NoFilmSchool » ifp

First Time Feature Films at the Rough Cut Stage: Two Weeks Left to Apply for IFP's Narrative Lab

Ryan Koo — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 13:45:08 +0000

I posted about this before, but now that the deadline is approaching for narratives it’s worth another mention. Why? Because “it takes a village” to make an independent film, and New York-based IFP can bolster the support structure around your project. If you’re a first time feature director and you’ve got a rough cut, think about applying to the Narrative Lab — you have until April 9. And be sure to check out the below roster of some recent lab graduates, whose festival acceptance roster is a who’s-who of film fests in this country. (more…)

At the Rough Cut Stage? Apply to IFP's Independent Filmmaker Labs

Ryan Koo — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:59:43 +0000

You’re editing your first narrative or documentary feature. You’re working with an assembly or rough cut; the film is coming together, but you’re not sure how to best carry the project through post-production. In short, you need help. If this sounds like you, I highly recommend applying to IFP’s Independent Filmmaker Labs, which provide mentorship at NYC events in May, June, September, and December. Note this is open to U.S.-based IFP members (join here) only. (more…)

Not Everyone Has an Uncle in the Film Biz

Ryan Koo — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 14:00:53 +0000

The New York Film Festival is running this week and next, and I was fortunate enough to participate yesterday in the wonderful Emerging Visions program put on by IFP and the Film Society of Lincoln Center. An amazing day of panels with industry veterans, on-stage pitch sessions, and a sit-down meeting with my assigned mentor, Doug Liman (!), concluded with the sponsor, RBC, showing these spots. Though they’re just ads made for TIFF, they speak to the NoFilmSchool ethos perfectly and humorously: (more…)

Independent Film Week Kicks Off - Video Coverage Here

Ryan Koo — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 16:27:51 +0000

~~During the day (EST) through Thursday the 22nd there should be free live streaming of the panels taking place here at Independent Film Week~~. The week is now over but after the jump there are some archived videos for watching on demand. (more…)

Behind-the-scenes on 'Man-child': Creating a Multimedia Lookbook for Producers

Ryan Koo — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 20:50:43 +0000

My screenplay for Man-child (the project I’m currently trying to get funded with your help!) is one of twenty scripts that will be participating in IFP’s Emerging Narrative program a month from now. Put simply, Emerging Narrative is a program for screenwriters looking for a producer — a situation that many screenwriters and writer/directors find themselves in. Whether you’re participating in a program like Emerging Narrative or not, one way of helping producers better understand your project is to bring additional materials to the table besides your script. These materials might include a sample of a previous work you directed, another writing sample, test footage, a spec trailer, or a lookbook. A lookbook is a collection of stills culled from a variety of sources (not necessarily images you shot yourself) that convey what you want your movie to look like. Instead of using still images as is typical, however, I decided to make a multimedia lookbook: a collage of film and TV clips that demonstrate the aesthetic of Man-child. I hadn’t seen this done before, so I cut together clips from over a dozen films, and paired the visuals with a voiceover about some of the more technical aspects of Man-child — including what camera I’d like to shoot the film on, and a particular kind of camera stabilizer I’m planning on utilizing: (more…)

IFP Can Greatly Aid Your Documentary or Partially-Financed Feature with Independent Film Week

Ryan Koo — Wed, 18 May 2011 18:23:39 +0000

IFP’s Independent Film Week is currently accepting applications for filmmakers, producers, and screenwriters for its 33rd annual forum, being held for the first time this year at Lincoln Center in New York City, September 18-22, 2011. They’re currently seeking entries for No Borders (for U.S. and international producers with partial financing on new narrative projects seeking additional partners) and Spotlight on Documentaries (for U.S. filmmakers with projects in production or post-production seeking financing partners, broadcast/distribution opportunities, and festival invitations). Deadline is Friday, May 20 — I highly recommend anyone with an eligible project apply, as am I: (more…)

Catch Power to the Pixel and IFP's 'Cross-Media Forum' Live Online Tuesday

Ryan Koo — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 23:06:41 +0000

I’ll be in the audience tomorrow at Power to the Pixel’s joint event with IFP, the Cross-Media Forum. The entire transmedia conference will be streamed live here, so tune in between the hours of 9am and 5pm if you’d like to attend virtually (the schedule can be found here). The official word: “Featuring an impressive array of storytelling experts from the worlds of film, games, advertising, interactive, the IFP / Power to the Pixel Cross-Media Forum is a not-to-be-missed event. If you can’t make it to New York, you can watch events unfold right here from the comfort of your own chair from 09.00 – 17.00 EST.”

