{"id":101223,"date":"2018-04-18T14:31:12","date_gmt":"2018-04-18T19:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/?p=101223"},"modified":"2018-04-18T14:31:12","modified_gmt":"2018-04-18T19:31:12","slug":"10-insights-applying-filmmaking-grants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/10-insights-applying-filmmaking-grants\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Insights to Keep in Mind When Applying for Filmmaking Grants"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before you fill out your next filmmaking grant application, take a look at these tips and insights into what reviewers are looking for.<\/h2>\n

Cover image by\u00a0FrameStockFootages<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Having recently covered the SXSW film festival in-depth for PremiumBeat<\/a>, I discovered a very unsurprising trend when speaking to filmmakers about their budgets. The majority of films in competition received some sort of filmmaking grant support \u2014 either in hard cash or in-kind donations of camera gear, filmstock, or other resources.<\/p>\n

After attending a workshop hosted by the Austin Film Society<\/a> for their statewide filmmaking grants, I gathered the following insights\u00a0that should help filmmakers\u00a0improve\u00a0their chances of winning grant funding.<\/p>\n

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Grants are Meant to Help Up-and-Coming Filmmakers<\/h3>\n

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\n<\/a>Image by\u00a0guruXOX<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Perhaps the biggest point\u00a0is the grant reviewers’ earnestness (in this case, as a state-sponsored non-profit)\u00a0in supporting unknown and up-and-coming filmmakers. They\u2019re not there to be gatekeepers; rather, they’re supporters \u2014 they just have their own sets of rules to follow, and the applications\u00a0help ensure they realize their investments.<\/p>\n

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Application Comes from Principal Filmmaker<\/h3>\n

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\n<\/a>Image by\u00a0Kevin Pedersen<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

While you can and should obviously solicit as much help as possible on your grant applications, at the end of the day, the reviewers want to see that your application comes from the principal filmmaker \u2014 usually the person who is most responsible for guiding the project from start to finish. This is often the director. Authenticity trumps presentability in this case (but\u00a0shoot for both).<\/p>\n

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Applications Change Hands Often<\/h3>\n

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\n<\/a>Image by Dragon Images<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

This was an interesting insight, and other grant review processes may differ slightly, but for the AFS process, every application\u00a0gets reviewed by at least two\u00a0people (and a third to confirm if the first two give low marks). After initial reviews, a pool of candidates\u00a0go before a panel of experts where merits\u00a0get argued and final grant decisions get\u00a0made.<\/p>\n

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Guarantee Completion<\/h3>\n

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\n<\/a>Image by\u00a0guruXOX<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

As I mentioned above, grant reviewers want to find talented filmmakers to support; however, their biggest concern is that their money will be as useful as possible. Their biggest fear is that they\u2019ll grant money to a project that doesn\u2019t come to fruition \u2014 which, in turn, would mean that money\u00a0gets wasted\u00a0when it could have helped another filmmaker achieve his or her dream.\u00a0With that in mind, at every turn of your application, your goal is to prove a 100% guarantee of completing your project.<\/p>\n

As such, after reviewing many past grant recipients, it’s clear that grants very often go to projects looking for specific funds for post-production and other elements on the tail end of the production cycle. Why? Simply because there\u2019s more confidence that the money is going to projects\u00a0that are more likely to see completion and succeed.<\/p>\n

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Don\u2019t Lowball Yourself<\/h3>\n

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\n<\/a>Image by\u00a0GaudiLab<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

This was also an interesting\u00a0realization \u2014 grant reviewers are not looking for bargains. If you have an ambitious project and lowball yourself and your crew, that might appear to reviewers like a recipe for disaster. Instead, they look for proposed scope, budgets, and timelines that may be ambitious but, at the end of the day, look feasible.<\/p>\n

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Control the Viewing Experience<\/h3>\n

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\n<\/a>Image by\u00a0Rohatynchuk Mykola<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Many grant applications will allow you to share either clips of a project (if you\u2019re already in production) or relevant sample clips from past or similar works. As these applications may quickly change hands many times, it\u2019s important to \u201ccontrol the viewing experience\u201d of these clips. Reviewers might view your clips without reading your entire application, so if you\u2019re showing concept art or clips without color grading, put explanatory notes on the screen.<\/p>\n

(Bonus tip: if you, as the director, don\u2019t have many samples to share but, say, your DP has a great reel, then share that and explain the relevance<\/em>).<\/p>\n

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Show How The Grant Will Help<\/h3>\n

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\n<\/a>Image by\u00a0PORTRAIT IMAGES ASIA BY NONWARIT<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s important that you outline exactly how\u00a0the requested funds\u00a0will help your production. If you\u2019re working on a $100,000 project, it might be a stretch to explain how a $5,000 grant would help \u2014 especially if you can\u2019t show where the rest of your funds would come from. Knowing an exact number, where that money (or in-kind resource) will go, and how that will help your overall production is key.<\/p>\n

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Include Letters of Support if you Can<\/h3>\n

Similar to applying for a job, having references or letters of support is a great way to demonstrate accountability, subject knowledge, and your ability to\u00a0finish projects. Look to mentors, college professors, or clients who know your skills and character and are willing to write short-but-specific letters of support.<\/p>\n

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Read Guidelines, FAQs, and Supporting Materials<\/h3>\n

Finally, the most important of them all \u2014 Read. Every. Thing. Read the guidelines, read the FAQs, read any\u00a0available supporting materials. There may be samples and past winners’ submissions available to review \u2014 read those. Read the mission statements and about sections of the website. There\u2019s no excuse for missing information by not thoroughly reviewing what is available.<\/p>\n

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Get Feedback<\/h3>\n

In the case of the AFS grants, and for many others, there\u00a0is often an opportunity to have your application reviewed before applying, as well as after grants have been announced (if yours is not chosen). This could honestly be your most valuable resource, as you\u2019ll get genuine feedback on which sections are strong and which need improvement.<\/p>\n

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For more tips about filmmaking grants and production, check out some of these resources:<\/p>\n