Skills to Screen comes to Bristol on 28-29 March at The Bottle Yard Studios with production company Calling the Shots running the weekend’s events and activities. Electricians, office administrators and people working in events or logistics with at least five years’ experience in their area, who live within one hour of the city, are being called on to take part in free workshops and panel discussions, followed by the opportunity to meet employers from the film industry looking for talent to hire.
Participants will explore a range of skill areas, gain an understanding of the connections that exist between disciplines and develop an insight into how production teams are managed in the film and television industries. The weekend will also include panel discussions with recent industry entrants, workshops led by experienced film and TV members and a facilitated tour of a production set in action. It will be followed on Wednesday 8 April by an evening of networking with a range of industry practitioners.
Calling the Shots have been working to widen participation in the film industry for over 20 years, starting with a film about homeless teenagers in St Pauls and recently a talent development scheme New Creatives that gives young people the chance to have their work commissioned for BBC platforms.
Steve Gear from Calling the Shots said: “Bristol is a leading light in the screen industry. It’s home to The Bottle Yard Studios, the largest dedicated film and TV studio in the West of England, where recent titles like The Trial of Christine Keeler, The Pale Horse and Poldark have been filmed.
“To keep going from strength to strength we need to bring in more and more skilled people. Calling the Shots is all about sharing the opportunity to work in this creative industry that we love. It’s important to us that people from all walks of life get to express themselves, which is why we’re excited to be able to offer this opportunity for free.”
Seetha Kumar, CEO, ScreenSkills said: “Bristol is home to so many UK screen industry success stories, including The Bottle Yard Studios and Aardman Animation – so we’re delighted to bring our Skills to Screen initiative to the city. It’s a wonderful opportunity for people in the region to learn more about the job opportunities within TV and film, and the various ways in which their existing skills can transfer to these thriving sectors.”
Skills to Screen is part of a nationwide drive by ScreenSkills, the industry-led skills body for the UK’s screen industries, to encourage those with skills needed in film and television to transfer them in. The initiative is supported by National Lottery funds awarded by the BFI as part of the Future Film Skills programme.
Fiona Francombe, Studio Director at The Bottle Yard Studios said: “Film and high end TV production is consistently rising in Bristol. More job opportunities than ever are opening up and we want local people to benefit from them.
“We hope this initiative will inform people about how they might transfer their existing skills into roles within this exciting growing industry.”
The deadline for applications is Monday 9 March. For more information and to sign up: www.screenskills.com/skills-to-screen-bristol
(* image credit Sanditon – BTS at The Bottle Yard Studios © ITV Red Planet Pictures)
**TWO PLACES LEFT – BOOK HERE**
Presenting work can be a challenge for even the most experienced presenter. Creative industry professionals come up against numerous obstacles when presenting work – extensive rounds of internal approvals, the confidence to present an effective message, and not to mention the client’s ability to kill the creative idea in one fell swoop. But how do you ensure your work sees the light of day?
Led by former TBWA Executive Creative Director Tom Evans, during this 1-day course you’ll learn how to present your work persuasively to increase the odds of your ideas making it to the outside world. It’s an ideal workshop for those looking to develop (or brush up on) skills for creative pitching, where you’ll emerge as a more confident and more competent presenter.
The 1-day workshop is on Tuesday 31st March from 9.30am – 5pm at Foot Anstey, Glass Wharf, Bristol.
Tickets £249 +VAT for Bristol Media members and £349 +VAT for non-members. Places are limited to 15 so book early to avoid disappointment. Lunch and refreshments are provided.
The BMAA was hugely successful last year and, after recently announcing Okori Lewis-McCalla as this year’s winner, we’re keen to hear from businesses who would like to support the initiative in 2020.
16% of Bristol’s population is from a BAME background, but these groups are still vastly underrepresented within our creative sector. Diversity and inclusion is somewhere on the agenda for most businesses but it’s often difficult to know how to make a difference.
