The Future of Independent Filmmaking: Inside From the Heart THRIVE

Check out our new educational platform From the Heart THRIVE!

This platform brings together all of From the Heart’s Courses, Classes, Services and Resources in one convenient central hub.

Learn more and sign up at https://fromtheheartproductions.thrivecart.com/from-the-heart-thrive/

Use Coupon Code AFFPOD10 for 10% anything in the platform. 

Today, we’re talking about the next evolution of that mission: From the Heart THRIVE — a new educational and membership platform designed specifically to help independent filmmakers grow, connect, and succeed in today’s rapidly changing industry.

Adam Heyes is a multidisciplinary creative and business developer, working primarily with independent filmmakers. Adam serves as Director of Development at From the Heart Productions, and has been working with the company since 2012. 

He helps the organization in many way, and supports our clients with pitch decks, design, editing, film and event production, website development, marketing, crowdfunding course design, and fundraising. Adam manages several programs for From the Heart Clients including our LargoAI reports and our Grant Advance donor research system. He designed our updated website and Fiscal Sponsorship Dashboard, and now our new educational platform From the Heart THRIVE

As a producer, Adam is attached to multiple projects in development and release, including the forthcoming documentary I Believe You, and the feature film When the Voiceless Roar. Adam currently also currently serves as President of a new company called IndieHeart, which provides AI based services and proprietary platforms specifically designed for independent filmmakers.

Adam graduated Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa from UCLA’s Honors Program with a degree in Psychology and a minor in Human Complex Systems, and holds a Master’s Degree in Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa Monica.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:05

So glad you could join us here on the Art of Film Funding podcast. I'm Claire Papan with my co-producer Carol Dean. Today we're diving into something very exciting for independent filmmakers everywhere. For more than three decades, Rom the Heart Productions has been dedicated to helping filmmakers bring meaningful stories into the world, supporting artists not only creatively, but also through physical sponsorship, fundraising guidance, education, and community. Today we're talking about the next evolution of that mission from the Heart to Thrive, a new educational and membership platform designed specifically to help independent filmmakers grow, connect, and succeed in today's rapidly changing industry. Joining us today is Adam Hayes, Director of Development at From the Heart Productions. Adam has been an integral part of the organization since 2012, helping filmmakers with everything from fundraising strategy and pitch deck to website development, AI tools, crowdfunding education, and innovative systems that support independent projects with film worldwide. Adam graduated at Uma Kum Laudi and Phi Beta Kappa from UCLA's honors program with a degree in psychology and a minor in human complex systems and also holds a master's degree in spiritual psychology from the University of Santa Monica. He currently serves as president of Indie Heart, a company focused on AI-driven tools and services for independent filmmakers. Today Adam is going to share why From the Heart Thrive was created. What makes it different from other filmmaking communities and online courses, and how filmmakers can access powerful new educational resources, mentorship, and support systems designed to help them truly thrive creatively and financially. We'll also talk about the different membership levels, exciting new classes, opportunities for filmmakers to get involved, and a special discount code exclusively for our podcast listeners. Carol, both you and Adam have been working on this new educational platform for over a year now, right? Yes, Claire.

SPEAKER_02 2:54

It's taken that long to upload hundreds of educational classes. Thank you, Adam, for joining us.

SPEAKER_00 3:02

Thank you so much for having me here. I'm really grateful that after this year of working on this, so we can finally now share it with the world. It's really exciting.

SPEAKER_02 3:11

Yes, I know. Well, let's start with why we chose to build a platform on Thrivecart.

