LEARN PRODUCING

The Ultimate Course for Indie Film Production

with Carole Dean and Carole Joyce

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 Funding

CLASS 13 – Saturday, September 30, 2023

Producer to Producer book pages  108-111

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 for Investment:

  • Presales
  • Sales agents
  • Equity investors
  • Deferred payment deals
  • Union signatory film agreements
  • Donations and fiscal sponsorship

Carole Joyce will discuss successful crowdfunding techniques.

Carole Dean discusses how to apply for grants. She has been reviewing and awarding grants for 30 years and this is a compilation of important tips to win a grant.

Robert Seigel covers the legal information.

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.
Subscribe Monthly$59.00
 
For 4 classes $75.00 ($18.75 per class)
(Remaining 22 Classes can be purchased for additional $440)
 
For 26 classes$490.00

Similar courses taught by colleges and universities cost thousands of dollars.

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

Lorenzo DeStefano is an artist extraordinaire, He has written highly successful books, plays and screen plays. He has directed and produced documentaries and shorts. See full resume here

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

Acquiring Rights

 

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

ALEXIS KRASILOVSKY was born in Alaska, survived sexual assault at gunpoint, know what it’s like to be completely deaf, and has traveled to over twenty countries. She studied film at Yale and CalArts (MFA Film/Video) and is an award-winning filmmaker (“Women Behind the Camera” and other films). Alexis is the author of “Great Adaptations: Screenwriting and Global Storytelling” (– 2nd Place Winner, 2019 International Writers Awards) and Professor Emerita of Screenwriting, California State University Northridge. She is currently adapting a children’s story with Shameem Akhtar about a Bengal tiger in Bangladesh. See www.alexiskrasilovsky.comfor more.

 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 

Homework: Read: https://fromtheheartproductions.com/film-financing-and-fundraising    

CLASS 5 – Saturday, May 27, 2023

Producer to Producer book, pgs. 19-21, 35-44

Film Grants:

How to find, how to write your proposal, how to win.

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

Producer to Producer book pages  45-68

Pitching HNI’s and Closing 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.

Robert Seigel will discuss a project’s financial “waterfall” including:

Documentary Producers Alliance Guidelines for the waterfall.

https://www.documentary.org/feature/documentary-producers-alliance-unveils-guidelines-documentary-waterfall

We suggest you read this information if you are making a documentary.

We Cover:

  • Creating a pitch  
  • Distribution plan
  • Marketing/publicity campaign
  • Presales & sales agents
  • Deliverables
  • Script breakdown 

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

Securing Film Distribution:

Tactics and Techniques

 

Guest Instructor: Udy Epstein Teaches Distribution

Udy Epstein is a distributor and producer of independent and specialized films. Originally from Israel, he studied film at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. In 1994, he founded 7th Art Releasing. The company is noted for its releases of award-winning feature films such as the Academy Award® winning documentary, The Long Way Home.  Other films include: Prosecuting Evil: The Extraordinary World of Ben Ferencz,  The Jewish Experience, Walter Arlen’s First Century, Persona Non Grata, The Law, Murer: Anatomy of a Trial, 50 Children: The Rescue Mission of Mr. and Mrs. Kraus, The Prince and the Dybbuk, Portrait of Wally, Jews and Baseball and many more. 

With a focus on documentaries and over 25 years of experience in launching award-winning films, 7th Art handles sales and releasing in all markets: theatrical and non-theatrical, festival, educational, television, cable, and home video, including digital and VOD. Their expertise and knowledge of the independent film landscape has lead to major festival awards and multiple Academy Award nominations for our films.

Since 1994, Seventh Art Releasing has been distributing award-winning independent and foreign films domestically and abroad with the mission to bring unique films to the widest possible audience.

 

Guest Instructor: Jenny Waldo Teaches Crowdfunding

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. Jenny was selected for 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.

www.jennywaldo.com

Robert Seigel shares information on two types of distributors.  Those that simply acquire films for distribution and those that help with financing, producing and distribution.  Seems this is a smaller group.

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?  

 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

The Art of the Pitch
 

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.

Practice pitching to Grant Funders

We have 4 intrepid filmmakers who will pitch us their films and get feedback.

We Cover:

  • How to Contact a grantor before you submit.
  • Pitching a grantor.
  • Creating strategic partners with nonprofits and corporations.
  • The art of pitching your film for funding and donations.
  • How to use your nonprofit fiscal sponsor to ask for discounts.

