This spring has been filled with wonderful opportunities. As I worked diligently to complete my feature film, I took a much-needed two-week break to travel to Paris and London. I hadn’t left the United States in over ten years, as every break was either spent with my family on the East Coast or filming a project to stay on top of my work commitments.
Paris truly stole my heart and provided the mental reset I needed. Unlike my many staycations in California, which never feel far enough from home to avoid emails, scripts, or editing projects, Paris allowed me to completely disconnect and be truly present. I experienced so many beautiful moments there, but the most significant was the peace of "not thinking." I'm already planning my return trip next year, with the goal of attending Cannes.
London, on the other hand, felt like a bustling metropolis similar to New York but sprawling like Los Angeles. There, I had the chance to attend several film-related meetups. I enjoyed high tea with my film composer, Adele Etheridge Woodson, and learned from her how rapidly the industry is growing in the UK. While Los Angeles remains the leading city for entertainment, the UK offers numerous tax incentives for production companies.
In April 2024, the UK announced the Independent Film Tax Credit (IFTC), which provides a 53% expenditure credit for eligible independent film productions with budgets of less than £15 million ($19.2 million). This translates to a tax relief of about 40%. The IFTC is part of the Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit (AVEC) regime, which also includes incentives for animation, children's TV, film, and high-end TV productions.
To qualify for the IFTC, films must meet the following criteria:
Have a budget of less than £15 million
Have a UK writer or director
Be certified as an official UK co-production
Receive a theatrical release
Considering California's high taxes, I am definitely open to co-producing in the UK for the right project. Any Brits reading this, let’s connect!
Upon returning to my lovely LA apartment, I was met with the task of reviewing and approving our WIP (work-in-progress) cut of the feature as well as our temp trailer which will be swapped with the final colored version of our film. If you're about to enter post-production, know that you will watch your film more than a hundred times, so avoid rushing the process. Taking breaks to rest and return with a fresh perspective is crucial. We started post-production for my feature at the end of September 2023, aiming to complete it by the end of February 2024. Finishing a feature in roughly six months is reasonable—not overly ambitious—but with everyone working full-time jobs, we knew delays were possible. Given that this was our first feature and our editor's first feature, we set the expectation that it would be okay to push deadlines as long as we communicated effectively. It's essential to remain flexible while having goal markers in place for the project's various milestones. Additionally, schedule review dates for yourself (as the director/producer) to ensure accountability on both sides; your editor shouldn't be the only one with deadlines.
Simple Timeline Breakdown Example:
Organize sync footage
Assembly Edit
Notes/Reviews
First Pass
Review
Second Pass
Review
Final Pass Hand off to composer
Color and Audio mix
We were doing well in meeting our milestone markers and only started adjusting our deadline at the beginning of this year when we realized a few scenes needed more time to flesh out and other scenes required outside help for the VFX portions. A key tip for producers: keep an eye on your film festival submission deadlines. It's crucial to know when they are happening and to create a timeline with goals to meet those deadlines. We noticed several festivals were taking place in late spring, so to avoid missing out, we decided to submit a work-in-progress (WIP) version. This version has a nearly final cut with VFX, music, and most of the SFX completed. The only elements missing are the final color grading and sound mixing, so I feel confident in our submission. I'm also grateful we were advised to have our trailer ready, even without the final picture, to upload on our FilmFreeway submission platform. My advice to others is the same: have something ready, even if it's just a scene from your film, to showcase the world, tone, and main characters. This can generate interest and excitement and overall have your profile appear more polished.
Next, I had to figure out the amount of gigabytes our WIP and final feature would have and select a proper hosting platform. The three options for us were Filmfree Way (10 GB max), YouTube (256 GB max), or Vimeo which has different paid tier options. I knew we’d be outputting our WIP cut as HD 1080p but our final would be a ProRes 4K Video that we would be swapping out with. Using a data calculator I found online, I was able to estimate the files sizes. Ultimately even though our 4K file came just under 10 GB we decided to go with Vimeo as our platform host and here’s why.
