Create Other Opportunities

Of course, part of what’s needed is simply to get people working. Yet the solutions for this can often be created from some pretty obvious sources. Take the marketing video for your jurisdiction, for instance. In most areas, there are a number of different promotional bodies responsible for telling the world about what you have to offer. The Film Commission is one, of course. So are Convention and Visitors Bureaus, Tourism Offices, Chambers of Commerce, sites of historic interest, key government departments, local charities, local sporting events and others. In this media age, every single one of these Departments requires some kind of audio-visual marketing product. So why not coordinate a project where the budgets of all of these initiatives are pooled to create a year long video project, using local filmmakers to capture the footage? Essentially your area gets a wealth of footage, your filmmakers get paid to build their experience; it’s a win/win.

Example: Calling Card

An initiative such as Ontario, Canada’s Al Waxman Calling Card Program sums up the thought processes you need to adopt in order to serve the needs of your filmmakers. In Ontario, it was determined that young filmmakers were lacking a “calling card” that could be used to showcase their talents when seeking funding or distribution or whatever. The calling card project provided funding for filmmakers to create a short film that simultaneously honed skills, demonstrated abilities and aptitudes, and proved the filmmakers’ readiness for a full-length, feature film project.