Chamber of Commerce news

Business summit - Ambitions for 2011, takes place at Horizon Scotland on Mon 6th Dec. Registration @ 10.30 am.

Please complete their online survey, which hopes to guage 'the mood' of local businesses as we embark on 2011 at:

http://www.newhorizon-media.co.uk/

Please also let your voice be heard and complete this survey, with regards to business impact as a result of the closure of RAF Kinloss and unknown future of RAF Lossiemouth at:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NZVTJCZ

Save Lossie RAF Action Group have over 28,000 signatures on their petition and you can download more forms here to support their cause:

http://www.savelossie.org/updates/northern-scot-launch-petition

Nov meeting cancelled

To All,

We thank you for your patience and due to weather restrictions, we have decided to reschedule this meeting. We will inform you via email and please watch Blog for updates. Thanks and enjoy the snow :-)

Nov meeting

Hi Folks,

Our next Creative Moray meeting will take place on Tues 30th Nov @ 6.30 pm - 8 pm, in the upper bar area at Brewsters, Linkwood Way, Elgin IV30 1HY. (By McDonald's). Please forward items for Agenda & advise on attendance/absence for nos to me by 12 pm Fri 26th Nov (anna@recitefilms.com). I look forward to seeing you all there.

Best wishes,

Anna.

Interim Secretary.

Attention all Filmmakers, Musicians, Tour and Band Managers!

Attention all Filmmakers, Musicians, Tour and Band Managers!

Wednesday 27th October 2010
The Ironworks
122b Academy Street
Inverness IV1 1LX

2pm-5pm
PRS for Music are running a seminar on music copyright.  This can be minefield but Duncan McCrone and Andy Harrower will demystify this process.
Are you making short films but not sure what music you can or cannot use, and more importantly is there a cost?
Are you a musician/composer just not sure what to charge, if anything, for your creative talent on a short film, television programme or radio?
What rights should you sell/buy and what should you keep/not bother with?
What are rights and what do you have to do to 'clear' them?

If you've ever asked yourself any of the above this is a must-attend seminar for you.
We'll explain the difference in using commercial, library and specially composed music, and give an insight into blanket agreements, the latest developments with music and the internet and all will exemplified with over 20 years of music publishing experience.

Andy Harrower is Director of Broadcast Licensing at PRS for Music.  Currently he is responsible for overseeing the licensing of TV and radio broadcasters in the UK, ensuring that PRS writer and publisher members are paid whenever their music is broadcast.
Duncan McCrone is Scotland's representative for PRS for Music.  He looks after the songwriting and publishing community in Scotlahd and his office is the first port of call for anyone who either creates of uses music in Scotland.

5pm Networking Drinks

6pm Music Showcase with James Mackenzie (and the Aquascene)/Iain MacLaughlin
In advance of their split single, both James Mackenzie and Iain MacLaughlin will be doing a live acoustic set followed by some candid interview chat.


RSVP to Amanda Millen asap


Amanda Millen
Development Producer

Screen and Broadcast Industries for the Highlands and Islands
M: 07887 605 062

Screen HI and Creative Highland are funded by
Highlands and Islands Enterprise and ERDF

c/o Cowan House
Inverness Retail & Business Park
Inverness
IV2 7GF

www.hie.co.uk

Moray Chamber of Commerce - Smart Exporter Event

Johnstons of Elgin has it, Walkers Shortbread has it, Forsyth Group has it, 

Gordon & MacPhail has it and Hunted Cow Studios has it. Do you have SCOTTISH EXPORT 

POTENTIAL?  

Moray Chamber of Commerce is launching Scottish Export Potential. 

This group will provide an opportunity for all types of business from manufacturers 

to service providers from Moray and the north east to get together to discuss 

export issues, network and share learning to help their business grow in a global 

market. The first event will also launch Smart Exporter locally. This initiative is 

supported by the European Social Fund (ESF) to help businesses export out of the 

recession.   

SMART EXPORTER  

Smart Exporter is a range of support and training that is available largely free of 

charge from Scottish Chambers International (SCI) and Scottish Development 

International (SDI) and will be launched in Moray at Johnstons Heritage Centre & 

Courtyard on Wednesday 10th November at 5.30pm so do come along whether you are 

already exporting or whether you are just starting to think about it.  James Dracup 

managing director of Johnstons of Elgin will give an inspirational talk about their 

global experiences and some taster training sessions will be run on the evening by 

SDI and SCI.  Private and exclusive Christmas shopping with 10% off on the evening 

for attendees will take place at 7.15pm when drinks and canapés will be available 

and art enthusiast Mark Gask of Gallery I will use this opportunity to show the 

beautiful painting “Union Jack” by Scottish artist Jack Vettriano and talk about how 

this image inspired the photograph to promote our networking platform. This original 

and valuable painting will be on display for one evening only. Shopping will finish 

at 9.30pm.  

