CGAccelerator is new project run and designed by Serbia Film Commission to boost the skills in business and marketing of individuals leading creative businesses and studios. Creative industries are people's business and therefore improving the understanding of business strategies on top of your creative work will enhance the ability to reach better clients and projects.

This is an industry-specific programme focused on Serbian creative companies and studios providing services in design, motion graphics, visual effects, animation, creative production and sound design. If you are running a project based business with clients in film, TV, advertising, gaming or any other media subsector we want to learn more about your company portfolio and challenges that could be supported through this acceleration programme.

CGAccelerator is initiated in partnership with Revthink and builds on the experience of Tim Thompson and Joel Pilger who will personally lead you through an 8-week transformation.

Who is it for? 

CGAccelerator is designed for companies that have strong motivation for growth in both turnover and creative quality of projects. It does not matter if you are operating in Serbian market only or already have an established international presence. The accelerator program will help you further carve your business skill set in positioning, marketing, leadership of creative teams and sales to take your business to the next level.

We are inviting studio owners, co-founders and decision makers within the creative studios and companies interested in growing to the next level, working in positions like general manager, CMO, sales manager, new business manager.

To ensure the quality of your individual experience and group work we will be taking only 20 participants. 

One person per company is eligible to apply for the accelerator programme. We will take into consideration applicants with more than one person per company, so please let us know if there is another person that would benefit from attending the programme.

Programme schedule:

Week 1: Identify Your Genius

What is the source of your studio’s greatness? Let’s identify it. Now delegate everything else… so you can focus on it.

Week 2: Carve Out Your Positioning

Is your studio one of many… or the-one-and-only? Audit your messaging to begin exploring how to stand out, break through, and build strong relationships.

Week 3: Marketing the Modern Creative Firm

Discerning the nuances in the Creative Firm Sales Cycle is what empowers emerging firms to pursue all those previously elusive (i.e, bigger and better) opportunities.

Week 4: Attracting Better Clients

With COVID-19, the sales game forever changed. Learn the relevant way to take the stage and create community so your firm’s sales pipeline is never empty.

Week 5: Your Best Opportunities – The Three R’s

Why do you accept any given project? Master the critical dimensions that empower you and your team to define – and act on – what matters most.

Week 6: Fewer Proposals, More Projects – The Three D’s

Why does the proposal process waste so much time? Master the better way to weed out misfits and leverage your role as the valuable expert.

Week 7: High-Ticket Sales

What if you could coax your clients to reveal their maximum budgets… while also strengthening your role as the trusted guide? Get ready to master the Perfect Sales Process.

Week 8: Commanding Premium Pricing

Learn the counterintuitive approaches to negotiating, strengthening your hand, and setting healthy boundaries with your clients.

NOTE: Participation in the programme is estimated to 4 hours per week including group work and individual work. Participants will be required to attend at least 70% of the sessions.

Eligibility criteria:

• Serbian registered companies and individual entrepreneurs
• Company providing services in one or more of the focus areas 
• Participants are co-founders or have decision making power on the company strategic development, for instance holding position of Chief Marketing Officer or in charge of sales, new business 
• Preferably have online presence and communication material in English

We strongly encourage participants of 35 and younger, small studios based outside of Belgrade and female led businesses to take this opportunity and apply for the programme.

The accelerator programme will be fully executed online and in English. There is no application nor participation cost for selected beneficiaries.

How to apply?

Easy, just follow the online applications via THIS LINK.

We want to learn about you, your company, your vision, but also challenges to grow your studio or company.

Make sure you send your application by: January 25th, 2022

For questions or more information email: info@filminserbia.com

Important dates:

• Deadline for application - January 25th, 2022 
• Selection and notification to applicants - February 14th, 2022
• Start of the accelerator - February 28th, 2022 

FAQ

1. My studio is not directly working in the film and audiovisual industry, but in a more broad computer graphics and 3D specter, am I still eligible?

Even though CGAccelerator is primarily built for creative studios in animation, film, advertising, TV broadcasting and gaming industries, we are curious to learn about applicants from similar sectors and will take them into consideration based on the quality of information provided in the application form. Use the motivation segment of the application form to improve your chances to get selected. Tell us how your studio is related to the industry and what direct effects you will get from the accelerator programme.   

2. Can I invite my co-owner or staff member to attend the accelerator? 

We know that creative business is often a joint endeavour and we will consider opportunities for two candidates from the same company to participate. In the application form you will be able to name the second applicant and invite him to session, share work material and have them as your wingman/wingwoman in the transformation process.

3. Will there be any live events during the accelerator programme?

Accelerator and creative industries are all about networking. SFC team is considering plans to host gatherings of the accelerator participants and help you network and meet with the industry. Depending on the pandemic situation we will include those events in the calendar and inform you in due time to plan your schedule.  

4. If I am not able to attend 100% of the sessions, what do I do? 

This is a fast paced programme with assignments and tasks to be followed up between the sessions. Please notify us in due time if you are not able to participate in a session. You will be able to name a second person from your team at the beginning of the programme who will be able to take your part instead.

5. Are there any costs associated with participation in the CGAccelerator? 

No, your time is the only investment we are expecting from you. Commercial value of the accelerator mentoring programme and consulting hours that each participant will have access to is 5.000 USD.  

6. Can a studio that is part of a larger company apply for the accelerator?

There is no limit to the size of the company that can participate in the accelerator. You can be part of a larger system or group of companies, but what is important is that you as a participant are driving the process and have decision making power so that time invested in the programme will yield results and effectively help your company grow.

7. I am planning to start my own company next year. Am I eligible to apply for the accelerator?

Yes, we are looking into hungry and ambitious creatives to help them set out their vision into reality. If you are planning to start your own business in servicing animation, film, gaming, TV or advertising in the next year or so, please share in detail your vision and business plan layout in the motivation question of the application form.

About RevThink

RevThink helps creative entrepreneurs thrive in business, life, and career. Joel and Tim have assisted hundreds of creative firms based in 26 different countries in embracing a revolutionary way to run their businesses. Among the client portfolio are such industry names as Territory studio, Super78, Cause+Effect, Laundry, Motion504 and many more.

Tim Thompson, Chief Revolution Thinker

As Founder and Chief Revolution Thinker, Tim Thompson’s vision and leadership have established RevThink as the industry’s leading supporter of creative entrepreneurs.

Tim draws from the roles he played in the industry’s most pivotal moments including a founding member of Imaginary Forces and producer of SE7EN Title Sequence

Known for rearranging people’s intellectual furniture, his thought pieces include The 4 Stages of the Creative Career, and The Entrepreneurial Formula. His unique contributions to the motion industry are leveraged regularly as the co-contributor of REVCOMMUNITY, THE WEEKLY BRIEFING web series and sharing them through advising, writing, podcasting, and speaking.

Joel Pilger, Managing Partner

Joel helps emerging creative studios become industry leaders.

Joel’s clients own and operate motion, production, experiential, and sound studios spanning the US, UK, Canada, Europe, Australia, Asia, and South America. Joel also spearheads a vibrant, global network of studio owners through online communities in addition to contributing to the industry as a judge, author, and speaker.

In a former life Joel helmed the miracle-making studio Impossible Pictures where he and his team won numerous Emmy, Addy, and Promax awards… and had a blast.

The CGAccelerator is enabled thanks to the financial assistance from the US Embassy in Serbia. 

Under the banner of Epic Games the Summer of Unreal launched this week as partnership between  Escape Studios and some of the best animation schools in Europe – French ArtFX, Spanish La Salle BCN, Denmark’s The Animation Workshop, Screen Skills Ireland and Serbian Crater Training Center. We are extremely proud that our long-term dedication to advancing the CG community in Serbia and neighboring countries resulted in this European wide partnership.

