CHANNELS

The following festivals have been added to the list of festivals that qualify short films to enter the category:

Bechdel Test Fest – Annual

BFI Future Film Festival – February

East End Film Festival – April

Iris Prize – October

Open City Docs – September

UK Jewish Film Festival – November

You can see the full list of BIFA 2019 qualifying film festivals for short films here.

 

We have also updated our list of qualifying online channels, which is now:

VICE

The Guardian Docs

New York Times Op-Docs

Field of Vision

NOWNESS

BBC Three

Channel 4

 

NON-QUALIFYING FESTIVALS

The following festivals have been removed from the list. If your film has played at one of these festivals and you wish to enter it to BIFA, you can get in touch to ask for an exception to be made:

Amsterdam Int’l Doc Film Fest

Gothenburg Int’l Film Festival

Slamdance Film Festival

Aspen Shortsfest

Hot Docs Film Festival

Stockholm Int’l Film Festival

Bilbao Film Festival

Locarno Film Festival

Tampere Int’l Short Film

Brest European Short Film Festival

Melbourne Int’l Film Festival

Telluride Film Festival

Chicago Int’l Film Festival

New York Int’ lFilm Festival

Uppsala Int’l Short Film Festival

Flanders Int’l Film Festival

Oberhausen Int’l Short Film Festival

 

BFI DIVERSITY STANDARDS

We’d like to get more short film filmmakers aware of, and thinking about, the BFI Diversity Standards. We will be asking all entrants to familiarise themselves with the Diversity Standards and to informally assess their films against them as part of the entry process. You don’t need to formally meet the Standards but you do need to tell us how your project contributes to meeting their aims.

You can read more about the BFI Diversity Standards here.

OTHER RULES

We will no longer be accepting entries of music videos, fashion or experimental films. The category is for short fiction or documentary films.

HOW TO ENTER A FILM

  1. Read the rules – here
  2. Head on over to our Entries page
  3. If you already have an account, log in
  4. If you don’t already have an account, create one via the ‘Register’ tab
  5. Log in to your account and head back to the Entries page  (if you aren’t there already)
  6. Click on the ‘New Entry’ button and fill in the form

If you have any questions or problems, please get in touch with us via hello@bifa.film

Source: www.bifa.film

 

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purple background with "BFI Short Form animation fund" wirtten in black bold letters. Below is a logo for the National Lottery

BFI Short Form Animation Fund – Deadline 5th November

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BFI has announced their new Short Form Animation Fund, offering support for higher-budget animated work from teams based in the UK.

About the Short Form Animation Fund

The BFI Short Form Animation Fund offers support for higher-budget animated work from teams based in the UK. The fund is intended for work that is unlikely to be fully commercially financed and would therefore benefit from National Lottery support.

The fund aims to give UK animators who have gained industry attention for their work the chance to work at a higher budget level. It will provide funding of £30,000 – £120,000 per project, supporting teams to create work that can gain major recognition and open up new opportunities. The fund can support narrative short form projects in any animated technique or genre (including documentary) and for any platform, eg cinema, online or TV (though not work intended primarily for broadcast television).

Who is Eligible?

Filmmaking teams from across the UK, who can demonstrate relevant experience in writing, directing and producing, are eligible for the BFI Short Form Animation fund. The director, or writer-director, needs to have made at least three previous pieces of animated work, one of which should have received notable industry recognition. Please check the eligibility criteria outlined in our guidelines carefully before beginning an application to the fund.

Filmmakers with less experience, those at the start of their careers, and writers and directors without a producer, should visit the BFI NETWORK, which supports new filmmakers with networking, professional development opportunities and funding.

To Apply

There is one call for applications per year, and applications for projects for Directors and Writer-Director teams are open. Please ensure you have read the full funding guidelines before you complete the application form.

Make a Film Fund application here before 5th November. If you are a new applicant to the Film Fund, you will need to create an account before completing the application.

On 14th January, BFI will inform applicants if they are invited to an interview, or if they have been unsuccessful. Interviews will take place between 27th and 31st January. Please note that decision and interview dates are subject to revision, depending on the level of applications received.

 

Source: www.bfi.org.uk

 

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ScreenSkills

ScreenSkills Course for Film Leadership and Management

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Are you an experienced film professional in the West Midlands who is looking to develop their leadership and management skills?

  • Do you regularly work in your chosen job role or department and are looking to take the next step up?
  • Do you have three or more professional credits in this current role?
  • Are you responsible for overseeing entry-level and early-stage colleagues in your department?
  • Do you feel like an ‘accidental’ manager and want to learn more about leadership and management?

If the answer to any or all of these questions is yes, then this course, Leadership and Management for Film Professionals, delivered by Screen Central and commissioned by ScreenSkills, is for you.

ScreenSkills is looking for 12 participants from any department – you could be producing, directing, an AD, in locations, art department, costume, hair and make-up, production office, cameras, lighting, sound or post-production. The main criteria is that you’re looking to step up into management and want some training and support to do this or are already a manager and looking to polish your skills.

What is the course structure?
This course will consist of a mixture of group workshops and one-to-one mentoring. The workshops will take place outside of usual working hours to allow for maximum participation and the one-to-one mentoring can be arranged to suit the participants.

Prior to the first workshop session, you will carry out a personal skills audit to identify your leadership and management skills gaps and identify possible mentor(s).

You will receive up to 6 hours of mentoring during the programme with a mentor of your choice who will be assigned to help you implement and develop your skills, allowing you both to discuss your development whilst on the job.

