An issue-oriented short film is one that has a theme of social importance at it's core. Substance abuse, poverty, the environment, homelessness ... these are all examples of a smaller movie with a socially pertinent style. This is significant as it is MUCH easier to obtain contributions of time, equipment and supplies when there is a "cause" behind the movie.
In the mid 90's I was able to get a 12 minute 35mm film produced for under a thousand dollars, an absolutely uncommon quantity. Catering, places, film stock and processing, misc materials, devices - almost everything was covered through generous donations since the film had 2 significant social issues as the primary styles - kid abuse and it's resultant connection to drug abuse later on in life.
The strategy? Experience production directory sites and cold call until you can't talk any longer. A common pitch went like this: "we're working on a film that deals with some appealing intense social problems and we're questioning if there's someone we can talk with about making a contribution of ..." It takes a lot of calls, however it works.
Getting donations is in one sense quite easy as lots of manufacturing business want to contribute. The difficulty that comes from this alternative to short film funding is in the added coordination efforts needed, for you'll should adapt your schedule to the donors. An example of this is that we needed to cancel a film shoot 2 weekends in a row due to the fact that the 35mm camera that was being contributed to us became unavailable as it was booked out on a paid shoot (a truth that needs to be accepted taking this strategy). But as quickly as the rental company's schedule cleared, the camera was ours and we had the ability to shoot, conserving hundreds of dollars in rental fees.
An additional problem with taking this path is producer sychronisation. It's much better if you have a distinct producer dealing with getting contributions as it's a full time task in and of itself. It's best to have one producer to manage shooting logistics and an additional to manage contributions. In the end, while our group was able to complete a lot with hardly any funds, the film suffered due to the fact that the director/producer (myself) was overworked with managing logistics and had less time to spend on creative shots, acting, etc. Having a distinct manufacturer to manage contributions will solve that trouble!
In the mid 90's I was able to get a 12 minute 35mm film produced for under a thousand dollars, an absolutely uncommon quantity. Catering, places, film stock and processing, misc materials, devices - almost everything was covered through generous donations since the film had 2 significant social issues as the primary styles - kid abuse and it's resultant connection to drug abuse later on in life.
The strategy? Experience production directory sites and cold call until you can't talk any longer. A common pitch went like this: "we're working on a film that deals with some appealing intense social problems and we're questioning if there's someone we can talk with about making a contribution of ..." It takes a lot of calls, however it works.
Getting donations is in one sense quite easy as lots of manufacturing business want to contribute. The difficulty that comes from this alternative to short film funding is in the added coordination efforts needed, for you'll should adapt your schedule to the donors. An example of this is that we needed to cancel a film shoot 2 weekends in a row due to the fact that the 35mm camera that was being contributed to us became unavailable as it was booked out on a paid shoot (a truth that needs to be accepted taking this strategy). But as quickly as the rental company's schedule cleared, the camera was ours and we had the ability to shoot, conserving hundreds of dollars in rental fees.
An additional problem with taking this path is producer sychronisation. It's much better if you have a distinct producer dealing with getting contributions as it's a full time task in and of itself. It's best to have one producer to manage shooting logistics and an additional to manage contributions. In the end, while our group was able to complete a lot with hardly any funds, the film suffered due to the fact that the director/producer (myself) was overworked with managing logistics and had less time to spend on creative shots, acting, etc. Having a distinct manufacturer to manage contributions will solve that trouble!
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