First-Time Feature Directors in Post-Production: Submit to IFP's Independent Filmmaker Labs

Ryan Koo — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 22:40:31 +0000

If you’re a first-time feature director — documentary or narrative — I highly recommend you submit your project to IFP’s Independent Filmmaker Labs, which is “the only free program in the U.S. supporting first-time feature directors when they need it most – at the crucial rough cut/post-production stage.” The deadline for documentaries is tomorrow (March 11) — sorry for the late notice! — but the narrative deadline isn’t until April 8, so that should give narrative filmmakers sufficient time to put together an application. More details here: (more…)

IFP's 2011 Script to Screen Conference Takes Place This Saturday

Ryan Koo — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 16:45:55 +0000

Whenever I get an email from a filmmaker moving to (or thinking about moving to) New York, I always make sure to impart the following advice: join IFP. There’s no better way to become part of the indie film scene in the Big Apple. IFP puts on a few conferences a year, and this Saturday is the Script to Screen Conference, which as you can guess focuses on issues for screenwriters (and writer/directors). I was a panelist at last year’s conference, and I learned a lot just by sitting in the audience for the other panelist’s presentations. This year’s guests include Mark Heyman (Black Swan) and Barry Levinson (Diner, Rain Man, Sleepers), and also includes a Pitch Workshop. (more…)

Trailers from the 2010 Gotham Award Winners

Ryan Koo — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 14:35:46 +0000

The Gotham Independent Film Awards took place last night here in New York, and despite being fairly plugged into the indie film world, I couldn’t help but notice when presented with the opportunity to vote for the audience awards online that I had seen less than half of the nominees. So now that the awards have been decided, I thought I’d call whatever attention I could to the winners, since indie films are too damn hard to see. Perhaps if one of these trailers piques your interest you’ll add it to your Netflix queue or even buy it via Amazon. Without further ado: (more…)

New vs. Old at Independent Film Week

Ryan Koo — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 13:50:38 +0000

The reason I slipped from my daily posting schedule this week is because it’s Independent Film Week here in New York; as a participant in the No Borders co-production forum, I pitched my feature-length, interactive murder mystery 3rd Rail to something like eighteen different producers/financiers/sales agents/distributors over the past three days. This post, about the experience of attending and pitching at Ithe Project Forum, is cross-posted on the Filmmaker Magazine blog. For more on what the Project Forum is and why you should apply, check out this post. (more…)

Networking Opportunities Abound at the 2010 Independent Filmmaker Conference

Ryan Koo — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 18:49:06 +0000

Independent Film Week kicks off in New York City this Sunday the 19th, and the main event of the week is the Independent Filmmaker Conference. It’s going to be a networking clusterlove, with reps from CAA, ICM, Kickstarter, Paramount, Sony Pictures Classics, Focus Features, Fox Searchlight, IFC, and festival programmers from Sundance, SXSW, Tribeca, Toronto, Berlin, Rotterdam and more out and about. I’ll be there as part of the No Borders Project Forum with my transmedia project 3rd Rail, but I’m going to try to make it to as many panels as I can — of which there are 33 in all, covering the latest in need-to-know info for indies: (more…)

IFP Announces Selections for 2010 Project Forum (Including My Project '3rd Rail')

Ryan Koo — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 17:03:52 +0000

Independent Film Week (IFW) takes place every September in New York, and it’s a whirlwind event chock full of panels, screenings, networking events, and meetings. One part of IFW is the Project Forum, wherein filmmakers meet with financiers, producers, distributors, and other enablers. Films participating in the Project Forum range from those in the development stage to those in need of finishing funds. I’m happy to announce that 3rd Rail, the transmedia project I’ve been working on with Zack Lieberman (my co-writer/director on The West Side), has been selected to participate in the No Borders International Co-Production Market. (more…)

IFP's No Borders and Spotlight on Documentaries programs open til Friday

Ryan Koo — Tue, 18 May 2010 12:43:56 +0000

Independent Film Week is coming to New York City this September (19-24), and a big part of the event is IFP’s Project Forum, which is “a meetings-driven forum connecting filmmakers who have new narrative and documentary projects in development, production, or post-production with key industry executives interested in identifying projects with which to become involved at the financing or distribution stage. Participating industry includes broadcasters, distributors, festival programmers, sales & talent agents, producers, funders and financiers.” If you’ve got a narrative or documentary project at any stage of production, this is an opportunity worth checking out — whether you’re NY-based or not. Two out of three programs are open til Friday: (more…)

IFP Emerging Narrative Program

Ryan Koo — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 16:00:31 +0000

Writing a good screenplay is the obvious first step to getting a film made — although in many cases one wonders if writing a bad screenplay is the more common first step — but getting that screenplay funded and actually made into a movie is more of a obfuscated process. If you’ve written a screenplay but don’t have a producer attached or financing secured, you might want to apply for IFP’s upcoming Emerging Narrative program (I am)…
(more…)

