Screen NSW'S development programs are not just all about projects, they're about people too.

Slingshot is a suite of programs that have been designed to accelerate the career development of NSW key creatives, individuals and teams.

• The Production Attachment Scheme
• The Above-the-Line Attachment Scheme
• The Mentorship Program
• The Festival Travel Fund
• The VFX Placement Scheme
• The Producer Extension Scheme
• The Emerging Filmmakers Fund (short film production funding)

The Production Attachment scheme provides opportunities for emerging practitioners to work on a production in which Screen NSW is an investor. From July 2009, when Screen NSW invests between $100,000 and $200,000 in a production, the Producer is required to provide for one paid attachment within their existing budget. Similarly, when Screen NSW invests $200,000 or more in a production, the Producer will be required to provide for two paid attachments. Attachments can be to any position, above or below the line. This is part of Screen NSW's commitment to providing training and development opportunities for people working in the screen industries in this State. The attachments must be at no less than industry award rates, and must be of a duration that is at least equivalent to the number of scheduled production weeks.

For more information please go to the Production Attachment Scheme section.

The Above-the-Line Attachment scheme is different. These attachments will be funded directly by Screen NSW and will enable producers, writers, directors, and developers to attach themselves to a production, Production Company or experienced key creative. We will fund between two and four of these attachments a year. Emerging creatives can use these attachments to develop skills in their existing craft, and more experienced practitioners can use them to develop skills in new or related areas.

While Screen NSW will consider any proposed attachment of producers, writers directors, and developers, we will give priority to those involving script development and digital media skills.

For more information please go to Above-The-Line Attachment Scheme section.

Whether you're starting out in this business, or whether you're interested in exploring a new role, it often can be handy to just have the ear of someone who's been there before you someone who knows exactly what your job entails and can give you some inside tips and guidance.

Through our Industry and Audience Development Grants program, Screen NSW partners up with a number of industry organizations that, in turn, are happy to offer their services as mentors to NSW Key Creatives. These organizations include: Metro Screen, Information and Cultural Exchange (ICE), Women in Film and Television (WIFT) and Screenworks.

If you're interested in offering or receiving the services of a mentor, contact the relevant organization, or have a chat with one of our staff and see if they can point you in the right direction.

For more information please go to the Mentorship Program section.

The Festival Travel fund offers targeted support to NSW Key Creatives whose work has been invited to an appropriate overseas festival. The intention of this fund is to help NSW key creatives take advantage of the networking opportunities that arise while the spotlight is on their talent, and allow them to pitch their next project.

Assistance is available for travel and associated costs only, not for marketing costs such as prints or publicity materials. Applicants will need to have an official invitation from a festival before they apply and they will be assessed on the benefits to their career from attending, and the likelihood it will assist their next project, relative to their level of experience. Travel assistance is available for any project that falls within the range of activity that Screen NSW supports. It is offered competitively, and is in the form of a grant.

For more information please go to the Festival Travel Fund section.

This program provides on-the-job skills development in the visual effects industry. Through this scheme, Screen NSW provides subsidies to leading NSW companies to employee digital artists for six-month placements. There is one application deadline per year, with up to 5 people selected annually.

For more information please go to the VFX Placement Scheme section.

Each year the Producer Extension Scheme will provide two emerging Producers with training in project development and production finance. The successful applicants will spend time in Screen NSW'S Creative and Enterprise Development Branch and other screen organizations, as well as being supported to attend key industry events. The process of selection will be competitive. Eligible candidates will be the emerging Producers who have made shorts through our own EFF program, the former AFC shorts programs, new Screen Australia shorts programs, or any of the AFC or Screen Australia's Indigenous initiatives. Each attachment will be paid, will be for 4 days a week over a six-month period and will give the producer an opportunity to observe and take part in the process of analyzing applications for production and development finance.

For more information please go to the Producer Extension Scheme section.

The Emerging Filmmakers Fund supports new and emerging filmmakers in NSW by funding the production and post-production of short films. It provides career development pathways, and encourages exploration, experimentation, and mastery of new technologies. There will be one round a year in which a maximum of four successful projects receive grants of up to $30,000 for production and/or post-production.

For more information please go to the Emerging Filmmakers Fund section.

Creative & Enterprise Development (CRED)
Email: cred@screen.nsw.gov.au
Phone: 02 9264 6400