• 14th annual Summer Shakespeare Intensive August 9 through 20th with Cinda Jackson
• Shakespeare Class culminates in a stage performance for limited audience; available for teens through adults; all levels of actors welcome

For the right brain training, I teach The Art of Manifesting: Creating your Future. I believe it takes both, your faith in your financing and your "to do" list to complete your film. The Film Funding class gives you the "to do" list and the Manifesting class teaches you the power of you mind and how to harness it to raise funds and donations for your film. Manifesting classes are here: http://www.fromtheheartproductions.com/Unique_way_to_Finance_Your_Film.shtml

There are student discounts available and in each class I give scholarships. I hope you will join me.

One of our fiscally sponsored films is Performing Arts Studio West, established in 1998, is a Los Angeles area based nationally recognized training, management and job placement program for adults with developmental disabilities. In the studio's 12 year history, PASW has placed its performers in over 1,200 roles in entertainment industry projects. Music, dance and acting are taught year round, along with the production of original musicals, videos and web series. However, this one of a kind program's very existence is being threatened by the devastating budget cuts effecting the state of California. In addition, the threat that their very location may some day soon be taken away looms in the balance. With the help of your tax deductible donations, you can help save Performing Arts Studio West and allow them to continue to work with these talented actors, singers and dancers and promote positive, accurate portrayals of individuals with disabilities in the media. See our trailer on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJzTDexg6jk

AWARD WINNING PROPOSAL AVAILABLE FOR YOU
Many people ask for a copy of a proposal to understand the level it takes to win a grant. I put one in my book, The Art of Film Funding. However, this one is on line. Brad Lichtenstein from 371 Productions is sharing two of his proposals to give you an idea of what wins ITVS grants:

I have posted at my blog the proposal I wrote for Almost Home, a film that was funded by ITVS. You can view it at:

http://bradlichtenstein.wordpress.com/2009/02/20/this-proposal-was-fundedby-itvs/

I've also posted a proposal for the Sundance Documentary Fund, but I don't know if it will be funded or not:

http://bradlichtenstein.wordpress.com/2009/02/10/final-version-of-sundance-documentary-fund-proposal-for-what-we-got/

ITVS has some helpful sections of its website, too, such as:

http://itvs.org/producers/treatment.html

Good luck. Brad Lichtenstein 371 Productions

Remember I told you about that Online company that can help people form an LLC, well here is the info if you care to check it out. Perhaps it may be a useful tool to put in your students' hands. It looks pretty good. The company's name is MyCorporation.com - they are a "document filing company", but they offer much more than that. They have been in business for 10 years under the Intuit, Inc. umbrella - which is the company that developed TurboTax, QuickBooks, and Quicken.

I just downloaded their free 16 page LLC guide in PDF. They are running a good promotion right now where they will form an LLC, including doing name search, filing Articles of Organization, drafting custom Operating Agreement, and creating an embossed company seal, for $165! Their normal rate is $300. The attorneys I was "privileged" enough to talk to told me it would cost me $1500. Independent filmmakers could benefit from this sort of thing. Yes, you can quote me. After I downloaded their free LLC guide, which is incredibly helpful and streamlined, I set my LLC up through them Online in about a half hour. I called them with a few questions before I went through with it and they were very friendly and helpful. They also have a 60-day money back guarantee.

I paid $150 total for them to do a name search, file the paperwork with Secretary of State, draft a custom Operating Agreement and create an embossed seal of my company name. ---Jesse

Where do you start? I read thousands of proposals a year for my Roy W. Dean film grants. I know what wins grants and what turns judges off quickly. Getting it right can be a piece of cake.

Documentary film funding starts with a well-written, organized proposal. It outlines your film's story, background, and need. It also outlines the approach, structure and style in four to eight pages of dynamite passion

Getting started may be the hard part, when really, this is the best part. Just write page after page of your visions for the film. Don't worry if you only need a 6 page proposal and you now have 25 pages, just keep putting down what you "see" happening in your film. Focus on your vision of the film. I realize that you are not sure what your subjects may say in the interviews, but if you did your research thoroughly, you know the subject matter. So, tell it to us as a compelling story and any people you have secured for the film, tell us their story.

Your proposal needs to be a visual description of your film. It's there somewhere in those 25 pages of written material so read them carefully and find the best visual sections to paste into your proposal. Now, read it over and create your first three dynamite paragraphs that tell me a compelling story. Put time into this because it is my introduction to your film. You may have been working on it for over a year, but this is my first look. You need to condense the film to three paragraphs to engage me because the first paragraphs are the most important part of the application. It tells me you are a good writer and it shows me your vision of the film.

