An occasional series of posts that will discuss the extensive process of putting together a grant application.

Part II:

When putting together your grant application, the two largest components are the script and the budget. However, the other supporting items can also make or break it.

The synopsis should be brief yet descriptive, and in principle, should reflect the essence of the work. This is one of your tools to encourage the reader to accept your grant proposal. Also, in terms of the biography, it should essentially be a tailored resume that includes anything relevant from college coursework to previous work experiences with film.

Your entire grant application should be a well-crafted piece of artwork in and of itself. Straddling the line between a lack of relevant information that could potentially sway the reader, and an overwhelming deluge of relevant but useless facts, is the key to receiving the grant.

Get more specific details from the following link:
http://2billiondesirables.multiply.com/journal/item/2

Contributed by Christina Chen,
UC Berkeley student

The Boston Motion Picture Awards (BMPA) is a competition that started three years ago with the goal of helping independent filmmakers jumpstart their film careers. The awards are tied to several means of film funding. Winners of the competition not only receive money and resources, they also benefit from a variety of other perks, ranging from free screenwriting software to free subscriptions to industry magazines.

With categories such as “International Short-Film Competition” and “International Spoof-Writing Competition”, winners can receive up to thousands of dollars in cash and/or a distribution agreement. The application date starts on July 2nd and goes until September 15th.

The competition also includes judges whose industry backgrounds range from actors in Office Space, Gilmore Girls and directors and producers from The Albino Code, and a film critic from “The Boston Globe”.

The idea behind the BMPAs is the acknowledgement of the fundamental issue behind amateur filmmaking: money. While musicians can create hundreds of songs in their garage or authors can write a variety of short stories, filmmaking is an artistic medium that simply cannot exist without a significant amount of funding. Thus after winning a BMPA prize, filmmakers have a foot up in their future film ventures.

Get more general information about this competition from its main website:
http://www.bostonawards.com/

Contributed by Christina Chen,
UC Berkeley student

Want to create media for the small screen?

A national Call for Entries for the Institute will be announced at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. Through the Institute, eight production teams of up to 3 people each will be selected to come to BAVC’s San Francisco facility for ten days. Producers will participate in high-level industry roundtables, intense one-on-one project development with technical mentors, new media storytelling workshops, and hands-on prototyping of their ideas. The participants will be adapting and developing award-winning film and video content for delivery using interactive formats, including video game applications, interactive, web-based experiences, mobile streaming, multi-user communities, and new educational software. They may choose a range of delivery strategies, including cell phones, other hand-held devices, set-tops, Internet, portable software and more.

“The Producer’s Institute intends to provide a first-of-its kind incubator for independent filmmakers in new media technologies, and a unique opportunity for industry to greenlight innovative content for these new distribution models,” says Wendy Levy, BAVC’s Director of Media Arts and Education, who will oversee the Institute. The Institute will take place June 1 – 10, 2007 at BAVC in San Francisco. Applications will be available online beginning January 15th, with a February 15th deadline to apply. Institute participants will be notified by March 1st.

More info available at BAVC:
http://www.bavc.org/meet/news/e_news/010107/events/index.htm

Image from BAVC eNews January 2007, bavc.org

An update from Creative Capital:

The Creative Capital Foundation is a national nonprofit organization that supports artists pursuing adventurous and imaginative work in the performing and visual arts, film/video, innovative literature, and in emerging fields. Creative Capital seeks to support projects that have the potential for significant artistic and cultural impact, that transcend discipline boundaries and tell us something new about ourselves, our communities, and the moment in which we live.

