17 Jun
“The 2011 Workshop will be held at WGBH Boston during the week of Saturday, October 15 through Friday, October 21. It has been developed for producers who create or intend to create works for public broadcasting, either through a station or independently. It is an opportunity for these producers to work intensively on the skills that will benefit them most, through classes and through direct contact with some of public television’s most talented personnel.”
For more info, click here.
30 May
“The Camden International Film Festival is open to all documentary films of any length. We love films that push the artistic boundaries of the form. We also love films that shed light on important issues in the world today. Most importantly, we love a good story. We are also interested in rough cuts and work-in-progress films. If you have a project that you think is ready to share with an engaged audience.”
Submission accepted through July 15, 2011.
For more information, click here.
23 May
I’ve always fantasized about hiring an entire production staff that could work from home. It doesn’t work for everyone, but I work much better in the comforts of my own house (and backyard). While is it possible, many supervisors remain resistant. One reason it is often easier to communicate edit ideas with editors as they edit. This has never been a big hinderance for me personally because I don’t mind being sent, emailed or FTPed a program and then writing up edit notes to send back. Sometimes I feel that I need to sit with the editor for morale sake because they have to go into the office.
Recently, I had the eye-opening experience of working with my editor friend Jenny Gebhardt. I was at work sitting at the Final Cut Pro editing station. She was at home editing on her Final Cut, and; because of screen sharing, I was able to see everything that she was doing. It as a little freaky at first to see the cursor and timeline seemingly moving on their own. One of my colleagues thought I was talking to myself while I was giving Jenny instructions through the computer microphone. Perhaps I am late to the game, but this totally blew my mind! Who needs the overhead when everyone can work remotely? It may be some while before working from home is the norm. But I’ve been ready for it for a while now.
22 Apr
”Our Summer in Tehran” (OST) by Justine Shapiro is being broadcast on public television stations through July 2011 and will air on WHUT in Washington, DC next April 28 & 29th, 2011.
In OST, Justine takes her six-year-old son, Mateo, into the homes of three
Iranian families, and for one hour, religious fundamentalism and nuclear
proliferation take a back seat to subtle, human moments of everyday life.
When Justine sat down with Terry Gross in 2002 to discuss her Academy Award nominated “Promises,” a film about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the eyes of children, she said, “Children are sponges of their environment, and as children, they are malleable. Their own curiosity is a stronger force than the rhetoric or dogma they grow up with.”
Why would Justine, a Jewish American, risk her own safety and that of her
son to make this film?
“I wanted to meet Iranian mothers in their homes, before our sons meet on
the battlefield.” Journalist Evan Hill summarized it well … “These people
who could not seem less like our enemy, might someday find themselves
beneath our bombs. This is a film that Americans need to see sooner rather
than later.”
Yesterday, Ahmadinejad lashed out saying “The West” is to blame for the
unrest in the Middle East. “They are seeking destruction and a reinforcement
of their evil dominance in the region,” he said. Unfortunately, some in the
West believe this leader speaks on behalf of the people who live under his
regime.
But how do Iranians feel about their enemy, the Americans?
And are the human faces and stories in Justine’s film enough to change
attitudes towards Iranians and Muslims in general here in the United States?
You can learn much about Justine and her film at
http://www.oursummerintehran.com.
21 Apr
Crowdsourcing (also known as crowdfunding) is a relatively new term made popular by new media sites that draw on the collective and voluntary knowledge, expertise or support of their visitors or users. If you look up the term “crowdsourcing” via Google’s define function, only 4 definitions appear (“crowdfuning” only has one). Yet, crowdsourcing is increasingly gaining in popularity as a way to raise funds for documentary and series productions.
I have not used crowdsoursing myself but have been invited to donate through crowdsourcing sites such as Kickstarter.com , IndieGoGo.com and RocketHub.com. These sites allow producers to present their ideas and projects then set a monetary fundraising goal (such as $5,000 in completion funds for a documentary) and a time frame. If the target goal is not reached on some sites, the project does not receive the funds. Other sites give the project owner whatever funds are collected. Most sites charge a fee.
Visitors to the project fundraising site are able to donate however much they like and are often offered thank you gifts for certain donated amounts. For example, one project I saw offered the documentary soundtrack to anyone who donated at the $100 level.
I recently that the chance to ask some of my colleagues in the independent production business about their experiences raising money on crowdsourcing sites.
Why did you choose to raise funds through a crowdsourcing site rather than ask family and friends?
