Screen West Midlands Blogs

Borderlines Film Festival in full swing!

blogs@screenwm.co.uk — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 11:31:50 GMT

So here I am at the largest rural film festival in Britain basking in a the first rays of Spring sunshine at The Courtyard as I wait to head into 'Bigger Pictures Bigger Ideas' a showcase of short films by students from Hereford Art College.

Screen WM have been consistent investment partners of Borderlines Film Festivals over a number of years and it's evident from the range of audiences coming along to both screenings and workshops that this is one of THE highlights of the regions cultural calendar! This year Screen WM also partnered with BAFTA to bring director Chris Atkins to the festival and yesterdays highlight for me was his hugely engaging and informative workshop at Hereford Media Centre during which he explained in very real terms some of the challenges about developing a career within an ever changing film industry. Usefully for the audience of largely students he also imparted a whole toolset of tips and advice about how to avoid the pitfalls. So a big thanks to Chris for lessons learnt!

I also managed to catch two of his recent movies-Starsuckers and Taking Liberties which are well worth a watch-Just be sure to take along an open mind and a willingness to embrace some serious satire!

Guest Blog: The Engine Room - Charlie Phillips

blogs@screenwm.co.uk — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 09:54:40 GMT

We're really delighted to be coming to the region in March to deliver the first West Midlands version of our Engine Room documentary pitching workshop. These workshops have spread to more regions of the UK since we started doing the in 2008, and we're happy that now WM people get to have their ideas and their pitching styles workshopped with us.

So what's in it for you? Well, we always get rave reviews for these from participants, because over the 2 days of the workshop, you get to completely immerse yourself in your factual creative ideas and those of the others on the course. This isn't a simple 'deliver it and get a bit of feedback' kind of event, this is a fully supportive atmosphere where you can work with us and with your peers to really strike at the heart of why you want to make your chosen doc and what you can do with it to make it very magical. It's genuinely revelatory - you'll feel a lot more confident in yourself as a filmmaker and as a person as well as more confident in your creative instincts.

How do I know? Because it simply always works that way, for every single workshop participant! And don't just take my word for it - we also invite 2 national TV commissioning editors to hear your pitches on the 2nd day, and they love it too. This isn't the normal pitching hothouse with its false situations and theatrical reactions, it's a real creative discussion with honest guidance, and you'll come out with an enriched knowledge of how your ideas fit into the current doc market, just as the Comm Eds will come out with a much greater and more honest sense of the talent that's bubbling through WM doc-makers.

It's not just about developing yourself and your ideas either, it's also about meeting with other documentary and factual people from the region of all levels of experience and all kinds of interests, and learning from each other. You might meet your future co-production partner, or you might just get some really good tip-offs on where to go for locations, characters and story development from each other. For our part we'll tell you all about what the international doc market is looking like right now, and this event will be the first step in a long relationship between us as we mentor you and your ideas all the way through to the next Sheffield Doc/Fest in November 2010, and beyond. Because this isn't just 2 days, this is the start of a whole mentoring and documentary training and help programme we want to give you.

So what are you waiting for? Sign up and you're getting the best ongoing documentary advice and training you can get in the UK right now. I guarantee it - you won't be disappointed, and you will feel creatively empowered. We want more WM documentary makers to get their docs financed at Doc/Fest this year. This workshop is how you're going to make that happen.

Building worlds

blogs@screenwm.co.uk — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:00:56 GMT

Aside from film, TV and animation in their many guises I also harbour a bit of a gaming habit - stretching back to coding dodgy monochrome car-jumping (no, really) games for a second-hand Acorn Electron. So it was that I came to lay my hands on a shiny new copy of BioShock 2 this week.

As a huge fan of the first, BAFTA-winning game, I couldn't wait to get the sequel. In the long months awaiting the release, I had cause to ponder on what exactly I was so excited about. For the uninitiated, the game is a first-person shooter - the same format as Modern Warfare 2 or, if you prefer your cultural references slightly more old-skool, Doom say. So it's hardly a ground-breaking form for a videogame. Many have written at length about BioShock's ground-breaking storytelling - and indeed, both games feature rich, layered storylines of sorts, although bound by the fairly linear progression of an FPS, the vast majority of the actual storytelling is done through audio diaries littered around the environment which use expositionary dialogue - that great enemy of the screenwriter - to fill in the gaps of your understanding of what happened before you arrived.

It struck me, then, that what I really looked forward to when bringing the new game home was returning to the world of the game. Like GTA's Liberty City, BioShock's environment - a haunting, decrepit underwater metropolis, the brainchild of Ayn Rand-ian visionary Andrew Ryan, called Rapture - is a character all in its own right. Beautifully realised in art-deco overtones and ridden with the debris of its own recent, tragic downfall - deranged citizens driven mad by genetic experimentation, their mad scawls painted all over the walls - the city literally brings the story to life, and without its locale, it's no doubt the game would be far less distinctive.

Thinking of the time and effort that went into realising such a complete, coherent location (or series of locations) got me thinking about what cross-media proponents such as Lance Weiler talk about when describing their projects: this isn't screenwriting, not scripting for a film or television show or any other singular vessel with its well-defined parameters, script layouts and conventions. This is world-building, and for creatives, the blurring of lines between films, games, ARGs, web spin-offs via videos, blogs etc, and print media presents both a challenge, but also a huge opportunity: you are not the creator simply of a packaged story, but of a world, within which any number of iterations of stories might take place. When dreaming up characters, they must be able to interact not simply with each other according to a predefined narrative structure in, say, a film script, but also to exist in other forms all within the same story-world - they might have a blog, or maybe like the citizens of Rapture, they leave audio or video diaries dotted around. Maybe they turn up in 'real life'.

Daunting, yes. Head-dizzying, certainly. But as Matt Locke quipped at a digital conference I once went to: "It's always surprised me when the film industry talks about interactivity being the future of the industry, but not being sure how to go about it. The games industry has been doing it for 20 years!"

3D Systems

blogs@screenwm.co.uk — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:04:12 GMT

I've recently heard about a unique once only opportunity to take a look at and compare all the cinema 3D systems that currently exist for exhibitors.

With interest in 3D at an all time high largely due to the huge success of Avatar, the Cinema Exhibitors Association (CEA) have developed an industry conference to showcase the technologies currently available. There will be a chance to road test some of these systems as well as time to talk with current users about technical practicalities and costs.

A panel of expert industry speakers will also be present to offer advice. Phil Clapp, Chief Executive of the CEA will be introducing the conference and expert speakers will include, Peter Hall of Future Projections and Richard Philips from Arts Alliance Media.

This 3D Systems event is intended to give exhibitors the information needed to make decisions on purchasing 3D equipment now or in the future and I'd really recommend that regional partners consider checking out the programme.

