Great news for web series producers — and aspiring web series producers.  The Independent Production Fund has confirmed that they will be financing more web series! The IPF’s financial backing is what got Ruby Skye P.I. off the ground so we think this is spectacularly good news.  An influx of cash from the IPF can really get a project going and gives the industry the chance to test creative ideas and business models.

“The creativity of the web series format is exciting and inspiring, but there are a few mysteries yet to solve in this experimental format” noted IPF Chair, Charles Ohayon, “Time is needed to develop appropriate marketing, distribution and business models”.

Yesterday’s press release offered these interesting stats:

The 2010 Pilot Program invested $1.2 M in the production of 11 drama series in English and in French, created for audiences from pre-schoolers to adults, representing 942 minutes of linear drama as well as interactive activities and social media strategies.  Budgets ranged from $300 a minute to $5,000 a minute.  The funded projects were selected from amongst 166 submissions made by Canadian producers and writers from across the country.  The IPF created its own web series dashboard for the series it funds, Wip, available at www.ipf.ca/webseries

Ready to apply?

The deadline for Requests for Proposals for the 2011 Web Series Program is March 2, 2011 March 1, 2011.  The selected short-list of finalist projects will be available by March 28 and complete production applications will be required by May 2.  Funding decisions will be announced in mid-June.   Eligible projects must have a Canadian web host and URL, and be original content designed primarily for the web.  Guidelines are available at www.ipf.ca.

Of course, you probably shouldn’t apply without doing some research. So start out by studying one of the projects IPF has already funded, like, say… Ruby Skye P.I..