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by Will Sinclair»
Part 1
Context
Why do people go to the trouble of making short films in the first place?
· Some artistic filmmakers see a short film as a piece of art itself.
· Whereas others see short films as ads for want to be feature film makers.
The situation with short filmmaking when shorts were still being shot on celluloid
· This mean there were limited opportunities for a small minority of people to get healthy funding for their shorts.
· This also meant that there was very little investment in finding new talent.
· Although this was happening, budgets for 35mm celluloid shorts grew for example; films under film four were regularly reaching costs of up to £60,000.
· This was considered a huge problem as only a handful of niche audiences went to watch these kinds of films.
The impact that DV technology has had on short films.
· In 2001, the UK film council launched a three year scheme to support digital short filmmakers.
· Supplying £1.5m a year to produce 100 as part of their digital short move.
· Each film was to be shot completely on digital under a £10,000 budget.
· Asif Kapadia, a well known short film maker quoted ‘ There is a danger with digital that you don’t make any real decisions until you are on set, and then you assume that any problems can be sorted out in post production.
The limitations that shorts have over features.
· Celluloid has a better look
· It is possible to shoot a short without a budget with equipment becoming cheaper and easier to acquire. These can then be edited at home on easy to use software but who see these films this way?
The conclusion reached by the writer.
· The writer of the article believes that ‘Talent will out is the theory, and hundreds of films the practice.
Catch 22
Part 2
Funding and support
The UK film council was set up in 2000 by the Labour party as a non departmental public body aimed to promote and develop the film industry in the UK. It was set up as a private company with 15 directors on a board and funded through sources such as The National Lottery. In their own words the companies aim was: "To stimulate a competitive, successful and vibrant UK film industry and culture, and to promote the widest possible enjoyment and understanding of cinema throughout the nations and regions of the UK. The UKFC had a mandate that spans cultural, social and economic priorities."
To support filmmakers and short film making the UK film council set up a 3 year scheme in 2001 to help make 100 short films a year with a decent budget by supplying £1.5m a year as part of the digital shorts move, meaning they wanted films shot on digital DV as opposed to celluloid which turns out more expensive.
Before the UKFC came about, the British film institute a well known charity funded organisation, was around to encourage the development of arts and film, television and moving image throughout the UK. It started locations such as the BFI Southbank cinema formally known as the National film theatre, as well as the IMAX cinema which are both located on the river Thames in London. They also run events such as the annual London Film festival along with the London Lesbian and gay film festival and the Future Film festival.
Today the BFI is managed by Amanda Nevill on a day to day basis. The BFI operates these days with 3 sources of money, Public funding which in 2011-12 will amount to £20m, Sales of tickets, DVD’s and merchandise at the IMAX cinema and the BFI Southbank is the second biggest income which is around £5m and also the National Lottery funding grants which come to about £1m.
The UKFC set up nine RSA (Regional Screening Agencies) organisations, on for each region of the country, in order to support, filmmaking, art and other media related activities.
Due to recent changes in the country’s power structure, these agencies may start to be less affective as they have a complex role including culture, social and economic objectives and if funding cannot be supplied to these agencies then they may not be able to for fill their objectives.