For further details check out this link: //www.cinemauk.org.uk/usr/downloads/3dcinema_final.pdf

Education Meeting Business

blogs@screenwm.co.uk — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 11:55:04 GMT

In these challenging economic times it’s becoming increasingly important to develop innovative and sustainable business models for the regions creative industries. That said, I thought it was worth flagging up a FREE forthcoming lunch event called ‘Where Education Meets Business’ which is taking place at Conference Aston in Birmingham on Friday 22nd January.

Warwick Manufacturing Group founder Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya has been confirmed as the keynote speaker and is cited in the press as ‘arguably the most influential individual in the battle to transform the West Midlands economy.’ Andy Coyne-Editor of Midlands Business Insider described him as ‘committed to science, research, innovation and development’ and a ‘passionate supporter of universities and businesses working together for the greater economic good.’

This could be a great chance for cultural and creative sector SME’s to hear Lord Bhattacharyya’s thoughts, speak to other regional business about their experiences in this area and find out how universities in the West Midlands can help creative business to grow. I know that many of our partners are already closely linked with HE but for those who aren’t this could be a useful starting point for researching options around (for example) subsidised employment of post-graduates.

People working in universities and those offering services to businesses will be in attendance to explain what they offer, how much it costs and how it could help your business!

The lunch will bring together senior education figures with business owners such as yourselves to discuss how academia and the business community are working together and look at ways in which the current networks can be strengthened for the good of the regional economy!

For further details just follow this link!

http://www.insidermedia.com/event_registration/spark_where_business_meets_education_2010/index.html

Santa's New Business Model

blogs@screenwm.co.uk — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:19:37 GMT

Having spent much of the past year or two banging on relentlessly about the need to explore new business models in order to stay relevant in the digital age, I figured it was about time I turned my attention to someone who most desperately needs to re-evaluate his current offering. Santa has pretty much had it all his own way around Christmas time for about as long as anyone can remember. But times are changing and we live in different times now. So here's a few things that the big guy might want to think about ...

IP Protection
It seems that dodgy copies of Santa are two-a-penny. Look on every high street, in every department store and marketplace and you'll see some half-arsed Santa rip-off in a fake cotton-wool beard, giving some poor kid a wholly unsatisfactory Santa experience and ho-ho-ho-ing all the way to the bank. These pirate Santas are seriously tarnishing the Claus brand. He needs to protect his IP and come down hard on these guys. Anyone found guilty of passing off a dodgy Santa on - say - three separate occasions should have their chimneys, letterboxes and doorbells bricked up so they can't receive any more Christmas deliveries. OK, it means they won't be able to receive any other vital post either, but that's a small price to pay for protecting Santa's IP, right?

Naughty & Nice Lists
The world's population is growing at an alarming rate and - somehow - Santa still has to stay on top of exactly who is naughty and nice. How does he do this for 6.8 billion people? We have to assume he has some sort of sophisticated spyware that allows him to listen in on conversations, online chats, emails, letters etc. If he's not doing so already, I'd recommend he employs some sentiment analysis algorithms that wil automatically filter people into the relevant list. Sure there's going to be a margin of error on this. So if you find yourself getting a lump of coal for Christmas when - in fact - you've been a saint all year, this is probably why.

Open Data Standards
OK ... so Santa has a list that includes everyone in the world and specifies whether they are naughty or nice? That's pretty valuable data right there. I think we should start a campaign to get him to make this data publicly available and in a usable format. There could be some pretty cool stuff coming out of this. I'm thinking a Santa's Naughty List / They Work For You mash-up. FOI anyone?

Distribution
While Santa is shipping toys by the sackful via his quaint, but somewhat outdated, Sleigh and Reindeer system from his sole outlet in the geographically-challenged North Pole, Amazon is kinda stealing a march. Seriously, Santa. Check out their distribution network. And maybe partner up with some local specialist merchants across the globe too. And how about digital distribution? There are more houses, flats and apartments with broadband these days than there are with chimneys. Fact!

Monetisation
What exactly is Santa's business model? From what I can make out, he gives away whatever you want and doesn't get anything back in return - except for the occasional glass of milk, cookies and the odd mince pie. Granted, this has allowed him to build up one hell of a user-base, but sooner or later he's going to have to start converting those users into paying customers. I suspect Twitter and Facebook will be watching his next step very closely.

Any more tips for Christmas 2.0? Post them in comments here and we'll make sure Santa gets them. In the meantime, may I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and all the best for 2010.

Looking back on 2009

blogs@screenwm.co.uk — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 11:23:35 GMT

It's been a little while since I last posted here, so thought I'd take this opportunity to pick out some highlights from another year in the West Midlands screen media scene. No apologies for it being highly selective, subjective and omissive by its very nature, and to bring some kind of order I've arbitrarily split stuff into rough 'sectors' I work across day-to-day...

Shorts come of age

On the short film side of things, 2009 kicked off with a small delegation of filmmakers to Clermont-Ferrand - an eye-opening trip to arguably the world's premiere short film festival (and only shorts market). If you're a filmmaker and you don't know Clermont, go and do some homework - it's the best place to meet festival programmers, buyers from broadcasters, distributors and sales agents, and like-minded international producers who could just be your next collaboration. Read more about our exploits in Clermont here.

No recap of short film in the Midlands would be complete without mentioning our very owndigishorts, and 2009 saw one of our strongest slates yet, mixing prison drama (Lewis Arnold'sStained) with pathos-laden comedy (Dominic Coleman's The Surfer) via tragi-comic documentary (Nerina Villa's Ladies Loos), touching drama (Anna Shelton's Trolley) and high-octane sports action (Simon Bovey's Studs). The filmmakers are now busily sending screeners across the globe looking to kick-start some strong festival runs, and we'll keep you posted.

2009 also saw our inaugural 4mations co-commission in the guise of the Brothers McLeod'sMoonbird - shaping up to be a beautiful fairytale expanding on Myles and Greg's previous (prolific) work.

Meanwhile digishorts from previous years continued to excel with John Maidens' Caterpillar picking up an RTS Award and James Lees' The Apology Line continuing to astound audiences, screening at the Encounters Short Film Festival complete with live director's commentary (a format I hope to see adopted at other shorts screenings very soon - a brilliant format and so much more engaging than a Q&A) and popping up in 4Docs' '15 Short Docs to watch before you make one' hotlist.

We're heads-down in the last few days of 2009 reading through submissions to this year's digishorts scheme, with the most applications we've ever received. Keep an eye out in the New Year when we announce the projects shortlisted for further development and intensive training, before the final 6 films get commissioned in the spring.

Features in the spotlight

This year also saw the release of another raft of features produced in the West Midlands, starting with Geoff Thompson's hard-hitting Clubbed (a feature-length treatment of the 2002 BAFTA-nominated short Bouncer). Hot on its heels came teen horror Tormented, shot entirely in Birmingham.

