Finding funds & Producer for a student production at DVinfo.net

Tim Pearce · January 8th, 2007, 08:42 PM

Hi,
I'm considering an 800km solo run from Toronto to the east coast of the US. I want to film it and produce a doc. I know that there are grants for municipal, provincial, federal, and private institutions - but I have found that most of them state that students are not eligible. Does anyone know of any student-friendly funds in Canada? Also, does anyone know any Toronto producers that handle arty sports/adventure docs? Someone suggested that I get a letter of interest (intent?) from a broadcaster and then use that to try to get sponsorships. Any other ideas for finding funds and a producer would be greatly appreciated. The project is still in the planning stages in terms of the actual run, but it looks like the limiting factor for the moment will be funds, not my preparedness.

Thanks again,
Tim

Peter Wiley · January 8th, 2007, 09:18 PM

A few thoughts . . .

Broadcasters rarely buy programs on spec from unknowns with no track record (no pun intended). You will need to have something in the way of a pilot to show.

More importantly, however, you need a good story. Why should anyone be interested in your run? Yes, 800km is a long way to run, but that in and of itself is not enough. Why are you doing it? Do you have challenges to overcome to do the run? Why should anyone want to watch you doing it? Is there something special about the route? Or is there something special that you'll be doing along the way. Who is the audience for your story? How does your story compare to others that are similar?

When you have answers to these kinds of questions you can think about writing a treatment -- and that's what the next step would be to entice a producer to consider the project, if by producer you mean a person who will find funds for the project and manage its production.

January 8th, 2007, 08:42 PM	#1
Tim Pearce Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 40	Finding funds & Producer for a student production Hi, I'm considering an 800km solo run from Toronto to the east coast of the US. I want to film it and produce a doc. I know that there are grants for municipal, provincial, federal, and private institutions - but I have found that most of them state that students are not eligible. Does anyone know of any student-friendly funds in Canada? Also, does anyone know any Toronto producers that handle arty sports/adventure docs? Someone suggested that I get a letter of interest (intent?) from a broadcaster and then use that to try to get sponsorships. Any other ideas for finding funds and a producer would be greatly appreciated. The project is still in the planning stages in terms of the actual run, but it looks like the limiting factor for the moment will be funds, not my preparedness. Thanks again, Tim

January 8th, 2007, 09:18 PM	#2
Peter Wiley Major Player Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Lewisburg PA Posts: 752	A few thoughts . . . Broadcasters rarely buy programs on spec from unknowns with no track record (no pun intended). You will need to have something in the way of a pilot to show. More importantly, however, you need a good story. Why should anyone be interested in your run? Yes, 800km is a long way to run, but that in and of itself is not enough. Why are you doing it? Do you have challenges to overcome to do the run? Why should anyone want to watch you doing it? Is there something special about the route? Or is there something special that you'll be doing along the way. Who is the audience for your story? How does your story compare to others that are similar? When you have answers to these kinds of questions you can think about writing a treatment -- and that's what the next step would be to entice a producer to consider the project, if by producer you mean a person who will find funds for the project and manage its production.