{"id":10657,"date":"2025-02-10T11:39:52","date_gmt":"2025-02-10T11:39:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/watershed.co.uk\/filmhub\/?page_id=10657"},"modified":"2026-02-11T17:55:42","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T17:55:42","slug":"short-film-fund-dos-and-donts","status":"publish","type":"guides_resources","link":"https:\/\/watershed.co.uk\/filmhub\/guides_resources\/short-film-fund-dos-and-donts\/","title":{"rendered":"Short Film Fund Application Do\u2019s &amp; Don\u2019ts\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\r\n<p>A new round of the BFI NETWORK Short Film Fund is upon us! That\u2019s why we\u2019ve created this handy blog post as a quick ref to help you with your application. Remember, if you have any questions about the application form itself, or need support with your application, please email the BFI directly: <a href=\"mailto:bfinetworkfunding@bfi.org.uk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">bfinetworkfunding@bfi.org.uk<\/a>\u00a0or visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bfi.org.uk\/get-funding-support\/get-access-support-apply-bfi-funds\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">this page<\/a> to find out about the access support available to you.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">DO:<\/h2>\r\n<p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li>\r\n<p><strong>Read<\/strong> the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bfi.org.uk\/making-application-bfi-network-england-short-film-funding\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">guidelines<\/a> in full as this will answer many of your questions and give you a better picture of who can apply, how to apply and what happens next.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li>\r\n<p>Read the <strong>notes page<\/strong> on the budget template supplied for tips, guidance and things to consider.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li>\r\n<p>Shout about <strong>your achievements<\/strong> in the \u2018CV\u2019 sections (but keep it concise); mention film\/media-related awards, any significant festival successes for your work, any relevant training&#8230; Basically, what do you want us to know about you to convince us you\u2019ll make the most excellent film?\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li>\r\n<p>Nail the \u2018<strong>description<\/strong> of your project idea\u2019 as this will really help the external readers and our Talent Execs figure out what your film is about, who it might appeal to and whether it\u2019s an original and exciting prospect. DO tell us who the main character is, what they want and why getting it isn&#8217;t simple, and tell us the ending. Don\u2019t be vague. You only have 400-500 words so we\u2019re not expecting a full character breakdown, just make it clear whose story this is, and what you\u2019re putting them through! TIP: edit and re-draft this as it\u2019ll really help you distil your idea and get straight to the heart of your story.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li>\r\n<p>Let your director feed into the application too. We want to hear about their \u2018<strong>creative vision\u2019<\/strong> and see if they\u2019ve really thought about how they\u2019ll shoot this, what their influences are and why they were attracted to this project. TIP: you can add supporting materials \u2013 even a one-page \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/artlist.io\/blog\/what-is-a-mood-board\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">mood board\u2019<\/a> could really help us visualise your creative intentions. You can use free software such as Canva or Pinterest, and as this doc isn\u2019t for public use don\u2019t worry too much about copyright-free images. Save your visuals as a PDF to preserve the layout.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li>\r\n<p>Show us <strong>something new<\/strong> about the region, or about an aspect of UK life, be adventurous and take some risks in your idea, turn tropes on their head and have some fun!\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">DON&#8217;T:<\/h2>\r\n<p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li>Select too many <strong>genres<\/strong> from the options available as this indicates that your idea might lack focus.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><\/ul>\r\n<p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li>Base your budget on vague estimations; do your <strong>research<\/strong> and get a few quotes. Rates and fees change every year, don\u2019t rely on old intel. TIP: watch the 45-min session we ran on <a href=\"https:\/\/watershed.co.uk\/filmhub\/making-films\/guides-resources-filmmakers\/bfi-network-south-west-short-film-fund-roundtable-budgets-101\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">short film budgets<\/a> with producer Anna Duff.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li>Be over-ambitious and submit a script of more than 16 pages (a page = roughly 1 minute of screen time and we only support films of <strong>15mins max<\/strong>). If you\u2019re a newer filmmaker we strongly urge you to submit a shorter script of up to 10 pages as this means it\u2019s more <strong>achievable<\/strong> on a smaller budget. For animation projects, be realistic about the number of scenes, environments and characters you\u2019ve included.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li>Be vague in your answers; we need to sense <strong>integrity<\/strong> behind what you\u2019re telling us about sustainability, how you\u2019ll reach specific audiences, how you\u2019ll create a diverse and inclusive set\u2026 Don\u2019t treat this as a tick-box exercise.\u00a0<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li>Be afraid to use <strong>comp (comparison) titles<\/strong> when describing things as this is a useful shorthand for tone, style and genre (eg \u2018it has the biting satire of <em>Succession<\/em> but with a Lynchian gloss\u2019).\u00a0<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n<!-- \/wp:post-content -->\r\n<p><!-- \/wp:list -->\r\n\r\n<!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new round of the BFI NETWORK Short Film Fund is upon us! That\u2019s why we\u2019ve created this handy blog post as a quick ref to help you with your [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","categories":[14],"tags":[39,26],"class_list":["post-10657","guides_resources","type-guides_resources","status-publish","hentry","category-making-films","tag-filmmakers","tag-funding"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Short Film Fund Application Do\u2019s &amp; Don\u2019ts\u00a0 | Film Hub South West<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Get key tips for a successful BFI NETWORK Short Film Fund application, covering project descriptions, budgeting, and common pitfalls to avoid.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/watershed.co.uk\/filmhub\/guides_resources\/short-film-fund-dos-and-donts\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Short Film Fund Application Do\u2019s &amp; 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