Sign Up for NYWIFT’s October Events: HIFF, Pitch Fest, VintAge & More
Reaching the “Right” People in Your Creative Career with Joanne Zippel Thursday, October 9, 6:30 pm It can be hard to find and connect with the “right” people to move your career forward. At this hands-on seminar, career coach Joanne Zippel will share powerful techniques that will connect you to the people who are right...
READ MOREAdvice from an Indie Producer: Production Design & Wardrobe
The Art and Wardrobe departments help build the characters through decoration and dress. What people wear and where they live and work can give you insight into the characters and their motivations. That’s why it’s important to hire crewmembers that are clear about your vision and have the ability to execute it for the budget...
READ MOREDrive Your Own Career: Producers of ‘The Kids Menu’ Talk Collaboration
Photo credit: Shane Maritch. A common frustration for many actors is the constant grind of looking for work, auditioning, and then waiting for the phone to ring (or the email to appear). So, ten women and myself decided to take our careers into our own hands and independently produce projects together. Our first collaboration is...
READ MORESocial Media for Film & TV: Engagement Is the Magic Word
If your social media accounts have largely been for personal use, the words “engagement” and “metrics” likely haven’t peppered your vernacular. But they are truly the magic words in trying to define the success of your social media strategy. More followers mean more buzz when you’re promoting your project — and being able to quantify...
READ MORESocial Media for Film & TV: Follow, Like, Share, Repeat
Image by Paola Peralta, via Wikimedia Commons. By now you should know how to set up your social media accounts and who your target audience is. But once you’ve created that Facebook page or Tumblr blog, your presence needs to be more than just your film’s teaser or a selection of production stills. A good...
READ MOREAdvice from an Indie Producer: What You Need for Filming
The CameraThere are many things you need to actually make a movie. The most important one is the camera. Without one there’s no movie. Here are some key questions you need to ask yourself when choosing a camera: What type of look are you trying to achieve? Each camera’s output has a different look and...
READ MOREAdvice from an Indie Producer: Locations
Locations are an important part of your prep as a filmmaker. The places you choose can either enhance or potentially harm the production value of your project. The process to find locations can be daunting especially on a full-length feature film, so it’s imperative that you have a plan. BreakdownsBreaking down the script is the...
READ MORENYWIFT Fund for Women Filmmakers Extends Deadline
It Felt Like Love, winner of the Nancy Malone Marketing and Promotion Grant and a 2013 Sundance Film Festival Official Selection. New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) provides grants to women filmmakers to complete and promote their film projects. This year, those grants include a new addition: the Ravenal Foundation Grant, supporting a woman second-time feature film...
READ MOREAdvice from an Indie Producer: Hiring the Crew
Preparation for an indie project is crucial for finishing on time and under budget. The budget is finite (in most cases) because you cannot go to the studio and ask for more money. You have to get it right the first time. In Robert Rodriquez’s Rebel Without a Crew, he credits detailed preparation as to how he shot...
READ MOREAdvice from an Indie Producer: Budgets Line by Line
There are two major components to an indie film budget: above the line and below the line. Above the line typically includes the fees paid to the writer, director, producer and cast. Below the line is everything else you need to buy or rent to make your production run, including post-production. The largest expense on...
READ MORENYWIFT’s May Events: Reality TV, Crowdfunding, and More
//embed.gettyimages.com/embed/132037876?et=icW4txOvQHdEavSB5nAJxA&SeoLinks=off&sig=xMCXtqKMEzUUksWEohaXF06lItNujTkOruxSvSGgjqw= Sign up for New York Women in Film & Television’s programs in May: Producing a Dynamite Sizzle Reel: The Key to the Sale Thursday, May 1, 6 pm Tribeca Film Center (375 Greenwich Street) TV and digital packaging agent Jim Arnoff will moderate an expert panel who will give you the insider’s take on how...
READ MOREFiscal Sponsorship & NYWIFT for Indie Filmmakers
Musician Clarice Magalhães and producer-director Irene Walsh in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Walsh’s documentary LAPA: The Heart of Samba chronicles a community of musicians and composers as their music resurrects a Rio de Janeiro neighborhood. My first feature-length documentary, LAPA: The Heart of Samba, is a project that I have largely funded myself, with a third of...
READ MOREAdvice from an Indie Producer: Script Breakdown & Budgeting
What is the real purpose of a budget? In my experience, it’s the road map of the production. The amount of money you have will dictate the majority of the decisions that are made in pre-production, principal photography, post-production and beyond (festivals, marketing, social media campaigns, etc). You may have used a “development” budget, usually...
READ MORENYWIFT Success Story: ‘In Montauk’ and the Value of PR
Lukas Hassel and Nina Kaczorowski in a scene from In Montauk, written and directed by NYWIFT member Kim Cummings. Photo by Aja Nisenson. Independent filmmaking on a micro-budget is a lonely business. People come and go throughout the process. As the filmmaker, you’re the only constant day in and day out. It’s not that you...
READ MORENew Opportunities From NYTVF, Disney, Tribeca, IFP
We’re highlighting some of the latest, most innovative competitions and programs for film, TV, digital, and writing: For the second year in a row, the Tribeca Film Festival has launched the #6SECFILMS Competition. Choose from one of the categories — #GENRE, #DRAMA, #COMEDY, #ANIMATION — and enter as many Vines as you want by March 27, 2014. Just...
READ MOREWomen-Directed Films at Queens World Film Festival
Katia, directed by Anna Shishova, is a nominee for Best Documentary Feature and Best Cinematography at the Queens World Film Festival. The Queens World Film Festival runs March 4-9, 2014, in New York. Opening night will be held at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, with the rest of the films screening at...
READ MORENYWIFT Recap: Member Screening of Sister Italy
On January 28, NYWIFT members and supporters gathered for our monthly member screening at the Anthology Film Archives. This month’s feature was Sister Italy, a heartfelt cultural comedy. As an aspiring filmmaker, I admire creators — those who defy expectations to represent new ideas and innovate storytelling. Sister Italy boldly met that admiration. Directed by Angelo Bonsignore, the film is...
READ MOREThe 2014 Athena Film Festival Is This Week
//player.vimeo.com/video/84185523?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0 The fourth annual Athena Film Festival kicks off this Thursday (Feb. 6) and runs through Sunday (Feb. 9) on the Barnard College campus in NYC. The lineup includes feature films (Short Term 12, In a World…), documentaries (Alice Walker: Beauty In Truth), a variety of shorts, as well as panels (A Conversation With Lexi Alexander, The Women...
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