ASK & DISCUSS INDEX

12 years, 4 months ago - Jackie Sheppard

Sorry, but Hank is incorrect. As far as I'm aware the BFI/Lighthouse scheme isn't running again - it was a one-off for 2012. But, the good news is that the regional hubs, as I understand it, may be starting up some low budget schemes again. So, you can wait for them to announce something. In any event, the big budget shorts that BFI/Lighthouse were offering in 2012 were for those with considerable experience already. But, do as others suggest and get out there and hustle and try and make something for less. Good luck with it all.

12 years, 4 months ago - gabrielle kelly

Make it for less money. It's all about the idea and a great script. Shorts have very little afterlife, they are a calling card, they are usually self funded because they are like a resume. Get inventive. At least Europe has soft money. In the USA there's none so it's all hustle.

12 years, 4 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

Even in the pre-recession days there were no real funds for the kind of money you are looking for. Film agencies might chip in some advice and have an annual competition for a few grand with a lot of ties, but shorts are not commercial and so dead money, even on the rare occasions they are watchable.

If your first project requires that much money start with a simpler script. With no track record of production how can backers know to back you over all the other projects? It is a huge budget for a first time, and if you wait to raise it from other people you will wait a while. If you can start with a self funded project you can have finished before you even raise that much.

12 years, 4 months ago - Hank Starrs

Hi Chris, Paddy is totally incorrect, the UKFC and the regions (Screen South, Southwest Screen etc) have run shorts schemes for at least a decade with budgets ranging 5K -15K right up to when UKFC became the BFI a year or so ago. I have successfully applied for shorts funding of around 10K per film on 4 separate occasions.

Their is still funding out there, the BFI AND THE LIGHTHOUSE will be funding a slate of high end shorts every year, average budget, 50K: http://www.lighthouse.org.uk/bfi-shorts-2012/about-bfi-shorts-2012

Several of the London Borough's have shorts scheme for up to 3K: http://filmlondon.org.uk/funding_and_talent/production/borough_film_funds

And their are competitions such as Virgin media shorts. Some private companies such as Pears and some charities and foundations offer short funding also. If you make a good one it can gain some income on Channels like SHORTS HD and outlets like itunes. Good Luck!

12 years, 4 months ago - Tim iloobia

I think what this discussion highlights are two particular issues which are a bit frustrating with the perception of the short film medium.
The first is the premise that a short film is some kind of calling card as oppose to a self contained piece of work which has value in its own right. Would one call the work of Len Lye, Jeff Keen, The Quay Brothers, Jan Svankmajer and other great makers of the short form medium calling cards? It feels like a rather poor interpretation and definition. It is an artistic and creative discipline in its own right, and when one sees films that have obviously been made as calling cards I for one feel cheated watching what looks like a sneaky showreel or whatever the hell it's supposed to be.
The other issue is the vast amounts of money people seem to think one needs for a short film, particularly first time film-makers. I have been making shorts for a while now, over 20 years - i'm not saying they are great by any means, they aren't - but for me the wonderful thing about a short is making every resource that is available matter, making each frame count, making the most of opportunism and using what is available around you. If the camera is a lo-fi piece of junk, great! it will force the creativity out of you a hell of a lot more than a lovely C300. I believe that one should strip down the kit to the barest, barest minimum and make up the difference with imagination and resourcefulness.
Give someone 10 grands worth of kit and that element begins to fade extremely quickly and one is so often left with glossy technical bravura but little else. Its so easy to make less effort when the kit makes it all look so slick already. Why not go and get a grimy VHS camera and try making that look interesting? yeah! at least it will have its own identity, texture and not look like another DSLR demo to delight Canons marketing department.
Why I am writing this? I guess I just feel that hoping for large sums of money being available for a medium which, right now, everyone with access to a camera and an edit suite now wants to try their hand at, and is in massive abundance, is missing the point of the value of the form. Try making a great short for £20 pounds and master that art, then i believe there is much more chance that you will fully appreciate what a 6000 pound budget can provide and really be best put to use.

sorry if I went on.
Tim

12 years, 4 months ago - Vasco de Sousa

I'd suggest looking at other short films, the funding sources are often in the credits. The lottery put some money into film.

There's The Walcot Foundation, if you're creating opportunities in Lambeth. http://www.walcotfoundation.org.uk They've apparently given money toward a film called Honeytrap, who's producers is raising money through Indiegogo.

Depending on your subject matter, there are a wide variety of foundations out there. (I'm learning more all the time.)

Anyway, I'm looking at making a feature with a similar budget. I know people who've made some pretty good looking shorts for £3,000 or less. I'm currently waiting for news on whether I'll have £2k for a short film. Good luck raising the money.

(And a warning about crowdfunding, Kickstarter and co, and Amazon and co, take a cut. The smaller the donation, the higher the percentage of their cut. So, if friends and family want to give you money, it might be a better idea if they skip the Kickstarter page.)

12 years, 3 months ago - Lee 'Wozy' Warren

Funding is such a bug bear and it hampers creativity most of the time. For a short film, the bigger the budget the harder it is to raise the money.

DON'T DO IT unless you are investing in yourself or you could be waiting forever.

If you're making shorts and it’s just to be a calling card, do something cheaper and work more on the script and your directing skills. These are the things that will get you noticed. Not what camera your DP used or the editing system you hired. Trust me, I've been there.

And finally, I would suggest you invest in yourself and put your own money in. That way you'll spend it more wisely and work harder for it. At the end of the day, a short is only really a glorified business card. Don't gold plate it.