SPEAKER_00 3:20

We've had just so many different offerings over the years and classes and courses and all of our different resources, like Largo and Grant Advance, your mentorship and counseling programs, consulting programs, all in different places. Some is on social media, some on the YouTube, all in kind of different systems. And we wanted to create a centralized ecosystem, a central hub where everything can live. Where when you sign up once and you learn the system once, then you can explore every offering that we have in one place. It's you know, one customer service email, it's all through the same processing system. You get your profile and your account so that every class that you're enrolled for, every service that you sign up for, everything is organized and easily accessible in the same place. And we've been talking about and dreaming for years of creating a film school, and this is really the framework for it and the beginning of that, and it's only going to expand more and more. We reviewed a lot of different platforms and we found that Thrivecart both had the most customization in terms of what we could do with design, the offerings that we could have, and you know, a very high ceiling that it had room to grow, but that it was also very user-friendly and accessible for our filmmakers.

SPEAKER_02 4:46

Absolutely right. And you designed every one of the pages. We have so many pages on there, uh, of and mostly it's educational. It's all built around how to fund your film and how to survive in the film industry while you fund your film. So let's talk about um the fact that a lot of filmmakers struggle with the feeling of isolation or feel overwhelmed when they're making a film. So, how does Thrive help creators stay motivated and connected?

SPEAKER_00 5:23

Absolutely. I mean, a lot of our classes and offerings are really designed exactly for that and just having this one central system where people can feel they're a part of from the heart. They're learning, you know, our materials and our philosophy, connecting with other members of our community. And then more and more we're offering classes that really create that sense of community, the learn producing classes, you know, people taking that together, taking these live classes together. With the launch of Thrivecart, we're also launching a filmmaker accountability group for our creator and visionary plan members. So that's going to be, you know, people connecting every two weeks, two weeks to talk about and share their projects and developing those longer-term ongoing relationships. And then groups that we're starting, like the Quantum Achiever Mastermind Group for the Visionary Plan, we'll talk about more is the same thing. It's these very close-knit circles of filmmakers connecting, working together, you know, the pitch me class, they're sharing their pitch with each other, they're getting feedback with each other. So it's not just one-way communication. They're able to connect with you and with these expert instructors and receive this incredible education, but they're also able to connect with each other, give and receive feedback with each other, support each other's projects, have accountability and grow together over time. And we think that's that's really important. Um, that sense of community, it's going to foster success for everyone's projects to be able to participate and support each other. And we really think this platform allows that in a whole new way.

SPEAKER_02 7:04

You know, Adam, I see this all the time when I'm teaching a class. There's an old saying that says, when the teacher uh well, the teacher ends up learning from the students. Right. For sure. This uh is wonderful because when students or people taking classes begin to talk to each other about things they're experiencing, good and bad, and how they overcome them or how they succeed, it benefits all of us. So having being in a group, I think, far associating with other filmmakers so that you can talk about your situation in the film world is really important. That makes it so easy for you to grow and achieve your goals. So um let's talk about what filmmakers get for free when they join the starter plan.

SPEAKER_00 8:01

So this was really important. Um, especially you were very adamant about this, Carol, that we provide a tremendous amount of free content for people signing up. It's not just a reason to get people into the system and then try to get them to buy the courses. We want people to be able to use this platform and be able to have a tremendous amount of value from it, even if they decide not to purchase or upgrade later on. So just for joining the platform, um, filmmakers are going to get access to several different classes. They're gonna get the entire Film Funding Insider series, uh, which is a video series that you did, Carol, which is kind of quick but very focused and very rich in information, deep dives into a couple different topics. So it covers the art of the pitch, um, developing your log lines, film financing for indie films, and sticky stories. So, you know, we're really excited about this offering because it's it's it's very condensed and action-packed. It's like if you want to get the most information in the shortest amount of time, this is this is the best place to start. This is a great crash course to get started with. So everyone, you know, just for signing up, you get that for free. We're also giving five free classes from the Everything You Wanted to Know About Film Funding series. Uh, these classes cover House and Zoom fundraising parties, how to crowdfund your film, film funding, uh, how to find film funding and distribution, how to save money when you're editing your film, and then getting the most out of film festivals. I don't know if you wanted to share any more about those specific classes, Carol, but it's a really fantastic series.

