Film Forum West Midlands

Hello there,

Film Forum’s next meet up will be on Tuesday 13th October 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 what happens! 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.

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 address: The Victoria Pub, 48 John Bright St, Birmingham, B1 1BN

Here’s the Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=142120700881&index=1

I hope to see you there.

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.

Jolly Demon Productions are screening their film, ‘Frame of Mind’ at the Electric Cinema on Monday 31st August at 1pm

The film is about a failed filmmaker who’s life changes when a film crew start documenting and eventually dismantling his life.

Admission is free so pop along if you’re free this Bank Holiday.

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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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/

Great looking event coming up via Screen WM:

04 June 2009 7:30 PM — 9:00 PM

Hyatt Regency Birmingham, 2 Bridge Street, Birmingham

What is a 360-degree idea?

Should all programme pitches have a multiplatform element to them? 

‘Pitching Multiplatform Ideas’ will demystify the process of how to pitch 360-degree concepts plus the do’s and don’ts of pitching. Hear the experiences of our panel on the pit-falls, success stories plus, what’s hot and what’s not in the cross-platform world.  Plus top tips on how to give a successful pitch under pressure.

Chair:
Alice Taylor: Commissioning Editor – Education, Channel 4

The Panel:
Martin Trickey, Commissioning Executive – Comedy and Comedy Entertainment, BBC
Lucy Willis, Executive Producer, Raw TV

Visit here to register for the free event.

Apologies for copying and pasting, but here’s a very nourishing looking talk on marketing via Screen WM.

Screen WM and Channel 4 / 4iP in conjunction with Creative Networks invites you to:

Platform Alteration

Keynote by Lord David Puttnam CBE

Wednesday 10 June

6pm – 8pm The Patrick Centre, Birmingham Hippodrome

Followed by a drinks and canapés reception

Media is moving fast, and new platforms for content distribution have arrived. But what does the changing digital landscape mean for content producers? Should content be influenced by creative ideas or platform choice, and how easy is it to succeed in this new environment?

Film Producer and Politician, Lord David Puttnam, will examine the importance of collaboration and encourage us to look beyond digital platforms as distribution mechanisms for traditional content, but explore the opportunities to engage users in entirely new ways by creating entertainment products that have strong social value.

Innovative and lively debate will be lead by our panel of experts, including a focus on the opportunities for collaboration with the games industry.

Places for this event are strictly limited. Please RSVP by Friday 29 May to secure your place.