LEARN PRODUCING
The Ultimate Course for Indie Film Production
Each year, From the Heart Productions awards four grants to independent filmmakers. Over 30 years, we’ve read proposals from scores of creative, intelligent artists, with brilliant projects.
The biggest reason they are denied funding is they have not developed their film enough for us to be confident their film will ever get made.
And if that is an issue with us, it will be the same with every potential investor, grantor, and donor from whom they seek money.
Learning how to produce and develop your film is critical to your success as a filmmaker.
This course will give you the information, guidance, and support to develop your project so you can get the funding you need to get your project completed.
We are studying the book, Producer to Producer: A Step-by-Step Guide to Low Budget Independent Film Producing by Maureen A. Ryan, an award-winning producer whose credits include the documentaries Man on Wire, Dick Johnson Is Dead, and Becoming.
This is the Bible for learning to develop & produce in the film industry.
One of the most asked questions is, “What do Producers do?” Maureen Ryan says, “They make it happen.”
This is what we are teaching, how to “make it happen” with developing and an emphasis on funding.
The course is taught over 26 sessions via a Zoom call. There is a new class every two weeks on Saturday at 9am PT.
Each class has an important element for producing and funding your film.
We cover financing, log line, pitch, deck, documentary proposal in much more detail than the book because these are very important to your funding.
We begin by covering the basic materials that you need to learn how to produce and acquire film funding. Then we move from chapter to chapter in the Producer to Producer book.
You Can Join Class at Any Time!
Next Class – Film Grants: How to find, how to write your proposal, how to win.
May 27th, 2023
Guest Instructor: Joanna Rabiger
Joanna Rabiger is a documentary Grant writer.
In this class:
- Information on applying for grants. Joanna excels in helping filmmakers win grants.
- What goes into an award-winning proposal.
- How to apply for grants for features, docs, shorts and webisodes.
- What donors and grantors want to know but may never ask.
- What is the best search engine for grants.
Outline of The Producing Class: How to Develop and Fund your Film
- Carole Dean shares production techniques and interviews guest speakers covering subjects outlined in Producer to Producer and my book, The Art of Film Funding. We go into detail to teach you how to produce and fund your film. Questions and interactions are important and we encourage you to participate.
- Each class will have a guest speaker who is an expert on the chapter we cover. We get to hear their personal experience and hear tips from on-set experiences.
- We ask students to bring us their own production and funding questions. We will make time to answer.
- Carole Joyce introduces you to our Roy Dean Grant donors who we have known for years. They are top organizations who give excellent prices to our filmmakers.
Carole also shares information on applying for grants,financing, and producing. - This class is 60 minutes long.
- We are available for questions by email.
- Personal consults are available only for producer students at $60.00 for 40 minutes. We read your materials and give you suggestions for improvement.
- To take the class, we ask that you buy the book, Producer to Producer by Maureen Ryan.
About the Instructors
Carole Dean
Carole Dean is the Founder and President of From the Heart Productions, a top-rated 501(c)3 non-profit that supports independent filmmakers by helping them raise funding for their projects. Over thirty years through From the Heart’s fiscal sponsorship program, she has assisted filmmakers in raising over $30 million for their films.
She created the Roy Dean Grant in 1992 and has awarded over $2,500,000 in grants to independent filmmakers, and helped to produce over 80 films through the grant.
Her creation of a business in 1970, Studio Film & Tape, that purchased leftover motion picture film from production then resold it at a discount, helped spark the independent film revolution by giving filmmakers affordable film stock.
In the 1980s, she produced 120 Health Styles Shows that were sold to Oasis Cable and 30 Filmmaker shows, now in the National Archives. She was Executive Producer for BAM 6.6, Women Behind the Camera, Step Away From the Stone, and American Chain Gang. More of Carole’s producing credits are available on IMDB.
Carole Dean is the author of The Art of Film Funding, 2nd Edition: Alternative Financing Concepts & The Art of Manifesting: Creating your Future. Click here to see Carole’s complete Curriculum Vitae.
