Program 2020

4:30- 5PM | Friday 4 September
MWF Online Event Platform Hopin

Note: Only valid to Screening and Festival Pass holders.

Join the WebFest 2020 team as we formally introduce you to our online event and look ahead to what you can expect in our program.

5 – 6PM | Friday 4 September
MWF Online Event Platform Hopin

Note: Only valid to Festival Pass holders.

Pull back the curtain on the role technology, data, user experience and policy play in the development of major streaming platforms. Learn more about the platform’s content strategy, from commissions, development and acquisitions, to the Digital Originals initiative promoting under-represented voices and which has produced award-winning web series Homecoming Queens and Robbie Hood. Includes Q&A.

Who are the speakers:

• Amanda Duthie ((Acting) Head of Scripted, SBS)
• Peter Andrews (Head of Network Programming, SBS)
• Dianna Andrade (Head of Marketing & Content, SBS On Demand)
• Dr Ramon Lobato (Author – Netflix Nations & Associate Professor, RMIT)

6:30 – 7:30PM | Friday 4 September
MWF Online Event Platform Hopin

Note: Only valid to Festival Pass holders.

Are you an emerging filmmaker looking to find the right help, the right role or the right direction to move yourself and your ideas toward? Join our line up of industry leaders who’ve had considerable success in Australia, internationally, and most importantly – online. Hear them share industry tips and tricks, available opportunities (both locally and abroad) and expand your knowledge of the short form industry and the avenues available to you. Our industry can be difficult to navigate at the best of times and the online world can make seemingly endless opportunities a daunting proposal.

Key Insights:

• Where a web series can take you
• Personal development opportunities
• Setting goals
• Making industry contacts
• Knowing the purpose of your project
• Where to take an idea
• Local/International opportunities for development and distribution
• The entrepreneurial nature of web series creators

Includes Q&A.

Who are the speakers:

• Kirsty Stark (Co-founder, Epic Films & Development Producer, Matchbox Pictures)
• Ahmed Salama (Creator, That Start Up Show)
• Julie Kalceff (Creator, Starting From Now & First Day)
• Enzo Tedeschi (Founder, Deadhouse Films)
• Luke Eve (Founder, More Sauce)
• Anne Santamaria (Content Strategies Consultant & Creative Talent Scout)

7:30 – 8:30PM | Friday 4 September
MWF Online Event Platform Hopin

Note: Only valid to  Festival Pass holders.

The fast-paced event will allow you to match with individuals at the festival on a one-to-one video call and chat for up to 5 minutes before being matched with another festival attendee. A chance to unwind, discuss the day’s events and connect with a fellow creator or two. Socialise with industry contacts and festival guests from around the globe, who knows who you’ll meet.

7:30PM – 12AM | Friday 4 September
MWF Online Event Platform Hopin

Note: Only valid to Festival Pass holders.

Grab a wine or a coffee, depending on your time zone and join a group chat. Listen in to attendees discuss or wind down from an opening day of WebFest goodness – deep into the night!

9 – 10AM | Saturday 5 Septmber
MWF Online Event Platform Hopin

Note: Only valid to Festival Pass holders.

Start your day with a dose of WebFest goodness. Join open conversation with attendees and special guests, and look ahead to the day’s program.

Joining us:

• Paul Moran, Jess Murray, Tim Logan (Moments of Clarity team)
• Annie Louey (Actor, Comedian & 2020 Jury member)
• Tasnim Hossain, Monica Kumar, Sarah Bassiuoni & Elliot Clifford & Sophea Op (Carpark Clubbing team) (not pictured)

10-11am | Saturday 5 September
MWF Online Event Platform Hopin

Note: Only valid to Festival Pass holders.

Explore how the writer’s identity adapts and caters to different mediums and formats in order to reach their creative goals. Creatives have always needed to pivot and modify their approaches in order to survive particularly with the fluidity of the digital medium. Discover how writers can harness, quieten or amplify their voice to maximise the impact they have through different platforms and mediums. Hear from a panel of multi-platform writers on how they approach their various creative projects, when and where they think it’s appropriate to bring their own identity into the equation in entertainment, journalism, and other writing mediums.

Includes Q&A.