The Summer of Unreal is a free, four-week boot camp created in collaboration with Epic Games where artists learn practical real-time skills from industry vets. While participants are expected to have some knowledge of 3D software, it is equally suitable for those totally new to Unreal Engine. The curriculum is perfect for the leisurely pace of the holiday period.  It’s designed to give learners plenty of time to experiment and practice taking them from beginner to confident, real-time expert. The Summer of Unreal specifically focuses on the animation pipeline but would also be useful for VFX and motion graphics artists, as well as producers and directors, who are looking to understand how Unreal Engine could fit into their workflows.

WHO IS IT FOR:  industry professionals with at least two years of experience working in an animation studio or on animation projects in any artist role including Rigging, Layout, Pre-visualisation, Concept Art, Animation, Lighting and Rendering. The training is aimed at those helping create animated content in a professional capacity. It would also be useful for VFX and motion graphics artists and producers and directors, who are looking to understand how Unreal Engine could fit into their workflows. You’ll need to be familiar with basic 3D digital content creation tools.

MODE OF STUDY: Online in English held by Escape Studios

DURATION: 26th July – 20th August (4 weeks), Monday to Friday: 10.30 to 16.30

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Thursday 16th July 2021

For detailed information and applications from Serbia and Southeast Europe follow the link https://school.craterstudio.com/en/summer-of-unreal/

Third Computer Graphics and Arts conference Belgrade, set to be held on November 1-2, 2019 at the Yugoslav Film Archive in Belgrade, will shed light upon outstanding local and international talents by bringing together prominent names in the field of computer graphics, visual effects, animation, design and digital arts.

As a joint effort between Serbia Film Commission, Crater VFX Training Center and portal VFX Serbia, CGA Belgrade is growing into a compelling platform for showcasing the development in Computer Graphics industry, further positioning Serbia as one of the CG hubs of East Europe.

The main programme of this year's conference KNOW-IT-ALL is dedicated to artistic development and innovation in the CG industry featuring keynote speakers like Hugo Guerra, Alwyn Hunt and Igor Jovanović. During the supporting KNOW-HOW programme, participants will gain the opportunity to familiarize more with technical aspects of the industry and enjoy masterclasses held by creative director of Full Scream Ced Pakusevskij, Jurgen Hagler of Ars Electronica as well as dedicated teams from Autodesk, Foundry and Maxon who are supporting the event alongside Epson, Escape Studios and Substance.

Free registrations are open at www.cgabelgrade.com 

Third edition of CGA Belgrade will have a strong focus on education and emerging talent, along with the presence of platforms like The Rookies, Access VFX mixed with studio case studies from 3Lateral, FullScream, The Mill, World Wide FX and Framestore. CGA Belgrade’s ongoing partnership with Escape Studios will put a spotlight on Klaudija Čermak, who has left her mark on some of the industry’s biggest titles and will be among panelists chatting about female representation in CG community.

Speakers list also includes local heroes Sava Živković, director and CG artist from Belgrade, directors Lazar Bodroža and Jovan Todorović, as well as Igor Simić, founder and creative director at the award-winning Demagog Studio, who will share his journey from contemporary art to gaming industry.

Check the full programme of CGA Belgrade 2019.

In partnership with Serbian Gaming Association a special block of programme is curated by leading gaming studios in Serbia – 3Lateral, Mad Head Games, Nordeus and Ubisoft.

Dedicated masterclasses led by both international and Serbian top notch specialist in Nuke, Houdini, Hyperreality, Sound design for gaming are open with limited number of seats and you can register HERE.

CGA Belgrade is part of the "Serbia Creates" platform created through the work of the Prime Minister's Office of the Government of the Republic of Serbia and its Creative Industries Council with the aim of representing Serbia through a creative, innovative and digital community. Institutions that support CGA include Canadian Embassy in Belgrade, Austrian Cultural Forum, Ministry of Culture and UNDP Speakers programme.

Training for Feature Film Cinematography and Camera Department is a 5-day intensive course which aims to prepare you for feature film cinematography. You will be given a unique opportunity to discover the creative and technical possibilities available to a Director of Photography on modern international films. This will broaden your knowledge and expose you the tools and people who work specifically for the cinematic medium. Beginning with screenplay analyses, the Lecturer will guide you through each step of production for a cinematographer, including your collaboration with production staff, actors, shooting crew, lighting techniques, specialized equipment, color correction and post-production.

When: February, 18th-22nd 2019

Where: Cineplanet, Vinogradska bb, Belgrade

Lecturer: Marc Windon

Working language: English. Number of participants limited.

Detailed agenda is available HERE.

What you will learn:

Insider knowledge and insight into the vital choices made by a cinematographer on a feature film. Therefore, the specifics of the course focus on dramatic lighting, grip equipment for action sequences and camera/lens choices for cinema screen image quality. You will learn how to work with a 1st AD, Production Manager, Editor and Producer and how to collaborate with other key creatives such as Production Designers, Costume Designers and Make-Up artists.

• Overview of the feature film production process
• Role of the Cinematographer and people on the team
• Breaking down the script to understand what is required
• Discussing the creative brief with the Director
• Identifying feasible equipment which works both visually and technically
• Creating precision lighting for commercial movies
• Working with the Gaffer, Key Grip, Camera crew and DIT
• Working as an international freelancer and acquiring an agent

Who is this course for:

• Cinematographers looking to advance their careers
• Junior cinematographers
• Gaffers, grips and camera assistants who want to become cinematographers

Course goals:

• Gain advanced knowledge of lighting for feature films
• Understanding advanced grip equipment for action cinematography
• Reviewing cinema camera and lens options including Leica, Cooke, Zeiss, ARRI, Red and Sony
• Feature film script analyses
• Skills to work with international feature film directors
• Experience tocollaborate with 1st ADs, producers, production managers
• Experience to collaborate with Production designers, Costume designers and Make-up Artists

Marc Windon

Marc Windon is an Australian cinematographer. Over a 14 year career, he has shot 12 feature length films on 4 continents and won numerous awards. He’s a member of the Australian Cinematographers Society and the Hungarian Society of Cinematographers. He was recently the Director of Photography on INFILTRATION, a 30-episode action series produced in Belgrade and Beirut.

See Marc’s IMDb profile

 REGISTRATION:

To attend training please submit your registration through THIS LINK.

Deadline: February 12th, 2019

Registration fee: 150,00 EUR

For all additional information contact us by email trening@filminserbia.com or call 00 381 11 4059961. This project is supported by UNDP.

Once again, November becomes the month of computer graphics, as CGA Belgrade hosts its two-day journey through the latest news, trends and developments in the industry of computer graphics for film, advertising, games and virtual reality. The home of the conference during November 16th and 17th will be Yugoslav Film Archive, Uzun Mirkova 1.

Serbia Film Commission together with Crater VFX Training center and VFX Serbia are bringing Hollywood's finest and indie superstars, from local heroes to global sharks, with masterclasses, insider tips, life lessons and everything in between in a jam-packed two-day program. Topics important for modern production workflow will cover virtual production, real time compositing and delivery of premium advertising campaign.

The biggest star of this CGA Belgrade conference will be Mike Seymour, founder of VFX Guide and ambassador of technological development of computer animation, whose online platform was the starting point for generations of artists around the world. Designing the look and some of the scenes in Blade Runner 2049 movie will be presented by Shahin Toosi, while Victor Perez will talk about how the experience he gained on film series such as “Star Wars” and “Harry Potter” can be applied on projects with a much smaller budget. Alongside a number of foreign lecturers from the academic and professional CG world, a number of successful Serbian studios and freelance artists will present projects realized in cooperation with international clients and partners in film, advertising, and gaming industry.

