Invitation to tender for Channel 4 ‘Entente Cordiale’ slot issued

Channel 4, Scottish Screen and the Scottish Executive have joined forces in an initiative designed to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale between Britain and France.
To mark this year's anniversary, the partners are seeking to commission a series of short films for The Slot, which runs from Monday to Thursday after the Channel 4 News, reaching a nightly audience of one million plus viewers. Each film will be three minutes exactly in length (including titles and credits) and will be predominantly factual with a creative documentary style. This scheme is not focused on drama and therefore short fiction films will not be considered. The films will all be on the theme ‘Paris: The City’ (working title) and will allow talented and innovative Scottish filmmakers to represent their vision of Paris.
The four films will therefore have a consistency of theme across the week but may be stylistically different. Channel 4 are looking for a company to executive-produce the series of short films to their high broadcast standards, meeting all compliance and delivery standards. The selected company will be required to oversee four emergent filmmakers and agree an appropriate budget and shooting schedule for each film.
The tender would suit a smaller company ambitious to grow their network credentials or a company that has a proven commitment to new talent development in Scotland.
The total budget for the project inclusive of overheads and production fee is £40,000, with each of the partners contributing to the scheme.
The films will be broadcast on Channel 4 from September 6-10 2004 (inclusive). Subsequently, the films will be streamed on a purpose built website, dedicated to the Entente Cordiale and managed by the Scottish Executive.
Tenders should outline the company's commitment and capability to deliver a project of this kind. A declaration of interest, with a company CV and an indication of the support that the company can deliver should be submitted to Channel 4 by the end of business on Monday March 1 2004.
(GB)