Two new funds are being established to aid the screen, TV and film industry in Scotland.
While the film industry waits to hear whether a publicly-funded film studio will be built north of the border, Fiona Hyslop, the culture secretary, has announced the funds - one a tax credit loan fund and the other a skills fund.
The £2m Tax Credit Loan Fund will provide a loan facility to productions in Scotland so that they can access UK film, animation and high-end TV tax credits earlier.
This will help producers in completing the finance of their projects and move them more speedily towards production, the government said.
The £1m Screen Sector Skills Fund will help to provide training and skills development opportunities for people already involved in the screen industry, as well as young people considering a career in screen.
Both funds will be run by Creative Scotland and will run over the financial year 2015/16, starting from April this year.
Skills Development Scotland will play an advisory role for the skills fund.
The Tax Credit Loan Fund is a pilot scheme.
Ms Hyslop said: "Scotland is already widely recognised for our world-class talent, crews, facilities and breath-taking locations, and the Scottish Government and its agencies are committed to working together to continue to create the conditions that enable our screen sector to flourish.
"The funds I am announcing today will assist producers in financing their projects, at the same time as investing directly in our workforce to build on its strengths and address the gaps identified by the sector.
"The Scottish Government recognises and values the vision and the ambition of Scotland's screen sector and we are determined to help it to thrive - and the funds I am announcing today will do this, addressing two pressing needs of the industry."
She added: "We fully understand that Scotland needs greater studio resources for film and high end TV production, and the Scottish Government, Creative Scotland and Scottish Enterprise are continuing to work together with the sector to make this happen.
"The funds I am announcing today will help the industry move from strength to strength."
During meetings with Independent Producers Scotland in February and August last year, 'Financial Transactions' were noted as a possible way of supporting the industry.
Financial Transactions are a form of funding provided by the Treasury for investment purposes
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