Screen Australia Podcast

Michael Carrington, the Director Entertainment and Specialist at the ABC, discusses the priorities of the public broadcaster in 2020; what content ABC are looking for; balancing acquisitions and commissions; their approach to ‘bingeing’ content; and opportunities such as the one-off Development Fund Fresh Start, which runs until June 12, 2020. https://www.abc.net.au/events/freshstart/

Director and producer Sophie Hyde of Closer Productions discusses the pressures of making Animals - her second feature after the 2013 award-winner 52 Tuesdays, why she always knew she wanted to be a director, and what advice she has for any aspiring directors. More info on Animals as an Official Co-production: https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/sa/screen-news/2019/09-03-a-tale-of-two-co-productions

How many episodes should a web series be? What’s the difference between Snapchat, YouTube, Facebook, IGTV and TikTok? What kind of audiences ‘live’ on each? Screen Australia Online Investment Manager Alyce Adams returns to the podcast to answer these questions and more, and reveal exactly how to identify and hook an audience online.

Hear from industry veteran Sue Masters – former Head of Scripted at SBS, Head of Drama at Network Ten, and Head of Drama at ABC – who discusses commissioning, developing, and producing Australian television including success stories such as Safe Harbour and The Hunting.

Hear from Transmission Films joint managing director Andrew Mackie about what filmmakers need to know about distributors, what makes a great pitch, how they build a strategy for their features, and how the determination of Ride Like a Girl director Rachel Griffiths helped make that film such a success.

Screen Australia Distribution Manager Anthony Grundy gives an introduction to distribution, including what a distributor does, what an exhibitor is, what P&A means, and his thoughts on the challenges in the distribution landscape at the moment. FURTHER INFO Finance Plans Podcast Recoupment vs Profit guide

Hear from Australian producer Liz Watts of Porchlight Films about her career, collaborations and the realities of creating films and TV in 2020. Watts discusses everything from collaborating with Netflix and David Michod on The King, to the impact of Animal Kingdom, streaming True History of the Kelly Gang on Stan, and seeing Cate Shortland leap from independent Australian cinema like Lore to Marvel’s Black Widow. Subscribe to Screen Australia Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify or Pocket Casts. Subscribe to the Screen Australia newsletter: https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/subscribe

The Heights season 2 script producer/writer Romina Accurso and script editor/writer Hannah Carroll Chapman reveal lessons they learned from soaps like Home and Away, their writing process, advice, and the various roles you might find in a script department. Subscribe to Screen Australia Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher or Pocket Casts. Subscribe to the Screen Australia newsletter: https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/subscribe

Screen Australia Senior Investment Manager Shana Levine explains two crucial documents for Australian productions – the finance plan and recoupment waterfall. Visit this article for links to a sample finance plan and recoupment waterfall, and read about the five most common mistakes Shana sees in applications: https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/sa/screen-news/2020/01-17-podcast-finance-plans-explained Subscribe to Screen Australia Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher or Pocket Casts. Subscribe to the Screen Australia newsletter: https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/subscribe

The Australian director behind Netflix’s short form comedy series Special, Anna Dokoza, and it’s writer, creator and star Ryan O’Connell talk about how the series came about, authentic casting, Hollywood’s views on diversity, and the pros of working on a comedy with bingeable 15-minute episodes. LANGUAGE WARNING: This episode contains mild course language. And a lot of laughs.

Stan CEO Mike Sneesby discusses the beginnings of Australia’s premiere streaming service, their $200 million investment, major output deals, and his thoughts on Netflix, Disney, limited theatrical windows and pitching. Subscribe to Screen Australia Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher or Pocket Casts. Subscribe to the Screen Australia newsletter: https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/subscribe

Judy & Punch writer/director Mirrah Foulkes talks about making the leap from short films to features, her advice for anyone doing the same, how her background as an actor influences her directing style, and about being a member of the Blue-Tongue Films collective. Subscribe to Screen Australia Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher or Pocket Casts. Subscribe to the Screen Australia newsletter: https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/subscribe

In his first long-form interview since starting at Screen Australia, Chief Operating Officer Michael Brealey discusses the emergence of streamers, what he's hearing from industry, challenges around regulatory reform, and takeaways from the 2018/19 Drama Report. He also addresses Screen Australia's priorities going forward and why the future is bright for Aussie creatives. Read the full report here. Subscribe to Screen Australia Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher or Pocket Casts. Subscribe to the Screen Australia newsletter: https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/subscribe