Virtual reality fans will be able to get into the experiences created by digital artists and production studios and directly in the virtual environment to walk through the largest domestic VFX studios. In addition to this, the CGA Belgrade Conference this year opens the opportunity for meeting recruiters from Framestore, Pixomondo and Cinesite, who will be introduced to local talents in Belgrade and exchange ideas on the projects they are currently working on, as well as on the possibilities for potential cooperation.

A two day workshop for VFX Producers run by Andrew Brassington from Escape Studio will give a snippet of the London leading school in animation new 12 weeks training programme for producers in VFX.

Registrations for this highly expected second edition of CGA Belgrade Conference 2018 are ready to start. Professional and student badges are available via Eventbrite system, and all you need to do is register by visiting this link.

CGA Belgrade is supported by Epic Games, 3Lateral, Autodesk, Foundry and Chaos Group alongside long list of industry partners such as Escape Studios, Nordeus, Mad Head Games, QL Beans… The conference has received institutional support from the Austrian Cultural Forum, the Embassy of Canada in Belgrade and the Spanish Cultural Promotion Agency, as well as the support of the Government of the Republic of Serbia within the Program for Business Capacity Building in the IT sector, which is being implemented in cooperation with UNDP. CGA Belgrade is being held under the patronage of the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia, in cooperation with its Creative Industries Council, and within the framework of the Serbia Creates Platform, which aims to represent Serbian talents, innovation and digital community. 

This 5 day Maya TD course is designed for the current CG industry professionals who would like to expand their technical understanding of Maya and how best to utilize its advanced features to build efficient and robust CG pipelines. These valuable skills will support their career growth, as well as prepare them to tackle more complex and challenging projects going forward.

When: November, 19th-23rd, 2018.

Where: Crater VFX Training Center, Knićaninova 3, Belgrade

Lecturer: Serguei Kalentchouk

Working language: English. Number of participants limited.

Detailed agenda is available HERE.

What you will learn:

This course will guide you through following topics:

• Maya Architecture: DG and DAG, Referencing and Assets, Geometry and Deformers, Parallel Evaluation
• Introduction to Maya commands and basic MEL
• Introduction to Python programming language, Python for pipeline development
• Programming with Python in Maya: Maya Commands, Classes and PyMel
• GUI development with PySide
• Introduction to Maya API and Plugins: Python API 2.0, Introduction to Callbacks, Developing a Python Plugin
• A brief look at Alembic & USD

Who is this course for:

• experienced Maya artists working in studios or freelance that want to increase their technical knowledge and career towards TD role
• Professionals from the  industry  with  good  Maya  knowledge  and  different  levels  of  python  scripting 

Course goal is to advance  skills  of  VFX  Artists  toward  taking  the  role  of  Maya  Technical  Director and  support  their career  step  up  within  studios.

Serguei Kalentchouk

Serguei has worked in the CG industry since 2005. Serguei started his career as a modeler and texture artist at Ubisoft Montreal, shortly after graduating from the Vancouver Film School, 3D Animation & Visual Effects program. Serguei quickly developed a keen interest in improving the workflow of the digital content creation process, moving into a newly emerging role of the Technical Artist at the studio. In 2009 Serguei made a transition from video games to animation and has spent the last decade working as a Technical Director at Disney Animation, Digital Domain, and DreamWorks Animation. Currently Serguei works as a Supervising Technical Director at The Mill in New York.

See Serguei's IMDb profil.

REGISTRATION:

To attend training please submit your registration through THIS LINK.

Deadline: November 12, 2018

Registration fee: 150,00 EUR

For all additional information contact us by email trening@filminserbia.com or call 00 381 11 4059961. This project is supported by UNDP.

Training for production managers is a five-day intensive course which aims to prepare you for working as a production manager in the international film industry. The course will give you an insight into what is required from a production manager, providing a practical overview of the role, its main responsibilities and the key tasks that are essential for a production to run smoothly.  From the creative beginnings to the logistical and detailed planning of the shoot, your trainer will guide you through each stage of pre-production and production, from advising the producer on filming in Serbia to managing your crew and everything in between.

When: October, 17th - 21st, 2018

Where: Avala Studios, Kneza Višeslava 88, Belgrade

Lecturer: Paul Munn

Working language: English. Number of participants limited.

You should bring your laptop.

Detailed agenda is available HERE. 

What you will learn:

Insider knowledge and insight into the vital role of the production manager, including:

• The structure of foreign co-productions
• Review of all crew roles and responsibilities
• Director & Producer Recces and what to look out for
• Pre-Production Recce with HOD’s
• What to look out for on a location from a PM’s point of view
• Production Insurance
• Legal and contracts
• Completion Bond
• Permits and procedures
• Health and Safety
• Risk Assessments, Location and Studio
• Stunts and Pyrotechnics
• Working with your Production Accountant and HOD’s
• Working with Cast and Contracting effectively
• SAG and its implications in Serbia
• Managing spend, purchase orders and contract
• Call Sheets and Progress reports
• Cost Reporting to producers, funders and Completion Bond

Who is this course for:

The course is aimed at experienced active professionals within the Serbian film industry looking to step up or across. You should have experience in either feature films and/or high-end television drama, in the following fields or above: 1st AD, 2nd Assistant Director, Production Coordinator, Location Manager, Assistant Location Manager, Unit Manager, Production Accountant, 1st Assistant Accountant.

You should also have some knowledge of how Movie Magic Scheduling and Budgeting work.

Course goals:

• Gained knowledge and understanding of the processes of preparation, production and post production and the role the production manager plays in the process
• Why preparation of a production is 80% of a productions managers work
• Office management practices and people management (cast and crew)
• Receive expert advice on how to contract crew and cast
• Looking at third party hire (equipment etc), insurance, completion bond and legal issues
• Understand Film Risk Assessments and Health & Safety
• Gain and understanding of above the line and below the line accounts
• Movie Magic budgets and schedules and learning why a schedule comes before a budget
• Gain and understanding of Post Production workflows (routes and delivery)
• How to handle a situation that goes wrong

Paul Munn is an experienced producer, line producer and production supervisor. Paul completed his basic training at the BBC Drama department is London. He then went onto work with Walt Disney, Channel Four, Fox TV, ITV, Sky Films, Saban Films, Buena Vista, plus many small independents all over the World. He is also a member of the Production Guild of Great Britain.

See Paul`s IMDb profile. 

REGISTRATION:

To attend training please submit your registration through THIS LINK.

Deadline: October 12, 2018

Registration fee: 150,00 EUR

For all additional information contact us by email trening@filminserbia.com or call 00 381 11 4059961. This project is supported by UNDP.

Training in Film Production Accounting is designed to improve financial management and help reporting process efficiency. Call for applicants is open for people who already have experience in accounting and work with finance, equally recommended for film professionals who previously were in charge of finances.  It is aimed to provide an introduction to film production process and solid knowledge on finance structuring and financial management of international films and co-productions. Managing Film Incentives in Serbia will be specially addressed.

When: August, 2^nd – 5^th, 2018

Where: Crowne Plaza, Vladimira Popovića 10, Belgrade

Lecturer: Lucy Drake

Working language: English. Number of participants limited.

You should bring your laptop.

Detailed agenda is available here.

