Finance Pre production

FINANCE

The public sector is places/ companies that are run by the government. It uses tax services for funding.The government decides what tax money should be spent on in the public sector. The public sector is therefore focussed on general purpose and providing service to citizens. Due to this service can often be poor and at a higher cost when public, compared to good service and lower cost in the private sector. Politics can have a huge impact on the public sector due to the fact that the government are the ones who decide what to do with the tax money.

The private sector is made up of businesses or corporations owned by people. Businesses compete with one another and will often put things on sale due to the fact that it needs to win competition for every dollar in order to stay open. This sector is mainly focussed on making a profit.

Funding bodies

The wellcome trust, as well as the ctbf are both charitable funding bodies who support uk filmmaking. The national lottery and BFI both also fund filmmaking in the Uk. Creative Scotland and Channel 4 are both publicly funded film production companies. Channel 4 is also commercially funded. The BFI and creative england  is responsible for feature length film production in the UK. Ifeatures helps low budget films be produced. Indiegogo and kickstarter are 2 of the most widely recognised crowdfunding pages.

The BFI is a film and charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking in the uk. The BFI’s 3 sources of income are public money, lottery funding and commercial activity. The BFI want to reflect the public in the films they support. They want to support actors, crews and filmmakers through this, using national lottery funding. The BFI’s 5 key priorities are ; talent development and progression, impact of the film on society, taking risks where the commercial sector cannot, different perspective, and being Uk wide films. The BFI Network  exists to support, develop and champion new filmmakers looking to kick-start their career. The BFI Network provides access to short film funding. Short films such as none of the above, close to the bone and ambition have all been funded by the BFI.

iFeatures is the UK’s leading development lab for debut feature filmmakers run by Creative England with support from BFI, BBC Films and ScreenSkills. iFeatures is targeted at emerging writers, directors and writer/directors from across the UK who have yet to make a funded feature film, and at producers who are still at an emerging stage of their career. In addition to receiving development funding, up to 12 selected teams take part in an intensive, exploratory 10-month programme which includes residential Lab events, dedicated support and access to industry and networks. Multi-award winning and acclaimed films developed through the lab have included iFeatures productions Apostasy, Lady Macbeth, The Levelling, and The Goob, as well as further films such as God’s Own Country, Adult Life Skills and Pin Cushion.

 Creative England is funded by both public and private investment. It has developed partnerships and collaborations with companies including Google and Facebook.

As 

Ingenious media is one of the largest independent investors in the UK’s creative sector.

They partner with companies and individuals in the film, television and live entertainment sectors to bring great ideas to life. They have invested over £8 billion into the creative sector. Ingenious have been involved in the creation of Life of Pi, Avatar and dawn of the planet of the apes among others.

Goldcrest Films is an independent British distribution, production, post production, and finance company. 

Goldcrest provides innovative financial solutions across the media sector, from independent producers to the major studios and has funded films ranging in budget from $3 million to $98 million.Notable credits include Twilight ($400 million worldwide box office), multiple Academy Award nominee Revolutionary Road ($76 million worldwide box office) and multiple Academy Award winner The Iron Lady ($114 million worldwide box office).

We need to talk about Kevin

The UK Film Council awarded £18,510 to the production from its development fund. 

Wuthering heights

Supported by arts council England.

Kill list

Funded between: Warp X, the UK Film Council, Film4 

‘71

Screen Yorkshire, Film4, the British Film Institute, Creative Scotland and Aver media

Lilting

Funded by Film London or BBC’s microwave scheme.

I Daniel Blake

Funded by the BFI and BBC.

American honey

Funded by Film 4

Lady Macbeth

Ifeatures as well as Creative England funded Lady Macbeth

Peterloo

Supported by the national lottery

In Fabric

Co-funded by the BFI, BBC films and head gear films

Funding loving vincent started through the online crowdfunder kickstarter.

Support from a public source could be the best way for a new or emerging filmmaker to get recognition. They could use crowdfunding sites such as kickstarter, in order to gain this funding. This is usually far more successful than private investors as public funding can come from a variety of different sources. Furthermore, this can also go over the target and can therefore increase the budget. More people will also find out about the film through publicity and word of mouth. Although they may not provide as big of a budget as private funding, it will gain them far more exposure and will lead the, on to better things to come.

Type of production task

A1 Type of Production Task                                     By Ivan Newsome

A short film is considered to be a film that is under 40 minutes in running time, and is therefore not a feature length film.  Independent filmmakers who have a very limited budget usually make these films.

A feature film is a film that is considered to be the sole film to fill a program. It must be over 40 minutes running time and is usually between 75 and 120 minutes.

SHORT FILM	FEATURE FILM
Normally independently made	Usually requires a big crew and budget
Under 40 minutes	Over 40 minutes
Small/limited budget	Big Budget
Normally gets directors noticed to lead them onto bigger and better things	Seen as the pinnacle of filmmaking due to the audience it draws in
Natural lighting is used in order to keep costs at a low	Greenscreens can be used as well as shooting inside and create own forms of lighting
Audio is usually built into a camera and therefore background noise can be heard	Lav mics are used as they reduce background noise
Hardly any extra takes are used	Many takes can be used to get a perfect shot
Most short films end up on youtube/vimeo	Normally is featured in cinemas
Shorter scripts usually 30-40 pages	Far longer scripts that are usually between 80-130 pages
Less time to get to know and understand characters	Far more time to be able to build a relationship with characters
Normally only follows one story/viewpoint	Can follow many stories simultaneously
Focuses on getting to the core of the character and theme	Many different themes and structures used
Has to focus on one part of the three act structure	Can use the three act structure in full

                                                                       

Many people creating short films	Not as many creating feature films due to the cost
Digital cinema has had an affect on popularity of short films	Digital cinema has not had as much of an affect
Short films can be used to visualize bigger and better films for the future
Easier to watch due to the shorter time
Seen as the first step of a career	Seen as an aspiration
Critical success	Commercial success

A short film is seen primarily as the first step on a director’s journey, almost like setting the foundations of their portfolio. In direct contrast every director wants the chance to direct a feature film in order to break through onto the filmmaking scene. However the best way for this breakthrough is seen through producing short films. These films are almost always independently made and have an extremely low or limited budget, which is a direct contrast to the blockbuster style feature films that feature many crew members. A short film is classified as a film that has a running time of under 40 minutes. Due to the short running time, the three act structure cannot be utilised and therefore only one part is focussed on. Furthermore the shorter time also means that relationships with characters and themes cannot be as easily built. This therefore means that they must focus on the core of the character and themes very quickly to give the audience a better understanding. Feature films do not have this problem as they have as long as they want to develop the relationship between audience and character. A short film will also only follow one characters viewpoint due to the time restrictions whilst a feature can follow multiple. Due to such a low budget takes are almost always done once, something that feature films will hardly ever do in order to get the perfect shot. A reason why not many short film directors make the big time is due to the fact that there are so many other people in their position and just wanting to get noticed, hence why directors must think outside the box in order to get their breakthrough. A key difference between short and feature length films is the success that directors look for. Short film directors look for critical success in order to gain feedback as well as interest from backers and companies in order to help them on their journey. On the other hand feature film directors look for commercial success due to how much money a good feature films can bring in. In conclusion, short films are very useful for filmmakers to get noticed and build up to bigger and better things. They are essential for making the step into feature films and the commercial success that they bring.