Month: September 2012

Categories
Truly Free Film

Thoughts On Collaboration…

Ah, the windfall of public speaking.  My two stop tour of Sydney & Auckland generated a lot of material.  I did a handful of interviews with some very knowledgeable journalists/filmmakers.  They have been coming to print and pixel. I spoke to Fiona Milburn from Transmedia NZ for the big idea on several subjects.  You can read the whole article here.  Amongst the questions I was asked about collaboration:

The key to collaboration is: the acknowledgement of what you don’t know; respect for the experience and contributions of others; and a general level of openness and discovery.  I don’t think that changes.  It is still at the core of everything.  However,

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Uncategorized

WILDFIRE POST-PRODUCTION SOUND GRANT

Film Independent is now accepting submissions for the Wildfire Post-Production Sound Grant, a complimentary Sound Mix provided by Wildfire Post-Production Studios on a feature film project selected by Film Independent Artist Development.

To be eligible, applicants must be either Film Independent Fellows, alumni of the Los Angeles Film Festival or Spirit Awards nominees/winners. Film Independent will award this grant on or before November 1, 2012.

Sound Package includes:

  • 4 Weeks Supervising Sound Editorial
  • 8 Hours ADR Recording
  • 2 Days Foley Recording
  • 45 Hours Final Mix
  • 9 Hours Final Mix Playback and Fixes
  • 9 Hours Printmaster
  • Sound Deliverables provided on Firewire Drive

Value of services: $40,000. Fulfillment of services is to be scheduled anytime before March 31, 2013, with the exception of the month of January 2013.

Eligibility

  • Applicants must be the director or producer of a feature – narrative or documentary – that is in the rough cut stage.
  • Applicants must be either (a) alumni of Film Independent’s Artist Development programs; (b) alumni of the Los Angeles Film Festival; (c) a past Spirit Award Nominee or Winner; or (d) solicited by Film Independent.
  • All submitted films must be feature length.
  • Applicants must be current Film Independent members.

How to Apply – Applications open September 12, 2012

To be considered for the Wildfire Post Production Sound Grant, qualifying filmmakers must apply on the Film Independent website. Applicants must complete the online application form, which includes:

  • Cover letter explaining your interest in the award
  • Detailed written plan outlining the filmmaker’s post-production process and timeline
  • Budget and detailed outline of funds raised to date
  • Project status and history, including any awards the script has won, talent development programs the project has been developed in, etc.
  • Logline and synopsis
  • Bios of key cast and crew attached
  • Rough cut or final cut of the film on DVD or via URL
  • $35 application fee

Application deadline: October 1, 2012

DVD of the film (rough cut or final cut) must be received by October 8, 2012

Selection Criteria

Film Independent employs the following guidelines in making its selections:

  • Overall quality of the film
  • Strength of post production plan
  • Uniqueness of vision
  • Original, provocative subject matter
  • Well-conceived plan for how to use the award

Overseeing the Award

Film Independent staff will select the winner of the award, oversee the administration of the award to the winning filmmaker and will monitor the services rendered.

If you have questions or need more information, please contact Jennifer Kushner, Director of Artist Development: jkushner@filmindependent.org

 
Categories
Truly Free Film

Diary of a Film Start-Up Part 3: The Producer’s Dilemma

Diary of a Film Start-Up Part 3: The Producer’s Dilemma
By Roger Jackson

Previously: Diary of a Film Start-Up Part 2: Birth of a (Kino)Nation
The Producer’s Dilemma
You probably know the classic movie making conundrum that indie producers struggle with: talent (or rather their agents) won’t commit to a film project until you prove you have funding, and investors won’t write a check until you prove you have talent attached. The producer’s dilemma. And, of course, all successful producers find creative solutions to that thorny issue. KinoNation has a similar challenge: It’s tough to get filmmakers fully committed without video-on-demand distribution outlets in place, and it’s hard to sign VoD outlets without a slate of films.

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Categories
Truly Free Film

Podcast: Everything I Know About Producing (A Start)

Courtesy of Screen Australia, you can now have access to everything I know about producing.  I gave two days of lectures in Sydney at the end of August, and the mic ran into a recording device.  It’s just audio so you don’t get to see my colorful outfits or all the nifty slides I never prepared, but it is the next best thing to being there.

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Categories
These Are Those Things

Proof How Indie Film Requires So Much Support

If we didn’t have the Indie Film support organizations, you wouldn’t have indie films in the theater.  Cinereach, IFP, Film Independent, SxSW, Tribeca, Sundance, and yes, my new home, the San Francisco Film Society — it takes more than a village; it takes a freakin’ army.

The proof is in the pudding.  Look at all the films in theaters this week.  All these films were discovered at Sundance and supported by these various organizations.  Where would they be without them?  And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.  And just the start.  If you don’t go see them — and soon — our very culture will be threatened!

BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD written by Benh Zeitlin and Lucy Alibar and directed by Benh Zeitlin

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/beastsofthesouthernwild/

 

HELLO I MUST BE GOING written by Sarah Koskoff and directed by Todd Louiso

http://hello.oscilloscope.net/

 

KEEP THE LIGHTS ON written by Ira Sachs and Mauricio Zacharias and directed by Ira Sachs

http://keepthelightsonfilm.com/

 

LITTLE BIRDS written and directed by Elgin James

http://littlebirdsmovie.com/

 

SLEEPWALK WITH ME written by Mike Birbiglia, Seth Barrish, and Joe Birbiglia  and directed by Mike Birbiglia and Seth Barrish

http://www.sleepwalkmovie.com/

 

COMPLIANCE written and directed by Craig Zobel

http://www.magpictures.com/compliance/

 

THE WORDS written and directed by Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal

http://www.thewordsmovie.com/

 

Categories
Truly Free Film

How Do You Know You Are Ready To Tell The Story You Are Now Living?

I think many times, in telling our stories our desire exceeds our abilities, even when our talent is up to the task.  How do you know when you are truly ready?  What do you need to know?

Ira Sachs has a new film in the theaters this week, KEEP THE LIGHTS ON, and addressed this issue for the WGA Blog.  He kindly offered to let us repost it here.

by Ira Sachs

It took me nearly 25 years to finally feel ready to write a film about New York. My first job in the city was the summer of 1984, when I was the assistant to Eric Bogosian at his office down on Mott Street, and I moved to the city full-time in 1988. When I started writing feature films, my mind and imagination were still rooted in Memphis, where I had grown up, and where I’d made my first two features, The Delta and Forty Shades of Blue. I lived in NYC, but it was my hometown that I knew from the inside. For me to feel ready to make a film about a place, I need both intimacy and distance. The intimacy with this city came over time, with the creation of memories; the distance came much more slowly.

In many ways, New York grabbed me too hard for me to be able to step outside and look at my life with any clarity.

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Categories
Truly Free Film

When Do You Submit A Project To A Financier Or Distributor? (continued)

I’ve written about this before, and I am sure I will write about this again.  It keeps coming up, both with my own projects and with those I consult on.

I think it is really simple and it is based on both experience and common sense.

It is my belief that there is only one chance to show a script where it will have real impact — and that is when it can be portrayed as “inevitable”.  That is usually when there are both talent and finance commitments — the two components that make a dream real for the industry.

The ideal time to submit a project is

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