Encore Magazine articles from May 2008

Encore Magazine archives from May 2008

Have content get mobile: creating a project is only one part of the filmmaking puzzle; finding the equipment and promoting the finished product requires stamina and more than a few stamps in your passport.(Editorial)
May 1, 2008... TRAVEL IS AN ENORMOUS OPPORTUNITY THAT many would kill for in this business, though it may not always feel that way when you're schlepping around the market and trade show circuit that is part and parcel of the content creation business. Once...

Masters to lead Comedy/Drama at SBS; Television executive sue Masters is set to oversee SBS' drama and comedy offerings in her new role. Peter Galvin speaks to her about what we can expect when she takes up the role in July.([TELEVISION])
May 1, 2008... VETERAN PRODUCER SUE MASTERS WILL take on the role of supervising executive producer at SBS in July. Masters left her post as head of drama at Network Ten earlier this year, where she spearheaded the network's drama output, including the...

12 on MIFF slate.([FESTIVALS])(Melbourne International Film Festival)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... THE MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (MIFF) Premiere Fund has backed 12 films in its first slate, just six months after the scheme was launched. The pictures will premiere at MIFF over its next two festivals. The six feature length...

Animal reteams with '300' director.([PRODUCTION])(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... ANIMAL LOGIC WILL TEAM WITH DIRECTOR ZACK SNYDER AND VILLAGE ROADSHOW PICTURES TO produce a new high budget digital animation adventure feature Guardians of Ga'hoole. The three parties last collaborated on 300. Based on the popular book series...

Hoodlum bags a 'Spooky' BAFTA.([AWARDS])(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... AUSTRALIAN DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT company Hoodlum has won the Interactive category at the 2008 British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards for its work on the project Spooks Interactive. Spooks Interactive was co-produced for the BBC...

Mushroom backs racial tension pic.(PRODUCTION)
May 1, 2008... TEMPLAR FILMS HAS SCORED A distribution deal with Mushroom Pictures for its feature Cedar Boys. The film is currently in pre-production and follows the journey of three young Lebanese-Australian boys from the outer suburbs who can't seem...

Two shorts for Cannes but no features: directors Anthony Lucas and Julius Avery are the only local directors to make the cut for Cannes this year. Fiona Williams reports.([FESTIVALS])
May 1, 2008... TWO VICTORIAN SHORTS HAVE BEEN SELECTED TO screen in competition at the 61st Cannes International Film Festival. Director Julius Avery's Jerrycan and Anthony Lucas' My Rabit Hoppy, will be in competition with only seven other international...

Dungog mines for talent.([FESTIVALS])
May 1, 2008... AUSTRALIAN FILM AFICIONADOS WILL BE HEADING TO Dungog in the NSW mid-Hunter region again this month, when the second annual Dungog Film Festival gets underway. Festival director Allanah Zitserman says she "hasn't stopped" since the...

2020 vision obscured by spin: the landmark Australia 2020 summit promised so much yet had so little time in which to deliver, says Bob Ellis in this exclusive report.([ELLIS ON 2020])
May 1, 2008... THE TWO JOSTLING ATMOSPHERES OF THE 2020 conference--a jocular Aussie celebration of our intelligence and our decency with jokes, toasts, anthems and one-liners from the stage, and a time-pressed tutorial classroom with whiteboards, diagrams,...

Renaissance man Robert Bruning was a master of reinvention: scriptwriter Tony Morphett remembers his good friend and colleague, writer, producer and actor Robert Bruning, who died suddenly New Zealand in March, at the age of 79.(Obituaries)
May 1, 2008... "ONE MAN IN HIS TIME PLAYS MANY PARTS"-William Shakespeare, As You Like It The speech might have been written with Robert Bruning in mind. Born Robert Bell in Dongara, WA, educated by the Christian Brothers at Lewisham, Robert Bruning played...

Kiwi industry mourns lost adventurer Geoff Evans.(Obituaries)(Obituary)
May 1, 2008... THE NEW ZEALAND PRODUCTION COMMUNITY IS reeling from the shock death of Geoff Evans, co-owner/director of post-production company Images & Sound, who died whilst competing in Auckland's King of the Bays endurance swim on April 20. Here, his...

Best bits of NAB 2008: the industry's biggest trade show, NAB, brings over 100,000 people to Las Vegas every April Fiona Williams reports on the spectacle of NAB 2008, and some of the new technology making its way to our shores.([NAB])
May 1, 2008... THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BROADCASTERS (NAB) convention and exhibition is a 'must-attend' event for anyone in the content creation business. As exhausting as attending it can be, it's where the future of filmmaking is laid out in the one,...

