Historic change to Story Development Guidelines

02 07 2018 - Media release Historic change to Story Development Guidelines

Cargo, Deadlock, and Homecoming Queens all received development funding from Screen Australia

Screen Australia has today announced that the new development guidelines have been finalised following two months of industry consultation, and are now in effect. These guidelines will make funding more accessible with an emphasis on supporting talent who have a strong idea and a clear pathway to an audience.

Industry support for the proposed guidelines was overwhelmingly positive, and the final model includes tweaks based on feedback. We particularly received feedback regarding the submission of second stage materials, producer fees, funding allocations, and budget thresholds, said Nerida Moore, Senior Development Executive at Screen Australia.

These new guidelines empower Australian screen practitioners to develop the best stories, for the best platform with a more streamlined application process.

Where and how Australians watch screen content is changing and these new development guidelines give Screen Australia the flexibility to help creatives take advantage of these new opportunities. We expect to see an increase in the diversity of screen stories being told and a larger pool of content makers telling them.

The guidelines allow projects for any platform including TV, film and online, to apply for development funding from one of two program strands the Generate Fund or the Premium Fund.

The Generate Fund is for lower budget projects with an emphasis on new and emerging talent, or experienced talent wanting to take creative risks. There are no eligibility requirements for this fund, however applications will need to be competitive against the criteria and in line with the aims of the fund.

The Premium Fund is for higher budget projects of ambition and scale from successful screen content makers. The commercial viability of the project, and the path to a significant and clearly defined audience is a key focus of this fund.

Screen Australia will be seeking stories for both funds that reflect gender equity as well as the diversity of people and experiences from around Australia, all of which are important culturally, creatively and economically.

The new guidelines have seen the budget threshold amounts change to $1 million per hour for TV projects (formerly $800,000), and $3 million for feature films (formerly $2.5 million) to allow greater creative flexibility for applicants. The other significant change is that applicants will now have three months to submit their second stage materials for a project, rather than submitting immediately after a successful stage 1 application which was the case previously.

More details about the guidelines including resources are below, as are some answers to questions that were frequently raised during the consultation process. Both funding streams are now open. Visit this page for further details and how to apply for each fund. (Generate and Premium)

Resources

The new Story Development guidelines can be viewed in full here

The new guidelines application process is available here

The guide to what makes a compelling application is available here

The Pathway to Audience guide is available here

The Story Documents guide is available here

Screen Australia Staffing Two new Development Executives Jenevieve Chang and Ester Harding have recently joined the Screen Australia team. Jenevieve is a story developer, author and actor who was a recipient of Screen Australia's inaugural Developing the Developer initiative in 2017. Since then she has worked with Felix Media on the development of a new screen project, and is currently Creative Executive at Arclight Films, focusing on the development of Chinese Australian co-productions. Jenevieve's memoir, The Good Girl of Chinatown was published by Penguin Random House in 2017 and has been described as a story where heritage and hedonism collide.

Film and television producer Ester Harding, joins Screen Australia from See Pictures. Her recent work includes co-producing feature comedy Swinging Safari, for writer/director Stephan Elliott, and producing the short-film Remembering Agatha, which premiered at the Adelaide Film Festival, was selected for Flickerfest and was later broadcast on the ABC. She also worked as production executive on the feature adaptation of Tim Winton s novel, Breath. She holds a Masters of Screen Arts and Business at AFTRS.

FAQs Can I apply as an individual? Yes, however as you get closer to production, you will need to have a complete team around you. For sole writers or directors, this includes attaching a producer at a later stage of development.

For Premium, an individual must have a significant track record with production credits and/or awards.

What if I don't meet the budget thresholds for the fund I am applying to? The budget thresholds are only a guide to what Screen Australia considers lower and higher budgets. If you have a project that has a higher budget but the team are not experienced, you will need to think about the elements you will need in order to attract marketplace, attract cast, raise the finance and successfully deliver the project to its audience. For some projects, this may mean rethinking the project in a lower budget context in order to be able to pitch a concept that can be realistically achieved, and will meet the aims of the fund.

I am at a very early stage of my development process, do I really need to know who my audience is? Yes, finding your pathway to an audience is essential to the creative and funding process. We want to know who your target audience is, why they will want to see your project and your plans to attach the right people who will help you get it to your audience (and hopefully make a bit of money along the way!). Check out ou

LINK:	https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/sa/media-centre/news/2018/07-02-his...
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