In The News

Share your input with the Department of Economic and Community Development on potential business and nonprofit support programs. 

Commissioner Heather Johnson, Carlos Mello from the Finance Authority of Maine, DECD staff, and region-specific organizations are hosting virtual input sessions as a chance for us to receive feedback directly from you.  This is an opportunity for you to share how we can best help you as we move forward in our economic recovery.

Use the links below to register for Tuesday 9/7/2021 Zoom sessions below.  If you are not able to join a session in your region, please feel free to attend another session.

Offered by non-profit From the Heart Productions, the grant funds films that are unique and contribute to society that, without the grant’s help, might otherwise never get made.   Projects can be short films, independent features, documentary, or web or television series. 

To be eligible for the grant, the project submitted must be budgeted for under $500,000.  You can enter a project that is in proposal stage, pre-production, or production as well.  

Deadline to apply is October 31st, 2021.

For any questions, please email info@fromtheheartproductions.com or call 805-984-0098. 

This Stage 32 Blog comes from Martin Gooch, a director and screenwriter based in London, England. 

Festivals are a great way to say thank you to everyone who helped, impress your investors and meet as many people as you can. I met some of my very best friends at film festivals and it’s nice to hang out with like-minded people and talk about movies.

Having had numerous shorts and four feature films on the festival circuit, I have been to festivals all over the world. Here are 32 tips to make it a more pleasurable experience and hopefully more successful. These are all based on my actual experiences of things that actually happened. It’s all true.

The world is slightly different now we are in the covid-era but I think most of these Tips still apply, and hopefully festivals will come back fully in the future.

This Stage 32 Blog comes from Martin Gooch, a director and screenwriter based in London, England. 

So you’ve got your screenplay, it’s been through development, you are 100% sure it’s in the best shape it can possibly be in, you’ve had read throughs with actors, and spent months in pre-production getting your vision across to all your Heads of Department, Cast and crew. All the kit, locations, props, wardrobe, accommodation, permits, legal stuff and catering has been sourced and you are ready to go! These are my tips for on-set, physical production and for post-production. 

This Stage 32 Blog comes from Martin Gooch, a director and screenwriter based in London, England. 

“I’ve made a lot of movies. I started off as a Runner and worked my way up. I worked on 13 movies as a 1st AC & 2nd AC and Director of Photography before I became an award-winning Director & Writer in my own right. Having gone from Runner to director I have experienced the whole gauntlet of film making from the biggest shoots (Harry Potter and James Bond) to tiny micro-budget one-man crew shoots. I have seen many ways to do things effectively and simply.

“Here are some tips to help smooth along your next production. These are my observations from more than 1,000 days on set and 29 years in the industry! Hopefully, they will make your film making journey more fun and more productive.

“…these are 32 tips I hope are of use.”