creatives for argyll

From 20th to 22nd February, 9.30am - 5.00pm daily, inclusive, there is a free three-day screenwriting workshop from Screen Lab at the Scottish Book Trust’s premises in Edinburgh. The sole conditions are that you must apply (details below) by 2nd February 2009 and that you must commit to attending the full course.

If you are writing plays, short stories or novels and are interested in developing your skills into writing for film and television, Screen Lab 2009m promises to ’show you exactly what it takes to break into one of the most competitive and lucrative areas of writing’.

The Screen Lab course will be led by Adrian Mead., an award-winning writer and director.  Over the intensive  three-day course, Adrian will take you through the realities of the script development process and the strategies you need to adopt in order to break into the industry. Adrian is also the author of ‘Making it as a Screenwriter’ which you can check out at Mead Kerr.

Entry to the the Screen Lab course is open to writers at all stages of their career. Applicants must live in Scotland.

NOTE: Applications are already being taken.  Applicants who have not followed the application guidelines will not be considered. See guidelines at the Scottish Book Trust.

For further information, contact: Caitrin Armstrong , Writer Development Co-ordinator .
Email: caitrinarmstrong@scottishbooktrust.com
Tel: 0131 524 0177

An important piece of research has been commissioned by Highlands & Islands Enterprise (HIE) to review and analyse the creative and cultural industries (CCIs) in the Highlands and Islands. The CCIs include the following:

• Advertising
• Architecture
• Computer games
• Crafts
• Design (including fashion)
• Film
• Multi-media
• Music
• Photography
• Performing arts
• Publishing (including writing)
• Software
• Radio
• TV
• Visual arts

The study is aimed at understanding in greater detail the potential that the CCIs offer the regional economy, to bolster a case for supporting the sector and to inform the development of future support for the sector. A firm of independent economic consultants, EKOS, has been appointed to undertake the study.

As an individual or organisation involved in the CCIs HIE and EKOS would appreciate your views on this.  If you could spare the time to complete an online questionnaire that should take no more than 15 minutes to complete, they would appreciate it if you could complete the survey within the next two weeks.

It is only through the willing participation of the CCI community in the Highlands and Islands that EKOS can ensure that the research is properly informed and market focused.

NOTE: All responses will be treated in the strictest confidence. No company details wll be disclosed, nor will any views or statements be attributed to any individual.

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For me this was a return to an intense, complete, compelling kind of reading. Not reading simply for the narrative, reading for the subtext, the analogy, the hidden, the cultural, the intent. And Brink’s intent is clear: a Boer history, or histories, where Afrikaans society is dealt with in microcosm.

Flip Lochner, washed up, fag smoking journo decides to swing the bat one last time and lay to rest the ghosts of a better career writing histories that he never quite had. He picks up research he began as a young man and decides to travel to the Devil’s Valley to finish it off. What he finds is a Boer society out of time, clinging to the last vestiges of its dignity in a drought which is rapidly descending into living nightmare.

This novel is brutal, unflinching and illuminating. Not only are the characters we meet fully drawn, they’re cyphers too we feel. Each represents part of the psyche of this extraordinary people while still managing to engage at a human level.

Read the rest of this entry »

This is the second of two masterclasses 4Talent Scotland are running at the Inverness Film Festival. It’s on Saturday 22nd November from 15.00 - 17.00 in the Tulloch Room at the Eden Court Hotel, Inverness.

Film is primarily a visual medium but the contribution of sound cannot be underestimated. Too often forgotten or neglected, bad sound can render a film unwatchable. Professional sound recordist, Becky Thomson, will teach filmmakers how to get the best quality sound on a tight budget.

Becky has recorded four feature films and has worked extensively in TV, including primetime drama The Bill.  She started out at Moray Firth Radio in Inverness and has recently returned to the Highlands and Islands.

Book early for this session as places are very limited - via 01463 234234.

Participants are encouraged to bring their own camcorder where possible.

