TLDR: If your entry to The Film Fund pitches anything about a new superhero story, 50% of the proceeds from your entry will be donated to The Stan Lee Foundation to promote literacy and the arts. We’re putting out a call. A call to create new superheroes. If you’ve been on […]
The Film Fund Blog
How you can get jobs from our film funding community
TLDR: When we post a project in the network, think of it like a producer coming to you with a basic concept for a film and asking you to develop it. You should think of it that way, well, because that’s exactly what it is. Except that you’ll likely be […]
11 Netflix genres that independent filmmakers will love
At the time of this writing, there are 5,579 movies on Netflix and $7,285 TV shows. Some are indie films, and some are just content you’d put on in the background while having a good time with friends. You probably wouldn’t put on a black and white film about the […]
FF-produced “AMERICANO” indie film nominated for FIVE festival awards at FirstGlance Film Festival (so far)!
UPDATE: “AMERICANO” has won Best Editing at FirstGlance Film Festival, a premier independent film festival in Philadelphia. “AMERICANO”—a short film written and directed by The Film Fund’s first winner, Tim Viola—has not only been selected to screen at FirstGlance Film Festival in Philadelphia, it has also garnered FIVE award nominations! […]
How to make a high production value 4K SAG-AFTRA film with two crew members on a $300 budget in 3 easy steps
First things first: you and your friend are the two crew members. Second, there were no sponsors for this post. Okay, now for the rest of the post: Knowing how to budget a film on a shoestring budget will help you develop practical budgeting skills for the future, when you […]
10 creative ways to develop better screenplay topics
A dentist once told me about this amazing idea he had for a movie… about a dentist. The scene went something like this: INT. BANQUET HALL – DAY DENTIST: I’ve got a great idea for a screenplay. It’s about a dentist. It’ll make you laugh, it’ll make you cry… The […]
Watch: Director Mike Thompson tells us why producers don’t care about your logline and why you should ignore them
“I had a producer asking me about international sales, and he hadn’t even heard the logline yet.” For our third Community Spotlight, we reached out to director Mike Thompson, one of our first filmmakers to upload his director’s reel for free to our new Auteurs page. Thompson lives in Louisville, […]
Watch: Director Tim Viola wants you to “f*ck all of it,” trust your gut, and sharpen your logline
“For me, The Film Fund is one word—simplicity. It is all about asking you for one thing, and that’s basically a sentence—what your film is about and why you need it.” We reached out to The Film Fund’s first winner—Tim Viola, who used the funds to finish his political thriller, […]
Watch: Filmmaker Alexander Cooper decides to pursue his dream and make movies after losing his father and his job
“I found some stories that needed to be told. No one else would do it, so I thought I might as well do it.” –Alexander Cooper, director/producer/actor For our first Community Spotlight, I reached out to a filmmaker I’ve been following on Twitter, Alexander Cooper. I sent Cooper some questions […]
Will the iPhone XS stereo audio recording become the go-to voiceover mic for guerilla filmmakers?
Obviously, you’ll want to use the best equipment whenever possible, but what if you’re an aspiring filmmaker just starting out and you need a voiceover? I’ve been there, sitting on the floor in my parents’ house talking into a shotgun microphone I bought on eBay. We even recorded a voiceover […]
Why 4K filmmaking doesn’t really matter, and what you should do if you can’t afford it
I received some exciting news the other day. My latest short film, “Son of Blackbeard,” was just accepted to one of those regional festivals I’ve mentioned in earlier blog posts about the benefits of posting short films online. I received the congratulatory email on a Friday night while in a bar […]
Why these 5 female filmmakers need to be on your radar
Sofia Coppola’s breakout film Lost in Translation remains one of my favorites, and I recently watched a VICE Guide to Film profile that caused me to add her 2010 film, Nowhere, to my list. The series on VICELAND does an excellent job of profiling some other female filmmakers as well, […]