Carole Joyce
A talented filmmaker, photographer, and producer, Carole Joyce is a Director of the 501(c)3 non-profit From the Heart Productions and Director of the Roy W. Dean Grant, of which she has been an integral part of for over 20 years.
A graduate of Brooks Institute of Photography, Carole is an award-winning filmmaker for her documentary Survivors. Carole served as Executive Producer for the award-winning short film Stairway to the Stars starring Sean Young and as LA Line Producer for Wheels of Heaven with Mickey Rourke. Carole’s additional credits are available on IMDb.
Click Here to schedule a consultation with Carole Joyce. Students enrolled in the year long Producer’s Class get a special discounted price of $80 for a 1 hour consultation.
Guest Producer (Classes 1-4): Lorenzo DeStefano
Robert Siegel
We have our attorney on the class to answer your legal questions. Robert has been helping filmmakers with all phases of production and sales to cable and streamers for over 20 years. He specializes in documentary and feature films.
Course Syllabus
CLASS 1 – Saturday, April 1, 2023
Producer to Producer book, pgs. 1-6
Carole shares from Maureen Ryan’s Producer to Producer how to use this book. We cover the various producers’ jobs and titles. How to develop your film, acquire rights, and how important a chain of title is to your film. Alexis Krasilovsky teaches adaptations. Lorenzo DeStafano shares rights and chain of title. Carole Joyce teaches how to create a log line and introduces us to people in the industry. We close the class with questions and answers.
Photo Credit: Kim Gottlieb-Walker
Guest Instructor: Alexis Krasilovsky
We cover:
- Pages 1 through 6 in Producer to Producer.
- Finding the idea or the material.
- Learning to say no.
- Studying scripts.
- Development process.
- Do you legally have the rights to your material?
- Rights acquisition of script and or underlying material.
- How to write a logline.
- We introduce you to top service people in our industry
A vast majority of Academy Award-winning Best Pictures, television movies of the week, and mini-series are adaptations, watched by millions of people globally. Great Adaptations: Screenwriting and Global Storytelling examines the technical methods of adapting novels, short stories, plays, life stories, magazine articles, blogs, comic books, graphic novels and video games from one medium to another, focusing on the screenplay. Written in a clear and succinct style, perfect for intermediate and advanced screenwriting students
Homework: Please read Screenplay Creation and Revision and Screenwriting Software for next class in Producer to Producer, page 6 through 21. You can listen to an interview with Christopher and Kathy Riley from their book The Defining Moment on how defining moments build characters. https://d1at8ppinvdju8.cloudfront.net/1/215/show_12159396_2022_10_24_16_54_35.mp3
Read Unleashing the power of the film crew blog here: https://fromtheheartproductions.com/carole-dean-blog
CLASS 2 – Saturday, April 15, 2023
Producer to Producer book, pgs. 6-18
Screenplay Creation and Revision
Guest Instructor: Jacob Krueger
The founder of Jacob Krueger Studio, Jacob has worked with thousands of writers, from Academy and Tony Award Winners, to beginning writers picking up the pen for the first time. Jacob is a WGA Paul Selvin Award Winning screenwriter, playwright, producer and director.
Jacob’s first produced movie, the Emmy Award Winning “The Matthew Shepard Story” (2002) won him the Writers Guild of America Paul Selvin Award and a Gemini Nomination for Best Screenplay. He has collaborated on original film musicals with Tony Award winning composers Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg (Les Miserables, Miss Saigon) and with four-time Academy Award Composer Michel Legrand (Yentl, The Thomas Crown Affair), as well as a full slate of solo projects ranging from Feature Films to TV and Miniseries.
We Cover:
- What are the most common mistakes screenwriters make and how can they be avoided? This information is excellent for documentary filmmakers because they are writers too. Producers of documentaries and narratives need to know the structure of a feature and how to create their scripts just like screenwriters do.
- They say when you finish your first draft you are 7% completed, so what do you do next?
