We have recently introduced a new category in the Shooting People bulletins called Crowd Sourced Projects, recognizing that we need to create a new space for Shooters to promote their crowdfunding endeavors to the Shooting People community. I was delighted to moderate not one but two panels about crowdfunding recently – starting with Ain’t Too Proud To Beg at Sheffield Doc/Fest, followed swiftly by another one at CPH:DOX. The Sheffield panel was interesting because it was divided into three sections…

Getting funding for your film is wonderful but there are also lots of potential pitfalls and complications. The good folk at Active Voice have created a website to help both filmmakers and funders steer a course through these turbulent waters. Check out The Prenups and download a copy for youself.

Brian Newman (CEO of the Tribeca Film Institute) gave this talk to the Tribeca All Access filmmakers yesterday. It’s a little odd looking at slide shows without being guided through them but this gives a good survey of the current online options available to you as filmmakers. Tribeca All Access – Online Tools, making money and building audiences for film View more presentations from Brian Newman.

I’ve just been having a look at Reelisor, a new initiative by Discovery Campus who are known for their fantastic training/mentoring events for documentary filmmakers in Europe, along with a string of key partners including BRITDOC and EDN. Reelisor looks like a mixture of an online marketplace, resource and network for doc folk. Savvy filmmakers are getting increasingly strategic about international partnerships when it comes to financing and distributing their films and this is a good place to start as…

I’m moderating this panel on Monday at 10am at the Conference during Independent Film Week. If you want to find out where the money is, and I know that you do!, please stop by. FILMMAKING 2.0 Show Me the New Money Where do you begin when navigating the wide variety of traditional and new media services, sites and opportunities being promoted to assist filmmakers in raising money? How do these tools and services differ from traditional private equity and film…

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and Shooters present ‘Short Sighted’, an intensive day devoted to helping you get your short film exhibited and distributed. Sunday 14 September, at BAFTA, 195 Piccadilly, London. Shooting People and BAFTA members pay only £15; everyone else pays £30. The price also includes a little black book of useful contacts and websites. shootingpeople.org/shortsighted This is a whole day event of sessions, workshops, surgeries and networking opportunities aimed at people who have…

I’ve just been checking out ReelChanges, a website that offers a fundraising platform and fiscal sponsorship for documentary projects that “make a contribution to cultural or artistic or educational expression.” There are a number of websites out there now offering filmmakers the ability to raise money for their films online. I can see lots of great opportunites for crowd-sourced financing if you postition your film strategically and market it accordingly. But these are not easy things to do in a…

Morrie Warshawski is in NYC this week doing some workshops. If you want to get some great tips on how to raise money for your film then Warshawski is a great place to start. You can also purchase his books: Shaking the Money Tree and The Fundraising Houseparty.

From D-Word: Applying for ITVS? Want to avoid some of the pitfalls? Starting today at The D-Word, ITVS leading executives Joy-Marie Scott, Cynthia Kane, Karim Ahmad and Kathryn Washington join us online to take us through the complexities of applying for ITVS funds. This moderated “ITVS Special Conference” runs from 17th to 22nd December. The D-Word, co-hosted by founder Doug Block in New York, Ben Kempas in Munich and John Burgan in Denmark has been hosting documentary discussion forums online…