B.Comm(Media) Industry Talks is a webinar series for students in RMIT’s Bachelor of Communication (Media) program. This talk was recorded live on Friday 18 September 2020.
SCREENWRITING ROUNDTABLE
“We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.”
Ernest Hemingway (1961)
As long as there have been screens, there have been those who write for them. Screenwriting is a popular aspiration for RMIT Media students, so we thought we’d bring together our screenwriting experts for a roundtable discussion on craft, method, writers’ block, working as a writer, and everything in between.
This special Industry Talk is a roundtable discussion between screenwriters Stayci Taylor, Alan Nguyen, and Dan Binns as they speak about their experiences writing for film, TV, documentary, corporates, online and mixed media.
We discuss our inspirations, and getting started, the craft of writing for the screen, working with directors and other crew, as well as the challenges and opportunities of working as a writer.
Stayci Taylor (she/her) is a screenwriter, script editor and story consultant whose credits include ten seasons of an award-winning bilingual serial drama and a co-creation of a prime-time sitcom. She currently works as a researcher, lecturer and co-manager with the Master of Media program at RMIT. She is co-editor of two books about script development, forthcoming in 2020 and 2021.
Alan Nguyen (he/him) is an international-award-winning writer and director working across TV, film, theatre, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). He has written scripts for Melbourne Theatre Company, SBS, December Media and Matchbox Pictures / NBC Universal. He served as VR designer for a film-opera (supported by Arts South Australia, Vitalstatistix and PADA) and editor for two groundbreaking AR comic book anthologies published by EyeJack.
Daniel Binns (he/him) is a screenwriter and producer who moonlights as a Media Lecturer at RMIT University. He has written for lifestyle and documentary TV, corporate media, and drama. Dan produced The Aussie Who Baffled the World (2012) for National Geographic, and The Code (2011-2015) for Fox Sports.
B.Comm(Media) Industry Talks is a webinar series for students in RMIT’s Bachelor of Communication (Media) program. This talk was recorded live on Friday 28 August 2020.
THE CHANGING FACE OF RADIO with ELIZABETH MCCARTHY
Radio is one of the so-called ‘legacy’ media, yet it seems to constantly be with us. Is there something inherent in this platform that is just eternally relevant? Or is it a matter of people constantly working to adapt and reinvent?
We talk with our guest today about just such things, as well as how to get a foot in the door if you find radio or audio media calling your name.
Our guest is ELIZABETH MCCARTHY, Talks Producer at 3RRRFM Melbourne, as well as member of the B.Comm(Media) Industry Advisory Committee and graduate of the program!
B.Comm(Media) Industry Talks is a webinar series for students in RMIT’s Bachelor of Communication (Media) program. This talk was recorded live on Tuesday 15 September 2020.
SUE MASLIN AO
For this BC(M) Industry Talk we’re joined by Sue Maslin, one of Australia’s most successful film, television and digital content producers. Her feature film The Dressmaker is one of Australia’s all-time highest grossing films.
In 2012 she received the inaugural Jill Robb Award for Outstanding Leadership, Achievement and Service to the Victorian Screen Industry. Sue was inducted into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women in 2018 as well as appointed as an Officer (AO) of the Order of Australia in 2019 for distinguished service to the Australian film industry as a producer, and through roles with professional bodies.
Sue is also an Adjunct Professor at RMIT University, and we’re thrilled to talk to her about the future of the film industry in Australia.
B.Comm(Media) Industry Talks is a webinar series for students in RMIT’s Bachelor of Communication (Media) program. This talk was recorded live on Tuesday 25 August 2020.
MEDIA FUTURES with BHAUTIK JOSHI
How will media-making and storytelling change in one year? Five years? Beyond? What tools and techniques should we be across in order to make the most of these developments and continue telling honest and truthful human stories?
We discuss machine learning, virtual film production, augmented reality, and more with our guest in this talk, as part of the BC(M) Industry Talks series and the program’s capstone course Media 6.
Our guest is DR BHAUTIK JOSHI, an engineer and specialist in the intersection of arts, science, and technology. Bhautik has worked for the CSIRO, Industrial Light & Magic, Flickr, and currently works on all sorts of exciting things for Adobe Research in San Francisco.
Our most recent BC(M) Industry Talk was a collaboration with our final year course, Comm2629 Media 6.
Course Coordinator Brian Morris chatted with 3 former graduates about how they navigated the path from study in to work. Current students had the opportunity to ask questions.
The panel were:
–Eliza Hull, Musician, Producer of podcast series We’ve got this (ABC RN) and TV episode ‘And then something changed’ (ABC) [graduated 2009]
B.Comm(Media) Industry Talks is a webinar series for students in RMIT’s Bachelor of Communication (Media) program. This talk was recorded live on Friday 29 May 2020.
CULTURAL INDUSTRIES AND TECHNOLOGY with ANNA KAMASZ
At our latest B.Comm(Media) Industry talk we were joined by RMIT Industry advisory member, ANNA KAMASZ. We picked Anna’s brain about her career in the screen industry and how as ANZ Partner Manager at Google Arts & Culture she balances the craziness and speed of the tech world with the more stately pace of the arts & culture sector.
We also discussed how tech is helping some of these institutions cope during the COVID-19 lockdown.
B.Comm(Media) Industry Talks is a webinar series for students in RMIT’s Bachelor of Communication (Media) program. This talk was recorded live on Tuesday 26 May 2020.
CONTENT DIRECTING MASTERCLASS with GIANNA MAZZEO
For this talk we were joined by director/DOP and B.Comm(Media) grad GIANNA MAZZEO, who walked us through the process behind two of her projects.
The first is a project she put together for Mecca Cosmetics featuring the great Melbourne band Client Liaison (watch here) And the second is her amazing short film Miss Pisces (watch here).
We broke down how Gianna approached her shots, communication on set, the opportunities and challenges of working in corporate film, post-production practices and much more besides.
The Festival Experience Media studio adapted quickly to the changing times, and will run the inaugural New Normal International Film Festival from 4-6 June!
The New Normal International Film Festival 2020 has arisen in response to the unprecedented times we currently find ourselves in. At a time of vast social isolation, the festival aims to keep the spirit of cinema alive, fostering a sense of community and celebration in filmmakers and lovers the world round.
Through a live stream of short films and engagement with the filmmaking community the festival will explore the concept of the ‘New Normal’, aiming to discuss what is considered as ‘normal’ both in the past and present, whilst looking to a possible shared future.
The festival emerged from the Media studio ‘The Festival Experience’, which has been closely monitoring and responding to how film festivals are changing modalities to cope with lockdown. The festival is sponsored by RMIT, The Capitol Theatre, RMITV, Finger Food People, SYN Radio, and Fix ‘N’ Chips.
Studio leader Cerise Howard, and students Jaie McGuiness and Amelia Leonard appeared on Primal Screen on 3RRR on 1 June to discuss the festival — listen here!
