The Lift-Off Community is full of tools to empower the independent filmmaker. Here's how to use the Lift-Off Global Community...
It is an often made complaint that it is not what you know but who you know, that gets you ahead in the world. Once you realise this you can turn it into your strength. Great film-making does not happen in isolation. The best projects are from collaborations where there is creative synergy. Film-making teams are often friends. Right now, near you, there is a team getting ready to make something that could be quite extraordinary. It is our mission to connect you to these people.
Welcome to the Lift-Off Community.
This guide will help to prompt you on the best practices when using the Community. It will help you to make the most of the opportunities that are on offer.
In this guide:
Using the community as a:
Pick up a camera. Shoot something. No matter how small, no matter how cheesy, no matter whether your friends and you sister star in it. Put your name on it as a director. Now you're a director. Everything after that you're just negotiating your budget and your fee.
-James Cameron
Directors
First, ask yourself; what is the next step for me to take in my career? Perhaps you are making your 2nd short, or are you are trying to get your first feature off the ground? Perhaps you want to find a commercials agent?; Your next step should largely guide the efforts that you make right now, on the Lift-Off Community and beyond. Your efforts should be focused toward realising that goal.
With the Lift-Off Community you can:
- Find a script for your next project -
Find and search for scripts - including projects from Lift-Off award-winning writers - in our script database. Users may download scripts, contact the screenwriters and collaborate on projects. The database includes features and shorts, from a variety of genres.
- Find actors for your next project -
Connect with artists from across the globe. Head to the Actors Dashboard, and Find an Actor. You can browse CVs, view showreels and connect with Actors in your area.
- Get objective feedback on your projects -
Post your projects for the Community to critique. Getting objective Feedback, beyond 'Yeah it was great!' is often hard. Yet we must be able to look outside our echo chambers and past our own egos if we are to grow as artists. You may post secure links to projects and invite people to comment.
- Search for jobs and opportunities-
You can find both Industry and Community jobs on the Jobs Dashboard. Bookmark your favourites and set up Job Alerts so that you never miss an opportunity.
- Educate and inspire yourself-
There is a whole host of content on the Community, from Interviews with Industry. to Videos and Podcasts. You can find them all on the Community Dashboard.
- Come and chat with Lift-Off for some Career Support-
Come into Pinewood Studios, or chat with us over Skype. Career Road-Mapping one2one sessions, are where we can chat informally and put our collective minds towards your current goals.
- Produce your next project with Lift-Off-
Apply for Lift-Off Producer Support. Lift-Off can assist with free, or reduced price equipment, personnel, and creative support from the conception to the completion of your next project. There is no hard and fast, one-size-fits-all package here. We will work closely with you to find out how we can best collaborate.
- Find creatives for your next project-
Post a job opportunity to the Community Jobs board, to connect with creatives in your area. Find a freelancer straight away - browse member's CVs, or connect with freelancers on the Community Forums
- Connect with members to shoot some showreel material-
Browse member's CVs, or connect with freelancers on the Community Forums. Why not arrange to shoot a few scenes of your favourite script, connect with some actors, to build some extra show-reel material?
Intuition is the key to everything, in painting, filmmaking, business - everything. I think you could have an intellectual ability, but if you can sharpen your intuition, which they say is emotion and intellect joining together, then a knowingness occurs.
-David Lynch
Producers
With the Lift-Off Community you can:
- Find a script for your next project -
Find and search for scripts - including projects from Lift-Off award-winning writers - in our script database. Users may download scripts, contact the screenwriters and collaborate on projects. The database includes features and shorts, from a variety of genres.
- Produce your next project with Lift-Off-
Apply for Lift-Off Producer Support. Lift-Off can assist with free, or reduced price equipment, personnel, and creative support from the conception to the completion of your next project. There is no hard and fast, one-size-fits-all package here. We will work closely with you to find out how we can best collaborate.
- Connect with Community members @ festivals and film markets -
As well as our global festival screenings, Lift-Off and our Community members regularly attend film markets like Cannes, AFM and EFM. They are a great place to connect with others and learn about the business that is independent film-making.
- Search for jobs and opportunities-
You can find both Industry and Community jobs on the Jobs Dashboard. Bookmark your favourites and set up Job Alerts so that you never miss an opportunity.
- Find creatives for your next project-
Post a job opportunity to the Community Jobs board, to connect with creatives in your area. Find a freelancer straight away - browse member's CVs, or connect with freelancers on the Community Forums
- Educate and inspire yourself-
There is a whole host of content on the Community, from Interviews with Industry. to Videos and Podcasts. You can find them all on the Community Dashboard.
