International – World’s Most Wanted

The fifth of the Wanted Seminar Series, held on Friday the 26^th of September.

Content

I found the guests and discussion extremely inspirational, it has really boosted my interest in making the move and doing it while I’m still young. The discussion about the challenges was also useful because there will always be hurdles involved in uprooting your life to pursue your career on the other side of the world. A lot of the ground had already been covered in previous seminars, but I guess it was still worth reiterating the importance of work experience and starting out as a runner. The benefits seem to outweigh the challenges and the idea that simply being from another country can be a selling point to some employers is intriguing. I liked all of the guests, particularly Jane Liscombe. She had some great anecdotes about starting from the bottom, knowing nothing and making mistakes. It’s always comforting hearing that successful people weren’t always successful. I think this seminar inspired a lot of other students as well, so top marks for relevancy!

Approach

They didn’t necessarily need two hosts, but it didn’t detract from the content. Their segments worked well and steered the conversations in a positive direction.

Theme 

I loved their airport transit lounge theme and I thought it was executed extremely well. The ‘world’s most wanted’ tagline was clever, they really thought it all through. Everything from the flight attendant uniforms, the staging and the food. I also loved the flight attended announcement at the beginning of the seminar along with the guy playing the keyboard sound effects.

Staging

The transit lounge stage and seminar room was very well constructed. I thought the paper planes and the seminar postcards were nice touches. There was a great atmosphere with the lounge music and lighting. The flight poster schedule on the wall didn’t go unnoticed, they paid great attention to detail.

Promotion

The promotional video was well shot and the poster was professional looking. They may have posted a little bit too much content on the Facebook event over the few days before the seminar rather than slowly releasing it in the week leading up to it. I have to admit I lost interest and stopped reading the constant updates about guests, but at least we were well informed!

Grade: 90

Reel Crimes

The fourth of the Wanted Seminar Series, held on Friday the 19^th of September.

Content

The guests would have benefited from a casual warm up conversation led by the host to give them a more through introduction rather than immediately start with the serious questions about funding. There was incorrect information included in the introducing for Veronica Gleeson, which was unprofessional and should have been picked up earlier.

The dynamic between the guests was great; I really enjoyed the banter between the different perspectives of the filmmaking industry from the funding body, the manager and the director. There was tension between Gleeson and Tass in regards to funding, which seemed to be an accurate representation of what might go on behind closed doors between passionate directors and funding bodies such as Screen Australia.

Nadia Tass was a down to earth, passionate and inspirational guest, she emphasised the importance of having something to say, being disciplined and making the film for the amount that can raised. I adored Tass’ story about finding funding for Malcolm, she knew she was working in comedy and so she had to find a stock broker with a sense of humour. She approached him with a remote control car and a fake gun threatening to shoot his balls off if he refused to give her the money. This radical method proved the extent to which she has gone to get projects up and running. It’s made me think that doing something radical may be what’s needed to break it in the film making industry, although I don’t think I would have the guts to pull that off. All of Tass’ anecdotes about breaking the rules to make her films happen were delightful.

Trevor Blainey commented on the necessity for a filmmaker to have an enormous passion for their vision and then the ability to be able to execute that vision, which is where a lot of people make a mistake. He also discussed the importance of knowing the film’s demographic.

Veronica Gleeson warned us not to hate the funding facilities, not to whine or moan when we don’t get what we want. She simply stated that we couldn’t be paid for something we’re not very good at yet and that we’re not owed a chance that we have to prove that we can tell a story through experience. Gleeson finished by saying that it is hard, but it’s so much sweeter at the other end. I enjoyed her honest opinion and I agree, we can’t expect to be handed money easily.

I loved the discussion about cutting corners as I hope to get into film production myself and I find problem solving really interesting and rewarding when it works out. Tass discussed the importance of discovering the essence of what the scene is and then finding a clever and cheap way to pull it off. She advised that these constraints can make you better, which I believe.

I left the seminar with a better understanding of the purpose of Screen Australia and how to approach funding my projects, so the content was extremely relevant and informative.

Approach

The panel idea was nice, it reminded me of a Q&A at a film festival, although the questions didn’t seem very well throughout. I sensed they were under prepared in formulating a structure. The entertaining guests made up for this element of the seminar.

Theme

I enjoyed the pun in the title, but the filmmaking theme wasn’t present throughout the seminar itself, besides the red carpet. They could have emphasised the theme through the use of props and incorporated it into the choice of food.

Staging

The hissing audio issue was distracting and detrimental to the content for the first half of the seminar because I was only able to hear parts of the conversation. The red carpet, raised platform and panel looked effective. There were far too many unnecessary lights at the back of the room and too many cameras. More thought could have gone into this aspect of the seminar.

Promotion

It did not appear as though much effort went into the promotion of this seminar. The video consisted of found footage (from other films) and was unprofessionally edited together with poor titles and tag lines, where as all other groups had shot and photographed their own content. The poster was plain and there were very minimal updates on the Facebook page, so overall it wasn’t very effective.

Grade: 60

Breaking In- TV Knowledge At a Steal

The second of the Wanted Seminar Series, held on Friday the 29^th of August.

