FAQs

If you have a good idea for a movie or series, there is a lot of work that you need to do to give the idea a chance to actually be written and produced.

A great starting point is the Screen Australia publication – Getting Started: Film, TV, Online & Interactive. This guide provides an overview of the types of training opportunities, work experience and networking initiatives available to newcomers, as well as to those currently working in the industry looking to develop their skills.

You should also read through the Top Tips for Regional Filmmakers page on our website, check out our upcoming events and program on Screenworks Learn pages and watch some of our Recorded Webinars.

Screen Australia also has great information about Starting In The Industry and Funding and Support. You should also get familiar with the state or territory funding body where you live – contact details and links are available on our website.

Screen Australia has published a comprehensive guide for all filmmakers working with Indigenous content and communities, titled Pathways & Protocols: a filmmaker’s guide to working with Indigenous people, culture and concepts. There is a downloadable PDF on their website.

Pathways & Protocols is essential reading for ALL filmmakers shooting in Australia – you should read this first before going any further. 

We often hear about projects being developed that include Indigenous content but do not have Indigenous key creatives attached. If this is the case, we strongly recommend that you consider if you are the right person to be telling this story and reflect on the appropriateness of Indigenous representation and treatment of Indigenous cultural heritage material in your project, including any issues regarding cultural integrity, authenticity, and sensitive or sacred material. If you are unsure or do not have the contacts to find this out, then maybe the story isn’t one for you to tell?

It is also important to highlight that before engaging an Indigenous consultant, advisor or assessor, you need to understand that there are fees associated with this type of work and that there must be remuneration of individuals or organisations for the time, knowledge and expertise which is being provided. 

Pathways & Protocols provides a list of contact details for key organisations such as land councils, Indigenous media associations and broadcasters, industry agencies, Indigenous cultural advisors and script consultants, and permit offices. Some of this information is now out of date, but updated details and information can be researched and are publicly available on the internet.

Screenworks is a not-for-profit registered charity and does not provide funding programs for development or production of screen projects. Funding is normally provided by Screen Australia and the state/territory funding bodies. Links to each of these funding bodies can be found on our website.

Funding for productions in regional Australia is different in each state and territory – to get the most up-to-date and accurate information, please use our Funding Bodies webpage to find the relevant organisation to contact.

As an example, in NSW the Screen NSW Regional Filming Fund (RFF) offsets costs associated with shooting in regional areas of NSW. Regional NSW is defined as all areas in NSW outside the Sydney Metro area (excluding the ACT). Applicants may request up to 35% of the budgeted NSW Regional Spend, with the maximum grant per production set at $100,000.

Screenworks does not provide any funding for productions in regional Australia.

We are only a very small team at Screenworks and, with over 800 screen practitioners in our membership, we simply don’t have the capacity to respond to individual enquiries for feedback on project materials.

If you are planning to film in the Northern Rivers region of NSW, Screenworks is able to help you with information and assistance. Screenworks is able to provide advice on locations, professional crew, infrastructure, facilities and engaging with the local community. It is also able to introduce and connect productions to the local council contact, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community leaders and facilitate introductions, conversations and engagement with the local community.

For more information, head to our Why Film in the Northern Rivers? Webpage.

For all regions outside of the Northern Rivers, please refer to the relevant state or territory funding body. Contact details are available on our Funding Bodies webpage.

Firstly, Screenworks is bound by the Privacy Act 1988 – due to this, we do not give out the contact details for an individual without their permission. 

We are also bound by confidentiality when we are working with production companies, so we are not permitted to discuss productions being made in the Northern Rivers or across regional Australia. 

For information or details about individual productions, we recommend that you contact the production company directly.

Screenworks is not a casting or crewing agency and we do not employ cast or crew for productions happening in regional Australia. 

For the Northern Rivers region, we do have the Northern Rivers Crew Database available on our website. In this database, you will find details on the skilled screen industry professionals and emerging professionals working and available for work in the Northern Rivers region of NSW.

We strongly encourage line producers and production companies to use this crew database to employ as many locals as possible when they are working in the Northern Rivers region. If you need further assistance with finding crew, please contact our office on (02) 6681 1188.

If you are a screen industry professional or emerging professional living in the Northern Rivers of NSW  with a professional job credit and would like to be included in this database, please register via this link (eligibility criteria applies).

We think it is but we might be biased! We have a webpage called “Why become a member?” which provides lots of information about how you will benefit from becoming a Screenworks member.

Our #1 priority at Screenworks is your satisfaction and to support your professional, skills and career development. We stand by all of our services and programs 100%, no matter what, no questions asked. If you have a problem, just reach out to our team. We will find a way to solve it, if we can’t then we will refund your 1-year membership fee. We’re here for you. Satisfaction. Guaranteed.

New Screenworks membership applications are determined by the Screenworks board every fortnight. This usually takes place every 2nd Wednesday. Screenworks will send a confirmation email after the application has been approved/activated or declined.

You can manage your membership via the Screenworks Connect membership portal. To login, just use the “Membership Log-in” located in the top right corner of the website.

After you have logged in to the Screenworks Connect membership portal, look for the Crown icon on the left-hand side menu for everything you need to know about your Screenworks membership.

There is a playlist of tutorial videos available on our Screenworks on Demand YouTube Channel.

You can manage your membership via the Screenworks Connect membership portal. To login, just use the “Membership Log-in” located in the top right corner of the website.

There is a playlist of tutorial videos available on our Screenworks on Demand YouTube Channel.

If you are having trouble logging into the Screenworks Connect membership portal, it might be because you haven’t set up a username and password. Usernames and passwords that were previously set up on the old Screenworks website were not able to be carried across to our new platform due to security concerns.

Please send us an email to [email protected] asking us to resend the invitation email which will help you set up your Screenworks Connect username and password. 

There is a playlist of tutorial videos available on our Screenworks on Demand YouTube Channel.

As a Northern Rivers local you have 2 options:

• Become a member

As a Screenworks member you are part of a vibrant and networked regional Australian screen industry represented by Screenworks as one strong voice. You will benefit from Screenworks representing screen industry practitioners of regional Australia at a state, national and international level, creating industry connections and advocating regional screen industry development. All the information about joining up as a Screenworks member and benefits are here:

https://screenworks.com.au/join/

• Join our crew database

Sign up to get your name listed for free in our local Northern Rivers Crew Database (NRCD)

This is a separate database we have created to respond to all the crew requests we field from incoming productions to our region. It is for local Northern Rivers screen practitioners to list in only and applicants must have at least one paid, verifiable, professional media industry (film, television, commercial, animation or video game) job credit and meet all other eligibility requirements.

Create your listing in the NRCD:

https://snsw.reel-scout.com/crew_registration.aspx?type=C&g=258&cl=C

Search for crew here:

https://snsw.reel-scout.com/crew_directorylist.aspx?type=C&g=258&cl=C

No, just because you are a member does not mean that you are listed on the Northern NSW crew directory. If you meet the eligibility requirements, please create your listing here. 

No. Only practitioners who reside in one of the 9 LGAS in Northern NSW can join the directory. These include Ballina, Bellingen, Byron, Clarence Valley, Coffs Harbour, Kyogle, Lismore, Richmond Valley, Tweed.