The workshops will take place across four half-days between October 2019 and January 2020. By the end of the workshop sessions you will have created a professional development plan identifying how to actively apply your newly acquired leadership and management skills.

Who will deliver the course?

The course will be delivered by Rachel Robey and Caroline Officer.

Rachel is a producer, and founder at Wellington Films, known for her work on multiple award-winning feature films such as London to Brighton, Calibre and The Levelling, and numerous successful short films. Rachel also has a strong background in physical production having worked in a freelance capacity on films including Control (Anton Corbijn, 2007), Skeletons (Nick Whitfield, 2010) and Dead Man’s Shoes (Shane Meadows, 2004). Between 2011 and 2017, Rachel was Film Programme Manager at the British Council where she leads on the development of film programmes in the Middle East /North Africa/Sub Saharan Africa and created the Hakaya Souria development programme, working with displaced Syrian filmmakers in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey.

Caroline is an award-winning television producer and teacher. As a producer, she spent 6 years at BBC Birmingham before moving to London to become the first Series Producer of Ready Steady Cook. She also helped devise the award-winning Can’t Cook, Won’t Cook. Caroline returned to Birmingham to open Endemol Midlands and led the production of over 1000 hours of television content. More recently she was the MA Television Production Course Director at Birmingham City University which she ran until June 2018. Caroline has extensive experience in leading large teams of filmmakers as well as being an experienced educator and trainer.

We strongly support the development of an inclusive workforce in film and television and welcome applications from under-represented groups, particularly those from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds and those who consider themselves disabled.

This training is supported by ScreenSkills using National Lottery funding awarded by the British Film Institute (BFI) as part of the Future Film Skills programme.

How to apply

Early applications are encouraged and will be considered before the deadline. The application deadline is midday on 16 September 2019. Applicants will be notified on or before 20 September 2019. Priority will be given to those based in the West Midlands.

Follow this link to apply.

There is a fee of £75 per person payable by participants for taking part in this course.

 

Source: www.screenskills.com

 

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ShortFuse logo

Submit Your Short Film to ShortFuse! Deadline August 31st

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Are you a filmmaker from or based in the West Midlands, with a short film you want to see on the big screen?

Submissions are now open for Film Birmingham’s next ShortFuse event on Tuesday 24th September 2019. Regional Filmmakers will be given the opportunity to screen their short films at the Mockingbird Cinema and Kitchen with an audience of their peers and film enthusiasts. Filmmakers from outside the region will also be considered if their submitted shorts were filmed in the West Midlands, or use predominantly regional crew or cast.

ShortFuse is a bi-monthly event, aiming to engage with regional audiences and provide a platform for the work of emerging filmmakers. Creatives will benefit from workshops, expert talks and professional feedback. We are accepting films of any genre from emerging or established filmmakers for this regional event.

Past Events

In July 2019, our programme included ‘Sylvia’, winner of the American Pavilion Emerging Filmmaker award at Cannes. David Poole, whose film ‘Visions’ was screened, took part in the Q&A along with other filmmakers. He said it was an “amazing evening for ShortFuse – terrific turnout, fantastic selection of films and a great atmosphere. Hugely positive feedback for Vision and I  loved being part of the Q&A afterwards… I’m still incredibly inspired.”

Our first ShortFuse event at the Mockingbird in May 2019 showcased six regional films, including the BAFTA-winning short 73 Cows, directed by Alex Lockwood. Audience members were invited to participate in a Q&A following the screening and to network at a post-event mingle.

According filmmaker Adam Palmer, whose short film Answer was featured on ShortFuse’s opening night, said: “It’s great that ShortFuse offers a platform to showcase the work of filmmakers who sometimes get overlooked in the Midlands. It’s often London and elsewhere. There are some really great films screened as well.

“If you have a short film, submit it. You get to watch it with an audience so you can gauge how your film is. A lot of the time you sit there one-on-one with your film and you don’t know how it’s going to be received. So it’s good to be part of a community of filmmakers and film lovers.”

Attendee Lee Davis said: “After seeing the regional films, it made me feel like filmmaking is something I could do. I thought the range of the films was very varied, and it was good to hear from BAFTA-winners. I had seen 73 cows online, but seeing it on the big screen I could concentrate more on technical aspects and shots. ”

To Submit

Deadline for ShortFuse submissions is midnight, August 31st, 2019.

Please email shortfuse@filmbirmingham.co.uk with a completed ShortFuse – Film Submission Form AND a viewing link for your short film. All films must be under 30 minutes. If selected, you will be asked to provide promotional materials including a trailer and stills and a hi-res version of your film, and a £25 screening fee.

Please email shortfuse@filmbirmingham.co.uk for any further information.

 

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Production Accounting Fast Track Training Programme – Deadline 9th September

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Do you know any assistant accountants, who would benefit from some additional training to progress their career?

This fast track training programme by Production Guild, devised due to industry demand, will give them the knowledge and confidence to make the transition to production accountancy positions in film and High-End TV. The programme will run over 5 weekends in September, October and November at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden Park. It is heavily subsidised by both the ScreenSkills Film Skills Fund and the High-end TV Skills Fund with contributions from UK film and high-end TV productions and is being delivered by the Production Guild in partnership with ITV Studios.

Trainees will not only benefit from invaluable training from Becca Wolf (Film) and Lucy Drake (TV) but also be offered 1:1 mentoring and development support to help progress their careers to the next level.

Cost: £550 + booking fee + VAT for all five weekends.

To apply click here or, download application forms directly here. For more information on the fast track training programme, email pg@productionguild.com. The application deadline is Monday 9th September at 12.00pm.