British Art in Motion

This competition consists of two rounds.

Round One

For the first round, you will be asked to submit a proposal for a film that:

Focuses on a single work of British art or architecture, from any period
Is between five and seven minutes in length
Offers your perspectives and arguments, and demonstrates evidence of extended thinking and research
Showcases your vision for a work of art in moving image media

This proposal will include:

A five-hundred-word film treatment, in which you should offer a description of the film’s content, structure and approaches
A mood board, which is designed to give a sense of the film’s visual character. This might include images, pantones, textures, sketches or any other visual material that informs your approach to an artwork and cinematography
A bibliography of no more than one page of A4 (double-spaced), listing the main sources you have or will consult in your research for this film
A completed application form

All applicants must be available to travel and stay in London during the week Monday 3 – Friday 7 June 2024 to attend specialist filmmaking training at the Paul Mellon Centre (PMC).

Deadline for Round One: Tuesday 7 May, 10am.

Round Two

A panel of judges will assess the submissions from Round One and select a shortlist of up to eight proposals. Should you be one of the eight students who submitted these proposals, you will be invited to a fully funded residential trip to London, where you will attend a programme of talks, workshops and visits designed to equip you with the skills and knowledge to make a high-quality film. This will take place during the week commencing 3 June 2024. You must be available to travel to London during this week.

This course will include sessions on how to document archival materials and how to shoot artworks, as well as how to film interviews and make voice-overs. You will also receive an introduction to copyright and creative reuse to learn how you can lawfully use existing content in the creation of new work.

Following this course, you will have the summer to make and submit your film. For this, you will be:

granted a production budget of £500, held by the PMC, which can be put towards anything from clearing copyright permission to travelling to filming locations, purchasing filming props to buying public liability insurance
assigned a filmmaking tutor, who will meet with you twice over the summer to offer you guidance about your filmmaking practice and the construction of your film
offered research support by the PMC in the form of two research sessions with an academic member of the PMC’s senior staff
given guidance from members of PMC staff who will be able to support you clearing copyright in order for you to use footage in your film

The deadline for submission of your completed film will be Friday 20 September at 4pm. Films submitted after this deadline will not be eligible for a cash prize.