Film Forum West Midlands

Dice Productions, that’s us (cheeky), have been asked to bring successful London comedy film night, Popcorn Comedy, up to Birmingham.

Shorts on Screens is the latest chance for Animation Forum WM membersto mingle, share an after-work drink and share their animation from 6.30pm on Wednesday 30th September at The Victoria, Birmingham.

Rather than submit animated shorts in advance for a sit-down screening, simply bring along a mobile phone, mp3 player or laptop pre-loaded with your best animated work, and share it with fellow animators over a drink.

Animated work can mean short films, commercial work, experiments, showreels; anything you think would be of interest to others AFWM members.

If you don’t have such snazzy mobile technology, simply bring along a USB stick or DVD and play it on one of the many laptops we’ll have setup around the room.

If you decide to do the latter, please ensure that you bring the animation as a rendered (compressed) video (e.g. avi, mov, flv , etc), not as an enormous uncompressed video file or with a rare and unusual codec, as these are unlikely to work.

Don’t have anything to show? Then feel free just to turn up and chew the fat with AFWM members, be they animators, scriptwriters, producers or voice-actors, you never know what might happen.

Entry is free and to attend simply RSVP using the Facebook Event page or todavid.luke.allen@bcu.ac.uk.

Shorts on Screens will take place in the upstairs room of The Victoria (where Shorts on Walls @ Flatpack was held last March) and can be found here.

Filmrats is upon us again on Wednesday 22nd July at the Bristol Pear in Selly Oak. Entry’s £1.50, so pop along and remember to send your short films in DVD format for future screenings to Filmrats, Flat 3, 889 Bristol Road, Selly Oak, Birmingham, B29 6ND

See the fruits of The Great Animation Challenge, the best entries to last year’s Flip Animation Festival and chew the fat with Animation Forum WM members at the next Animation Forum West Midlands event, Out Of Hours: Animation on Tuesday 21st July 2009 at the Light House, Wolverhampton.

The event starts at 7pm, with screenings of The Great Animation Challenge entries preceded by the best animation from Flip Festival 2008 and a talk by stop-motion animator behind Small Birds Singing Linda McCarthy. Following this, the results of The Great Animation Challenge will be announced with the competition entries screened in the courtyard area. The Great Animation Challenge is the culminatation of a competition run by Animation Forum WM, Flip and Imagine Magazine over the summer which gave animators tracks from several up and coming bands to download and animate to.

The evening will continue with a chance for a chat over a drink with fellow animators in Lock Works, the Light House café and bar.

To attend this free event, simply RSVP via the Facebook group or by email.

Hello everyone,

Film Forum’s latest social get-together (and informal networking night) will be held on Tuesday 7th July at the Victoria Pub on John Bright Street in Birmingham from 6pm.

For those that haven’t been to a meet-up yet, here’s the low-down. We meet up each month to get people from all aspects of filmmaking in the Midlands together to chat and start building networks of friends and contacts. It’s very informal and is really up to you if you approach it as a casual drink or an opportunity to make new contacts and get projects off the ground.

Contacts made through the social evenings have helped film projects to flourish and the variety of creative types attending has been very encouraging.

As for the location, The Victoria is fast-becoming Birmingham’s most-exciting venue, mixing a creative style with a chilled-out atmosphere. We like it.

So, come on down, say hello, tell us what you are up to and hopefully we’ll all benefit from some interaction.

Here’s the Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=202451205206

Here’s the address: The Victoria Pub, 48 John Bright St, Birmingham, B1 1 BN

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Ian Price is getting the Redditch Film Festival ready to be hosted at the Redditch Palace Theatre in Spring 2010. They’re looking for loads of great local films from filmmakers in and around the Redditch area

If you’re interested get in touch at info@redditchfilmfestival.com. All films will be considered for the festival.

http://www.redditchfilmfestival.com

Filmrats will be hosting it’s multimedia evening again on Wednesday 24th June at 8pm at the Bristol Pear in Selly Oak.

Whilst we didn’t manage to make the their opening night, it seemed to have a great atmosphere and turn out. We’ll definitely be making this next one as it looks like a great chance to take in local talents and have a nice time.

A provisional line up has been posted, but there’s always room for more Filmmakers, Singer/Songwriters, Bands, Poets, Comedians and Performance Artists. They accept all films and music videos and will play all submissions granted that the subject matter is not offensive.

Send your short films in DVD format to Filmrats, Flat 3, 889 Bristol Road, Selly Oak, Birmingham, B29 6ND and email any stills, posters, trailers and provide a brief synopsis and production credits.

Email: filmrats@hotmail.co.uk

They’re also social media’d up to the eyeballs:

Myspace Page: www.myspace.com/filmrats

YouTube Page: http://www.youtube.com/Filmrats

Twitter: http://twitter.com/filmrats

So get submitting and get some exposure.

A reminder that this Thursday 4 June, RTS Futures – part of the Royal Television Society – is holding its Pitching Multiplatform Ideas event at the Hyatt Regency on Bridge Street in Birmingham from 7pm. To book your place and hear pitching tips from the people that matter, follow this link:

http://rts360.eventbrite.com/

Here’s what RTS Futures have to say about it:

Following the great launch of RTS Futures Midlands’ sold out How to Pitch panel session, the Midlands Centre is yet again bringing together some of the top names in digital media next week, Thursday, June 4th.