Robert Siegel Covers:

1. COPYRIGHT IS BASED ON WRITTEN EXPRESSIONS. THEREFORE PITCHING WORK IS NOT COPYRIGHTABLE. IDEAS ARE NOT COPYRIGHTABLE. VAGUE, GENERIC, OR STOCK “IDEAS” ARE NOT PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT LAW.

 

2. PRIOR TO SHARING A MOVIE IDEA, WRITERS CAN PROTECT THEMSELVES BY GETTING THE IDEA RECIPIENT TO AGREE TO COMPENSATE THEM FOR SHARING THE IDEA IF THEY WIND UP USING IT. IDEALLY, A WRITTEN AGREEMENT WOULD BE SIGNED BUT THAT IS NOT ALWAYS PRACTICAL. A CONTRACT CAN BE IMPLIED-IN-FACT THROUGH AN ORAL AGREEMENT OR COMMUNICATIONS THROUGH EMAIL. IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO HAVE SOMETHING IN WRITING. KEEP AN E-MAIL CHAIN OF SUBMISSIONS (WITH E-MAIL FOLLOW UP AFTER PRESENTATION TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE SUBMISSION AND CONFIRM THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE PARTIES ESPECIALLY IF IT IS NOT WRITTEN.) CONFIRMATION IN WRITING BY PRODUCER IS BETTER BUT NOT ALWAYS POSSIBLE.

Carole Joyce will introduce you to another donor to our 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

This is a special pitch session just for those who did not get to pitch on July 8th.  You can sign up here and pitch us in a special pitch class on July 18 at 10am.  

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcrcu-hrTkuG9eCB6ptZiSBjiPVM5SNVLsL

CLASS 9 – Saturday, August 5, 2023

Mastering Trailers

for Fundraising and Engagement

Guest Instructor: Michael Torres

Filmmaker, Editor, and Post Production Consultant. Michael combines his love of filmmaking and art to create living stories that uplift, inspire, and make us feel. Michael has created original content for The Spring Hill Company, YouTube Originals, Fox Sports, Spotify Studios, The NFL Network, and ESPN. 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

and completing the breakdown sheet

Advice to make decision for original music or purchase existing.

When and how to bring on your attorney.

Kara Williamson covers script breakdown.  Script breakdowns are used for fiction or nonfiction projects with narrative elements like recreations. Maureen Ryan suggests you do this yourself rather than use a computer because it will be much more accurate.  Kara simplifies how to do this.  During production the producer often makes the script breakdown as the assistant director has not been hired.

Carole Dean and Kara Williamson discuss how important the cover sheet of the budget is.  Your breakdown sheet will give you the figures for your budget.  As grantors and film funders we give you what we think are important aspects that we look for on the top sheet.  How people have lost grants by having their top sheet wrong.  It is one of the most important elements in funding and financing your film.

Robert Seigel discusses composer agreements as well as synchronization licenses for songs and master use licenses for pre-existing recordings.

 

David Raiklen is a talented composer with top studio clients.  He will share information on when to bring on your music person.  He will answer questions and explain the costs and benefits of original music vs purchasing existing music.

We cover:

  1. Script breakdown
  2. Importance of the top sheet
  3. Original music or existing, what is best for you.
  4. Benefits and timing of hiring a music person
  5. Answer all questions

CLASS 12 – Saturday, Sept 16, 2023

Pages 69 through 75 of the Producer to Producer book.

Budgeting

Guest Instructor: Jonathon M. Smith

Jonathon M. Smith, is an actor/writer/producer who has been involved in the film industry for over 15 years. He started his career doing promos for Disney and Vogue as a teenager, and continued to work on multiple sets like Hannah Montana, Greek, Numbers, Heart of Dixie, and The Mandalorian.

At this time, Jonathon is currently producing and starring in a feature film called “The Terrible Children”. It has already been picked up by a distributor and is scheduled to release in the fall. 

On top of his film career, Jonathon has done work for SAAS companies and the educational industry. 

We Cover:

  • When you should create your first budget
  • Everything but the kitchen sink budget
  • Bare bones budget
  • Budgeting software
  • Top sheet

Carole Dean Covers:

  • What grantors want to see in your budget.
  • How your budget can help you win or lose grants.
  • Getting real quotes for your grants.
  • How important it is to be able to defend your budget.
  • You should know every line item.

