Archive for the ‘Documentary’ tag
THE RIGHT WAY TO APPROACH CROWDFUNDING
I’ve long followed Peter Broderick and even used his consulting services on Skatopia. In this article he outlines how the phenomenon of crowdfunding can be done right… or wrong. Worth a read.
Peter Broderick, the president of Paradigm Consulting and a guru of the digital distribution revolution, was on hand to moderate a panel about crowdfunding at the 2011 Film Independent Forum. He brought
Peter Broderick and Nick Lewis speak at the 2011 Film Independent Forum
with him the masterminds behind two highly successful crowdfunding campaigns; the team for I AM I an indie narrative written and directed by Jocelyn Towne, and Nick Lewis, co-director of the soccer doc, Rise and Shine: the Jay Demerit Story. Ready to start soliciting money from people you know and people you don’t? These tips come straight from the experts!
- Make a really really really good video. I mean it, it has to be really good. The director and producers of the film I Am I had set a goal of $100,000 and ended up raising over $111,000! You know why? The director made an extremely fun and personal video that really connected with people she knew and didn’t know. When I say “good” it doesn’t have to be slick, well-edited, or even clever. It just needs to touch a people on a personal level, something that most internet videos fail to do.
- Have a strategy. Ok, this one seems obvious, but all the really successful crowdfunding campaigns had a very detailed strategy that took at least a month to plan out. What is your fundraising goal, what will be your rewards structure, who will you target first? Second? Third? How will you keep your donors engaged throughout the campaign? What is your website going to look like (Yes, you definitely need to make a separate website for your film). If you can plan it out and execute it smartly, you’re much more likely to reach your crowdfunding goal.
- Who is your audience? This is, of course, part of your strategy, but it’s a huge one. Nick Lewis had a fairly easy time of identifying his audience – soccer fans! The producers of the film needed over $215,000 for their film (for licensing, rights, etc) and they raised around $223,000! You’d be right if you said a lot of their donors were European soccer fans. Be smart about who your audience is and market to them. (Marketing is part of the whole strategy-thing).
- Pick the Crowdfunding platform that’s right for your project. What’s the difference between IndieGoGo and Kickstarter? IndieGoGo allows you to keep the money, regardless of whether you’ve reached your goal – however, they take a larger percentage of the money on the back end. Kickstarter is all or nothing – if you don’t reach your goal, all the money gets refunded to the donors, but they also take a smaller percentage of the money in fees. There are a few other differences as well which you will need to research before deciding which one is the best for you, but those are the big ones.
- Have a schedule. Make sure you spend the money that you’ve raised crowdfunding in the same year that you received it! Otherwise things will get hairy on your tax returns, and you may end up claiming it as income and having to pay a lot in income taxes before you even get to use the money!
The best way to figure out how to run your campaign is to peruse both Kickstarter and IndieGoGo. Look for patterns and trends with what works and what doesn’t. With crowdfunding taking off in this day and age, you’re chances of successfully raising funds will be a lot better if you take the time to research it!
– by Film Independent Fellow Shilpi Roy for Film Independent
Film Threat – Skatopia: 88 Acres Of Anarchy
This new review on Film Threat spends so much time talking about Skatopia the place… it makes me think he must’ve liked the movie!
SKATOPIA: 88 ACRES OF ANARCHY
If someone told you that a bastion of pure, unadulterated freedom exists in the United States, where would you expect to would find that place? Unless your answer is “in the middle of nowhere, Ohio,” you’re probably wrong.
Brewce Martin’s Skatopia, all 88 acres of it, floats out in the Ohio wilderness. Part skate park, park skateboarding legacy and museum and part anarchistic commune, it’s a grimy bubble of pure freedom; a skateboarder’s dream and end-of-the-world Thunderdome all at the same time. Drop by and party at their huge blowouts, live on site, skateboard, set your car on fire, have your own demolition derby, engage in an orgy of fireworks (or just a regular orgy)… anything goes at Skatopia.
Laurie House & Colin Powers’ Skatopia: 88 Acres of Anarchy offers an unflinching gaze at what this complete freedom looks like, for better or worse.Continued…
Sundance Award winning Documantary “If a Tree Falls” – watch now on PBS
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation FrontWatch the full episode. See more POV.
