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10 Reasons to Make the Move to Atlanta

Many production companies are making the move to Atlanta. Some examples of recent movies shot in Atlanta include: Hawkeye, Spider-man: No Way Home, Red Notice, and Jungle Cruise. Atlanta is also a hotspot for television series including: Stranger Things, Ozark, and The Walking Dead. So, should you make the move? We’ve made a list of ten reasons to make the move and kickstart your career in Atlanta.

Montage of film productions shot in Atlanta. In order: Hawkeye, Spider-man: No Way Home, Red Notice, and Jungle Cruise, Stranger Things, Ozark, and The Walking Dead.

Tax Incentive

The state of Georgia offers a 20% tax incentive to production companies who complete production and post-production in their state. This is advantageous for creatives looking to budget their work effectively.

Multiple Established Production Companies

Secondly, Atlanta is already home to many production companies including LionStar Films, CNN, and Carbon Film making it a well-established film and media city. Having these well established companies makes breaking into the industry easier.

Employment Opportunities

Because Atlanta is currently hosting production companies and film projects, there are jobs to be filled every day with the job market increasing every year. You might find that Atlanta has more opportunity than NYC or LA where the competition is massive.

Casting

Atlanta is home to a diverse population of people and that is reflected in the casting coming out of the city. You will have talented actors from many different backgrounds auditioning for your projects. Perhaps you’d like to step in front of the camera, too? Atlanta is a great starter city for an actor to build their career.

Tourism

Atlanta tourism brings in more attention and money to the city every year. There is plenty to do from watching theatre productions to eating at award winning restaurants.

Landscape

Aside from the entertainment, the land itself brings exciting views and great shots for a filmmaker. Georgia has it all from suburban neighborhoods, city buildings, farm land, and space to build. (Everything but an ocean…)

Creative Communities

Atlanta is full of artists from different fields such as theatre, fine arts, filmmaking, and dance. Having artistic communities right next door allows you to build connections with like minded creatives. Who knows, maybe you could find a group to make a short film or series?

Low Living Expenses

Compared to Los Angeles, Atlanta’s cost of living is affordable. Georgia’s rent prices run lower than the rest of the country making rent manageable. Find a roommate or two and you are saving A LOT of money!

Location

This southern city is still centrally located and a major US city. You have access to all major flights through Atlanta-Hartsfield International Airport and driving is a breeze compared to LA.

Education with Digital Film Academy

At Digital Film Academy, we see the value of having an educational institution in the fastest growing film production area in the country. We want you to succeed and we do that by giving you the tools you need to thrive in the digital media industry. All DFA students and graduates have lifetime access to our equipment, facilities, and exclusive Jobs Board. If you’d like to hear more, join us for an Open House.

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Film Fest: 4 Things Learned (That Made Me a Better Filmmaker)

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For the past year, I’ve been organizing a film festival. Every thing every one warned me about is true: it did take over my life, it is a ton of work, and I am seeing films in my sleep at this point.

But there are a lot of perks that nobody mentioned, and right at the top of the list is the fact that, watching all those submissions, I learned how to better submit – and even make – my films.

Basically, submissions fall into the following categories:

Gotta have ‘em (about 5%)
Keep ‘em away from me (about 5%)
Wish I could put it in, but it wouldn’t make sense because of X, Y, and Z (90%!)

So, to help you get your films into that top 5% of guaranteed-to-make-the-cut, here are a few pointers I picked up:

1. KEEP IT SHORT!!! I’m sure you’ve heard this advice before – I’ve heard it before, many times. But until I put together my final schedule, I didn’t really GET IT.

If a submission’s 3 minutes long, it’s easy to fit in. If it’s 10 minutes, still pretty easy… once it gets to be over 15 minutes, it starts to become impossible. And this rule goes for features too! If it’s 60 to 90 minutes – I can work with it. But 2 hours? Unless it’s INCREDIBLE, I can’t justify it.

Most screening blocks are two hours long. If you submit a two-hour film, you’re asking me to schedule ONLY your film for an entire screening block. If there’s an equally worthy film that’s 90 minutes and lets me fit in a few shorts, too, well… that’s that.

2. Be Original. You’re thinking: “I am original!” Well, the way you execute your story might be original, but make sure the story’s really original, too. How many other films about angst-ridden teenagers are there going to be? I definitely made cuts based on the fact that multiple films were telling basically the same story. Films telling stories I hadn’t seen anywhere else stood a way better chance.

3. Consider Your Audience. Most people don’t bother to check out a fest’s mission statement, but they should. It’s just not worth the time and money it takes to submit to something where, even if you are great, you just don’t fit their vision. In the final hour, there’s always way more films the programmers wish they could schedule than they have time for, and they’re going to be looking for any reason to help them make a tough decision.

4. Cover letter. I’ll be honest – I’ve never written a cover letter when submitting to fests. And I’m not alone, because neither did about 80% of our submitters. I guess people figure that their films speak for themselves? But now that I’ve been on the other side of it, let me drive this home: COVER LETTERS MATTER. Not if they’re just a repeat of your film summary, but if they tell us why you want to be part of OUR festival. If you’re the only one out of ten possible films to reassure us that you believe in our mission and, if selected, will attend and promote the festival – it’s going to nudge you toward a yes.

There you have it – my top 4 pointers. If you follow these, I promise, your chances of being accepted at any fest will go up at least 50%.

And if you’re curious to see what made the cut for our fest – check us out at http://www.princetonindependentfilmfestival.com!

Written By: Sara McDermott

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