Get on board the Escalator!
Escalator is about creative filmmaking ideas explicitly conceived with low budget production in mind. The aim of the scheme is to help teams produce low budget New Zealand feature films for up to $250,000.
Applications will be accepted for the third and likely final year of Escalator from Monday 2 April 2012 to Friday 25 May 2012 with some important application changes.
This is what you will need to submit:
- low budget methodology
- one low budget idea explored in a five-page outline (this is instead of the three one-page ideas required previously)
- a director’s vision (if applicable)
- basic budget outline
- understanding of audience and how to reach them
- brief CVs and bios of core team
- examples of previous work (DVD not data disk)
Essentially, we are seeking teams (of two or more) who have developed a single idea to a more advanced state prior to applying to Escalator.
Please see the how will the selection process work section to find out how the projects are selected.
With the amended application process, the objective is to ensure that the industry panel will have a clear understanding of your low budget philosophy. If it is felt that the project is not appropriate for this low budget scheme you will not be considered, so please ensure that only ideas that have been conceived as a low budget concept with an appropriate low budget methodology are submitted. We can’t stress this enough - this scheme is definitely not about squeezing a bigger budget idea into a low budget framework.
Up to four films will be greenlit, however if the industry panel does not feel there are an appropriate number of suitable Escalator-style projects then fewer will be selected.
The 2012 application requirements are:
Please note this will need to be as specific as possible and detail the ways in which your low budget concept will be realised. We are looking for fresh and innovative methodologies with specific detail. This doesn’t include how many deals you can do and how many people you can convince to work for free- we require that crew are paid. What is it above your idea that makes it low budget and why a bigger budget wouldn’t benefit your film. We are seeking approximately two pages unless your idea is so simple it doesn’t require two pages, eg. We are going to shoot the film over 52 weeks shooting one day a week with a crew of five on our ipad2.
· A single low budget idea explored in a five page outline
If you are struggling to write a five-page outline please contact the NZWG for more info: info@nzwg.org.nz.
· A director’s vision (if applicable)
This is the director’s chance to tell the panel why the film matters to them and what makes it special. You are welcome to add a visual description of how you imagine the film will be realized if you wish including anything that will help the panel understand your low budget vision.
See basic budget template below if you require it but you don’t need to use this format if you have your own.
Please note that Blue book and Pink book standards must be adhered to and minimum wage for cast and crew (at an absolute minimum) must be observed. You are of course encouraged to pay more!
A 5% contingency is also required as a minimum.
· Understanding of audience and how to reach them
We are seeking a one-page outline of who you think your audience is, as well as interesting and innovative ways you anticipate reaching that audience. NO film is for everybody so please be specific. Think about these questions: Why am I making this film? Who is my audience? How will I reach them? Why will they care? Who has done this before, successfully, and how/why did they succeed?
one page CV and bio would be helpful please.
· Examples of previous work (DVD not data disk)
Short films, documentaries, TV commercials, music videos and other similar media. We are looking for examples of your work that show us your background in visual film making as well as narrative storytelling. Please note that a montage isn’t helpful. Several clips of 2 minutes each would be more useful. A maximum of 15 minutes duration please.
· Only one application per team is permitted (individuals can be attached to a maximum of two applications)
Applications are also welcomed from appropriately conceived feature-length documentaries which fit into the Escalator ethos. Please note that documentaries will have a maximum budget of $100,000.
Applications are now also open to more experienced directors (e.g. those who have received production finance). In this case, the project will need to be a strong low budget project with an equally strong methodology and include an explanation as to why the director believes the project is specifically an Escalator film. We would also expect trainee director and mentorship attachments to be included and that other members of the team will benefit from the experienced directors knowledge.
25 May: Final deadline for applications
2 July: Final teams to be invited to attend Bootcamp announced
25-27 July: Bootcamp
10 December: Final films announced
Delivery is by negotiation within 12-24 months of greenlight.
Please email your applications in one document (PDF or Word) to
If you have any queries, please contact Professional Development Executive Bonnie Slater bonnie@nzfilm.co.nz.
Good luck everyone!!!
Escalator. What is it?
The NZFC’s ESCALATOR initiative offers up to four teams of talented, visionary filmmakers a fast track to making a first feature film.
We are looking for edgy, challenging material, expressed with a unique voice and style, by teams that genuinely relish the prospect of working lean and fast. ESCALATOR is primarily about having a great idea, a clear plan for how to make it into a great film on the money and then getting on with it. NZFC staff will be happy to offer advice and support but we are hoping for a fast turnaround from green-light (in December 2012) to delivery, not an extended period of development. Our intention is that each of the films will act as a stepping-stone to bigger features for writers, directors, producers and crew.
Who is it for?
ESCALATOR is about teams. It is open to writers, directors, producers and key crew. Participants must apply in teams of two or more.
This is a great chance for talented individuals to start talking to each other, inspire each other, and establish contacts and networks for their project and/or exciting collaborations in the future.
ESCALATOR is specifically designed to support directors who are ready to step up to their first feature film (although if appropriate experienced directors may apply). Other team members may have feature experience however the idea is to develop talent across all disciplines so we encourage applications from emerging filmmakers.
