Important Changes to the LINCS Initiative

LINCS is now accepting applications year-round, as well as seeking projects with transmedia elements.

Independent Producers and Public Television Stations currently face similar challenges as they respond to a rapidly shifting media landscape. The evolution of new ways to create and distribute media accompanied by shrinking resources has made this an exciting as well as an anxious time.

ITVS is evaluating how we can improve our LINCS initiative and take advantage of the opportunities that independent producer and station partnerships can offer in the new media landscape.

› Continue reading

Tags: film financing, funding, LINCS, public television, resources

Looking for Film Funding? The New ITVS.org is for You!

If you’re a filmmaker, we’d like to thank you — you’re the reason we exist.

After all, ITVS was created by indie filmmakers.

The biggest hurdle for any independent filmmaker, as you well know, is financing your project. If you’re looking for funding, the current state of the world can seem bleak and confusing.

But fear not! The funding section on our new ITVS.org site is designed make it easier to understand our application process, and is designed to demonstrate more clearly what kinds of projects we’re looking for. We’ve made the process more transparent, and have made it much easier to find the right person to contact to discuss your application. We’re also improving and enhancing our online resources to help you construct a more successful proposal.

Also, we’ve made it simpler to discover where you can find ITVS’s Programming staff in person. Right next to the funding information you will now be able to see upcoming events, conferences, festivals, and workshops that we will be attending or hosting. You will find it here first. What better way to get the edge you need for a successful application?

Tags: documentary, film financing, film funding, filmmakers, independent film

OPEN CALL: Inside the Minds of the Panelists

ITVS’s Open Call funding initiative provides finishing funds to independent producers. Programs selected for funding are supported by ITVS’s production team and broadcast on public television. For the past two days, the Open Call panel–made up of peers in the independent film and public media community–has been convening to recommend eight to ten projects for ITVS funding from a slate of 30 finalists. The individual identities of readers and panelists are not disclosed for each initiative, but below is a short Q&A with our current Open Call panel to give you some insight into their review and decision-making process. We asked them to answer the question, “What do you look for in a successful documentary proposal?” Here are their answers:

“I am always looking for stories that connect me to the awesome drudgery, romance and absurdity of modern life–that elusive factor known to fans of Stephen Colbert as “truthiness”–that makes documentaries spring to life and create change first in the mind and then in the world.”
– Public Media Professional

“I think it is very important that the producer clearly explain why an audience will care and feel invested in their work. If someone who knows nothing about the subject matter ends up engaged and caring about the story after reading a treatment, then the project has a good chance for success.”
– Station Programmer

“What I look for in a proposal is a great story premise, well-developed characters who go through some kind of transformation as the story progresses, and an appropriate (hopefully surprising and fresh) filmmaking style. The work-in-progress should showcase at least the main characters if it’s a character-driven piece. Or it should feature a couple of scenes or sequences that give us a sense of how the main themes in the project will be addressed, both content-wise and stylistically.”
– Independent Filmmaker

› Continue reading

Tags: film financing, film funding, film resources, independent films