After testing with a couple of insiders, I had a scoop. UPDATED on 3 August

Am I thus far the only commentator or observer who got to the end of the recent SA report on distribution. Buried away in the previous post was this bit of information, which is really about public investment in production, in the next para.

"Through the Multiplatform Drama program Screen Australia invests in the production of narrative projects that take risks and push the envelope of fiction storytelling on traditional and non-traditional platforms. Applications may be for any amount up to $500,000 per project. ...To date, Screen Australia has received no applications for low-budget feature films through this program. " (my underlining).

I 'd love this to become something that's debated and discussed. I cant believe that some adventurous spirits cant work their way over whatever hurdles there are to making a movie under these rules and limitations. And I assume that cheapjack genre ripoffs are not what Screen Australia has in mind. 

Since publishing the above post, industry sleuth Don Groves has got t the gravamen of the matter with a report published today here on the Inside Film website.

Key points in Don's post are the conditions to attract a grant. 

The fund, which has $4.2 million to invest this financial year, is willing to support feature-length projects from applicants who have a significant social media audience.

That’s defined as a channel with more than 100,000 subscribers or followers, or a video with more than 1 million views and at least 25,000 subscribers.

The creative team must include a producer and director with at least one credit on a comparable project which has been publicly released.

The program’s remit is to invest in the production of narrative projects that take risks and push the envelope of fiction storytelling on traditional and non-traditional platforms. 

They could be comedy or drama projects distributed on any platform (including traditional TV, online web series, tablet, mobile and PC based distribution) or on multiple platforms.

An online platform must form a central element of the project’s distribution plan.