More recently Penny Woolcock's 1 Day caused a storm when certain cinemas chose not to screen the film over security fears; if you didn't get a chance to see the film and want to make up your own mind, look out for the DVD release soon. In addition to casting and crewing largely from the streets of Handsworth, with support from Screen WM and the National Film & Television School the production also offered filmmaking training to many of the individuals involved and a slate of short films were produced as part of the process, four of which made it onto Channel 4 as part of the 3 Minute Wonders strand. Again, look out for opportunities to catch these wonderful stories in the New Year.

Just last month the last major West Midlands feature release of 2009, Nativity!, opened to rapturous audiences across the UK. Written and directed by Debbie Isitt, the film was set and filmed largely in Coventry, and stars Martin Freeman, Ashley Jensen and Alan Carr amongst others. That's one you can still catch in your local cinema right now - go see!

Drama comes home

It wasn't just feature films shooting in the region in 2009; this year we also saw two major primetime drama series, Survivors and Hustle, bring their latest series' productions to the region from Manchester and London respectively. Working closely with Film Birmingham we helped the teams settle in, crew up and find the best locations and facilities to make the productions run as smoothly as possible. Productions of this scale bring huge benefits to a region not just through economic impact but through employing crew, using local facilities and raising a region's profile in industry and the wider public perception, and we hope to see many more shows come to Birmingham and the wider region in the years to come.

Skills, Skills, Skills

In 2009 we continued our investment in the West Midlands Producers Forum, which goes from strength to strength and now features a redesigned website with lots of new features and members-only content plus a great line-up of high-level events in the coming months. Recognising the importance of industry-specific and credible continued professional development of the variety offered by the Producers Forum, for the first time this year we've also invested in the Animation Forum West Midlands and Script to extend the same support out to animation professionals and screenwriters, respectively.

Reading the tea leaves

In addition to all the stuff listed above, an overriding theme for 2009 seems to have been future-gazing - in a climate of recession, technological disruption and evolving audience habits, everyone from small businesses to policy-makers is desperate to get to the bottom of where it's all heading and make the smart decisions now to be best-prepared for The Future. As an agency here to support industry this presents a clear challenge, since if we're really honest we don't have any of the answers - and so instead over the past year we've tried to make sure we're hosting the right conversations at the right time, whilst allowing space for creative businesses to evolve and adapt at their own pace and on their own terms. Events like Power to the Pixel and Rustling Brands were examples of how we're trying to listen to industry's questions and solve them together through collaboration and discussion, and I hope to see more of these kinds of discussions being held, but at the end of the day I also know the true 'future direction' won't be set by agencies like ours, but by industry itself and the incredibly talented, creative individuals that make up the creative industries.

So, as we head into the holiday break, 2010 perhaps looks set not to hold any firm answers, but hopefully we are at least closer to knowing the questions. Have a great break for those lucky enough to get one, and see you in 2010.

Rustling Brands - a review of the event and insight into AFP

blogs@screenwm.co.uk — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:38:32 GMT

In the current difficult economic climate, any means of funding programme production is welcomed by producers and broadcasters. Royal Television Society Midlands Centre continued its collaboration with media and creative business organizations in the region to produce this day conference with partners Advantage West Midlands, Business Link West Midlands, and ScreenWM, to bring together panels of experts with views and experience in this emerging funding system. Produced by Mars Elkins, the sessions were well constructed to make it a learning experience for the sell out audience of over 100 people.

The day began with a session that examined The Basics of the new area. Chaired by Digital Strategist, Rachel Mordecia, Speakers Zoe Fuller, Head of Planning, Thinkbox, Ben Kerr, Content Director, Drum PHD, Katherine Marlow, Content Partnership ITV, Jo Rosenfelder, Commercial Affairs Director Maverick TV and Drew Wilkins – Fish in a Bottle. Examined - AFP – what it is and what it is not.

The consensus seemed to be that it was about the successful liaison of a brand, a programme idea, the right programme maker and broadcaster and the resulting programme, enhancing the reputation of the brand by its association with the programme and vice-versa. Therefore, as Ben Kerr revealed, 90% of AFP ideas do not make it to television. AFP offers a different business model requiring close collaboration and its benefits if everything goes well are worth the effort.

During the afternoon session – Routes to Market a new panel came from a different perspective David Bausola, Ag8 chaired the session and Dan’l Hewitt Head of Digital Content, Bebo, Luke Hyams, Writer/Director, Dubplate Drama and Graham Sergeant, Codemasters moved to discussing different uses of the form. Web delivery and social networking as part of the emergent areas for branded funded content emphasized the importance of being part of new platforms and reaching new audiences. Gaming and 0n-line dramas being an area of content could be utilized on different platforms.

In the last session a number of Case Studies were discussed with Ben Drew giving details of the Krypton Factor being an example of the ideal liaison of the relevant participants.
Sage Business Software wanted to get their name out to all manner of businesses. ITV were interested in bringing back Krypton Factor as a programme, and DrumPHD worked to bring the relationship to fruition. Additional benefits were offered to audiences and the liaison was successful for all the parties concerned. What came out of that example was that relationships with Commissioners remains at the heart of every possible production and that whatever the product, idea, platform, relationships and collaborations will only work if they are offering all the participants what they need and ultimately what enhances their own businesses. ITV were already interested in bringing back Krypton Factor and the relationship enhanced the brand of Sage.

At the end of the conference, delegates agreed that this had been a day of outstanding benefit. Everyone had learned a great deal about the area and found the experience rewarding at both an intellectual and business level.

Written by Dorothy Hobson

Online Safety-A Green Cross Code

blogs@screenwm.co.uk — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:43:17 GMT

The internet is offering young people new ways of accessing and also producing a host of content and information. So at this stage in the ongoing evolution of the digital world how can we help them to get the best of everything that the web has to offer? Whilst the internet is all about democracy of knowledge share and creative engagement there’s also a whole array of misinformation available (take the recent issues around the advertising of the movie 2012 where people really believed that the end of the world was nigh!) so it’s becoming increasingly important to ensure that the place shapers of tomorrow understand (from primary school age) how to use information ethically, engage safely and also develop a sound appreciation of all the commercial messages.

