Screen Music and Sound Guild

In case you missed it… A few spots are still open for Future Frames:NZ, New Zealand’s first hybrid AI short film competition. AI is already changing our industry, and many of us are asking the same questions: What does this mean for human creativity? For authorship? For the future of storytelling in Aotearoa? We share the concern that AI has the potential to remove human voices, lived experience and creative integrity from our stories and filmmaking practice. That’s exactly why Future Frames:NZ was created. Supported by the New Zealand Film Commission and NZ On Air, this filmmaking competition and workshop series has been designed to help our industry critically engage with AI, better understand where it may be genuinely useful, where it compromises the human heart of filmmaking and how we can make informed decisions about its place in our creative future. Register your team (2–5 people) and gain access to an exclusive day of online workshops featuring experienced directors, producers, writers and creatives actively questioning how, or if, they’ll use AI in their own work. Together, they’ll unpack big questions like: → How might AI fit into screen storytelling? → Where are the ethical boundaries? → What could it unlock creatively, and what could it compromise? Then your team will create an original short film and decide for yourselves: How will you use AI and what do you want your film to say about it? Key dates: Online workshop day: Saturday 23 May Films due: Sunday 21 June Finalist screenings at Big Screen Symposium: 3–4 July Prizes include cash, post-production polish up and support to enter international AI short film competitions. Finalist films will screen at Big Screen Symposium to a wide industry audience. This is a rare opportunity to get your work, your ideas and your perspective in front of New Zealand’s screen sector leaders and decision-makers. You don’t need AI experience. You just need curiosity, critical thinking, a great story and a team ready to engage with one of the biggest creative questions facing our industry right now. Limited spaces remain. Registrations close this Sunday. Gather your crew and enter now.

Want to be part of an industry-led discussion about the impacts of AI and get to produce your own short film? Then enter today - we've got limited spaces left... AI is already changing the screen industry. The question is whether we stay outside the conversation or start actively engaging with it. FF:NZ industry-led workshops are designed to create space for filmmakers to learn, question, explore and discuss how AI could impact their creative practice and careers. Across our one-day online workshop series, they’ll share real-world insights from their own practice, unpack where AI is already changing creative workflows, and open up honest conversations about the opportunities, risks and challenges ahead. Featuring: - Steve Barr - Script writing & story sovereignty in the age of AI - Polly McKinnon & Matt Stutter - Sound in the AI & Hybrid Filmmaking Era - Jeff Wragg - Music vs AI : Traditional Composition wins - Greg Harman Producing in the Hybrid Era: Making Good Decisions - Jason Stutter - Editing with AI and Traditional Tools - Arthur Machado. - Directing in the Hybrid Era: AI, Live Action & Animation Some are immersed in the technology. Others are critically exploring and questioning its role. What connects all of them is a willingness to openly engage with the changes already happening across our industry. These sessions aren’t about having all the answers. They’re about creating opportunities to meet, learn, interrogate and better understand what the future of filmmaking could look like and how we can best manage it. We want human creatives to remain at the centre of storytelling so we need to be part of shaping the conversation. These educational workshops are only available to film makers who are entered into Future Frames:NZ Registrations are closing on Sunday 17th May @ 11:59pm so grab your team and enter today! Register via the link in bio.

This is it. Registrations for Future Frames:NZ close tonight at 5PM. If you’ve been thinking about entering… this is your sign. Learn from industry leaders, experiment with emerging tools, challenge ideas, and create something bold. - Top films screened at Big Screen Symposium - $10,000 prize pool - Post-production polish + international AI festival support No AI expertise needed. Just curiosity, creativity, and a willingness to explore what’s next. Registrations close 5PM. Link in bio.

The conversation around AI in filmmaking is already happening, and whether we engage with it or not, it will shape the future of our industry. Ignoring it won’t stop the change. Understanding it gives us a better chance of shaping how it’s used, protecting our craft, and making sure creatives remain at the centre of storytelling. Future Frames:NZ is an opportunity to step into that conversation in a practical, open, and industry-led way. You don’t need to be an AI expert to enter. This competition is designed for filmmakers who want to learn by doing, test ideas, ask questions, and explore what these tools could mean for their practice and careers. Through online workshops, you’ll hear directly from industry practitioners who are actively experimenting with, challenging, and interrogating AI in their own work. From script to screen, they’re exploring how we can adapt, evolve, and stay ahead of the changes already reshaping our industry. And beyond the learning, there’s the opportunity to get your work seen: -Top films screened at Big Screen Symposium -$10,000 total prize pool -Post-production polish plus support for international festival submissions -A pathway from local exposure to the global stage If you want to be part of the conversation shaping the future of filmmaking, this is your chance. Register your team via the link in bio.

FF:NZ Prizes & Opportunities First Prize includes $5,000 NZD plus a full post-production polish of your film and support to enter international AI short film competitions. Second Prize receives $3,000 NZD. Third Prize receives $2,000 NZD. On top of that, 10 finalist teams will have their work screened at the Big Screen Symposium and receive a half-day pass to attend, connect and be part of the wider industry conversation. A chance to test new tools, create something original, and have your work seen. Thanks to SAE Creative Media Institute, Screen Auckland and APRA AMCOS NZ for sponsoring our cash prizes! Registrations closing this Sunday, 10th May. Sign up at the link in bio!

