Filmmaker Open Call

Scottish Ensemble is seeking to collaborate with an experienced filmmaker in the creation of a visually-striking new documentary film capturing our forthcoming tour, Scottish Creations: Storytelling in Art and Music.

The project takes Scottish Ensemble’s cross-artform work directly into the community, helping us to re-establish a meaningful connection with audiences after Covid-19 and developing new community partnerships. Inspired by the resilience of the UK’s amateur art sector during this challenging time, Scottish Ensemble is partnering with community arts specialists Creative Lives to invite local artists across the country to respond to the theme of storytelling through a range of artforms: visual art, sculpture, poetry, creative writing and photography. These creative responses will form part of an exhibition, celebrating and sharing the diversity and creativity of Scotland.

In May 2022, Scottish Ensemble will tour this exhibition across Scotland, revisiting seven regular touring locations across all four corners of the country. In each location, Scottish Ensemble will perform a programme of c.40 minutes of iconic music based on the project’s theme, including a brand new commission by Ailie Robertson. After the show will be a more communal session showcasing the diversity of Scottish Ensemble’s music-making, featuring smaller chamber groups and a broad range of music genres. Audiences will be invited to explore the exhibition before the performance and during the interval, and all submissions will be shared via a digital exhibition during and after the tour.

We are looking to create a documentary film to bring the project to life on screen. The project has storytelling at its heart: we hope the film would tell not only the story of our musicians heading back out on tour but also the local stories our local creators are sharing. The project would aim to celebrate the geographical and social diversity of Scotland, give audiences entry into a world they don’t usually have access to and demonstrate the impact of everyday creativity.

Audience: The project aims to engage our usual concert-going audiences as well as new online audiences unaware of our work or unfamiliar with classical music in general, but who are looking for interesting digital experiences. The project forms part of a series focusing on finding a new filmic language for classical music on screen. We want to bring our innovative approach to live performance into a digital context and work with experienced filmmakers to devise and deliver something that captures the dynamic energy of the ensemble.

Outputs: We are open to the final format of the film, but envisage seven standalone short videos that capture each of the seven touring locations. In addition we would like to capture one full concert performance as part of the tour, to be shared as a standalone video. The final product must be easily accessible (i.e. no special technology required to experience it) and reflect the high quality output of Scottish Ensemble’s live experiences. The video will be shared for free online via the Scottish Ensemble YouTube channel.

Timeline: Filming to take place from 19 to 29 May 2022, with access to rehearsals on 17-18 May 2022 if required. Editing to take place directly after filming to allow for launch by end of July 2022.

Budget: £9,000 to cover all visual elements of the project (crew, equipment hire, editing); audio recording and sound engineer costs for the concert performance will be budgeted for and organised separately. Travel and accommodation for one person to be provided by Scottish Ensemble, including the option of transport of equipment via the company van.

How to apply: If you are interested in being considered for the project, please submit a pitch document of no more than two pages outlining the following:

–       why you would like to be involved in the project

–       what your approach to meeting the aims of the film would be

–       roughly how you would allocate the budget

–       examples of relevant previous work

Deadline for applications is 12 noon on Monday 24 January 2022. If you have any questions about the project, contact Producer Stuart Burns or call him on 0141 332 4747.