12 12 2017 - Media release Five online creative teams Skip Ahead with Google and Screen Australia
Skip Ahead recipients: (top L-R) Skit Box, Timtimfed, (bottom L-R) Wengie, Van Vuuren Bros, Study with Jess
Screen Australia and Google have announced the recipients of this year's Skip Ahead initiative.
Five creative teams Skit Box, Study with Jess, Timtimfed, Van Vuuren Bros and Wengie will share a total production funding pool of $500,000.
Skip Ahead supports Australian online content creators, who have YouTube channels with a substantial existing subscriber base and/or content which has reached significant viewership, to expand their vision and create more ambitious content to grow their audience.
The videos made from the Skip Ahead program have reached a combined global audience of more than 27 million views on YouTube. This includes 2016 Skip Ahead-funded title Superwog Series Pilot which was Australia's Top Trending Video on YouTube in 2017.
The successful applicants will participate in a workshop in early 2018 to develop their projects, which range from series pilots, to short-form episodic series, to a standalone short film.
The fact that Superwog's Skip Ahead-funded pilot was Australia's top trending video on YouTube this year is testament to what these incredibly talented, self-made online content creators can achieve with access to more funds, said Sally Caplan, Head of Production at Screen Australia.
Now in its fourth year, the bar has been set extremely high for Skip Ahead and I have no doubt that this year's recipients will knock it out of the park.
Daniel Stephenson, Content Partnerships Manager, YouTube Australia and New Zealand said: We re consistently inspired by the creativity and high quality production that comes out of Skip Ahead. We look forward to supporting this cohort of creators to experiment with longer form, narrative-based formats and reach new global audiences online."
On her YouTube Channel Study with Jess, Jessica Holsman's top study tips and tricks have helped millions of students around the globe. Jessica will deliver a narrative motivational series, Life of Jess, which sees her revisit her own childhood experiences to answer questions from her fans.
Christiaan and Connor van Vuuren, aka the Van Vuuren Bros, are well-known for their viral hits Bondi Hipsters and Fully Sick Rapper, as well as ABC comedy series Soul Mates. They will present the apocalyptic comedy series Over and Out, which follows two young parents struggling with the trials and tribulations of raising babies, whilst at the same time trying to survive the end of the world.
Michael Shanks is the creator of comedy series The Wizards of Aus, which is among the high concept content on his YouTube channel Timtimfed. Shanks will write and direct a 20-minute short film Rebooted about claymated skeleton monster Phil, an out-of-date visual-effect who just can't seem to book any gigs in 2017.
Sarah Bishop, Adele Vuko and Greta Lee Jackson are the creative team behind Skit Box, who are known for viral sensations like Activewear and I Got That Flow, as well as comedy series Wham Bam Thank You Ma am. They will deliver a 22-minute series pilot, Skit Box, a fun hyperbolized insight into the world of Skit Box, following three friends who can't get their shit together and join forces to start an all-female sketch comedy group.
Wengie is one of Australia's most popular YouTube creators with over 9.7 million subscribers worldwide. Her lifestyle videos, including the Life Hacks series, have amassed staggering combined views of over 783 million. In a change of pace for Wengie, she will create and star in a comedy series pilot for teens set in a high school for people with super powers.
Completed projects will be released on YouTube later in 2018.
Successful 2017 Skip Ahead Recipients: LIFE OF JESS
You Tube channel: Study with Jess (366,036 subscribers / 16,760,177 views*)
Format 6 x 5 mins
Genre Drama, Family, Comedy
Creators Jessica Holsman (p/w), Laura Clelland (p/d/w), Sandra Makaresz (p/w), Elle Croxford (p/w)
Synopsis YouTube creator Jess (Study with Jess) answers questions from her Jessicats - revisiting her high school experience, Jess finds their problems aren't so different from her own teenage years.
OVER AND OUT
YouTube Channel Van Vuuren Bros (71,915 subscribers / 22,608,046 views*)
Format 6 x 5mins
Genre Comedy, Sitcom, Apocalyptic
Creators Connor Van Vuuren (d), Christiaan van Vuuren (w), Adele Vuko (w)
Synopsis Two new parents struggle to survive the age old trials and tribulations of raising babies Oh yeah Whilst being smack bang in the middle of the Post-Apocalypse.