SPEAKER_02 9:43

Yes, I'm really proud of this because these this is a big a basis. People really need all of this. The starting out with the five uh films I did uh with the gentleman here uh lives in Oxnard, uh, and he's from Bulgaria. He's a writer, director, a brilliant guy. So he helped me make those uh classes because with all the years I've been in the film industry, I just needed to get some basics across so that you have a platform to work from. And and I'm sharing what I've learned over these years and what's current now, because in our industry, it's like you're standing in a river. It's never the same day after day, it's always changing. But most of the things that we've got here in the free classes are the basics that you need in the film world. Uh so I love uh house parties. Fundraising house parties are a wonderful way to keep yourself in money while you're making the film. And it can start with something as easy as Mindy Popper did this 20 years ago when she was making her film. She would call all her friends and say, come over for a spaghetti and salad and French bread dinner because I need some cash. I'm making a film. So it's $50 for the night and join me. And she would bring in 10 people, 12 people, talk about her film, show the uh work she'd done so far, and walk away with some cash to keep her going. That's the minimum. Uh then we get into real parties where you can go from, I've seen people raise between 3,000 to around 15,000 uh in your home or in someone else's home. And then for the high flyers, one of our sponsored filmmakers raised 600,000 in one night. That's because she has some very wealthy friends. So it all depends on the amount of money that the people you're inviting have. But summers here, springtime, fall, this is all a good time for house parties. But then uh also we have the other classes, the learn producing classes. So why don't you cover some of those, Adam?

SPEAKER_00 12:24

Yeah, so everyone that signs up uh for the free plan is gonna get access to seven classes. We have pitching high net worth individuals with Kara Williamson, uh film tactics and techniques with Udi Epstein, Mastering Trailers with Michael Torres, who's a phenomenal trailer editor, budgeting with Jonathan M. Smith, who most of you know from our Learn Producing classes, legal with Robert Siegel, our entertainment attorney and one of the top entertainment attorneys in the in the industry. Uh, how to monetize your film uh website. I actually taught that class. And we also have smart marketing strategies with Bobby Martis, who's a who's a student favorite for sure. Um top of the oh yeah, go ahead.

SPEAKER_02 13:10

He's a stand-up comedian. That's how we make money uh starting out, and uh he's doing a documentary now called Side Hustle about um what we all do in the film industry to uh eat to pay our rent. Uh we the jobs we take as a side hustle, Adam. So uh he's a great teacher.

SPEAKER_00 13:35

Excellent. And on top of those seven free classes, there's also, I believe, 19 free mini lessons, which are highlights, excerpts from the Learn Producing class, just a quick deep dive and tip videos about specific subjects, either from Carol or from one of the guest instructors. So those are all free for everyone. Um on top of that, if you're a newsletter subscriber, um, you get a copy of the ebook Perfecting Your Pitch and Proposal for free. You'll see a little box just to check that says you're a newsletter subscriber, and that'll add it to your account. And if you've ever applied for the Roy W. Dean grant at any point, you can check that box and you'll get a copy of the Art of Manifesting audiobook. Um if you're a fiscally sponsored filmmaker, you get quite a bit more. Um you get access to the How to Fund Your Film course, which you and I made together years ago, Carol, but it it still really holds up. That's a nearly three-hour course with almost 300 PowerPoint slides. It's one of the most in-depth courses that we've ever done, and that's really everything that you need to know of the foundations of film funder in that course. So that's free for all fiscally sponsored filmmakers. Um, they get an additional five Learn Producing classes, and you also get access to our ongoing film funding guidance class and pitch me class. This has always been how we've done it, but now we've uh we've set up all these classes in Thrivecard. So all you need to do is sign up once, and then you get the reminders, you get the class information, you get full access to everything the fiscally sponsored filmmakers get. And when you sign up, you also get a discount code that's good for 15% off any future purchases for basically everything in Thrivecard.