The BMAA was launched in 2018 in memory of Ben Martin, a local agency MD who passionately believed that success was achievable regardless of background or education. The Award supports young people from underrepresented backgrounds by offering them work experience and opportunities with local creative businesses (as well as a trip to SXSW for one lucky winner).
This year, Okori and 3 runners-up have been selected to participate in the programme. Okori is currently preparing for SXSW in March, after which he and the runners up will start their paid internship programme with sponsoring agencies, taking their first steps into professional life. During their work experience they will be coached and supported for employability, setting them up for their future career within their chosen area of interest.
Marissa Lewis-Peart won last year’s BMAA and completed over 5 months of internships with 16 different agencies, gaining valuable experience across a range of creative sectors.
“Nothing compares to gaining real industry experience and I’m so glad to have been given this opportunity. Winning the Ben Martin Apprentice Award provided me with connections to people within the industry and the rare opportunity to experience some of the biggest creative agencies in Bristol. The experience and support really helped me to feel more confident in getting ready to start my career.” Marissa said.
Alongside Bristol Media, the headline sponsor for the 2020 BMAA is ADLIB with continued support from Babbasa. ADLIB are very excited to join the initiative as this year’s key sponsor.
“We all want to make our industry more diverse and inclusive, but when you run a small business it’s not always easy to know how to make a practical difference. By coming together as the Bristol Media community to support the BMAA, every member business, regardless of size, can do their bit to help young people get that all important foot in the door.” ~ Chris Thurling, Chair, Bristol Media
“Diversity and Inclusion isn’t a tick box exercise; it requires an engaged commitment to drive change and live and breathe an all-inclusive environment. Building a diverse and inclusive team is proven to drive increased employee engagement, creativity, innovation and profitability (and that’s just for starters). We have founded the True Diversity initiative with the mission to help Technology, Data, Marketing and Creative businesses identify where they are at on their journey towards diversity, what they could improve and how to go about making those adjustments.” ~ Nick Dean, MD, ADLIB
This year, we’re looking for agencies and businesses to be involved as corporate sponsors, to provide additional funding and further reach for young people. The BMAA will offer corporate sponsors the chance to promote their workplace diversity and inclusive work environment, highlighting their company values and adding to their attractiveness as an employer. Sponsors will have access to an exclusive workshop and branding opportunities.
The package costs £350 and includes but is not limited to:
To be involved in supporting this fantastic initiative, please contact Alli Nicholas at Bristol Media at [email protected].
We’re immensely proud of the role we’ve played in leading this initiative and have seen first-hand the impact it has had on both the BMAA Winner and the agencies involved. Thank you to the growing list of agencies who have already joined this initiative – Armadillo CRM, Tallt Ventures, McCann Bristol, Mr B & Friends, Oakwood, Immediate Media, Epoch Design, Halo, Torchbox and Diva Agency – who have committed to making a difference.
The Centre for Creative and Cultural Industries, Bristol+Bath Creative R+D, creative writing incubator Paper Nations, and Oxford-based cutting-edge AI company To Play For, are offering up to ten fully-funded places to writers under-represented in the publishing and gaming industries in the South West who will use AI to revolutionise how we interact with characters in stories from games to movies and apps, in mobile, VR online and more. Up to three of the writers may go on to paid, five-week placements with To Play For.
From talking to Alexa, to using virtual reality and tech in immersive theatre, to the way we interact with characters in games, to innovations in TV narrative such as Black Mirror’s Bandersnatch, a revolution in creating stories and characters is underway.
This revolution is driven by AI (Artificial Intelligence). Innovation in machine learning will see stories told where the audience becomes part of the story and can interact with characters who have their own voices, emotions and memories, and who make their own decisions.
The opportunities are limitless, but the worlds of writing/storytelling and tech are still quite. separate and writers in the South-West for the most part have yet to explore everything AI has to offer.
Bambo Soyinka, Paper Nations’ Executive Development Producer: “We are collaborating on these workshops to bring interactive writers and the AI storytelling experts together. Like particles colliding, we believe new and amazing things will happen. We want people with experience in theatre, comics or gaming; writers who work in performing and telling stories in a range of ways, who can breathe new life into their characters and stories with AI.