Who are the speakers:

• Diana Nguyen (Actor, Creator Official Selection series – Phi and Me)
• Laura Hudson (Journalist, content creator – Better Worlds & Melbourne WebFest 2020 Juror)
• Michelle Law (Actor, Writer – Homecoming Queens)
• Grace Feng (Creator Official Selection series – Girl, Interpreted)
• Dr Cath Moore (Screenwriter, Academic & Author – Metal fish, Falling Snow)

 11AM – 1PM | Saturday 5 September
MWF Online Event Platform Hopin

Note: Only valid to Festival Pass holders.

Creativity is unpredictable, imaginative and dynamic so it’s not at all shocking that the process taken to create a thing would also be a wild, innovative ride – not a neat and tidy formula that fits into a box. This Creative Entrepreneurship workshop explicitly asks you to think out of the box. The future of storytelling is dramatically changing so there has never been a better time to think differently about your creative process and embrace the idea that there is more than one way to bring a series to life.

This workshop encourages you to funnel the ever-moving momentum of creativity into your creative process through a multi-dimensional, networked experience that is not phased in a chronological, siloed manner. It invites you to think differently about your series design and consider new ideas, and approaches to get your idea from your head out into the world. The workshop encourages the leverage of digital functions to genuinely connect with your audience at the outset (not project at them when the series is completed) and it’s ultimately focused on empowering creatives.

If you’re looking for a cookie cutter creative model that gets you from A to B this is not for you…this workshop asks you to come with an open mind and a bubbling enthusiasm about exploring new ways of working and tapping into creative flow. It covers all facets of creation from ideation, funding, production, distribution, audience communities and multi-platform making.

Who is the presenter:

Bec has experience working in different sectors of the media, film and TV industry including journalism, acting, partnerships, marketing and producing at prestigious Australian businesses, such as the ABC. She co-founded New Media Production Company, Cockatoo Colab, founded a network of media makers that spans regional Australia, is the Associate Producer of Visible Farmer, a 15-part web series highlighting women in the regions and currently has a regional web series in post-production. She also produced the internationally acclaimed platform agnostic series ‘600 Bottles of Wine’ (BBC, Netflix) which she co-created with Grace Rouvray and Ainslie Clouston. 

2 – 3PM | Sunday 6 September
MWF Online Event Platform Hopin

Note: Only valid to Festival Pass holders.

Ant McCormack (Co-Founder of Changer Studios) hosts a panel of creators to explore the theory and practice of how being in tune with the purpose of your project will allow you develop the best possible online strategy.

Changer Studios is a media ventures company with leading expertise in short form online video. They’ve helped grow some of the top YouTube creators in the world and run a series of world-first creator initiatives – in partnership with YouTube, Google and other leading online video partners – to shape the future of online video creation.

The creators joining us have all achieved substantial viewership success and their influence extends beyond their web series projects.

Key Insights: 

• Finding the purpose of your project
• Leveraging online content to grow into further opportunities
• Platform strategies to reach your goals
• Finding an audience 
• Growing your platform and engaging with community

Includes Q&A.

Who are the speakers:

• Michael O’Neill (Creator, Official Selection series – Australia’s Best Street Racer)
• Diana Nguyen (Creative Entrepreneur & Actor/Creator, Official Selection series – Phi and Me)
• Piéra Forde (YouTuber & Actor/Creator, Official Selection series – Nevernight)
• Jeffrey Yang (GM & Head Writer, Glitch Productions & Creator, Official Selection series – Meta Runner)
• Ant McCormack (Co-founder, Changer Studios)

3:30 – 4:30PM | Saturday 5 September
MWF Online Event Platform Hopin

Note: Only valid to Festival Pass holders.

Development is the most crucial part of creating a story worth telling. Join our line up of industry executives well-versed in story development. Explore how to approach comedic storytelling by exploring the role traditional story structures, tropes and trends play in finessing your story goals. Discover how to plan your story with your audience pathways in mind and how to approach the pivotal story and pitch documents that can make or break your idea. 

