Deep within the cynical fortress of big-budget film-production, breathes a quester's dream... to powerfully tell stories in vibrant, glowing colour,... to dazzle the imagination of audiences with the richness of reflected human drama.   The interminable trek from "wow, have I got a great idea" to the commissioning editor's shredder is typically fraught with number-crunching, rewrites and more number-crunching in a turbulent battle for dominion between our left-brained capacity for economically rational logic, and our antagonistic right-brained aptitude for conceptual, creative chaos to prevail.  

Perhaps it is in the earliest chapters of acquiring funds to produce preliminary works, that the financial investment altruistically reflects the nurturing of creative potential in an industrial incubator where film financiers take minimal risks, and the short film genre engenders a paddling-pool of emergent film-makers proving their mettle before entering the bloody colloseum of the 'feature'.  

The rigorous process of conceptually refining 'that great idea' is probably never better served than in the defining of its core story message for a purse full of pixie dust.   Acting upon recommendations made by the Australia Council for the Arts in 1970 (the Australia Council) to develop a film and television industry in Australia, the Federal Australian Government established the Australian Film Development Corporation, which later changed it's name and operations to become The Australian Film Commission (1975).   The AFC (Screen Australia today) is an Australian Government entity (answerable to the Commonwealth Film Program's Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, DCITA) and is, alongside the Film Finance Corporation, The National Film and Sound Archive, The Australian Film, Television and Radio School, nationally responsible for the industrial development and support of an ongoing and sustainable Australian film industry through investment, protection, preservation and the archiving of Australian audio-visual material.  

Screen Australia and Screen Queensland offer grant allocations for emerging writers and filmmakers and the project funding applications reveal a highly structured set of eligibility guidelines and requirements for supporting project documentation.   Defined within it's policy objectives, Screen Queensland outlines a public statement of it's commitment to boost the culture of the screen industry for Queensland, increasing economic, creative, social and cultural opportunities for film-makers in Queensland.  

Veronica Fury made a strong statement in support of attending the PFTC's hosted talks on industrial opportunities and pathways for new film-makers, including attending public forums on funding opportunities and utilisation of training resources. (QPIX)

    "...they wanted a five minute short, and I put in a few pitches and I ended up producing two of them, one of them I actually wrote and directed as well. They were a really important part of my career, because it got me my first funds, but it also got me my first broadcast credit, which has been fabulous, that got me started, they played on George Negus Tonight on the ABC, rated well, and they've gone on to have other sales, so they've done well, those little pieces.

But the key thing was learning how to work with a broadcaster, they know what they want. When they commission something, they've already got a ...(brief they want to fill)."

Veronica also described that outcomes for her in producing her early works have been successful, largely due to a committed adherence to the broadcaster's project brief, strictly following stipulated formats, and maintaining a close reign on the team. Pay-off for her has been an increase in her viability as a Producer, resulting in more authoritative autonomy with her current creative endeavours.

Trish FitzSimons discussed the less-stringent entry points for emerging film-makers during the eighties in Australia. She compared some of the halcyon features of receiving significant production monies for projects managed by new and untried film-makers, and commented on the shift from the typical cinema-screened niche for documentary film to the current chartered slots for documentaries in Australian television scheduling. (for both free-to-air and pay TV).

"Basically when I entered the film industry, we, Mitzi and I, with no background, were able to get $120,000 cash budget from the Australian Film Commission based on a $50,000 pre-sale from the ABC. We were joint producers and directors, we had no background in producing whatever...

"...if you buy a film, and you buy the film-makers, you've got to trust that process and leave them to it."  Now, a commissioning editor that acted that way now, would probably have their head lopped off. So at that level, there was a great deal more freedom, but on the other hand, pre-sales were like hen's teeth... "

Much of the funding allocation criteria used in assessing the merit of local and national film product, (whether focused on conceptual development, or potential production values) serves to safeguard standards in an industry that strives to compete in a highly aggressive international marketplace.   This, at best, makes extremely good business sense. Perhaps the flaw in imposing such tightly controlled benchmarks in filmic convention dictates that a few hold great sway in terms of the dispersal of funds, supporting well-travelled story pathways as desirable standards in media message implementation.  

In an industry populated by visual artists, performers, writers, composers, dreamers and visionaries, I find it daunting that our craft is supported by the governing hand that determines the acceptable, consumable form of the professional filmmaker's creative outpourings. I also wonder that so many professional industrial advisors, seasoned filmmakers and industry associates espouse the vitality of upholding this economically rational model of film convention guidelines. Naive, foolish or arrogant as it may seem, I conclude that no matter how steep the travail between multitudinous platitudes and fail-safe formulas for surviving the perils of the production path, I remain committed to the glare of the headlights, a storyteller on a mission. Teone Reinthal © 2007