An issue-oriented short movie is one that has a style of social relevance at it's core. Substance abuse, poverty, the environment, homelessness ... these are all examples of a short movie with a socially pertinent style. This is substantial as it is A LOT EASIER to obtain donations of time, devices and materials when there is a "cause" behind the movie.
In the mid 90's I was able to get a 12 minute 35mm movie produced for under a thousand dollars, an absolutely unusual quantity. Catering, places, movie stock and processing, misc materials, devices - nearly everything was covered through generous contributions since the movie had two major social concerns as the primary styles - kid abuse and it's resultant connection to drug abuse later in life.
The technique? Go through production directories and cold call till you cannot speak any longer. A typical pitch went like this: "we're working with a movie that handles some beautiful intense social problems and we're questioning if there's somebody we can speak to about making a donation of ..." It takes a lot of calls, but it works.
Getting donations is in one sense rather easy as numerous manufacturing business are willing to contribute. The trouble that comes from this alternative to brief film funding is in the extra sychronisation efforts required, for you'll have to adapt your schedule to the benefactors. An example of this is that we had to cancel a film shoot 2 weekends in a row due to the fact that the 35mm camera that was being donated to us became unavailable as it was booked out on a paid shoot (a reality that needs to be accepted taking this strategy). But as quickly as the rental business's schedule cleared up, the camera was ours and we were able to shoot, conserving hundreds of dollars in rental fees.
An additional problem with taking this path is manufacturer coordination. It's much better if you have a distinct producer working with getting contributions as it's a full-time job in and of itself. It's best to have one producer to handle shooting logistics and another to manage contributions. In the end, while our group was able to accomplish a lot with very little funds, the film suffered due to the fact that the director/producer (myself) was exhausted with managing logistics and had less time to spend on imaginative shots, acting, and so on. Having a special manufacturer to deal with contributions will address that issue!
In the mid 90's I was able to get a 12 minute 35mm movie produced for under a thousand dollars, an absolutely unusual quantity. Catering, places, movie stock and processing, misc materials, devices - nearly everything was covered through generous contributions since the movie had two major social concerns as the primary styles - kid abuse and it's resultant connection to drug abuse later in life.
The technique? Go through production directories and cold call till you cannot speak any longer. A typical pitch went like this: "we're working with a movie that handles some beautiful intense social problems and we're questioning if there's somebody we can speak to about making a donation of ..." It takes a lot of calls, but it works.
Getting donations is in one sense rather easy as numerous manufacturing business are willing to contribute. The trouble that comes from this alternative to brief film funding is in the extra sychronisation efforts required, for you'll have to adapt your schedule to the benefactors. An example of this is that we had to cancel a film shoot 2 weekends in a row due to the fact that the 35mm camera that was being donated to us became unavailable as it was booked out on a paid shoot (a reality that needs to be accepted taking this strategy). But as quickly as the rental business's schedule cleared up, the camera was ours and we were able to shoot, conserving hundreds of dollars in rental fees.
An additional problem with taking this path is manufacturer coordination. It's much better if you have a distinct producer working with getting contributions as it's a full-time job in and of itself. It's best to have one producer to handle shooting logistics and another to manage contributions. In the end, while our group was able to accomplish a lot with very little funds, the film suffered due to the fact that the director/producer (myself) was exhausted with managing logistics and had less time to spend on imaginative shots, acting, and so on. Having a special manufacturer to deal with contributions will address that issue!
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