Institutional Research

Institutional Research

One of the major avenues into funding short films is form government institutions, and specifically in the UK, public money that is invested into short films is now distributed by the British Film Institute (BFI). This is a charity that promotes and protects filmmaking in the UK as well as providing funding to independent film makers both emerging and established. Funding budget varies per category, starting at £5000 for the iShorts sponsorship to £20,000 in the documentary short film category. People who are successful in applying to these funding opportunities receive editorial support, industry mentoring and networking opportunities. Similarly to this funding by government institutions, filmmakers can seek funding through sponsorships offered by film festivals, such as Sundance. It offers grants and workshops to applicants whose work they see potential in offer ongoing support to advance the development and production of independent work.

Furthermore, corporate sponsorship for a short film is always an exciting opportunity, however, this is not usually open to new and emerging talent, more so established short film writers and directors. For example, 'The Scarecrow' is a short film created for Chipotle by Academy Award-winning Moonbot Studios, that has fantastic emotional storytelling but is also used as an advertising tool. Outside of external sponsorship, if film-makers are truly passionate about this work they can always self-fund their own project on the hope that its merits speak for itself and their talents get recognised. Crowdshare or Crowdfund would also be an online tool to raise money independently.

For the distribution of short films, it is very effective for short films of a branded content to be broadcast on television or online in order to gain exposure. Even though they will be marketed to sell the product or company, their work will also be showcased and their talents will also need to be payed for when broadcasting. Additionally, social media channels, for independent film makers or for companies, is a vital asset. Posting on Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms will be beneficial to raise awareness of your work. Outside of this, there are film festivals and competitions in which you can submit your short film: BFI, Cannes Film Festival, Toronto Film Festival, and Sundance Film Festival. All are celebrations of art which encourage new talent and nurture new ideas in the forms of short film and showcase the winning applicants.

Exhibiting short films does not usually happen on mainstream broadcast mediums and is usually exists digitally and online. Sites such as Youtube or Vimeo are good hosting platforms to create a portfolio of work that you can exhibit for free, which therefore makes your talents accessible to potential new job opportunities, career paths, and investments. Specifically, Short of the Week, is a website specifically launched to archive and showcase new and emerging talent in the category of short film. In addition, short film such as La Luna or Lava created by pixar, and exhibited in cinemas as content to be rolled before the main feature film of a 12 or PG age classification.

Generally speaking, the target audience of a short film will be someone who is right brained, quite artistic and inquisitive up to the age of around 70, as the short nature of the medium for the 'Baby Boomer' generation would be so far removed from that they are familiar with. However, practically speaking there is no specific target audience for short films. People can be of any culture, race, religion, age, or sex. The target audience is those who are passionate about film and playing around with the craft of film making to see what exciting things it can do.