Digital media and film - News and events

Events | Featured projects | Announcements

See the Call for entries news page for digital media events and competitions.

Events

Animated - Online exhibition (National Portrait Gallery)

26 October 2007 - 31 December 2008

Animated is an online collection of self-portraits by 14 Australian artists. The animated self-portraits record an emotional and physical likeness of the artist as well as giving the online audience an insight into how each artist views themselves. The artists are Jo Boag, Pia Borg, Rick Bull, The Contextual Villains, Susan Danta, Paul Oslo Davis, Jonathan Daw, Anita Fontaine, Ian Haig, Troy Innocent, Anthony Lucas, Matt Taylor, Arlene TextaQueen and Tony Thorne.

Young Filmmaker NetTV! Holiday Workshop - Sydney

21-23 January 2009

The Young Filmmaker NetTV! Holiday Workshop offers participants the opportunity to create their own Internet TV channel. Participants aged 11 to 16 years old will be broken into small groups to brainstorm & produce content (talk show, commercials, drama, comedy, news, etc) for the channel. Metro Screen.

Tropfest - National

22 February 2009

Tropfest is regarded as one of Australia's most iconic cultural events, and the largest short film festival in the world. The 2009 Tropfest Signature Item (TSI) is SPRING - apt as the festival has been the spring board for launching many an aspiring Aussie filmmaker's career. Various venues.

Intensive short courses in photographic materials conservation - Melbourne

9-27 February 2009

These specialist photographic conservation courses are aimed at people with a suitable background and experience who wish to learn more about photographic materials conservation. For qualified conservators they provide the opportunity to build on existing knowledge and to develop specialist expertise in conservation of photographs and related materials. For people who do not have qualifications or experience in conservation, the courses provide the opportunity to gain new knowledge in this field. University of Melbourne, Parkville campus.

2009 National Screenwriters' Conference : Picture this: From idea to audience - Barossa Valley, South Australia

25-27 February 2009

Presented by the Australian Writers' Guild with the generous support of Arts SA, the 2009 National Screenwriters' conference brings together leading local and international screenwriters and industry professionals to develop creative and commercial partnerships, discuss current industry developments and analyse the creative process. Barossa Valley.

Setting the Scene - Melbourne

4 December 2008 - 19 April 2009

Setting the Scene lets you explore the sets of Baz Luhrmann's Australia, plus over 300 works that reveal the inspired designs behind cinema classics including Metropolis, Mon Oncle, A Clockwork Orange, Cabaret, Alien and The Matrix. Featuring original sketches, storyboards and models behind some of cinema's most recognisable worlds, Setting the Scene explores how the spaces of the silver screen are constructed, and how production design shapes the narrative and mood of a film. The exhibition highlights the role and creative processes of production designers, art directors and film architects from Australia and abroad throughout the history of cinema. Australian Centre for the Moving Image.

Media Art Exhibition: Experimenta Playground  - Adelaide, Perth, Bendigo, Albury

May 2008 - June 2009

Experimenta Playground showcases the latest work from Australia's leading media artists alongside media artworks from artists around the globe. The exhibition re-invents the gallery space as an environment of surprise and discovery exploring the notion that play is a means through which we are able to make sense of the world. In Experimenta Playground, media artists invite us to play and consider social behaviour, identity, the real/imagined, material/immaterial, and the role of play in life. Admission is free. Samstag Museum of Art Adelaide, WA Museum, Bendigo Art Gallery, Albury Library Museum.

Featured projects

iView

November 2008

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is publishing its daily broadcast content to the ABC's iView Internet TV service - all within minutes after the programs go to air.  The ABC's iView is the next phase of television broadcasting in Australia, featuring six channels that allow viewers to watch a variety of the ABC's TV programs over the Internet. iView is using Switch Media's innovative technology to capture, encode, and publish the content.

Landmark paper uncovers digital business models

October 2008

The Centre for Screen Business, in conjunction with Screenrights, has commissioned new media consultant Jennifer Wilson to write a white paper examining workable business models for the digital media space. 'If you're a filmmaker right now who is asking how do I go digital, this paper will hopefully give you some sense of the questions you need to answer to go digital. It will also present some problems and some relatively provocative solutions', Wilson said. She explained the paper will focus on how content creators can commercialise their content by putting it online, and by being relatively flexible about new models. Inside Film.