The Associate Parliamentary Media Literacy Group (myself included) met yesterday to discuss ways that educators can help children to understand digital information better-During the session Marina Palomba-Media Smart Director spoke about the new Media Smart resources that they launched in late November. Digital Adwise comprises a set of free online lessons which will allow children to learn about digital content in a fun and engaging way whilst also teaching them to think critically about online advertising. It also responds to public concerns about children's exposure to online advertising. All primary schools can access this FREE programme at www.digitaladwise.mediasmart.org.uk It’s been supported by Mars, Kellogs, McDonalds, BTHA, Ferrero, Lego, Mattell and Hasbro, and is championed by the wider advertising industry, including the IPA. It’s the latest addition to the industry's media literacy programme Media Smart; a non-profit media literacy programme for school children aged six to 11 years of age which develops and provides free educational materials to primary schools to teach core media literacy skills www.mediasmart.org.uk

The UK Council for Child Internet Safety set up after Tanya Byron’s review of inappropriate material on the web has also launched the UK’s first Child Internet Safety Strategy called Click Clever Click Safe aimed at educating primary school children about online safety. As part of the new strategy, internet service providers will be independently reviewed to ensure that they’re doing their bit to keep children safe online. The Strategy will also require social networking sites, schools, charities and retailers to adhere to a ‘digital code’ with the aim that by 2011 all primary aged children will be taught about online safety from the age of five.

So it’s back to education again and the essential role that we can all play in supporting young people to get the most out of everything that the web has to offer!

Guest Blog: The Pharaoh of Film – Khaled El Hagar – profiled by Professor Roger Shannon

blogs@screenwm.co.uk — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:46:07 GMT

New York African Diaspora Film Festival Honours the Birmingham Feature Film Director Khaled El Hagar

Khaled El Hagar is that rare thing - a Birmingham based international feature film director. Acknowledged in his home country Egypt as the most controversial movie maker of his generation, Khaled lives quietly for half of the year in Kings Heath, in Birmingham, where he has established himself as the city's leading auteur.

Since his move to Birmingham in the late nineteen eighties, Khaled has been a major figure on the film scene in the city, presenting his new films in the then annual Birmingham International Film Festival, picking up awards at the same Festival, and passing on advice and tips to younger film makers. Recent years have seen a renewal of support for his film making ambitions in Cairo, where he has been filming almost back to back for the past few years on a range of multi award winning movies, and re establishing himself as an A list Director in the Arabic market.

It was his London set and UK financed film, ROOM TO RENT, that brought Khaled's talents to the attention of the international film world, a film that, when Head of Production at the BFI http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/1348538/index.html I had the pleasure of developing with Khaled and then of helping Producer Ildiko Kemeny to raise the finance. The Film Consortium backed the film, with Julie Baines as Executive Producer.
Trailer for ROOM TO RENT

Since then Khaled El Hagar has built his artistic career shared between his native Egypt and the UK. It is the depth and the range of his films that resonate with audiences, as he shuttles between cultures and genres with an ease and a versatility, taking in comedies, dance films, popular musicals, and contemporary dramas with a social cutting edge, and all filmed with Khaled’s palate of ‘kitsch bazaar.’

A mini season of his films was presented at MAC, Birmingham's independent cinema, in 2005, but this is the first time that this Egyptian/British director has been honoured at an international Film Festival with a retrospective of his major films. It is to their credit that the New York African Diaspora Film Festival is the first to do so.

With 23 national and international film awards already to his name, Khaled El Hagar is without doubt one of the most important Egyptian filmmakers of the past two decades, and he brings that creative background to the fore as the Filmmaker in Residence at the 17th Annual African Diaspora Film Festival.

Running from November 27-December 15, 2009, in various venues in New York, the Festival is showing the following films of Khaled El Hagar: KOBOLAT MASROKA/Stolen Kisses, MAFEESH GHER KEDA!/None But That, HOB EL BANAT/Women’s Love, ROOM TO RENT, LITTLE DREAM, A GULF BETWEEN US, ELEMENTS OF MINE, and YOU ARE MY LIFE.

KOBOLAT MASROKA/Stolen Kisses focuses on nine Egyptians in their 20s faced with common but taboo subjects in Egypt: family conflicts, unemployment, sexual frustration, prostitution and violence. By keeping an Egyptian voice accessible to the larger audience, this 2009 production kicked off many heated debates in Egypt, including death threats posted on some websites.

MAFEESH GHER KEDA!/None but That!, a 2006 musical, follows the life of a single mother of three, who are struggling and dreaming of riches. The efforts of the mother, Nahed, bear fruit when her youngest daughter, Dina, succeeds in the glamorous world of show business. But this success breeds jealousy, in-fighting and tension among the family members.
Loosely based on Brecht's The Deadly Seven Sins, NONE BUT THAT ! exposes current desires for instant fame and wealth, at whatever the cost. Winner of Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Songs awards.

HOB EL BANAT/Women’s Love is a romantic comedy made in 2004 that both won seven major awards at the 2004 Egyptian National Film Festival and went on to become a major commercial success. It is the story of three half-sisters brought together by the death of their mutual father. While Cairo-raised Nada is a shy, deeply romantic soul longing for Mr. Right and Alexandria-raised Ghada doesn’t like men, London-raised and educated university professor Ro’aya is looking for love now that her professional life is well established.
The three—according to their father’s will—must live together for one year in Cairo before they can inherit his considerable estate. At first each claims her own space, but gradually as they get to know one another they discover how much they have in common.

A GULF BETWEEN US is a 1994 drama in English set in 1991 London during the Gulf War. When Hassan, an Arab student and part-time baker rents a room from Jewish Ruth in a predominantly Jewish neighbourhood, he is not looking for love but fall in love, he does. The outbreak of the Gulf War, in which forces allied to the United States of America fight Iraqi president Saddam Hussein for invading Kuwait, makes things difficult for them.
This 50-minute film caused a storm in the Egyptian press when it was shown in Cairo in 1995 and Khaled El Hagar, who not only made but also played the main role, was accused of promoting normalisation with Israel and could not go back to Egypt until 2003.

ROOM TO RENT, produced in the UK with American actress Juliet Lewis and French actor Said Taghmaoui, revolves around a young man’s pursuit of life, liberty, and a green card. Ali, a young Egyptian screenwriter, is determined to succeed in London where he has been a student. He loves the artistic and political freedom, the colours, the music, and the individualism. But he has little money, his student visa is about to expire and he has been thrown out of his lodgings. He i moves in with a succession of eccentric and colourful London flat-mates: Mark, a photographer with a very individual style; Linda, a young, blonde, very sexy model and Marilyn Monroe impersonator, played by Juliet Lewis; and Miss Stevenson, who is convinced that Ali is the reincarnation of her long dead Egyptian lover. All the while Ali is in search of an elusive British visa which unrepentantly leads to finding the love of his life. ROOM TO RENT, a comedy drama in English made in 2001, was the first feature by writer/director Khaled El Hagar, who at the time was himself an Egyptian immigrant living and working in London. It has won several awards, four of them for Best Film.
Made in Germany in 2004 by Khaled El Hagar and Norbert Servos, ELEMENTS OF MINE—a 20-minute modern drama dance in English—examines passion and sensuality - for any age and in any sexual combination.

