Webinars, conferences, newsletters, and sponsored content are proliferating in the screen sector, pushed along by events which have been Corona-shut and moved online.
On the audience side, we have tens of thousands of screen creators cooped up at home. They stare at their gear. They dig old projects out. They ring their mates and say ‘weird’ a lot. They cook or garden, or cook and garden, or read ebooks about cooking and gardening. Sooner or later they start to think about transforming their careers a bit and creating plans. They also want to learn, so we researched a few online resources which are attached to valued events and companies in the sector.
We were inspired by Kirsty Stark in South Australia who has constructed a list of assets and groups which is an expanding work in progress.
The most valuable asset at the moment is a huge list compiled by Screen Daily which we hope is visible to everyone.
Local goodies
Screen Producers Australia has become a lounge act to take you through lunchtime at home with its SPA Takeaways on Facebook.
Screen Australia is a key resource for COVID-19 support. In general, the educational resources on the site are clear, bountiful and local. Much of this is pitched close to entry point and works well. The resource directory now has a COVID flavour while the Fact Finders and the Intel sections go deeper. Also, podcasts, masterclasses and profiles.
AFTRS has moved all its teaching online and is calling attention to its Youtube site which has a zillion top tips videos, very short masterclasses and longer pieces like an interview with Peter Strickland and a Q&A with David Lynch. The magazine Lumina has gone online with a good series of podcasts. The research and innovation page can bend your brain in stimulating ways.
The Make it Monthly program has gone joyfully online; the April 2 edition can be streamed here.
International treats
Here are some of the resources which caught our eye.
You can imagine the scrabble as huge events discovered they had turned into hellpits of a fatal virus. Reed Midem’s MIP stable will be planning itself from home offices all over Europe and North America, but the first outing was a simple concept. MIPTV, calling itself the Global Market for the Future, has put a load of the March event online, which is extended to April 10, so the curious will need to use it quickly. However, you have to be a delegate who has wangled a ticket or ponied up the cash.
The preview magazine seems to be open via issuu Digital Publishing.
Screen Daily has a lovely set of profiles about working from home which seem to be outside the paywall.
New Horizons is a Polish enterprise with English outbreaks; pick through the Facebook page to find interesting films to stream. It is a challenge but you have time to think.
IBC365, a business magazine, has a BrightTALKS series of webinars to peruse.
The Raindance Film Festival has a daily instagram filmette which is always proud to be lo-fi.
Series Mania forums are accessible online for free but finish on Tuesday 7 April, French time. That may well be extended.
Hopscotch Films (not our Hopscotch) has a filmmaking course on Vimeo called 40 Days to Learn Film. We may well be cooped up longer than that.
The BFI Insight exchange is quiet at the moment but the viddy on Capturing Audience from last September is enticing.
UK’s Together Films has a weekly webinar.
The Sundance collaboration site is free for the duration of the COVID-19, which includes a substantial archive.
This is by no means a complete list, so we will revisit this topic soon.