Carole Joyce Covers:

  • Donors to the Dean grant to use on your films
  • She explains how important it is to bring on people early in production
  • Why you want your sound and color and D.P. in meetings with your director

Robert Siegel talks about what to budget for legal in a doc and a feature.

CLASS 13 – Saturday, September 30, 2023

Producer to Producer book pages  108-111

Film Funding

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 for Investment:

  • Presales
  • Sales agents
  • Equity investors
  • Deferred payment deals
  • Union signatory film agreements
  • Donations and fiscal sponsorship

Carole Joyce will discuss successful crowdfunding techniques.

Carole Dean discusses how to apply for grants. She has been reviewing and awarding grants for 30 years and this is a compilation of important tips to win a grant.

Robert Seigel covers the legal information.

CLASS 14 – Saturday, October 14, 2023

Pages 120 through 129 of the Producer to Producer book.

Casting

Guest Instructor: Donna McKenna

Donna McKenna, CSA, is an award winning, international casting director, producer and educator. She has cast numerous independent films, TV show, episodic radio shows, pilots and web-series during her more than 20 years in the business. These projects have received theatrical distribution and can be seen on Amazon Prime, iTunes, Apple as well as Direct TV and other streaming platforms.
 
Among some of her kudos are a Voice Arts Award for Best Ensemble Cast Performance Audio Show, the IndieFest Casting Award, Best Ensemble Casting from Blast Off FIlm Festival for Alter Ego and most recently received Runner Up 2020 Mandy.com Casting Director Award.

Donna teaches actors the craft of acting, improvisation, and audition techniques as well as a course called “Producing Your Career”, and the McKenna Method Workshops (www.mckennamethod.com).

We Cover:

  • Hiring a casting director
  • Attaching an actor or star to your project
  • Pay or play deal
  • The casting process
  • Auditions and callbacks
  • Labor rules for minors
  • Extras, background actor casting
  • To be union or not to be union?

Robert Siegel, Esq., covers contracts with casting director and actors.

Carole Joyce shares industry professionals.

Carole Dean shares information from Think and Grow Rich because your mind is your greatest asset in filmmaking.

CLASS 15 – Saturday, October 28, 2023

Pages 177 through 197 of the Producer to Producer book.

Locations & Hiring Crew

Guest Instructor: Chris Debiec

Christopher Debiec is an award-winning writer/producer/executive with an impressive thirty-four-year track record in all aspects of the entertainment industry. Some of his credits include Sylvester Stallone’s Oscar, The Crow for Miramax, The Devil’s Advocate, Mad City for Warner Brothers, The Out of Towners for Paramount Studios, and the ground breaking “first of its kind” live-action animation Dinosaur for Walt Disney Studios.

From 2000-2005, Chris was called on James Cameron to supervise production for the Emmy Award winning Earthship Productions. In 2010, Chris was recruited as Vice President of Production at Entertainment One Television (eOne). He spearheaded the alternative programming division for cable and network distributors such as Syfy, CW, WETV, BET, MTV, A&E, Discovery Channel, Oxygen and Fox Sports. In 2019, Chris was the Production Executive for Leyline/A24’s The Green Knight. 

Chris is now the CEO of newly formed award-winning studio Civilized Entertainment.

We Cover:

  • Create location list
  • The specifics of location scouting
  • Check with local film commissions for leads
  • Alternatives to hiring a location scout
  • Finalizing location and negotiating the deal
  • Backup locations
  • Paperwork and location release form
  • General liability insurance certificate
  • Permits
  • Shoot day protocol
  • Leave it better than you found it

Robert Siegel, Esq. covers paperwork for locations.

Carole Joyce shares a professional industry contact.

Carole Dean closes.

CLASS 16 – Saturday, November 11, 2023

Legal

Guest Instructor: Robert Siegel

Entertainment Attorney with 20 over years’ experience with independent feature and documentary filmmakers. He has negotiated contracts with HBO, PBS, and most all streamers. 

Visit his website at  http://www.rlsentlaw.com

We Cover:

  • Chain of title
  • Production issues
  • Financing Paperwork
  • General agreements
  • Distribution agreements

Carole Joyce will introduce you to a donor to our grants who has excellent prices and quality products



Future Class Schedule

Guests and Class Information TBA

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