Screen production as an academic research discipline has struggled to establish itself, both within the broader higher education sector and in relation to the film and television industry. The lack of conceptual and analytical frameworks with which to understand screen production and which resonate with the experience of professional practitioners contributes to this.

In a fluid and rapidly changing media landscape, today’s screen production students more than ever require skills in ‘critical practice’ to enable them to play leading roles in tomorrow’s screen culture and industries. It is extremely difficult to find pedagogical approaches that facilitate student learning of creative and technical production skills and at the same time place these within a critical and theoretical context that encourages the questioning of and experimentation with existing production and aesthetic paradigms.

This paper reflects on the process of writing and producing the author’s feature- length non-fiction film about Chaplin imitators in India: The Boot Cake. (www.thebootcake.com) It aims to contribute to debate about 1. innovative screen production processes and aesthetics, and 2. the value accorded screen practice research in universities. Writing and Improvising the Digital Essay Film investigates how semi-structured improvisations and collaborations might provide models for the film making process in a digital environment.

Failures to manage occupational risk competently and comply with occupational health and safety (OHS) legislation can jeopardise the attainment of business objectives, limit or negate profits, and inhibit an entities sustainability. Enterprises and individuals failing to manage occupational risk appropriately may also incur financial or custodial penalties. Some businesses may even be curtailed as a result of enforced closure or costly and ongoing litigation.

This paper reflects on the role of the documentary in screen production education and the implications for Australian screen educators of current debates about the form’s place in the audiovisual schedule.