- Come and chat with Lift-Off for some Career Support-
Come into Pinewood Studios, or chat with us over Skype. Career Road-Mapping one2one sessions, are where we can chat informally and put our collective minds towards your current goals.
- Workshop your scripts with the Community-
Working towards completing a script? Why not connect with actors, and host a rehearsed reading, to iron out those script problems in the next draft?
To grasp the full significance of life is the actor's duty, to interpret is his problem, and to express it is his dedication.
-Marlon Brando
Actors
Download the 'Actor's Survival Handbook' here.
With the Lift-Off Community you can:
- Search for acting opportunities from within the Community-
You can find acting opportunities from the Community on the Actor's Dashboard. Bookmark your favourites and set up Job Alerts so that you never miss an opportunity.
- Find a script and host a rehearsed reading -
Be proactive in your downtime. Search for a script you really like - including projects from Lift-Off award-winning writers - in our script database. Users may download scripts, contact the screenwriters and collaborate on projects. The database includes features and shorts, from a variety of genres.
- Connect with Community members @ festivals -
We screen a wealth of talent from around the globe. Come to our screenings and connect with the filmmakers. Find the ones that you want to work with. Always try to be where other actors are not.
- Come and chat with Lift-Off for some Career Support-
Come into Pinewood Studios, or chat with us over Skype. Get a leg up on the Indie Film acting ladder with our Career Road-Mapping one2one sessions.
- Connect with members on the forum-
Connect with freelancers on the Community Forums.
- Educate and inspire yourself-
There is a whole host of content on the Community, from Interviews with Industry. to Videos and Podcasts. You can find them all on the Community Dashboard
- Connect with members to shoot some showreel material-
Browse member's CVs, or connect with freelancers on the Community Forums. Why not arrange to shoot a few scenes of your favourite script, connect with some cinematographers, and build some extra show-reel material?
The wise screen writer is he who wears his second-best suit, artistically speaking, and doesn’t take things too much to heart. He should have a touch of cynicism, but only a touch. The complete cynic is as useless to Hollywood as he is to himself. He should do the best he can without straining at it. He should be scrupulously honest about his work, but he should not expect scrupulous honesty in return. He won’t get it. And when he has had enough, he should say goodbye with a smile, because for all he knows he may want to go back.
– Raymond Chandler
Writers
With the Lift-Off Community you can:
- Get objective feedback on your work-
Post your projects for the Community to critique. Getting objective Feedback, beyond 'Yeah it was great!' is often hard. Yet we must be able to look outside our echo chambers and past our own egos if we are to grow as artists. You may post secure links to projects and invite people to comment on your work.
- Submit your project to Lift-Off and host it on the Community-
Scripts on our script database are collected from our script competitions. Submit yours here.
- Educate and inspire yourself-
There is a whole host of content on the Community, from Interviews with Industry. to Videos and Podcasts. You can find them all on the Community Dashboard.
- Come and chat with Lift-Off for some Career Support-
Come into Pinewood Studios, or chat with us over Skype. Career Road-Mapping one2one sessions, are where we can chat informally and put our collective minds towards your current goals.
- Produce your next project with Lift-Off-
Apply for Lift-Off Producer Support. Lift-Off can assist with free, or reduced price equipment, personnel, and creative support from the conception to the completion of your next project. There is no hard and fast, one-size-fits-all package here. We will work closely with you to find out how we can best collaborate.
- Find creatives for your next project-
Post a job opportunity to the Community Jobs board, to connect with creatives in your area. Why not be proactive and find some creatives to help realise your work?
- Host a rehearsed reading -
Be proactive. Find some actors in your area and host a rehearsed reading. This is perfect if you are trying to iron out some kinks for your next draft.
- Connect with Community members @ festivals -
We screen a wealth of talent from around the globe. Come to our screenings and connect with the filmmakers. Find the ones that you want to work with. Always try to be where other writers are not.
- Connect with members on the forum-
Connect with freelancers on the Community Forums.
Hide the ideas, but so that people find them. The most important will be the most hidden.
– Robert Bresson
Cinematographer
With the Lift-Off Community you can:
- Get objective feedback on your work-
Post your projects for the Community to critique. Getting objective Feedback, beyond 'Yeah it was great!' is often hard. Yet we must be able to look outside our echo chambers and past our own egos if we are to grow as artists. You may post secure links to projects and invite people to comment on your work.