Keeping it all in the family: Bob Ellis examines three tales of families in trouble: sibling rivalry of royal proportions; a desperate crime committed by two sons; and a brother with a loose grip on reality.(Rough Cut)(Movie review)
May 1, 2008... HENRY VIII HAS GROWN HANDSOMER DOWN THE years. In the flesh he closely resembled Max Gillies, but in the 20th century he's evolved somewhat, from the warty, to and like Charles Laughton to the bluff, red-bearded James Robertson Justice to Keith...

Agencies strive for instant attraction: finding success in the international locations and content attraction game means standing out from the crowd. Tracey Vieira gives an insight into Ausfilm's efforts to get noticed.(LA Insider)
May 1, 2008... FILM COMMISSIONS FROM AROUND THE WORLD congregated in Santa Monica in April, to promote their locations, facilities and filmmaking benefits to American producers at the 23rd annual Association of Film Commissioners International (AFCI)...

Cannes organisers court controversy: the announcement of contenders for the prized Palme d'Or has reignited complaints of an American bias at the Cannes International Film Festival. Julian Newby reports.(Euro Insider)
May 1, 2008... IT'S A COSMOPOLITAN, FULLY-INTERNATIONAL FILM Festival known for embracing the obscure, the groundbreaking, and often the downright controversial; but it can't escape Hollywood. They may be in the middle of an election, they may be facing a...

Australian-ness test offers sweet 'Justice': the well-publicised test of the new Australian content guidelines sent a strong message, says screen producers association of Australia executive director Geoff Brown.(Above The Line)
May 1, 2008... IT WAS THE DEBATE WE HAD TO HAVE! AS A consequence we now have a fair and equitable Australian-ness test for the Australian Producer Offset (APO) that works for nearly everyone thanks to the FFC's proactive approach to the issues surrounding...

Eyes on digital switch at NAB.(Special Report)
May 1, 2008... This special report ahead of next month's issue of Broadcast+Media magazine, provides an overview of the top broadcast news from the seven heady days of the National Association of Broadcasters conference and exhibition, which took place in Las...

A Question of control: digital acquisition and post production offers unprecedented opportunities to control the image. But who has final say on the 'look'? Peter Galvin canvasses opinion from Australian Cinematographers.(Cinematography)
May 1, 2008... CINEMATOGRAPHER MARK WAREHAM LIKES TO TELL A STORY about working on an HD shoot where the director was "stirring" him up in a good-natured way, about the new digital world. "He said to me, in front of everyone, 'You cinematographers think HD is...

Lensers look to the future as ACS turns 50: the Australian Cinematographers Society reaches a half century this month and it's throwing a big bash to celebrate. Fiona Williams previews what's in story at the ACS50 Future of the Image conference.(Cinematography)(Australian Cinematographers Society)
May 1, 2008... THE AUSTRALIAN CINEMATOGRAPHERS SOCIETY (ACS) IS celebrating 50 years of ongoing contribution to Australia's film and television. To mark the occasion, the society is staging a landmark Future of the Image conference, exhibition and golden...

Queenland signs co-pro deal with Korea.(IN BRIEF)(Pacific Film and Television Commission)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... In a nationwide first, the Pacific Film and Television Commission (PFTC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding agreement with two Korean film agencies, to collaborate on filmmaking and education between Queensland and the Republic of Korea....

Wills joins 360 films for development.(IN BRIEF)
May 1, 2008... Miranda Wills has joined 360 Films as development producer. Wills has experience in natural history documentaries through her time at the ABC Natural History Unit, and she recently directed the one-hour documentary 2 Mums and a Dad (produced by...

WA TV Writers Award extended.(IN BRIEF)
May 1, 2008... Screenwest has extended the deadline for entries to its TV Writers Award, which acknowledges fresh and dynamic projects television projects. The new deadline is 5pm, Monday May 26. The TV Writers Award is an annual scheme that aims to foster...

Gudgeon embarks on a 'Ride' with director Ivin; Scriptwriter Mac Gudgeon has spent five years adapting the novel the Last Ride for the screen. He speaks to Tracey Prisk about what attracted him to the story.(Script)
May 1, 2008... SCRIPTWRITER MAC GUDGEON'S LATEST PROJECT The Last Ride has given him the chance to do what he loves most; get under the skin of the characters. The film is a road movie about a father and son on the run from the law, and is an adaptation of...