We fund stories about interesting characters and concepts. The biggest mistake is to tell us the history in the beginning or to tell us how much this film is needed or that you want to send a message. Remember, Harry Warner said, "If you want to send a message, go to Western Union, if you want to make a picture, tell me a story!" That's just what we want, stories, keep telling us the story and let me see the film it as I read the story.

Now, take those 25 pages, cut and paste the information into the background, and keep that separate from the theme and separate from the approach, structure and style. We also want to know how you will market your film. I advise you to think cable outlet, international distribution and web, web, web. Only 1 in 1000 docs gets a theatrical release and that does not always have a financial return.

Creative filmmakers are building audiences for their films on the web by organizing communities around the film's issues and these people are donating to their films and waiting to buy the DVD's. If you get a distributor for your DVD, you will hopefully make $1.00 a sale. If you sell it on your web site, you will make the full price of perhaps $25.00. That's a much better way to sell your film.

We want to know your plans. Outreach is a major key to socially oriented films; we want to know that the people who need the film will see it so put outreach in the budget. Did I lose you with that last word? Well, you have to face the music and go to the left brain now and do a budget but never fear Norman Berns is here. His web site, www.realgrok.com is perfect for you. He is a doc maker who does business plans and has an on line class for budgets and he will allay your fears.

Finding grants that match your material is paramount to the funding process. Go to www.grantsmart.org and search for granting organizations by key words and once you find them; go to the foundation center's finder at www.fdncenter.org. You want to find and check out the Corporations 990 form which is part of their income tax, and foundations center has a slick 990-PF that shows you exactly where the most important funding information is located, see http://foundationcenter.org. I know is sounds sneaky, to look into some corporation's income tax, but all is fair in love and doc financing. You can access info on over 200,000 U.S. private and community foundations for free and you will find how much an organization donated in contributions, gifts and grants for prior years.

Find a potential funder that matches your film and find the name of the operations officer and, most importantly, find who won last years and prior year's grants. Is your film a fit? The biggest complaint is that too many people apply for grants that do not fit. See if you can find the prior winner's web sites, they might even be willing to give you tips on entering this grant.

Don't enter grants you don't think you can win. Your time is too valuable, it is best to find grants you think you have the best chance of winning and then write a few more paragraphs in your proposal to tailor it just for them. I know when someone reads my grant web site information because they say, "My film is unique and makes a contribution to society." That's my mission statement and I like to see this because I know they read the guidelines. While you read each potential funder's site, keep looking for questions that are not answered, like how many apps did they have last year and what is the amount of money they are giving this year.

Now comes the best part of funding. Get the list of Corporations you think are the best ones to submit your film. Find your question that was not answered on their web site and the name of the granting officer and phone number because you are going to call them! Don't be shy. You would never enter a grant without first making contact with the grantor. This is your great opportunity to introduce yourself and make an important connection. Place your call in "prime time" from 10 to 12 or 2 to 4 and ask to speak directly to the operations officer in charge of the grant. If they don't answer, try again later or get information on the best time to reach them.

Your job is to touch them, remembering that we communicate through the heart chakra. I say, "Touch my heart and I reach for my pocket book." Keep this in mind when creating your short pitch. This connection puts energy to your application; it is the voice behind the film.

Now what will you say when you get them on the phone? Go back to your 25 pages and create two lines that bring your film to life and tell them this story as your pitch. Tell them the title of your film and give them this short pitch. Don't over pitch, that's the worst thing you can do. Just tell them enough of the story line for them to remember you and the pitch.

You read this person's bio on the site and you know the films she/he funded in the past so you want to compliment them on their past selections and for their on-going contributions and support of filmmakers and ask your question that was not answered on the web site. Be relaxed, have your check list of these things in front of you and make a good impression and keep this phone call under three minutes. Be sure to listen to what they say. Let them talk.

Once you hang up the phone, write them a nice Hallmark card and mail it that day. Be sure to thank them for the information. Give them your short pitch again in the card. You now have two connections with this person and when they see your application they will remember you through the call and the card and the story of your film.

Realize that we want to fund you; we are looking for emerging and established filmmakers with engaging stories to tell. We know you are talented, most of the people who give grants are not filmmakers, we are your admirers, and we are astonished at your talents. The golden rule in applying for grants is "never give up." Keep going back, I have funded 2 films that entered my grant 3 times, I love filmmaker's tenacity.

