Cross Channel Film Lab Calls for Applications for Low Budget VFX and 3D Film Development Scheme
There is just one month to go for makers of films using visual effects and/or Stereo 3D to submit their applications to the Cross Channel Film Lab (CCFL).
The Cornwall and Brittany-based programme, which officially launched its call for submissions at the Dinard Film Festival last week, is looking for low to medium budget fiction film projects that feature brave, original and imaginative usage of visual effects and/or Stereo 3D, to go through the Lab’s workshop programme in 2013.
The Lab offers filmmakers a unique opportunity to develop their screenplays and production strategies within an applied research platform dedicated to Stereo 3D, visual effects and CGI.
Four British and four French films will be developed in 2013 and 2014 within the £2.4million research and development project, which is designed to help filmmakers make the most of modern technology.
In today’s cinema, visual effects, computer generated images and Stereo 3D are usually associated with high budget films. The Cross Channel Film Lab initiative aims to foster the use of these tools for British and French independent cinema at low to medium budget levels, to produce a new generation of ambitious, technically innovative films, like Gareth Edwards’ award-winning 2010 science fiction film Monsters.
Successful writer-director-producer teams will take part in development workshops, will receive support from expert consultants, and will present their projects in a final showcase for financiers, producers and distributors from both sides of the Channel. They will have the opportunity of working with experts from the UK and France, combining story and technology at an early stage to refine their scripts and strengthen their production and post-production planning.
Script consultants, VFX and Stereo 3D experts and specialist researchers will assist the filmmakers in exploring the most effective ways for the projects to use technology and engage audiences at a lower budget.
Building on the success of a pilot scheme in 2010, CCFL brings together the strengths and skills of 11 partners from both sides of the Channel, from the film industry and from the research and development fields.
Creative England, Bournemouth University, University College Falmouth, Cornwall Council and Arts Centre Trust Cornwall are working with France’s Le Groupe Ouest, Artefacto, Université de Bretagne Occidentale, Télécom Bretagne (3D Fovea), École Régionale des Beaux-Arts de Rennes, the Dinard Film Festival and a range of industry partners to build a collaborative R&D model in 2012.
The deadline for applications is 6 November 2012, with project selection completed in December.