Funding requirements

There are various types and methods of funding that can be taken into account in being able to create a short film.

Expenditure

• Equipment
• Transport
• Costs
• Materials
• Crew
• Facility hire
• Personal
• Clearances

Finance crew
Camera and lighting department

• Director of photography (DOP)
• Camera operator
• 1st assistant camera
• 2nd assistant camera
• Clapper/ loader
• Gaffer and team
• Key grip and team
• Electricians

Art department

• Production designer
• Art director and team
• Construction co-ordinator and team
• Set director and team
• Props master

Production sound department

• Production sound mixer
• Sound technician
• Boom operator

Costume department

• Costume designer and team

Hair and make-up department

• Key hairstylist and team
• Key make-up artist and team

Special effects department

• Special effects supervisor and team

Post-production department

• Post-production supervisor
• Editorial team (film editor, colourist, etc)

Visual effect department

• Visual effects creative director
• Visual effects team
• Visual effects supervisor

Sound and music department

• Supervising sound editor
• Composer
• Sound team (sound and dialogue editors, mixers, foley artist)

What is a short film?

Type of production- Short film
The type of production that we are focusing on in this Unit is Short film.

What is a short film?
A short film is any film that is not long enough to be considered a feature film. Most short films will have a specific message or reason behind it being created.
A short film is also described as footage that is 40 minutes or less including all credits.

Short films have a lower budget rather than a feature film which can cost from roughly £10,000-£20,000 to create.

Time frame is also very important and used regularly in short films as they need to get straight to the point rather than carrying out a long story which builds up to the main event.

A short film needs to be able to keep their audience entertained more so rather than a feature film as they have an obvious shorter time span of footage. They are not able to create as much suspense and build up to the main event compared to a feature film.
Whereas a feature film is targeted towards a Mass market; short films are normally aimed towards specific individuals and groups (Niche market).

Short film features:

• Small budget
• Short time frame
• Less time consuming rather than a feature film
• Untrained talent is likely to be used
• Niche market based
• Simpler set-ups
• Compression

An example of a good short film:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p02w4ccv/original-drama-shorts-2015-1-is-this-thing-on

Sources of funding

A significant part of the pre-production process is to identify the financial viability of the proposed production.

Potential sources of finance

Requirements- expenditure

Sources of funding:

• TV channels- BBC, ITV and Channel 4 all support short film making
• Sometimes funding may be direct
• Sometimes funding is "in kind"
• Commissions (e.g. BBC 3 Original shorts, It's My Shout)
• Development (e.g. Channel 4 director development programme)
• Screening support (e.g. ITV and Odeon anti-bullying shorts)
• Competitions (e.g. BBC 3 The Fear)
• Government funding
• National
• British Film Institute directly funds feature length projects
• BFI does not fund stand-alone shorts directly
• Regional
• Local Government funding
• London Borough film funds (e.g. Wandsworth, Croydon, Camden)
• Private funding
• Cinema companies- Odeon, Curzon
• Media Companies- Sony, Virgin Media
• Other- BMW

Government funding

• National
• British film institute directly funds feature length films
• BFI does not fund stand alone shorts

Government funding for short films is mainly from the UK Film Council although there are various other available sources however these are not always as easy to access which may potentially delay the production. Most funding sources look to fund digital shorts instead of projects that wish to shoot on film. The reason for this is that new directors argue that they should use cheaper methods of creating their short film as they are only just starting out in the film industry. There are many potential mistakes that can be made; if the production does not go according to plan it can lead to a significant loss of money.

Regional

British Institute Funding Partners;

• Creative England
• Creative Scotland
• Film Agency for Wales
• Northern Ireland Screen
• Film London

Local government funding

• London borough film funds (e.g. Wandworth, Croydon, Camden)

Private funding

Cinema companies

• Odeon
• Curzon

Media companies

• Sony
• Virgin Media

Other

• BMW

http://www.channel4.com/info/commissioning/4producers/randomactsbrief

http://randomacts.channel4.com/

Short film examples

The man with the beautiful eyes

• Made in 1999
• Director: Jonathan Hodgson
• A short film can push the boundaries
• Classical animation techniques
• Risk taking
• Different from many other films
• Trying to give a message to the audience

About a girl

• Made in 2001
• Director: Brian Percival
• Physical journey
• Metaphorical journey

Soft

• Director: Simon Ellis
• Made in 2006
• Simple environment- house/street

The different between a Short film and Feature length film

The difference between a short film and a feature length film:

• Smaller budget to make a short film
• Time frame- straight to the point (short film)
• Keeping audience entertained more so in a short film than a feature length film
• Less time consuming to make a short film
• Quite regularly untrained actors are used in short films
• Niche market based- short film
• Suspense
• Short films can be more experimental
• Compression (short film)
• Simpler set-ups (short film)

What is a short film?

A short film is simply a piece of footage that is longer than one minute although normally around fifteen minutes long. Short films tend to have a significant message within the production and will most likely identify this faster than a feature length film. Short films tend to be aimed at a specific group or audience that are interested in features within the production.

What is a feature length film?

A feature length films are something that many of us view and watch every single day. These are films that are 'normal' and are aimed towards a wider audience. Feature films are generally mainstream compared to short films. Feature films will last over an hour and tend to not go over a two-three hour limit. Feature films will not be based so much on a message as short films are.

Scenario

Scenario:
A newly launched short TV channel is advertising for work in the short form. The aim is to produce a short drama film and distribute it to the channel. Research and plan needs to be completed in order to prepare for the production.

Research will need to be undertaken and applied in order to continue with the production process.