As a short filmmaker there are funding grants that I can apply for from different organisations such as:
· UK Film Council
· National and regional screening agencies
· Charities
· Local councils
· Production schemes
· Completion fundings
Part 3
Other funding sources
Outside the UK Film Council there are other schemes that exist to help fund and support short films, E.g.:
· The British council
This organisation promote contemporary and innovative UK film to audiences around the world, working in both lead and supporting roles on showcases, workshops, festivals, conferences, tours, residences and virtual projects. They also collaborate with artists and other cultural organisations: building skills, capacity and cultural awareness, creating access to audiences and markets, and promoting international partnership and creative exchange. Part 4 Festivals The big feature film festivals that have important shorts sections are: · Sundance – USA · Toronto – Canada · Venice – Italy · Berlin – Germany · Cannes – France In the UK, The festivals that are showing features and shorts are: · Leeds · Edinburgh How do festivals market and promote themselves? Festivals advertise themselves in a variety of ways. The most obvious being their website, but they use other methods, such as targeting colleges or schools that are focused and interested in film or media. They would also have their own page on a social network i.e. Facebook or Myspace. Finally they promote themselves through magazines and posters, but the larger festivals are already very famous and don't require much advertising other than promoting what’s on. Why is it important to be screened at one? This is the best way for any filmmaker and their film to get noticed, which is important due to the lack of TV time and attention when screened at cinemas. A festival is also a great way for a filmmaker to make their move from shorts to feature films. Who Attends them? Depending on which festival it is, a variety of different people attend them. If it were one of the more famous festivals then they would attract more famous people such as actors, actresses, directors, producers etc. Whereas if it were a smaller festival, then lesser known actors directors etc would attend but festivals like these tend to attract locals, educational boards or even students. How are these festivals supported? These festivals attract a lot of new and youthful sponsors which help to attract new faces to them so they tend to offer their support as well as other funding from other organisations. Here are some examples: · The London short film festival – Channel 4, UKFC, Shooting people and Rushes Soho shorts · Leeds – Vue Cinemas, Screen Yorkshire and Leeds university · Manchester European film festival – UKFC, British academy of film and television arts · Bristol international film festival – UKFC, Channel 4, Sight and sound magazine. · BFI London Film Festival – Windows, Lovefilm, UKFC, American express · Edinburgh International – Mubi, Vimeo, Shooting people. A number of the festivals above are key National and International festivals for shorts Just as much as features. There are also a lot of National and International student film festivals. One of the newer student festivals in the Uk would probably be Screentest Film festival, which has a number of students from all over the country presenting their films (Taking place in London). Another festival which is better known is the Exposure Festival. This student festival is the largest in the UK, and it takes place in Manchester each year. There are lots of International film festivals such as the International Student Film Festival. This happens in Hollywood, and welcomes filmmakers from all over the world. This is a popular festival among students as it takes place in the film capital of the world, meaning it is a very good place to get recognised. |
 |
There is plenty of advice given to new writers from a variety of organisations for example, the company ‘Screen online’ (part of the BFI), the BBC, Netribution and the Script Factory. These websites all give great advice on how to make a successful short film. There are features such as interviews from the greats such as Marilyn Milgrom. Marilyn once said that she believes in order to make a short successful, strong and interesting there need to be three basic elements, a world, a character and a problem. She states that it needs to be simple, base it on true events, the audience need to understand the nature of the film in your feature. The most important questions to ask yourself when you begin to develop you story are:
· Who is the main character?
· What is their problem?
· How will the audience recognise their problem?
· Are the stakes high enough?
· Am I telling the story from the best point of view?
It is important from the start that the audience understand who has the problem in the film, if you don’t have a character with a problem in your film, then you have no film. This advise was given from Marilyn herself in her article ‘The Script’. You have to find a way to turn your characters problem into the heart o the film and make sure the audience can see what it is. This is one of the most important ways to show your skills as a filmmaker and not just a good story teller. Watching a film is different to reading a book a in a novel, we can be in a characters head, but in a film we can only see what is going on so that is why this is important. Lynne Ramsay’s Gasman is a great example of this as we find out and understand a young girl’s confusing and contradictory feelings upon finding out she has a half sister.
It is also advised that as a writer, you draft ideas as it is very rare that the first draft of a film idea is the final one shot. Before filming Marilyn advises on some features that must be decided upon through her ten point plan given in the article:
· A Title
· Genre/Tone
· Setting (time and place)
· Main character
· Want/Need/Obligation
· Opposition
· Catalyst for Change
· Climax
· Resolution
· And the audience feels...(Theme)
She advises that you follow this ten point plan and also show your film in this way, to help the audience understand what it is you are trying to give off. This exercise helps clarify the beats f your film and helps establish the facts of your film.
Unity is an important feature of any short film as it is crucial that each scene reveals something that increase’s the understanding of the audience of the character and their need/problem. Each scene must move the story on so that what happens at the end could not have happened earlier; it is possible now because of each scene that has come before.
A good way to check that you have no weak areas in your film is to use a step outline; this can be done on cards for example as each card can contain a single scene each. For each scene make notes on:
· The events of the scene/what happens
· What is revealed that is important to the plot
· What is revealed that is important to the audiences understanding of the characters
· Is there any indication of significant theme
This method is mostly relevant to scenes that aren’t only there to set the time or place and that are significant to the plot of the film. It is advised to play around with the cards, see if any scenes can be combined to strengthen your film and not waste any time.
