Q1. Production - From your reading - what does production involve? What was the inspiration behind Shifty? What were the difficulties of working on a low budget film? How did the Film London Microwave scheme help Shifty get produced? Where does the Microwave scheme get its money from? What other films have received money from the Microwave scheme?
A. On one hand, production involves the ability to manage money. This requires the skills to be able to deal with money and use it wisely in order to get the best out of what you have. On the other hand, you have to be a good negotiator, you have to be good at dealing with people and great at charming your way into a deal. This could be for securing a location or even getting an actor. The inspiration for Shifty came from the writer/director's own experience. Creevy re-visited his home town in Essex one day to go to his old friends party. One thing led to another and they ended up buying some drugs off a dealer called Shifty. This is where the name came from. Creevy was amazed to find out that this drug dealer - who used to be a top student at the same college as he - had turned into one of the most prolific cocaine and crack-cocaine dealers in their town. There are many difficulties whilst working on a low budget film. One problem Ben Pugh talked about was having to suddenly change locations for a certain scene. After carefully checking with all the surrounding owners whether they could film there one resident changed his mind. He became very angry and threatened to call the police. The cast and crew had to fully relocate. Luckily having producer intuition, Ben Pugh's quick thinking led to an easy and smooth move. Other difficulties that can arise from a lack of money are not being able to get exactly what the director or writer wants. One incident was when Eran Creevy wanted to have lots of cats for one scene, he had to conjure up an idea that was as affective; he used stuffed cats instead. The Film London Microwave scheme helped Shifty get produced by providing £100,000 of funding for the film. The scheme gets its money from the BBC, LDA, UKFC and Skillset. Some of the other films that received money from the microwave scheme are: Strawberry Fields, Mum & Dad, and Analogue.
Q2. Distribution - How does a company like Metrodome 'distribute' a film? How did Metrodome find out about Shifty? What is one of the most important ways a low budget film can find a distributor? How did being part of the Microwave scheme help Shifty find a distributor? Where is Metrodome based? What difficulties did Metrodome come up against as they attempted to 'market' Shifty?