The Mindset: what are we looking for?
Low budget filmmaking is very much about how you think. We will be looking for ideas that embrace limitations and turn them into assets. Low Budget filmmaking requires a reboot in terms of thinking about story. Most of the first feature scripts that we read have pretty big ambitions. Few are naturally suited to the low budget approach. Low budget filmmaking requires a mindset that can create innovative production modes.
Your low budget film can’t have ALL of the following:
- lots of locations
- lots of characters
- lots of dialogue
- lots of scenes
- lots of shots
- lots of night shooting
- special effects
- a large crew
- an extended shooting schedule
But it can certainly have one or two of the above. This might mean shooting with a crew of five over 30 weekends. It might mean making a ‘one-shot’ film with a cast and crew of 400 for one day. Turn your limitations into assets!
We are looking for low budget films that are bold, personal and distinctive because we want them to be noticed on a tough and crowded playing field. A huge number of low budget films are made every year, all over the world, and most of them receive no form of distribution whatsoever.
Think about the following films as inspiration:
- The Blair Witch Project
- Paranormal Activity
- Tiny Furniture
- Open Water
- The Tunnel
- Shifty
- Once
There are many more and if you come across some great ones, please feel free to share them with everyone on the Escalator Facebook page.
How will the selection process work?
There are two stages to the ESCALATOR selection process.
In the first stage teams will be asked to submit your idea as a five-page outline and methodology (see full application criteria above). From these applications a panel of independent industry readers and two NZFC staff members will select up to 12 teams to move through to the next stage.
The second stage is a bootcamp that we are presently aiming to run in July 2012. Up to three members from each team will spend three days immersed in an intense workshop on every aspect of the low budget mindset. Local and international industry professionals will discuss key topics and will work with teams to help them refine and focus their idea and methodology. All bootcamp attendees will have their travel and accommodation paid for by the NZFC.
After the bootcamp teams will have 12 weeks to work on their idea and then submit a second stage application. This will include a script, budget, schedule and statement on their low budget methodology/ethos.
These applications will go to an independent panel made up of four filmmakers and one NZFC representative. This panel will select up to four teams that will each receive up to $250,000 to make their film.
The selected teams will be invited to choose and attach senior industry mentors to their project for advice throughout the process. The NZFC will provide teams with a modest amount of extra funding to put to this end.
Principal photography on the films should commence within six months of the date of the offer. The dates for final delivery of the films will be decided on a case-by-case basis, but we expect projects to aim for delivery within 12 months of greenlight.
NZ Film will not be able to distribute the finished films but teams will be offered advice and support to develop their own festival and distribution plan. The NZFC will provide a modest amount of ring-fenced funding on film delivery to assist with marketing materials.
The Nuts and Bolts
Eligibility criteria:
- Applications must come from teams of two or more
- Applicants must be New Zealand citizens or permanent residents
- Documentary projects are eligible but the budget cannot exceed $100,000
- Projects must not have previously received any development funding from the NZFC
- Please check the full application requirements above
The Escalator films greenlit in 2011 were:
Shirley and the Hungary Bear
Director: Alan Dickson, Writer: Wayne Ching, Producer: Glen Real.
When a man called Shirley and a bear from Hungary are at the brink of stardom, their one chance at fame, and their friendship, is threatened by the bear’s secret past, and a narcissistic competitor.
Fantail
Director: Curtis Vowell, Writer: Sophie Henderson, Producer: Sarah Cook.
Tania thinks she’s Maori. She works the graveyard shift at a petrol station so she can save money to go to Surfers with her brother, Pi. But one night a cheeky little Fantail ruins everything and Tania pays the ultimate price for being a hero.
Stealing Tommy
Writer/ Director Max Currie, Producers: Tom Hern and Luke Robinson.
When a trusting young boy is abducted, he struggles to accept his new identity in the strange but loving family his kidnappers create for him.
The Escalator films greenlit in 2010 were:
Existence
Juliet Bergh, Writer/Director; Jessica Charlton, Writer/DOP; Mhairead Connor, Producer; Melissa Dodd, Producer; Philip Thomas, Production Designer
Existence is a salvage punk Western set in a post-apocalyptic future. Trapped by her circumstances behind an enclosing fence, Freya dreams of escape and pursues a mysterious outsider who can free her. She destroys her world to discover that the reality of her existence was not what she imagined.
House Bound
Gerard Johnstone, Writer/Director; Luke Sharpe, Producer
When serial offender Kylie Baxter is placed on home detention, she is forced to come to terms with her dithering parents.
I Survived a Zombie Holocaust
Guy Pigden, Writer/Director; Harley Neville, Writer; Zoe Hobson, Producer
Wesley, a young runner on a zombie film set, has the first day from hell when real zombies overrun the film set… Who are the real zombies and who are the extras? Decapitate with care!
Timeslow
Sally Tran, Writer/Director; Omar Crawford, Writer; Owen Hughes, Producer
Henry is forced to re-evaluate his entire life when he discovers the secret to slowing down time and is propelled into a shifting world of intrigue and danger.