- How do writers create multilayered characters like Saul in Better Call Saul?
- How do writers approach writing dialogue that is natural and engaging.
- What is the difference between plot driven and character driven stories for features and documentaries?
- What tools can you recommend to help writers? What books do you recommend writers read?
- How do writers deal with producers who are concerned about money? How do you negotiate with a writer who wants you to blow up a bridge when you don’t have that in the budget?
Robert Siegel, Esq. is on the class to answer any questions about contracts or other legal issues.
Lorenzo DeStefano, our resident producer, will answer any production questions.
While documentaries are often less dialogue-driven than screenplays, the dialogue that does exist must be carefully crafted to reveal character and move the story forward. Screenwriting classes teach students how to write natural-sounding dialogue that advances the story and reveals character, which can be applied to documentaries as well.
Carole Joyce will discuss how to write a Documentary proposal.
- Crafting a compelling introduction or synopsis.
- Writing a personal filmmaker statement that conveys your dedication to the project.
- Tips and techniques to win over grantors and investors.
Homework: Start working on your log line. See this page for help: https://fromtheheartproductions.com/film-financing-and-fundraising
CLASS 3 – Saturday, April 29, 2023
Producer to Producer, pgs. 16-29 – A step by step guide for low budget independent filmmaking
Getting Feedback on the Script
Guest Instructor: Max Aaron
An award winning filmmaker based in London, England. Max has worked on over a dozen feature films and two television pilots as a script consultant and has directed over twenty short films, all with a uniquely charming and whimsical stamp. Since graduating from the prestigious MetFilm School in 2015, he has gone on to write and direct multiple short films and established Dreamology Pictures. Max’s latest film as Director was the multi-award winning Hitchcockian thriller and dark comedy ‘Stalled‘, which picked up awards for ‘Best Director’. ‘Best Thriller’, ‘Best Actor’ and ‘Best Cinematographer’ at the Falcon International Film Festival London and participated in the London Lift – Off Film Festival Online on Vimeo On Demand .
We Cover:
- Creating your log line, creating a feature or documentary proposal, bios, production plan, budget and financing plan.
- What is coverage?
- Why do you need coverage?
- How to use coverage to improve your script.
- What you should get from a coverage expert.
- What grantors and donors want in a documentary proposal.
We will learn why coverage on your script is so important. You will know what to expect from a coverage expert and hear how this benefits you. We discuss how to use this information to improve your script.
We offer information on documentary coverage. We discuss what grantors and large donors want in a documentary proposal. We close the class with production questions. Introduce students to industry people who give good discounts to our FTH filmmakers and who are donors to From the Heart’s Roy Dean Grants.
We offer information on documentary coverage. We discuss what grantors and large donors want in a documentary proposal.
We explain how to create a great log line.
We go over your documentary & feature outline/proposal and tell you what we want in our grants.
We follow Maureen’s book with information on each item needed to go into your proposal for a documentary and in your deck for your script.
How sectioning your information in to Theme, background and need, etc. can enhance your materials.
Carole Joyce introduces you to our donor who creates posters and discusses the importance of an outstanding image to brand your material from day one.
Homework: Finalize your log line for the next class. Read the information 16-29 in Producer to Producer for the next class.
CLASS 4 – Saturday, May 13, 2023
Producer to Producer book, pgs. 29-43
Log Line, how to create and why you need it. We will read and critique log lines with Kara’s help.
Guest Instructor: Kara Williamson
Kara is the Founder, CEO, and Producer of US-based companies, Reveal Live! Entertainment, and Meeting Street Productions. Kara is a top industry film, television and digital media production and distribution executive. She is well-respected for her creative approach, wide-ranging resourcefulness and deep industry knowledge. She is known for tackling the most demanding media and entertainment challenges.
We Cover:
- Writing a documentary or feature synopsis.
- Creating your deck using Tom Malloy’s outline for a deck as all the legal information is current.
- Bios of your key people
- Finding Comparison projects
- How important is your budget?
