An issue-oriented brief film is one that has a theme of social relevance at it's core. Drug abuse, poverty, the environment, homelessness ... these are all examples of a brief movie with a socially pertinent theme. This is significant as it is MUCH easier to obtain contributions of time, devices and materials when there is a "source" behind the film.
In the mid 90's I was able to get a 12 minute 35mm movie produced for under a thousand dollars, a definitely unprecedented quantity. Catering, areas, film stock and processing, misc materials, devices - nearly every little thing was covered through generous contributions because the movie had two major social concerns as the primary styles - child abuse and it's resultant connection to drug abuse later on in life.
The method? Undergo production directory sites and cold call till you cannot talk anymore. A typical pitch went like this: "we're dealing with a film that takes care of some pretty intense social concerns and we're wondering if there's somebody we can speak with about making a donation of ..." It takes a bunch of calls, however it works.
Getting donations is in one sense quite easy as numerous production companies are willing to contribute. The problem that originates from this option to smaller film funding is in the added coordination efforts required, for you'll have to adapt your schedule to the benefactors. An example of this is that we had to cancel a movie shoot two weekends in a row because the 35mm camera that was being contributed to us became unavailable as it was booked out on a paid shoot (a reality that needs to be accepted taking this technique). But as quickly as the rental business's schedule cleared, the camera was ours and we had the ability to shoot, saving hundreds of dollars in rental costs.
Another problem with taking this path is manufacturer sychronisation. It's better if you have a distinct manufacturer working with obtaining contributions as it's a full-time task in and of itself. It's best to have one manufacturer to manage shooting logistics and another to handle donations. In the end, while our group was able to achieve a lot with very little funds, the movie suffered since the director/producer (myself) was overworked with handling logistics and had less time to spend on imaginative shots, acting, and so on. Having an one-of-a-kind manufacturer to deal with donations will address that trouble!
In the mid 90's I was able to get a 12 minute 35mm movie produced for under a thousand dollars, a definitely unprecedented quantity. Catering, areas, film stock and processing, misc materials, devices - nearly every little thing was covered through generous contributions because the movie had two major social concerns as the primary styles - child abuse and it's resultant connection to drug abuse later on in life.
The method? Undergo production directory sites and cold call till you cannot talk anymore. A typical pitch went like this: "we're dealing with a film that takes care of some pretty intense social concerns and we're wondering if there's somebody we can speak with about making a donation of ..." It takes a bunch of calls, however it works.
Getting donations is in one sense quite easy as numerous production companies are willing to contribute. The problem that originates from this option to smaller film funding is in the added coordination efforts required, for you'll have to adapt your schedule to the benefactors. An example of this is that we had to cancel a movie shoot two weekends in a row because the 35mm camera that was being contributed to us became unavailable as it was booked out on a paid shoot (a reality that needs to be accepted taking this technique). But as quickly as the rental business's schedule cleared, the camera was ours and we had the ability to shoot, saving hundreds of dollars in rental costs.
Another problem with taking this path is manufacturer sychronisation. It's better if you have a distinct manufacturer working with obtaining contributions as it's a full-time task in and of itself. It's best to have one manufacturer to manage shooting logistics and another to handle donations. In the end, while our group was able to achieve a lot with very little funds, the movie suffered since the director/producer (myself) was overworked with handling logistics and had less time to spend on imaginative shots, acting, and so on. Having an one-of-a-kind manufacturer to deal with donations will address that trouble!
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