Open a DIY Community Filmmaking Studio Edinburgh

Aim

Help us raise the funds to convert an Edinburgh workshop into an accessible DIY community filmmaking studio.

We have the opportunity to empower the grassroots filmmaking scene in Edinburgh.

This is an ambitious project to bring the advanced tools, facilities and creative environment needed for independent filmmaking to the vibrant grassroots scene already active across Edinburgh.

The film industry is often an exclusive space where only a small number of people can sustain a career. Although many talented filmmakers do manage to survive within in it, through immense persistence, and sacrifice, the system itself remains hard to access and is unevenly supportive.

When the access to professional tools, space and knowledge is out of reach, many voices never get the chance to develop. Audiences and filmmakers alike suffer from this weak diversity. We must work to correct it.

So instead of accepting defeat in the face of an elite and inaccessible art form, we are building something different.

We're transforming a workshop space in Edinburgh into an open-access filmmaking hub, where filmmakers can meet, rehearse, build props, sets and costumes, edit their films, mix audio, music and screen their work, all under one roof.

Filmmaking doesn't belong to the industry, it belongs to people. And no one belongs here more than you.

Rather than focusing on just one part of filmmaking, the space will support the entire creative process through pre-production, production and post-production.

We are planning a phased roll-out starting with the first of two workshop areas. The following is just one visualisation of how that space could be utalised, while in reality we plan to hold community consultations in the space to direct what is built.

The space will grow and evolve over time directed by the people who use it, but some examples of what we're planning (over time and across the second workshop area) include:

• Craft workbenches and tools for prop, costumes & set design 
• Edit bays equipped with software for editing, colour grading, virtual production, animation, and digital design
• Audio mix booth for audio, foley, VO, podcast, and music production
• Backdrop cove / greenscreen corner for interviews, vfx, photography
• Access to large format printer for posters and production materials
• Screening space for rough cuts, WIP's, events
• Storage for your projects (get your props/costumes/set dec out of your flat!)
• Hot-desking for laptop work, meetings, rehearsals etc.
• Dark room
• Stop motion studio
• Integration with our existing community equipment/costume/prop sharing project.

The Film Cult is a group of people brought together by the shared experience of mainstream professional filmmaking failing us.

The industry glorifies long hours, poor mental wellbeing and burnout under the false pretence that it is all necessary, whether for the sake of art, or the industry's bottom line. Industry workers report much higher rates than the national average of poor mental health, harassment, bullying and discrimination. On top of that, large portions of the workforce juggle insecure contracts, with little support between gigs.

For many these conditions are simply inhospitable, or find their practice has become unsustainable. As such we are loosing many talented artists and voices.

Rather than waiting for the industry to change, we began building an alternative support system.

That's why we built The Film Cult, a grassroots alternative empowering filmmakers outside of the system.

Over the past two years we have been quietly building the foundations of a shared, community led filmmaking infrastructure.

In that time we've managed to:

• Support over 400 local teams through an equipment sharing project, with filmmakers taking out over £200,000 worth of professional lighting, sound, camera, rigging, accessibility & safety equipment.
• Run 'Projections' a free monthly screening, sharing and feedback night, welcoming artists of all kinds to share their work, exchange ideas and get community feedback.
• Built an indie filmmaking locations database for sharing location information, costs, accessibility and production guidance.

Opening up this space to independent, grassroots filmmaking is the next step in this mission and we need your support to make it a reality.

Supporting this project goes deeper than building space, its also maintaining our mission to support those of us the film industry fails.

We practice a horizontal structure where participants in the group all get a say in decision making. We plan to extend this practice into this space, meaning members won't just be users of the space and will have a real influence over how it develops and operates.

By building this structure into the studio, we hope to create an ongoing feedback loop where ideas can be shared, improvements suggested and concerns raised openly.

Our aim is that this studio is not just stewarded by the founding team, but by the community that uses it.

Our pricing model isn't about profit, we're designing it to cover the rent, bills and running costs of the studio so it can remain open for the community.

We’ve been consulting with filmmakers, creatives, and collaborators in our network to understand what an affordable pricing & payment structure might look like. Our goal is to keep the cost of access as low as humanly possible, while still ensuring the space can survive long-term.

To make that possible, we need some help from the community that helped inspire this space in the first place.

If you've benefited from our work, or simply believe in the mission, we’re asking you to contribute what you can to help us get this studio off the ground. 

Your support now helps create a space that will support many more filmmakers in the years ahead.

We have already secured the license to use the space which means the project is ready to move forward. The funds raised now will allow us to transform that space into a functional resourced studio.

The money raised will go towards two key areas:

1. Studio Kit-Out

This includes the essential equipment and infrastructure needed to make the space useful from day one such as computers, creative software's, hardware and furniture for workstations and collaborative areas.

2. Rent in Reserve

A portion of the funds will be set aside as a short term rent reserve. This gives us the breathing room needed to move in, finish setting up the studio and gradually build a user base without putting the space at risk in its early months.

We expect the split to look something like below:

What if I'm not in a position to contribute financially?

Please reach out and see what we're currently working on, we're literally on site everyday doing the work to get it up and running.

• Do you know anyone with a spare monitor, speaker, extension cord, chair, desk etc.? Let us know!

And the good old word of mouth also plays a huge part in these kinds of projects getting the attention they need to fully materialise.

This studio will only exist if we come together now.

With the space now secured, we have a rare opportunity to build something powerful, a place where anyone can develop projects, collaborate and grow their work without the usual barriers of cost or access.

We have seen a steady bleed from Edinburgh as creatives go elsewhere in search of film opportunities. It's time we supported ourselves and created a scene on our doorstep. Please consider donating towards this initiative.

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made