Khaled will be presenting all his films to the Festival’s international audiences, and introducing them to his distinctive film making style dubbed ‘the Pedro Almodovar’ of Arabic cinema. The Rider Hagar family from Birmingham will be with him – his wife Janice Rider, an experienced and talented costume designer with many films and BBC dramas to her credit, and their son, Adam, a talented young actor and musician. Both Janice and Adam were involved in the shooting of the Screen WM backed pilot for Khaled’s Birmingham set film SEX FOR HAPPINESS.

The Rider Hagar family are almost a film studio in their own right. A film studio in Kings Heath ? Now there’s a story to tell the Big Apple about.

Producer and Film Professor, Roger Shannon

Swish

Liverpool's Edge Hill University.

Ethics and morality of file sharing

blogs@screenwm.co.uk — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 13:22:59 GMT

As someone who works for an agency that, fundamentally, supports screen media businesses and content rights holders, it's pretty tricky for me to step in and comment on the whole filesharing debate. So I can appreciate Mandelson's position because it's pretty clear cut, isn't it? Filesharing is piracy, piracy is theft, theft is illegal so it must be stamped out, right? Hence three strikes and the Digital Economy Bill.

But I am writing this on a train after being confronted with a very interesting ethical dilemma which highlights just one of the reasons why so many people have spoken out against these measures and with such passion. I'm sat opposite a very nice young student from Delhi. I know he's a student from Delhi, and I know he's very nice, because he's been chatting politely with fellow passengers and offered his original seat to a couple so they could sit together. Nice guy - and clearly not from around here. Ten minutes into this 5 hour train ride he asks if I have any movies on my laptop that I can transfer to his (via USB stick) to pass the time on this journey.

So, as I conveniently shift this from a real-world situation to a hypothetical question, let's ignore for a moment the issue of whether or not I have any DRM-free movies on my laptop and ask these questions instead...

Given my job - and the agency I work for - should I lecture him about the evils of filesharing and the damage it does to the economy? Or - as a fellow human being who makes this 5hr journey twice a week and knows full well how tedious it can be with no entertainment - do I help the guy out? Or - to put it another way - is it more antisocial to facilitate the 'stealing' of a film in this way or to refuse this request?

Before we get too heavy-handed with legislation, it's important to understand this disintinction, because the truth is that this issue is not as clear cut as I laid out in the intro. The vast majority of filesharers - ordinary people, not pirates - see it as a social transaction, not as an illegal transaction. Furthermore they see it as no different to the kind of social transaction that's been going on for years - long before the days of digital storage and wireless transfers. It's a part of our culture - and, it should be said, a major factor in the growth of our culture - that has roots in everything from raiding your mate's bookshelves to snapping up those cut-price, pre-owned titles in your local Game Station. (In fact, this is arguably worse because it is undeniably a commercial transaction. Money changes hands but none of it goes back to the original rights holder. Perfectly legal, though, apparently).

So here's another question ... what if I didn't have any digital movie files on my laptop, but I had an old DVD in my bag and gave him that instead? Or a book? Or magazine? From my point of view, the transaction is still the same - a social one. Does it still represent a lost sale for the content rights holder? It probably does. So should this type of activity be stamped out at all costs? Is it damaging the economy? Is it wrong?

Of course, the argument is that with digital files the content is not merely passed on but duplicated - and, theoretically, can be endlessly duplicated at zero cost and with no noticeable loss of quality. I get that. So surely the question here is one of intent - what is my intention when I share the file and what is the recipient intending to do with it afterwards? Will he seed it and share it to millions of others? Well, that's far more difficult to prove in the eyes of the law, which can only deal in absolutes and often, by necessity, ignores the right solution in favour of the simplest one.

Back to square one, then. An open and shut case with no shades of grey. But that doesn't make me feel any less of an arse if I give the piracy lecture to that nice fellow traveller.

NB: As ever, I welcome your comments but please note that they require approval before appearing here so there may be slight delays. We endeavour to approve comments promptly and will not refuse approval or edit comments without extremely good reasons for doing so.

Additional Note: There have been some great comments added since I wrote this post (thanks!) but they are long and in tiny font, white-on-black, which I accept is not the easiest to read. If you're using Firefox, try selecting the 'no style' option on the view/page style menu option. I'm sure there may be plain text equivalents in other browsers - or subscribe to the RSS feeds.

VC = Virtuous Circle?

blogs@screenwm.co.uk — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:36:15 GMT

Is there a greater culture of entrepreneurialism in the US than there is in the UK? Some may see this as, at best, a cliche if not cultural stereotyping. Like many, though, I’ve always pretty much accepted it, but without really thinking about seeking out any hard evidence. But last week in Seattle has - for me - proven it beyond any doubt. It was a common theme throughout the week, (and more on this in blogs to follow).

Here’s one example of how this filters through at the high end of things. Screen WM, via Advantage WM, co-sponsored the Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA) Annual Predictions Dinner. Basically, a panel of industry heavyweights getting together to predict what the next 12 months had in store in the world of technology, (including digital and social media).

What struck me first of all was the fact that 4 out of 5 of the panel were VC’s or private investors. Now, I’ve been to dozens of digital/technology events and conferences across the UK this past year, many of which featured this kind of obligatory future-gazing, but I can’t recall seeing a single VC sitting on any panels at any event, let alone four of them on one panel. Here in the UK it's all about the creators, not the financiers. Secondly, the first 20-30 minutes of the panel was largely spent discussing predictions of where share prices would go for the big tech companies - Google, Microsoft etc - and whether or not Twitter would get bought out and at what price. Not what cool new features Twitter might feature or new products or services were waiting round the corner. Perhaps more surprisingly, the panel actually made all of this sound extremely entertaining. (No .. really!).

The point here, I guess, is that investment and business growth - the entrepreneurial spirit - is front and centre of innovation in the US. Over here it can often seem like an afterthought - have the creative ideas first, talk about them, explore where you’d like to take them creatively and then maybe a bit further down the line consider how it might work as a business and the financial models behind it.

But the truth is that there must be a far more symbiotic relationship and a parallel development between creative ideas and business plans/finance. Smart money follows smart technology which follows smart money.

Anyone interested in watching a full video of the WTIA Predictions Panel can do so by clicking on the links below. It’s well worth sticking with. And don’t worry ... it’s not all about stocks and shares.

PART ONE
PART TWO
PART THREE

Panellists :

John Cook, Co-Founder/Executive Director TechFlash

Kelly Smith, Founding Partner Curious Office
Greg Gottesman, Managing Director Madrona Venture Group

Glenn Kelman, CEO Redfin

Bill Bryant, Venture Partner Draper Fisher Jurvetson
Andy Sack, Independent Software Entrepreneur and Investor

Remote Control Me

blogs@screenwm.co.uk — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:14:33 GMT

If you could have a meeting with some of the biggest names in the games industry, what would you ask them? This isn't just an idle question, but a call to action. Seriously. What would you want to know ... particularly on the digital distribution side?