Anne Mathilde Coburn: For me, it’s a mix. In many ways, I probably could have gotten cash straight up from family, which has accounted for a good bit of the total, but I like the artificial deadline of Kickstarter–it creates deadline pressure on the part of the donor and the person with the project, which (at least with me, my family and friends) is a real concern in an open-ended fundraising scenario. I would suggest making arrangements with large potential donors to hang back until the last minute in case you have difficulties reaching the end goal. Also, craft a personal letter to everyone you know that hopefully creates an emotional tie between you and your potential donors. The good thing about social media/Kickstarter/crowdsourcing et al, is that if your contacts are in wildly different cities (for me, they’re in New York, DC, and Cleveland), people like to come to a place where they can follow the progress of the film. A blog with a link to the Kickstarter page; the Kickstarter page itself; Twitter updates– all of these things take time, but create a deeper connection between you and your donors/friends.
I’m actually using Kickstarter right now for my thesis film, which is a short narrative piece. I’m trying to raise $5,000. We’re currently at $4,265 with 21 days to go. I should also mention, though, that I have been saving for my thesis film (for 8 months), and have gotten a couple of grants from my university in order to make this film as well.
How involved is the process?
Mary Ratliff: I raised $500 through Kickstarter and I fully believe I would have raised over $400 of that through direct donations without the campaign. If you want to get substantial results through Kickstarter you need to make fundraising almost a full time job with promotions and getting your link out there. Getting your project featured (on their site) is one of the best ways to actually get funding from strangers, which requires a lot links back and forth from your page to and from other websites, people tweeting, etc. You have to work really hard to build your own press because they don’t do any of that for you unless you are already really popular and successful. Also, I’ve been told repeatedly that projects with videos have much, much higher success rates.
Are there any fees involved?
Mary Ratliff: You have to account for the fees that you have to pay to both the crowdsourcing website and their payment processing system (IndieGoGo and Paypal, Kickstarter and Amazon). Depending on the size of the donation, they can run over 10%, but that’s the average.
What are some benefits to fundraising through crowdsourcing sites?
Ishu Krishna: I put up a paypal link for my previous project, and asked people to donate. I got some donations but not a lot. With Kickstarter, it gives me a kick in the butt to be more aggressive with fundraising, and it puts the urgency behind it. I have also had two people contact me through kickstarter to invest large amounts, and not just donate through kickstarter. I am currently in talks with them, and not sure if it will pan out. But it’s two people I am talking to that I didn’t know before.
What types of thank you gifts are you offering?
Emmett Williams:
For more information about crowdsource financing check out this blog post from FilmContact.com. It talks about some interesting crowdsourcing distribution concepts.
Find out more about grants and funding in the grants and funding category.
To purchase a download of the Funding Your Dream Documentary seminar, click here.
19 Apr
PROPOSAL/TREATMENT CHECK LIST
This is the basic format I use for writing a documentary or series proposal. I change it, add to it and rearrange it as needed. Please note that most places where you will submit your proposal, especially for grant funding (check out the Grants and Funding category), will ask for specific information.
Note: Any pictures that can be inserted into the proposal or video that can be sent with the proposal always helps.
13 Apr
“Grants for America’s Media Makers support projects in the humanities that explore stories, ideas, and beliefs in order to deepen our understanding of our lives and our world. The Division of Public Programs supports the development of humanities content and interactivity that excite, inform, and stir thoughtful reflection upon culture, identity, and history in creative and new ways. Grants for America’s Media Makers should encourage dialogue, discussion, and civic engagement, and they should foster learning among people of all ages. To that end, the Division of Public Programs urges applicants to consider more than one format for presenting humanities ideas to the public.”
Click here for information about the NEH production grant. Click here for intormation about the NEH development grant.
Find out more about grants and funding in the grants and funding category.
To purchase a download of the Funding Your Dream Documentary seminar, click here.
8 Apr
Native American Public Telecommincations offers grants from $10,000-$100,000 for documentaries exploring the Native American experience and distributed through public television. ”NAPT shares Native stories with the world through support of the creation, promotion and distribution of Native media.”
Click here for more information.
Find out about grants and funding in the grants and funding category.
To purchase a download of the Funding Your Dream Documentary seminar, click here.
7 Apr
“The goal of Pacific Islanders in Communications is to support the development of national public broadcast programming that enhances public recognition of and appreciation for Pacific Islander history, culture, and society. PIC accomplishes this by nurturing and supporting filmmakers through its Research & Development (R&D), Production, and Completion funds. PIC staff is available to help throughout the application process and to provide feedback on all film proposals.”
The next deadline is July 29, 2011. Click here for more information.
Find out about grants and funding in the grants and funding category.
To purchase a download of the Funding Your Dream Documentary seminar, click here.
6 Apr
“The Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) is a non-profit organization dedicated to presenting stories that convey the richness and diversity of Asian American experiences to the broadest audience possible. [They] do this by funding, producing, distributing and exhibiting works in film, television and digital media.”
The next deadline for funding is May 19, 2011. For more information, click here.
Find out about grants and funding in the grants and funding category.
To purchase a download of the Funding Your Dream Documentary seminar, click here.
