Archive for the ‘PBS’ tag
The “Prenups” – filmmakers and funders trying to get along
The single most common question that independent producers ask me in my role at Mountain Lake PBS (after learning that we don’t have the resources to fund outside projects – even the most promising) is where they can raise their production funding. The answers is that they have to do it the same difficult way we do at PBS: apply for grants, approach sponsors (underwriters in PBS-speak), consider “crowd funding”, get a bank loan, look for tax credits, etc.
But in each of these cases, the filmmakers will have to consider what it is the funders are looking for. Many a relationship between funder and filmmaker has foundered on mis-understanding. A new project hopes to layout a lot of misconceptions for media makers before things go off the rails. Check out The Prenups. Excellent work that every filmmaker should read. You can download the 2 page summary Matchmaker Guide for the Cliff Notes version
Forgotten War going national
Robert Rogers in jail for counterfeiting before the start of the F&I War.
The one hour doc on the French & Indian War we just finished at Mountain Lake PBS has been offered to the PBS system by American Public Television one of the three major distributors to the PBS system (who, by the way, have the best guide to the tech side of producing for PBS that I’ve found anywhere.)
We’ve nearly finished the huge website that is full of essays, lesson plans and images from the amazing re-enactments that we were privileged enough to shoot. We’ve still got to post all the video extras and shorts to finish the site before the broadcast premiere. We wont know till next week how many stations want to carry the program… a lot of anxious waiting to hear the number. Finally, today we learned that our super-talented illustrator Ryan Graber has launched a new site with a bunch of images from the film. Check him out here.