What you will learn:

• An overview of how decisions are made for funding international co-productions, why Serbia is attractive place to film and crew and department roles and responsibilities
• How to manage accounting systems and financial reporting that work for the Serbian Government and the international co production
• Breaking down a film budget and relation with production team
• Overview of financing, tax credits, cash flows and production services agreements.
• Prep - How to set up international co production and service production, including, taxes, studio procedures manuals, bank accounts, tax credit estimates
• Shoot - Communication of costs, including purchase orders, contracts, forecasting, cost reports
• Wrap - Agreement of final costs, audit & final paperwork

Who is this course for:

• Experienced and junior accountants working in film sector
• Accountants with a strong ambition to establish further career in film sector
• Production Assistants
• Production managers will be able to participate on day 2

Course goals:

By the end of this course participants will learn about the management of costs and requirements before film production - setting up a team, meeting the expectations of financiers, reporting types, way tracking costs, legal aspects and cash flows, and also how to apply their knowledge in the field of film. They will be able to prepare budgets, set up and manage accounting systems, deal with bank finance and completion guarantors, finalize all financial records relating to the production, and to arrange an independent audit.

Lucy Drake

Lucy Drake is a freelance production accountant but also provides consultancy, training and coaching in the film and TV industry, as she is a Course Leader at the National Film and TV School. Lucy took a degree in Performing Arts, specializing in Arts Administration, and followed this by qualifying as a Chartered Accountant. This combination of arts and accounting defined her future path as a Drama Production Accountant, where she worked on a broad range of productions; credits including East Enders, Holby City and Silent Witness. She progressed to Senior Production Accountant at the BBC, mentoring and training Production Accounts teams across all production genres. Her passion and experience in the industry led her to be a founding committee member of the industry wide Production Accounting Forum and co-authored their Best Practice Guide to Production Accounting website. She also develops and runs training programmes for various organizations including NFTS, The Production Guild, BBC, Moneypenny and Universities. As a freelancer she provides production accounting support for film and TV; her latest project were series of three films under the umbrella name of Intrigo, where she worked as Financial Controller, but has also worked on a number of other productions including Spooks – The Greater Good for Pinewood Films, The 9th Life of Louis Drax for Miramax, and Wheeler Dealers for Discovery.

See Lucy`s IMDb profile. 

REGISTRATION:

To attend training please submit your registration through THIS LINK.

Deadline: July 26^th, 2018

Registration fee: 150,00 EUR

For all additional information contact us by email trening@filminserbia.com or call 00 381 11 4059961. This project is supported by UNDP.

Training for location managers and scouts is a three-day intensive course which aims to prepare you for working within the locations department in the international film industry. You will be given a unique insight into what it takes to be a valuable member of the location team and will be shown how the location department is essential to the filmmaking process. From the creative beginnings to the logistical and detailed planning of the shoot, trainer will guide you through each stage of location managing and positions such as Location assistant, Unit manager, Location coordinator, Assistant location manager and Supervising location manager.

When: June  15th – 17th, 2018.

Where: Radisson Blu Old Mill Hotel, Bulevar vojvode Mišića 15, Belgrade

Lecturer: Georgette Turner

Working language: English. Number of participants limited.

You should bring your laptop and camera (if you don`t have camera you can use your phone camera).

Detailed agenda is available here.

What you will learn:

Insider knowledge and insight into the lesser-known but vital role of the locations department in realizing screen productions. Therefore, location scouting uses investigative research and photography to document potential locations that are ideal for filming. As live action production for series and film grows, the role of the locations team, including scouts, becomes more valuable.

• Overview of the film production process
• Introduction to the Location Department
• Role of the Location Manager and people on the team
• Breaking down the script to understand what is required
• Discussing the location brief with the creative team
• Identifying feasible locations which work both visually and practically
• Taking presentable photographs and image management
• Working with the Location Authorities, residents and the Public
• Budgeting for location department
• Working as a freelancer and career development

Who is this course for:

• Junior producers
• Production designers and art department team members
• Junior Production coordinators who want to work in the field
• Tourism guides interested in landscape and architecture

Course goals:

• Gained knowledge and understanding of the processes of production, office management practices, floor protocols and etiquette
• Clarified your understanding of the different career routes into the film and TV industry
• Created the beginnings of your network and contacts in film
• Gained the skills and knowledge to start work as a Location Assistant or Location Scout
• Experience of scouting locations for productions

Georgette Turner

Supervising location manager Georgette Turner is a director for award winning location management company on the QT limited ( www.onthe-qt.com). Working as a location manager for over 12 years Georgette is a key figure in the UK for fixing locations and bringing big budget feature films to the UK. She has worked on numerous block buster features including Wonder Woman, Pirates of the Caribbean, Fantastic Beasts, Mission Impossible and Edge of Tomorrow. 

See Georgette`s IMDb profile.

REGISTRATION:

To attend training please submit your registration through THIS LINK.

Deadline: June 8th 2018

Registration fee: 150,00 EUR

For all additional information contact us by email trening@filminserbia.com or call 00 381 11 4059961.

This project is supported by UNDP.

Serbia film commission starts new edition of trainings called Film Skills Academy with its most popular course – Movie Magic Scheduling and Budgeting. Both, budgeting and scheduling are crucial part of the filmmaking process, both for raising the money and for managing your shoot.

When:

May 21st - May 22nd, Movie Magic Scheduling.

May 24th - May 25th, Movie Magic Budgeting

Where: ICT HUB, Kralja Milana 10, Belgrade

Lecturer: Brian Donovan

Working language: English. Number of participants limited.

*Please test your personal laptops with installed Movie Magic software prior to training! Compatible versions: Scheduling 6 and Budgeting 6 and 7.

This course is designed to guide you through the process, so that you get it right and you don’t run out of money and time. In addition to getting acquainted with the software, the course includes practical demonstrations, work in small teams and individual guidance. Important information and skills that you will get during the course are directed not only to make Movie Magic everyday tool in your job, but also to help you see and plan budgets from the perspective of various international projects.

What you will learn:

• To schedule and budget a project for both raising film finance and to efficiently manage the shoot.
• To schedule a film using basic techniques, import a script from Final draft into MM Scheduling, in-putting data into Movie Magic Scheduling, and schedule a film using all this skills in Movie Magic Scheduling.
• To budget a film using basic techniques, in-putting data into Movie Magic Budgeting and budget a film using all this skills in Movie Magic Budgeting. Understanding the terminology.
• To apply film incentives in your budget planning and compare different jurisdictions.

Detailed agenda is available here.

Who is this course for:

• Junior producers and production managers who what to advance their skills of budgeting and planning
• Assistant Directors
• Freelancers in the production sector who have the ambition to improve their knowledge and skills.
• Film School Graduates

Course goals:

By the end of this training participants will be trained to use all the techniques and tools of the Movie Magic Budgeting and Scheduling software, which will enable them to work efficiently and precisely, as well as control over the recording process itself.

 Brian Donovan

As a Line Producer and UPM, Brian has experience of a wide range of budget levels from TV and low budget features up to and including US major features both at home and abroad. His career has covered a wide range of the grades represented by the Production Guild having worked as Location Manager, Assistant Director, UPM, and Line Producer. Recently, he has worked as UPM on Pan, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, and Allied.

He is committed to training and skills development and regularly teaches on both long and short training courses. Brian is a member of the Board and also the Membership Committee of the Production Guild.

See Brian’s IMDb profile.

REGISTRATION:

To attend trainig please submit your registration through THIS LINK

Deadline: May 16th 2018

Registration fee:

• MM Scheduling – 100,00 EUR
• MM Budgeting – 100,00 EUR
• MM Scheduling & Budgeting – 150,00 EUR

For all additional information contact us by email trening@filminserbia.com or call 00 381 11 4059961.

This project is supported by UNDP.

Belgrade, November 24-25

Leading names in global and regional VFX industry, animation, gaming, virtual reality and digital arts will gather in Belgrade for the upcoming Computer Graphics & Arts Conference (CGA Belgrade) hosted in Museum of Science and Technology on November 24 – 25, 2017. 

Aiming to become a year round platform supporting development in professional community of studios, freelance artists, students and academics dedicated to development of Computer Graphics in Serbia, CGA Belgrade is organised by Serbia Film Commission, Crater VFX Training Center and VFXSerbia.com under the tagline where Belgrade meets global talents in VFX, Gaming, VR and Digital Arts.

