Undergraduate Production Grant (UPG) Spring 2024*
The Spring 2024 Undergraduate Production Grant (UPG) opens November 13, 2023 for submissions from undergraduate students who will be enrolled in SCA both winter and spring quarter 2024. Submissions will be accepted November 13 through December 31, 2023. This reimbursable grant fund serves to support undergraduate submissions detailing an achievable and well-construction plan to shoot a film project within the spring 2024 quarter.
Once the submission window is closed to applicants, the faculty-led committee will review each submission. Applicants may be called in to pitch their project in person, to further answer questions from the committee. These pitch sessions will be conducted in early Winter Quarter. Students will be notified in advance if their attendance is required.
After final decisions are made, students will be notified by email of the outcome of the application. For students who are awarded the grants, they must first meet with Sandy Gordon, Manager of Production and Jennifer McClelland, Asst. Dean of Budget Administration to review the guidelines for using these grant funds before moving forward with pre-production planning.
Fund Definition: These grant funds are allocated as reimbursements to the grant recipient directly, for expenses
turned in within two weeks of wrapping production and
no later than June 15, 2024. Once reimbursement requests are made through the system, the grant recipient can expect reimbursement up to thirty days after receipt. Be prepared to self-fund production expenses upfront.
Expenses must be compliant with SCA’s production guidelines outlined in the SCA Student Production Handbook and with SCA Production Grant Disbursement Policies. Students must adhere to the guidelines and have completed the mandatory annual SCA Production Training, all found on SCA Central in D2L. Expenses for items outside of the guidelines will not qualify for reimbursement from this fund.
To submit a project for consideration for this grant:
Upload
one .pdf or .zip file containing all the paperwork listed below. The file must be labeled with the project title. Links to Google Drive or other community platforms to see the files are not acceptable.
If compressing multiple documents into one .zip file, each document within the file must be named with the person’s last name and the name of the type of document. ex: Jones_budget.pdf, Jones_script.pdf.
Submissions must include the following:
- Your name and DePaul email address, Film title, 1-2 sentence Logline.
- A personal statement explaining your project and your goals for producing it, such as: What is your film about? Why did you make this film? What do you hope to accomplish with this film? Who is your target audience?
- Treatment, not to exceed 1 page.
- Film production budget for using these grant funds, not to exceed $5,000. The Undergraduate Production Grant is for production expenses only and does have some restrictions related to travel and talent expenses.
The budget presented for UPG funding must NOT include:
- Post-production costs such as editorial/finishing
- Film festival entry fees or related marketing expenses
- Payment for SAG-AFTRA union talent
- Payment for minors under the age of 16 (including cast or crew)
- Airfare or hotel for cast or crew travel
- Script, not to exceed 15 pages. Scripts may not include elements not allowed per the SCA student production handbook, including fire, driving shots, animals, or filming in large bodies of water.
- Your film’s principal crew list: Director, producer, cinematographer, sound, editor, production designer
If you have any questions or concerns regarding this submission process, please contact
Andrew Stasiulis