21 02 2023 - Media release Screen Australia and YouTube Australia announce Skip Ahead recipients
Skip Ahead recipients in Sydney for the workshop this week
Screen Australia and YouTube Australia have announced the six YouTube projects funded through the latest instalment of the Skip Ahead initiative who will share in $900,000 of production funding: Lyanna Kea, Ella Watkins, Julian O'Shea, Lachlan and Jaxon Fairbairn (Fairbairn Films), Rita Artmann and Joe Bauer (Artspear Entertainment) and Jade Schmutter, Rob Aspinall and Ryan Telfer (Project One).
The Skip Ahead recipients are attending a workshop this week and learning from industry experts including producer Julie Kalceff, Jasmine Yang from Glitch Productions, writer Melissa Lee Speyer, digital video strategists Changer Studios and past Skip Ahead recipients Danny and Michael Philippou of RackaRacka, the team from Never Too Small and comedian Jordan Raskopoulos.
First established in 2014, the Skip Ahead initiative aims to help online storytellers with an existing audience on YouTube expand their creative ambitions and production values, and skip ahead' their careers. Since its inception, it has supported 33 teams with over $4.2 million to develop their skills and build their careers, with alumni including Superwog, Aunty Donna, Skitbox, Wengie, Michael Shanks, Chloe Morello and more.
Screen Australia's Head of Online Lee Naimo said, As the online landscape continues to evolve, the importance of Skip Ahead only increases to help support talented and exciting creators connecting with significant audiences on YouTube. It's exciting to see how different these projects are, with these six teams representing a range of genres from musical to comedy, crime to documentary. Past Skip Ahead projects continue to accumulate millions of views and lead to some alumni such as Adele Vuko, Christiaan van Vuuren and Danny and Michael Philippou directing feature films. I'm sure there's many exciting opportunities ahead for this latest cohort.
Alex West, Screen Australia's Head of Documentary said, It's fantastic to see two documentary series' as part of the latest line-up of Skip Ahead recipients solidifying how online platforms such as YouTube are such an effective space for documentaries to reach widespread audiences. I am confident these unique and powerful stories like Design Revolution and Uncovering Street Dance: Australia, along with the other Skip Ahead projects, will delight and inspire viewers around the world.
Ed Miles, Director, YouTube Australia & New Zealand, said, YouTube is home to incredible Australian storytellers, and over the last seven years, we've seen the impact Skip Ahead can have on their careers and the global recognition these projects can achieve. We have six formidable creative teams for Skip Ahead 8 - and this week we are thrilled to begin working with them and to see their concepts start to become a reality!
The funded projects are:
Life of Kea: From writer/director/producer Lyanna Kea comes Life of Kea, a 5 x 6-minute comedy series about Aunty Kea - the quintessential Chinese-Malaysian middle-aged woman. While supporting her friend through family drama, Aunty Kea battles with the internal conflict that perhaps she misses having a partner of her own. Brought on by this rare feeling of vulnerability, Aunty Kea, like a force of nature, bravely puts herself back into the dating game. Taysha McFarland and Tristan Braines behind A Song For You are also writing and producing, with Sasha Leong (Eating the Other) attached as producer. The series will release on Lyanna Kea's YouTube channel.
You May Think I'm Joking: A 5 x 5-minute comedy/musical series about Ella, an autistic influencer who is trying to find her voice in an online world that enshrines curated perfect' personalities with perfect bodies. While Ella struggles to suppress who she really is to fit the mould of who she thinks she should be, her true self begins bursting through in blunt, honest and unfiltered musical numbers that take place through a series of video calls with her manager, all from the isolation of her bedroom. The series is from writer/director Ella Watkins, whose series Bad Locals was supported through the Every Voice initiative. Gabrielle McLeod is also attached as producer. You May Think I'm Joking explores Ella s personal experiences of autism, queerness and body image struggles relating to being a woman, and will release on Watkins' YouTube channel.