Future Frames:NZ is calling for bold, curious creatives ready to explore the edge of storytelling. This isn’t about AI replacing filmmakers, it’s about how you collaborate with it. That could mean creating visuals or sound, or using AI to streamline your workflow, organise your process, and give yourself more time to focus on the creative. But it’s also about asking bigger questions: how does AI shape your practice? Where does it help and where does it push back? 🎬 Open to emerging and established filmmakers ⚡ Experimentation encouraged 📅 Registrations close Sunday 10th May. Register your team and find full guidelines via the link in bio

Only 5 days to go! Registrations for FF:NZ are closing on Sunday 10th May. If you’ve been thinking about it, this is your sign to stop thinking and start creating. Grab your teammates, bring your ideas, and take the leap into hybrid filmmaking. Whether you’re experimenting with AI for the first time or already exploring it in your workflow, this is your chance to make something bold. Places are limited so get in quick and secure your spot to be part of New Zealand's first AI hybrid short filmmaking competition. 🎬 5 days left to register ⚡ Open to all experience levels 🌍 A chance to get your work seen on a national and global stage 📖Free educational workshops from industry professionals to learn about the pros and cons of AI and how we can ensure human creativity survives and thrives. Don’t miss it. Sign up now at the link in bio.

Future Frames:NZ is proud to be judged by a panel of leading industry practitioners: Whetū Fala – Producer, director and founder of Fala Media, championing Māori and Pasifika storytelling Caroline Bell-Booth – Director across major TV dramas including The Brokenwood Mysteries and Westside Audee Halim – Writer and director with a background in 2D, 3D and VFX Stallone Vaiaoga-Ioasa – Filmmaker behind Three Wise Cousins and Take Home Pay Graeme Revell – Internationally renowned film composer Graeme Bibby – Head of Screen Production at SAE and experienced screen practitioner. A panel with deep experience across storytelling, craft, and innovation, all bringing their perspective to how AI is used in a creative context. They will decide the winning team, who will receive $5,000 NZD, a full post-production polish to elevate the final film, and dedicated support to enter international hybrid AI film competitions. This is a rare opportunity to take your work beyond the competition, with backing to position it on the global stage and be part of the first wave of New Zealand-made hybrid AI films entering international festivals. Registrations now open at the link in bio.

We are proud to share our Turning Up the Volume educational video, a project that has taken three years to bring to life on a very modest budget, made possible through the dedication and goodwill of our community. We are grateful to Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture & Heritage for their support in 2023, which helped us begin the Turning Up the Volume campaign. We have now spent five years advocating for and supporting screen music and sound professionals across Aotearoa, by creating opportunities for connection in what can be a very isolated part of the industry. Our members are a significant portion of the screen workforce, contributing creatively, culturally and economically to the New Zealand screen industry and achieving huge recognition on the international stage. Despite this, SMSG receives no core funding. Screen music and sound professionals work from pre-production right through to post-production, we contribute to 50% of the stories you see on screen, but we remain an under-resourced and under-represented group. Screen production by its very nature is a collaborative ecosystem, each part of the production process works together to form the finished product. A successful thriving screen industry needs funding for ALL the key parts of the sector. We want to continue to work alongside our fellow Guilds to ensure New Zealand produces high quality screen content, for this to happen the playing field needs to be fair and level, we need to be funded so we can participate in the same way. Core funding would allow us to sustainably deliver essential services including industry advocacy and SIWA bargaining support, professional development, legal resources and contract support, wellbeing initiatives, DEI and cultural competency training and industry networking opportunities. These services are critical to ensuring this highly skilled workforce is supported, represented and able to continue contributing to a thriving screen sector in Aotearoa. Without sound and music there is no film! Support us. Join us. Fund us. Enjoy our Turning Up the Volume video and celebrate the incredible talent in our industry — you're bound to spot a few familiar faces!

Are you worried about AI stealing your job and killing human creativity? Well, so are we. That’s why we’re running Aotearoa New Zealand’s first hybrid AI Short Film Competition - FutureFrames:NZ with support from NZFC & NZoA. Our aim is not just to keep human-centric storytelling alive, but to keep it thriving, so join us on this educational and creative journey. This nationwide hybrid short film competition invites teams to create a 1 to 5 minute film using a mix of traditional craft and AI tools. Whether that’s image, sound, music, or all three, the focus is on how these tools actually function in a real creative workflow as well as exploring the ethical use of them. Bring your collaborators together, try something new and see what you learn along the way. Registrations now open - follow the link in bio.

In the Studio with Arli Liberman Exclusive workshop for SMSG Members! Hosted by Arli Liberman and Native Audio the workshop delves into the process of creative authenticity. Over the course of the evening Arli will share his process in real time with live demos and breakdowns. The workshop is designed to push members outside their comfort zone and learn a new approach to their own creative process. Best suited to emerging to mid career composers. Free for SMSG members. Exclusive workshop for SMSG members. Limited spaces Register at the link in bio.

We’re excited to announce an upcoming SMSG industry event in Wellington, diving into the craft of sound on Avatar: Fire and Ash. Join us on Tuesday, 31st March for a rare opportunity to hear from three members of the film’s Wellington-based sound team: supervising sound editor Brent Burge, sound designer Hayden Collow, and supervising dialogue editor Martin Kwok. Together, they’ll share insights from working on one of the most ambitious film productions in the world — offering a behind-the-scenes look at creative collaboration, evolving workflows, and the realities of high-end post-production. 📅 Tuesday 31st March 📍 Massey Cinema, Block 10 🕕 Doors open: 6:00pm 🎤 Talk begins: 6:30pm 🎬 Free for SMSG members 🎟️ Tickets: At link in bio Spaces are limited. We’d love to see you there!