Call for Applications now open for Now & Next – Round One

Part of Now & Next

Courtesy of Margaret Salmon.

Now & Next is a talent development scheme that will nurture and showcase emerging creative voices, as well as offer established artists a chance to try something new through a series of collaborative artists’ film commissions.

LUX Scotland will issue three commissioning calls over 12 months. These calls are open to all creative practitioners from a range of backgrounds and disciplines, currently living in Scotland.

Each call/​brief will be focused around a particular publication platform and/​or a theme.

BRIEF ONE: Collaborative Short films for BBC Scotland’s digital arts strand, Loop.

Applications open 7 November, deadline 16 December 2018

What is Loop?Loop is a Scottish digital arts strand which publishes short social media videos about the arts on BBC Scotland’s Facebook and Twitter channels as well as longer films on bbc​.co​.uk, YouTube and BBC iPlayer.

The BriefWe are seeking proposals for fresh, innovative short films for Loop from creative voices in Scotland that reflect the experience of living in modern Scotland. We will commission films that demonstrate the breadth of possibility offered by the form of film, whether that be through experimentation with sound and image, structure, narrative and storytelling, animation, performance or any other means. The films should also aim to be accessible to a wide audience, so should also have a clear, relatable idea or concept at its heart. We are looking for you to push the boundaries on what constitutes art and make Scotland engage with a new way of seeing itself.

These film commissions should be created by artists working in collaboration. If you are an artist filmmaker, you should include a key collaborator in your pitch, preferably one from a different artistic practice to you (dance, theatre, animation, poetry, literature and spoken word, etc). If you are an artist from another discipline with no filmmaking experience, you will need to collaborate with a filmmaker.

We welcome proposals from artists of all backgrounds, including those from minority ethnic groups, those who consider themselves to be disabled and those who are currently underrepresented in media and the visual arts.

Film Duration and FormatThe film should last between 90 seconds and 5 minutes. Final delivery will require both a 16×9 and 1:1 (square) version.

Accessibility We would ask that you consider how to make your film accessible to as wide an audience as possible. You can read more here.

BudgetYou will be asked to submit a rough budget outlining all anticipated costs for your proposed project, which should include your and your collaborator’s fees, copyright fees, equipment hire, research costs and post-production costs. We will assign a budget, based upon the proposal, to cover all fees and production costs up to £5,000.

Who is the audience for Loop?The typical audience for Loop is a broad 25 – 45 years audience residing in Scotland. They are inquisitive, and love shareable content they can engage with and talk about. They are not a typical arts audience and so your proposal should consider how you will engage them: strong ideas, striking visuals, insights into the human condition and humour are likely to help your proposal. It’s worth noting that the modern digital audience has a relatively short attention span due to the sheer volume of content they are exposed to. Some say you have two seconds to capture their attention and keep them watching.

There is strong evidence to suggest that videos aimed at social media platforms perform better with on screen subtitles since 80% or more users watch without headphones. Also the BBC have found that 1:1 ratio (square-shaped) shot videos perform better as the audience can watch these on their mobile devices without having to rotate the phone into landscape mode.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)Please check the project FAQs here before applying. If you still have unanswered questions, please email email hidden; JavaScript is required

How to ApplyTo apply please complete the online form here. Due to limited resources we are unable to give feedback on individual applications which have not been shortlisted.

If you would like to apply, but have particular access needs or submitting a written application is difficult for you, please get in touch with Annie Crabtree at LUX Scotland on email hidden; JavaScript is required or 0141 319 8377.

Application Deadline for Brief One: Sunday 16 December 2018, midnight

Completed Work Deadline for Brief One: Friday 12 April 2019

Project Duration: the process from commissioning to delivery of the completed film is approximately 12 weeks

Part of Now & Next

Now & Next was a talent development scheme in partnership with Creative Scotland and BBC Scotland that ran from 2019 to 2022.

Learn more