REBOOTED
You Tube channel: Timtimfed (146,080 subscribers/ 41,916,640 views*)
Format 20min
Genre Comedy, Drama
Creators Chris Hocking (p), Michael Shanks (w/d)
Synopsis In an industry obsessed with the superficial, it's not easy being an ageing movie star. It's especially challenging, however, when you're also a claymated skeleton monster. A stop motion horror from the days of Ray Harryhausen, out-of-date visual-effect Phil just can't seem to book any gigs in 2017. The short film will be produced by LateNite Films.
SKIT BOX
YouTube channel: Skit Box (1,801,653 views*)
Format 22mins
Genre Comedy
Creators Sarah Bishop (p/d/w), Adele Vuko (p/d/w), Greta Lee Jackson (p/d/w)
Synopsis A comedy narrative series pilot navigating the world of Skit Box'; an all-female sketch group that formed when three girls who couldn't get their shit together independently, joined forces to make it together as a group.
WENGIE PILOT (Working Title)
YouTube channel: Wengie (9,746,768 subscribers / 743,032,421 views*)
Format 15mins
Genre Comedy, Drama
Creators Wengie with Paul Walton (p), Mike Cowap (p), and Matthew McKenna (w)
Synopsis A
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
28/04/2024
Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with U...
27/04/2024
PORTLAND, Oregon Audinate Group Limited, the developer of the Dante AV-over-IP solution, announced significant new additions to Dante Connect, its cloud-based D...
27/04/2024
TORONTO Bell Media has launched 10 English and French-language FAST channels featuring entertainment, factual, news, and sports programming. The new free stream...
27/04/2024
An extensive new analysis of the news segments in the broadcast evening news programs of ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS has found that broadcasters devoted most of their...
27/04/2024
GERMANTOWN, Md. EchoStar's Hughes Network Systems has opened a new manufacturing facility and private 5G incubation center in Germantown, Maryland....
27/04/2024
Harry Pappas, one of three brothers who founded Pappas Telecasting Companies in 1971, died April 24. He was 78 years old....
27/04/2024
ATLANTA and LONDON Mexican telecommunications and broadcast company Televisa has selected Synamedia for an overhaul of its broadcast distribution....
27/04/2024
Participate in the Survey - The Impact of AI on Media and the Creative Industry
Pascal Wagner April 26, 2024
0 Comments
By participating in this surve...
27/04/2024
SDVI Rally Access Workstation Earns Two Top Awards at 2024 NAB Show
Brie Clayton April 26, 2024
0 Comments
SDVI, the leading platform provider for clo...
27/04/2024
Berklee's Music and Health Institute Launches Community Health Musician Cert...
27/04/2024
Charter Communications reported higher first-quarter profits despite continued cord-cutting and competition for broadband customers....
27/04/2024
Two environmentally-focused groups are partnering to engage the unscripted TV world in finding better ways to address climate change. Reality of Change is an ec...
27/04/2024
Sarah Garcia has been promoted to weekend anchor at KTLM McAllen, Texas, known as Telemundo 40. Starting April 27, she will anchor Noticias Telemundo 40 weekend...
27/04/2024
CBS Sports said it launched a new 24-hour free, ad supported streaming television (FAST) channel devoted to the UEFA Champions League....
27/04/2024
Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts received $35.4 million in compensation in 2023, up 11% from the previous year, according to a proxy statement filed by th...
27/04/2024
Art Happens Here With John Lithgow, which sees the actor study dance, ceramics, silk-screen printing and vocal jazz with students in Los Angeles, debuts on PBS ...
27/04/2024
Remember Leave It to Beaver? Bewitched? Dragnet? When cable ratings were rising?...
27/04/2024
Next up for the weekend binge at Catchy Comedy is Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. Every weekend, Catchy Comedy features The Catchy Binge, a marathon of a classic sitcom....
26/04/2024
Sundance Film Festival CDMX 2024 kicks-off today with screenings in 5 theaters in Mexico City and the opening-night film, FRIDA, directed by Carla Guti rrez...