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front explores two of America’s most pressing issues — environmentalism and terrorism — by lifting the veil on a radical environmental group the FBI calls America’s “number one domestic terrorism threat.” Daniel McGowan, a former member of the Earth Liberation Front, faces life in prison for two multimillion-dollar arsons against Oregon timber companies. What turned this working-class kid from Queens into an eco-warrior? Marshall Curry (Oscar®-nominated Street Fight, POV 2005) provides a nuanced and provocative account that is part coming-of-age story, part cautionary tale and part cops-and-robbers thriller.
Skatopia hits PBS… Brewce & Laurie Video Interview
Laurie House and Brewce Martin of Skatopia are interveiwed by Thom Hallock of Mountain Lake Journal about Skatopia: 88 Acres of Anarchy. The movie will be playing June 11 at 11PM at the Lake Placid Film Forum.
Athens Film Festival Photos – Better late than never
This is an older post that I forgot to put up… oops!
We had a fantastic pair of screenings in Athens, OH. Sold out twice. Here are some images.
Out front of the classic Athena Theater courtesy David Hooker
Selections from Skatopia's museum
Brewce Martin's mom Pat came out
Brewce brought a high school sweetheart - Susie
Producer’s Resource: Writing a Better Treatment
Below is an invaluable tool for anyone seeking to write a pitch document for a grant, private investor, foundation or broadcaster. I’ve been referring to it for several years and re-read every six months or so. I’d add to the discussion several key points:
1) Describe (early in your treatment) what you want to accomplish with the project – is it a call to action?: Do you hope to get people to start a garden, cherish their kids, write their congressman, discuss your story with their friends, boycott the mall? Or is it a personal exploration? By exploring your sexuality, probing your family’s past, or creating animated fantasy worlds you hope to inspire others to reflect on the universal stories we share. Even if your project is a “straightforward” history doc or science show – try and define what reactions you are hoping it will stimulate in your audience. This will help define your entire project.
2)Consider your print format: find ways to bullet or break up your key points into quickly readable bites (you never know if you’ll be pitching this in person and your audience chooses to grab your paper and scan it while you talk.) Nothing is less appetizing than a solid mass of text with narrow margins and few paragraphs – no matter how well written.
3) Be sure to consider the ways that your project will stand out from others under consideration. What storytelling innovation are you bringing? Do you have a niche audience? Do you have 5000 followers on Facebook? Is there a video game or app attached to the project? Will you be screening on rooftops? Today, more than ever, funders are looking for innovation.
WRITING A BETTER ITVS TREATMENT
“If a story is in you, it has got to come out.”
- William FaulknerTREATMENT
In the treatment section of the ITVS proposal we ask you to communicate your passion and to explain how you envision translating your story from page to screen – taking into account structure, theme, style, format, voice and point-of-view. What do these words really mean? Here, members of the programming staff offer notes on writing an effective treatment. Remember, these are only suggestions; your treatment will undoubtedly be unique – tailored to the specific demands of your story.PASSION
When writing the treatment, don’t be afraid to infuse your words with passion. Your excitement and sense of urgency should be contagious.STRUCTURE
Like the frame of a house, or a human skeleton, structure holds up all the parts of a story, supporting and organizing the elements into a coherent and interrelated dramatic whole. Structure determines how the story will unfold dramatically, how it will build – moving through moments of tension and conflict – from beginning to middle to end. Structure is the road a reader takes through the dramatic terrain of the program.Article continues…
Mountain Lake PBS talks up Skatopia – who’d ah thunk it? Tonight at 8:30 – Tomorrow Online
This Week on EXTRA
June 3rd, 2010 @ 8:30pm
LAKE PLACID FILM FORUM
The Lake Placid Film Forum is celebrating 10-years, with special guests including actors Hal Holbrook, Parker Posey, and authors William Kennedy and Jay Parini. The festival host screenings of 2 locally produced films, The Summers of Walter Hacks by Vermont filmmaker George Woodard; and Skatopia: 88 Acres of Anarchy by filmmakers Colin Powers and Laurie House from Essex, New York.
For information on events and screenings: www.lakeplacidfilmforum.comSKATOPIA
We’ll talk with filmmaker Laurie House and Brewce Martin, who is the force behind the outrageous skateboard park in rural Appalacia.
DOUBLE FEATURE
Our film critic Rick Kisonak has his own mini-film-festival with a double feature of 2 of the summer blockbusters: Robin Hood and Macgruber.
Skatopia at the Lake Placid Film Forum!!
