Requirements for production

The task that each group was set was to film a 90 second short film which would eventually (if good enough) be entered into the Depict short movie competition. If our short movie is good enough to make it onto the Depict short list, it would be accessible to watch via the internet, through Depicts website. There are many different types of production and media forms which exist in the creative industry. These include television, internet, film, magazines, newspapers and radio. For our Depict project we used the media form of film.

There are many sources of funding available to film makers. One source of funding that film makers can use is product placement. Product placement /embedded marketing is a form of advertising when a branded item is placed into a film, television programme, music video, or news programme to advertise a company or product. For example in the movie “Castaway” the company “FedEx” is seen on Chuck Noland’s (Tom Hanks) postal van. Another source of funding for a film maker is the National Lottery. A film maker can gain access to funding produced by the Lottery if their project seems worthy. In April 2011, the BFI (British Film Institute) became the lottery distributor for film funding. The BFI has an online film fund application form that film makers can fill in, if there project is good enough the BFI may accept their application and give them their required funding. Self-finance is another way that film makers can pay the costs which their movie requires. Self-funding is when a high net worth individual (somebody with a lot of money) pays for everything needed for their own film. A British billionaire, Megan Ellison, is a person renowned for using her large amount of money to produce films like “Walking Madison” which was released straight to DVD on July 12, 2011. Aspiring film makers can gain funding through competitions. For instance if a person was to enter a short film into the Depict film competition, and there film was then selected the winner, they would win £1500 cash which can be spent on producing films. Another type of funding available to film makers is gaining money through private investors. Megan Ellison is also known for using her riches to fund other films, not just her own. The “True Grit” remake was co-financed by Megan. Loans are also used to provide financial aid to film makers. But with Britain being in recession this method of finance isn’t great as loan companies are reluctant to give loans because they are unlikely to be paid back. Sponsorship is also an available method of finance for film makers. Sponsorship is when a company offers financial support in return for their company to be mentioned as a sponsor. This helps to advertise the sponsoring company. An example of this is when the Kellogg’s owned crisp brand, Pringles, signed a contract to sponsor peak time films on channel 5. The final way that a film maker can fund there film is through development funds. A development fund is the process by which organisations use fundraising to help sustain the film making process.