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How to Pitch Like a Pro: A Tribeca Guide
By Claire Aguilar
Vice President of Programming, ITVS
ITVS’s Claire Aguilar attended the 11th annual Tribeca Film Festival this past April, participating in the Tribeca Film Institute’s Filmmaker Pitch Workshop and acting as a juror for the Tribeca All Access Documentary Program.
Tribeca Film Institute Industry Meetings
For the past five years, ITVS has participated in the Tribeca Film Festival in many different capacities, from the funder of films selected for the festival (this year included Stephen Maing’s High Tech, Low Life, Beth Murphy’s The List, and Jerry Rothwell’s Town of Runners), to hosting special screenings of ITVS films (FUTURESTATES), ITVS’s involvement in this iconic festival is always varied and exciting.
Two special events this year included participation in Tribeca’s Interactive Day (attended by ITVS’s Karim Ahmad) and Tribeca All Access, a year-round initiative that supports the careers of filmmakers who hail from communities traditionally under-represented in the film industry. Tribeca All Access has been a successful and groundbreaking industry event, fostering and supporting diverse filmmaking voices through industry meetings, development support, and mentoring. › Continue reading
Introducing ITVS’s 2011 Digital Survey
By Matthew Meschery
The following is an excerpt from the executive summary of the 2011 ITVS Digital Survey. The findings, which are available for download below, offer new trends on the digital media environment with a particular focus on independent producers.
Who put the audience in charge? Technology, demographic shifts, and a globalized economy have all shaped a 21st century media ecosystem where power has shifted away from traditional broadcasters and gatekeepers. It’s a shift that’s revolutionized where, how, and why people use media. And content makers and distributors are playing catch-up, trying to figure out ways to reach viewers, make money, and break through the deafening noise of the marketplace.
› Continue reading
Filmmaker Notes from Orientation, Summer 2011
Filmmaker Brad Lichtenstein attended ITVS’s latest producers orientation for Open Call funding and was kind enough to share his notes.
We’re producers. We’re used to 13-hour days, right?
Actually, I heard nary a complaint. Instead, what I heard was praise and genuine joy for an opportunity to be with fellow filmmakers in an atmosphere of celebration and camaraderie.
Take day one of orientation, for example. After a breakfast that included vegan granola (it is San Francisco, after all), we were whisked away into workshops and meetings that were all about the money. Financial reporting. Budgeting. Contract negotiation. It was a lot to absorb and my brain was mushy by 5PM when we gathered to walk over to the Dolby Lab.
Dolby’s screening room is not what I expected from the millions of promo trailers I’ve seen and heard in movie theaters — you know, the ones that culminate in something like the sound of broken glass shards raining over you. The room is like a 1970s revival of a 1920s deco theater — but the sound is pristine.
Every film’s five minute cut was great, from the story of America’s first gay bishop to the story of a family trying to do Christmas without products from China. ITVS had prepared a program to hand out and staff introduced each film. Filmmakers did Q&A. I felt deeply respected and maybe even a little coddled as they introduced our film, As Goes Janesville, one of several that received funding after multiple tries.
Most importantly, the evening reflected the sincere support ITVS conveyed all week. Not only did they successfully create a supportive, collegial space for us to balance contract numbers with content ideas, but they helped us understand how we fit into their broader mission.
Just look at us and our film topics. We are from New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Bay Area, Milwaukee, Austin. We are Jewish, Chinese, African American, Native American, Indian-British, LGBT. We are old and young, men and women, veteran and emerging. We — and the staff of ITVS — are truly diverse, fulfilling a mission originated in the 80s to respond to a report by the Carnegie Foundation that bemoaned a public media system without innovation and diversity. No tokenism here. ITVS is serious about supporting a wide array of filmmaking voices.
The only buzzword as potentially hollow as diversity is innovation. But ITVS is serious about substance in this area too. We learned about FUTURESTATES, short fiction films that imagine a social problem as it plays out at some point in the future. And we learned about Project 360 enhanced, an innovation initiative that supports ITVS filmmakers in creating technology projects that address issues raised by their films, from games and apps to anything you can imagine. Companion websites are so two-thousand and late.
I had not expected to see the intensive three-day orientation through the lens of age, but somehow that’s how it came into focus for me. I had been around ITVS before, first as a producer at Lumiere Productions throughout the 90s, then in 2005 as part of the LINCS initiative with my film, Almost Home. Many of the ITVS staff are still here from each of those times. I chuckled at the references they used during presentations. While one of the more “mature” (as in my age) staff members used a Tom and Jerry reference, another who was likely born around the time I started working in film referenced He Man, a character I had to look up on Wikipedia to discover that it was a popular cartoon in the early eighties.
But this observation is trivial compared to the change I noticed since I was here five years ago. Last time around there was tension over the contracts and especially over distribution strategies. Five years ago filmmakers in my LINCS group felt overwhelmed, even a bit assaulted, by the sheer size and demands of the ITVS contract and what was perceived as a lack of concern for festival and theatrical releases.
But this time workshops and one-on-one meetings made the contract transparent and understandable. What’s more, ITVS’s lawyer (whom I shall not name here) is a kind, gentle, dare I say, baby-faced man who makes contracts go down like honey. And ITVS is light years ahead of other outlets with whom you may have negotiated when it comes to distribution. Instead of arguing over release windows, the entire team is ready to work with filmmakers to devise a strategy that helps our films reach audiences through festivals, PBS broadcast, outreach and community engagement activity and public relations. We met with each department over the course of three days. If anything, I felt like I would struggle just to keep up with ITVS’s support for our film.