“We don’t expect them to be tech-magicians, only to have basic computer skills and a keen interest in how we can use AI.
“We’re also acutely aware of the lack of diversity in the world of digital storytelling. Creating opportunities for writers of all backgrounds is at the heart of our mission, so we’re particularly keen to hear from people from under-represented backgrounds in the South-West.”
The workshop will provide a masterclass on the Charisma.ai platform, giving hands-on experience to the writers of how to adapt existing stories as well as create new ones.
To Play For Creative Director Guy Gadney: “What’s really unique with the platform is how we can use AI to create characters that adapt, learn and act based on events the audience or player controls; characters with their own voices, memories and personalities.”
The workshop is a new and exciting opportunity for writers in the region, a chance to work in the cutting-edge, rapidly evolving world of digital writing driven by AI.
The application process is now open on http://papernations.org/writing-for-all/call-for-action/ai-story-lab/. Applications close at midday on Thursday 12th March.
**This event has sold out. If you didn’t manage to book your place, please add your name to the waitlist HERE and we’ll be in touch if a ticket becomes available**
This interactive workshop will help creative business professionals understand how businesses make money. We’ll consider the implications of your pricing approach and how the everyday decisions you make affect the bottom line and impact client relationships. Mette Davis, will share different pricing models, strategies and tactics, as well as practical advice on ways to communicate them effectively without compromising relationships.
By the end of the workshop you’ll have the tools and confidence to deliver a positive impact on your profitability.
Tuesday 28th April from 9am – 1pm at Amdaris, Finzel’s Reach, Bristol.
Tickets are £120 +VAT for Bristol Media members, £160 +VAT otherwise. This is a small, interactive workshop for up to 20 people so book early to avoid disappointment. Refreshments will be provided.
The Royal Television Society West of England today announce the shortlist of nominations for its annual awards, in association with Evolutions Bristol, in the fields of on screen talent, craft, animation, regional television news and across a range of factual programming including natural history and documentary.
The RTS West of England Awards is the only annual celebration of the region’s creative community and this year the awards include work from the RTS Devon and Cornwall centre.
There is an array of talent represented in the on screen talent category, from Steve Backshall (Blue Planet Live) and Angela Rippon (The Truth About: Antibiotics) to Nadeem Islam (See Hear on Tour) and Iolo Williams (The Watches)
BBC Studios Natural History Unit has 13 nominations for a wide range of programmes including landmark series Seven Worlds, One Planet and Earth from Space. And there are nominations for the BBC’s Sunday night hit, Countryfile – for their Evacuee special and reporter Charlotte Smith.
Last Breath, a MET Film Production & Floating Harbour Films, is nominated in four categories. This feature documentary tells the story of diver Chris Lemons, who was stranded on the seabed with 5 minutes of oxygen and no chance of rescue for more than 30 minutes. Drummer TV has four nominations and Silverback Films pick up 3 nominations for Our Planet, broadcast on Netflix. Keo Films, Icon Films, Twofour and Axis Studios pick up a handful of nominations between them.
In News, ITV News West Country score four nominations across the Flying Futures, News Story and News Reporter categories, as do BBC Inside Out West, who are nominated twice in Short Form and in Reporter and News Story
“The West of England is now, rightly recognised as an international centre of excellence in film, tv and digital production and our judges had a really tough job this year, with entries from an impressive range of programmes from our public service broadcasters and streaming platforms, like Netflix.
“In the year that welcomed Channel 4 to the West of England creative community, these awards are a great reflection of the exciting talent in the region.” said RTS chair, Lynn Barlow, who is Assistant Vice-Chancellor Creative and Cultural Industries at UWE, Bristol, and a documentary producer.
The RTS West of England Awards will take place on Sunday March 29th at Bristol Old Vic.
Tickets will be on sale soon from the Bristol Old Vic Box Office.