Matchbox Pictures is one of Australia’s most successful and prolific producers of television, and in this in-depth interview Managing Director Alastair McKinnon talks about the company and industry at large. He discusses working with global parent company NBCUniversal, how much time projects take to develop, pitching tips, and providing a pathway for emerging talent with their series The Heights. Subscribe to Screen Australia Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher or Pocket Casts. Subscribe to the Screen Australia newsletter: https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/subscribe

In this latest podcast episode Screen Australia’s Head of Documentary Bernadine Lim talks through the funding available to documentarians, what the agency is looking for, and how they assess applications.  Lim also speaks to the proposed changes to documentary guidelines, including who they will benefit and how to submit feedback before 27 October 2019. To read the discussion paper, or submit feedback on the revised guidelines: https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/sa/new-directions/documentary-program-revision-2019  Subscribe to the Screen Australia newsletter: https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/subscribe

Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason discusses Toronto International Film Festival 2019, the six Australian titles that were selected for it, and industry trends. He also gives an overview of television market MIPCOM and provides key pieces of advice for Australians preparing to attend international festivals or markets. For more information, visit: https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/festivals-and-markets Subscribe to Screen Australia Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher or Pocket Casts.

Producers John and Dan Edwards of Roadshow Rough Diamond discuss new series Les Norton and keeping up with the changes in Australian TV. The father-son duo – who between them have around five decades of television experience – dish their thoughts on creating space for new voices, what commissioners are looking for, important TV markets, and genres that sell internationally. Subscribe to Screen News here where you’ll get all the latest features, videos, podcasts and funding announcement delivered straight to your inbox: screenaustralia.gov.au/subscribe Have any feedback? Email us at podcast@screenaustralia.gov.au 

Four years since the announcement of Gender Matters, producer Joanna Werner of Dance Academy and Riot is glad the conversation around female representation in the industry hasn’t abated. Werner talks through some of the trends in new industry-wide data, balancing career and motherhood, the journey of Dance Academy, her hopes for the future and much more. Werner also discusses Screen Australia's Gender Matters KPI which it set out to achieve three years ago, and the newly announced KPI, whereby 50% of the key creatives in projects that receive development or production funding are women, across a three-year-average.  Werner is joined on the podcast by Judy and Punch writer/director Mirrah Foulkes and Eliza Reilly, the co-writer/co-director of Sheilas, who briefly speak about the greater impact of support on their careers. To read the new industry wide data or learn more about the new Gender Matters KPI, visit the Screen Australia website, or click here https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/sa/media-centre/news/

Since starting out as a script assistant on Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities, television writer Niki Aken’s career has covered script editing, freelance writing and script producing. Unsure of what any of these roles are? On the latest episode of the Screen Australia podcast, Aken explains the different work out there for television writers who are on the more traditional career progression route (acknowledging that many people are creating their own pathways online).   Aken also gives her top tips for writers starting out and the way the Australian industry could better utilise writers beyond handing in a script. Subscribe to Screen News here where you’ll get all the latest features, videos, podcasts and funding announcement delivered straight to your inbox: screenaustralia.gov.au/subscribe Have any feedback? Email us at podcast@screenaustralia.gov.au 

What’s the Producer Offset? How much is it worth? How do I get it? How long will it take? These are just some of the topics covered by Michele McDonald, Senior Manager of Screen Australia’s Producer Offset and Co-Production Unit (POCU), in this latest podcast episode. Michele discusses the basics – such as the Significant Australian Content (SAC) test and how many government offsets you can get - to more intricate queries around the Gallipoli Clause, and the use of Cinema on Demand in feature film applications. Subscribe to Screen News here where you’ll get all the latest features, videos, podcasts and funding announcement delivered straight to your inbox: screenaustralia.gov.au/subscribe Have any feedback? Email us at podcast@screenaustralia.gov.au      FURTHER READING Producer Offset eligibility criteria and information The Location Offset & Location Incentive PDV Offset In addition to the 10% Create NSW, SAFC and Screen Qld PDV Incentives, Film Victoria also offer a negotiable PDV Incentive