3) Match characters, themes and storylines with the funder's market
Would your proposed show interest a company already involved in a particular market?
Tempting Fates is a forthcoming campus-based black comedy which follows the misadventures of a new generation of the Three Fates as they return to college to learn and fulfil their ancient destinies.
Part of the £180,000 budget comes from the show's own online distributor.
The comedy is co-funded by distributor Inuk Networks, an IPTV provider that focuses on the student market via www.freewiretv.com, together with East of England regional media development agency Screen East and independent production company Eye Film And Television. This is a win-win for the Inuk and the producers. Inuk will have an original show ideally matched with its student customers, while the series should benefit enormously from the targeted distribution that Inuk provides.
4) Match the show with the funding source's strategy
The £750,000 Central Station is set in the Glasgow School of Art and combines an online drama about three fictional students with a real-life Internet arts community to encourage artists from around the world to post their work online. The best will be rewarded with prizes including studio time and arts-based trips abroad, culminating in "the world's largest and first social media art prize" (see full description).
The whole concept of the drama dovetails very well with the strategy of the Scottish Arts Council: promoting an international arts scene from Scotland.
Not surprisingly, it reached the second stage of applying for £200,000 from the Scottish Arts Council's Inspire Fund.
5) Match the format with the funding source's strategy
Central Station is also receiving support from Channel 4's 4iP fund for multiplatform content. The fund aims to create tools and services with a public benefit, so how does an art school drama fit in?
The answer is that the format of the whole production - as distinct from the drama's storylines and characters – actually begins with the launch of the social network for artists, not the video. In this respect, the format fulfils the funding requirements for a useful service, as well as being an entertainment programme.
Production companies should note that the 4iP definition of multiplatform does not particularly encourage indie television producers to apply. The company behind Central Station, ISO Design, has a background in motion graphics and AV installations for museums, rather than television.
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