Real to Reel offers a period of mentorship, for up to 9 film makers - with a passion for hip hop culture - to create up to 7 minutes of innovative and creative hip hop content to be hosted on the Breakin’ Convention BCTV channel. 

This year, between 17 May and 14 June, Breakin’ Convention, the international festival of hip hop dance theatre, will tour to nine venues across the UK: Poole, Canterbury, Plymouth, Norwich, Nottingham, Brighton, South Shields, Blackpool and Birmingham. See full tour schedule here.  

We are looking for film-makers who live in or near these cities.  

2023 is the 50th anniversary of hip hop culture and the 20th anniversary of Breakin’ Convention. This is an exciting time to be documenting hip hop culture in the UK. This project offers a great opportunity to meet new people in the industry, grow professionally and have your work seen by thousands. If you’re interested in being a part of the project, read on.  

PROJECT CRITERIA 

Breakin’ Convention recognises there is a wealth of film-making talent across the UK, and we want to present this to our audience. 

We want to hear from innovative film-makers who have an understanding of hip hop culture, to tell unique stories and promote the positive aspects of hip hop to the rest of the world.  

We want film-makers who can contribute to the vision of Breakin’ Convention. 

We don’t set any age or professional level-based criteria for doing the project, but you will be required to have access to:  

  • your own professional or prosumer camera, such as a DSLR, mirrorless or camcorder style 

  • editing software, Premiere, Final Cut, Resolve or Avid 

  • your own equipment – lenses, microphones, monopods/tripods 

  • a passion for making digital content and films 

  • previously made film or digital content that they are proud of 

  • an idea about a hip-hop film with artists from the community local to our tour venues

Please note: The role we are providing training for is for solo individuals, and we are not looking for film companies.

Film brief 

The commissioned film can be about anything you would like it to be about. It could be it could be an interview, documentary or an art piece, but should fit within this brief: 

  • we are looking for work that engages the audience and shines a light on its subject 

  • be no longer than 7 minutes 

  • be about an aspect or aspects of local hip hop culture: dance, rap, graffiti or MCing

You will be mentored by one of our three mentors (below). For the national tour, we programme local dance acts alongside the touring international acts. We commission local graffiti artists and work with DJs, MCs and other people within the hip hop community. Maybe your piece could feature one of these artists: documenting their journey to Breakin’ Convention, interviewing key hip hop figures in your community, or filming them perform in a site specific place of interest near you. We are open to hear your ideas.  

Here are some examples of work previously made for BCTV and by the mentors: 

Key dates

Fri 17 Feb – Fri 3 March
Application period 

Tue 7 March
Successful applicants notified 

Tue 14 March *
Introductory Zoom meeting for participants & mentors 

Late March / early April
1-2-1 in person day for mentor and participant 

April – May
Creative period (mentored remotely as required) 

Fri 12 May
Deadline for completed commissioned piece 

17 May – 14 June
Breakin’ Convention tour period ** 

*  It is a requirement to attend this meeting 

** We expect participants to be at the Breakin’ Convention performance nearest to you to document the activity taking place around the main performance (e.g. foyer activities, workshops, etc)  

FINANCES 

Participants will receive a fee of £750 to support the creation of their work and documenting the event at the venue. Travel and accommodation costs (where required) will be covered for in-person meetings with mentors and to the Breakin' Convention festival.

Each participant will receive a free ticket to the Breakin' Convention performance.  

UK tour dates

You will need to be available for dates in the city closest to you:

17 May - Poole at Lighthouse, Poole Centre for the Arts
20 May - Canterbury at The Marlowe 
23 & 24 May - Plymouth at Theatre Royal Plymouth 
27 May - Norwich at Norwich Theatre Royal 
31 May - Nottingham at Royal Concert Hall
3 June -  Brighton at Brighton Dome
7 June - South Shields at The Customs House
10 June - Blackpool at The Grand 
13 & 14 June - Birmingham at Birmingham Hippodrome  

 

MENTORS 

Ben Dowden (BD) is a Bristol based filmmaker and cameraman. For the past 15 years, he has worked extensively with musicians, poets, actors, film makers, dancers, choreographers, designers, sound engineers, animators, puppeteers and painters. The BD Youtube channel has received over 144 million views, and gathered over 190,000 subscribers. Ben has been commissioned by a wide range of clients, to produce promotional and documentary material, working in film, stills and sound. Upon completion of his degree from UWE, Ben was awarded the Roger Cranshaw Memorial prize, for a student whose work 'most exhibits qualities of imagination and originality, and is least confined by orthodoxy'.  Ben continues to create both personal and professional film. 

Ben Williams is a film-maker based in Manchester who has filmed for such names as the BBC, Manchester City and Arts Council England. Breakin’ Convention recognised Ben’s talent for merging his cinematographic style with dance during the BCTV video training course in 2014. Since then, Ben has gone on to film many of Breakin’ Convention’s international promos, establishing the  look and feel of its of the channel and  working with the National Youth  Dance Company (NYDC) at Sadler’s Wells, producing the acclaimed dance on film piece Madhead for NYDC, Can’t Kill Us All for Far From the Norm and Our Bodies Back for Sadler’s Wells. 

Nick Pin has more than 25 years of live television production experience working across some of the most demanding live programmes. He regularly directs international live programming for global brands and corporations with presenters and guests joining from all over the planet. From his early years on The Big Breakfast, he has established himself as a go-to multi-camera director in the TV entertainment, corporate, and Esports worlds. His client list includes; the BBC, Microsoft, Peugeot, Channel 4, ITN, Sky Sports and League of Legends. 

 

What is BCTV? 

Launched in 2014, BCTV is an online video channel/platform which captures Breakin’ Convention’s work and the artists we work with - from live performances to interviews, short documentaries and conceptual videos. It provides a slick insight into our world and gives an international platform to the plethora of talent that we work with. We create stylised, dynamic and original content from our existing programme/projects and extensive network of dancers and hip hop artists that is greatly needed in the realm of hip hop.