For the opportunity to meet with an export expert to discuss any immediate issues 

that you might have then book a free place by phoning 0844 344 0000 or 

e mail info@scottishchambersinternational.co.uk

Next Meeting

We will be meeting with Jim Maxwell, co-op consultant from CD:Scotland, with a view to moving forward and becoming a legally binding co-operative that is limited by guarantee and goverened by members. Hence, attendance would be much appreciated.

Provisionally set for: Tues 2nd Nov, between 1 - 3 pm.
I'm awaiting confirmation of mtg space at Moray College. Please email me directly with your attendance by Monday 25th Oct.

Best,

Anna.
Interim Secretary.

anna@recitefilms.com

Business Gateway - Enterprising Moray Event 22nd Oct

Thank you to those that helped out at yesterday's BGateway event: Angus, Emma and Ewen.

It was a well truned out event and proved useful in raising awareness about the group. We chatted to a number of local creatives, who have shown an interest in the group and now have details of the Blog. We also chatted to a number of prospective clients and I shall collate their details for the next meeting provisionally set for 2nd Nov from 1 - 3 pm...still awaiting attendance - please email me directly.

Rene Looper delivered a great seminar on using social media as a business tool, in which he highlighted the importance of having a fb and twitter page.

Best wishes,

Anna.
Interim Secretary.

anna@recitefilms.com

Moray Film Festival 2010

Info now up @ http://www.morayfilmfestival.com/index.php/home

Next Meeting - urgent

Dear All,

It's been brought to my attention that Jim Mawell of CD:Scotland (consortium co-op consultant) is going to be in Elgin on Tues 2nd Nov. This would be an ideal time to meet with him face-to-face, rather than a planned video call, in order to move the org forward into becoming a co-op.

Please advise if you can make this date between 1 - 3 pm and I shall organise accom in Elgin.

I hope to have a confirmed response by Mon 25th by the latest please.

Thank you for your support and interest in the group.

Anna.

Exhibition Space - The Venue

The Venue is available for use. We are currently exhibitiing local artists work in our bar area and we also have the big screen if it were needed to screen films. If anyone has any questions or ideas for use please just get in touch with Charis @ The Venue 4-6 South College street Elgin thevenueelgin@hotmail.co.uk

Business Gateway - showreel deadline

To All,

If you wish to submit a showreel for the above event, please send directly to me asap. The deadline was 16th Oct. I only have 3 at the moment. This is a great opportunity to showcase the diverse creativeness within Creative Moray.

Also, we are still looking for reps on the day at Elgin Town Hall. Here is the proposed schedule, but more helpers would be great in order to spread the word at the event about our org:

Setup - Angus and Anna from 9.30 am
10am - 12.30pm - Angus and Anna
1 - 2pm - Emma
2 - 4pm - Ewen

Thanks!

Inverness Film Festival

Lights, Camera, Action! Welcome to the 8th Inverness Film Festival - the biggest festival yet! I've worked hard to bring you a wide choice of films from different genres, directors and from across the world. Highlights this year include ‘firsts’ from the UK in the shape of Gareth Edwards sensational Monsters, from Australia comes a slice of the dark side of Oz in David Michôd’s Animal Kingdom. From Hong Kong there’s Café Noir by the film critic turned director Jung Sung-Il and from Canada comes Jacob Tierney’s hilarious The Trotsky. We have 15 Scottish and 3 UK premieres in the Festival this year – giving you plenty of chance to see these films first, and to vote on your favourite as a contender for the 2nd Inverness Film Festival Audience Award.  Last year’s award was won by Departures, directed by Yôjirô Takita. I imagine that Steve Dilworth’s wonderful sculpture is sitting on a mantelpiece in Japan right now, probably next to the Oscar that he won (the IFF award taking pride of place of course). We’ll also be taking a good look at Asian cinema this year, with films including the Cannes Palm d’Or winning Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives from Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul and possibly the wackiest and one of the funniest films that I have ever seen; Symbol – a Japanese film by Hitoshi Matsumoto which truly has to be seen to be believed. I’ll be around throughout the Festival and am always happy to chat. Just look for the stressed out bloke. DOWNLOAD THE IFF BROCHURE HERE - then sit back and enjoy! I hope to see you at the Festival! PAUL TAYLOR, DIRECTOR

Our mailing address is: Eden Court Theatre Eden Court Theatre Bishops Road Inverness, Inverness-shire IV3 5SA

Glasgow School of Art to open in Forres

http://www.hie.co.uk/about-hie/news-and-media/archive/glasgow-school-of-art-to-open-in-forres.html

Source: HIE, 7.10.10.

Co-operative

Definition:

An autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations, through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise.

