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NSI Features First 2018 students on their training boot camp Posted: 21 Feb 2018 01:01 PM PST NSI Features First is presented in association with Telefilm Canada Our new NSI Features First students recently wrapped their first training boot camp in Toronto. At the end of the week we asked them to write about it. • • • Sandi Somers | Writer, Wilting IrisLiving and working in Calgary is great but the winters are cold and this winter has been especially rough. Coming to the NSI Features First boot camp in Toronto I thought I’d escape the prairie cold. But it was pretty cold in Toronto all week. There were so many amazing things to take away from the first week. One of the best things were the people. The other teams are talented and fun and I loved sharing my days with them. Lots to learn and listen to. Not only were we going through script notes from Al Magee, program advisor, and Shelly Quade, program manager, but we also got to hear how our scripts were received by the other teams. It was great that my script was well received but my title, logline and synopsis were way below par! Lesson learned! So that’s what I am working on: making sure my title, logline and synopsis are more exciting and relevant to the script. The script notes were invaluable, and were provided in a very supportive manner but well critiqued. The boot camp was full-on. Some days ended on a high note and other days on a lower note. It all depended on what we were hearing in our sessions. Meeting with distributors and pitching them was eye-opening. Some distributors were extremely open and shared their hardcore thoughts on who I wanted to cast in the film. Conversations about casting: men still get top billing, so having a female-centric script means working harder. Other distributors said very different things and liked my casting choices. Everyone has their own ideas, ways to proceed and their own goals. The main thing for me is to build a strong plan, be open to discussion and ultimately hold true to my vision. I left this week with the reality of the mountains to climb to get a second feature done, wanting to elevate the challenges to the next level, and seeing that all is possible with hard work and the right people. Scott Lepp | Producer, Wilting IrisIt’s hard to believe we packed so much into one week. What an amazing time. When do you ever really get nearly an entire week to dedicate to one project anymore? And even with a couple of Calgary-based teams having taken part in the last few years, I still wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but it exceeded all expectations. We opened the week working on the art of pitching and that became the overall theme for the entire week for Sandi and myself and our project, Wilting Iris. Then, following our script notes session with Al Magee and the other three amazing teams, it was very clear what Iris needed and we got to work. By Friday, we were pitching our team, plan and project with confidence and we’ve returned to Calgary with a defined strategy to continue to build toward our ultimate goal of realizing our second feature film on the big screen. Huge thanks to NSI, Al Magee, Shelly Quade, all the incredible guests and speakers, the three other teams and, of course, to Sandi for writing this stellar script in the first place. Karen Moore | Writer, Must Kill KarlWhen trying to describe the five-day NSI Features First boot camp, one word kept coming up to encapsulate the week: intense. I’ve been working in narrative television for the past five years, but feature film is uncharted territory. There’s overlap, of course, but feature film is its own beast and this week was like a crash course in the best way. NSI provides connections to funders, producers, distributors, festivals – the full spectrum of people you’ll need along the way when trying to get your film made, and ultimately seen by actual human eyeballs. Some highlights: our story editing session with Al Magee and the other participants was excellent. I left with a solid direction for my next draft and a ton of great ideas from everyone – which I have no qualms at all about stealing. I think doing the story editing sessions early in the week and engaging with each others projects really helped to bond the whole group and break the ice. The mock pitches at the end of the week were a little terrifying, but incredibly effective at forcing us to quickly shape our pitch. Writing a logline and synopsis is one thing – verbally pitching the film is a whole other thing and one I wasn’t totally prepared for. Over the course of the week we found a groove that worked and by the last mock pitch, felt like we had it down. Just in time to go home and feel probably too proud of ourselves. Nailed it! Many of the speakers were quite candid about the challenges that lie ahead for each of us – not bleak, but honest. We have some tough decisions to make about how to best position our film for success, and I greatly appreciated their honesty regarding what it takes to get a film like ours off the ground. Overall, this week felt like the first leap in the direction of getting this film made, and I can’t wait to dig back into the script with all this fresh energy and perspective. Ryan West | Producer, Must Kill KarlThis past week has been a dizzyingly informative crash course in the film industry, during which I’ve both felt my ambitions grow and had my feet firmly rooted in reality. Hearing so many experienced perspectives from the industry has helped me better understand the breadth of perspectives that are necessary to thrive, and armed me with the knowledge and skills I will need to take our project to the next exciting step. I want to thank Al Magee and Shelly Quade for facilitating the week, and for putting the thought and effort into helping us mould our projects into something pitchable and producible. Their feedback, along with the feedback of my amazing program peers, has been invaluable. I am excited to see where everyone’s amazing projects go next, and for the next phase of this program. Jared Young | Writer, The Stars Shine in TemperanceI came into NSI’s Features First program as a relative newbie to the Canadian film industry. I didn’t know the acronyms, recognize the names, understand the institutions. I’d never sat in a hot tub at the Whistler Film Festival, applied for micro-budget funding, pitched to an agent at a urinal, or snuck into a VIP party at TIFF. But, by the end of the week, I was able to talk like I’d been in the business for a decade. In this sense, it really is a crash course. The amount of information you absorb is unbelievable. (I just hope I can retain it all.) It was evident, from the quality of the other teams, that the bar was very high for getting into the program. Which is valuable in two ways: One, it’s a nice ego boost to know that you’re among the cream of the crop, and two, you get to collaborate with some of the most