The Hero Project

October 2008

The Hero Project is a digital training program that supports communities and government departments to produce social media. The project's peer-education method results in entertaining and relevant videos, artworks and documentations. The Hero Project aims to involve communities and target audiences to deliver innovative media for social change. It facilitates the creation of peer-produced films to empower the participants learn new skills. The project promotes creativity, self-esteem and personal growth, relevant learning, collaborative peer education and excellence across a spectrum of new media areas.

MOVE: Video art in schools - Sydney

9 September 2008

One of Australia's most significant collectors and benefactors of contemporary art, John Kaldor, launches the 2008 MOVE: Video art in schools project at the Art Gallery of NSW. This is the second in a three part DVD box set of 12 video art works by leading Australian artists. In collaboration with NSW Dept of Education & Training and the Art Gallery of NSW, the set includes the video works and supporting material for teachers and students required for syllabus. Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Announcements

Black Balloon sweeps six AFIs

6 December 2008

The L'Oréal Paris AFI Awards celebrated 50 years of pride and passion in a ceremony at Melbourne's Princess Theatre. Over 1,500 members of the film and television industry attended the lavish black tie event, which was hosted by Stephen Curry and broadcast on the Nine Network. The Black Balloon, which was nominated in 11 AFI Award categories, received the prestigious L'Oréal Paris AFI Award for Best Film.

Adelaide film fund results in 11 premieres

5 December 2009

The 2009 BigPond Adelaide Film Festival will world premiere eleven new Australian films from established and emerging Australian filmmakers, including five features, one feature documentary, five short films, and for the first time a moving image art installation, all of which have received funding from the Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund.

Sydney grad film wins Croatian prize

3 December 2008

Sydney Film School graduate Brian Lien has won the Grand Prix at the 4th One Take Film Festival in Zagreb Croatia for his short film 7:23. The film was shot in 2007 as Lien's graduation thesis film for Sydney Film School (SFS), winning the SFS Chairman's Award at the annual school film festival.

Jameson film wins at Bondi Shorts

3 December 2008

Amateur film writer Van Badham is celebrating yet another success in her short film writing career after picking up two awards for Best Production Design and Best Music at the 2009 Bondi Short Film Festival on Saturday night. Badham's script Octopus, one of three films to be produced by Jameson Irish Whiskey's film production arm John Jameson Productions, premiered alongside two other short films at a gala event in Sydney in November.

Australia rings in $7.78 million

1 December 2008

Baz Luhrmann's epic fourth film Australia grossed $6.37 million at the Australian box office over the weekend, starting its own epic trip towards its goal of beating the $57m gross of Titanic. The film grossed a per screen average of $9,913 on 643 screens from Thursday to Sunday, which pushed its domestic total to $7.78m.

Overall Australian film and television production up

2 December 2008

The value of Australia's film and television drama production for 2007-08 overall was up 7 percent on the previous year according to a Screen Australia report released today. The annual national survey of feature film and television drama production appears to be a good indicator for the state and strength of the film and television industry.

Growing internet ads bleed newspaper revenues

27 November 2008

Australian newspapers would lose up to $1 billion in revenue in the next four years as classified advertising continued to migrate online. EL&C Bailleau stockbrokers research head Ivor Ries told the Future of Journalism conference in Melbourne Australia's main newspaper companies had lost $450 million in classified advertising revenue in the past four years.

Black Balloon wins APSA Best Children's Feature

11 November 2008

Winners of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, the region's highest accolade in film in 2008, were announced at a special ceremony on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The Black Balloon won Best Children's Feature Film.

Nylon Studios wins silver in London

11 November 2008

Nylon Studios in Sydney has won recognition for Original Music Scoring with a Silver Statue at the London International Awards ceremony held on November 10, 2008. The award was given in recognition of music composed by Sydney musician Elliott Wheeler for the extended Herringbone television commercial, Henri's Hands.

Ushering in the golden age of cinema

22 November 2008

ONE OF Sydney's few remaining art-deco cinemas, the Randwick Ritz has survived home entertainment, tough film distributors, legal challenges, council parking restrictions, even its owners. In 1997 they beat a legal challenge from Hoyts to add three cinemas into the adjoining building and in 2001 built another two on the other side - the modern additions complementing the main art-deco building. The Ritz has also preserved reasonable prices, with adults charged $11 ($3.50 less than your average multiplex) and confectionary deals.