- Robert Siegel, Esq. will answer questions on contracts.
Carole Joyce reviews hundreds of grant applications for the Roy Dean Great. She shares what she looks for in grant applications for documentaries, features and shorts.
We close class with production questions. Introduce students to industry people who give good discounts to our FTH filmmakers and who are donors of FTH grants.
Carole Joyce reviews hundreds of grant applications for the Roy Dean Great. She shares how important the distribution area is for us. Who is your audience? We want you to tell us that you know your audience and you are communicating with them now or will communicate with them via social networks during the making of the film. We want to know where your film belongs. What streamer you think will be best for this film. Will you keep educational and community screenings for your own use? How will you reach your audience with your documentary?
Carole shares one of From the Heart grant donors with the class. We know these people have excellent products and they are heart-felt donors and care for independent film
CLASS 5 – Saturday, May 27, 2023
Film Grants: How to find, how to write your proposal, how to win.
Producer to Producer book, pgs. 19-21, 35-44
Guest Instructor: Joanna Rabiger
Joanna Rabiger is a documentary film grant writer and consultant specializing in writing award-winning proposals for independent documentary films since 2004. Films for which she has secured grant funding include American Sons (forthcoming), Storming Caesars Palace (Independent Lens 2023), Building the American Dream (Voces, 2020), First Vote (America Reframed, 2020), Belly of the Beast (Independent Lens, 2020), Conscience Point (Independent Lens, 2019), Decade of Fire (Independent Lens, 2019), Disclosure (Netflix, 2018), Served Like A Girl (Independent Lens, 2018), Voices of the Sea (POV, 2018), What Was Ours (Independent Lens, 2017) and many more.
Current directors with whom she works include Dan Habib, PJ Raval, Kristina Goolsby, Bara Jichova Tyson, Theresa Loong, and Kim Hopkins.
Instructor: Carole Dean
Carole Dean is the Founder and President of From the Heart Productions, a top-rated 501(c)3 non-profit that supports independent filmmakers by helping them raise funding for their projects. Over thirty years through From the Heart’s fiscal sponsorship program, she has assisted filmmakers in raising over $30 million for their films.
She created the Roy Dean Grant in 1992 and has awarded over $2,500,000 in grants to independent filmmakers, and helped to produce over 80 films through the grant.
We Cover:
- Information on applying for grants. Joanna excels in helping filmmakers win grants.
- What goes into an award-winning proposal.
- How to apply for grants for features, docs, shorts and webisodes.
- What donors and grantors want to know but may never ask.
- What is the best search engine for grants.
Carole Joyce, Director of the Roy Dean Grants explains how to apply for grants. What grantors want on their outlines. She reads and reviews filmmakers proposals for documentaries and outlines and scripts for shorts and outlines and decks for features.
Carole Dean shares tips from a grantor on what we really want to know from your proposals and decks. She will also share when and how to hire a grant writer and what to expect when applying for film grants.
Homework: read pages 22-34 of Producer to Producer.
CLASS 6 – Saturday, June 10, 2023
June Producer to Producer book pages 22- 34
Kara covers pitching HNI and how to open conversations and close investors.
Guest Instructor: Kara Williamson
Kara is the Founder, CEO, and Producer of US-based companies, Reveal Live! Entertainment, and Meeting Street Productions. Kara is a top industry film, television and digital media production and distribution executive. She is well-respected for her creative approach, wide-ranging resourcefulness and deep industry knowledge. She is known for tackling the most demanding media and entertainment challenges.
We Cover:
- The financing plan.
- Terms of investment.
- Profit split waterfall of return of investment. DPA website has a great waterfall document – https://www.documentaryproducersalliance.org/_files/ugd/446e61_82c56abb0eec4cc59c0a62aa6b59ddb4.pdf
- Schedule of time needed to complete a film.
- Robert Siegel, Esq. answers legal questions.
Close class with production questions. Introduce students to industry people who give good discounts to our FTH filmmakers and who are donors of FTH grants.