Fairbairn in the City: This 6 x 5-minute comedy is about simple farm boys Lachlan and Jaxon who make the move to the big city from their rural home realising they know nearly nothing about the modern world. When it comes to understanding dating, managing relationships and living with a female roommate, Lachlan and Jaxon must figure out how to conquer the big city and everything that comes with it, before it conquers them. From creators of the popular YouTube channel Fairbairn Films and brothers in real life, Fairbairn in the City is written and directed by Lachlan Fairbairn and stars Lachlan and Jaxon Fairbairn. Also attached is Georgia Mappin (Aunty Donna's Coffee Caf ) as executive producer and Monique Mulcahy as producer. The series will be produced by Haven t You Done Well Productions and will release on the Fairbairn Films YouTube channel.
UnTrue Crime: A 6 x 8-minute true crime parody which follows woefully incompetent Detectives Spoink and Hoggman who re-tread their stumbling footsteps through their recent investigation into a classic murder scenario. With no shortage of twists and a primary suspect that changes every episode, it becomes a question of how many times they can get it wrong... before they accidentally get it right. The series is from writer/director Joe Bauer and writer/producer Rita Artmann wh
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
08/09/2026
Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) has announced a multi-year agreement with A E...
08/09/2026
Spectra Logic today announced the availability of Media Insight, a new capabilit...
08/09/2026
Rogers Communications and Quebecor have announced a 12-year sublicensing agreement for French-language national NHL games beginning with the 2026-27 season. TVA...
08/09/2026
Skyline Communications and Bridge Technologies will demonstrate two integrations...
08/09/2026
Boland Communications will make the European debut of its 4K55HDR7SNB 55-inch super-narrow-bezel monitor at IBC2026 (Stand 12.C57, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-1...
08/09/2026
Ateme and Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) have announced a collaboration comb...
08/09/2026
Haivision has joined the IBC Accelerator Media Innovation Programme as part of t...
08/09/2026
Blackmagic Design has announced price reductions on its PYXIS 6K and Cinema Camera 6K models, effective immediately through Blackmagic Design resellers worldwid...
08/09/2026
AI-Media will demonstrate its LEXI Suite at IBC2026 (Booth 5.C34, September 11-1...
08/09/2026
Bitmovin and Ad Insertion Platform (AIP) have announced the first live deploymen...
08/09/2026
Grass Valley will demonstrate story-centric media workflows at IBC2026 (Booth 9.A01, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14), connecting newsroom production, content ma...
08/09/2026
M2A Media and Ateme have announced a partnership integrating Ateme's video processing solutions into M2A Media's MediaToAnywhere platform for live sport...
08/09/2026
Ikegami will exhibit at IBC2026 (Stand 12.A31, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14), including a Day 1 introduction of new cameras in the UNICAM XE series. Additiona...
08/09/2026
Broadcast industry analysts will be gathering plenty of insights at the 2026 IBC Show this weekend in Amsterdam, but Caretta Research has offered up some though...
08/09/2026
SENSHI and DAZN have announced a global broadcast partnership that will bring SENSHI's live events free to viewers in more than 200 markets. The partnership...
08/09/2026
New architecture built with Evertz will bring 4K HDR to Monday Night Football, N...
08/09/2026
Built for rap producers, by rap producers
Sauceware Audio, the independent plug-in company founded by Grammy-nominated producer Jacob (Travis Scott, 21 Sava...
08/09/2026
Classic Sound Techniques design revived
Warm Audio's latest release delivers a meticulous recreation of the preamp circuitry employed by the Sound Techn...
08/09/2026
Latest soft synth inspired by the Memorymoog
XILS Lab have just launched a software instrument that draws its inspiration from Moog's iconic Memorymoog,...
08/09/2026
The Airport Chaplain takes off as SBS's biggest launch of 2026
8 September, 2026
Media releases
1.67 million viewers on National Total TV to date
Best...
