Screen Queensland (SQ) today unveiled its digital production initiative Queensland Originals with YouTube bringing together Queensland screen practitioners with leading YouTube creators to develop and produce new content for the YouTube platform.
Expressions of interest opened today and close 5.00pm Friday 1 July for a Queensland-based production company or creative team to receive $150,000 in funding to develop and produce a YouTube series.
‘Screen Queensland is committed to advancing innovation and diversification in our industry and ensuring we lead the nation in adopting new opportunities, digital platforms and discovering new audiences in a global context,’ said SQ CEO Tracey Vieira.
‘This unique program with YouTube will help talented local content providers across the state succeed on the world’s most popular video-sharing website as we continue to invest in new media and digital innovation.
‘It will grow our industry base with new voices and talent and diversify how current industry create content and tell their stories on screen.’
The Palaszczuk Government announced its partnership with YouTube last November and earlier today, Deputy Premier and Minister for Trade and Investment Jackie Trad officially opened the Creator Originals competition at the second YouTube Creator Day in Brisbane along with Minister for Innovation, Leeanne Enoch. This is part of the Government’s $900,000 Create Queensland suite of initiatives, supported by Advance Queensland, YouTube, QUT, Griffith University, QUT Creative Enterprise Australia along with SQ.
Sanoop Luke, YouTube Partnerships Manager, Asia Pacific said the initiative will see more great talent from the state reach global audiences. ‘Queensland is home to some of the world’s leading YouTube creators, it will be great to see the new content that comes from teaming them up with the Queensland screen industry.’
Ms Vieira said the YouTube initiative follows on from SQ’s Queensland Originals partnership with Stan, a leading subscription video-on-demand service, to develop and finance a $1 million feature film plus the ABC iview and SBS Virtual Reality initiatives.
‘We are a young, innovative and entrepreneurial industry and YouTube, with the star power of its creators, is the ideal business partner for our industry to work with to produce a successful YouTube series.’
About the Queensland Originals with YouTube program:
SQ and YouTube are calling out for expressions of interest from Queensland-based production companies and creative teams to create a three-minute or less video that pitches why they should be one of five shortlisted teams to work with YouTube creators. These teams will then meet with Queensland’s top YouTube creators to develop and pitch ideas and one project chosen for production. Together they will then develop and produce a new series for the creator’s YouTube channel. The funded series (animation also accepted) will need to have at least five (5) episodes each with a length of five (5) minutes or more and built around the YouTube creator and should be aimed at a similar audience.
SQ will provide a $150,000 grant towards the cost of development and production. The completed series will need to be uploaded to YouTube by 31 January 2017.
Click here to view the Guidelines
and visit the Advance Queensland website at: advance.qld.gov.au/create-qld
Create Queensland is a partnership between Advance Queensland, YouTube, QUT, Griffith University, QUT Creative Enterprise Australia and Screen Queensland.
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For media enquiries: +61 7 3248 0500 | media@screenqld.com.au