Key Insights:

• Shaping a story for the online medium
• Story/creative development
• Pitching/story documents 
• Thinking of your audience 
• Do’s and Don’ts 
• Tropes

Who are the speakers:

• Lauren Elliott (Founder & Producer, Galactic Baby)
• Phil Lloyd (Writer & Partner, Jungle Entertainment)
• Nara Wilson (First Nations Industry Development Executive, South Australian Film Corporation)
• Mike Cowap (Senior Producer, Princess Pictures)

5-6PM | Saturday 5 September
MWF Online Event Platform Hopin

Note: Only valid to Festival Pass holders.

Ludo Studios, the Queensland-based studio behind global megahit Bluey (ABC, internationally Disney+) join us to delve into their creative process. With online hits like vertical narrative Content, SBS On Demand’s Digital Original Robbie Hood, and animation The Strange Chores, their slate is eclectic, innovative and truly unique. So what makes Ludo, well, Ludo? Daley Pearson (Co-Founder, Ludo Studios) and Wenlei Ma (film critic, ABC Radio, homepage editor, news.com.au) explore the studio’s approach to the development process. Using their production slate (both complete and in progress) as case studies, we look at the development and distribution approaches they’ve taken both locally and internationally to craft their identity and short form prowess.

This is a not-to-be missed opportunity to hear from one of Australia’s top creative studios.

Includes Q&A.

Who are the speakers:

• Daley Pearson (Co-Founder, Ludo Studios)
• Wenlei Ma (Film critic and journalist, ABC Radio, news.com.au)

6 – 7PM | Saturday 5 September
MWF Online Event Platform Hopin

Note: Only valid to Festival Pass holders.

Web series creators have always been explorers in the digital screen industry. They take risks, developing new and innovative content and are eager to harness the newest distribution platforms on the market. In this roundtable you will hear from creators who have successfully developed “vertical cinema” for an online audience. In doing so they have opened pathways to new creative opportunities and provided a reflection of our digital age through their stories. Featuring projects on platforms like Snap Originals, TikTok and Instagram.

Who are the speakers:

• Capucine Tavoillot (Director, Stu, My name is Stu & Production Manager, Story Island)
• Michelle Melky (Producer/Director, Love Songs & Creative Producer, Amplify)
• Hayley Adams (Producer/Director, Love Songs & Producer Balloon Tree Productions)
• Anna Barnes (Writer of Content, Apollo & Retrograde)
• Jackson Lapsley Scott (Producer Retrograde and Apollo, Line Producer Content)
• Lee Naimo (Senior Online Investment Manager, Screen Australia)

8 – 10PM | Saturday 5 September
MWF Online Event Platform Hopin

Note: Only valid to Festival Pass holders.

The fast-paced event will allow you to match with individuals at the festival on a one-to-one video call and chat for up to 5 minutes before being matched with another festival attendee. A chance to unwind, discuss the day’s events and connect with a fellow creator or two. Socialise with industry contacts and festival guests from around the globe, who knows who you’ll meet.

8PM – 12AM | Saturday 5 September
MWF Online Event Platform Hopin

Note: Only valid to Festival Pass holders.

Grab a wine or a coffee, depending on your time zone and join a group chat. Listen in to attendees discuss or wind down after day two of WebFest – deep into the night!

9-10am | Sunday 6 September
MWF Online Event Platform Hopin

Note: Only valid to Screening and Festival Pass holders.

Start your day with a dose of WebFest goodness. Join open conversation with attendees and special guests, and look ahead to the day’s program.

Joining us:

• Sam Ingram (Senior Access Manager,National Film and Sound Archive)
• Mikael Thiery (Twisted Mirror TV, London Short Series)
• Heather Gill (Curator, National Film and Sound Archive)

10-11AM | Sunday 6 September
MWF Online Event Platform Hopin

Note: Only valid to Festival Pass holders.

Who are the speakers:

• Samuel St-Pierre (Producer, Connecting… (S2) Project Manager, TV5 Unis)
• Mara Joly (Writer & Director, Home Turf)
• Maxime Pouliot (Director, The Florists)
• Dan Speerin (Strategic Advior, Transmedia Zone, Ryerson University)
• Dr. Emilia King (Founder, Pink Moon Studio & Researcher, Ryerson University)

11AM – 1PM | Sunday 6 September
MWF Online Event Platform Hopin

Note: Only valid to Screening & Festival Pass holders.

