Script to Screen is delighted to announce the participants selected for Strength in Numbers 2024/2025.
Over a series of workshops run by Script to Screen and led by David Court, Strength in Numbers participants are given the time and tools they need to make strategic and sustainable choices for their creative enterprises. This is a unique opportunity for screen industry businesses to work together on the building blocks of business models that will sustain their future and, ultimately, shape the industry.
The Strength in Numbers programme was developed to benefit the participants and their businesses, as well as to help foster talent and facilitate economic growth throughout Aotearoa. This year, of the 9 screen businesses selected, participants come from Northland, Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Wellington, Nelson, and Southland.
Strength in Numbers is made possible thanks to financial support from the New Zealand Film Commission and with special thanks to the regional film offices covering travel costs.
Congratulations to the participants and their businesses selected for Strength in Numbers 2024/2025:
Olivia Shanks
Congratulations Films Ltd
Emily Anderton
February Films
Patrick Gillies
EH Productions Limited
Stephanie Parker
Floating Rock Studio
Ilai Amar
Hot Candle Wave
Ahmed Osman
Homegrown Pictures
Marina Alofagia McCartney & Matasila Freshwater
Kastom Films
Q. What are some of the topics that Strength in Numbers will cover?
Curriculum: How to build a business
Business Structure: How to bring people together in a way that works for creative businesses.
Decision Making: How to make good decisions especially about the projects you back.
Content: What are you making? Rights and Interests, how they are shared. Financing.
Growth Strategies: How people grow creative businesses.
Business Planning: The story of your business, what you tell funders, partners and investors.
Pitching: How to pitch to win.
Q. Is there funding to support travel for the in-person hubs?
There is funding available to support travel to the hubs in Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland.
Accommodation will also be provided for those travelling from outside regions.
Q. Can more than one person from your business attend? (We have 3x producers in our screen business and think this would be a fabulous opportunity for us all to be involved in.)
In fairness to all applicants we encourage the business to send in an application for one person. That person can then take the message home and work offline with their partners to develop the answers to the questions that are posed in the workshops.
** Please see the question below for more information
Q. What if your business is a partnership with 2 equal directors? (For a director to make strategic decisions in the moment would be against the value system of a business with 2 equal directors.)
You won’t be making decisions in the moment. We’re really framing questions and helping you work towards your own solutions. You will take these questions back to consult with people; stakeholders not just partners, but maybe life partners or, sometimes even employees or an investor if you have one, you know, there’ll be lots of people who need to be brought into the discussion.
**Additional information that was not part of the webinar: Applications for businesses with multiple partners to attend will be considered on a case-by-case basis. With limited places available, we would like to benefit as many businesses as possible.
Q. What are you are looking for in an applicant?
We’re looking for people who are at certain stage in their business life where they have something they want to try and solve. Applicants will need to be open to the learning and possibility of things changing, and open to learning from others.
Track record of delivering projects – this may be a new business venture for you but you have experience in other businesses.
Readiness. You have reached the point where you are questioning viability and sustainability for your business.
Ambition for yourself and your business.
Q. A lot of film and TV business seem to get off the ground from either a commercial or critical success – for producers with funded projects and future ambitions but without a current regular cashflow is the course appropriate?
If you’ve had success with your business – this is a great stage to be in as it creates momentum to pick up more projects. The course is appropriate if you are ready to engage with the business questions, they matter to you enough and you see them as a serious set of questions to engage with.
You have the ambition to build something.
Q. Will there be any focus on obtaining funding for films, getting sponsorship for films and/or marketing films?
No. Strength in Numbers is about the business that sits beneath the projects.
We are interested in the choices you’re making about what to make and how you’re making choices. Fundamentally, we’re interested in the day-to-day platform, the place where you conduct the making of the films.
Q. In the overview it says “Ideal applicants will have a screen industry business (at least three years old) with a slate of projects” Is it possible for people who have had experience running previous screen businesses to apply with a new venture in mind, something that is just forming / brand new?
There is a little bit of ambiguity in that three year specification. We are looking for people with some experience in business, this can’t be your first (brand new) business venture. We’re looking for people who’ve got at least some experience under their belt.
If your purpose is to come here and think about a new business altogether, then that’s absolutely in frame.
