A transformative 6-week coaching progra

The first in-take will commence in April 2023 and is by invitation only

These days the most successful dark genre projects are often the most original too. It’s necessary to be aware of the marketplace's needs, while also making sure to honour your own unique voice and style . Whether you’re emerging or more established, whether working in short films, TV or feature films, strategic thinking will help your project stand out from the crowd. Referencing current films and case studies and examples from their horror anthology Dark Whispers - Volume 1, filmmakers Briony Kidd (The Room at the Top of the Stairs and founder of Stranger With My Face International Film Festival) and Megan Riakos (Crushed, Deadhouse Dark and founder of Hemlock & Cedar Films) will explore ways to develop, articulate and then deliver fresh and provocative content within this competitive genre.

​

This two-hour workshop will investigate various stages of concept development, from the first spark of an idea through to attracting audiences. It is suitable for writers, directors and producers. 

​

The two key areas to be covered are:

​

• Developing 

  • To first settle on a concept, it is important to understand your aims for release. Even more important though is to deeply understand what it is that you want to communicate. As the adage goes, a genre story should be “the same but different”. So what are you saying that no one else can or would? Or perhaps the uniqueness will be all in the execution. Your point of difference could be aesthetic or even technical. The crucial thing is to know how you plan to grab an audience’s attention (remembering that collaborators and investors are your first audience). How will you push the boundaries of your chosen genre or subgenre, to approach it in an unexpected or idiosyncratic way? What influences will inform the work, and how? And what kind of development process will work best for you and your project, to ensure that you don't lose your way? It's about being very intentional at every stage. Yes, you need to know about things like festival strategy and marketplaces requirements. But you never want to feel that these considerations are restricting your imagination. Under the right circumstances, limitations are great drivers of creativity. This part of the workshop is about setting up those circumstances.

• Delivering and releasing

  • Once your script is ready, the focus then becomes maintaining the integrity of your concept as you move into production... and beyond. How do you clearly communicate your vision with your cast, crew and stakeholders, while also creating a collaborative space within which to achieve it? Later, how can you champion this concept in the marketing and distribution phase, to ensure that your story has the best shot of reaching the intended audience? Discussion here will include tools such as references, shot lists and mood boards. There will also be some points around navigating obstacles and opportunities that may change the originally intended pathway, including how your poster and other marketing materials can work with (or against) your release strategy.
     

Participants are required to watch the anthology feature film Dark Whispers - Volume 1 in preparation for this workshop. The film is available to watch online for free using your  Tasmanian Libraries card  or rent it for $1.99 via iTunes.

​

The session will include workshopping of ideas from the participants. Those who have a project in development should have a logline ready to enable easier discussion of your idea (note: for those who wish to share only, this is not obligatory). 

​

Then stay on for an informal networking opportunity with fellow dark genre filmmakers afterwards. Meet your next collaborators! Drinks available onsite from the cash bar.