Homework: Read pages 45-51 in Producer to Producer.
CLASS 7 – Saturday, June 24, 2023
Producer to Producer pages 45 -51
Guest Instructor: Jenny Waldo
Jenny Waldo got her start in the documentary/educational industry of her hometown, Washington, DC. While earning her MFA in Film Production at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, where she won a directing scholarship, Jenny continued to work on documentaries while also pursuing her passion for scripted filmmaking. Producing credits include the indie feature The Preacher’s Daughter which sold to Lifetime and the feature documentary The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing. Developing a hybrid approach to her own work, Jenny’s debut feature film as a writer/director, Acid Test, is a coming-of-age story based on her own tumble through self-discovery as a 1990’s Riot Grrrl. Acid Test premiered at the 2021 Austin Film Festival and is now available for digital rental. Jenny’s second feature, Martha’s Mustang, is also based on a true story from the 90’s about a woman in the man’s world of auto body repair who gets into a fight with City Hall over a hot pink Mustang. The script was selected as a 2021 Nicholl Fellowship Quarterfinalist and received funding from the City of Houston for a table read that was part of the 2022 Houston Cinema Arts Festival and participated in the Stowe Story Producing and Narrative Labs as well as the From the Heart Intentional Filmmaking Workshop. An advocate for diversity in film and upcoming filmmakers, Jenny was Program Coordinator at the non-profit Southwest Alternate Media Project (SWAMP) and now teaches filmmaking at Houston Community College.
We Cover:
- What streamers want and how to approach them.
- How to pitch a distributor.
- What you need to close distributors.
- How do you reach the streamers?
- Should you hire a sales agent?
- What does a sales agent cost and what will they do for you?
The new world of documentary distribution taught by Peter Broderick will be discussed. We will share ideas on funding your documentary from your audience. And, how to go to conventions and find your audience and your funding.
We will close class with production questions. We will introduce students to industry people who give good discounts to our FTH filmmakers and who are donors of FTH grants.
Homework: Listen to interview on The Perfect Pitch https://d1at8ppinvdju8.cloudfront.net/1/018/show_10180537_2017_08_23_03_11_41.mp3
To learn how to create your pitch, read the sticky story information on this page: https://fromtheheartproductions.com/film-financing-and-fundraisin
CLASS 8 – Saturday, July 8, 2023
We cover: The art of the pitch.
Guest Instructor: Andrew H. Orgel
Chairman, QOL (Quality of Life) Media, Inc., Chairman & CEO, Kadelyst Entertainment, Chairman, Reveal Live! Entertainment, Founding Executive, MTV, A&E, Nickelodeon, The Movie Channel
Andy was labeled “MTV Mastermind” and the man who “made TV interactive,” by Success Magazine.
We discuss your body language and what it means to your donor. We learn how to go into a meeting with confidence. You are judged on your body language. How to meet all criteria for pitching. It is important to know that your voice, your eye contact, your body language, are all part of the pitch. This needs to be created before you even learn the pitch. These physical elements are 93% of the pitch.
Crafting the 2-minute pitch and moving to the next meeting. In this class we will choose 4 to 6 students who pitch their films and hear feedback.
For those of you who want to pitch, Carole Joyce and Carole Dean will take personal, private sessions to hear more pitches. Everyone in the class needs to pitch their film. We will set a time for a pitch class.
Close class with production questions. Introduce students to industry people who give good discounts to our FTH filmmakers and who are donors of FTH grants.
