Originate seeks early-career Indigenous creatives for web-series development and production initiative
Guidelines have now been released for the ABC/Screenwest Indigenous Online Initiative– Originate...
Guidelines have now been released for the ABC/Screenwest Indigenous Online Initiative– Originate, with applications closing Friday, 20 April 2018 at 5:00pm WST.
Originate is a Screenwest and ABC Indigenous narrative web-series development and production initiative for emerging Western Australian Indigenous screen practitioners looking to hone their storytelling skills across a series of episodes.
The successful Originate applicant will develop and produce one web-series consisting of five four-minute episodes. A Series Producer will be appointed and commissioned by ABC Indigenous to assist in the development and production of the web-series.
Devina McPherson, Screenwest Indigenous Program Manager, said, “Online series are the new short film in terms of carving a career pathway, and this initiative in particular will provide the recipients with invaluable experience and access to the large ABC audience.”
Kelrick Martin, Head of Indigenous for ABC said, “ABC Indigenous is a proud investor in Australian Indigenous storytelling. We are pleased to partner with Screenwest in the Originate initiative, as it is a great opportunity to foster emerging Western Australian Indigenous talent, and we look forward to working with the successful participants.”
The web-series will be hosted on the ABC Indigenous Gateway and the ABC Indigenous YouTube channel. The series may also be considered for ABC’s iview platform.
Originate is open to concepts of any genre (eg comedy, drama, documentary, horror, sci fi, etc), so get your creative juices flowing and let your imagination and character development go wild.
Originate applications will be assessed under a two-stage process, summarised below. More details, including how to apply, are found in the ABC/Screenwest Indigenous Online Initiative – Originate of the Screenwest website.
In Stage 1, Screenwest and ABC Indigenous will host a week-long workshop on writing and producing a narrative web series. To be considered to attend this workshop, you must apply by Friday, 20 April 2018 at 5:00pm WST.
Successful applicants from Stage 1 will be invited to attend the workshop. Participants in the workshop will learn about web-series production; how to examine collaborative techniques; what concepts work well for short form narrative; how to effectively reach your online audience; and how to execute using minimal resources.
Participants will leave with a much greater understanding of what subjects work best for web-series, and begin to develop their own ideas for consideration for production.
In Stage 2, the workshop participants will have the opportunity to submit their concepts to be considered for further development and production. They can submit their concept ideas, a treatment and/or first episode scripts for consideration. Note that only workshop participants are invited to apply in Stage 2.
ABC Indigenous and Screenwest will assess the Stage 2 applications and select one (1) to take forward for further development and production. At the end of the assessment process, the Series Producer will be appointed.
If you have questions regarding Originate, contact Devina McPherson, Screenwest Indigenous Programs Manager on 08 6169 2122 or devina.mcpherson@screenwest.com.au.