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The workshop runs till April 15, 2019 and is organized in partnership with Finále Plzen Film Festival.

Our “idea-to-market” project development program is the only residential, project-based program targeting and tailoring its content for emerging television professionals – both creative teams and commissioning editors - coming from the Central and Eastern European region and the only project-based program of this kind accepting mini- and web/digital series, as well as ongoing series projects. 

The second workshop consists of closed sessions, individual meetings and consultations and dedicated writing time, but has a special treat also to industry guests of the Finále Plzeň Film Festival: some of the expert lectures are open to industry guests! 

What's on the menu in Pilsen this year? 

APRIL 11, 2019 
12.00 – 13.00 / Mestanska beseda / Primator Salon
Rumle Hammerich: SHARED VISION - Working in the Creative Triangle
Director, producer and writer Rumle Hammerich will talk about the importance of finding the theme, the core and the philosophy of the show and how this "shared vision" is the common platform for the writer, the producer and the director. The script and the money are almost two-dimensional or digital, but a TV series will eventually happened in the third and fourth dimension and this is the director’s focus: transforming the script into four dimensions. Rumle Hammerich will talk about the director’s role and responsibility in a TV series production. Trust is the major element in the creative triangle. One vision is death.

14.00 – 15.00 / Mestanska beseda / Primator Salon
Steve Matthews: So You've Written a Great Pilot...
Steve Matthews, an experienced expert, now the Executive Producer of Drama Development at HBO Europe, will discuss the process from pitching your project through series development, production and beyond. What to expect, the stages in the process, the pitfalls to watch out for, and learning to love notes.

APRIL 12, 2019 
09.00 – 09.45 / Mestanska beseda / Primator Salon
Nebojsa Taraba: FORGING SERIES - The Life In Episodes
Production of the TV series is a marathon process, and you can easily lost your breath on this long journey. This lecture will try to put a light on the most important moments in pre-production, production and post production in order to establish proper ratio of time you have to spend in each of this "episodes" of the process so you can achieve satisfying result. Time is the key factor in TV series production, and the first step of every project should be, literally, turning script into time, and then turning time into numbers in the final budget breakdown. In order to find out how this "alchemy" of turning words in picture works, this lecture will try to explain importance of the script breakdown as the most important and central point of the making of TV series and to give an answer on the most important question: Who is producer's best friend? Director or 1st AD?

APRIL 14, 2019 
10.00 – 11.00 / Mestanska beseda / Primator Salon
Marike Muselaers: Start Up & Enter the TV Market
Startup might be a TV series, but every TV series is a startup as well! Marike Muselaers uses the format of a business plan to discuss the process of entering the TV market and how to navigate the current landscape in this age of plenty. She will give examples of different ways to finance/package a TV series with international partners and discuss various TV business models. She will talk about how to stay true to your concept when pitching to a variety of players, what to expect from possible coproducers, sales agents, broadcasters, platforms and financing partners, and last but not least: why it is so important to know both your audience and your industry.

APRIL 15, 2019
10.00 – 11.00 / Mestanska beseda / Primator Salon
Kirsten Loose: Finding the Right Partners - A Guide to Financing and Distribution for Web Series
Web series offer great opportunities for storytelling. But how to bring those projects to life? This lecture will give an overview on financing and distribution models for web series, look at potential partners, platforms and networking opportunities and get you into the mindset for defining the potential of your project, identifying target audiences and developing a strategy to find the right partners.

15.00 – 15.45 / Mestanska beseda / Primator Salon
Michaela Sabo: Make Your Pitch Custom-Made
Whenever you do something from the bottom of your heart all the great energy you put in reflects in a form of an excellent result. There are no general rules that define a great pitch. The only rule is to know your story well and be able to have your heart present while pitching it. During her lecture, Michaela Sabo will guide the audience to find their strengths and weaknesses and make an advantage of both of them, to create a custom made pitch. And last but not least, Michaela will give useful tips on how to overcome jitters, how to stay focused, how to find the core elements of the story and how to transfer it to the pitch audience.

Join us, while in Pilsen!

MIDPOINT TV Launch is realized with the support of Creative Europe – MEDIA Programme of the European Union, the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the Czech Film Fund, the International Visegrad Fund and the Slovak Audiovisual Fund. It is presented in cooperation with the Finale Plzen Film Festival, the Sarajevo Film Festival – CineLink Industry Days, HBO Europe, Serial Eyes, C21 Media, Series Mania, CANNESERIES Institute, MIA TV Market, CHARACTER – Film Development Association and the Audiovisual Producers' Association. MIDPOINT operates under the auspices of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.