The purpose of a co-operative is to engage with outside business on behalf of it's members. Common goals could be:

• joint application to grant bodies;
• common suppliers;
• buying/ selling;
• joint marketing;
• sharing premises...

Emma Cooper, Craig Robertson and myself were fortunate to attend today's 'Co-operative' presentation @ Horizon Scotland, hosted by Moray Chamber of Commerce and felt it was relevant to what we are trying to achieve with CM. I feel it would be beneficial for the group if Emma and I were to report our findings at the forthcoming meeting for discussion. I have made contact with Jim Maxwell of CDS (Co-operative Development Scotland), who are a support agency for co-operatives (free of charge) - based in Glasgow - but they are keen to provide advice and support and have many case scenarios, which we can identify with.

A valuable quote:

"Collaboration is no longer a 'nice-to-have'. In a tightening economic environment, collaboration is becoming a competitive necessity." Harper McLeod LLP.

Old Maps and New - Highlands and Islands Culture and the Economy 12th & 13th Nov

Old Maps and New - Highlands and Islands Culture and the Economy

*Please note the unfortunate date clash of this event with Moray Film Festival *

A Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE)/Creative Scotland conference, celebrating the last and the next 20 years of communities and culture in the Highlands and Islands is to be held in Inverness in November.

In 1991 the newly-formed HIE organised a ground-breaking conference on the Social and Economic Impact of the Arts in the Highlands and Islands. Almost two decades on, and thanks to the agenda laid down by that conference, the cultural landscape of the area has grown beyond recognition.

Chris Higgins, head of culture and the third sector at HIE commented: “Much has changed in the 20 years since HIE organised its first conference to explore the social and economic importance of the arts to the region. Many parts of the Highlands and Islands now have access to levels of cultural and artistic provision undreamt of in 1991. Artists and cultural companies from the area are achieving national and international success. A report discussed then indicated that £1.34 million was generated by visitors to cultural events. Visitor expenditure for Highland 2007 was £6.1 million. ”

He added: “Faced with the prospect of shrinking resources we must nurture social entrepreneurship and look innovatively at models to grow creative activity in our communities. Bringing together the people involved in the sector will let us ask what the creative and cultural landscape of the Highlands and Islands will look like in 2020.”

The title of the upcoming conference to be held on November 12 and 13 is ‘Old Maps and New’, the title of a Norman MacCaig poem. The event coincides with the 100^th anniversary of the birth of the great Scottish poet whose heartland is acknowledged to be Assynt, in North West Sutherland. Included in the programme will be events to mark this centenary, organised in association with the Poetry Library in Edinburgh and Top Left Corner, the literature organisation based in Assynt.

The establishment of Creative Scotland as the leading cultural agency for Scotland now offers an ideal opportunity to look to the future. Andrew Dixon, Chief Executive of Creative Scotland, will be a keynote speaker at the event. He commented: “The value of culture and creativity to Scotland’s communities cannot be underestimated and developments in the Highlands and Islands have shown it adds socially, culturally and economically to the region. Creative Scotland will play a role in investing in ‘places’ around Scotland and I welcome the chance to be part of this future look at the cultural and creative strengths and sustainable models of development for the Highlands and Islands."

The conference programme will combine presentations, case studies, commissioned papers, debates and panel discussions. As well as Mr Dixon, speakers will include Willy Roe, Chair of Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Seona Reid, Director of Glasgow School of Art, who was a speaker at the original 1991 conference in her then role as Director of the Scottish Arts Council.

November 2010 also marks the 20^th anniversary of HI~Arts, the arts development agency for the Highlands and Islands, which was originally established by HIE, and whose early work was closely guided by the outcomes of the 1991 conference. HI~Arts is acting as coordinator of this event on behalf of HIE.

Booking for the conference will open on 30^th August, when a fuller programme will be available. To receive details of these booking arrangements, please e-mail HYPERLINK "mailto:info@hi-arts.co.uk"info@hi-arts.co.uk putting ‘conference’ in the subject line.

Thanks to Craig Robertson for forwarding!

Looking for Budding Film Makers

Do you want to make your own films?  Would you like to see your work on the big screen?

Moray Film Festival presents the ‘One Minute Film’ Competition.  Your film should be based around the theme IDENTITY in One Minute.  No technical excellence is required and the judging panel are looking to be entertained:  good story, well told, engaging and exciting.  No barriers, creative, original, a universal story.

This is your opportunity to shine.  The winning film will be screened on the final evening of the festival being hosted by BAFTA in Scotland.

Your entry should be delivered to Moray Film Festival, c/o Anna Templeton, Moray College by Friday 12 noon on Friday 12^th November.