Model search strives for reality in unreal world; Granada's Australia's Next Top Model rates consistently for Foxtel channel Fox8. But after four series, how do you keep the format fresh? Tracey Prisk reports.(Shoot)
May 1, 2008... WITH THE FOURTH SERIES OF AUSTRALIA'S NEXT Top Model now screening on Fox8, Granada Productions' executive producer of the series Josie Mason says the secret to the series' longevity is the fact that audiences "know what they're getting". ...

Rowan Woods draws 'Blood' in WA.(IN BRIEF)(Blood in the Sand)(Movie review)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Production has commenced in Perth on director Rowan Woods' telemovie for the ABC, Blood in the Sand. As previously mentioned in Encore (March 2008), the telemovie was developed under the working title The Conversation Killer and Ian David...

Paull goes troppo for Cherub.(IN BRIEF)(Cherub Pictures )(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Tropfest Feature Program co-founder Serena Paull has joined Cherub Pictures as senior producer for director Ben Briand. Paull said the director was "one of Australia's key directors to watch and I look forward to working with him across a...

'Prime Mover' shifts into overdrive.(IN BRIEF)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Writer/director David Caesar's new feature Prime Mover will commence a five-week shoot in Dubbo in regional New South Wales on May 12. Producer Vincent Sheehan described the film as a "truckin' love story". It will star Michael Dorman and Emily...

Apple serves up Final Cut Server.(IN BRIEF)
May 1, 2008... Apple has released new software for media asset management and workflow automation. Final Cut Server catalogs large collections, allows searching across multiple disks and SAN volumes, and enables remote viewing, annotation and approval of...

Blu-ray encoder in the works.(IN BRIEF)
May 1, 2008... Sony has introduced a tool for Blu-ray Disc encoding. The new BAE-VX1000 multi-code video encoder is designed for real-time encoding of MPEG-2 or H.264/AVC primary and secondary video streams, which are suitable for the Blu-ray Disc format Sony...

CVP upgrades and builds third edit suite.(IN BRIEF)(Centre Video Production)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Sydney's Centre Video Production (CVP) has installed a third commercial editing suite and HD routing capabilities in a purchase from Digistor. CVP has built a new high-speed production, editing and compositing system across its three...

Iris Pictures puts gender in focus in 'About Women': a new three-part documentary series charts the lives of Australian Women, and the obstacles they face from puberty to post-menopause Tracey Prisk reports.(Sync)
May 1, 2008... WHEN IRIS PICTURES SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED production on the three-part series About Men, the production company and supporting broadcaster, SBS were both keen to take the next logical step, redress the gender imbalance, and produce About Women....

Oz films get a shot in 2008 Sydney film fest program: low-budget local features figure prominently in this year's Sydney Film Festival program. Peter Galvin previews the event, which takes place from June 4 to 22.(Screen)
May 1, 2008... 2008 MARKS THE 55TH SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL AND for the first time it will hold an international competition for feature films. Executive director Clare Stewart said this year's festival would build on last year's efforts to create a fresh...

Ross Crowley returns to Foxtel.(IN BRIEF)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Ross Crowley has rejoined Foxtel in the newly created post of head of programming. He replaces Foxtel's former acquisitions executive Les Sampson, who left to head up digital programming at the Nine Network. Crowley has been at Star TV for five...

Propeller program funds new shorts.(IN BRIEF)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Film Victoria has backed four new projects in its Propeller Shorts program. Designed to 'propel' applicants into long form work, the scheme offers funding support--this year worth a total of $391,837--for teams to produce short narrative drama,...

Drama.(Production Report)
May 1, 2008... EVERY MONTH ENCORE'S Production Report lists features and television drams/factual programs that are currently in development, pre-production or production in Australia. Television programs must have a network presale in order to be listed...

Factual.(Production Report)
May 1, 2008... NEWS/TALK/BUSINESS/CURRENT AFFAIRS IN PRODUCTION 60 Minutes Network: Nine Network Prod off: Sydney Format: 60 mins per week Shoot From: 1/1/2008 Shoot To: 31/12/2008 Description: A public affairs program. 7:30 Report, The ...

After 'Underbelly': no rest for the wicked: Melbourne's Murderous Mafia, escaped convicts and wannabe Popstars are all in a day's work for Screentime. Harvey Shore profiles the makers of nine's controversial hit, Underbelly.(Hearsay)
May 1, 2008... YOU'VE GOT TO ADMIRE SCREENTIME'S UNDERBELLY. It premiered on Valentine's Day 2008, and massacred the opposition. It pulled 1.32 million Aussie viewers, despite being banned in Victoria. Experts estimate another 800,000 Victorians would have...