Pocket Shorts film scheme launches in Scotland

Scottish Screen, Scottish Enterprise and NESTA have launched a pioneering funding scheme for making short films for mobile phones.
Pocket Shorts Scotland gives new filmmakers the opportunity to create films purposely made for viewing on mobile phones. It will commission eight films of up to sixty seconds with a maximum production budget of £3000 each.
The final films commissioned by Pocket Shorts Scotland will be available to download from the Internet or sent between mobile phones via video messaging or using Bluetooth technology.
The Pocket Shorts scheme has been running in the North of England since November 2004, with the eight commissioned films premiering at the Pocket Shorts Scotland launch. The films are also available to download via ‘Bluevend’, a state of the art film vending machine which uses Bluetooth technology to transmit films directly to phones.
Speaking ahead of the launch event Pocket Shorts Scotland coordinator Jason Hall said: “So much of the current video content for phones is re-purposed from existing TV footage. Making movies for mobiles is a specialised field, but without any specialists. We’d like to find, develop and support the filmmakers who can crack this new medium wide open and unleash its full potential.”
(GB)