Mary & Max to open Sundance

20 November 2008

Mary and Max, the animated feature by the Oscar-winning team of writer/director Adam Elliot and producer Melanie Coombs has been selected to open the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. This is the first time in the history of Sundance that an Australian film has been selected to open the festival.

Bondi Shorts announce finalists

19 November 2008

The 8th Annual Bondi Short Film Festival has received more than 190 film entries, making it the festival's largest ever haul. However, there can only be 15 finalists for this year's festival. The finalists include Multiple Choice, written by Ian Thomson, directed by Mike Goode and produced by Karen Watson; Pigeon Men, written, directed and produced by Marryanne Christodoulou; and Opposites Attract written and directed by Karen Kong and Matt Seeto, produced by Andi Spark.

Glass documentary short-listed for Oscar nominations

19 November 2008

AFI award-winning director Scott Hicks (Shine) has moved a step closer to another Oscar nomination as his documentary, Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts, gets short-listed to compete for the final five nomination places at the 81st Academy Awards. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that 15 films in the Documentary Feature category will advance in the voting process for the 81st Academy Awards, after short-listing from a record of 94 qualified films.

Ruth Harley starts Screen Australia role

17 November 2008

Dr Ruth Harley has commenced work as Screen Australia's first Chief Executive Officer. Dr Harley brings more than 20 years experience in the film and television industries to the role. Most recently she was CEO of the New Zealand Film Commission where she has overseen the strengthening of support for New Zealand filmmaking.

Men's Group helps itself to top IF Award

14 November 2008

Men's Group, a little known film about a bunch of blokes attending self-help meetings, has been named the Best Feature Film at the Inside Film (IF) Awards. The film, directed by Michael Joy, picked up three of the top awards at the ceremony on the Gold Coast last night, including best feature film, best script and best actor for Grant Dodwell.

Australian filmmaker wins Experimental Witch Competition

11 November 2008

The Australian film Heron's Story from Tamarch Productions has won first prize from 6,000 film entries in Paulo Coelho's international 'Experimental Witch Film Competition'. Film makers were required to base their story on one of the 14 narrators in Coelho's novel, The Witch of Portobello.

48 Hour Film Project winners announced

7 November 2008

Melbourne's 48 Hour Film Project awards were held at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) with a crowd of 360 guests in attendance. The project saw over 24 teams of filmmakers take on the challenge of creating a 4-7 minute film for cash prizes and a $19,000 diploma scholarship by SAE Institute. The overall winner was Sunshower, by Tom Booth. More winners.

Cannes Scout Returns to Australia

October 2008

Christian Jeune, Deputy General Delegate and Australian scout for Cannes Official Selection (In Competition, Out of Competition and Un Certain Regard) will return to Australia in early December 2008. Mr Jeune will be in Australia to view new feature films that meet the selection criteria for potential preselection for the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. The Screen Australia website provides a screening history of Australian films at Cannes, plus other festival information to assist filmmakers in preparing their marketing plans.

Queensland Premier's National New Media Art Award

October 2008

The $75,000 Queensland Premier's National New Media Art Award is a new initiative for artists working in new media. The artists short-listed for the inaugural award are Peter Alwast (QLD), Julie Dowling (WA), Anita Fontaine (QLD/NL), David Haines and Joyce Hinterding (NSW), Natalie Jeremijenko (QLD/USA), Adam Nash (VIC), Sam Smith (NSW), John Tonkin (NSW) and Mari Velonaki (NSW). These artists are working with a range of new technologies including digital photography, high-definition video, 3D animation, environmental design, artificial intelligence, internet-based platforms, gaming and cutting edge scientific imaging equipment.

Screen Australia: comments invited on draft program guidelines

October 2008

Screen Australia has released draft guidelines for comment covering development support, production financing and Indigenous programs. Draft guidelines aim to make applications for support simpler and speed up decision times, reflecting Screen Australia's commitment to be more flexible and easier for industry to deal with. The agency also intends to engage the industry more broadly in various assessment processes. Comments on the draft programs are invited until 14 November 2008.