Why we went with Vimeo for our film festival submissions:
It does not compress your video like YouTube. I uploaded our HD file as a test and you could see comparatively that the YouTube file was more compressed and grainy. Since we weren’t uploading our 4K file first to begin with, we didn’t feel like having our HD file compressed even further to turn off judges. Either way, why put in so much work to ultimately not showcase your film in the best light?
Vimeo has the best analytics. While YouTube has some analytic features it’s not as thorough. With Vimeo you can see who exactly watched your feature, when, and for how long. How great would it be to see if the hundreds of dollars you are spending on film festival submissions are actually being watched? Where do people maybe tend to get bored and stop? All great data to collect.
You can create a password-protected link. Festivals do not accept any film that is publically accessible or essential exists online so it is very important to keep your feature safe-locked. However, some festivals only accept films that are password protected in which case the free FilmFreeway or YouTube route would not work anyway.
You can easily replace your footage to the same link. For us this a game changer when working with a WIP cut. This way we can keep updating our cut to final with ease.
You are taken more seriously. Most industry professionals look at Vimeo as the industry standard for showcasing film work. Even if you are a first-time feature filmmaker like us, it gives us that extra badge of professionalism.
We all want to save money where we can but here’s a reminder that free doesn’t always mean it’s the best option. Always do your research to determine what is the best option that will service you and your project.
After finalizing all the details, I was excited to prepare for the UCSB Women in Media 8th Annual Spring Conference. I love speaking, especially to young college students who are just starting to figure things out. It was an honor to be invited, having been discovered on the Women in Media Organization platform. If you haven’t heard of this group, I highly recommend joining! They have a great database for finding women to hire from all various industry positions and also throw really great networking events. I was invited to speak on the Day 2 Executive Producer panel and share my experience being a woman in the industry and a few things from my specific journey into filmmaking.
WIM UCSB Spring Conference. Nicky Martinez (left), Carolina Alvarez (center), Irie Aburto (left).
I was greeted by two lovely graduating seniors, Irie Aburto and Nicky Martinez, who plan to move to LA this June to pursue their filmmaking dreams—keep an eye out for them! The event was wonderfully organized, and the guest speakers were spectacular. I attended the marketing panel before my own and was blown away by the amazing insights shared by the speakers.
When it was my turn to speak, I was thrilled to share the stage with such talented women:
Haviland Stillwell - Actor, Singer, Director, Producer
Emily Aguilar - Director, Writer & Producer at The MomentEM Productions
Roxana Baldovin - Music Video & Commercial Director
It was no surprise that a women in film panel would be so supportive. We were all very transparent about finances and the challenges of maintaining a work-life balance in this demanding industry. While we acknowledged our workaholic tendencies, we also reflected on the importance of taking time for ourselves and our loved ones.
One key piece of advice from our panel was that although gig life is tough, there will always be work if you keep looking and putting yourself out there. From my journey, I emphasized that it’s okay not to always be working in an industry job. Find work that helps you develop valuable skills like project management, marketing, or graphic design.
We also discussed how to stay true to ourselves in the projects we work on. All of us emphasized hiring women and encouraged the students to call us in five years—we want to be hired by you! Many of us, being first-generation Americans, shared how we incorporate our culture into our work. For instance, I wrote my lead character with a Polish background and cast my mother, who speaks Polish, in my film. It was a special moment when Roxana, who is Ukrainian, and I exchanged a few words in Polish, connecting over our shared experiences as first-generation Americans.
From left to right: Carolina Alvarez, Haviland Stillwell, Emily Aguilar, Roxana Baldovin
To any students reading this, know that your future is bright and you don’t need to have everything mapped out. Learn as many roles in filmmaking as you can—editing, digital marketing, producing. While not all of these roles may seem creative, there is so much creativity behind them. I promise, just try them!
I hope to be invited back to speak again.