This is one of two masterclasses 4Talent Scotland are running as part of the Inverness Film Festival. Its on Saturday 22nd November, from 09.30 - 11.30, in the Tulloch Room at the Eden Court Theatre, Inverness.

It focuses on how to improve the look of your film on a budget? It’s led by professionals Minttu Mäntynen and Scott Ward. They will examine cinematography as a process that starts with the script and ends with the screening. Learn about visual narrative, pre- and post-production, and about collaborating with other departments under the guidance of the director.

Scott and Minttu will draw on examples of their own work in this fascinating workshop, stuffed full of tips for anyone wishing to advance their film-making skills.

Book early for this session as places are very limited - via 01463 234234

All this week - from Monday 3rd November to Frioday 7th November - at 3,30p each day, Radio 4 is  broadcasting short stories by writers awarded the Jura Malt Whisky Writers’ Retreat.

Full story is on the For Argyll news site or the permanent page for the news item.

HIE currently has two contracts available for new, recent or forthcoming business starts in the Creative Industries.  The contracts are seeking people to work on the delivery of a range of Creative Industries events, one with an emphasis on music and the other with an emphasis on screen and broadcasting. The contracts will run from Nov 2008 until the end of Nov 2009. Final value of contracts will be defined by availability of applicants. Successful bidders will:

• Work on the delivery of a range of events including goNORTH 2009
• Act as a scout for new creative talent
• Work on promotion of the creative industries in the Highlands and Islands

As well as the value of the contracts, the two new businesses will have access to a range of key industry figures, locally, nationally and internationally, who will be in position to potentially help the business develop, as well as provide advice and mentoring.

There are no age restrictions and as long as the business is involved in some aspect of creative industries in the Highlands and Islands, it would be appropriate for consideration.

Applicants will apply by submitting a copy of their business plan and indication of availability, which should be e-mailed to Gillian MacGregor (gillian.macgregor@hient.co.uk) by 31st October 2008.  A decision as to the ‘winning’ entries will be made by a panel in the week beginning 3rd November 2008.

Sophie Turner-Laing, MD of Entertainment for Sky television has announced that the Sky channels are to be repositioned, moving upmarket with a major focus on the arts. Her strategy is to make Sky’s programming so alluring in becoming the home of the arts on television that it will drive up subscriptions much as football does.

She sees the arts as ‘a much unloved genre in terrestrial television’, always a nuisance to schedule and plans, as the terrestrials retreat from the arts, to scale u Sky’s coverage very significantly.

Last year Sky rebranded the Artsworld channel as Sky Arts. From Monday 20th October Sky will move to a family of three arts channels.

• Sky Arts 1 will cover contemporary subjects
• Sky Arts 2 will be more classically oriented and will show operas in full
• Sky Arts HD channel will be the third

Turner-Laing also wants Sky to increase its output of original drama, though lacking the budget of ITV.

This growth in arts-related output must mean more opportunities for creatives across the various arts genres, including production. Looks like a good time for Argyll’s talent to be entrepreneurial with its abilities.

The BBC website has a section - New Talent - dedicated to making contact with potential new talent from presenting to fim-making. It offers a spectrum of opportunities and competitive challenges.

There’s also a competition likely to appeak to younger creartives in Argyll - with a nine month BBC placement on offer.

Check it out.

You have until 1st December to enter a new short film competition run by MG Alba, the Gaelic Media organisation now producing the programming for BBC Alba, the Gaelic television channel available on Freesat or Sky Digital. (Yes, we know about the Freeview controversy. We’ve published on it - and that argument has to be won soon.)

Anyway - FilmG aims to find new creative talent for BBC Alba. Donald Campbell, CEO of MG Alba, says: ‘It’s never been a more crucial tine for aspiring film makers to get involved in Gaelic media’.

There is a prize pool of £35,000 which is also w a worthwhile incentive. Get on to FilmG now and think about getting an entry together for this.

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