animate! › Funding › 2001 › howitworks
2026 restoration: capture restoration. Sources: Wayback capture.
call for entries 2001
Deadline for proposals
Closed on 28 February
Shortlist interviews
Tuesday 3 April
Finalists announced
Friday 6 April
Production starts
May or June
Completion deadline
July 2002
call for entries 2001
animate! is now commissioning a new slate of risk-taking personal projects for television. These new works will have running times of 3-6 minutes and production budgets in the range of £5,000 - £30,000.
If you have an innovative idea that can only be realised in a short animated film, and you are seeking production funding to make it, we would like you to send us a proposal.
You do not have to be an animator to submit a proposal but you must have some experience of film, video or digital media.
new ideas
Our definition of animation is broad and inclusive. We are interested in anything risk-taking other than direct live-action. Celluloid, tape and digital technologies are all acceptable, in pure or hybrid form.
Your idea is likely to require frame-by-frame techniques or a re-presentation process such as, for example, image or timeline manipulation. Remember that innovation can apply to narrative as well as technique.
Above all, proposals must be fired by an irresistibly original idea - an idea that is beyond live-action film.
eligibility
Applications are welcome from artists with experience of film, video, digital media, animators already established in the industry and emergent talent.
Collaborations with other artists, photographers, illustrators, writers, composers and sound designers are strongly encouraged.
Application is open to animators and artists resident in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Full-time students or those intending to be during the life of the production are not eligible. animate! welcomes proposals from all sections of the community.
animate! does not fund development, completion, co-production with other broadcasters, or distribution, and does not commission work made specifically for children, cartoon-character based stories, series, pilots, educational films, community art projects, multiscreen or gallery work.
your proposal
Your main opportunity to explain the work you want to make is in a formal treatment. It is a creative exercise in itself. Aim to crystallise your main idea, and then describe and evoke the work in a way which will engage, interest and inform the selection panel. The following list may help as an indication of what you should cover:
- the idea - what it is and what it is about
- structure/form - the sequence of events, the shape, rhythm, pace, feel
- visuals - look, style, treatments
- sound - music, dialogue, voice-over, effects, atmosphere
- technique(s) - how the work will be realised and the processes involved
- audience - how the work will relate to and communicate with its audience
selection criteria
Your application will be judged on:
- the creativity and originality of the proposal
- the artistic and technical quality of the examples of previous work submitted
- the likelihood that the proposal can be realised within the outlined budget and schedule
- suitability for a television audience
selection process
We will acknowledge your application in writing. Shortlisting will be by Finetake Productions and the Arts Council of England.
Shortlisted proposals will be considered by an independent selection panel comprising:
- Gary Thomas, Visual Arts Officer, Arts Council
- Camilla Deakin, Commissioning Editor, Animation and Arts, Channel 4
- Dick Arnall, Scheme Producer, Finetake Productions
- four independent panel members from backgrounds in filmmaking, film distribution and publication, with a strong understanding of experimental practice.
Final shortlisted applicants may - but not necessarily - be asked to attend an interview on Tuesday 3 April 2001. The panel will select between 4 to 6 proposals to receive production funding.
The finalists will be announced by 6 April 2001.
the deal
Each selected Animate!-maker will be responsible for the direction and production of their personal project. The scheme will provide advice on production needs, rights clearances and broadcast technicalities.
The maximum production schedule for projects is 14 months overall. Films must have a running time of 3-6 minutes, be made in the UK, and be suitable for a television audience.
All animate! films to date have been screened on Channel 4 Television. This year's commissions are likely to be included in Channel 4's annual Animation Week planned for early autumn 2002.
Projects will be promoted and internationally distributed by The Lux Centre, London. Finetake Productions will be working with The Lux Centre and other organisations to expand the audience for animate! works.
Animate!-makers retain copyright and ownership of their films.
Documents
- 2001: Guidelines and application form (PDF, 77,827 bytes)
- 2001: Guidelines and application form (RTF, 42,175 bytes)
- 2001: Guidelines and application form (earlier version) (PDF, 82,620 bytes)