With panelists from Channel 4, BBC, Hat Trick Productions and Raw TV, Pitching Multiplatform Ideas Pitching Multiplatform Ideas will demystify the process of how to pitch 360-degree concepts as well as the do’s and don’ts of pitching. Hear the experiences of our panel on the pitfalls, success stories plus, what’s hot and what’s not in the cross-platform world. Attendees will also get the chance to listen to top tips on how to give a successful pitch under pressure. This FREE event is produced by the Royal Television Society in partnership with Screen West Midlands and supported by Advantage West Midlands.

The speakers are:

• Alice Taylor: Commissioning Editor – Education, Channel 4 – Chair
• Martin Trickey, Commissioning Executive – Comedy and Comedy Entertainment, BBC
• Lucy Willis, Executive Producer, Raw TV
• Jon Davenport, Head of Digital, Hat Trick Productions

The event will be held at the Symphony Ballroom at the Hyatt Regency, 2 Bridge Street, Birmingham, B1 2JZ. Doors open at 7pm for a 7.30pm start.

Places are limited and so if you want to book, please go to http://rts360.eventbrite.com/.

For more information on the panellists, RTS Futures has provided a bio and picture for each guest here : http://rtsmids.wordpress.com/2009/05/27/pitching360/

Sam Groves got in contact through the Ning Forum, calling for ‘short films of any length, any content and any style to be shown at Birmingham’s biggest Arts Festival, ArtFest in September. If you are interested in having your film shown, then I will need a copy of it as soon as possible. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch.’

You can contact Sam via,

email: sam.groves@hotmail.co.uk

phone: 07779 255 779

or mail films to: 129 Northfield Rd, Kings Norton, B’ham, B30 1EA

Include your contact details and any information that might be relevant to the film.

Script is the regional development agency for dramatic writers in the West Midlands, offering advice, mentoring, workshops and training via industry-led partnerships.

Here’s some of their up-coming events.

Saturday 30th May, 10am-5pm

THINKING INSIDE THE BOX: DEVELOPING IDEAS FOR TELEVISION DRAMA

Venue: Stafford Gatehouse Theatre

With TV/Film Producer Claire Ingham

How do television drama ideas get started – and how do they make it from a scribbled one-liner to a fully-fledged proposal, treatment or series bible that will grab a commissioner’s attention?  This day-long workshop will look at how to find, create and develop ideas, how to present them, how much story to tell upfront – and how to think about satisfying the demands of different TV audiences.  The day will also include a review of the kinds of ideas commissioners are looking for now – and give an introduction to the key personnel at the major broadcasters.

£50 (£45 concession)
To book: Download a booking form from 
www.scriptonline.net/screen.html and send, together with your payment to: Script, 107 The Greenhouse, The Custard Factory, Gibb Street, Birmingham, B9 4AA

Claire Ingham is a producer and film and television script developer. She works on projects at all stages of development currently ranging from the adaptation treatment of Eoin Colfer’s bestselling novel 
The Wishlist to the final draft of Helen Cross’ original feature Stratford Road - to a number of original drama series and serials for the BBC and Channel 4. ________________________________________________________________________

Saturday 4th July, 10am-5pm

INDEPENDENCE DAY: WRITING FOR BRITISH FILM

New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme

Led by TV/Film Producer Claire Ingham, with Dan Lawson (Screen WM)

What kinds of feature films are currently being greenlit in the UK?  Who’s funding them, and how do you get your foot on the ladder as a new writer?  An overview of the films that have been made in the last few years: trends, funders, writing schemes; and how to gain access to development funding, commissioners and producers.

Cost: £50 (£45 concessions)
To Book:Download a booking form from www.scriptonline.net/screen.html and send, together with your payment to: Script, 107 The Greenhouse, The Custard Factory, Gibb Street, Birmingham, B9 4AA
_________________________________________________________________________

25 July 2009 (10am-5pm)

IMPACT: WRITING FOR THE SCREEN

With Producer, Claire Ingham and award-winining novelist and screenwriter, Helen Cross. 

Venue: The Artrix, Bromsgrove

Writing for the screen demands many of the skills a writer uses in creating short stories, novels, radio and theatre plays – but it also requires new ways of visualising and thinking about plots and characters. How difficult is it to make the transition from prose storytelling to writing for the screen – and what are the tricks of the trade?  Using a mixture of film clips, writing exercises and practical advice, this course will encourage writers to think visually about stories, characters, delivering information and developing a visual style. It will also include a session with award-winning novelist and dramatist, Helen Cross, whose book My Summer of Love became a BAFTA award-winning feature film – and whose first original screenplay, Stratford Road, is currently in development with Red Room Films and the UK Film Council.

To Book: Cost: £50 (£45 concessions)
Further info: Contact Script on 0121 224 7415 or info@scriptonline.net

http://www.scriptonline.net