Q. Will you be going over things like chain of title and contracts?
The focus of Strength in Numbers is on the underlying business, not on the projects. Chain of title, production contracts and similar contracts will not be covered. Contracts relating to the underlying business may be addressed during the programme, depending on the needs of the group as a whole.
Q. Is there a possibility that you would suggest someone apply for Rainmakers or Strength in Numbers based on their application if they applied for one and weren’t suitable but was suitable for the other?
Apply for both.Please be mindful bothprogrammes have the same deadline. The applications will be going through separate selection processes with different selectors.
Q. As someone who is interested in both Strength In Numbers and Rainmakers Aotearoa is it possible to be chosen for both programmes?
It is it is possible to be chosen for both.If we genuinely think there’sa compelling reason being accepted for both programmeswould be considered.
Script to Screen, in partnership with Compton School, is proud to be once again delivering Strength in Numbers. Through this programme, practitioners will develop the tools they need to build a sustainable and profitable business in the screen industry.
Led by Australian screen business expert David Court the programme is delivered through a series of workshops held in Auckland, and online over 7 months. During this time, participants will delve into key aspects of their business, which include decision processes, finance, strategy, and business structures.
Ideal applicants will have a screen industry business (at least three years old) with a slate of projects, be emerging to mid-career, and possess a proven track record demonstrating considerable talent and tenacity in their field. This opportunity is equivalent to a $10,000 investment in your business, and we anticipate up to 8 businesses will be supported.
Past participants of Strength in Numbers have helped shape the screen industry and have become a part of New Zealand’s most loved and successful screen projects, from commercials to feature films.
2024 Application Dates:
Applications open: Tuesday 6th August 2024
Information Webinar: 5 PM, Monday 19th August
Applications close: 1 PM, Monday 16th September
Overview
The programme will be delivered in two, two-day intensive workshops and three half-day online sessions from November 2024 to May 2025. The programme comprises of a mix of instruction, interactive discussion, case studies, guest speakers, peer feedback and a personal one-on-one session with David Court.
Curriculum
COMING TOGETHER IN A CREATIVE ENTERPRISE: In a creative enterprise a group of people must come together and, trusting in each other, spend months or even years working on a project – a project that is also a business. Finding the right structure is essential, one that binds the team and rewards them for the work they do and the risks they take. Strength in Numbers participants will explore some of the innovative business structures creative people have used to work together successfully.
STRATEGIC CHOICES IN CREATIVE LIFE: In creative life we are defined, for better or worse, by what we make. The right project can propel a career forward; the wrong project can slow or stop it. Choosing what to make is therefore strategic. In this topic participants will study the elements of project choice. We will look at the movie greenlight process, the writers’ room and other methods of harnessing the ‘wise crowd’ in project selection.
UNPACKING THE CONTENT ‘BLACK BOX’: Content is a ‘black box’, a puzzle with many parts. Creators must unpack the box and find a way to distribute the risks and rewards, the property rights and the creative possibilities. In this topic we work at solving the puzzle.
GROWTH STRATEGIES: Growth is about focus, not doing more of the same. We explore four proven strategies using the flywheels of brand, talent, money and information to grow your business past its current limits. And discover how they compare and why they are mutually exclusive.
THE WAY AHEAD: Few businesses stick to the plans they make. Yet a plan is a narrative – the story a business tells to attract and engage with customers, partners, employees and investors. It’s also a way of thinking things through – what matters, where the opportunities lie, where the focus of the business should be. In this topic, participants will learn the elements of business planning.
ELEMENTS OF THE PITCH: Pitching is a core skill in creative industries. It’s necessary to attract the resources – time, money and effort – required for the work. And it’s necessary too when it comes time to build an audience for the work. In this topic, we teach the elements of the pitch – narrative, clarity, confidence, and engagement.
Dates of delivery:
November 22 & 23 – all day workshops in Auckland
January 31 – 1/2 day online session
February 28 – 1/2 day online session
March 31 – 1/2 day online session
June 6 & 7 – all day workshop in Auckland
One-on-one meetings will be held between the last two workshops.
Applicants need to be available for all dates of the programme.
Travel and accommodation costs for participants who live outside Auckland will be covered as part of the programme.