Pitch iview is a fast-paced, interactive competition in which 20 entrants will have just two minutes to pitch an idea for an original web series based on this year’s theme, to a panel of judges and our audience. The pitching will take place on our online festival platform, Hopin.

The theme “Infinite Worlds” provokes the idea that there are no limits to what one can be or achieve. Web series provide endless possibilities in both format and medium and therefore one can create a story world where the impossible becomes possible.

The winning pitch will earn its creator a writing and development mentorship with Princess Pictures.

1- 2PM | Sunday 6 September
MWF Online Event Platform Hopin

Note: Only valid to Festival Pass holders.

3:30 – 4:30PM | Sunday 6 September
MWF Online Event Platform Hopin

Note: Only valid to Festival Pass holders.

Lee Naimo (Senior Online Investment Manager) and Alyce Adams (Online Investment Manager) will be running a Screen Australia workshop, followed by a Q&A. 

They will be running through what incentives Screen Australia offer for online content, including web series, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Extended Reality. You’ll discover what the online funding investment range is, as well as unpacking the different types of funding opportunities from development, to production, to completion, tackling post-COVID style projects and the industry moving forward. This is an essential presentation for online creators and a great opportunity to discover more about Screen Australia and how to get them on board your project.

Key Insights:

• What Screen Australia funding opportunities are available (including post-COVID projects)
• What makes for a good application
• What Screen Australia is looking for with their web content and applications
• How to define your goals as an online creator and for your series

Who are the speakers:

• Lee Naimo (Senior Online Investion Manager, Screen Australia)
• Alyce Adams (Online Invetsment Manager, Screen Australia)

F2-3PM | Saturday 5 September
MWF Online Event Platform Hopin

Note: Only valid to Festival Pass holders.

On this panel we hear from Official Selection series creators and industry professionals to explore how they’ve created stories with social impact online. Hear about why they tell the stories they do and how they approach their creative process to maximise their impact, raise awareness and enact change.

Includes Q&A.

Who are the speakers:

• Vidad Narayan (Founder, Round 3 Films, MWF 2020 Jury member)
• Rob Innes (Creator, Official Selection series – Youth on Strike! & Founder, Mashup Pictures)
• Hannah Reilly (Co-creator, Official Selection series – Sheilas)
• Eliza Reilly (Co-creator, Official Selection series – Sheilas)
• Patrick Kelly (Senior Lecturer, RMIT)

5 – 6PM | Sunday 6 September
MWF Online Event Platform

Note: Only valid to Festival Pass holders.

Further explore the craft of story development as it pertains to comedy and broader story genres. Hear from our panel and learn from their experience in finessing stories and taking the right steps towards creating a project worth sharing. Hear about the expectations around producing quality story documents and the tangible role audience pathway planning plays in the development stage of your project.

Key Insights
• Shaping a story for the online medium
• Story/creative development
• Pitching/story documents
• Thinking of your audience
• Do’s and Don’ts
• Tropes

Who are the speakers:

• Taryne Laffar (Company Director, Pink Pepper)
• Tamasin Simpkin (Production Executive, Film Victoria)
• Chris Thompson (Founder, Four Leg Films)
• Li-Kim Chuah (Development Manager, ABC) 
• Dr Stayci Taylor (Lecturer, RMIT University)

7 – 8PM | Sunday 6 September
MWF Online Event Platform

Note: Only valid to Festival Pass holders.

The fast-paced event will allow you to match with individuals at the festival on a one-to-one video call and chat for up to 5 minutes before being matched with another festival attendee. A chance to unwind, discuss the day’s events and connect with a fellow creator or two. Socialise with industry contacts and festival guests from around the globe, who knows who you’ll meet.

7 – 8PM | Sunday 6 September
MWF Online Event Platform

Note: Only valid to Festival Pass holders.

8-9:30PM | Sunday 6 September
MWF Online Event Platform Hopin

Note: Only valid to Screening & Festival Pass holders.

Tune in for the eigth annual Melbourne WebFest Awards show, join us as we celebrate our 2020 selection and award the most outstanding web series with over 20 awards up for grabs.

9:30 – 11:55PM | Sunday 6 September
MWF Online Event Platform Hopin

Note: Only valid to Festival Pass holders.

Celebrate the end of Melbourne WebFest 2020. Talk about the festival events or relax and unwind until the end of the event.