Whether you are interested in the creation of VFX behind the Hollywood blockbusters such as Doctor Strange or Deadpool, or Russian latest big hits Attraction and Stalingrad, or global video game wonders like Assassin's Creed and Top Eleven Football Manager, you will have premium opportunity to hear about the process behind this ambitious projects from Digic Pictures (Hungary), Main Road Post (Russia) and Serbian studio 3Lateral who achieved global fame for their almost real digital characters, while Nordeus team of Art Directors will discuss the art of art direction in games.

In addition to presentations of latest software tools for Maya and Arnold by Autodesk, Foundry's Mari 4 and Chaos Group's V-Ray, the conference will offer panel presentations discussing VR projects, development of education programmes and fostering further CG industry in Serbia. In support to wide audience opportunity side events include free workshops targeting teenagers to encourage their take on Maya suit as well as Skin Shading with Arnold for more experienced artists. Conference attendees will be able to enjoy VR Area and Balkan premiere of the VR Experience Tree authored by Milica Zec.

Introduction to the main programme will be Andrew Lowell’s free Master Class titled Fundamentals of FX in Production hosted on November 11^th at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts. As Lead Instructor of FX TD Program in The Lost Boys Studios, Vancouver School of Visual Effects, Andrew’s master class will highlight the uniqueness of FX and its role in feature film, reference gathering of natural phenomenon, procedurals, low level software methodologies and motion through simulation. It will also mark the introduction to the intensive 5 day course for Houdini artists held in Crater VFX Training center November 13-17.

CGA Belgrade main conference will be followed with a roundtable on December 1st focusing on human resources in CG industry and demanding pace of the industries built around atr and tech.

Serbia Film Commission, Crater VFX Training Center and VFX Serbia are proud to announce that CGA Belgrade is organising in cooperation with Autodesk as main conference sponsor, while partners include Chaos Group and Foundry. VR area is organised with support of local partner Srbijasume and VRLabs.

Full program and speakers available at www.cgabelgrade.com

Registration is free and available through this link.

Association Cultural Excellence presented the Italian-Serbian Film Festival in Belgrade, from the 16th to the 24th of September 2017, dedicated entirely to contemporary Italian and Serbian films accompanied with arts and fashion exhibition. The one of a kind festival in the Balkans is the 8^th edition of the Fashion Film Festival produced by Gabriella Carlucci that was previously held in Spain, Italy and Romania focusing on market screenings for first and second feature films. The event is coproduced by Yugoslav Film Archive and the Instituto Luce Cinecittà which manage the selection of movies and organize the artistic delegation with support of Italian Cultural Institute in Belgrade, Yugoslav Film Archive and the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism (MIBACT) while Serbia Film Commission supports matchmaking between filmmakers to encourage co-productions and project development. Festival opened on September 16^th with special screening of Paolo Genovese’s “Perfect Strangers” with the director and screenwriter Rolando Ravello spending one hour answering questions from fascinated audience.

Total of 20 Italian representatives from MiBACT, Cinecitta, Italian Film Commission, Rai Cinema as well as independent producers and distributors had the opportunity to present Italian funding and tax incentive scheme in comparison to Serbian locations and talents that they had opportunity to meet during the working sessions. In addition to the public and market screenings, professional meetings and roundtables Serbia Film Commission facilitate the location scouting and visit to PFI Studios in Simanovci as well as Avala Studio in Kosutnjak that was a pillar of Yugoslav cinematography of 20^th century and build as Balkan replica of Cinecitta in Rome. Two countries have had significant collaboration in domain of film historically and all participants agree that co-production opportunities, incentive schemes and film distribution should be explored more. Festival guest list included Cinemeccanica, leading Italian company in digitalization that shared their experience with digitization of over 150 screens in Italy and discussed the state of digitalization with representatives of Serbian Government and public sector involved in management of cinema screens. Festival guests had the opportunity to discuss development of three films with Serbian professionals during the location scouting and more informal meetings that took place in Crowne Plaza Hotel, the hub of the festival.

On September 17 started the core section of the Festival dedicated to Italian and Serbian contemporary movies: The habit of beauty by Mirko Pincelli, Cuori Puri by Roberto De Paolis Maino, Ti ricordi di me? by Rolando Ravello, Ho amici in Paradiso by Fabrizio Maria Cortese, La notte non fa piu’ paura by Marco Cassini, Sex Cowboys by Adriano Giotti, Una Nobile Causa by Emilio Briguglio, A pugni chiusi by Pierpaolo de Sanctis, Tutta colpa by Freud by Paolo Genovese as well as new movies from Serbia such as VLAZNOST (HUMIDITY) by Nikola Ljuca, VETAR (THE WIND) by Tamara Drakulic, AFTERPARTI (AFTERPARTY) by Luka Bursac, DNEVNIK MAŠINOVODJE (TRAIN DRIVER's DIARY) by Milos Radovic, BISER BOJANE by Milan Karadzic and IGLA ISPOD PRAGA (BLACK PIN) by Ivan Marinovic.

The Italian Cultural Center and Festival organisers from Italy and Serbia aim to enrich the artistic and professional collaboration enriching the festival with arts and fashion exhibition “Confronti” by contrasting works of Serbian designer Igor Todorovic and artist Marko Gavrilovic with Italian alt fashion brand Gattinoni. Festival partners included AirSerbia, Tourism organization of Belgrade, Fame Solutions, and abovementioned Crowne Plaza.

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The most powerful program for dynamic effects with Andrew Lowell

Serbia Film Commission and Crater VFX Training Center have designed this intensive 5 day course with SideFX to empower VFX artists and their skills in creating dynamic simulations with Houdini. The total of 30 hours of effective training will answer variety of aspects, protocols, workflows and real time examples from rigid bodies to FX and fluids. Lead instructor from Lost Boys Studio, Vancouver and certified SideFX instructor Andrew Lowell is conducting the course in Belgrade.

November 13-17, 2017, Belgrade

Location: Crater VFX Training Center, Knicaninova 3, Belgrade 

Apply online

Knowledge requirements: general 3D knowledge and FX interest/knowledge

Course organizers are providing all necessary equipment, software, course materials, refreshments and lunches throughout the week. All course participants will need to send their CV and portfolio/reel for a short review prior to the course at the email posted in the application form.

Apply for Houdini intensive course through online form here.

For additional questions or details, feel free to reach out to our team: 

General Inquires: Jasna Milošević, jasna.milosevic@craterstudio.com

Payment Inquires: Milica Božanić, milica@filminserbia.com 

 

Detailed Course Program:

Day 1 Fundamentals (Monday, November 13th 2017)

This day will introduce the participants, instructor, and goals for the course. Foundations will be formed in basic-to-advanced proceduralism focusing on geometric and particle low-level procedures and set the foundations for the more advanced subject matters in the course. The demonstrations and class will focus on creating a procedural noise-based environment with particle augmentation.

• Brief introductions of instructor and participants. Instructor history and experience overview  
• SOPs / Particles advanced fundamentals (vector math and noise)  
• Procedural systems modeling demonstration  
• Procedural systems modeling class-work and help  

Day 2 Dynamics: Rigid Bodies (Tuesday, November 14th 2017)

The second class-day will introduce DOPs workflows with a subject matter of rigid body dynamics. Here dops basics can be addressed and fracture patterns / object-to-object interaction studied. Constrain workflows with bullet are taught throughout the day. The class do a destruction example for the last two hours of class.