26/04/2024
[Editor's Note: This interview is part of a larger feature about the women d...
26/04/2024
Once again this year, SGL Carbon opened its doors to interested children and young people. On the occasion of the German Girls and Boys Day, which took place on...
26/04/2024
Orders1 of $5.5 billion; book-to-bill of 1.06x
Revenue of $5.2 billion, up 17%,...
26/04/2024
Five Considerations For Communications Modernization In The 21st Century
In the digital-enabled battlespace, the Joint Force needs to shoot, move and communica...
26/04/2024
CBS Sports has launched Champions League as a new, 24-hour streaming channel that will serve as the year-round destination for nonstop highlights of the UEFA ...
26/04/2024
Despite tough competition in the streaming space, Roku reported solid results in Q1 2024, beating revenue expectations, with total net revenue up 19% YoY to $88...
26/04/2024
LONDON AND TORONTO Pinewood Toronto Studios has appointed Sarah Farrell as general manager of the Studios in downtown Toronto....
26/04/2024
Quantum to Offer Advanced Filesharing Technology and Performance in StorNext and...
26/04/2024
FilmLight Colour Awards welcomes 2024 entries and introduces new Emerging Talen...
26/04/2024
Picture Shop Announces Chris Evans as Head of Unscripted
Brie Clayton April 26, 2024
0 Comments
Picture Shop announced Chris Evans will lead Unscripte...
26/04/2024
Participate in a Survey - The Impact of AI on Media and the Creative Industry
Pascal Wagner April 26, 2024
0 Comments
By participating in this survey,...
26/04/2024
Toy maker Mattel said it is working with Samsung to launch its first free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels later this year....
26/04/2024
Trusted Media Brands (TMB) said it named Marty Moe as president....
26/04/2024
Ron Howard is the director on Jim Henson Idea Man, a documentary that premieres on Disney Plus May 31. Henson of course created Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Big...
26/04/2024
The ice continues to melt under the regional sports network business as the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League have made a long-term deal to broadcast...
26/04/2024
Heading into the upfronts, Warner Bros. Discovery said it launched Olli, a first-party data platform advertiser can use for converged, targeted advertising camp...
26/04/2024
CBS has renewed the drama The Equalizer, which will see season five on in 2024-2025. Queen Latifah stars....
26/04/2024
The CW has entered into an exclusive multiyear broadcast partnership for the Miss USA Pageant and the Miss Teen USA Pageant. The 73rd Miss USA Pageant will air ...
26/04/2024
Fuse Media isn't mincing words in a campaign urging its young viewers to register and participate in the 2024 elections....
26/04/2024
Dead Boy Detectives, a series from Neil Gaiman about a detective agency staffed by ghosts, debuts on Netflix April 25. George Rexstrew and Jayden Revri are in t...
26/04/2024
The Story Collective has gradually repurposed the former Mortlake Brewery to include production offices, workshops and sound stages
By Matthew Corrigan
Publi...
26/04/2024
Perkett joins the company following a 25 year career in product management, product marketing, engineering and user experience (UX) across multiple industries
...
26/04/2024
Teradek, the industry leader in wireless video transmitters and receivers, announced today the launch of new Bolt 6 LT 750 and Bolt 6 Monitor Module 750 RX with...
26/04/2024
NEW YORK Amagi has appointed Richard Perkett chief product officer (CPO)....
26/04/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has announced the results of the 2024 NAB Radio and Television Board of Directors elections. The...
26/04/2024
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. & NEW YORK Mattel has announced a deal to launch its first three 24/7 free ad supported streaming (FAST) channels on Samsung TV Plus, Samsung...
26/04/2024
PORTLAND, Maine Viewers here can now receive the NextGen TV signals of five local stations with the launch of ATSC 3.0 service from host station WPFO, which is ...
26/04/2024
TORONTO Rogers Communications has signed a 10-year agreement with Comcast to bring the latest Xfinity products and technology to Canadians....
12 12 2017 - Media release Five online creative teams Skip Ahead with Google and Screen Australia 
