Inside Indies
Now Streaming on Indies Showcase: Please Vote for Me
The documentary by filmmaker Weijun Chen is streaming free until Saturday, August 20 as part of ITVS’s Indies Showcase.
Please Vote for Me chronicles the intensity behind eight-year-old students in an elementary school in China as they campaign for class monitor. Check out the film’s trailer below…
What Does Public Media’s Future Look Like?
Co-managing Director of Public Media Company (PMC) Ken Ikeda talks about the “race to reengage future audiences,” and its effect on public media.
As part of BTB’s ongoing mission to curate news and opinions on public media, we have called upon key players to share their take on the evolving environment. Over the next several weeks, BTB will be rolling out their thoughts and ideas, adding to the conversation on public media’s role now and in the years to come.
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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.
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Feed Your Synapses with Independent Lens to Go
Are you desperately in need of brain food this summer, when the primetime lineup leans toward Who Wants to be a National Laughingstock? and Are You Smarter Than a Single-Celled Organism?
Well, even though the Independent Lens season premiere is still a few months away, we put together this handy guide of recent IL shows that are now available online for your viewing pleasure.
Here’s a list of those shows from our most recent season that can be found online for rental or purchase:
The Parking Lot Movie — iTunes and Amazon Video on Demand
The Longoria Affair — iTunes; Preview:
Between the Folds — iTunes and Amazon Video on Demand
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FOCUS ON: No-budget filmmaking with Mark Thiedeman
By Melody Morgan
FOCUS ON is a regular interview series profiling independent filmmakers and their projects. Up this week is Mark Thiedeman, who has directed many short films and one feature film, The Scoundrel. His new feature, Last Summer, is currently in development and is scheduled to shoot in Arkansas in August.
A scene from "Last Summer," Mark Thiedeman's upcoming feature film
What is the least amount of money you’ve spent on a narrative feature, and how did you manage that?
I shot a no-budget feature in New York a few years ago called The Scoundrel. It cost about $3,000, which was essentially the cost of food, transportation, and half a dozen props. I had an amazing cinematographer, David Goodman, who worked for free, and had some nice looking locations, which were also free. Lucky for us, there are certain neighborhoods in Brooklyn with beautiful restaurants, apartments, and bars that seem to have come from a different era. No art direction required. Why pay for set decoration when you don’t have to?
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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.
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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.
Create Your Multimedia Documentary Dream Team
ITVS’ Steve Goldbloom reports from the National Conference for Media Reform in Boston.
Kara Oehler is the Executive Director of Media and Place Productions and the co-creator of Mapping Main Street — a collaborative documentary media project that creates a new map of the country through stories, photos, and videos recorded on actual Main Streets. The goal is to document all of the more than 10,000 streets named Main in the United States.
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Lessons from the Lab: Driving The Parking Lot Movie
IndiesLab Director Davin Hutchins runs through the digital successes achieved by the Independent Lens film, The Parking Lot Movie.
For those of you who aren’t aware of the mission of IndiesLab, it is a joint initiative of ITVS and PBS and our goal is to test and devise strategies for filmmaker success on emerging online distribution platforms. Our distribution partners include iTunes, Amazon Video-On-Demand, Hulu, YouTube, SnagFilms, PBS Video, and several other video-on-demand services on cable.
What Makes PBS Different than Network TV?
A loyal and growing number of Americans choose to support public television. Flagship programs like Independent Lens continue to produce some of the most innovative and groundbreaking content on-air and online.
But PBS is actually almost entirely a different animal than, say, CBS, or Fox, or even CNN. But what makes PBS so different from cable or network TV? The Public Television System has many layers and is often misunderstood by the public. So BTB asked Lois Vossen, Series Producer of Independent Lens and ITVS Vice President, to explain the difference.
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