• Destruction and DOPs overview    
• Constraints     
• Fracturing and basic simulation overview     
• Post Transformation workflow    
• Rigid body Dynamics demonstration     
• Rigid body class-work and help    

Day 3 Solvers and Smoke/Steam (Wednesday, November 15th 2017)

The third class day will use reference and study the dynamics and technical process of smoke / steam. Basic production-line rendering and compositing of smoke/steam will also be addressed.

• Smoke technical process      
• Smoke rendering and compositing     
• Smoke reference matching demonstration       
• Smoke reference matching class-work and help        
• Sand simulation example            
• Custom solvers sample (organics)           

Day 4 Fluids (Thursday, November 16th 2017)

The fourth day will cover practical fluids FX and use. Various workflows will be explored to cover different FX needs. Setups included would be splashes with particle simulations, flip fluids, and surfacing/rendering.

• Fluids technical information  
• Flip fluids example and demonstration  
• Flip fluids class-work and help  
• Particle fluids example and demonstration  
• Particle fluids class-work and help  
• Fluid surfacing techniques example  

Day 5 Fire and Sparks (Friday, November 17th 2017)

The last class day will focus on arguably the most advanced FX in the week-long curriculum which is the process of simulating and rendering pyro/fire.

• Pyro overview and example  
• Pyro class-work and help  
• Pyro rendering example and demonstration  
• Sparks FX example  
• Sparks FX class-work and help  
• Fire composite integration example  

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PlayUK New British Film Festival in Belgrade is introducing VR program selected from some of the most traveled and known VR creative projects in the past year. Festival visitors will be able to schedule their virtual reality experiences and join Gallery PodRoom screening of Notes on Blindness VR, Hidden Cities: Dublin in the Dark, Easter Rising: Voice of A Rebel, No Small Talk and Daydreaming with Kubrick.

For complete list of projects featured in VR ARENA and booking please visit page in Serbian here.

Third edition of the New British Film Festival invites film professionals from UK and Serbia for a series of panels, presentations and networking opportunities through a INDUSTRY SIDEBAR program. British Council and Serbia Film Commission are bringing projects and film professionals to present and discuss topics such as script development, co-productions, marketing and distribution of independent and low budget films, all the way to tech influences in storytelling and development of VR projects and immersive technologies. Besides panels and sharing experiences festival guests and attendees will have opportunities for networking and discuss their own project ideas between UK and Serbia.

All panels and presentations will be conducted in English. Attendance is open to professionals, students and film connoisseur with previous registration on THIS LINK.

For more information please contact Serbia Film Commission at info@filminserbia.com

PROGRAM

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17^th – Cinema Hall DKCB

11.00h – 13.00h LOST AND FOUND: SCRIPT DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP - Paul Fraser

Paul Fraser is a writer, director and a “script doctor”. He wrote scripts for the movies A Room for Romeo Brass, 24/7, Heartlands, Somers Town and collaborates regularly with The Script Factory and the Arvon Foundation as well as reading and advising screenwriters on a one to one basis – offering script reports and mentoring over a number of drafts. The workshop will offer tools and techniques to question and edit your script. The session will also explore how to find and generate story ideas as well as provide an insight into the mechanics of the industry. Followed by Q&A session.

14.00h - 15.20h WHY DO WE MAKE MOVIES? DO FILMS MATTER? Lecture by Mike Downey

In this talk for the British Council, prolific film producer and Deputy Chairman of the European Film Academy Mike Downey will share with us his thoughts on 2017 and can we see beyond film as mere entertainment and practice it as a true calling. Regular expert in Sarajevo, Zagreb, Motovun, Pula and other regional festivals Mike’s producing experience spans over 50 feature films including Srdjan Dragojevic’s Parada.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18^th – Gallery Artget (Ist floor DKCB)

11.00h – 13.00h PRODUCING IN UK PANEL - Caroline Cooper Charles (Universal Spirits), Sophie Venner (Venner Films)

Caroline works with emerging writing and directing talent at her production company, Universal Spirits. Among many projects she well-known for her works for The Incident. As well, Caroline was head of Creative England’s Film Enterprise Fund, investing £2m to support the growth and sustainability of film businesses outside London. Sophie Venner who produced BAFTA winning short film Room 8 UK will share her views on the state of the co-productions in Europe and UK today.

14.00h - 15.30h MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTION OF LOW BUDGET/INDEPENDENT FILMS by Mia Bays (Missing in Action)

Mia and her company Missing in Action have been advising and working with more than 50 features, launching careers and producing across film and docs for over two decades. Her lectures and trainings are always very popular among professionals due to valuable tools and strategies Mia shares with attendants. In addition Mia is running Birds Eye View platform for advocacy of female perspective in film industry which makes her workshops even more interesting and insightful.

15.30h – 17.00h WHAT ARE THE SALES AGENTS SAYING? By Yana Georgieva (Bankside Films)

Yana Georgieva will introduce the sales perspective of film and how sales agents make decisions when considering a project. Georgieva will present insight into Bankside Films latest Line up of projects and the logic behind every film they work with. The presentation will also showcase examples of films “Belle” and “War on Everyone”  from first pitch to global distribution that turned to be success and breakthrough for new talents.

SUNDAY, February 19^th

11.00h – 12.30h – VR: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES by Catherine Allen

Catherine is an independent digital media producer. Her work is all about creating breath-taking, immersive experiences for audiences, where they learn something new or get a glimpse of life from a different perspective. This can be through apps, virtual reality, video, location based media, binaural audio, live experiences or a mixture of all of these mediums. She has worked with Siemens, the RSC, Disney, The Science Museum and most notably the BBC where she produced first VR interview No Small Talk (part of the festival’s VR Arena).

13.30h – 14.45h ABANDON NORMAL DEVICES – Gabrielle Jenks

Director of Abandon Normal Devices Gabrielle Jenks was previously at FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology) and is a creative producer and film programmer interested in interdisciplinary practice. An advocate for the role of festivals in supporting emerging talent and practice she has over 10 years of curating and programming work for a number of diverse organizations like the Tate, Liverpool Biennial, Google, Siemens and the BBC. She is executive producer of feature films by Gillian Wearing and AL&Al and has worked extensively with internationally established artists like Eva and Franco Mattes, the Yes Men, Oneohtrix Point Never and Rafael Lozano Hemmer. Festival takes place biennially, occurring in a new location every two years, making it the UK’s only roaming digital festival. 

15.00h – 16.15h HAPPY FINISH: FROM VFX to VR – James Mossahebi

Happy Finish is a renowned production studio and agency offering cross-platform creative production services in virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR). Their success in interactive content for leading global brands, agencies and creative made them one of the world's most impressive portfolios. Happy Finish pairs some of the world’s most talented artists with developers working at the forefront of real-time graphics, allowing them to create immersive creative content that has never before been possible. James is VR Director & DOP at Happy Finish, producing VR content for leading brands and agencies around the world.

To register your attendance at the Industry Sidebar simply select panels and sessions you want to attend below.

Complete list of film program NEW BRITISH FILM FESTIVAL

SERBIA FILM COMMISSION BRINGS TO BELGRADE MOVIE MAGIC BUDGETING AND SCHEDULING COURSE

When: 26th - 29th September 2016. 

Where: Serbia Film Commission, Vlajkoviceva 18, Belgrade, Serbia 

Lecturer: Rebecca Knapp

Working language: English. Number of participants limited.

*Please test your personal laptops with installed Movie Magic software prior to training! Compatible versions: Scheduling 6 and Budgeting 6 and 7

Budgeting and Scheduling is a crucial part of the filmmaking process, both for raising the money and for managing your shoot. This course is designed to guide you through the process, so that you get it right and you don’t run out of money and time. The course is combining lecture, practical demonstrations, group tutorials and one-to-one tuition, incorporating valuable advice from an international producer's point of view.

