www.fromtheheartproductions.com

Sir Isaac Newton’s Law for Successful Crowdfunding

Every Action has an Equal and Opposite Reaction. This is the third of Sir Isaac Newton's laws of physics. Here's how it works. If you push on anything, it pushes back on you. That's why if you lean against the wall, you don't fall through it. The wall pushes back on you as hard as you push on it, and you and the wall stay in place. 

It’s also a basic law of successful crowdfunding.

People who crowdfund by sending out scores of emails to friends, creating brilliantly written newsletters, tweeting and posting on Facebook sites with similar concepts are sending out energy. That energy comes back to them in money, which is another form of energy.

Those who use this concept, “every action has an equal and opposite reaction” are successful, those who don’t are not. Indiegogo gives you a platform to raise money; you still do the work. 

You set a time limit and a dollar goal that you bet you can create. It’s up to you to push on the energies available to get the requested amount of energy (money) to return to you. Your list of names in your data base is your ace in the hole. How good is it? If it’s 300 names of friends and family, you should create a better list before you launch. This is your source of energy to attract your money.

The statistics say that by the 7th newsletter you collect your peak dollar amount. Advertising always pays off through repetition; each contact draws your list closer to the film. I tell my fiscally sponsored filmmakers to create 3 to 5 before they launch so they can use their campaign time chatting on social media to drive people to the Indiegogo platform to donate. Your newsletters need to tell me about the film, give me heart-touching stories on the need for the film, and in-depth studies of your characters. 

The biggest mistake is to think that people watch the entire trailer. Online statistics confirm our fears that 90% don’t see the end. You must put your “ask” at the beginning of the trailer. People make decisions quickly based on your beginning information. 

The Art of Film Funding states that “people give money to people, not to films.” How you present yourself and your film is paramount to the donation. You need to tell us who you are, why you are making the film and touch our hearts. 

I always say “touch my heart and I open my pocketbook.” That is my 3rd law.

Film Isn’t Dead Yet…So Shoot It!     Richard Kaufman   Email: richard@comtelpm.com

At Comtel Pro Media, The best image capture medium is now at its most affordable. While the demand for 35mm motion picture film has declined as digital formats gain popularity, the result is that prices for recans, long ends and short ends have never been lower. The savings can be as much as 90% off the cost of new film stock. 

So, if you think that the cost of film stock is an obstacle to shooting on film, think again!
I’ve been selling ends and recans for over 20 years to features, shorts, music videos, and commercials. Prices have never been lower. Sadly, since we’ve been in the digital filmmaking age for some time now, many people aren’t familiar with ends and recans. (For that matter, many filmmakers may not be familiar with film!) So, a brief re-education in ends may be necessary. 

A recan is a full camera load. It is most typically a 400’ roll of film that was prepped for the camera, but not used. A long end began as a 1,000’ full camera load, but is shorter than its initial length. For example, a production may have loaded a 1,000’ roll and shot just 200’. That remaining 800’ is a long end. A short end began life as a full 400’ load, but like the long end, has been partially used. It is usually between 200’ and 390’ in length.

I could give you some great examples of who is still using ends and recans; but they would have to then kill me. Why? Because they never let anyone know they shot on ends. The quality is the same as new and only the producers know and they are thrilled with the savings.

I can tell you a VMA award winner playing on MTV around the clock was just shot using ends, a Sundance award winner is now shooting his latest project on ends, and a number of students are now using ends on their projects. 

How much has the price gone down? A year ago, a 400’ recan of Kodak 5219 Vision 3 500T was going for as much as .42 cents per foot. It is now .24 cents per foot. A 650’ long end of 5207 Vision 3 250D was .32 cents per foot. Now it is .18. A 300’ short end of Kodak 5213 Vision 3 200T was .18 cents per foot. It is now just .08 cents per foot. 

Our inventory at Comtel Pro Media is at the mercy of what is available for repurchase from production, but we’ve got a great selection. There are still many major features shooting on film. “The Change-Up”, “The Three Stooges”, “My Mother’s Curse”, are some of the most recent now in release or close to it.

Why shoot on film? Danny Cohen, the director of photography for “The King’s Speech”, explains in an interview http://www.studiodaily.com/main/technique/projects/12926.html why he chose to shoot on film. 

“I just think you have a lot more flexibility when you shoot on film. HD is good for certain things, but there's a simplicity and texture you get when you shoot on film. Money plays a huge part in what you shoot on these days. Everybody approaches the question of what format to shoot in with a completely different point of view. As a cinematographer, I think you still get the best images from film.” 

So, with the price of ends and recans lower than ever, shouldn’t you be considering shooting on film too?  For more information on the savings on film stock Comtel Pro Media has to offer, call me at            818-450-1122       or email me at richard@comtelpm.com

The Roy Dean NYC Grant goes to Beth Harrington for her film: 

The Winding Stream
The Carters, the Cashes and the Course of Country Music

There is a stream that courses through American roots music and its source is in the Appalachian foothills in a place called Maces Springs, Virginia. It was there that A.P. Carter, his wife, Sara and his sister-in-law Maybelle began their careers as three of the pioneering stars of country music. From their earliest days as Victor recording artists to their international success via the phenomenon of Border Radio, the Original Carter Family made their mark on the history of American recorded music. These three didn’t just play the music emerging from their hill country upbringing. They helped invent it and popularize it. And yet for all their success they might have fallen into complete obscurity if not for the help of one man. When Johnny Cash first met Maybelle Carter and her musical daughters he was already a huge fan (having heard them on the radio as a boy). It was a wonderful twist of fate, then, when Cash married into the family (wedding Maybelle’s middle girl, June). He would go on to champion the musical legacy of this family until the day he died. 