For more information on the awards, please contact Suzy Lambert on [email protected]
EVOLUTIONS
Evolutions Bristol are delighted to once again be headline sponsors of the 2020 West of England RTS Awards. Offering an end to end post production service including production offices, workflow consultancy, offline and final post with some of the best talent in the country, we are proud to be an integral part of the South West post production community supporting our ever growing sector.
With an established team in Bristol as well as our three Soho facilities, VFX team, as well as bespoke Rig and Location services, Evolutions provide an integrated post production service to enable our clients to work across the region and internationally with great flexibility, and deliver high quality programmes across all genres from Natural History, Documentary, Animation, through to Commercial Short Form.
Once again we congratulate all of this year’s nominees for the hard work that has brought them this far. The standard of work in the list of nominations is testament to the creative talent and ambition throughout our region, for which we should be very proud.
Sponsors of the RTS West of England Awards include: Doghouse, Icon Films, Wounded Buffalo, Plimsoll Productions, BBC Studios, Films at 59, Silverback Films, The Square Club, ITV, Evans Audio and Wall to Wall West.
So, you want to know about SEO?
If you get difficult questions about SEO and you know you could do more for your clients but don’t know where to start (or who to trust), this workshop will be perfect for you. Alternatively, if you’re responsible for website SEO and are looking for ways to improve your website then this session is for you.
Jon Payne, Technical Director of Bristol agency – Noisy Little Monkey – will be sharing expert advice, strategies and actionable tips in this Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) workshop, where you’ll discover how to get the best chance of ranking highly in Google and Bing for your own or your clients’ website.
Jon will provide you with theory and show examples so that you can go and get started straight away!
Account planners, strategists, small business owners, or anyone responsible for website performance who is looking for a crash course in beginner’s SEO.
This workshop takes place at 3-5pm on Thursday 13th February at Origin Workspace, Berkeley Square, Bristol.
Tickets are £20 (+VAT) for Bristol Media members and Origin Workspace members, £30 (+VAT) otherwise.
Jon is technical director of Noisy Little Monkey, the digital marketing agency focused on HubSpot. For more than 10 years, Noisy Little Monkey has enabled businesses to generate more leads, drive sustainable growth and unleash anarchic creativity.
The Noisy Little Monkey team work hard to improve the bottom line of their clients through services like: Inbound Marketing, SEO and Social Media Marketing. Jon is a wizard with all things relating to technical SEO and has spoken at events including SMX London and SEMrush webinars. His talks will leave you feeling refreshed, motivated and you’ll (hopefully!) leave with a smile on your face.
In 2012, The Wow Company began its agency benchmarking report – BenchPress. The aim was simple; to take an accurate snapshot of agency life in the UK and to share insight and analysis with ambitious agency owners.
BenchPress has grown to become the largest survey of independent agency owners in the UK and is a great way to benchmark yourself against your peers. BenchPress 2020 is now open and we’re encouraging South-West agencies of all shapes, sizes, and sectors to participate. You can take part here.
This year, Bristol Media has partnered with BenchPress to provide a bespoke report for agency owners in Bristol, Bath and the South-West to compare agency performance with the rest of the UK. We need 100 or more agency owners, founders or directors to participate, so please help spread the word. Everyone that takes part receives a copy of the full benchmark results. Here’s 2019’s report.
Last year revealed that confidence remained high amongst agency owners, with their drive and determination to grow in 2019 overriding any doubts about wider market conditions. This was off the back of a strong 2018, which saw agencies grow fee income by the largest amount since BenchPress started. BenchPress 2020 will reveal whether agencies are still on the up and provide an outlook for the year ahead.
This year’s survey will focus on how agency owners can build a profitable and sustainable business, one that can thrive in uncertain times. Alongside this, there will be questions about selling and buying agencies, which will reveal what makes an agency really valuable to any purchaser.
Join us and BIMA as the Head of Immersive Tech Council, Nicola Rosa, delivers a masterclass on Immersive Tech. Nicola will help attendees understand the possibilities of immersive technologies in this 2 hour masterclass.
This event is free for Bristol Media or BIMA members.
