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)

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.

Our City is our annual competition for local filmmaking talent to create a short film or animation to showcase the city of Bristol. Filmmakers under 30 are asked to produce a 90 second film, animation or motion video that captures their view of what makes Bristol THE place to be – celebrating creativity, people, music, technology, action, collaboration or lifestyle.

This year, 3 films made it to the final stage and met with the judging panel and Mayor Marvin Rees to start planning the fine-cut stage, drawing on the TV skills of Aardman, Icon Films and Drummer TV, and the facilities at Doghouse and Films@59, and blending in the One City messaging, footage from Destination Bristol and locations from the Bristol Film Office.

Congratulations go to:

Leeza Awojobi, Daniel Moon, Jagneel Bhullar, Stephanie Burnham, and Emma Rigby for ‘Held in Pockets’ – a original approach supported by a beautifully-written poem to celebrate and embrace the youthfulness of the city.

Tobi Wozniak and Curtis Ball for ‘Bristol: A Hobbit Tale’ – a humorous, well-produced film which the judges liked for its pastiche style and great punchline.

James Giles-Lane and Elliot Barry for ‘Bristol in the Fast Lane’ – an upbeat and dynamic short film showcasing the diversity and creativity of Bristol.

For Mayor Marvin Rees, the competition unlocks the talent of young people and showcases what makes Bristol so special:

“Although the three films are very different, together they are great insights into a city which is energetic, varied and cares about the future of its young people – but doesn’t take itself too seriously.”

The winners will share the £1,000 prize fund donated by Aardman Animations, Films@59, Icon Films Doghouse Post Production and Drummer TV, and the final films will be screened in Millennium Square.

What’s your favourite place in Bristol/this area?

There’s a little curved edge on the corner near the Arnolfini, and if you look across the water towards the giant giraffe cranes at the right time, the sun comes around the M-shed and it is quite stunning. Whether you’re a student hanging out there, dangling your legs over the edge with a cider, or you’re taking the baby for a stroll, that little spot is particularly special.

There are so many wonderful things about Bristol, things that just don’t exist anywhere else. It’s so unique.

What are you most proud of as a business?

There was a real sense of pride when we moved into our new premises. Every single time we’ve done something big, whether it was moving or buying a bit of kit, it’s always been such a morale booster, and we get re-energised. But moving into Temple Studios at the beginning of the year was so different because it was suddenly our space, we had this ownership that we hadn’t had before.

Overall, we’re proud of the fact that every step we’ve taken has led to the creation of something that’s been a benefit for someone, as well as being beautiful and enjoyable to watch. So, any little production whether it’s a small 30 second piece or a TV campaign, we’re massively proud of what we can actually create as a team.

What’s your favourite office gadget?

Everyone else’s favourite is probably the coffee machine or PlayStation, but mine is our old 1930s film projector. It was a prop for a TV ad we created. We were so happy because it actually works! We’ve got Tom and Jerry reels and these amazing documentaries from Africa; it’s absolutely incredible. It weighs a tonne… But I love that thing.

What exciting plans have you got coming up this year?

Historically, we’ve organically grown by one or two people a year, but with the amount of work that’s coming in that’ll be accelerating very soon. We’ve already taken on another animator and we’re currently advertising for a camera operator. By next year we might be a team of 10!

The investments we’ve made in kit this year will mean that we can really throw ourselves at some huge projects. We’ve also been working on our passion projects, one in particular that we’ve been creating looks into masculinity and it’s gone really deep. We’re hoping to push that towards a broadcast commission next year. And this is all under the assumption that we’ll survive the Christmas party in Athens!

Whose work do you admire and why?

Aardman’s work is beyond amazing. I went along to Nick Park’s ‘Cracking Conversations’ event recently, and I just have a huge admiration for someone who can imagine what he can and just create it. I think they are really leading the way in Bristol.

But there are so many incredible companies in the area that are doing new things, like the Ultrahaptics team.

If you had one piece of advice for someone just starting out, what would it be?

