| Required Documents | |
|---|---|
| Production Budget Template | Download template |
| Final Reporting Documents | |
|---|---|
| Final Report Form | Download template |
| Distribution Report | Download template |
Frequently Asked Questions
Only series that are funded through the current calendar year’s Short Form Series Development Program, and have submitted all required deliverables on time, are eligible to apply to the Production Program in the same year.
No. You are only eligible to apply to the Production Program in the same calendar year.
No, if you receive financing from the Short Form Series Development Program, you are only eligible to apply to the Production Program in the same calendar year.
No, a platform is not required to meet eligibility. However, having a platform licence or letter of interest will help with the evaluation of the application.
It is not required for the Production Program, but having other sources of confirmed financing will make your application more competitive.
No. We only fund scripted short form series, which are scripted and performed by actors.
A select number of projects will be approved for production financing, with funding provided as an equity investment of up to $250,000 per project.
Yes, it is acceptable to request the full amount of funding, and doing so is not viewed negatively.
Although you are free to use the budget template of your choice, we strongly recommend that you use the IPF production budget template which is commonly used by other funds for short form series.
The proof of concept is a short video that effectively conveys your concept and demonstrates your technical and creative skills.
You do not have to publish your proof of concept video online. However, we do require a robust analysis of audience analytics as part of your application. Most past applicants have found that publishing online and leveraging social media is an effective way to gather this data and engage with a potential audience.
If you choose not to publish online, other approaches can be considered, such as focus groups, private screenings, or sharing the video via a private link with a targeted sample audience to collect feedback and data.
Whatever method you choose, ensure it provides strong and insightful analytics.
No. The purpose of the proof of concept video is to gather meaningful and relevant insights about your target audience and their reception of the project. The quality of the insights is far more important than the number of views. The information you gather should be used to inform your audience engagement plan you are submitting as part of your application.
There is no specific maximum or minimum length required by the IPF. The video should be long enough to effectively convey your concept, demonstrate your technical and creative skills—but we recommend keeping it concise.
Some other funders may have specific length requirements, so you should take this into account if you’re planning on applying elsewhere.
No, you are not required to use your final cast. You may choose to work with your intended cast if possible, but it is not mandatory for the proof of concept video.
A sustainability plan is a document containing a list of actions that will help to minimize a production’s impact on the environment. Actions related to travel and transport, materials, food, energy use, locations, accommodation, waste and more should be included.
The plan should be detailed, complement your production schedule, and you should ensure that you are taking actions that make a noticeable emissions difference, are feasible and contain steps to make it a natural integration into your existing production cycles. You should be building on the checklist you submitted as part of your development application, and figuring out how to make those commitments actionable.
No. You may use any template that suits your production’s specific needs, combine templates, or create your own.
If you would like examples of pre-existing templates, you can find CBC’s here https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kFUBNTdSXIvFcSeRMlIYS5exhqD6kgdC/view, CMF’s here https://cmf-fmc.ca/document/sustainability-plan/ and Telefilm’s here https://telefilm.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Project-Financing-Sustainability-Plan-Template-May-2023-EN-Examples.pdf.
A draft carbon footprint is important as it helps you see which areas of the production are likely to have the highest carbon impact. You can use your budget and schedule (where possible) to complete the draft.
Once you have your draft carbon footprint, you can use your sustainability plan to tackle the highest sources of emissions. The goal is that by the end of production your final footprint is lower than your initial draft.
No, currently the sustainability plan and draft carbon footprint are not being evaluated. They will be reviewed for feasibility and relevancy to the production and to understand key industry trends and challenges related to sustainable action. This is primarily a document to prepare the producers and core creative team for the sustainable action and climate storytelling they will take during the production of their series. Both the plan and draft footprint will be used as comparison to report against after the completion of production.
Applicants of the Short Form Series Production Program will be notified in November.
Projects are assessed based on analysis of creative materials and production team, production strategies, scheduling, budget and financing, business and distribution strategies, marketing, promotion and audience engagement plans, revenue projections and recoupment potential and any confirmed financing, distributors or streaming platforms.
The primary criterion for acceptance by the Funds will be the quality of the project.
No.
No, it is in the form of equity investment. As an equity investor, the IPF will participate financially via a percentage of profits made from the series or any subsequent works.
Yes, if you repay your total investment, the IPF will continue to participate financially as long as the series or any subsequent works makes revenue.
No, any revenue is distributed on a pro rata basis to all equity investors at the same time.
Upon confirmation of funding, you will be issued a commitment letter that will detail the terms of the financing. This letter will contain a schedule of IPF’s expectations.