08/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/09/2026
Mo-Sys, the world-leading developer of virtual production, camera robotics and image tracking technology, has completed a business restructuring, which has incl...
08/09/2026
New York, September 8, 2026 The TSAmediaHUB audiovisual contribution and distribution infrastructure developed by Telef nica's Audiovisual Services area re...
08/09/2026
Expanded Riyadh operation brings Asharq and Thmanyah services together on a resilient on-premises Pebble platform.
Pebble, the leading automation, content mana...
08/09/2026
Techex, a pioneering leader in live video workflows, will showcase its broadest software feature set to date at IBC 2026 (Stand 2.B45), extending its lead in so...
08/09/2026
Visitors to Grass Valley's booth at IBC2026 will be introduced to new Framelight X capabilities that connect content acquisition, management, editing and pu...
08/09/2026
BCNEXXT will showcase the latest evolution of Vipe at IBC2026 (Stand 2.B09), introducing a series of innovations designed to deliver higher-quality audience exp...
08/09/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Ad Insertion Platform (AIP), a leading innovator in advanced ad insertion technologies, to...
08/09/2026
Brainstorm, a leading manufacturer of real-time graphics and augmented and virtual production, is announcing a major package of enhancements to its Suite 7 soft...
08/09/2026
Big Blue Marble is supporting TDF, French infrastructure and network operator, broadcasting Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) and radio services, as a techno...
08/09/2026
Agents work inside a single production environment, from incoming wire copy to a live studio show...
08/09/2026
Building on their strategic partnership, Ceeblue and Layercake make the unthinkable possible: scalable sub-second streaming over standard DRM, SSAI, and CDN wor...
08/09/2026
Brainstorm, a leading manufacturer of real-time graphics, augmented and virtual production, is completing the environment for fast-paced broadcast production wi...
08/09/2026
A SaaS portfolio built to work together, helping operators grow audiences, monetise smarter and run leaner, on their own terms
At IBC 2026 (stand 1.B49) Synam...
08/09/2026
Accedo, global provider of video streaming software and services, has been selected by PlayOn Sports, a national leader in high school sports technology, to exp...
08/09/2026
LiveU, the leader in live IP-video solutions, is enabling The Associated Press to take global newsgathering to the next stage with intelligent connectivity and ...
08/09/2026
Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, today announced the latest evolution of it...
08/09/2026
Compact, power-efficient X Platform performance brings broadcast-grade reliability and ultra-low latency to space-constrained remote production (REMI) workflows...
08/09/2026
Zixi, the leader in live video delivery and workflow orchestration, and Kiloview, a leading provider of professional IP video encoding and decoding solutions, t...
08/09/2026
Collaboration gives content owners scalable CDN capacity and broadcasters enhanced flexibility, including for C-band transition planning
Quortex today announce...
08/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/09/2026
Telos Alliance and Pluxbox Announce Dynamic Media Facility Integration Partnersh...
08/09/2026
J nger Audio Showcases Industry-First S-ADM Cloud Workflow at IBC 2026
Search
Dolby, MainConcept, Techex and J nger Audio will showcase the industry's ...
08/09/2026
Tuesday 8 September 2026
Sky Go gets a major upgrade for Sky Glass and Sky Stream customers
Today, Sky launches a new version of the Sky Go app for Sky Glass ...
08/09/2026
Documentary thriller simulating a Russian attack on UK soil will culminate in a live final episode reuniting the playersTuesday 8 September 2026
Trailer releas...
08/09/2026
Tuesday 8 September 2026
Jamie Demetriou and Amelia Dimoldenberg to host next t...
08/09/2026
Wuppertal September 8, 2026
Riedel Introduces New OnAir Headset PlatformRiedel Communications today announced the launch of its new OnAir headset platform, a...
21 02 2023 - Media release Screen Australia and YouTube Australia announce Skip Ahead recipients 