The Winding Stream – a 90-minute documentary shot in High Definition - tells the epic story of this seminal musical family. The film is punctuated with studio performances by celebrated roots music practitioners like Johnny and June Carter Cash, George Jones, Rosanne Cash, Sheryl Crow, Kris Kristofferson, the Carolina Chocolate Drops and others. The film’s goal is to illuminate the foundation-forming history of this multi-generational musical family. Country music would not be what is without them. 

All Work and Maybe No Pay? 

How to Survive a Hard Drive Apocalypse

Where have all the hard drives gone? Most drives have vanished from store shelves in the past week. The few that you can find have drastically gone up in price. There is no hard information as to when they will return. If you are in the feature film, commercial, and music video production community with a daily need for a dose of drives, you are probably in a state of withdrawal and disbelief. What happened and how can you survive until the drives return?
Historic rainfall in Thailand has caused massive flooding. Western Digital, which supplies 30% of the world’s drives, has 60% of their operation is in Thailand under water. Nidec, which makes motors for 70% of all hard drives worldwide, has had their factories in Thailand flooded as well.

For a good overview of the crisis, check outwww.digitaltrends.com/mobile/storage-sticker-shock-why-thailand-floods-mean-pricer-hard-drives They report that “…at a minimum, it would be reasonable to expect hard drive production during the remainder of 2011 — and likely extending into the first quarter of 2012 — will be as much as 25 percent lower than expected.” 

All this terrible news has caused panic buying, manufacturers increasing prices, and distributors cutting off shipments until it can be all sorted out. 

Here are ways to get through this apocalypse:

Plan Ahead - There will be drives. Just how many will be available and when isn’t clear. If you are at a production company, start analyzing what you will need in the next 6 months. If you are a production manager, you may have a tougher job predicting what you may need for the next job. But, any lead time from your DIT would help.

Be Open To All Hard Drive Options – Everyone loves G-Drives and G-Raids. So, naturally, they were the first to vanish. But, Lacie drives are great and have dramatically improved quality control. They test 30% of all drives before and after manufacture. Cal Digit produces excellent drives. OWC proved very popular during the last G-Tech shortage. 

Contact Your Sales Rep - They will have the best information as to what is on order and what may be arriving. If you know what drives you will need in the future, you can place an order. This will get you in line for the drives when they arrive. 

Shoot Film – Yes, shoot film instead of using a digital photography which requires a drive for back up and storage. Film is the ideal storage medium. It still produces the best images, costs nothing to store, and is still available. In fifty years, you can drag it out of your closet, make a print, and still have the best looking images around. 

For more information on the hard drive crisis or to inquire on what is available, please contact me atRichard@comtelpm.com com or call me at 818-450-1122

The Roy Dean LA Grant goes to award winning filmmaker Leslie Neale 

The documentary, “Unlikely Friends” explores how the power of forgiveness between victim and perpetrator can affect change within the criminal justice system by paving roads to reconciliation and rehabilitation.

These victims of horrific crimes seek forgiveness out of an individual need for healing. Surprisingly, these stories reveal that in that effort, they come to recognize their human connection to the perpetrator of the crime, which unexpectedly leads them into friendship. Both individuals then experience the transformational power of forgiveness, and both benefit from this remarkable and to many, unfathomable connection.

Leslie will get Blu-Ray authoring from our newest donor, www.flowmotion.com

Some Things You Should Know When Choosing an Authoring Service 

Ah, the magnitude of a palatable menu. Whether it’s on a DVD or a Blu-Ray, the menu is the first interactive impression made on an audience and should be a clear representation of their impending experience. It follows then that finding an authoring service that will extend the time and energy to perfectly match your individual set of needs with their creative and technical services is absolutely crucial. For something as important as authoring your Blu-ray or DVD menu, you want a team who:

• Listens and takes the time to understand your vision
• Creates original, cutting-edge content from scratch and is equally comfortable working with provided materials
• Is flexible, informative and accessible
• Is experienced and will ask the right questions to give you the optimal results

That’s where people like us come into the picture, no pun intended. Flow Motion, Inc. clients repeatedly choose us as a resource for their authoring needs and often make us an integral facet of their production and post-production experience. They know that we’ll accommodate just about any need to ensure a project’s success –from providing a few shots of espresso, to hours upon hours of overtime. We offer a wide spectrum of quality services available to our clients and we enjoy collaborating with them from the beginning to the end of the production process. If and when you need a place and equipment to shoot, you can rent our on-site, fully equipped studio with the aid of our knowledgeable and skilled production staff members. 

Once your project reaches the post-production stage, we will edit and author your content. And finally, we’ll design your product’s packaging and take care of either replicating or duplicating your DVD or Blu-Ray. Our collective imagination and expertise exists solely to bring our clients’ visions to life. We understand the production process, and we’ll provide what you need– from start to finish. The Flow Motion, Inc. team is proud to be a part of the 2011 Film Grant by From The Heart Productions by offering the winner a 40% discount on our authoring services.