All of this week, (16th - 19th November), I'm in Seattle on a trade mission with Advantage WM, UKTI and representatives from some of the West Midland's leading games and digital media companies. As ever, I'll be spreading the word about some of the great work and innovative companies in the region and seeking opportunities for international partnerships when and where possible. So, in order to make the most of this opportunity for everyone in the region - not just those companies who are out here with the delegation - this is your chance to remote control me. I've listed below the companies we'll be seeing on this trip. If anyone has anyone has any specific questions to ask, stuff they want to know or stuff they want to say to anyone listed here then email me or DM me on Twitter before the deadlines below and I'll respond in kind, if at all possible.

Mon 16th :
Mike Dunkle, Valve Software Deadline : 6pm*, (*UK time)
Lunchtime networking, (deadline 7:30pm), with Sureclix, Versaly, Medialead, Divide By Zero Games, 5th Cell, Z2 Live, Sabi Games, UBG Digital Media, Airtight Games, Reality Gap
Evening networking, (deadline midnight), with Platinum Reign, Reaxion, Onadime

Tue 17th:
Dan Prigg, Real Networks Deadline: 4:30pm*
Pat Wylie, Nate Webb, Jeffry Liptak, Paul Handelman Big Fish Games Deadline: 6pm*
Gardner Congdon Zombie Games Deadline: 10pm
Evening networking, (deadline midnight), with Washington State Dept of Commerce, Digital Double

Probably the best bet would be to DM me on Twitter @jasonhall

Permission to be a Pirate, Sir?

blogs@screenwm.co.uk — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:55:34 GMT

When Charles Leadbeater spoke at The Big Debate in Birmingham today about the future of creative industries resting with "renegades and pirates", I really don't think he was imagining they'd be asking anyone's permission to be creative. So - as some of you have gathered - it kinda stuck my craw a little when one of the proposed actions from the round-table discussions was that we need to "allow creativity to happen without needing a business plan".

I think it's actually the thing about "allowing" creativity to happen that got me going first. Maybe it was just a poor choice of word, but that in itself is revealing, perhaps, of the underlying culture of dependency previously discussed here and in Stef Aquarone's blog for the Birmingham Post. Having a creative idea does not require permission or any form-filling - and being a renegade or a pirate certainly doesn't. In clarifiying the point, Dave Harte referenced FizzPop as an example of a wonderful creative idea that just seemed to happen. And that's exactly my point. No-one said they were - or were not - 'allowed'. As Pete Ashton rightly said, 'JFDI'. (Look it up if you need to. Family audiences here).

But - you may say - stuff like FizzPop may not be able to continue to happen, and certainly not grow, if it has to depend solely on the goodwill and energies of those involved. Nascent ideas need support, which usually means some form of funding or investment. Does this mean a business plan? Not always. But increasingly, yes. Or at least elements of one.

Do ideas need business plans?

But what if you're a not-for-profit company? Surely no business plan required there? Ummm. Actually, yes. Not-for-profit does not equal not-generating-revenue. Screen WM is a not-for-profit. Do we have a business plan? Of course we do. Heck, Channel 4 is a not-for-profit, but one which generates revenues of around £1bn per year, based on - guess what? - a business plan!

How about cultural organisations? Surely no business plan required for grants and funding? Hate to be the one to burst that bubble, but if this is what you believe you may soon be in for a nasty shock. We're in the midst of a global recession here. Public spending is under increasing pressure - and increasing scrutiny, (today's funding awards are tomorrow's Taxpayer's Alliance FOI requests). Access to awards is going to get increasingly competitive, so you're going to need to prove your creative ideas will have a real impact....which means some form of marketing and evaluation plan. You're going to need to prove you have the resources to run the project....which means a management plan. You're going to need to prove you have the financial stability to deliver the project ... which means a cashflow forecast. And, increasingly, you're going to have to demonstrate that you are taking steps to become sustainable without the need for ongoing public funding. In short .... well, you know the rest.

Does all of this mean that "we", (ie. those who would ask for business plans and the like), are not doing our bit to help encourage innovation? Only if you think you need to ask permission to get creative.

Guest Blog: Tindal Sreet Press’s Cine Literate Profile – Professor Roger Shannon

blogs@screenwm.co.uk — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:38:09 GMT

Tindal Sreet Press’s Cine Literate Profile – Professor Roger Shannon

The month of October marks the tenth anniversary of publishing for the Birmingham based independent publisher, Tindal Street Press.
http://www.tindalstreet.co.uk/

To celebrate their decade of astonishing success, Tindal have published a new anthology of short stories, 'Roads Ahead', a collection of 22 short stories by young writers edited by Catherine O'Flynn, which re visits the formula of 'Hard Shoulder', Tindal's first publication of ten years ago.

Catherine O'Flynn is, of course, the writer whose multi award winning debut novel. 'What Was Lost' Tindal St Press published. http://www.tindalstreet.co.uk/books/what-was-lost

Tindal's staunchly regional stance, swimming against the metropolitan literary tide, has paid off handsomely, as those attending the recent Birmingham Book Festival witnessed at the Booker Trio event, when the three part harmonies of Clare Morrall, Catherine O'Flynn, and Gaynor Arnold were heard.
http://www.themanbookerprize.com/news/stories/1280

These three Birmingham based women writers have, respectively for their debut novels, been long or short listed for the prestigeous Mann Booker Prize in recent years. And Tindal published all three novels - Morrall's 'Astonishing Splashes of Colour'; O'Flynn's 'What Was Lost' and Arnold's 'Girl In A Blue Dress.'

An astonishing splash of award nominations for such a small, independently spirited and regionally reared publisher.

It's a timely moment to write on such matters, as, firstly, this week BBC Radio 4's Book at Bed Time is serialising Tindal's 'Heartland' by Anthony Cartwright, a very prescient 'take' on the emergence of BNP politics in the Black Country, now made more topical and prescient with the recent furore over the BNP's appearance on the BBC's 'Question Time.'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00ndvt8

And, secondly, this week brings us the country's premier Screenwriting Festival in Cheltenham, - http://www.screenwritersfestival.com/ - where issues like adaptation and script development will be eagerly debated, chapter and verse, by its attendees, particularly ‘script czar’, Phil Parker, whose recent provocation on the ‘original v adapted’ debate stirred and stimulated.
http://www.screendaily.com/news/opinion/where-have-all-the-screenwriters-gone/5006085.article

But what's all this to do with film, television and the digital media ?

Well, as Alan Mahar at Tindal St Press once commented to me - 'When Clare Morrall's 'Astonishing Splashes of Colour' reached the Mann Booker Prize shortlist, we were fielding calls from Twentieth Century Fox in Hollywood !'

Writing with original story telling as its rationale and deeply constructed characters at its core provide film and content makers with fantastic source material, and as the screen industries rely so heavily on story telling, it's no surprise that Tindal and their published repertoire are courted in this way by the world of film and television. Examples of such are now quite extensive.