- Connect with members to shoot some showreel material
Browse member's CVs, or connect with freelancers on the Community Forums. Why not arrange to shoot a few scenes of your favourite script, connect with some actors, to build some extra show-reel material?
- Educate and inspire yourself-
There is a whole host of content on the Community, from Interviews with Industry. to Videos and Podcasts. You can find them all on the Community Dashboard.
- Come and chat with Lift-Off for some Career Support-
Come into Pinewood Studios, or chat with us over Skype. Career Road-Mapping one2one sessions, are where we can chat informally and put our collective minds towards your current goals.
- Find opportunities on the Community-
You can find both Industry and Community jobs on the Jobs Dashboard. Bookmark your favourites and set up Job Alerts so that you never miss an opportunity.
- Find creatives for your next project-
Post a job opportunity to the Community Jobs board, to connect with creatives in your area. Why not be proactive and find some creatives to help realise your work?
- Connect with Community members @ festivals -
We screen a wealth of talent from around the globe. Come to our screenings and connect with the filmmakers. Find the ones that you want to work with. Always try to be where other writers are not.
- Connect with members on the forum-
Connect with freelancers on the Community Forums.
Most of the movies are working like, 'Information, cut, information, cut, information, cut' and for them, the information is just the story. For me, a lot of things [are] information - I try to involve, to the movie, the time, the space, and a lot of other things - which is a part of our life but not connecting directly to the story-telling. And I'm working on the same way - 'information, cut, information, cut,' but for me, the information is not only the story.
– Béla Tarr
Post Producion
With the Lift-Off Community you can:
- Get objective feedback on your work-
Post your projects for the Community to critique. Getting objective Feedback, beyond 'Yeah it was great!' is often hard. Yet we must be able to look outside our echo chambers and past our own egos if we are to grow as artists. You may post secure links to projects and invite people to comment on your work.
- Connect with members to shoot some showreel material
Browse member's CVs, or connect with freelancers on the Community Forums. Why not arrange to shoot a few scenes of your favourite script, connect with some actors, to build some extra show-reel material?
- Educate and inspire yourself-
There is a whole host of content on the Community, from Interviews with Industry. to Videos and Podcasts. You can find them all on the Community Dashboard.
- Come and chat with Lift-Off for some Career Support-
Come into Pinewood Studios, or chat with us over Skype. Career Road-Mapping one2one sessions, are where we can chat informally and put our collective minds towards your current goals.
- Find opportunities on the Community-
You can find both Industry and Community jobs on the Jobs Dashboard. Bookmark your favourites and set up Job Alerts so that you never miss an opportunity.
- Find creatives for your next project-
Post a job opportunity to the Community Jobs board, to connect with creatives in your area. Why not be proactive and find some creatives to help realise your work?
- Connect with Community members @ festivals -
We screen a wealth of talent from around the globe. Come to our screenings and connect with the filmmakers. Find the ones that you want to work with. Always try to be where other writers are not.
- Connect with members on the forum-
Connect with freelancers on the Community Forums.
Everything that you can imagine is real
– Pablo Picasso
Art Department
With the Lift-Off Community you can:
- Get objective feedback on your work-
Post your projects for the Community to critique. Getting objective Feedback, beyond 'Yeah it was great!' is often hard. Yet we must be able to look outside our echo chambers and past our own egos if we are to grow as artists. You may post secure links to projects and invite people to comment on your work.
- Connect with members to shoot some showreel material
Browse member's CVs, or connect with freelancers on the Community Forums. Why not arrange to shoot a few scenes of your favourite script, connect with some actors, to build some extra show-reel material?
- Educate and inspire yourself-
There is a whole host of content on the Community, from Interviews with Industry. to Videos and Podcasts. You can find them all on the Community Dashboard.
- Come and chat with Lift-Off for some Career Support-
Come into Pinewood Studios, or chat with us over Skype. Career Road-Mapping one2one sessions, are where we can chat informally and put our collective minds towards your current goals.
- Find opportunities on the Community-
You can find both Industry and Community jobs on the Jobs Dashboard. Bookmark your favourites and set up Job Alerts so that you never miss an opportunity.
- Find creatives for your next project-
Post a job opportunity to the Community Jobs board, to connect with creatives in your area. Why not be proactive and find some creatives to help realise your work?
- Connect with Community members @ festivals -
We screen a wealth of talent from around the globe. Come to our screenings and connect with the filmmakers. Find the ones that you want to work with. Always try to be where other writers are not.
- Connect with members on the forum-
Connect with freelancers on the Community Forums.