Rebecca Knapp is an award-winning producer who has worked in film and television production on programmes ranging from drama to documentary to entertainment for over ten years, working across Europe, Africa, Canada and the USA through her production company Braveheart Films. Rebecca has been lecturing in film production for past ten years, most recently at Met Film School MA studies, on subjects such as business and financial planning, budgeting and scheduling, international coproduction, short and feature film production, contracts and negotiations, setting up and running a production company, pitching, writing a successful funding application and film marketing.

Who Should Attend

• Learning freelancers with a specific interest in Scheduling & Budgeting a project – Second/Third Assistant Directors wanting to move up to First Assistant Directors, Production Co-ordinators looking to move up to Production Managers, First Assistant Directors/Production Managers/Line Producers/Producers looking to further their skills and increase their employability
• Filmmakers - Anyone who is thinking of producing a feature film
• Emerging filmmakers – Directors and Producers looking to further their skill

Outcomes

• Ability to schedule a film using basic techniques, import a script from final draft into MM Scheduling, in-putting data into Movie Magic Scheduling, and schedule a film using all this skills in Movie Magic Scheduling.
• Ability to budget a film using basic techniques, in-putting data into Movie Magic Budgeting and budget a film using all this skills in Movie Magic Budgeting

Course Objectives

• By the end of the course the participant will be able to schedule and budget a project for both raising film finance and to efficiently manage the shoot.

DON'T MISS THE OPPORTUNITY TO APPLY

Deadline: September 17th, 2016

Regular price:

4 day course 26-29.09. 520 eur + VAT

Scheduling 26-27.09. 310 eur + VAT

Budgeting 28-29.09 350 eur + VAT

SFC members price:

4 day course 26-29.09 460 eur + VAT

Scheduling 26-27.09.  250 eur + VAT

Budgeting 28-29.09. 290 eur + VAT

Registration and additional assistance - info@filminserbia.com or +381 11 3230581

Serbia Film Commission, British Council and the Yugoslav Film Archive within new British film festival "Film and Chips" organized an educational program Industry encounters, with a focus on visual effects, virtual reality and technological innovation in the field of audiovisual arts, marketing and distribution.

Educational program called "Industry encounters" was attended by over 30 professionals from the film industry that arrived from Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Israel and many countries in Eastern Europe just to participate in the program. More than 50 domestic visitors had the opportunity to connect with their foreign colleagues, exchange experience and establish a network of potential collaborators.

Industry encounters

The festival started with lecture "Thinking bigger, taking risks," by Mike McGee, co-founder of Framestore studios, an Oscar winner for special effects for the movie "Gravity". The topic was based on the presentation of detailed work on a film with a "live twitter commentary" during special screening in Belgrade Youth Centre. The first day of "Industry encounters"program began with special workshop on new platforms that play a key role for future development of the content and technical aspects of different platforms to better attract the audience. The second workshop subject was development of virtual reality in the past 5 years, cross-platform and incorporation kinaesthetic / multi-sensory effects in storytelling. The program was finished with representatives from Macedonian and Serbian studios who discussed about the artistic aspects of international projects on which they collaborated and the potential of this region for VFX studio development.

The biggest impression for the first day program was Recruitment event that was organized in Serbia for the first time. Professionals specialized in visual effects had an opportunity to present their showreels and working experience during individual meetings with Framestore studios HR leader and make themselves an opportunity for potential cooperation with this company.

The second day  was devoted to marketing and distribution, and a team of experts from the Event Cinema Association held a conference regarding innovative cinema content, ie cinema broadcasts of theater and cultural events, which was followed by a lecture about Usher innovative application for booking and buying cinema tickets, which improves performance, reduces costs, helps in collecting and analyzing an audience data, as well as in attracting audience.

"The Cube" demonstration was most attractive event for the visitors on the second day. It was one on one interaction with performer Simon Wilkinson, where visitors had an opportunity to realize their own performance in virtual reality.

The second new British film festival "Film and Chips" is successfully completed. British Council and Serbia Film Commission will continue cooperation through educational program, working on film proffessionals skills improvement and building knowledge transfer and networking.

Storyboard plays very important role in film production because it detaily provides a visual layout and effectively describes most of the technical details that will be used during shooting.

After completing storyboard workshop, participants were introduced to the role of the storyboard in film. They gained a skill that is necessary for cooperation with directors, producers and other important collaborators in the preparation of a feature film. They also improved visualization of the scene and learned about all film sectors roles that affect on development of storyboard.

The storyboard workshop was attended by 11 young artists, set designers and graphic designers who have adwanced drawing skills and also have an ambition to upgrade their knowledge and prepare themselves for work in film and TV industry.

Storyboard workshop lecturers:

Kristijan Hranisavljević is illustrator, animator and storyboard artist. He participated in development of numerous short films, animated series, feature films and commercials. He started as a team member in animation studio and now he works as freelance artist. He cooperates with a lot of authors and production companies in Europe, North America, Australia, North Africa and Southwest Asia.

Milutin Petrović is director and film professor. he is well known professionalist with great experience in television, advertising and film field. In the last ten years teaches at art schools in Belgrade. Last year he published a book „52 great film weekends“ with film essays. His feature films are filmovi  "Zemlja istine ljubavi i slobode", "Jug jugoistok", "Agi i Ema".

Main motive of the workshop for screenwriters “From the script to the film” is to help young writers in upgrading experience, promoting finished scripts and working with producers.

Workshop program:

- script and scriptwriting ideas, placement on domestic and foreign markets
- pitching at international platforms
- script development calls
- impact of production on script’s journey to its final point – the film
- practical work: pitching training to the commission

The workshop was attended by 7 screenwriters. They learned how to prepare their scripts for presenting them, on the best way, to producers in order to bring them to the big screen.

About lecturer:

Srđan Koljević is screenwriter, film director, professor at the Faculty of Drama Arts in Belgrade and lecturer at the European film workshops. He was screenwriter or co-screenwriter on 14 film (6 coproductions and 3 foreign productions) – among other films there were “Krugovi”, “Klopka”, “Ljubav i drugi zločini”. He is multi awarded and one of the most active screenwriter in region, as well as winner of several European awards. He directed his screenplays “Sivi kamion crvene boje”, “Žena sa slomljenim nosem” and “Branio sam Mladu Bosnu”.

Training for production coordinators was the program for experienced producers and coordinators who wanted to get their knowledge on higher level.

Production coordinators program:

- production coordinator role and responsibilities regarding English and American production
- pre-production preparations
- script breakdown with an overview of scheduling and budgeting fundamentals
- contracts and legal issues for Production Coordinators
- production paperwork including Progress Reporting

Participants learned the differences between coordination on set and in production office. They learned about role of production coordinator at international film projects, about international production standards and enhance already gained experience by working with professional lecturer. What is most important is that they prepared themselves for work on large projects.

On training attended 8 organizers, executive producers and coordinators who have experience in film production and who wanted to get their knowledge on higher level.

About lecturer:

Linda Fraser is a freelance drama Production Coordinator with 15 years industry experience in the UK on feature films and television drama productions. Linda is also an experienced trainer and currently delivers Production training for a range of organisations including the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Screen Academy Scotland and BECTU the UK’s film and television Trade Union.

Budgeting and Scheduling is a crucial part of the film making process, both for raising the money and for managing your shoot.  This course is designed to guide you through the process, so that you get it right and you don’t run out of money and time. The course was a combining lecture, practical demonstrations using computer projection, group tutorials and one-to-one tuition, incorporating valuable advice from a professional producer's point of view.

At the end of 4 day training 10 participants learned to use all Movie Magic Budgeting and Scheduling software techniques and tools, which will enable them efficiency and precision in work, as well as control over shooting process.