Look for "WRITING GIGS" where you'll find:
- Our popular 'PRODUCER QUERY REQUESTS'
- Requests for 'SCREENPLAYS WANTED'
- Requests for 'SCREENWRITERS WANTED'
(to create original work or adapt a novel)

Join the email list here!

ISA MEMBERS Save $350 if you register for both the Screenwriting Symposium and The Hollywood Connection by April 25th, 2009.
You must sign up for the ISA email list to get the discount!
Again, it's FREE TO JOIN the ISA!

Funding sources
http://www.newyorkangels.com
http://www.villageventures.com
http://www.thefunded.com
http://angelsoft.net

Whatis New?

This is a great link for funding opportunities
http://www.independent-magazine.org/magazine/2008/12/grants

From the Heart is a 501 C 3, not-for-profit company. We choose a few films a year to sponsor. If your film is unique and makes a contribution to society, please call Carole Dean at 805 984 0098 to discuss fiscal sponsorship.

Chris Safos is a friend and a brilliant young man, he has created a much needed site for filmmakers, www.reserveresult.com

Reserve Result (RR) is a premium, all-inclusive web channel that produces original multi-media content and showcases artists (e.g. Filmmakers, musicians, painters, sculptors, etc) and their work in blog-style news format with video, photos and commentary text, and it's produced out of Los Angeles and New York City. (RR) broadcasts exclusive and verified news pertaining to film, art, music, television, sports, politics, social commentary, entertainment personalities and all aspects of industry events.

This is Serena Stevensonis brilliant documentary. She won our New Zealand grant and is still making this masterpiece. Completion soon.

The International Screenwriter's Association offers writers worldwide a reliable informational resource, a mutual support network, and member-only discounts and benefits, like the ones ABOVE. *Membership is free!

Join the email list here!

Celebrate the finalists
RSVP for 8/11 2009
Jay Tavare Host
Raleigh Studios
More Info

The Economist 2008, June 7th, states:
Despite the credit crisis and a weakening economy, American companies still managed to increase their charitable donations last year, according to the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy, an international forum which is co-chaired by Paul Newman. The median total given among the 155 companies surveyed by the committee was just over $26m, up by 5.6%on 2006 and representing around 1% of the pre-tax profits.

$$ New State Incentives for Film and Television $$

When will the states stop trying to out do each other to get your business?
A majority of the states provide state tax credits, refunds and other incentives for film production in their states. New Mexico has led the field for a long time with a 25% rebate incentive on all qualified expenses paid in the state. New Mexico studies have shown that the return on its investment spent on rebates paid shows a return of 10 to 1, that is $10 of revenue for every dollar paid in state rebates goes to businesses in New Mexico which produces other revenue to that state. Quite impressive! Over the last few months, several states have passed legislation to become major players in the film production incentives business. Wisconsin has a 25% refundable state tax credit. A Wisconsin based theatre chain will consider booking films meeting their standards, which is tantamount to a guaranteed distribution opportunity www.filmwisconsin.net. Any Wisconsin tax credit given to the production company which is not used, will be refunded in cash to the production company. Typically, a production company would owe little or no tax to Wisconsin, which can be very beneficial to investors.

New York State has just tripled their state incentive from 10% to 30% refundable credits on qualified expenses with an additional New York City incentive of 5%. www.ny.gov/govenor/press/press_0423081.html This amounts to a cash refund to the production company on any unused state tax credit.

Alaska just passed a transferrable tax credit incentive of 30% tax credit with an additional 10% for wages paid to Alaskan residents. This tax credit has not yet been signed into law by its Governor. www.alaskafilmgroup.org

Michigan may have the most impressive new film and television incentive package. It is a 40% refundable tax credit. This means that any state tax credit given to the production company which is not used by the production company, will be rebated in cash to the production company. This is tantamount to a rebate of 40% of each dollar spent in Michigan on qualifying costs. Another 2% is available by spending in certain designated areas. The most interesting part is that talent can come from out-of-state and such talent still qualifies as a qualifying cost up to a maximum of $2 million dollars in compensation for each such person. www.michiganfilmproduction.com

It appears that other states will try to provide better incentives for filmmakers to help convince them to film in their states. The return on investment to the state seems substantial enough so that granting incentives is not much of a business risk for any state. This is a fluid situation. Our comments above are general in nature. Each production is unique and opportunities need to be carefully considered.

Status of Federal Incentives under Section 181 of the American Jobs Creation Act, 2004:

Section 181 permits deductions for qualified production expenses up to $15 Million (or potentially $20 Million) in the year paid rather than potentially amortizing those amounts over several years. The benefits under Section 181 sunset and terminate, unless extended, at the end of 2008. There are currently pending U.S. Senate and House Bills to extend and amend Section 181 and increase certain benefits to the taxpayer. For example: Senate Bill (SB) 2375 and House Bill (H.R.) 6049, which have been read into record and referred to committee.