Telecommunications today: Internet activity and content

October 2008

Email, on-line banking, paying bills and news and weather updates are the most common uses of the Internet by Australians this year, according to research by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). Report 6 in a series on telecommunications examines consumer adoption of the Internet and the impact this is having on the growth of the digital economy in Australia. With 73 per cent of Australian households now having access to the Internet, the report found that, overall, household Internet users are accessing the Internet more frequently, with an increasing number recording 'heavy' use (eight or more times per week).

The Funk, Black Balloon nominated at Screen Music Awards

13 October 2008

The Ang Fang Quartet's score for short film The Funk (2008, dir. Cris Jones) has been nominated for Best Music for a Short Film in the 2008 APRA-AGSC Screen Music Awards. After premiering at the opening night of the St Kilda Film Festival in May this year, The Funk has already garnered a number of awards, and has been accepted into several international film festivals. In addition, director Cris Jones has a guernsey in this year's IF Awards, being nominated for the EFilm IF Award for Rising Talent.

Young Filmmakers Fund changes focus

10 October 2008

In a shift in emphasis to better build career-paths in the New South Wales screen industry, the Film and Television Office's long-running Young Filmmakers Fund program will in future target 'emerging' rather than 'young' filmmakers. Renamed the Emerging Filmmakers Fund, the program now has no upper age limit. Instead, preference will be given to applicants who can demonstrate their commitment to a career in screen content creation.

Screen Music Award nominations announced

10 October 2008

The nominations for 2008 Screen Music Awards feature an eclectic group of musicians who run the gamut of experience - from well-established screen composers which include David Hirschfelder, Burkhard Dallwitz, Clive Harrison, Art Phillips, Roger Mason, Guy Gross, Christopher Elves and Cezary Skubiszewski to up and coming artists Chris Lilley, Bryony Marks, Caitlin Yeo and Greg Walker. The winners will be announced on 3 November 2008.

Synapse Residencies 2007/08

October 2008

The Synapse Residencies place Australian artists into science and research settings to pursue collaborative projects with benefits accruing to both the resident and the host organisation. Drawn from a very strong field, the following four residencies were supported: Kirsty Boyle - at the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Lab, University of Zurich (Switzerland); Madeleine Flynn & Tim Humphrey - at the Garvan Institute, Sydney (Australia); Tina Gonsalves - at the University of Brighton & Sussex Medical School and the Centre for Neuroimaging, Wellcome Trust, London (UK) and; Gregory Hooper - at the Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland (Australia). The residencies are delivered in partnership with the Australia Council for the Arts.

Inside Film Award nominations announced

1 October 2008

The 10th annual Inside Film Awards kicked off with a bang today, with the announcement of the 2008 IF Award nominees at the Water Bar in Woolloomooloo, Sydney. The Black Balloon leads the way with 10 nominations, including a nod for the SHOWTIME IF Award for Best Feature Film. Joining them in the race for the SHOWTIME IF Award for Best Feature Film are independent films Men's Group and Son of a Lion.

Key online resources

• Australian Centre for the Moving Image
• Australian Network for Art and Technology (ANAT)
• Metro Screen
• UNESCO Young Digital Creators (YDC) Educator's Kit
• ScreenWest

Collection resources and online publications

• The Liquid Edition - filmmaking resources
• australianscreen
• Australian film reviews by Urban Cinefile
• Inside Film

Institutions and government organisations

• National Film and Sound Archive
• Australian Film Institute Award Winners
• Australian Film, Television and Radio School
• Open Channel
• VCA School of Film and TV
• Screen Australia

Peak bodies and associations

• Australian Cinematographers Society
• Australian Screen Editors Guild
• Australian Writers' Guild
• The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance
• Screenrights: copyright collection agency for rights holders in film and television
• Game Developers' Association of Australia

People

• Popcorn Taxi
• Friends of the ABC
• Flickerfest
• Holy Smoke Articles - Oz fx: in effect, the best

Featured websites/projects

• Women in Film and Television NSW

Other resources

• Reskin - wearable technology
• Australian Computer Society
• Mobile Entertainment Growth Alliance
• National ICT Australia
• Multimedia Victoria
• Tech News Review