Part 7 – Training and Development.
Here are some agencies and organisations that offer support to filmmakers:
Lighthouse
This company are a digital culture agency based in Brighton who specialise in support for filmmakers and artists and also offer commission and help exhibit their work in order to get these people up and running.
Raindance:
Raindance was started in 1992 by filmmakers, for filmmakers to help train them by running year round courses. A pioneer in filmmaking in the UK, they inspired filmmakers such as Christopher Nolan and Guy Ritchie. The service they provide is to help young writers, filmmakers and producers launch their careers. As the saying goes ‘It’s not what you know it’s who you know’ this is a good place to start as all of Raindance’s tutors are all industry working professionals. Raindance also have their own film festival.
Skillset
Skillset are an industry group that offer support skills and training for people and businesses, they have the information and resources to help you take your career to the next level and decide on which job is the right one for you.
Script factory
One of Europe’s leading filmmakers organisation started in 1996. Their training helps find and develop new screenwriting talent. They run inspirational event for new filmmakers to show audiences their work, they produce performed readings to showcase new writings to the industry. The Script Factory runs a variety of training courses across the UK and abroad, traditionally focusing on film, they have recently started to offer courses on story form TV and radio training.
The DFG – The Documentary Filmmakers Group.
A national organisation working to promote documentary filmmaking talent and innovation in the UK. They aim to encourage, stimulate, promote and support the growth of a strong community of documentary and film makers and audiences.
Part 8 – Distribution and Exhibition.
The ratio of Short films that make money through more conventional channels of distribution and exhibition to those that don’t is diminutive. I think this is because there are lots of different reasons people would want to see short films, for inspiration, entertainment etc. There are some anthologies and collections that have been put together for different reasons and therefore may be more popular to different viewers on different channels. For example, the BFI have released hundreds of films and collections to appeal to all audiences. The organisation ‘Cinema 16’ also offer this as they provide award winning and classic short films on DVD such as European, American and British short film anthologies.
Part 1
Context
Why do people go to the trouble of making short films in the first place?
· Some artistic filmmakers see a short film as a piece of art itself.
· Whereas others see short films as ads for want to be feature film makers.
The situation with short filmmaking when shorts were still being shot on celluloid
· This mean there were limited opportunities for a small minority of people to get healthy funding for their shorts.
· This also meant that there was very little investment in finding new talent.
· Although this was happening, budgets for 35mm celluloid shorts grew for example; films under film four were regularly reaching costs of up to £60,000.
· This was considered a huge problem as only a handful of niche audiences went to watch these kinds of films.
The impact that DV technology has had on short films.
· In 2001, the UK film council launched a three year scheme to support digital short filmmakers.
· Supplying £1.5m a year to produce 100 as part of their digital short move.
· Each film was to be shot completely on digital under a £10,000 budget.
· Asif Kapadia, a well known short film maker quoted ‘ There is a danger with digital that you don’t make any real decisions until you are on set, and then you assume that any problems can be sorted out in post production.
The limitations that shorts have over features.
· Celluloid has a better look
· It is possible to shoot a short without a budget with equipment becoming cheaper and easier to acquire. These can then be edited at home on easy to use software but who see these films this way?
The conclusion reached by the writer.
· The writer of the article believes that ‘Talent will out is the theory, and hundreds of films the practice.
Catch 22
Part 2
Funding and support
The UK film council was set up in 2000 by the Labour party as a non departmental public body aimed to promote and develop the film industry in the UK. It was set up as a private company with 15 directors on a board and funded through sources such as The National Lottery. In their own words the companies aim was: "To stimulate a competitive, successful and vibrant UK film industry and culture, and to promote the widest possible enjoyment and understanding of cinema throughout the nations and regions of the UK. The UKFC had a mandate that spans cultural, social and economic priorities."
To support filmmakers and short film making the UK film council set up a 3 year scheme in 2001 to help make 100 short films a year with a decent budget by supplying £1.5m a year as part of the digital shorts move, meaning they wanted films shot on digital DV as opposed to celluloid which turns out more expensive.
