Industry Alert: Screen Australia: Backing new talent with Enterprise People

Ten emerging and talented screen practitioners will share in $1.35 million of funding for an industry placement scheme to work alongside the best and brightest in the sector. Screen Australia's Enterprise People provides individuals with a wage of up to $70,000 a year for full-time employment for one to two years.

At a time when full-time apprenticeships and cadetships have all but dried up in the screen sector, Enterprise People gives on-the-job training and a critical bridge to long-term and sustainable employment for a new generation of screen practitioners.

Enterprise People is part of Screen Australia's three-year, $10 million suite of Enterprise programs that aims to facilitate screen businesses to invest in development, talent and innovation for the benefit of the sector.

The 2015 program attracted applicants with an exciting and diverse range of talent. While all were looking for hands-on opportunities in the screen sector, they had a variety of objectives, including: seeking to move from established online success to television drama and feature films; engaging with the international market; and advancing their creative producing skills when returning to work after maternity leave or a career break.

Placements include an attachment as a staff-writer for Alastair Newton Brown with John Collee (Tanna and Master and Commander) and producer Andrew Mason (The Water Diviner and The Matrix); Courtney Wise (Fragments of Friday) will work with leading television drama producers Helen Bowden and Jason Stephens to develop her creative producing skills across a domestic and international television slate; and the RackaRacka partnership will build on their enormous online success (including 210 million views on their YouTube channel) and work with Triptych Pictures on their feature film and television slate, with the goal of achieving their first credits at this level.

These 10 successful placements join the 12 writers, producers and writer/directors who came through the Enterprise People program in 2014. Alex White worked with industry powerhouse Jan Chapman in intensive script workshops and ongoing script and production-related discussions to get the screenplay for her feature film Babyteeth market-ready. The project attracted a casting agent and interest from local distributors and international sales agents at the MIFF 37 South Financing Market. Alex will be producing Babyteeth alongside Katherine Slattery, and Richard Roxburgh will direct.

Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason said, Alex's placement last year is a great example of the benefits of Enterprise People. Screen Australia has always had a strong commitment to backing new talent and Enterprise People gives us the ongoing opportunity to do so. The currency of this industry is our ideas and our people. There are 7000 screen graduates from our educational institutions every year, innumerable creators for online platforms, and countless others in the early stages of their career. This is a competitive industry and its success is based on great creative talent and fresh ideas. These programs work to back new talent by giving them the practical skills, support and experience necessary to have a sustainable career.

While Enterprise People is a response to the need for on-the-job training and acts as a vital bridge to employment in the sector, it is just one part of a broader suite of initiatives from Screen Australia. The objectives of this suite are to regenerate storytelling; nurture new and emerging talent through industry experience and targeted networking; and facilitate festival attendance, professional development and autonomous creative opportunities for emerging practitioners.

Other programs in this initiative include:

Enterprise Industry ($4.5 million in 2014)

Since 2009, Screen Australia has funded companies via its Enterprise program. The original scheme, which funded 29 companies over three years, tracked mentorships, internships and traineeships offered by Enterprise companies. A 2013 review found that these opportunities more than doubled (from 25 to 54 per year) at the first 16 Enterprise companies.

In 2014, Enterprise was restructured to support initiatives for broader industry benefit via Enterprise Growth, Stories and People. The restructure addressed industry gaps and created paid opportunities for emerging writers to participate in writers' rooms.

Multiplatform ($4.0 million p.a.)

New creative teams are supported through multiplatform funding for content on non-traditional platforms from dramedy like Noirhouse from Tasmania to comedy like The Katering Show. Teams must include a producer or a director with one comparable credit to be eligible for funding. Multiplatform also includes:

Skip Ahead ($300,000 p.a.)

In a partnership with Google, Screen Australia has supported ten teams of online content creators to extend their creative skills into areas such as longer-form narrative storytelling. The teams have been provided with funding and professional development opportunities, including a trip to the YouTube Space in Los Angeles, to build on their professional capacities and offer new and original content to their online audiences.

Fresh Blood ($200,000 p.a.)

Fresh Blood initially supported 24 new comedy teams through a matched fund with ABC iView. Five were selected to go on to make pilot projects, of which two have been chosen to go to full 6 x half hour series. The winning teams are Skit Box, on the back of their popular Active Wear clip, and Fancy Boy.

Indigenous ($2.0 million p.a.)

Screen Australia's Indigenous Department offers ongoing support mechanisms for new talent in the industry, with a proven track record of successful long-term outcomes. These include:

The Indigenous Producers Initiative

This initiative offers 10 Indigenous producers from around Australia the

LINK:	http://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/news_and_events/2015/na_151203_enter...
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