I wish I could be more critical, if not ironic. Yet I can’t. The orientation days were long, yes, but they were lovely and I left energized to make our film and very happy to know a fantastic bunch of filmmakers well. I wish I could find something to complain about. Okay, I know, the room we were in most of the time had no windows. C’mon ITVS, can you work on that?
Open Call Funding Application Goes Digital
As ITVS moves into its 20th year, the organization’s largest funding initiative, Open Call, is making the switch to digital. Starting this summer, all materials must be submitted online, including video.
What are the benefits of doing this?
• Faster and more streamlined communication with ITVS staff.
• Ability to track the progress of your project online,
• Promotes sustainable practices by saving reams of paper, and greatly reducing the carbon-footprint of ITVS and the indie documentary community.
• Significant cost savings with the elimination of postage and overnight mailing fees, as well as printing, dubbing, and other expenses.
› Continue reading
Deadline News Indies Can Use
One of BTB’s chief responsibilities is to keep an eye out for news the independent producer can use. Below is a highlight of upcoming funding opportunities, festival deadlines, and other things you may find helpful. These will be for both U.S. and international producers. Enjoy and good luck!
NALIP Latino Producers Academy
Deadline: June 8, 2011
The LPA is an intensive 10 day (Aug. 10-19) professional development workshop for Latino/a film and public television documentary producers. It is designed to support both emerging and mid-career professionals with projects in development and pre-production.
HBO NALIP Documentary Contest
Deadline June 10, 2011
HBO has teamed with NALIP to find the next great Latino documentary film.They will award $10,000 to the winner of their 2011 Documentary grant.
› Continue reading
Note to Independent Producers: Be More Social!
By Jonathan Archer
As part of ITVS Programming’s ongoing mission to serve the filmmaking community, Jonathan Archer has been seeking out filmmakers to provide their perspectives and experiences from the trenches. First up, The Weather Underground producer, Marc Smolowitz. He recently presented on a panel entitled The Power of Storytelling and was kind enough to share some of his thoughts and strategies with BTB.
Scene from The Power of Two by Marc Smolowitz
Last month, I presented at the Netsquared Meetup in San Francisco on “The Power Of Storytelling.” I decided to connect my remarks to two current labors of love — The Power Of Two — my feature documentary inspired by the life stories of twin double lung recipients; and The HIV Story Project — a new nonprofit that I co-founded in 2009.
› Continue reading
Deadline News Indies Can Use
One of BTB’s chief responsibilities is to keep an eye out for news the independent producer can use. With that in mind, we asked our Programming Department to highlight upcoming deadlines for us — featuring funding opportunities, festival deadlines, and other things you may find helpful. These will be for both U.S. and international producers … Enjoy and good luck!
FUNDING
Jan Vrijman Fund
DEADLINE: May 15, 2011
The Jan Vrijman Fund is looking for creative documentaries and documentary events in developing countries (PDF). Funding categories include Script and Project Development, Production and Post-Production, and Other activities (including Distribution Initiatives; Documentary Film Festivals; Documentary Workshops). The Jan Vrijman Fund gives financial support twice a year. Application deadlines are January 15 and May 15. Click here for more details.
CAAM Media Fund
DEADLINE: May 19, 2011
The Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) seeks provocative and engaging proposals from independent media producers with projects intended for public television broadcast. Offered once a year, this round of funding is for applicants with documentary projects at the production and/or post-production stage. Click here for more details.
Live Chat on International Call
The deadline for International Call is December 10, 2010
ATTENTION non-U.S. filmmakers, the new International Call deadline of December 10, 2010 is sneaking up on us all. In order to prepare the most competitive applications possible, ITVS is pleased to be hosting this live chat about the funding deadline to answer questions about the application process.
Senior Programming Manager Cynthia Kane and ITVS staffers will be online to field questions in real-time starting at 5 AM Pacific (find out what time that is for you.) Please sign in below and start loading your questions. We hope to get to them all!
About the International Call: International Call provides production and/or post-production funds for single non-fiction television documentaries that bring international perspectives, ideas, stories and people to a U.S. audience. This initiative is for non-U.S. producers and filmmakers who live outside the U.S.
Find out how to apply and join our International Filmmaker Networking Group on Facebook.
Next on BTB Live: All About International Call
The new International Call deadline is December 10, 2010
ATTENTION all non-U.S. filmmakers, the new International Call deadline of December 10, 2010 is quickly approaching.
Join us this Wednesday November 24 for a live chat here at 5 AM Pacific Standard Time. ITVS Programming Manager Cynthia Kane will be taking your questions so be sure and find out what time the chat is for you.
All questions are welcome on the application process; tips on writing a compelling treatment; what ITVS staff is looking for; what we want in a work-in-progress; what happens if you’re funded; and so forth.
› Continue reading
Live Chat with Karim Ahmad on DDF Funding
The DDF deadline is Friday, November 12
With the Diversity Development Fund (DDF) deadline approaching this Friday, ITVS Programming Manager Karim Ahmad will be taking your DDF questions today from NOON to 1:00pm PST in a live chat.
All questions are welcome on the application process; tips on writing a compelling treatment; what ITVS staff is looking for; what happens if you’re funded, etc, etc.
ITVS' Karim Ahmad
Get your questions ready and log on below to ask Karim about the DDF funding process.
About the DDF: The DDF provides up to $15,000 in research and development funding to independent producers of color to develop single documentary programs for public television. Projects should speak to the ITVS mission to serve under-served audiences with programs that take creative risks, explore complex issues, inspire dialogue and express points of view seldom seen on commercial or public television.
Find more information on guidelines and how to apply.
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