Introduction to co-productions – how to fund your projects

As part of our Step Up strand, we're offering training to help individuals coming back into the industry after a break, moving into a new role or responsibility level, or improving skills in unscripted TV. 

This course de-mystifies the process of brokering distributor advances, co-productions, deficit funding and tax credits and runs through some of the common pitfalls involved.

Who it's for

The course is aimed at creatives and production executives, and production managers working in unscripted TV, who are seeking alternative funding to top up factual budgets. 

The majority of the Unscripted Skills Fund (USF) online short course offering is for those at early career stage and above. As a result, we generally require applicants to have at least three credits (unless working in a traditionally uncredited role). If you strongly feel you would still benefit from the training, please email USF@screenskills.com so we can assess if an exception should be made.

We are committed to ensuring all our courses are accessible to everyone. This course is designed to be as interactive as possible. Please email the above address if you have any access requirements and we will be delighted to help, be that clarifying the form such interaction is likely to take or discussing reasonable adjustments.

What it covers

You have a factual project you believe in editorially but your broadcaster can only pay a percentage of the budget. How can you get the film/series made? We look at the options and issues around different types of additional funding. This will include:

• Sourcing funding from multiple broadcasters
• Using distributor advances and pre-sales for your project
• Putting together your finance plan
• Negotiating the co-production deals
• Holding on to IP
• Managing windowing and premieres
• Editorial requirements and deliverables – what are you signing up for?
• Managing the cash flow
• Short introduction to tax credits

A quick guide to all things co-pro, the course will consist of trainer led PowerPoint presentations and practical work in break out rooms.

Speaker:

Birte Pedersen is an experienced head of production and production consultant. She was head of production at Windfall Films for many years, where she worked on numerous science, engineering and actuality shows for UK and international broadcasters, including BAFTA-winning ‘Murder Trial’ and Digital Emmy-winning ‘D-Day as it Happens.’ Before joining Windfall, she was head of production at Oxford Film and TV, working with presenters such as Kevin McCloud and Terry Jones. She was company production manager at Impossible Pictures, where she oversaw large-scale CGI projects in the ‘Walking with Dinosaurs’ strand. She worked with documentary-maker Sue Bourne at Wellpark Productions and was a producer on archive films for Flat Earth/British Movietone News.

Birte is an industry reviewer at the National School for Film and Television and has run returning PM courses for The Grierson Trust funded by Netflix.

How to apply

This session will take place online via Zoom. Click ‘apply now’ at the top of the page and follow the instructions to apply for your place: you must login or register before you are able to complete your application.

If you need additional support to complete your application or require the application form in an alternative format please contact USF@screenskills.com

Places on these free online courses are limited and applications are often highly competitive. To stand the best chance of securing a place, please be sure to consider the following:

• When asked to list your three most recent credits, please include the programme title and your job role.
• When asked what you hope to gain from the course, please be concise but ensure you cover the specific elements of the topic you would like to gain knowledge of and what gaps in your skillset you believe the course may address. A rewording of the course title or a general comment on career progression does not tell us much about how this course would benefit you.

If you are no longer able to attend, we ask you to please use the 'decline ticket' function on the right hand side of the page so that we can release your place. Our sessions are often oversubscribed, so we’d like to give other freelancers the opportunity to fill available spots. Thank you for your consideration.

This session is supported by the ScreenSkills Unscripted TV Skills Fund which invests in training for the unscripted workforce thanks to contributions from broadcasters, SVoDs and production companies.

This course would normally cost participants to attend, but thanks to this support, we are able to offer it to you for free. If you fail to attend, we reserve the right to request reimbursement of costs, unless your place can be taken by someone else.