Guardian Student Media Awards

“The Guardian Student Media Awards have sought out the very best student writers, designers, broadcasters, editors and photographers for over 30 years.

And this year one of those people could be you.

Enter the 2009 Guardian Student Media Awards and soon you could be playing against real media heavyweights including the likes of Andrew Rawnsley, Rankin, Jonathan Freedland, Rachel Newsome and Emily Barr – all previous winners. Along with 100s of others, these guys were mere mortals like you before making it big in the media.

As well as choosing individual and category winners, our esteemed panel of judges will pick out one overall winner who displays particularly outstanding talent and promise. That person will undertake an extended six-week work placement at the Guardian and receive a subsistence allowance of £1,650.”

The categories, instructions and application forms are all on http://www.guardian.co.uk/student-media-awards-2009.

Social Networking for the Entertainment Industry from ACTORSandCREW

There are a number of social networks out there, like MySpace and Facebook, but while those huge social networking sites are valuable, they have the disadvantage of being open to everyone. For actors and crew members, it’s great to have a profile on a large social networking site, but the chances are good that those sites won’t facilitate connections with other people in the business. For that, you need a highly targeted site that is specifically designed to link talented actors, DPs, costume designers, and others with those who are doing the hiring.

If you’re an actor or a crew member, how do you tell the great social networking sites from those that are ho-hum? First, ensure that the site is a networking and employment site that serves film, television, and theater professionals worldwide. Second, make sure its search engine is designed in such a way as to increase the types and number of collaborations for the people who use it.

The third criterion is probably the most important, and differentiates the best from the rest. You must be able to upload high-quality video, audio, and photography, as well as documents. The quality must be better than that offered by, for example YouTube or GoogleVideo. When that’s the case, the playback quality has HD clarity and can display at a large size – making you look and sound your best.

Lastly, the site should have direct access to industry job databases and the inside scoop on film production companies, film festivals, casting calls, and so forth. Generalized social networking may be the hallmark of Web 2.0, but in this niche, a networking site is also a vehicle for actors, crew members, and producers to find one another.

Established in 2005, ACTORSandCREW is the DBA for Broadsword Communications, Inc. The company has thousands of members in more than 80 countries, and throughout the US. Their website is http://www.actorsandcrew.com.

New Website for Mobile Short Films

If you’re an independent short film maker, or a fan of short films, Zzizzl may be the service for you.  Zzizzl is a new website where you can buy short films for download to portable devices.  50% of the profit goes to the film maker.

Their website says “zzizzl is an new way to enjoy short films and videos. Our focus is to enable independent creators to get there work out there as well as earn money each time you choose to buy their film or video.

We guarantee that every time you buy a film from zzizzl, we share the profit 50/50 with the creators/rights holder. So your single purchase has a real impact for those who created it. You are enriching independent creators worldwide, encouraging them to create even more great stuff.

What’s so exciting is that you get to experience content from creators you may not have heard of before and suddenly you become the talent spotter.

zzizzl is focused on portable entertainment. What does this mean? We are encouraging you to buy films and videos to put on your mobile/cell phone or personal media player.

So now you have real freedom. You can carry your entertainment in your pocket and watch it anytime, anywhere.

Welcome to your personal portable cinema in your pocket.“

If you’re a film maker that would like to make your films available for mobile download, or a fan looking for portable content, visit http://zzizzl.com.

Written by Tracey, OwnAFilmCompany.com