June Freelances’ Fair
Registration for BECTU’s third London Freelances’ Fair, to be held at BAFTA on Friday 27 June 2008, is now open.
Following on from last year’s event, the fair will again involve a mix of stalls, seminars and workshops along with an opportunity to network with freelancers working in all areas of film and television.
Registration for the workshops and seminars is essential, and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
Members and non-members can register online using the form at the end of this page - admission is free. Registration closes 20 June 2008.
A range of stalls representing companies and organisations from within the industry will offer advice and information.
Training organisations, lawyers, the Health and Safety Executive, accountants and career bodies will be at the festival to help people climb the film and TV ladder.
There will also be an interactive seminar in which participants pitch programme proposals to a production panel.
Sony will be presenting their latest cameras and the Institute of Broadcast Sound will be demonstrating how to achieve the best quality production soundtrack.
The festival has been organised by the BECTU’s Writers, Producers and Directors Branch, and is sponsored by BAFTA, Skillset, Hard Dowdy, Thompsons Solicitors, Panalux and Sony.
Download the event flyer [376k pdf].
Seminars
Seminar 1 - Exploiting the digital future (1100-1200)
What are the opportunities, and ways to make money?
The expert panel will talk about how to get your content on mobiles, the internet and all places digital.
- Elliot Grove. Founder of Raindance, the UK independent film festival and Internet film channel Raindance TV
- Philip Bourchier O’Ferrall. Vice President, Digital at MTV Europe
- Dean Whitbread. Chair of the UK Podcasters’ Association
- Jonathan Arber. Senior research analyst, European Consumer Wireless and Mobile Communications, IDC
Seminar 2 - Directing the actors (1230-1330)
How does a good director draw the best performance from the actors?
A panel consisting of some of the key players in film production - director, actor, scriptwriter and director of photography - will explore their roles and relationships.
With the aid of a selection of film clips, an engaging and enlightening discussion is guaranteed.
The panel illuminating this enigma will be:
- Anna Campion. Director of Loaded and co-writer of Holy Smoke, who will work on stage with a group of actors that have been selected by Jane Campion (Director The Piano) and Casting Director, Nina Gold.
- Nigel Walters (DOP : Waking the Dead , Trial and Retribution, Silent Witness)
- Sebastian Sharples, an independent cameraman who has worked with Michael Winterbottom
Seminar 3 - Access Europe (1400-1500)
Production and funding opportunities in Europe.
Europe offers opportunities to access funds and other support for your production. An expert panel of speakers will show the way.
- Agnieszka Moody. Director, UK Media Desk
- Rebecca O’Brien. Producer, Ken Loach’s Sixteen Films.
- Jess Search. Chief Executive, BRITDOC.
- Rachel Wexler. Director, Bungalow Town Films.
Seminar 4 - Pitching for success (1530-1630)
Participants who want to pitch must submit a 200 word (max) programme proposal before the day by email to [email protected] and the panel will shortlist five to be pitched at the Fair.
Nobody will be told in advance if they are on the shortlist - you have to turn up and hope!
The five will be called from the audience and given one minute to pitch their proposal to the panel. There are no prizes for this, but who knows where it might lead?!
Everything submitted will remain the copyright of the entrant and the judges will treat all material as confidential.
The Panel who will judge and decide are:
- Charles Furneaux. KaBoom Film and Television
- Emily Renshaw-Smith. Current TV
- Jago Lee. Head of Television at Somethin’ Else
- Rebecca Frankel. Editor, Fourdocs
Workshops
Workshop 1 - From script to screen (1100-1400)
A scriptwriter has to learn early in their career what it means to write to a budget.
In this workshop the group will work with a director and a producer to adapt a short story (supplied by us in advance) to make a 10-minute film costing £10,000.
There are only fifteen places on this workshop.
Those wishing to participate email contact details to [email protected]
Workshop 2 - Freelance toolkit (1430-1730)
David Thomas looks at business skills for freelances.
Whether you’re new to freelance life or have been self-employed for a while this workshop will help you keep your finances under control.
In this three hour session you’ll get tips on how to organise yourself and keep good records, with advice on how to get paid on time.
You’ll even hear about some ways to predict the future!
Participants will take away handouts full of useful information and you’ll also get some downloadable tools to put you on the right track.
There are only fifteen places on this workshop.
Wednesday 28 May 2008