Note:

The Film Festival’s main events will run from 10^th to 12^th November, with a wide range of workshops and screenings, delivered by industry experts.  Programmes and website will be available shortly.  In the meantime, for further information, please contact Mairi McIntosh, telephone 01343 563493 e-mail mairi.mcintosh@moray.gov.uk

Next Meeting

Date: Friday 15th October
Time: 13:30 - 15:00
Location: Moray Art Centre, The Park, Findhorn  IV36 3TA

Next Meeting

This meeting has been canceled, due to a large number of people not being able to make it on the day.

Date: Friday 1st October
Time: 13:30 - 15:00
Location: Moray College

Creative Moray Forums

Just to let everybody know that I have set up a private forum for use by the members of our group.

http://creativemoray.freeforums.org

As I say this is a private forum and with the exception of the Introductions Area all other content is private and can only be viewed by our members. Please drop in and sign up. I'm on the look out for spammers so if your email address looks suspect... well I'll likely not let you in ;)

Issues for Agenda (Fri 17th Sept, 2010)

Dear Members,

As acting secretary, please email me with your issues for agenda by midday Thursday.

Thanks,

Anna.

Next Meeting

The next meeting of our group will be on Friday 17th September at Moray College, Elgin. The room is booked for 13.30, and we have the space until 15.00.

Please register at reception on arrival and you'll be directed to the room.

Please feel free to invite other creatives along, the greater the range of skills we have available the better this will be for all of us.

Film G: Directing Tutorials Inverness 11-12 Sept / Film Competition

FILM-MAKING TUTORIALS
INVERNESS VOLUNTEER CENTRE

One-to-one tutorials with experienced professionals.
1.5 hour tutorials on the following topics:

• Directing for Drama

• Directing a Gaelic film for a non-Gaelic speaker

• Visualising and designing your film

Applicants must submit a synopsis of their film when applying.
Participation is free but places are limited. Book NOW!

To register contact Helen:
01471 888513 - fios@filmg.co.uk
For more information visit our website at www.filmg.co.uk

Enterprising Moray - engaging with your business support network

In follow up to today's unanimous vote in favour of our organisation being represtented at the forthcoming BGateway event to be held at the Elgin Town Hall on 22nd Oct (10am - 4pm), we are required to provide the following information by next Fri 10th - hence the need for urgency:

What we require from you –

• - Please send us one paragraph (50-70 words) describing your organisation, and outlining how you can help Moray businesses to achieve their key objectives.
• - Please send us your company logo in colour JPEG format
• - Please advise if you require any additional equipment for your stand (e.g. tables, chairs, electrical sockets)
• - Please confirm who will be hosting your stand
• - Kay Giles will be in touch with you regarding any opportunities for promoting the event through your organisation (e.g. on your website, e-newsletters, posters)
• - Can you offer any incentive for the attendees to come and speak to you at the event, rather than contacting your directly? E.g. 10% off membership if you join at the event, free consultation session, advice from a renowned specialist? We will then promote this offer in our event communication

It would be the perfect opportunity to showcase our talents at present and I would be happy to edit together a showreel of digital works for this event: beit a film promo, short film, video montage, music clip over stills etc....just ideas. It was agreed that this event would be a good platform to help raise our org's profile.

I am confident that we will be able to create a mission statement and brand in time for their print deadline. I look forward to hearing from people.

Equipment - we would need to hire/beg/borrow a screen/monitor and laptop for this event. Also, it may be a good idea to stagger attendance? There seems to be 13 members in total just now, possibly 2 people per hour (3 people for last hour)?

Thanks, I look forward to hearing from you.

Next meeting

The next meeting of our group will be on Friday 3rd September in Room B5 at Moray College, Elgin. The room is booked for 13.30, and we have the space until 15.00.

Please register at reception on arrival and you'll be directed to the room.

Please feel free to invite other creatives along, the greater the range of skills we have available the better this will be for all of us.

Dog tag

Hello resident members. Fortunately, I won't be attending the next meeting, due to work commitments (that's a good thing, as it means I am earning). In my absence, please accept the following 'dog tags' for debate, with my favourite first:

Reel Blethr
Digital: Blethr
Blethr sparks
Motion Blethr
Creatives Blethr

...you can see where I was going with this. I think it's important to capture our primary art (skill) and relate to Doric too - in support of our locale? Are other people in agreement with this too? I shall keep 'thinking' and scribbling logos too. Thanks, Anna.

A Statement of Sorts

The Creative Industries is an important sector for development in Scotland. We have a vast pool of creative and inspirational people many of whom go completely unrecognized or who are forced to take other work because it is difficult for them to gain the recognition they need to push their talent into the professional arena.

We in Moray have chosen to take matters into our own hands by forming an association of like minded talented people who want to collaborate to gain recognition of their skills and make things happen for them.

Part of this new direction is to use web media to archive and showcase our many and varied talents, and that, in a nut shell is the purpose of this blog. This blog will be a central repository for links to our various works, to act as a showcase of our talents and portal through which companies and others can find us and access the abilities we have to offer.

There is more to come, soon...