funding question...

[LittleEarthquakes]

forgive me in advance because I know this question is goig to sound very syupid and naive, but it really is an honest question coming from someone just starting out...how hard is it to get grants? is it possible to legally obtain more than one grant? also, if it is much help with being able to correctly answer questions....i am female, i'm just starting out....looking to funding in order to purchase equipment and things needed for my first feature length...I live in the midwest so really and truely renting equipment will not end up being a cost effective route for me when filming will likely take place on weekends because there aren't any rental places near by.

if anyone has any information, thoughts, ideas, etc please let me know.

 

[directorik]

A grant to do what? Buy equipment to make a movie?

Most grants are set up to help people in genuine need. And I
don't mean people who need to make a movie - people who
need to get an education, need medical assistance, need housing
for children. Even small business associations look for people
trying to better their communities. Making a film, even a very
important, uplifting, socially conscience one, isn't what grants
are usually about.

But there are associations for film grants. And yes, they are extremely
difficult to get. If you can convince several of them to give you money
to buy equipment, you can legally accept the money as long as you buy
what you say you're going to buy.

I have a list around here somewhere. I'm sure you've used Google, right?
What did you find? If there are some that you have missed that I have found
I'll add them.

 

[spinner]

A grant to do what? Buy equipment to make a movie?

Most grants are set up to help people in genuine need. And I
don't mean people who need to make a movie - people who
need to get an education, need medical assistance, need housing
for children. Even small business associations look for people
trying to better their communities. Making a film, even a very
important, uplifting, socially conscience one, isn't what grants
are usually about.

But there are associations for film grants. And yes, they are extremely
difficult to get. If you can convince several of them to give you money
to buy equipment, you can legally accept the money as long as you buy
what you say you're going to buy.

I agree.

And I don't agree.

The thing that I am finding about grants is that you really have to show how it will benefit the greater good. There are many grants out there, but they are very hard to get. My suggestion would be to figure out if you really need a grant. If you are only looking for $500, you can probably figure out a way to raise that and avoid a grant altogether. However, I do have a suggestion in terms of a book for you to read. Its called: Shaking The Money Tree by Morrie Warshawski and it is about how to go about pulling your thoughts and ideas together so that they can be worded into a grant proposal. You will need to know absolutely everything about your project from what you need in terms of equipment to how you intend to promote the finished product.

Do Not fool yourself. Writing a grant is difficult. I have done it and I think I wrote a good proposal. And I didn't get the grant. Prepare to be turned down. ALOT. But don't let this discourage you from trying. Its the only way you will figure out how to do it.

But I will say again, if you are looking for a small amount, try to raise it yourself first. Fundraising is something they may ask you about when it comes to promoting your film and getting it out there.

I have a list around here somewhere. I'm sure you've used Google, right?
What did you find? If there are some that you have missed that I have found
I'll add them.

I'll be looking for what you list as well

...but in the meantime, go to google. Put into your search engine: grants for first time filmmakers, women filmmakers, student filmmakers, independent filmmakers, etc. There will be more than you can look at in one day, but you might find something. You never know, but you do have to look.

All this will at least get you started.....

-- spinner

 

[clive]

I can't give you any information about grants in the US, because in the UK things are different.

However, the trick with getting grants is to follow the process rigorously.

The first stage is finding relevant grant fund holders. This is trickier than it sounds, because you've got an idea of what you're looking for, BUT the fund that pays out might be listed as something completely different. So, whilst you're busy looking for funds who support film makers, what you might really need is a fund that supports small arts businesses in the Mid-West.

Locating grants is such a specialised and complex piece of research that in the UK there are people who make their living just by understanding how to find specific pots of money.

The second stage of getting a grant is reading EXACTLY what criteria they apply for judging funding... you then have to look at your project through THEIR eyes and write your application in the language they require, so it will be easy for them to take a positive view of your application. The vast majority of people applying for funds fail because they don't match their project to the funding criteria.

In real terms this may mean that rather than writing your funding application about how the equipment will allow you to make your first feature film, it maybe that what the funder is really interested in is the amount of employment the project will create and the ethnic mix of the employees.

One thing I will say is grants look attractive because after all they are free money... but my experience is you have to spend massive amounts of time locating the right one, making your application and then meeting with all the monitoring requirements (which may mean filling out forms for several years after you've received the grant). Now, because there is no guarantee that you'll receive any grant you apply for, in fact, when you first start out applying for funds chances are most applications will fail... you may find that the application process takes more time and effort that the return you get.

Now, the thing I don't understand is why you're looking for grants in the first place.

If you're planning a feature, then you must already have shot some shorts... which means you already have some equipment.

So, the real questions is: if you're upgrading your gear for the feature film, then you must think the project has commercial value, which you've projected in the film's business plan... if the project has commercial value then you should be able to find investors for the project.

My experience of building equipment into budgets for films is it works best if you're pitching a slate of pictures, rather than a single. This is because you can then say... OK I'm spending $30,000 on this camera and $15,000 on my editing suite, but that's spread over three pictures... so that's $15,000 per picture which is more cost effective than hiring in the same kit.

The truth is I'm busy preparing a budget for a film right now and am dealing with exactly these issues.