SCREENSKILLS
Industry-led skills body for the UK's screen-based creative industries
Northern Ireland
Panel Discussion: Tech Skills for Creative Storytellers
VP, VR, AR, AI, VFX. What skillsets will be essential for the next wave of screen storytellers? How are new trends in technology changing content and careers? Good stories will always be good stories but the ways in which we tell them and watch them are changing fast. This has implications for everyone in the sector – creatives, techies and bean counters. This session explores what do we stand to gain and what might we lose if we open our minds to new ways of producing content. Come with an open mind, lots of questions and as many acronyms as you know.
This session is sponsored by the ScreenSkills High-End TV Skills Fund.
Friday 24th February, 1:30—2:30pm
ScreenSkills Panellists
Liz Barron
Liz Barron represents ScreenSkills, the UK-wide industry-led skills body skills for the screen industries – film, television (including children's, unscripted and high-end), VFX (visual effects), animation and games. ScreenSkills provides insight, career development and other opportunities to help people get into the industry and progress within it.
Check out training and resources at ScreenSkills.com and connect with Liz at liz.barron@screenskills.com
Michael O’Neill
Having been a teacher and an artist, Michael eventually fell into the multi-layered world of advertising where he was a copywriter and strategist. After six years of that he co-founded Armchair and Rocket, a creative company making content for entertainment and education and occasionally just for the hell of it. He writes and produces films and commercials for the company and attempts to have fun in the process. Recent forays into the world of artificial intelligence have been more successful than he expected.
Connor Richmond
Connor Richmond is a Development Assistant and Junior Script Editor and currently works in scripted development for Two Cities Television – the makers behind the BAFTA winning PATRICK MELROSE (Sky Atlantic/Showtime) and the upcoming BLUE LIGHTS (BBC One/iPlayer) written by Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson. Two Cities TV is creatively led by Joint CEO, Michael Jackson and Joint CEO and Creative Director, Stephen Wright. The company is part of the STV Studios group of production labels. Connor previously worked in children’s animation, including Pablo (CBeebies/RTÉjr/CAKE), SOL (TG4/BBC Alba/S4C/BFI/Aardman), and Ladybird & Bee (RTÉjr/Jetpack) for Paper Owl Films. He also production coordinated the feature film Boys From County Hell (2020), was Script Secretary on LOLA (2022), Script Assistant on A BUMP ALONG THE WAY (2019), and a Reader for Mammoth Screen. He was a Trainee Script Editor on the development of Blue Lights (BBC One/iPlayer) for Two Cities and Gallagher Films. He started his career in England, working as a 3rd AD and Script Supervisor’s Assistant on Emmerdale and Coronation Street (ITV). Connor also runs his own company, Dogleap Productions, and is developing a slate of short films, feature films, HETV, and animated projects. He is also currently a part-time post-graduate student at the National Film and Television School in Beaconsfield, outside London.
Adam Wilkinson
Beginning his career in factual entertainment TV, Adam worked on the likes of X-Factor, Flog It, The Great British Menu and regional live breakfast programming. After a stint globe-trotting he found himself back in Northern Ireland and fell into the scripted world and the locations department. Almost ten years later Adam runs his own company providing location services to HETV productions. In 2020 he began producing shorts and commercials via his production company Irish Soup.