Before the UKFC came about, the British film institute a well known charity funded organisation, was around to encourage the development of arts and film, television and moving image throughout the UK. It started locations such as the BFI Southbank cinema formally known as the National film theatre, as well as the IMAX cinema which are both located on the river Thames in London. They also run events such as the annual London Film festival along with the London Lesbian and gay film festival and the Future Film festival.
Today the BFI is managed by Amanda Nevill on a day to day basis. The BFI operates these days with 3 sources of money, Public funding which in 2011-12 will amount to £20m, Sales of tickets, DVD’s and merchandise at the IMAX cinema and the BFI Southbank is the second biggest income which is around £5m and also the National Lottery funding grants which come to about £1m.
The UKFC set up nine RSA (Regional Screening Agencies) organisations, on for each region of the country, in order to support, filmmaking, art and other media related activities.
Due to recent changes in the country’s power structure, these agencies may start to be less affective as they have a complex role including culture, social and economic objectives and if funding cannot be supplied to these agencies then they may not be able to for fill their objectives.
As a short filmmaker there are funding grants that I can apply for from different organisations such as:
· UK Film Council
· National and regional screening agencies
· Charities
· Local councils
· Production schemes
· Completion fundings
Part 3
Other funding sources
Outside the UK Film Council there are other schemes that exist to help fund and support short films, E.g.:
· The British council
This organisation promote contemporary and innovative UK film to audiences around the world, working in both lead and supporting roles on showcases, workshops, festivals, conferences, tours, residences and virtual projects. They also collaborate with artists and other cultural organisations: building skills, capacity and cultural awareness, creating access to audiences and markets, and promoting international partnership and creative exchange. Part 4 Festivals The big feature film festivals that have important shorts sections are: · Sundance – USA · Toronto – Canada · Venice – Italy · Berlin – Germany · Cannes – France In the UK, The festivals that are showing features and shorts are: · Leeds · Edinburgh How do festivals market and promote themselves? Festivals advertise themselves in a variety of ways. The most obvious being their website, but they use other methods, such as targeting colleges or schools that are focused and interested in film or media. They would also have their own page on a social network i.e. Facebook or Myspace. Finally they promote themselves through magazines and posters, but the larger festivals are already very famous and don't require much advertising other than promoting what’s on. Why is it important to be screened at one? This is the best way for any filmmaker and their film to get noticed, which is important due to the lack of TV time and attention when screened at cinemas. A festival is also a great way for a filmmaker to make their move from shorts to feature films. Who Attends them? Depending on which festival it is, a variety of different people attend them. If it were one of the more famous festivals then they would attract more famous people such as actors, actresses, directors, producers etc. Whereas if it were a smaller festival, then lesser known actors directors etc would attend but festivals like these tend to attract locals, educational boards or even students. How are these festivals supported? These festivals attract a lot of new and youthful sponsors which help to attract new faces to them so they tend to offer their support as well as other funding from other organisations. Here are some examples: · The London short film festival – Channel 4, UKFC, Shooting people and Rushes Soho shorts · Leeds – Vue Cinemas, Screen Yorkshire and Leeds university · Manchester European film festival – UKFC, British academy of film and television arts · Bristol international film festival – UKFC, Channel 4, Sight and sound magazine. · BFI London Film Festival – Windows, Lovefilm, UKFC, American express · Edinburgh International – Mubi, Vimeo, Shooting people. A number of the festivals above are key National and International festivals for shorts Just as much as features. There are also a lot of National and International student film festivals. One of the newer student festivals in the Uk would probably be Screentest Film festival, which has a number of students from all over the country presenting their films (Taking place in London). Another festival which is better known is the Exposure Festival. This student festival is the largest in the UK, and it takes place in Manchester each year. There are lots of International film festivals such as the International Student Film Festival. This happens in Hollywood, and welcomes filmmakers from all over the world. This is a popular festival among students as it takes place in the film capital of the world, meaning it is a very good place to get recognised. |
|
There is plenty of advice given to new writers from a variety of organisations for example, the company ‘Screen online’ (part of the BFI), the BBC, Netribution and the Script Factory. These websites all give great advice on how to make a successful short film. There are features such as interviews from the greats such as Marilyn Milgrom. Marilyn once said that she believes in order to make a short successful, strong and interesting there need to be three basic elements, a world, a character and a problem. She states that it needs to be simple, base it on true events, the audience need to understand the nature of the film in your feature. The most important questions to ask yourself when you begin to develop you story are:
· Who is the main character?
