By Rachael Turk
Film Victoria has launched a new website featuring a number of world firsts in the capacity to market the state’s film skills, services and locations.
Responding to the changing needs of the international production industry, the website features an online Industry Directory database, including filmographies, show reels and film images.
According to Kirsten Badcock, who developed Film Victoria’s award-winning ‘Film Melbourne Now’ campaign before being appointed general manager of Film Victoria’s Melbourne Film Office in November, no other online film commission directory provides the following capabilities for film crews:
• Automatic CV generation (in the form of a professional template);
• Compilation of crew lists (through a ‘shopping cart’ tool) and export to PDF; and
• show reel functionality for individual listees.
It’s a simple use of technology to market the combined capability of a state’s industry – and on an international level.
Furthermore, notes Badcock, it allows crews to market themselves.
‘Many practitioners we spoke with were crying out for assistance with self-marketing,’ she tells Inside Film. ‘Through this site, they can now present themselves professionally and equally among their peers, and reach a far greater audience both in Australia and worldwide.’
Monitoring of the site’s usage has found approximately 69 percent of visits to the site over the last three months have been from U.S. servers. This could increase further with heavy promotion of the site by Film Victoria’s CEO Sandra Sdraulig at Austrade’s ‘G’Day LA’ event in Los Angeles this January.
In the first 16 days of the directory’s existence, a total of 2091 CVs were downloaded.
Of notable inclusion on the site is a section relating specifically to gaming and animation services.
According to industry reports, the global video game market will increase at 9.1 percent reaching $64.9bn by 2011. Asia-Pacific at $9.6bn was the largest market in 2006, and is expected to continue to maintain its dominance. At E3 in 2006 Australian attendees cut deals worth at least $35m since the show. Worldwide games spending also jumped 14.3 percent in 2006.
‘Statistics like these are indicative of the significant role digital media does and will play in the broader screen industry,’ says Badcock. ‘The Industry Directory was the perfect opportunity to further recognise the importance of integrating digital media with the screen industry for the long-term’.
Further developments to the Film Victoria site – including a world-first locations tool – will be launched late January.