It’s fair to say that this’ll be the only time Skatopia shares the bill with Hal Holbrook and Parker Posey! Come check us out in Lake Placid – June 11th at 11 PM!
skatopia: 88 acres of anarchy. june 11 at 11.
May 25, 2010 by tjbrearton
There’s a lot of talk out there about anarchy, about anti-establishmentarianism. There’s a lot of talk about living the dream. The creator of the real-place “Skatopia” and his constituents are doing it. Skating, hedonism, and the impulses of the id reign. Not for the faint of heart, “Skatopia” delves into the philosophies of aggressive patriarch Brewce Martin, a self-described dictator, and the mythos of his disciples, prone to foul mouths, crash-up derby driving, and escaping from realities of life outside the park. Director of Programming for MLPBS Colin Powers and filmmaker Laurie House helm this down and dirty documentary.
“He comes to Skatopia for genuine reasons…to skateboard, get drunk, and [get] chicks….”
- Brewce, describing a regular visitor
Come for the skating, stay for the life.
Showing at the Lake Placid Film Forum Friday June 11th, at 11pm, Palace Theatre. Followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers.
Producer’s Academy Take 2
I really didn’t mean for these to appear in alphabetical order, but here’s a teaser for fellow student Mark Barroso’s film A Puppet Intervention. When I read about it I thought I knew what I’d see (seen lots of activist puppet stuff living in Philly, Eugene, Berkeley). These have to be seen to be appreciated. Obviously a nice light touch with the filmmaking and some cool verite moments.
“A Puppet Intervention” movie trailer from Mark Barroso on Vimeo.
Lobby group wants to make docs a priority for Public Television
Lobby group wants to make docs a priority for PSBs
by Kelly Anderson
At the recent Hot Docs festival, MercuryMedia CEO Tim Sparke took the opportunity to announce the launch of the Documentary Distributors’ Association, a group that aims to lobby public service broadcasters to consider airing more documentaries.
Sparke says the idea behind the Documentary Distributor’ Association came from MercuryMedia chairman and former ITV director of television Simon Shaps. “He felt it was something that the industry really needed,” says Sparke. Shaps will be chairman of the DDA, while Sparke’s role right now is to get the word out and get the first 10 distributor members on board.
The main goal is to approach public service broadcasters to get docs back on their schedules. “It’s about documentary fighting – and I use that word guardedly – for an enhanced position within television schedules and on other platforms,” says Sparke. “There’s no doubt in my mind that television is still the preeminent place for telling people about what’s going on in the world and documentary is the single most important tool [for] telling people that.”
Judge Rules That Filmmaker Must Give Footage to Chevron
Juan Diego Pérez/Entendre Films An Ecuadorean cancer victim’s reflection in an oil-polluted stream near her home in the documentary “Crude.”
5:10 p.m. | Updated
A federal judge in Manhattan on Thursday granted a petition by Chevron to issue a subpoena for hundreds of hours of footage from a documentary about the pollution of the Amazon rainforests of Ecuador and the oil company’s involvement.
Judge Lewis A. Kaplan of United States District Court said that the director Joe Berlinger would have to turn over more than 600 hours of footage from his documentary “Crude.” The film, which was released last year, chronicles the Ecuadorians who sued Texaco (now owned by Chevron) saying the operations of the companies’ oil field at Lago Agrio contaminated their water.
Pitch Perfect at the Toronto Documentary Forum
Dispatch from Toronto | Hot Docs ’10: Pitch Perfect at the Toronto Documentary Forum
by Basil Tsiokos (May 7, 2010)
The scene at the Toronto Documentary Forum. Photo courtesy of Hot Docs/Joseph Michael.Hundreds of broadcasters, funders, filmmakers, and other observers convened this Wednesday and Thursday morning for the Toronto Documentary Forum, North America’s largest documentary market, as part of the ongoing Hot Docs film festival. Led for the second year by Elizabeth Radshaw, the TDF selects twenty promising new projects for filmmakers to pitch for potential co-production support, providing invaluable access to the movers and shakers of the non-fiction world and allowing them to make an early impression that may pay off with a broadcast deal or at least open a door to acquisition meetings down the line.
A number of strong-sounding docs got pitched at this year’s TDF at HotDocs… but I’m a little astounded by the proposed budgets. When producers of fiction features (generally higher grossing than docs) are being told to keep budgets to the $200K range (see Ted Hope’s comments at IFP marketplace last fall), how do documentary makers think their ever going to recoup these budgets?