· What is their problem?
· How will the audience recognise their problem?
· Are the stakes high enough?
· Am I telling the story from the best point of view?
It is important from the start that the audience understand who has the problem in the film, if you don’t have a character with a problem in your film, then you have no film. This advise was given from Marilyn herself in her article ‘The Script’. You have to find a way to turn your characters problem into the heart o the film and make sure the audience can see what it is. This is one of the most important ways to show your skills as a filmmaker and not just a good story teller. Watching a film is different to reading a book a in a novel, we can be in a characters head, but in a film we can only see what is going on so that is why this is important. Lynne Ramsay’s Gasman is a great example of this as we find out and understand a young girl’s confusing and contradictory feelings upon finding out she has a half sister.
It is also advised that as a writer, you draft ideas as it is very rare that the first draft of a film idea is the final one shot. Before filming Marilyn advises on some features that must be decided upon through her ten point plan given in the article:
· A Title
· Genre/Tone
· Setting (time and place)
· Main character
· Want/Need/Obligation
· Opposition
· Catalyst for Change
· Climax
· Resolution
· And the audience feels...(Theme)
She advises that you follow this ten point plan and also show your film in this way, to help the audience understand what it is you are trying to give off. This exercise helps clarify the beats f your film and helps establish the facts of your film.
Unity is an important feature of any short film as it is crucial that each scene reveals something that increase’s the understanding of the audience of the character and their need/problem. Each scene must move the story on so that what happens at the end could not have happened earlier; it is possible now because of each scene that has come before.
A good way to check that you have no weak areas in your film is to use a step outline; this can be done on cards for example as each card can contain a single scene each. For each scene make notes on:
· The events of the scene/what happens
· What is revealed that is important to the plot
· What is revealed that is important to the audiences understanding of the characters
· Is there any indication of significant theme
This method is mostly relevant to scenes that aren’t only there to set the time or place and that are significant to the plot of the film. It is advised to play around with the cards, see if any scenes can be combined to strengthen your film and not waste any time.
Part 7 – Training and Development.
Here are some agencies and organisations that offer support to filmmakers:
Lighthouse
This company are a digital culture agency based in Brighton who specialise in support for filmmakers and artists and also offer commission and help exhibit their work in order to get these people up and running.
Raindance:
Raindance was started in 1992 by filmmakers, for filmmakers to help train them by running year round courses. A pioneer in filmmaking in the UK, they inspired filmmakers such as Christopher Nolan and Guy Ritchie. The service they provide is to help young writers, filmmakers and producers launch their careers. As the saying goes ‘It’s not what you know it’s who you know’ this is a good place to start as all of Raindance’s tutors are all industry working professionals. Raindance also have their own film festival.
Skillset
Skillset are an industry group that offer support skills and training for people and businesses, they have the information and resources to help you take your career to the next level and decide on which job is the right one for you.
Script factory
One of Europe’s leading filmmakers organisation started in 1996. Their training helps find and develop new screenwriting talent. They run inspirational event for new filmmakers to show audiences their work, they produce performed readings to showcase new writings to the industry. The Script Factory runs a variety of training courses across the UK and abroad, traditionally focusing on film, they have recently started to offer courses on story form TV and radio training.
The DFG – The Documentary Filmmakers Group.
A national organisation working to promote documentary filmmaking talent and innovation in the UK. They aim to encourage, stimulate, promote and support the growth of a strong community of documentary and film makers and audiences.
Part 8 – Distribution and Exhibition.
The ratio of Short films that make money through more conventional channels of distribution and exhibition to those that don’t is diminutive. I think this is because there are lots of different reasons people would want to see short films, for inspiration, entertainment etc. There are some anthologies and collections that have been put together for different reasons and therefore may be more popular to different viewers on different channels. For example, the BFI have released hundreds of films and collections to appeal to all audiences. The organisation ‘Cinema 16’ also offer this as they provide award winning and classic short films on DVD such as European, American and British short film anthologies.