Nicola Rosa, Product Strategist, Accenture. Chair, BIMA Immersive Tech Council
Nicola is a Product strategist, experience designer, and digital transformation expert, Nicola is currently part of the Accenture Digital UKI where he is the Go-To Market Lead for XR (AR,VR, and MR). With more than 15 years of experience in the media and entertainment industry, Nicola worked for companies like Atari, Google, Spotify, Yahoo!, Virgin Radio and IBM iX designing B2E, B2B and B2C digital products and numerous App Store hits.
The mastercalss takes place on Wednesday 12th February, 3-5pm in the auditorium at Prophecy Unlimited, Glass Wharf, Bristol.
Tickets are free if you are a Bristol Media member or BIMA member, or £15 + VAT for non-members. To get your Member discount code email [email protected]
If you’re not a member, please BOOK HERE
If you’re thinking of joining, or simply need a reminder on how to make the most of your membership, we’ve created this guide to highlight the benefits of joining our community of creative sector individuals and businesses in Bristol and the South West. So, read on for 9 reasons to join, or stay put…
Won a top award? Published a brilliant thought leadership piece about creativity or innovation? Launched a new showreel and want to get the news out there? We want to hear about it! Members can self-publish content on the Newsfeed as much and as often as they like, and if it’s really good, we might even share it with our 31.8k twitter followers, or publish it in our newsletter.
Our jobs board is the go-to platform for creative industry jobs in the region. Last year, over 750 creative sector jobs were advertised by our members, who can take advantage of unlimited advertising for absolutely no cost. If you need proof that it works, our member JonesMillbank recruited ALL of their team through adverts on the Jobs board!
You may have been to a Vision keynote event before where we invite a world-class speaker to Bristol to share knowledge and insight around current hot topics. Members receive preferential rates, saving anywhere between 30-60% of a non-member ticket. Plus, we’ve recently introduced an offer where freelancers can take advantage of Vision keynote tickets for £10. We provide a networking lunch before each talk, so it’s a great opportunity to get to know fellow creative industry professionals or catch up with old contacts over a buffet lunch. Visit the Events page for more.
Are you looking to promote your business? Partner with a local agency? Want to bag your next freelance gig? Our online member directory allows you to create an individual member profile with contact details and the ability to showcase your latest work. Make sure you keep your profile updated as we regularly point businesses to the directory who are looking for agencies and freelance resource.
If you’re hosting a local event, head over to the Events page, submit the form and we’ll publish your event in the calendar. Just make sure it’s relative to a creative sector audience and is within the South West and you’re good to go.
We work with local businesses to ensure members get the best deals possible for everything from free legal advice to restaurant discounts, coffee subscriptions to team away-days. Our mobile membership cards allow you to claim these exclusive deals and discounts, plus they are available for your whole team! Lunch at The Florist then? Check out the full list of member perks.
We’re firm believers in training and professional development. How else will you develop the skills of your team or attract and retain top talent? We bring the knowledge to our members through a series of intimate workshops and skills sessions, so you can benefit from high-quality training at a competitive price. Check out the latest workshops here.
If you remember the Bristol Media barometer – a valuable tool providing insight into the local creative sector – then good news. We’re teaming up with a partner to create a bespoke report to benchmark business performance, and explore the trends, insights, opportunities and threats facing creative agencies in Bristol & Bath. More info coming soon, so watch this space!
Last, but certainly not least. Collaboration is at the heart of what we do at Bristol Media. We believe that Bristol is one of the most creative and innovative cities out there and it’s achieved this status by organisations and individuals working together. We champion our members in the creative sector and encourage collaborations as much as possible, so keep us posted on your blossoming partnerships.
Collectively, we’re greater than the sum of our parts
Our mission is to put our region on the map as a world-leading centre of creativity and innovation, so that we inspire talented people to work here, attract customers and drive growth. Being localised to Bristol means we can be the eyes and ears on the ground, but we can’t do it without our members. So, if you’ve yet to become part of our community and would like to take advantage of the above, and more, join Bristol Creative Industries today.
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