The Ways and Means division of the House passed the extender bill which included a modification to and on extension of Section 181. The extender package went to the House of Representatives for a vote and was passed by the House in May 2008. It will now go before the Senate in June 2008 for a vote. If passed by the Senate and signed into law by the President, Section 181 would be extended for one year and, in addition, the expenditures on a film or television project would no longer be disqualified from Section 181 if expenditures exceeded the qualifying amounts of up to $15 million (or $20 million), and the first $15 million (or potentially $20 million) of qualified expenses would be allowed as a deduction. There is a question whether or not the Senate will pass the extender bill. The Section 181 extender is part of a package extending other legislation. Extension of Section 181 will succeed or fail depending on the passing of the extender bill as a whole. For more information on the extension and amendments please contact us. If Section 181 is not extended, and to assure that taxpayers still qualify for Section 181 benefits, the film or television project must be in meaningful pre-production before the end of the day on December 31, 2008. If this test is satisfied, the project you will be igrandfatheredi and can be completed under 181 guidelines in the subsequent year. For more information on what constitutes a imeaningful pre-productioni or for any other information on Section 181, feel free to contact us.

New CD on the law of attracting

"The art of Manifesting: Creating Your Future" book and CD are now available in the store. We have the first chapter on the site for you to review and the CD covers everything in the book. This information on the Law of Attraction explains how it works and why. You will find many of the concepts in the Film iThe Secreti in my book, published before the film was released. However, I give you outlines on what to do and how to use this information plus comments from filmmakers who funded their films against all odds mostly using these tried and true concepts. This CD and book are excellent for filmmakers and artists of all types to fund their art and create a joyful life. You might like to listen to the interview with Claire Papin for her radio show, iItis all Good.i You can learn all about the concepts in iThe Art of Manifesting CDi and how they can change your life. Go to the first page and click on INTERVIEW ON MANIFESTING under the picture of the book.

Open Letter
We live in a sea of good and bad, black and white, lies and truth, our planet survives on death following life. Balance is the key word here. When this balance is upset then catastrophes happen like the one we have now with global warming. Our job as filmmakers is to keep the balance.

The airways are narrowing; PBS is not open for new voices. Ideas that donit conform to current political beliefs may never be heard on the airways. Most of our top investigative reporters have been felled. Independent & documentary filmmakers are now our only hope to ask tough questions and bring important issues to light. I submit to you, who else but creative, innovative documentary filmmakers could become our investigative reporters of this century?

Why not bring us dissident voices no matter how unconventional? Your job would be to ferret out the Noam Chomskyis and the Barbara Trentis, of this world and let us hear their views. It is our job to find the balance but we canit do that without the light of truth and that resides in the minds of our people. I beg you to consider bringing us those voices in your films. Only when we have these various views can we truly understand and find solutions to these serious problems we face as a nation.

All of you are in the communication field at one the most important times in the history of man, the digital revolution. Here you are with your cameras, your passion for films and your beliefs in the righteousness of mankind. I submit that you can become our unbiased airways; you are the ones who can keep the pipelines of truth open for us. I believe it is up to you to bring us the various voices of honest, caring and sometimes frightened people so that truth does not become a voice lost in the wind.

Please see the interview page as I have added an excellent interview about film stock for features and docs with Robert Mastronardi from Kodak, Fernanda Rossi give us interesting concepts on creating your trailer and Craig at Able Cine on cameras and current trends in filmmaking.

My friend and excellent Unit Production manager Tony Estrada has written two excellent guidelines for procedures for producing documentaries and features, they are both on the interview page. Let me know who else in the industry you would like to hear from.

We need more donors for the grants
Now, I want to add more donors to the grants and I now need your help. Who have you worked with that you really like in the film industry? Which editors are great, where did you get the best price on transcription or on a film camera or the best price for an editing system and which one do you like the most? Think about these things and please send me an email with any of this information so that I can go to those manufacturers or individuals to be part of our grants.

Free book as a thank you
I know itis a lot of time to do this so as a thank you, I will send you my new book, ithe Art of Manifesting: Creating Your Futurei or the E book of iThe Art of Funding: Alternative Financing Concepts.i Who knows you may be next yearis winner and get the prize yourself! Caroleedean@att.net Many thanks.

We will celebrate the finalists in 2009 at the Raleigh Studios.