Everything starts with a concept. A story. Like, where did this guy get his hat? Has he always smoked? What’s with the feather? And when a great story gets you nowhere, it’s all about who you know, right? But what they don’t tell us is that it isn’t just who […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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! […]
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 […]
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 […]
“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, […]
“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.” For our second community spotlight, I reached out to The Film Fund’s first winner—Tim Viola, who used the funds […]
“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 […]
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 […]
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 […]