Partnership Reignited Between Film Nova Scotia and Independent Production Fund

Lights, camera, click! Film Nova Scotia and the Independent Production Fund have renewed their partnership to fund the Web Drama Series Program.

The program provides equity financing to scripted drama series designed and produced for broadcast on the Internet.

During the pilot program in 2010, 166 applications were submitted from across Canada. After the screening process, $1.2-million dollars was invested in 11 online drama series. Among them was a comedy produced and filmed by Stitch Media, a Halifax based digital media production company, called Moderation Town. It follows the lives of a few not-so-Internet-savvy workers as they are forced to adjust when the local factory closes and is replaced by an Internet moderation company.

Partnering with www.Showcase.ca as national broadcaster and securing sponsorship from ICUC Moderation Services, the series is marking its place in the new industry. As the only series to secure these resources, Moderation Town has become the picture perfect project for the Web Drama Series program.

"The success that Moderation Town experienced because of this program was exactly the outcome we were aspiring for," said Ann Mackenzie, president and CEO of Film Nova Scotia. "We are delighted to be able to continue our partnership with the Independent Production Fund to provide support to new digital platforms, as this is a key priority for us."

Moderation Town's success does not stop there. Stitch Media has announced the series was awarded the next Media Digital Launch Pad Award at the 2011 National Association of Television Program Executives Market and Conference in Miami.

"Film Nova Scotia is providing the industry with a boost by offering the opportunity for producers and creators to obtain financing for their productions," said Stitch Media partner Evan Jones. "Although the trend of online production is growing, there are still limited sources of financing available to web videos without a broadcasting license."

The 2011 Web Drama Series Program is accepting proposals until March 1. Eligible projects must have a Canadian web host and URL, and be original content, designed primarily for the web. Further information and proposal guidelines are available on the Film Nova Scotia website at www.film.ns.ca.

Film Nova Scotia is a provincial Crown agency reporting to the Minister of Economic and Rural Development and Tourism. The corporation provides a wide range of programs and services to support the province's audiovisual industry. With an industry employing almost 3,000 people and contributing over $100 million to the economy annually, Nova Scotia is among the largest production centres in Canada.