In 2007, Creative Capital will be considering proposals in the Visual Arts and Media (Film/Video). For more information, please visit http://www.creative-capital.org

Other Creative Capital Programs include:
(NEW) The Creative Capital/Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers’ Grant Program will recognize and support the contribution of individual arts writers through project-based grants ranging from $3,000-$50,000. The program aims to promote critical discourse that is both rigorous and accessible, to foster innovation in arts writing, and to encourage writing that nurtures connections between art and the public at large. For more information, please visit www.artswriters.org

The Creative Capital Professional Development Program was launched in 2003 to offer the career-building component of Creative Capital’s Artist Services Program to a broader community of artists. The Professional Development Program has served more than 1000 artists nationwide, and features a comprehensive menu of workshops that include a Weekend Retreat, as well as Day and Evening-long Workshops. For more information please visit pd.creative-capital.org

The Multi-Arts Production (MAP) Fund is a program of Creative Capital, supported by the Rockefeller Foundation. The MAP Fund supports new works in all disciplines and traditions of the live performing arts. Our aim is to assist artists who are exploring and challenging the dynamics of contemporary live performance. In contrast to the preservation of existing repertoire, MAP supports those creating the art of our own time. For more information, please visit www.mapfund.org

[Read more]

Film Grants in the State of New York:

As one of the world’s largest and most important production centers, New York City is the ultimate place to break into the media and entertainment industries. To help support the City’s rising film, theatre and broadcasting stars, numerous organizations offer fiscal sponsorship and a variety of other resources. Here’s where to go for more information on grants and sponsorship:

The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting artists in New York State. NYFA Source is the organization’s online database listing thousands of grants and sponsorship opportunities available to artists in a variety of fields, including film, theatre and broadcasting. The database allows users to search by discipline, geographic area and other criteria to develop lists of grants for which they are eligible to apply. Through NYFA Source Live Assistance, the organization provides free advice via telephone and e-mail to help artists with this process.

NYFA also awards more than $11 million in grants to individual artists annually, and offers fiscal sponsorship to emerging media and artistic organizations. NYFA sponsorship provides these organizations with the legal status and 501 (c) (3) non-profit, tax exempt status required to apply for funding from many organizations. For more information, visit http://www.nyfa.org.

New York State also awards grants to non-profit arts organizations. The program is administered by the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) and funded by the Governor, New York State Legislature and National Endowment for the Arts. For more information on these awards and on other resources available to artists in the State, visit www.nysca.org.

Source: http://www.nyc.gov/html/film/html/incentives/film_grants.shtml

New York City, with a population of over eight million people, is located at the mouth of the Hudson River Estuary which stretches 153 miles inland from the Atlantic ocean and includes a wide range of wetland habitats. Home to more than 200 species of fish, the Hudson River Estuary serves as a nursery ground for sturgeon, striped bass and American shad. It also supports an abundance of other river-dependent wildlife, especially birds. (Photo: Stanne/NYSDEC)

On the http://filmbiz101.com resource website we posted a page that asks:

A distribution or acquisition deal can help you recoup your investment, but how do you get the financing in the first place???

We think this is a critical question for just about every documentary filmmaker. Check out our observations on the state of funding for this genre.

Here is one tidbit:

Private donors are important and you may be able to obtain their financial contributions. In order to offer a tax benefit to donors, you must either establish a non-profit organization or your project must receive Fiscal Sponsorship.

Read the full article on funding documentaries

The Michigan State University Library has compiled this helpful list of grant sources for independent filmmakers. Below is an excerpt:

Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Society Foundation
http://www.gottliebfoundation.org/
Provides funding for visual artists who incorporate video and film into their work.
(Last checked 07/27/06)

Arts Resource Network
Funding Opportunities for Individuals in Film, Video, and Media
http://www.artsresourcenetwork.org/opportunities/
competitions_funding/film_video_media.asp
Courtesy of the City of Seattle, Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs.
(Last checked 07/27/06)

Dance Films Association Grants for Post-Production Expenses
http://www.dancefilmsassn.org/
(Last checked 07/27/06)

Funding Exchange/Paul Robeson Fund for Independent Media
http://www.fex.org/grantmaking.shtml
The Paul Robeson Fund for Independent Media named to honor this singer, actor and civil rights activist, supports independent film, video and radio projects made by organizations and independent media producers on critical social issues. The Robeson Fund supports pre-production and distribution of film and video, and all stages of radio productions that: combine intellectual clarity with creative use of the medium, will reach a broad audience with an organizing component, demonstrate how the production will be used for social change organizing.
(Last checked 07/27/06)

For the full list, visit http://www.lib.msu.edu/harris23/grants/3film.htm