Financing
Filmmaking - Financing
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Team-Building, Data Science and the Business Plan: Dogfish Accelerator’s New Film Financing Model
Not long after he founded Dogfish Pictures in 2009, producer James Belfer sensed an industry-wide disconnect between content creation and return on investment. Filmmakers, he gleaned, were concerned with short-term assets, agreeing to sell their film to distributors for a fixed sum that was a mere fraction of the eventual profit. In order to capture the full value of their content, filmmakers would need a new set of marketing tools and a fair bit of elbow grease. Belfer felt that any of these strategies would not be found in the traditional film industry at all, but rather, in the tangential […]
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Jeff Reichert and Farihah Zaman to Direct TFI/Rockefeller-Funded Sandy Doc
It’s been less than a year since Hurricane Sandy blasted New York and the TriState area, but already it has had a number of representations in film and transmedia, from Sandy Storylines to the narrative Stand Clear of the Closing Doors and the upcoming Sandy relief concert 12-12-12. Now to that list can be added a new title — and arguably the most definitive work about Sandy yet — This Time Next Year, directed by Remote Area Medical‘s Jeff Reichert and Farihah Zaman. (Full disclosure: Zaman is a regular Filmmaker contributor.) Uniquely, the project, which “tracks the resilience of Long […]
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My Crowdfunding Crash Course: 14 Tips from The Royal Road
After my very successful crowdfunding campaign this summer I’ve been asked repeatedly for tips and advice by numerous other filmmakers. In the spirit of helpful guidance (and to make it easier to deal with as people keep asking me to share this info) here are my tips and guidelines. I did my campaign on Kickstarter but these guidelines are equally applicable on Indiegogo and other platforms. 1) Make sure your description is compelling, as concise as possible and conveys urgency. Click the link to see mine — you can decide whether you think it’s compelling, but in any case it […]
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How the JOBS Act and Equity Crowdfunding Will Impact Indie Film
Yesterday was the day that “equity crowdfunding” becomes a legal means to raise investor money. For the last 80 years, companies have been required to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or a state entity in order to publicly solicit investors and advertise the sale of securities. On April 5,2012, President Obama signed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, popularly known as the JOBS Act. Now, a year and a half later, it is taking effect. The federal bureaucracy grinds slowly. The first fundamental change in fundraising occurs because companies can now solicit “accredited investors,” those covered under […]
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What’s Your Proudest Career Accomplishment? Jeff Skoll Talks Participant Media at TIFF
When he was 16 growing up in Montreal, Jeff Skoll saw Gandhi and it changed his world. “Here was a way of talking about an exemplary figure who touched the world and spread a message to millions of people.” Skoll would go on to build eBay, amass a fortune currently estimated at $4.5 billion, then use his wealth to launch Participant Media, a film company whose mission is to change the world through movies. Skoll was the keynote speaker at TIFF’s industry series recently. He was in Toronto, where he studied business as a young man, to open the festival […]
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Seven Tips on How to Utilize Your Audience from Peter Broderick
The IFP Independent Filmmaker Conference’s “Blitz Wisdom” panels are quick, TED-like talks from filmmakers and folks in the industry discussing their projects and/or offering tips and pointers. During Monday’s “Blitz Wisdom” session with Peter Broderick, President of Paradigm Consulting (helping filmmakers develop distribution and social media strategies), we learned some great tips on how maintaining a relationship with your audience after they’ve left the theater can help you develop a sustainable model of revenue. Here are Broderick’s seven key ways your audience can be utilized to help your independent project: 1. Direct Funding – Once you’ve identified your audience and have their […]
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Be Natural: Interview with documentary filmmakers Pamela Green and Jarik van Sluijs
Filmmakers Pamela Green and Jarik van Sluijs have worked on documentaries in various roles including as co-producer of the Emmy-nominated documentary Bhutto. Their company, PIC Agency, has produced titles for movies including 42 and The Kingdom, and they have also produced content for award shows, commercials and other productions. “People come to us to add to the story when you can’t turn the camera back on,” says Green. They have specialized in creating new content by combining graphics, stock footage, new footage and editorial. These techniques should be especially useful for their first documentary, Be Natural, about the first female […]
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Griffith. Chaplin. Pickford. Guy-Blaché?
Though you may not know the name, you certainly should. Alice Guy-Blaché was the first female filmmaker in history, yet few people know her name today. Thankfully, two filmmakers are seeking to change that. Los Angeles-based directors Pamela Green and Jarik van Slujis are currently raising funds through Kickstarter for Be Natural, the first ever in-depth documentary exploring the life and films of Alice Guy-Blaché. It all started when Green happened to catch a segment of a TV-documentary called Reel Models: The Women of Film, about women pioneers of cinema. They very briefly mentioned Alice Guy among a few familiar names. “I […]
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Pitch to the Pros at IFP’s Filmmaker Conference
Think you’ve already thought of the next best film idea? Pitch it! Filmmaker magazine is happy to be co-presenting the Pitch Panels at this year’s IFP Independent Film Week and Filmmaker Conference. Five days of panels and presentations meant to educate and energize emerging filmmakers, the Filmmaker Conference is your place for inspiration, action and community, September 15-19, at Lincoln Center in New York City. Impressing your friends and family at the dinner table with your pitch is one thing, but with these exciting sessions, filmmakers of all stripes have the chance to dazzle a panel of industry experts who […]
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Rooftop Grants Past and Present
As the summer draws to a close, another year of Rooftop Films grants is upon us. The New York-based nonprofit, though perhaps best known for its alfresco screenings across the four major boroughs, also functions as a dedicated support system to independent filmmakers in various stages of the production process. Beyond the traditional cash grants, Rooftop offers assistance in the form of equipment, workshops and post-production services. Those who have previously screened at the festival are exclusively eligible for grants through the Rooftop Filmmakers’ Fund, ensuring a continued, symbiotic partnership between exhibitor and artist. As such, this year’s recipients feature […]