Notes from IFP Script to Screen, part two

Ryan Koo — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 16:00:20 +0000

Part two of my notes from IFP’s Script to Screen conference last weekend. Some real-world filmmaking questions were answered on these two panels, including, “How do you make a living as a low budget film director?” and “Can you offer advice for someone who’s about to shoot a first low-budget feature?” Most of this is paraphrased, not word-for-word (often for clarity). (more…)

Notes from IFP Script to Screen, part one

Ryan Koo — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 16:00:26 +0000

Here’s part one of my notes from IFP’s terrific Script to Screen conference last weekend (well, it’s really part two, as I turned the panel with The Daily Show head writer Steve Bodow into its own post). I didn’t take notes on all the panels, just the ones I thought might be of interest to the NoFilmSchool readership. Also, my Macbook Old only lasts two hours before its battery dies; I need one of those newfangled ones with the 7-hour runtime. Included here are the panels Development Demystified and Networking & Notice – Workshops, Contests & Competitions. Some real-world screenwriting questions were answered on these two panels, including, “How long does it take to get a movie made?” and “Do you have a chance of getting into festivals and competitions if you’re not connected, if you don’t have an in?” Most of this is paraphrased, not word-for-word (often for clarity). (more…)

Want to write for The Daily Show? Here's what you need to know

Ryan Koo — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 16:00:12 +0000

One of the panels at IFP’s phenomenal Script to Screen Conference this weekend was A Conversation With Steve Bodow (Head Writer, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart). Moderated by Jason Guerrasio (Managing Editor, Filmmaker Magazine), the conversation was a refreshingly frank behind-the-scenes look at the show’s creative process. It also included a lot of valuable information for anyone with dreams of one day writing for the Comedy Central show, which features some of the most hilarious and excoriating social commentary on TV.

IFP Script to Screen Conference

Ryan Koo — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:00:00 +0000

I’ll be speaking on a panel titled “Writing for a New Landscape: New Media & Cross-Platform Opportunities” at IFP’s upcoming Script to Screen Conference. The conference explores new opportunities available to independent filmmakers and directly connects aspiring and working filmmakers to the decision-makers of the film, television, and digital media business. Here are some of the presenters:

Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight, Thirteen, Lords of Dogtown), Steve Bodow (Head Writer, The Daily Show), Brian Koppelman (Solitary Man, Rounders, Ocean’s Thirteen), Peter Hedges (What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?, About a Boy), Adam Brooks (Definitely Maybe, Wimbledon), Monty Ross (Do The Right Thing), along with representatives from Focus Features International, the Sundance Channel, Filmmaker Magazine, and more! Like Ryan Bilsborrow-Koo and Zachary Lieberman, who wrote The West Side two years ago and haven’t been heard from since, thanks to the evil machinations of the film industry!¹

The conference takes place Saturday and Sunday, March 20th and 21st at 92Y Tribeca (200 Hudson Street). For IFP members, tickets to the conference are $150; for non-members, $200. However if you use the special nofilmschool code FREE2010 you can get the member rate as a non-member.²

Writing for a New Landscape: New Media & Cross-Platform Opportunities will be an interesting panel, as I suspect most of the helpful information Zack and I can impart comes from our experiences shopping our feature-length, transmedia screenplay for Third Rail, rather than from our experiences producing the DIY The West Side. Regardless, I promise our panel will be interesting, and I might even wear pants.

I added that last sentence.
Okay, the code is not specific to nofilmschool. However, it will save you $50.

2010 IFP Independent Filmmaker Labs - Call for Entries

Ryan Koo — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 17:00:19 +0000

Are you a first-time feature filmmaker? Are you in post-production? Then you should really apply to IFP’s Independent Filmmaker Labs. What exactly goes on in the labs? From the horse’s mouth:

Through five days of workshops, mentorship, networking opportunities and creative guidance on their project, Lab filmmakers are able to gain editorial feedback, assess strategic partnerships & marketing opportunities, and evaluate their options for maximizing the reach of their film via festivals, traditional theatrical roll-outs or through innovative, DIY distribution methods. Filmmakers also meet with cutting-edge technologists to build their brands, as well as explore the myriad of modern web and promotional tools necessary to build engaged audiences for their projects.

Documentary applications were due February 12th (I’m a bit late with this) but narrative entries aren’t due until March 26th (the lab itself takes taking place June 7-11). As a panelist at last year’s (or was it two years ago’s?) Independent Film Week, I saw several work-in-progress screenings and shared drinks with many of the lab participants; across the board, they were full of effusive praise for the program. If you’ve got a project in the rough cut stage, by all means check out this year’s lab, and if not, definitely keep the labs in mind for a future project.