Please read the application requirements before you apply.
Strength in Numbers is run by Script to Screen in partnership with Compton School.
Strength in Numbers is possible thanks to generous support from Te Tumu Whakaata Taonga the New Zealand Film Commission.
Strength in Numbers is focused on building sustainable businesses in our screen industry. Selected filmmakers participate in a series of workshops led by David Court. The programme offers a unique opportunity for practitioners in the screen industry to work together on the building blocks of business models that will sustain their future and ultimately shape the industry itself. Selected participants will have a proven track record that demonstrates considerable talent and tenacity in their field and are the primary decision maker(s) of their screen industry business, that has been in active operation for at least three years.
Screen practitioners with a slate of projects and a screen industry business that has been in operation for at least 3 years
Producer, Director, Writer (Can be any combination)
Emerging to mid-career experience level
You must be a NZ citizen or permanent resident to apply.
Applicants must be the primary business decision maker(s)
What you’ll need to submit:
One paragraph biography about you as a screen practitioner (100-150 words)
A statement about why the Strength in Numbers programme would be beneficial to you and your business at this time. Why are you and your business ready for growth and development now? (200-400 words)
A statement about what you would like to get out of the programme. (200-400 words)
A list of two to three projects you have in development, what stage they are at, along with a one-paragraph synopsis or logline for each project.
Links to prior work (up to your two best)
Your screen CV
Please copy and paste all answers from a separate document into the application form so you don’t lose your work.
Dates of delivery:
November 22 & 23 – all day workshops in Auckland
February 14 – 1/2 day online session
March 21 – 1/2 day online session
April 16 – 1/2 day online session
June 6 & 7 – all day workshop in Auckland
One-on-one meetings will be held between the last two workshops.
Applicants need to be available for all dates of the programme.
Travel and accommodation costs for participants who live outside Auckland will be paid for as part of the programme.
Script to Screen is delighted to announce the 12 participants selected for Strength in Numbers – Growth 2022. They will participate in a series of workshops run by Script to Screen and led by David Court of Compton School.
Strength in Numbers offers a unique opportunity for practitioners in the screen industry to work together on the building blocks of business models that will sustain their future and ultimately shape the industry itself. Participants are given the time and tools they need to make strategic choices for their creative enterprises and plan the way ahead.
Three experienced industry practitioners including course leader David Court read each of the 46 applications, taking into consideration the applicant’s track record and the stage the business is at when making their selection. Of the 10 screen businesses selected three are from Wellington, one is from Christchurch, another from Marlborough, and the remaining five are Tamaki Makaurau based.
Script to Screen is proud to be partnering with Compton School once again to deliver Strength in Numbers – a programme designed to teach screen practitioners about growing a sustainable and profitable business while doing the work they want to do.
Strength in Numbers offers a unique opportunity for screen practitioners to work together on the building blocks of business models that will sustain their future and ultimately shape the industry itself. The programme aims to cultivate a super-smart community of businesspeople in the screen industry that support each other over time, which is especially important for filmmakers who often work in isolation.
Run by Script to Screen, and led by Australian screen business expert David Court, Strength in Numbers comprises a series of workshops that arms participants with the tools they need to build a sustainable business in the screen industry. The programme is for screen practitioners with a slate of projects and a screen industry business already underway and will be delivered over several workshop days held in Auckland and online in the first half of 2022.
Selected participants will be emerging to mid-career, and have a proven track record that demonstrates considerable talent and tenacity in their field.
Past participants of Strength in Numbers are creators behind many of our most loved and successful screen projects Coming Home In The Dark, The Justice of Bunny King, Creamery, Kura, The Panthers, Savage, Bellbird, James & Isey, Reunion, Jojo Rabbit and Loading Docs.
“Strength in Numbers is an exceptional course that dramatically altered the way I look at my business. The programme not only provides great business tools but also shifts mindsets when it comes to growth. I cannot recommend it highly enough.”
– Orlando Stewart producer of Bellbird
What you’ll need to submit:
One paragraph biography about you as a screen practitioner
A statement about why Strength in Numbers Growth would be beneficial to you and your business at this time
A statement about what you would like to get out of the Programme.
A list of two to three projects you have in development along with a one-paragraph synopsis or logline for each project and what stage they are at.
