How To Apply To Film Grants To Fund Your Film
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 มิ.ย. 2024
- Recently I applied for my first ever film grant and I realized film grant applications are an art of their own that most indie filmmakers don’t necessarily know a lot about. So I figured I’d share with you everything I learned during this extremely time consuming process so you can ace your application and get funding for your film!
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I’m going to walk you through what I submitted for this film grant and the basic elements will be needed to apply to any film grant.
First up, was the finished draft of the script. Companies and organizations want to make sure you actually have a project to make with that money and that it’s good before they put their name on it by funding it. So make sure you have a solid script that’s completely polished and one that fits that specific grant perfectly.
Second, and also super important is your personal statement. This most likely will be a requirement for any grant you submit to and it’s basically your chance to express why you need this grant money, why your film is the right choice for the grant money, and why your film is so important it needs to be made. Now the key word here is money. You’re convincing them to give you a lot of money, so your argument here needs to be very very strong.
Third, is a budget. Once again, you’re convincing people to give you money so they want to know where the money will go and exactly what you’ll be spending it on. Some grants might only require you to do a top sheet budget, which just gives estimates for each department, but I encourage you to expand on that if possible and try to give as detailed of a budget you can. Obviously budgets can change during pre-production, but the clearer you can be about how you’ll spend the money the more likely they’ll be to give it to you.
Fourth is a cast and crew list, and this is really a nice to have and not a need to have as you might not already have your film casted or your crew assembled. If you do though, it’s great to show them who will be working on the project and give a brief bio for each with any impressive and noteworthy projects they’ve worked on.
Fifth is work examples. These are links to various other films you or other cast and crew members have made that are good examples of your work. While this is optional sometimes, I’m gonna say it’s something you should definitely find a way to include, even if they don’t ask for it, as it proves that you’re capable of handling a film shoot and can deliver a solid final product. Again, they are giving you money so you want to do everything in your power to convince them to do so.
And finally sixth, is a look book. Again this is optional but a really great tool to help the grant givers see your vision for the film. This is really the chefs kiss of your grant application, that little something on top that can be the difference between them choosing you over someone else. Showing that you have a strong visual look and style for the film through example images from other films or just google searches, is the best visual tool in your tool belt.
And pro tip, if your entire application looks like it matches the look and feel of your film’s look book, even better! You could even go the extra extra mile like I did and design a poster for your film that matches the look book and put it at the front of your application to tie it all together.
And finally, one last pro tip, spend time on your application. Don’t just rush through making it so you can be the first to submit, though I will admit not being the last has it’s benefits. Grant givers can tell when you spend time on your application, so take the time to make sure your application is perfect. All of that work can earn you a lot of brownie points.
*This video contains affiliate links which give me a small commission once clicked on.
#FilmItYourself #Filmmaking #FilmGrants - ภาพยนตร์และแอนิเมชัน
Thanks for your tips ❤
No prob! Thanks for watching!
This was very insightful! Thank you so much for sharing!!😊
No prob! Thanks for watching!
Hi! Thanks for your time and help with this great information!!! Keep it going!!! 🔥🔥🔥
No prob! Thanks for watching. 😁
this is so amazing. Thank you.
No prob! Thanks for watching!
Nice video thank you! Informative! ❤
Thanks for watching! 😊
Great video! Hope that everything worked out for your short film!
Thank you! Still in preproduction but it’s going!
"Show Runner's Assistant" Hahaha. Cool tips
Thanks for this info. I'm working on getting funding for a documentary I'm producing and it's been so overwhelming. This video has been so helpful. That said, are there any organizations that fund Italian-American guys who want to make films? ;)
Ah yeah it can be very overwhelming! I’m not sure about Italian-American based grants but there are lots of documentary grants! Definitely Google documentary grants. Check out Film Fatales on Instagram. They post weekly about grants and half of them usually tend to be doc grants.
Hey! loved your presentation. i want to ask whether film festivals that has free submission are valid or not? are they just scam?
Hey good question! I wouldn’t say they were all scams but I’d also say do your homework and research them. Anything that’s having you buy an award is a scam. A legit film festival or contest won’t charge you for the award.
Thanks so much for the tips. I have a question.
-When they give you grants, what do they want in return, or who's the final owner of the film? Are you producing for them or for yourself?
Oh good question! I’d say it really varies from grant to grant so make sure you read the fine print. Most are giving you money to produce your own film and you remain the owner.
Thanks so much. I really appreciate. I was also wondering if you could be a person coach for someone who wants to apply for a grant and want to make you a part of it. If yes, what are the conditions and how to go about it?
Do grants have any preference of genre? Do you think grants would be open to funding horror or thriller films? I know they’re all different, but is there any way to find out?
Hey great question! It really depends on the grant but Shore Scripts has a Short Film Fund grant that isn’t genre specific. There are other grants that are genre specific, but I’d probably say that most aren’t. Just do some research and you should be able to find grants that work for you. Also check out the list in the description.
Hi let me ask, what about paying for footages like footages from medias? As I’m gonna create a production company and I was wondering what about paying for footages from medias.
Hi there! What exactly do you mean by paying for footages? Do you mean buying stock video from a stock video site? Or paying someone else to shoot footage for you?
@@Film_It_Yourself I mean Licensing footages from media's like NBC, ABC, ET etc. Cause my documentary will be licensed from these media's. So do I have to do like financing etc?
@@Film_It_Yourself I mean do you use film grants to license footages from media's? Cause when I'm cresting a production company and do documentary I'm gonna license videos from ET, CBS etc.
@@eph_loves_80s74 each grant will specify what you can use the money for but if you’re making a documentary and your getting funds for post production then yes, that’s pretty standard for documentaries.
@@Film_It_Yourself Ah so does it granting work for Licensing from ET etc?
Hi
Hi!
Are you available for hire to research and submit grants for documentaries?
Hi thanks for watching and reaching out! Unfortunately no I’m not but there are companies that do like Festival Formula.
Hi! Are grant application fees a red flag? I'm getting mixed answers online :)
No not necessary. I’ve applied to grants with fees and ones without. Just research the grant and make sure it’s a reputable one.
What organization or company should the grant application be to submitted to?
Hi Tina, it really depends on what type of film you have. Try researching grants for whatever type of film you’re making, like “documentary grants” or “short film grants.” There are other film grants that are generally for every kind of film as well. Check out the description of this video for a list of grants as well!
@@Film_It_Yourself
Hello, Film It Yourself!
Thank you for your response; the video was very helpful.
No prob! Happy to help. 😊 And thank you for watching!
@@Film_It_Yourself
I will continue to watch and have shared the link.
Oh thank you so much! 😊
Hi! Did you get the grant?
Unfortunately no but we did get semi finalists on another grant. Didn’t get any money though. Thanks for asking!