The best piece of advice I can give anyone is just keep swimming. You have no idea where any little decision might take you. If I could go back in time and speak to my younger self, I would definitely say chill out, everything will work out the way it’s meant to. There are certain things you have no control over, so why worry about it? Make mistakes and learn from them.

In terms of actually getting work, we get a lot of emails from people wanting work experience with us and that’s absolutely a great thing to do; but on the flip side, there’s no problem in just making your own stuff. You can build a great portfolio of work when you’re not making it for anybody but yourself. It’s good to show off your own individual offering.

What’s the biggest challenge your industry/organisation is facing at the moment?

The constant changing landscape in the world of content is a challenge, people are being told they should be doing certain things, producing content like video and suddenly they’re thinking they should be doing that. Rather than thinking ‘what’s the problem I’m addressing?’ As a production company, we’re navigating through all the noise. And there’s a lot of noise out there that isn’t contextually relevant to anything or anyone. The big challenge for us is cutting through that noise with original, authentic content that tells a story and will make a brand sing.

To check out the full member profile for Jones Millbank or get in touch with the team, click here. 

*This event is now SOLD OUT and a waitlist enabled*

About the event

What can visual effects and computer-generated imagery do to engage your audiences or win over your clients?

How do agencies, production companies and directors work with VFX to visualise the invisible, and create the impossible?

VFX allow us to see worlds that ordinary cameras can never show us. Sunken ships, exploding planets, vast armies, extinct species and atomic particles. But how do you make it work for you?

Creative Directors from award-winning Moonraker VFX and 422 South, both based in Bristol, share their secrets and explain how they create the stunning visual magic that wows audiences across TV, cinema and the digital world.

During this event, we’ll examine:

• What are the realities of working with VFX companies?
• How do producers and directors preserve their directorial vision in the face of endless possibilities?
• How is new software changing what we can do and see?
• And how much does it cost?

The event will take place from 12.30pm – 2.00pm on Wednesday 27th November at Watershed Cinema 2. 

Tickets are limited and are £15+VAT for Bristol Media members, £20+VAT for non-members.

BOOK YOUR PLACE

About Moonraker VFX and 422 South

Moonraker VFX has built a strong local and international reputation with producers and broadcasters, creating award winning visual effects content for Television, Film, Commercials, Museums and Visitor attractions. Creative Director, Simon Clarke, presents work from two recent hit TV series One Strange Rock for National Geographic, and Big Beasts (Sky One).

422 South have won awards for their extraordinary data visualisations, creating sunken ships, mapping migratory birds, and seeing the Earth as we have never seen it before. Creative Director, Dave Corfield, shows how they crafted Drain the Oceans (National Geographic) into a global hit, as well as other projects.

VIEW MORE EVENTS >>

Recent successes include big scale factual entertainment show Race Against the World, documentary series Forensics: The Real CSI, The MisAdventures of Romesh Ranganathan and scripted content MotherFatherSon and Defending the Guilty.

Holland is keen to tell the stories that reflect the diversity of modern Britain and is committed to commissioning more regional indies. He will share his ambitions for BBC Two, including how to showcase the channel brand in an iPlayer world and discuss ongoing opportunities for producers across a range of genres.

Prior to this role, Patrick was Head of Commissioning, Documentaries, BBC and before joining the BBC, he was MD of one of the UK’s biggest factual indies, Boundless. This event is hosted by Lynn Barlow, Chair of RTS West of England

Tickets & entry:

Tickets are free for RTS Members, or £6.50 for non RTS Members and includes a complimentary drink after the session

Book your ticket

Doors open 6.15pm

Session will run from 6.30-8pm

Networking drinks in the bar afterwards, 8-9pm

Bristol Media’s Visualiser programme is underway, supporting the lovely people at A Productions in their search for a Production Management Apprentice.

Our Partners Babassa and Ujima Radio have promoted the opportunity, which is delivered through Cirencester College with the support of the WORKS team at Bristol City Council.

We’ve also opened up a Facebook page @Visualiserbristol to enable talented young people to develop their portfolio and get noticed. We’ll keep them up to date with opportunities, so if you know young people who have talent, especially from the BAME community, then encourage them to get involved and upload a film and a profile.

For more info on the Visualiser programme click here.