Liz Ballantyne and Chris Bennett.
Screenworks and Screen Queensland have partnered to offer two mentorships for practitioners based in Far North Queensland – one for an emerging animator, the other for games development practitioner.
Participants in what is dubbed the ‘FNQ Screen Industry Bootcamp’ will receive six weeks of mentorship from either Liz Ballantyne, art lead at game development company Gameloft, or Chris Bennett, an animator at the multi-Emmy award-winning production company Ludo Studio.
The selected participants will each receive bespoke, industry-real briefs and targeted feedback from their mentor over the six-week ‘bootcamp’ period. This will be capped off with an opportunity to travel to Brisbane where they will shadow their mentor in their professional environments.
“The FNQ Screen Industry Bootcamp will provide an extraordinary opportunity for early-career regional practitioners from FNQ to connect with and learn from highly accomplished industry professionals”, explains Screenworks CEO, Ken Crouch. “We are excited to give the FNQ screen practitioners the exposure and unique access to experiences which will enhance their skills and impact their careers”.
Screen Queensland CEO Kylie Munnich says: “This is the first of many programs to be rolled out as a part of the Far North Queensland Screen Production Strategic Plan. Mentorships can be transformative experiences and we know that the participants in this bootcamp are in good hands with the regional expertise of Screenworks and industry heavy weights Ludo Studio and Gameloft, guiding the way. It’s all about providing a real-world experience that will give participants practical skills, industry contacts and above all confidence to create their own screen projects and build their careers in the industry.”
Applications are open now and close June 19. Mentorships are slated to begin in July.