talented up-and-coming filmmakers in the country. As excited as you might be about bringing your own project to life, you’ll find yourself eager to see the other projects succeed too. And you’ll want to contribute to that success. The sense of working collectively towards a common goal isn’t something I thought I’d experience in the film industry. The diversity of speakers, panelists and mentors was incredible. From agents who explain the intricacies of talent management, distributors who shed light on how acquisitions work, producers who walk you through the highs and lows of the development process, directors who share candid on-set stories, film festival programmers who reveal their selection criteria, all the way to the all-powerful head of Telefilm Canada – the roster of people you get the opportunity to learn from is incredible. And, perhaps more importantly than that, you get to interact with them. In addition to the academic value the NSI Features First program provided, it gives you an opportunity to make meaningful, lasting connections with important people in the industry. I am certain that whatever successes we enjoy in the future can be directly traced back to the week we spent with NSI and their special guests. There are many tangible takeaways from the program, but the one that will stick with me the most is a bit more ephemeral: the sense of a beginning. Christopher Redmond | Producer, The Stars Shine in TemperanceI went into the NSI Features First program with pretty high expectations. They were exceeded in almost every way. Getting insight from top-tier professionals and face-time with key players in the industry was invaluable. Every day – and every session – feels like taking a step forward in your career. You hope to come out of something like NSI Features First with a few more contacts and some constructive feedback on your project. What you quickly realize is that you’re joining a network that you’ll be able to lean on for years to come. Especially for those of us who live outside Toronto, it creates more in-roads in a week than you would be able to forge yourself over several years. You start with a high-level crash course on storytelling to prepare you for what’s next: two hours of feedback on your script. It sounds terrifying, but it’s really a dream come true. The program is highly competitive, so there will inevitably be positive reinforcement on what works in the script. But just as important will be identifying areas that could use development or refining. Once all four teams have gone through this exercise, you begin to develop trust and appreciation for the others who are in the program. Then every day covers different aspects of what you’ll encounter in trying to get the film made from different perspectives: producers, agents, directors, funders, distributors, and even festival programmers. NSI Features First is exactly the kind of career and project accelerator I’ve been waiting for. Matt Sadowski | Writer, She Smiles BackI can’t be more thankful for having the support of the National Screen Institute. It’s so affirming in such an unknown industry I’m trying to play a role in. I just love telling stories. And to be nurtured through their programs – first with NSI Drama Prize, next with their nomination for the Telefilm MicroBudget Production Program – and now with NSI Features First, which make this new film of mine all that [much] more possible. Having Al Magee as our mentor throughout the boot camp week really anchored the boat we were all in. Each team has a unique project and I found I learned more about our film through listening to the other teams’ process. It never felt competitive and that was echoed by the speakers that were brought in. I think we often forget that Telefilm, distributors, broadcasters, production companies and even other filmmakers want you to do well. They need us to do well. And this was echoed with really encouraging and transparent discussions with all our guests. As I’m working on my second feature and been in the industry for 15+ years, I knew many of our speakers; however, I have to say that by being part of this program, it made my face-time with them that much more legitimate. Standouts for me were Dan Lyon, Justin Rebelo, Glenn Cockburn, Leah Jaunzems and Lisa Haller. I went in seeking feedback and direction. I got both. I’ve never been more excited about our script. Both Amelia (Wasserman) and I stayed after hours, eager to collect all our thoughts, ideas and notes together. Our script will definitely come out a lot different than how it went in and that’s exactly why we wanted to be selected. Story time. Amelia Wasserman | Producer, She Smiles BackWhat an incredible week with the NSI Features First program. It was such a pleasure and honour to develop our script with Shelly Quade, Al Magee and the other talented teams. I was blown away by the high caliber of industry professionals that came in to share their experience and insight with us. Matt and I feel ready and prepared to tackle the next draft of our script and excited to take our story in new directions. I found hearing about the process behind how producer Justin Rebelo helped get his film, Room for Rent, off the ground really interesting because it made me realize there are so many different directions a story can take. Going forward with our next draft, Matt and I are thinking more and more about focusing our story in a way that really serves our characters and their arcs best. Hearing from Telefilm executive Dan Lyon about how important it is to really know your audience and how your film serves that audience was another highlight for me. I also found agent Glenn Cockburn’s film breakdowns totally hilarious and eye-opening. All in all, I appreciated the candour of everyone who spoke about the challenges of filmmaking in this country and how it’s up to us as aspiring writers and producers to learn the ins and outs of the industry’s landscape in order to best position ourselves for future success. I would highly recommend that writing/producer teams thinking about developing their first feature apply to this program. Not only do you get invaluable script feedback, you get to hone your pitching skills and, most importantly, make incredible connections. • • • NSI Features First is a development training launch pad for producer/writer teams looking to produce their first or second feature film with strong commercial appeal. NSI Features First 2018 is funded by Presenting Sponsor Telefilm Canada; Supporting Sponsors Entertainment One, Super Channel, Corus Entertainment and Breakthrough Entertainment; and Service Sponsor William F. White. NSI Core Funders are Manitoba Sport, Culture & Heritage and the City of Winnipeg through the Winnipeg Arts Council. The post NSI Features First 2018 students on their training boot camp appeared first on National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI). |
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