We’ve made some changes to the roll-out of our high-end intensive development programmes for 2021. So if you are a filmmaker planning to apply to FilmUp, Story Camp or Strength in Numbers in 2021 make sure these dates are on your radar!
All of our high-end, contestable programmes are open nationally and take place in Auckland. Travel will be covered for selected participants from outside of Auckland. Due to COVID-19 and current New Zealand government border restrictions, all applicants must be residing in New Zealand at the time of applying.
All programmes are contingent on funding.
FilmUp
FilmUp is a nine-month professional development programme for practising writers, directors and producers. It supports and empowers up to eight emerging to senior practising filmmakers selected each year to further develop a project and participate in group workshops. Throughout the programme, each participant receives 20 hours of mentorship with an esteemed industry mentor, participates in group work & round tables, and receives wrap-around support.
Applications Open: Early May 2021 Applications Close: Mid June 2021 Group Workshops Held: from August 2021 – April 2022
Story Camp Aotearoa
Story Camp Aotearoa is a residential feature film lab that fosters craft, voice and vision. Eight selected screenwriters or creative teams workshop their projects with exceptional international and local advisors in a rigorous five-day experience designed specifically to meet the development needs of a feature film.
Applications Open: Early July 2021 Applications Close: Mid August 2021 Residential Lab: Five Days in Late November
Strength in Numbers
Strength in Numbers is focused on building sustainable businesses in our screen industry. Selected filmmakers participate in a series of workshops over a 5 to 6 month period. The programme offers a unique opportunity for practitioners in the screen industry to work together on the building blocks of business models that will sustain their future.
Applications Open: Late September 2021 Applications Close: Early November 2021 Group Workshops held: from February 2022 – June 2022
Image: Story Camp 2020. Credit: Evie Mackay Photography
Script to Screen is delighted to announce the 14 participants selected for Strength in Numbers 2020.
Strength in Numbers is a programme that gives participants the time and tools they need to create business models that will sustain their future in film. These models are the building blocks of new ways of financing, distributing and collaborating that will ultimately shape the industry itself.
Three experienced industry practitioners including course leader David Court (Executive Director of Compton School) read all of the applications taking into consideration the participants, their business, and projects in development when making their selection. However, with 55 applications and many of them very strong, it was a difficult task.
David Court said “this was a very strong field. Clearly, there are many producers wanting to grow their business. We would have taken more participants if we could have”.
“Initially we set out to select 12 participants”, said Jackie Dennis Executive Director of Script to Screen, “but we had two business co-owners wanting to attend together and we could see the benefit of this, so Script to Screen increased participation to 14”. Of the 12 screen businesses participating three are from Wellington, one is from Christchurch and the remainder are Auckland based.
Script to Screen is proud to be partnering with Compton School once again to deliver Strength in Numbers – a program designed to teach screen practitioners about growing a sustainable and profitable business while doing the work you want to do.
Run by Script to Screen, and led by Australian screen business expert David Court, Strength in Numbers Growth comprises a series of workshops that arm participants with the tools they need to build a sustainable business in the screen industry. The programme is for screen practitioners with a slate of projects and a screen industry business already underway and will be delivered over several workshop days held in Auckland January to September 2020.
Strength in Numbers offers a unique opportunity for early to mid-career practitioners in the screen industry to work together on the building blocks of business models that will sustain their future and ultimately shape the industry itself. The Programme aims to cultivate a super-smart community of business people in the screen industry that support each other over time, which is especially important for filmmakers who often work in isolation.
Selected participants will have a proven track record that demonstrates considerable talent and tenacity in their field. They will become part of Script to Screen’s alumni network. This network supports further collaboration and strengthens connections. To encourage screen practitioners from the regions to apply we have support from some of New Zealand’s regional offices: Film Otago Southland, Film Dunedin, Screen Canterbury, Screen Wellington, Tairawhiti TV, Film Bay of Plenty.
Strength in Numbers’ inaugural year saw ten creators of many of our most loved and successful films (including Hunt For The Wilderpeople, Boy, The Dark Horse, Love Story, Three Wise Cousins, Waru, Vai, and Loading Docs) brought together to focus on building sustainable businesses.