Vimeo Launches $500K Program to Support Crowdfunded Films

Vimeo Launches $500K Program to Support Crowdfunded Films

Today at the Sundance Film Festival, Vimeo announced that the company is launching a $500K program to support crowdfunded films. The program will give creators who have successfully raised $10,000 or more through crowdfunding platforms access to tools and funds to bring their projects to market on Vimeo.

Vimeo's team of curators will review qualifying films on leading crowdfunding platforms, including Indiegogo, Kickstarter and our friends at Seed&Spark. The team will grant free, one-year PRO accounts and access to a $500,000 Audience Development Fund to select filmmakers. In addition, Vimeo will offer marketing support in exchange for an exclusive digital premiere window for distribution on Vimeo On Demand.

http://www.screencraft.org/hollywoodnews/vimeo-launches-500k-program-support-crowdfunded-films/

5 Tech Stories That Filmmakers (and Film Fans) Must Read: Sony Introduces 4K Camcorders, at CES 2014 and More

5 Tech Stories That Filmmakers (and Film Fans) Must Read: Sony Introduces 4K Camcorders, at CES 2014 and More

1. Sony Camcorder: Sony introduced a 4K camcorder which is small enough to fit into the palm of your hand at their CES press conference yesterday. Of interest to filmmakers, Sony announced a collaboration with WeVideo, the leading online video editing company, to make online video editing a reality. Starting in late January, owners of Handycam camcorder models from 2012 through 2013 will be entitled to three free months of access to WeVideo, for access to powerful video editing features including Full HD 1080p export quality; real-time previews, fast rendering; 10GB of cloud storage; and 400 royalty-free audio tracks. Find out more at Sony's blog.

http://www.indiewire.com/article/5-tech-stories-that-filmmakers-and-film-fans-must-read-sony-introduces-4k-camcorders-at-ces-2014-and-more

How To Develop A Festival Strategy For Your Film That Doesn't Waste Time Or Money

How To Develop A Festival Strategy For Your Film That Doesn't Waste Time Or Money

Getting your film into the right festival is an art of it's own. Not only do you need to be careful about the content that you submit and how it's submitted, but just as importantly you need to make sure that the festivals you submit to are worth your time and effort.

In order to develop a festival strategy for yourself, it's important to first identify the different types of festivals to see where your film fits in. After all, the average festival submission can be anywhere from $20 – $100, so even just applying to 10 – 15 festivals can start costing you thousands of dollars. Let's take a look at the different types of festivals….

http://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/how-to-develop-a-festival-strategy-for-your-film-that-doesnt-waste-time-or-money/

Extraordinary Careers: A Maverick Filmmaker

Extraordinary Careers: A Maverick Filmmaker.

Either directly or cloaked, my work is a reflection of the universe that I inhabit. As an indigenous young African, I find myself confronted by a world in constant flux; it is so unrelenting that it can't help but inform my chosen reality. Trying to swim in the sociopolitical tide that is globalization. What does a day-dreaming, rural African boy hold on to? His unclear yet colonised past? His passive-aggressive present? Or does he set sail towards an uncharted but highly anticipated future?

http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/extraordinary-careers-a-maverick-filmmaker

Inter BEE 2013: Newsshooter talks 8K cameras with Astrodesign in Film School - Filmmaking

Inter BEE 2013: Newsshooter talks 8K cameras with Astrodesign in Film School - Filmmaking

Inter BEE 2013: Newsshooter.com editor Dan Chung has a look at the Astrodesign 8K camera designed for Japanese broadcaster NHK.

http://vimeo.com/channels/filmschool/79844208

Why Did the Most Promising New Filmmakers Fail Us in 2013?

Why Did the Most Promising New Filmmakers Fail Us in 2013?

Short films can be good calling cards, but they aren't always the best proof that a filmmaker has the skills to immediately jump into a feature. Especially a big Hollywood production. In recent years, thanks to the combination of the Internet, social media and cheaper tools for making movies on a personal computer, we've seen some awesome short films go viral and then get the attention of studio execs and big time producers. The filmmakers, in only a few minutes of screen time, display a lot of talent and imagination and, most importantly, promise. But they're often handed properties that are too much to handle even for experienced directors, as we saw with Neill Blomkamp's assignment of Halo as a feature debut. Fortunately, that never happened and instead we got District 9, an extension of his popular short, Alive in Joburg.

http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/features/why-did-the-most-promising-new-filmmakers-fail-us-in-2013.php

Filmmakers, Film Industry, Film Festivals, Awards & Movie Reviews

Filmmakers, Film Industry, Film Festivals, Awards & Movie Reviews

The Oscar shortlisted documentary "Tim's Vermeer" represents a change of pace for irreverent entertainers Penn & Teller, who are better known for their presence in front of the camera or on stage in their acclaimed live comedy and magic shows than for nonfiction forays into films about art history. But "Tim's Vermeer" reveals itself to actually be perfectly in line with the duo's legacy of using critical thinking to challenge popular misconceptions and commonly held beliefs in science and culture. Produced by the pair and directed by Teller in his feature debut, "Tim's Vermeer" puts a controversial theory about painting technique to the test, and in doing so wittily demands audiences reconsider how they think about art and talent and how the latter is determined.

http://www.indiewire.com/awards-spotlight/2013/penn-and-teller/

5 Daily Tech Stories That Filmmakers (and Film Fans) Must Read: 'Reservoir Dogs' in Tweets, CES 2014 News and More

5 Daily Tech Stories That Filmmakers (and Film Fans) Must Read: 'Reservoir Dogs' in Tweets, CES 2014 News and More

1. CES News: We'll be covering CES in Vegas for the first time-ever next week. You can read our first-ever CES Preview here. But here's the latest: YouTube will be demonstrating 4K video based on VP9, a new royalty-free codec that Google has been developing. The Google-owned video service will be showing off 4K streaming at various booths, including LG, Panasonic and Sony, according to a report from GigaOm. It could lead to a battle over 4K delivery systems, since HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding) specification, has been the dominant technology up until now.

http://www.indiewire.com/article/5-daily-tech-stories-that-filmmakers-and-film-fans-must-read-reservoir-dogs-in-tweets-ces-2014-news-and-more

Covering the death of Nelson Mandela for the BBC

Covering the death of Nelson Mandela for the BBC

I arrived in Johannesburg excited for my upcoming documentary shoot in Lesotho. Leaving the plane I sleepily switched my phone back on and it immediately began to beep with incoming text messages. Nelson Mandela had died.

The death of Mandela is a story I've been preparing for for many years – when I was the BBC Africa bureau cameraman the fear of his death had always hung heavily over us, we all knew it could happen at any time and that the story would be huge. Now it had happened I felt sad for his family and for South Africa but relieved that he had finally found peace.

http://www.newsshooter.com/2013/12/29/15464/

Indiewire's Ultimate Guide to Documentary Filmmaking Advice

Indiewire's Ultimate Guide to Documentary Filmmaking Advice

There's been a huge renaissance in documentary filmmaking and Indiewire's been collecting some really great advice for documentary filmmakers, whether it's about how to go about finding funding, making the best film you can, or distributing the film successfully, Indiewire has the information you need!

http://www.indiewire.com/article/indiewires-ultimate-guide-to-documentary-filmmaking-advice