Narrative Films & Web Series

Here is how this works in practice. Australian narrative film and web series production gains from a strong indie-auteur custom and a deep SVOD distribution stack — Stan (Nine, the largest Australian SVOD, since 2015), Binge (Foxtel), 7plus, 9Now, 10 play, ABC iview, SBS On Demand, plus Netflix AU, Amazon Prime Video AU, Disney+ AU, Apple TV+ AU and Paramount+ AU.

Here is the short of it. The indie filmmaker bench runs through Justin Kurzel (Snowtown, Macbeth, True History of the Kelly Gang), David Michôd (Animal Kingdom, War Machine, King), Warwick Thornton (Samson and Delilah 2009 Cannes Camera d'Or, Sweet Country 2017), Rolf de Heer (Ten Canoes 2006) and Wayne Blair (Top End Wedding).

Here is the breakdown. Mid-budget narrative crews work cinema-grade ARRI ALEXA Mini LF, Sony VENICE 2 and RED Komodo packages with full grip, lighting and sound packages calibrated for Tropfest (the world's largest short film festival — Sydney, since 1993), AACTA Awards, MIFF Melbourne (since 1952, the oldest in the Southern Hemisphere) and Sydney Film Festival (since 1954). Studio infrastructure scales from boutique Adelaide Studios SAFC up to Disney Studios Australia Sydney and Village Roadshow Gold Coast.

Here is what that looks like on the ground. Rebates stacking is key for narrative budgets — the Producer Offset (30%), Location Offset (30%) and PDV Offset (30%) federal rebates layer on top of state rebates from Screen NSW, Screen Queensland, VicScreen, ScreenWest, Screen Tasmania (up to 15%) and the SAFC, with combined good rates reaching up to 40%+. Web-series budgets gain big from the PDV Offset for post-heavy projects.

Here is how the picture comes together. Aboriginal narrative work routes through Aboriginal Land Council consultation, Classic Owner permissions, Welcome to Country / Acknowledgement of Country protocols and the Native Title framework established by Mabo 1992 — AIATSIS coordination is standard for projects that touch Indigenous storylines.

Here is what we have to work with. Climate planning matters across multi-block schedules — Sydney 19-26°C summer, Melbourne 'four seasons in one day', subtropical Gold Coast and Brisbane, Outback 5-40°C swing, Tasmania 12-22°C summer — and bushfire season (December-March, NSW, Victoria, SA) needs contingency reserves. We bill in AUD with 10% GST, work Monday-Friday 38-hour weeks under Fair Work Ombudsman conditions with weekend penalty rates, and apply 11% Superannuation across the crew base.