COVID-Safe Production in Practice

Tuesday September 8th – 5:30pm – 6:30pm Via zoom webinar

Annie Kinnane and Brett Popplewell are two producers who have been at the forefront of implementing COVID-Safe protocols on film and TV production sets. In this online webinar, Annie and Brett will talk with Northern Rivers based producer Lois Randall about their experiences running productions during a pandemic, the practical implementation of protocols and working through the challenges.

Annie Kinnane was the Production Manager on the feature film Children of the Corn when the COVID-19 global pandemic was declared and Australia went into lockdown. Children of the Corn was one of the only films in the nation to continue shooting during the initial lockdown.

Brett Popplewell is Head of Production at Fremantle and led Neighbours and Wentworth back into production post the lockdown. More than 100 productions were cancelled in Australia during the lockdown, Neighbours is believed to have been the first suspended TV drama to resume production in the English speaking world* followed closely by Wentworth. Fremantle set an example for the rest of the world on how on set production could continue with the appropriate safety guidelines in place.

This event is delivered via zoom webinar,  Please pay what you can to attend.

Guest Speaker Bios 

Annie Kinnane | Producer

Following on from a successful marketing career, Annie Kinnane crossed over to production on big budget television commercials in the days when everything was shot on 35 or 16mm film. After 15 years in commercial and content production in 2009 she produced her first short film Ipso Facto which was shortlisted at Tropfest. Her next short Kindred was the first sci-fi short to star indigenous Australians and screened at the Boston Science Fiction Festival, SciFi Film Festival Australia and New Filmmakers New York.

In 2013 to fund her third short film, she secured Screen NSW’s Emerging Film Makers Fund to produce Flat Daddy starring Kat Stewart (West of Sunshine) and Kathryn Beck (These Final Hours) with Executive Producer Al Clark (Pricilla Queen of the Desert, Chopper). The short premiered at the opening of the St Kilda Film Festival and screened at the prestigious Palm Springs Shortfest USA (2015) where it was nominated for “Best Director” and “Best Score”. It was an Official Selection of numerous noteworthy festivals and was nominated for “Best Short Fiction Film” in the Screen Producers Australia Awards, the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Awards (AACTA) and “Best Music for a Short Film” in the Australian Screen Music Awards.

The next two shorts Annie produced starred well known local actors; Maggie Blinco, Anna Lise Philips and Julian Garner in Baba (2016) … and Marcus Graham, Damien Garvey and Morgana Davies (Stormboy) in Calliope’s Prelude (2018).

2018 saw the release of Annie’s debut feature Pimped with Andrena Finlay (Blessed, Goddess, Razzle Dazzle) as the film’s consulting producer and Matt Reeder as Executive Producer (The Little Death). The thriller starring Ella Scott Lynch and Benedict Samuel (Walking Dead) premiered at FrightFest in London to solid reviews with an invitation to screen at HARD:LINE Festival Germany. Its Australian premier was Monster Fest at Cinema Nova, Melbourne (2018) with a limited cinema release in 2019.

Annie is a member of AACTA and a preselector and judge on numerous short film festivals.

Brett Popplewell | Producer/Line Producer

Brett has worked in the Australian and International film and television industry for over 30 years, where he performed the role of Executive Producer/Producer and Line Producer on Emmy Award-winning shows such as Salem’s Lot, Nightmares & Dreamscapes, The Starter Wife and many more. These represent over $250 million worth of Australian and International productions, and 200 hours of award-winning high-end film and television drama. Brett also co-created and produced the acclaimed AFI winner Bastard Boys. His Producing and Assistant Director credits also include the award winning Water Rats, E Street, The Alice and was also associated with Daybreakers, Bait 3D, The Man from Snowy River II and Street Fighter just to mention a few. Brett has not only produced throughout Australia and New Zealand, but many other countries around the world; including the $25 million dollar NBC/Power drama “Crusoe”, filmed in South Africa, as consultant producer. Most recently Brett has Line/CoProduced the James Cameron 3D Feature Film “Sanctum” and Produced the 3D Feature Documentary James Cameron/Nat Geo “Deep Dive Challenge”, Banished, “Hoges” and the new mini series Picnic at Hanging Rock.

Lois Randall – Producer | Magpie Pictures

Lois Randall is an award-winning Screen Producer with a passion for distinctive narrative drama. She was Producer of the 8 episode series of Seachange, an ITV and Every Cloud co-production which premiered on the Nine Network as the highest rating TV drama for 2019. Through her production company Magpie Pictures she was Producer and EP of the Prix Jeunesse International UNESCO Prize, AACTA and LOGIE nominated 13 episode live-action children’s series Grace Beside Me, that screened on NITV, ABC and Disney Channel 2018/19, and which was awarded Children’s Series Production of the Year at the 2018 SPA Awards. She was also Producer of The Gods of Wheat Street, Miniseries of the Year, 2014 SPA Awards, and a Development EP on the 2018 AACTA Award-winning web series Deadlock, both Every Cloud Productions for ABC TV. Lois has also produced several acclaimed short films, was line-producer on the ABC series East of Everything and John Weiley’s Imax feature Solarmax. Lois’s professional experience includes Executive Director at Australian Screen Directors’ Association (now ADG) and Manager of Metro Screen.

This program is presented in partnership with Southern Cross University and supported by Screen NSW

*Source: ABC News https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-20/neighbours-resumes-as-aussie-tv-adapts-to-coronavirus-rules/12161150