The complex future of TV
The advent of digital technologies has redefined the media landscape, not least our concept of television. As consumers embrace content across multiple platforms, industry stakeholders must continue innovating to stay in the game. Brett Savill, strategy and corporate development director for Broadcast Australia writes. Read more »
Summer Coda sold out at MIFF
Richard Gray’s romantic Summer Coda will premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival and has become the first session to be sold out.
The film, which stars Rachael Taylor, Alex Dimitriades, Susie Porter, Jacki Weaver, Nathan Philliips, Angus Sampson and Cassandra Magrath, will be released on October 21.
Margaret Pomeranz to deliver Hector Crawford lecture
Margaret Pomeranz has been chosen to deliver the Hector Crawford Memorial Lecture at the opening of the Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA) conference.
“Margaret has been a great supporter of the Australian industry through her television programs. She has a genuine enthusiasm for local film production and her involvement in Spectrum, one of the industry’s senior post-production houses, has given her rare insight into the vicissitudes of filmmaking,” said SPAA’s executive director Geoff Brown about the decision. Read more »
AFI Awards announce non-feature nominees
The AFI has announced its nominees for the non-feature categories including best documentary, animated short and fiction short. Read more »
Amazon publishes self-distribution white paper
US online giant Amazon.com has published a white paper on self-distribution, to promote the services of its CreateSpace division for independent filmmakers worldwide.
“The ability to set up and distribute films is available to filmmakers worldwide. Filmmakers want to understand the how their products will be listed on Amazon.com and how they can track sales and royalties,” Mike Haney, director of content Aquisition for CreateSpace, told Encore. Read more »
The Loved Ones
After a number of delays, Sean Byrne’s horror masterpiece (note from the editor: it really is!) will be in cinemas on September 30.
The trailer has finally been released.
$15m for films and TV
Screen Australia has announced an investment of $15m on 13 productions, including a German/Australian co-production directed by Cate Shortland and development for Bruce Beresford, Sarah Watt and Phillip Noyce projects.
In terms of films, Fred Schepisi’s The Eye of the Storm - which began production without financial support from Screen Australia – is one of the beneficiaries. Read more »
Offset is not enough: Screen Australia
Screen Australia made public its submission to the 2010 industry review last night at a seminar in Sydney.
“The Producer Offset cannot work alone [...] For the Offset to reach its potential, Screen Australia requires more direct funding to allow increased support for medium-budget films and authored documentaries,” said CEO Ruth Harley. Read more »
Trailers, more relevant than ever
Zealot trailer editor and creative director Simon Greet will return to the company’s Sydney office after a year in Los Angeles and New York, and he says the internet has made film trailers more relevant than ever.
“The advent of the internet and the proliferation of trailer sites has created a huge market and appreciation for trailers. They are now an artform in and of themselves, and the online trailer communities are hugely important as key audiences,” Greet told Encore. Read more »
Draft legislation for PDV/Location offset changes
Assistant Treasurer Nick Sherry and Minister for Environment Protection, Heritage and the Arts Peter Garrett have released draft legislation for the PDV/Location offset changes announced in the 2010/11 budget.
The changes – PDV expenditure reduction from $5m to $500,000, and elimination of the Location Offset’s requirement of 70 percent Australian spend of total production budget for $15-50m projects – apply to productions as of July 1. Read more »