Clare Morrall's novel was adapted, though not yet produced, by Olivia Hetreed, the celebrated screenwriter of the movie, 'Girl With A Pearl Ear Ring.' And Catherine O'Shea's 'What Was Lost' is in development with Film 4 and Heyday Films, David Heyman's company. This is the production company that also develops, adapts and produces the big budget Harry Potter movies. It's also likely that 'Heartland' will follow suit and be the subject of a television adaptation.

However, it's not just the Tindal novels which have been getting the 'make over' treatment. Their short story anthologies have also yielded fruit - for example, Paul Green's adaptation of 'Mutton' from 'Hard Shoulder' . And reading the gems in 'Roads Ahead' it strikes me that we'll see some of these stories made over for the screen in due course. http://www.tindalstreet.co.uk/events/roads-ahead-launch

Tindal's emerging cine literate profile isn't just a one off for the city; it's part of a wider repertoire and reservoir of story telling talent - innovative, ingenious, urban, contemporary, layered, angular, coolly vivacious - that's making not just Twentieth Century Fox beat a path to the city’s writers. Examples are abundant.

Helen Cross's debut novel, 'My Summer Of Love', became the multi award winning eponymously titled movie, directed by Pawel Pawlikowski. Jim Crace's 'Being Dead' is being prep'd to shoot in Australia by cult director, Ray Lawrence of film noir ‘Lantana’ reputation. Mark Billingham's crime novels, 'Sleepyhead' et al, will shortly be filmed by Sky 1 in a six part series headed by David Morrissey in the lead role . http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/commissioning/sky-set-to-take-drama-from-morrissey-indie/5006553.article

Mike Gayle, Mil Millington et al have all got novels in various stages of development with UK and international production companies.
http://www.mikegayle.co.uk/Writing.html
http://www.mil-millington.com/

These are all continuing a robust relationship between the city's writers on the one hand and film and television producers on the other, a momentum exemplified in recent years by novelists such as David Lodge, who has adapted his own work for the screen - 'Nice Work' etc - and more recently Jonathan Coe, whose 'Dwarves of Death' has already been filmed, and whose 'Rotters Club' graced television screens a few years ago. http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/therottersclub/

It can also be argued that after the acheivements of the Edgbaston born movie mogul, Sir Michael Balcon, Birmingham's greatest contribution to the world of cinema lies in screen adaptations - in Tolkien's 'Lords of the Ring', the literary source for Kiwi director Peter Jackson's inspired trio of films, and global box office bonanza. http://www.wetafx.co.nz/about/

The recent trend of Birmingham sourced adaptations signals that the city has become a ‘hot spot’ for film executives looking for original stories that can be given the screen 'make over' – and certainly giving out the heat is Tindal’s tinderbox of writing talent.

Professor Roger Shannon, Edge Hill University, Liverpool
Producer, swish Ltd, Birmingham

Note – Roger Shannon is a Board Member of Tindal Street Press.

Guest Blog: Rebecca Cadwallader - Be, Live, Go, Share WeVee!

blogs@screenwm.co.uk — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 08:12:51 GMT

Be, Live, Go, Share WeVee!

What is WeVee we hear you ask…?
Have you ever wondered what was going on where you live now before you were there? Well now’s your chance to find out.
WeVee is a new and unique online tool. It gives you the chance to view clips from the region’s fantastic archive collections of film and video, edit them to music tracks and make a short WeVee (a two and a half minutes max film) as your personal take on the region’s history.

WeVee beta was showcased at Birmingham’s ArtsFest during September. In development since January 2009, we were eager to see what people thought. It was an exciting couple of days with queues from our stand quickly growing as people wanted to find out more and try out the tool. Over the course of the weekend it was clear WeVee had appeal to all, as children as young as four through to adults in their eighties WeVee’ed away!

Using the latest digital technology, WeVee gives you the chance to explore how the region has been captured on camera. Users can have fun putting together clips from as early as 1901 and as recent as five years ago, with clips ranging from the chocolate factories of Cadburys, to Malcolm X on the streets of Smethwick and from inside the classrooms of the 1940s to how to make a bomb shelter. There’s a huge wealth of archive footage given a new lease of life through WeVee.

The project is a collaboration between Television Junction and Clusta. Both companies have highly creative teams behind the development of the WeVee concept and tool and an attitude that makes us keen to learn more as the project develops. It’s been a busy, but fun, few months as the project has grown.

WeVee’s official launch is in January 2010. At this stage you’ll be able to share your WeVees, not just on the WeVee Gallery but across social networking sites. We’re using WeVee as a noun and a verb: you can create WeVees and you can WeVee by sharing and exchanging them.

In the meantime…
visit our website www.wevee.co.uk to register for updates
follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/weveecreate

WeVee beta next showcases at Hello Digital on 21st October. Come along and be one of the first to WeVee.

The project is supported through Screen West Midlands’ Digital Film Archive Fund with support from the National Lottery through the UK Film Council.

Caging the Bird?

blogs@screenwm.co.uk — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 23:39:35 GMT

Generally speaking, I’m all for more transparency and open discussion - and this is something that social media platforms, notably Twitter, do extremely well. So when I saw a few tweets on Friday talking about “Hollywood trying to crack down on Twitter”, I immediately clicked on the link with my ‘I’m-going-to-be-outraged’ head on. But, actually, having read the article in question I totally support what the Hollywood studios are doing.

Basically, some of the studios - including Disney and Dreamworks - are apparently putting clauses in contracts that specifically block leaks and confidentiality breaches via Twitter and other social networks. To me, this is a total non-story. Confidentiality clauses are nothing new and, in cases of commercial sensitivity or where good/bad PR can make or break a film - or any other product - they have every right to build them into a contract. It’s called protecting an investment, it happens for a very good reason and if you have signed a contract agreeing to it then that should always be respected - in any and every medium.

So why is this an issue just because they are now apparently singling out Twitter and social networks? Frankly, the real shame of all this is that it has become necessary to do so. Yes, Twitter is a very conversational platform - that’s its great strength - but it is still an extremely public one, so what makes anyone think that the same issues of commercial sensitivity and contractual obligations don’t apply here in the same way as they do in any other public media platform? I find it a little disingenuous, at best, when the twittersphere portrays companies taking a hard line on this as some kind of anti-social media, corporate dinosaurs who are taking it all too seriously. Because these guys are also likely to be first to complain when social media isn’t taken seriously enough by mainstream media or big corporations.

There are confidentiality clauses and firm but fair obligations in terms of handling PR built into all our Digital Media Fund/4iP contracts too - and these clauses are there to protect the companies themselves as much as, if not more than, our investments. Frankly, I would not expect to see those clauses treated lightly by any of our funded projects - and I’m pleased to say they haven’t been. So far, we haven’t gone to the lengths of having to spell it out in contracts that “this means Twitter too” and I hope we never will. I think we would all rather that social media remained free from restrictive regulation. But this has to be built on the implicit understanding that its users are self-regulating.

