Location Poole launched at Sequel to Cannes

by JoeWheatley on 04-Aug-09 16:30

Cathy Gremin and I were invited down to Poole last week for Sequel to Cannes, a networking event (cue sweaty palms and nervous laughter) held at the RNLI Lifeboat College designed to aid and assist film industry professionals and associates. The reason I was there was firstly to show support for Duncan Kerr, Economic Development Officer at Poole Council, who was launching Location Poole, an online location and crew database designed to encourage film and television production into the area. Location Poole was setup with the support of South West Screen - although as I'm only in my first few weeks at SWS I really can't take credit - and will feed into our own Production Guide and Locations database for the South West, ensuring a more comprehensive service for everyone.

The second purpose of our attendance - much to my surprise (and horror - I knew Cathy was involved in this but didn't realise I was as well!) was to act as ‘consultants' for a speed networking session. This actually turned out to be a very useful session. It was great meeting such a variety of people and hopefully we were able to give some sort of help and guidance. Not only do these processes make you realise how many talented people there are in the South West but also that many of them run into the same problems and share similar experiences. I also found out that I know more than I think I did!

The bonus of the evening was that we were also given a live demonstration of the RNLI sea survival pool - a tank which creates realistic storm conditions, complete with thunder, lightning, wind and waves which is generally used to train lifeboat crews. As you can imagine, the RNLI have seen the fantastic opportunity this can offer to film and television productions and is now actively promoting it as a filming location. Check out their website for more information.

Tagged:Poole, Location Poole, RNLI, Sequel to Cannes, Locations

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