Budgeting and Scheduling training lecturer:

Rebecca Knapp is an award-winning producer who has worked in film and television production on programmes ranging from drama to documentary to entertainment for over ten years, working across Europe, Africa, Canada and the USA. She has also worked as a line producer/production manager of television drama, documentaries and multi million dollar budget feature films. Rebecca has been lecturing in film production for past ten years on subjects such as business and financial planning, budgeting and scheduling, international coproduction, short and feature film production, contracts and negotiations, setting up and running a production company, pitching, writing a successful funding application and film marketing.

Selling, marketing and distributing film is imperative to know if you're an  filmmaker today.

Filmmaking is big challenge, but convincing audience to choose to watch your film in the ocean of other choices is much bigger. Therefore Serbia Film Commission organized workshop that demystified essential tools that will help participants to deal with that challenge.

Selling, marketing and distributing film workshop attended 10 participants who learned how to define and reach audience, deal with exhibitors and distributors and make high quality marketing and PR strategy.

Selling, marketing and distributing film workshop program was:

- Box office, trends, events

What does the world look like now for film?
- Defining your audience
- How international works

Sales, Festivals, Deals
- Marketing and PR essentials

For before and during production
- Distribution strategies

Dealing with exhibitors, release strategy and marketing/PR essentials, reading box office numbers
- Essential PR and social Media strategies in film
- Case study srceening
- Work on your own project

 About lecturer:

MIA BAYS is an Oscar winning, twice BAFTA nominated creative producer working across fiction and docs, with a proven track record of launching careers with over 24 years experience in film on over 50 features. Mia works in both production as well as sales marketing and distribution strategist roles for her company Missing In Action Films.

Workshop and two master classes within the film festival “Film&Chips”

As part of New British film festival “Film&Chips” Serbia Film Commission continued its Mini film academy by organizing two master classes and one workshop.

Location manager workshop

Participants of location manager workshop were 10 location managers, set designer and architects who were together with lecturer actively involved in finding film locations for project. They were elaborating a script, preparing and analyzing potential location and did location scouting with well known British location manager Nick Daubeny and set designer Michael Carlin.

About lecturer:

Nick Daubeny is location manager from Great Britain, whose rich biography includes major titles such as "Inception", "Pacific", "Mission: Impossible III", "Coriolanus", etc. He is BAFTA awarded for outstanding contribution to British cinema.

Master class MICHAEL CARLIN: MY APPROACH TO FILM PRODUCTION DESIGN

 Michael Carlin, British set designer, shared his experience with more than 40 young set designers in working on the films "The Dutchess" (Oscar nomination for best production design 2009.), "The Last King of Scotland", "Two Faces of January" as well as on several other film and TV projects.

 Master class LAURA HASTINGS SMITH: HOW TO PRODUCE INDEPENDENT FILMS

 Laura Hastings Smith is produced “X+Y”, a film that opened this year’s New British film festival “Film&Chips”. More than 40 participants visited Belgrade Youth Center to hear about great experience on famous Bitish producer who spoke about film production, emphasizing the realization of large film project “Hunger” by Steve McQueen.

Serbia Film Commission in cooperation with International Colorist Academy brought original world renowned ICA courses to Belgrade.

Colorist Strategies is the most popular ICA class and is designed for industry professionals. It covers colorist theory and a detailed look at color tools and also suggests grading strategies, and session management techniques.

The course was especially useful for:

-new colorists (gives them a learning structure to follow)

-colorists who only know one system ( introduces them to other systems, how and why they are different)

-freelance and supervising colorists (expands their knowledge of workflow and technical specifications)

Reputable ICA certificates received 12 participants.

Advanced Color Design is a new practical workshop aimed at everyone involved in designing the look and style of a project.  The focus was on the principal elements of an image that clients of commercials, television and feature films all relate to; techniques cover skin, sky, products, mood and time of day as well as topics raised by the attendees. The goal was to manage these elements effectively and efficiently whilst maintaining the integrity of the project concepts and a color scheme.

Reputable ICA certificates received 9 participants.

About lecturer:

Kevin Shaw, ICA's founder, has been color grading for nearly 30 years, lives in England, and works all over the world. Prior to the software revolution he was a renowned telecine colorist, and worked with every model of the hardware da Vinci color correction systems up to and including the 2kPlus with Toolbox. He gained a BA (Hons) degree in Photography Film and Television in 1984, and worked as a stills photographer for a year, before finding his way into post-production.

Training for casting on camera

Program:

- Debate on casting that are organized in Serbia and how to get to casting for acting in foreign productions projects

- Lecture about what casting should present, looking from casting director point of view

- Self promotion on the internet casting platforms

- Headshot, self audition, presentation, showreel
Training for casting on camera was attended by 18 young professional actors who wanted to gain necessary experience in applying the casting process for large international projects. They learned about all aspects of casting and all principles of self promotion on the internet casting platforms. They also learned how the casting for foreign productions look like and what is necessary for an actor to do to be qualified for  the international film scene.

About lecturers:

Anđela Stamenković i Aleksandra Širkić are founders and casting directors of casting agency “Sav taj glumac”. Together they graduated at the Academy of Arts in Belgrade 2004, in Nikita Milivojević’s class.

After ten years of professional acting experience and education with both sides of camera, they decided to share their knowledge. They aim is to make the entire production-role-actor process faster, warmer and more creative for both productions and talents.

Anđela Stamenković participated in several workshops – “Perfect showreel” by Victoria Belfarge, “Camera as a partner” by Julie Binoche, “Audition training” by Tary George, “Workshop on international casting” by Beatrice Kruger and “Onscreen audition master class” by Nancy Bichop. She realized significant theatrical roles in Belgrade theaters - Bitef i Atelje 212, “Negovano voće” by Nikita Milivojević,  “Rozenkranc i Gildenstern su mrtvi” by  Jovan Grujić, “Šuma blista” by Tomi Janežič. She acted in international film “Look, stranger” by Ariell Javitch.

Aleksandra Širkić acted in films “Čarlston za Ognjenku” by Uroš Stojanović , “Život i smrt  porno bande” by Mladen Đorđević, “Kad svane dan” by Goran Paskaljević i “Newcomer” by Kay Barry. Aleksandra aslo played in Belgrade theaters and made significant roles in Little theater  Duško Radović and Bitef theater, in plays “Don Žuan” by Ana Đorđević and “Sirano” by Ana Đorđević. She worked on Happy TV as casting director for several TV shows. She attended classes with Beatrice Kruger “Workshop on international casting” and Nancy Bishop “Onscreen audition master class”.

This training assisted participants to gain the necessary skills and knowledge required to fully understand the role of the 1st Assistant Director training in the production process and either move into the role of 1st Assistant Director or enhance their current practices within the Assistant Directors department.

The teaching included interactive sessions, practical script breakdown and scheduling exercises.

At the end of the course participants became fully aware of the role and responsibilities of the 1st Assistant Director and perceived the production process and the place of the Assistant Director within it.

They are now able to manage a variety of professional relationships in production, to breakdown a script and to produce a schedule.

Training attended 12 young filmmakers who wanted to gain necessary experience in working on large, international projects and had an ambition to gain and/or upgrade their skills so they could carry on 1^st AD responsibilities.

About lecturer:

Alison Goring worked for many years as an assistant director in film & TV production on films and Television drama. Her film credits include Dark Tide, Hysteria, The Eagle, Cloud Atlas, Valhalla Rising, Unleashed and Shallow Grave. As well as working throughout the UK she has worked in Hungary and Spain and been involved in international co-productions with Canada, Norway, France and, of course, The United States.  

She has now moved into training and development for film & TV practitioners.  She oversees two training schemes in Scotland which offer training at all levels from new entrants right through to producers. She is a member of and also delivers training for the Production Guild of Great Britain.