I took notes on the IMAGE meeting on February 11th, 02004.
IMAGE is a society of amateur independent filmmakers from the SF peninsula. Emphasis on “amateur.”
Tonight’s topic- raising capital for indie film, speaker Dorothy Fadiman, founder of IMAGE.
Was the talk helpful? Well, if you are making progressive documentaries or propaganda pieces, sure. In a word, no.
Concentric Media is the name of the Dorothy Fadiman’s production company; she has gotten the elusive “Foundation Money.”
Speaker says “I’ve been doing this for decades” several times. She teaches people about producing film and pursuing random progressive efforts.
Speaker reminds me of what Denise Crosby (Tasha Yar on “Star Trek”) would look and sound like if she was late 50s. And a liberal New Ager. She has a soothing yet active speaking style.
IMAGE board member keeps mentioning the “new direction” of IMAGE- supposedly more hands-on emphasis. Maybe that will clear out the talkers here.
Suppressing urge to kill everyone in the room. Lots of “ho ho ho!” I’m keeping notes to stay focussed. So obvious barely anyone has done any production work.
Organizations exist to help clarify what project “vision” is and to acquire money for project.
- Compasspoint Nonprofit Services – San Jose (408.248.9505)
- Foundation Center Office and Library – San Francisco (415.397.0902)
- Penninsula Community Foundation – San Mateo (650.358.9392)
One of Dorothy’s works is called Radiance (1976)- she made a slide show of the skeleton of her movie and gathered her potential backers for it, and raised $25,000. Her in-progress book- Producing with Passion: Making Films that Change The World
She also did Why do these kids love school a documentary about a school. Gah. Sounds really boring; I dunno.
Check that- she showed a segment. It’s pretty sappy, and filled with 8th grade kids who love their school. I cannot relate on any level.
The film had a high end camera from KTEH which broke on the set. They ended up using a VHS, for the most powerful scene. We are shown this as an example of working within budget- she says that if she had known, she could have done it on a much smaller budget.
“People who will give you money are the people who care about that subject.”
She receives money for film about reproductive rights, from a foundation for reproductive rights (possibly NARAL? vaguely interested but not enough to ask). They gave her more money than she asked for because they didn’t think her budget was high enough.
When Abortion Was Illegal , about… well, why do I even have to finish this sentence? That one was nominated for an Academy Award and sounds like her most interesting work. Have I mentioned most if not all of her films are documentaries?
Other Dorothy movies and titles:
- Ethiopians (starving presumably)
- some Indian women thing
- Moment By Moment – spinal cord injury
- Fragile Promise of Choice – reproductive rights
Answer the question who would want to see this. Start from kernel and grow it.
Answer the question for whom am I making this ?
She tells an anecdote about a really freaky thing- since knowledge about abortions is getting scarce, self-abortion is on the rise. Pregnant girls, unaware of their options or chased off from clinics by picketers, die. Scary.
Actually that’s a good topic- the more general one of “who cares if we don’t teach the poor people about X.” It could be 90 minutes of horrific spectacle! Mwahahaha!
Film Arts Foundation has
- budgets
- treatments
- proposals
of other projects available for perusal.
Writing a proposal
- We will
- shoot for X days
- show at X venue
- why this
- is a good idea
- is relevant
- is a better way to do it than has been done before
- will reach people who want to see it
- inflate resume
- Distribution
- do research- where this film will play- e.g. “group X and group Y want to show it”
- Look at funding history of foundation- see what types of projects they have funded, and the success of each.
- Compare their “goals”- your project will help further their goals
- Timing – this film is particularly relevant now because yadda yadda
Whoa-
“I don’t know anyone who’s brought in a film on schedule.”
Fuck that Dorothy! We’re matching the schedule even if it kills everyone on the crew and their families.
She tells us that we will never break even, let alone make a profit. She tells us that she is one of the more successful filmmakers she knows, and she has never even broke even. Paying a distributor will be just that- putting money in that won’t come out.
Friends and family gathering- “they will be the first people to give you money” – $10 or $20 even. At the next meeting you can say “I have ten donors already.” then build up to Ford or Packard foundation.
“No foundation wants to be the first to give you money.”
Your production needs a separate account from your personal account.
Dorothy sees implying to investors that the production will be profitable as dishonest.
She is a 503c non-profit organization. Donations to production are tax-deductible. Her investors get to see making-of clips, special screenings, and possibly crew.
That’s probably the most valuable item this far.
“Most independent productions do not get finished”
Man, fuck that!
Organizations who do NOT give you money could also be giving you:
- mailing lists
- hold work in progress screenings
- invite to their meetings
Applying to foundations without a track record is difficult.
Team up with people with track records to make proposal / production more credible.
Their name may bring in money.
To be more convincing: Match your intention with who you are trying to reach
- crew
- people giving you money
- viewers
“My premieres have had 1000 people each”
Michael Wissie ? producer and I guess publisher
An interesting concept:
A film is like fresh baked bread, or cookies- arrange for a showing to launch your fresh film “while it’s still hot.”
… that is, have a venue lined up before the end of production. I like that.
Make sure you know who you are bringing onto your crew
Dorothy says this as a “personal conflict” angle, but to me it really resonates more with general flakitude.
Make a realistic budget and a realistic schedule
Dorothy has done “DVD stuff”- I wonder what that means?
Q & A
Here is my paraphrasing of what she said. Note that Dorothy is much less funny in person and sounds like she should be wearing a healing crystal.
Q: when you do the budget, do you pay yourself? The crew? Where do the numbers come from?
A: Dorothy says she always puts in money for yourself… but she never ends up taking it. She always spends it on the production. It’s her wiggle-room fund. For the crew, she negotiates their prices on a case by case basis. She knows cameramen who cost $1000 a day, and others who will work for free, sometimes as a personal favor.
Q: will the foundation challenge your budget?
A: No… but your numbers have to be realistic. note they will never take money back…
Q: will foundations fund narrative films?
A: yes… but with very few exceptions they are films with a humane purpose. They probably won’t fund a fratboy comedy… unless the film is about them drunk driving and the ensuing tragedy, or about them giving themselves liver damage.
Q: do you pay your interviewees?
A: Not in general, but Dorothy was forced to bribe some interviewees in the Ethiopia film.
I should do a recruiting speech just to beat on the audience. I would end it like:
So if you’re looking for a great time- piss off. There is no place for you on my crew. We are a well-oiled precision guerilla crew, and the cogs that don’t fit get thrown away. We finish on schedule; we finish under budget. This is not a charity and I won’t give you a tax break.