Homework: See the Everything class with Karen Everett when she shows how to edit trailers and there are three classes about trailers here: https://fromtheheartproductions.com/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-film-funding
CLASS 9 – Saturday, August 5, 2023
Producing a Fundraising Trailer
Guest Instructor: Michael Torres
Filmmaker, Editor, Teacher and lifelong Student, Michael combines his love of history and storytelling with his passion for metaphysical studies, to create art that uplifts, inspires and unites. He is the founder and director of The Museum of Puerto History, an online cultural center and pop up museum experience. His first Installation, The Gods of Puerto Rico is a 12-part documentary series on Afro Puerto Rican revolutionary Pedro Albizu Campos and his quest for Freedom. Michael has created original content for Fox Sports, Spotify Studios, The NFL Network, ESPN, and YouTube Originals. When he’s not in production, Michael is a teacher of metaphysical studies and meditation at the Agape International Spiritual Center in Los Angeles. Visit mtorresproductions.com to learn more.
We Cover:
- How to shoot interviews to get the answers you need for your trailer.
- How music plays an important role in the trailer.
- Why funding trailers are a major necessity for docs.
- Making trailers for your feature.
- Editing your fundraising trailer.
Carole and Michael share different types of trailers you can make. How long they should be and tips on testing trailers. This is a major source of income for documentaries, webisodes and TV series.
Close class with production questions
Homework: Read the blog: Wizard of Oz on my interview with top color correction artist Sam Dlugach.
https://fromtheheartproductions.com/a-good-colorist-is-the-wizard-of-oz/
CLASS 10 – Saturday, August 19, 2023
Color correction sets the mood of the film.
Guest Instructor: Sam Dlugach
Sam Dlugach won our Roy W. Dean Film Grant in 1996 and is one of the best colorists in LA. He has over 30-years’ experience working with all types of films. Sam works for a major production company, but moonlights helping indie features and documentaries. He generously gives us his time to serve as a judge for the grant and donates his services to the winners.
Please make sure to have read the blog “A Good Colorist is the Wizard of Oz” before class to understand exactly what a Colorist does. https://fromtheheartproductions.com/a-good-colorist-is-the-wizard-of-oz/
We cover:
- The benefits of color correction
- How your color correctionist can advise you on camera settings
- Save money on post productions
Finding the right person early in production can benefit you in many ways. Color correction artists advice should be included in choosing and using cameras, setting a mood for each act and much more. Bring your questions for Sam to answer.
Close class with production questions. Introduce students to industry people who give good discounts to our FTH filmmakers and who are donors of FTH grants.
Homework: Read chapter 2 on script breakdown.
CLASS 11 – Saturday, Sept 2, 2023
Producer to Producer book, pgs. 50-55
Learning script breakdown.
Breakdown details
Filling in script breakdown sheet
Guest Speaker covers script breakdown. Script breakdowns are used for fiction or nonfiction projects with narrative elements like recreations. We learn the nuts-and-bolts of script breakdown. During production the producer often makes the script breakdown as the assistant director has not been hired.
Guest Speaker: TBA
Close class with production questions Introduce students to industry people who give good discounts to our FTH filmmakers and who are donors of FTH grants.
During our class, you will meet the top industry people and you will meet experienced working producers. Our job is to teach you how to produce your own material to a point where you can sell it or decide to make it yourself.
Future Class Schedule
Guests and Class Information TBA
CLASS 12 – Sept 16, 2023 – Budgeting
CLASS 13 – Sept 30, 2023 – Film Funding
CLASS 14 – Oct 14, 2023 – Casting
CLASS 15 – Oct 28, 2023 – Preproduction and hiring crew
CLASS 16 – Nov. 11, 2023 – Legal
CLASS 17 – Nov 18, 2023 (thanksgiving is on the normal day) – Insurance
CLASS 18 – Dec 9th, 2023 (last class of year) – Scheduling
CLASS 19 – Jan 6, 2024 – Production
CLASS 20 – Jan 20, 2024 – Safety & Wrap
CLASS 21 – Feb 3, 2024 – Postproduction
CLASS 22 – Feb 17, 2024 – Audio
CLASS 23 – March 2, 2024 – Music
CLASS 24 – March 16, 2024 – Archives
CLASS 25 – March 30, 2024 – Marketing & Film Festivals
CLASS 26 – April 13, 2024 – Distribution
You will receive a certificate once you have completed our Producer to Producer class