Content

The guests were really charismatic and their enjoyment was infectious so there was a great atmosphere in the room. Ron Frim emphasis on utilising RMITV and other work experience opportunities made it clear that having practiced skills before you start applying for jobs is of utmost importance. Frim also commented on the necessity of networking and explained how getting on someone’s ‘radar’ is a powerful aspect of finding employment within the industry.

Lucy Maclaren provided some practical techniques for approaching employers which although seemed a little obvious, have already me reconsider my CV and the style of language I use in introductory emails.

I was surprised by their strong encouragement of TV professionals moving to other states and outside Australia for work. These comments also represented Sydney as a much better place to be working in TV, which caused me to think about considering this move for my own career.

There was a discussion about the changes in the industry in regards to internships and budgets. It clarified the huge difference between entering the industry nowadays and when most of the guests were breaking in.

Anna Gregory advised that we need to be prepared to do any type of work because no experience is wasted. She also advised that we are personable, reliable, hard workers and work to a high standard. Gregory commented that we will be able to move across to an area that interests us eventually. This last piece of advice surprised me as I’ve previously been told that you often get stuck in your first role and that it’s difficult to shift.

I enjoyed the light-hardheartedness of the conversations about ‘semi-illegally harassing producers to get roles’ and the anecdotes about disastrous shoots, although they were brutally honest when it came to the harsh reality of being given a chance to ‘break in’ and developing a ‘thick skin’. The high pressure and conflict involved in working in TV did not sound appealing.

On a more positive note, there was a discussion about the need for young people and women in the industry.

Approach

I loved the game show concept and the general chitchat at the beginning to allow the guests to warm up and feel comfortable. I originally thought there was a little too much game show silliness and I wasn’t sure when they’re were going to get down to business, but it happened and it was very worthwhile. Connor was a professional and engaging host.

Theme

The Breaking Bad theme was well executed through the promotional video, the host’s character, the slides and the blue meth lollie snacks. It was individual and tied into the wanted theme extremely well.

Staging

The game show setting wasn’t completely professional, it was a little too cluttered and I was initially unclear what they were trying to achieve. The positioning of the lights weren’t well thought out, they blocked the audience from seeing the guests and vice versa. A raised platform would have helped the audience sitting further back see the guests.

Promotion

The promotional ad was a clever concept, but ran for a little too long. It might have been better if they kept it short and sweet. The promotional poster was once again a clever concept in tying it to the wanted theme, but not professionally executed. There wasn’t a huge amount of promotion. There could have been more content posted to the Facebook event in the lead up to the seminar.

Grade: 80

Non-Fiction- Wanted For Disturbing The Peace

The very first of the Wanted Seminar Series, held on Friday the 22^nd of  August.

Content

The discussions were relevant and informative, particularly Genevieve Bailey’s contributions when she addressed the audience as ‘multi-hatted’ media practitioners. Bailey kindly explained the reason why young people struggle to get funding for projects is because we’re ‘at risk’. She claims that this treatment of young filmmakers is a huge mistake because there will never be new talent if no one’s willing to ‘risk’ giving us a chance. I also really enjoyed Bailey’s explanation of her approach to researching audiences and her love of social impact, which I found extremely relevant to young media makers who can lose sight of the purpose of who will actually sit down and watch their content.

Bailey’s description of her approach to finding, treating and interviewing subjects within her documentary was particularly insightful and something I will keep in mind for any future documentary making I pursue. John Hughes importantly advised that we stay positive in the industry and be nice to others, simple, but essential.

Approach

The opening introductory videos were a nice idea, but the clips were too brief and were not provided with any context. The guests were given too much time to speak about their projects and this caused them to get off topic.

The conversations and interview approach seemed a little disjointed when certain guests spoke for lengthy periods of time in response to a single question. It would have been more enjoyable if the guests and host were more conversational with one another, it would have felt less like a lecture. I found it difficult to engage with what was being said when the conversations dragged out.

The pitch concept was a unique idea to show the audience how the professionals approach a challenging concept from different aspects of filmmaking, although they never completely answered the question because the concept fizzled toward the end, they did still provide some insightful comments.

The Q&A through Twitter did not seem very successful, it seemed to just complicate something that should have been straight forward. The seminar was hastily concluded, which suggests it wasn’t well timed. The seminar also lacked atmosphere, they would have benefited from music in the intermission.

Theme

I enjoyed the stylish Pulp Fiction references within the seminar’s promotional material, food and the criminal references throughout the seminar segments, although I felt the theme was not present through the staging and could have been further enhanced throughout the approach to the presentation.

Staging

There did not appear to be a large amount of decoration or thought put into the staging of the seminar. I found it difficult to see the guests, they would have benefited from a stage. The sound was a little too soft at times, which made it difficult to follow the conversation. They also may have benefited from an usher guarding the door to ensure late comers did not disrupt the guests and distract the audience.

Promotion

The promotional video was very simple as was the promotional poster, but they were both executed well. Considering they had very minimal time to organise this and promote their event, I think they pulled it together well.

Grade: 65