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A character study of a long-time Australian country-music performer who struggles with poverty and alcohol abuse but nonetheless longs to make it big in the US, Matthew Walker's documentary examines [...]

Recent research undertaken in Australia and abroad suggests that the development of effective collaboration skills is a significant factor affecting the successful employment of graduate screen practitioners. This article outlines the results of a study that examined student response to the explicit teaching of collaboration skills in an Australian screen production course. The authors report on an empirical research project undertaken in 2015 and 2016 in the Department of Screen Arts at Curtin University, Western Australia. This involved two cohorts of second year screen production students (83 in total), and aimed to foster students' teamwork skills. The activities and resources shared with students encouraged an interrogation of contemporary models of film making collaboration, the use of group contracts to identify shared values of teamwork and the implementation of activities designed to improve students' awareness of various collaboration styles. Outcomes were measured by both qualitative and quantitative means through student surveys administered at both the beginning and end of the unit of study. The results of these surveys suggest a change in student attitudes towards collaboration, particularly in regards to the value of communication. The authors aim to disseminate these findings and to encourage further discussion and study in this area. The article builds a case for more attention being placed on the explicit teaching of teamwork and collaboration skills in University screen production courses.

This article considers how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted tertiary-level screen production education in Australia. Six university educators across four Australian states present a series of critical thematic reflections, interrogating their lived experiences of teaching screen production courses during periods impacted by COVID-19 lockdowns and social distancing requirements. The analysis reveals the pandemic amplified areas like concept development and fundamental production skills using mobile devices, while more advanced technical skills and student collaboration suffered due to remote learning conditions. Managing health risks through COVID-safe protocols became a major priority. Student storytelling shifted towards shorter individual projects exploring themes of isolation, though some collectives producing anthology series also emerged. While some pandemic-driven changes like online meetings have persisted, the authors identify an ongoing need to foster students’ interpersonal skills and technical proficiency developed through collaborative, hands-on learning experiences. The diverse reflections highlight common challenges but also differences across states based on varying COVID-19 conditions and restrictions. Overall, the authors argue for balanced, responsive approaches going forward to equip graduates with frameworks to navigate screen industry shifts alongside changing student expectations around delivery modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jim Lounsbury's documentary paints a sunny picture of van-dwelling nomads in Australia and the US, whose chosen lifestyle follows a long tradition of countercultural organising and sustainable-living practices. But, as [...]

This review article examines research into the conceptualization and development of narrative-based virtual reality (VR) experiences with the aim of articulating the overlaps and differences in various disciplinary approaches. The terms 'conceptualization' and 'development' are used to encompass a range of activities (represented by terms such as 'screenwriting', 'design', 'narrative design' and 'prototyping') that might be associated with VR development by researchers from fields of screenwriting and broader screen studies, game studies, interactive digital narrative (IDN) and human–computer-interaction (HCI) fields. The focus of the article is research produced within the last decade, this coinciding with the resurgence of narrative-based VR production driven by affordable, consumer-grade technologies that emerged around 2015. While narrative-based VR is not new, recent technological advancements have enabled greater degrees of realism and an affordable consumer price point, making VR more appealing as an entertainment medium. This has led to an explosion of interest in narrative-based VR experiences in film festivals and conferences, with academic scholarship seeking to understand new practices and tools for creating storytelling experiences with the medium. Through an extensive survey of recent literature, this article seeks to answer the question of how we as researchers can conceive of VR conceptualization and development going forward. The analysis highlights the use of differing terminology across disciplines, which is often linked to understandings of adjacent or earlier media, processes and narrative models explored in these fields. Going forward, the article argues for an interdisciplinary research lens that foregrounds the embodied nature of VR storytelling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]