1. Funding
1.1. Film London Microwave
1.1.1. Microwave is a company established in 2006 whose purpose is to fund films with a budget of less than £100,000 and to discover and display the UK's finest new talent in film-making. As our film would be low-budget, we would be eligible for funding from Microwave. The company is in partnership with BBC Films, The UK Film Council and supported by Skillset, and has funded the production of films such as Ill Manors (Directed by famous pop artist Plan B), Shifty and The British Guide To Showing Off.
1.2. IdeasTap
1.2.1. IdeasTap is a charitable organisation that funds any kind of art production that qualifies for any of the many briefs that they show on their website. Although this would be a great way of gaining funding, Jessie and I would have to wait for a brief that matches our film, which is not very practical or reliable, as the opportunity could never arise.
1.3. First Light +
1.3.1. This is a company that encourages young film-makers to fulfil their potential in the art of film making, and has set up the Young Film Fund, which funds in many ways, from script grants to funding for short films. As young people, Jessie and I are capable of gaining funding from First Light +, but we would have to make sure that our full-length film is short as opposed to a feature-length.
2. The main distribution company that we would want to distribute our film, in my opinion, is Studio Canal UK.
2.1. Why?
2.1.1. Studio Canal distribute films that push creative and technical boundaries, and I feel that our film concept, characters and storyline would be appealing to the audience of the films that have already been distributed by Studio Canal UK. Also, the distribution and marketing methods used by Studio Canal are known for their innovativeness, which is quality that influences our decision because we feel that it proves the company would reliably distribute our film in the same creative and unique way that we want the film to be perceived. The company is known for helping new directors with their low-budget films, which shows that they have experience working with new concepts and aspiring directors, as we would be, which makes me confident that Studio Canal could distribute our film successfully.
2.2. Similar Films
2.2.1. I have used Blue Valentine as a point of reference before, and it was part of the inspiration for our opening in the use of photo compilations. The film was distributed by Studio Canal in 2010, was directed by Derek Clanfrance and is classified as a 15. The film is similar to ours in that it is about the highs and lows of a relationship and the combination of past and present displays similarity to The Story Of Us. While the two films are very similar, The Story of Us focuses on a teenage relationship, which gives it a different angle to Blue Valentine, which is about a married adult couple.
2.2.2. The newly released Mirror Mirror is directed by Tarsem Singhs and based on the story by the Brothers Grimm. The film shares the unique twist element that our film has in that it plays on a traditional story and alters it to address a modern audience. Although the film is only a PG rating, we feel that it fits well into the romance genre well and I believe that both Mirror Mirror and The Story of Us have similar demographics.