Seen and Heard

blogs@screenwm.co.uk — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:04:27 GMT

I attended an incredibly useful conference called ‘Seen and Heard’ last Thursday down in Bristol which was organised by the team at Futurelab. It was all about inspiring people that are interested in innovative approaches to learning and stimulated some timely debate round how we can use the moving image as an easy access gateway to creative, cultural and critical engagement both in and outside of formal education.

We’re living in a period of huge potential-afforded largely through digital and other technologies, so the question is how can we maximise the moving image in all it’s forms to stimulate and engage learning in the 21st century? Matt Locke who Heads up education at C4 provided a fascinating insight into how teens can be engaged through gaming and social media with some great case studies including www.battlefront.co.uk whilst Mark Reid from the BFI explained how film is still an incredibly powerful tool which should be embedded into the heart of literacy and new technologies.

I’m in total agreement, so for anyone that‘s interested I’d recommend that you subscribe to Futurelab’s monthly e-newsletter which contains details of current projects, resources and events as well as inspirED, a collection of online news (updated three times per year)-Futurelab also have a wide range of resources online that maybe of interest so for further information about these, go to www.futurelab.org.uk/resources. Using film and new media can give young people a real say about what and how they learn and as a tool to support teachers both professionally and creatively there’s few mediums that hit the mark like the moving image.

Never-ending stories: setting the scene for Power to the Pixel in Birmingham

blogs@screenwm.co.uk — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:52:07 GMT

In just a few short days we'll be hosting the first Power to the Pixel satellite event right here in Birmingham. We’re thrilled to welcome Power to the Pixel and our special guests, Slava Rubin and Rachel Mordecai, to what promises to be a day of lively debate, discussion and deliberation as we aim to explore the issues currently facing filmmakers and content producers in the converged world. We’re also pleased to be partnering up with the West Midlands Producers Forum to bring this event to you.

I would love to be proven wrong, but one thing I can predict with reasonable confidence is that there won’t be any answers from the day. That might sound strange and maybe you’re now wondering why you should give up a day of your precious time for something with no answers – but the challenge, or as I prefer to think of it, opportunity – presented by disruptive technologies and changing industries is to explore the unknown, to try things previously thought impossible and above all, to keep telling stories people around the world want to hear.

After all, what still binds us together as producers, writers, directors and content makers, is the love of telling stories. As Dick Ross told a packed audience at our ‘Short Film Is Dead: Long Live Short Film’ event in 2007, we should be concerned not with the barrel, but the wine within. Once we’ve got that right, and can feel confident in our ability to entertain and enchant audiences like no other, then the matter of how that experience might reach an audience becomes more fun – a challenge to storytellers to reach out and grab people’s attention, and even to hand over their stories (or parts of them) to audiences to develop, play with and enjoy themselves.

All these possibilities can be bewildering and it’s easy to feel out of the loop. The only comfort I can find right now is that there really is no master plan, kept secret from us by beings of superior intellect intent on destroying film as we know it. There are just makers trying to tell stories, and audiences trying to enjoy them – and as a maker, times are both challenging and prosperous, depending on how you want to approach the process of telling your particular story.

So, no answers then, but I hope instead some new ideas, ideas that can help you progress your projects and your business in the future. I have a sneaky feeling we’ll be revisiting the subject in the years to come.

At the time of writing there are still a handful of tickets available for the Power to the Pixel Satellite Event in Birmingham - click here to register your place.

Hello Digital - A Challenge

blogs@screenwm.co.uk — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:45:16 GMT

With all the Digital Britain talk - and superb regional activity - around digital inclusion, it’s particularly pleasing that Birmingham will play host to Hello Digital - a conference that seeks to unite those who are at the cutting edge of digital practice with those who are taking their first tentative steps.

It’s a difficult - and bold - balancing act. This is all about catering for two different audiences without trying to alienate either. That’s why most digital conferences tend to preach only to the converted ... frankly, it’s easier. But how does that help address digital participation and the digital divide? The solution has to lie in bringing these two audiences together, and for those who have knowledge and experience to act as guides for those who do not. Here in the West Midlands, it’s already starting to look like a proven model - look at the Social Media Surgeries, BSMC, Talk About Local, REdREx etc as great examples of how this can work. The only way I can see Hello Digital working is if the conference - and the way people approach it - works in the same way as all these other great examples of good practice and shared knowledge. I know how passionate the Birmingham social media community is about this, so I hope the conference can count on your support.

Digital Birmingham has now announced the full programme for the Hello Digital Conference, with a few big wins in there, not least of which is the afternoon keynote from David Rowan, editor of Wired UK and 200 free subscriptions to the magazine. No doubt these will be snapped up very quickly by early registrants - almost 300 of you have already pre-registered interest, (although please note that you still have to register to actually attend!). But looking through the list of those who have already expressed interest in the conference, there are a lot of the same names cropping up, a lot of those who are already engaged and involved with digital and social media. Don’t get me wrong - I’m looking forward to seeing you all there and this conference is absolutely for you guys too. But, again, it would be a shame if we’re just preaching to the converted here.

So here’s a challenge ... a call to action .. or even a game, if you want to play it that way ...

How about if every single person who is digitally engaged makes a commitment to register and bring along a client, a small business owner, cultural organisation etc that isn’t? It could be someone who runs your local sandwich bar or newsagents, or an uncle who owns a firm that manufactures widgets, (of the non-digital variety) ... anyone who runs any kind of business that could benefit from learning about these possibilities and opportunities. Think of it as being like TAL or Social Media Surgeries on a more personal, individual level. You could help guide them along, give them the confidence not to be scared or put off by the ‘D’ word, help them pick sessions that might be most useful to them, (there’s a whole stream aimed at beginners), or chum them along to those sessions so they can ask you questions privately that they might not want to ask publicly. If you’re gaming this, award yourself 10 points for every non-digital person you encourage to register.

Why not post comments on here, on the Hello Digital blog, or on your own blog about who you’re bringing and why? Introduce them to the digital community - tell us what they already know and what they want to find out and maybe we can help them? Or - better still - encourage them to set up their own blog or twitter account and introduce themselves prior to the conference. 5pts for every comment, 10pts for a blog post, 20pts if they set up their own blog or twitter account and post on that.

So ... who’s in? I’m trying to think of a good candidate for this for me to bring along myself. Trouble is, most of the businesses I speak to are already pretty big on digital. But I’m sure I can think of someone - and hope to blog details shortly. Wouldn’t want to shirk from my own challenge, after all.

NB: Comments must be approved before going live, (sorry!), so please be prepared for a short delay if you're posting.