SPEAKER_02 15:22

Wow, that's marvelous. Thank you. So now let's get into the difference between the starter, uh, creator and uh visionary members levels.

SPEAKER_00 15:34

Yeah, absolutely. Um, so people are more than welcome to sign up for free, and there's plenty to to deep dive on and to learn, even just with the film uh the free plan. And we wanted to give people a starting base um, you know, that they could build from, that they could learn a lot, and then if they want to go deeper, then we have a lot more available. And we created two levels of premium tier subscriptions. These are monthly subscription plans. Um, the next level up is the creator plan, which is 28 a month, and you get a discount if you subscribe annually as well. This is gonna give you access to two brand new classes that we're gonna be starting very, very soon, which is the Filmmaker Accountability Circle. Um, we mentioned earlier these are gonna be twice a month check-ins with filmmakers to talk about your crowdfunding, about your pitching, your production, wherever you are, whatever you need support with. This is gonna be support from Carol Dean and from your community as well, from other From the Heart filmmakers to stay on top of it and you know, get the best results that you can support each other. Uh, this subscription is also going to give you access to the full everything you want to know about film funding course. I believe that's 29 classes. You also get how to fund your film in case you're not fiscally sponsored, that comes with this plan. Uh, you'll get a copy of Perfecting Your Pitch and Proposal in case you don't happen to be subscribed to the newsletter and art manifesting if you haven't applied for the grant. Those are all included with that plan. You also get a mini course with Robert Siegel, our entertainment attorney, uh for how to protect your film, which is all the legal basics about chain of title, copyrights, protecting your film legally, which is absolutely essential. Uh you'll get 25% discount on the learn producing class. Uh if you subscribe to that, if you're already a subscriber, then we can we can apply that discount retroactively. Um and you'll also get the full year one of our learn producing class recordings, uh, which should be 24 classes. And we're adding new stuff all the time. We really want to incentivize people to try out these these premium memberships. So we're going to be adding new classes all the time. And um premium subscribers are gonna get first access to everything that comes in the future. We also put together our our top-tier visionary plan. Um, it's 98 a month or a big discount if you subscribe for a year. And if you subscribe for a year, you also get a free Largo AI report and a free um grant advance report, which is researching potential donors and leads from a massive grant or database and a whole system behind that, which is an incredibly powerful tool for fundraising. With this plan, you also get a monthly private 40-minute one-on-one uh fundraising consultation with Carol Dean, and you get a single 40-minute pitch development session, a private pitch workshop with Carol as well. We're also going to be starting a brand new Quantum Achiever monthly mastermind class that Carol's going to teach. And this is going to be our highest level, most elite class about film funding with really direct access and personal attention from Carol, where she can look at your project and support you in a deep, very deep and intentional way with whatever step that you're at, and also weaving in print uh principles of quantum field and manifestation, everything that she she teaches in her art of manifesting book and the You are the Magic class is woven into that class as well. We're gonna have a new class uh starting soon as well from Jonathan with AI and industry trends. We'll be able to share more about that soon. Um, and we're gonna be developing and adding new classes all the time, particularly for these premium tiers. You're gonna get access to essentially everything in Thrivecart with this plan. So there's some more ebooks. We have 23 blogs to enlightenment. Um, and the other big thing is that this plan includes the Learn Subscription, uh Learn Producing Class Subscription. So if you're already enrolled in that, then we can just move you over to the visionary plan. Um, and then you're you wind up getting a big discount by bundling everything. You also get the entire learn producing uh class recording archive, which I think we're up to almost 80 classes at this point, Carol. It's just unbelievable. Um, and if any anything else in Thrivecar, you also get a 20% discount for if we release anything else in the future. But this plan basically includes just about everything.

SPEAKER_02 20:27

Oh, this sounds great. Yes, you've done it. Now they can understand why it took a year to put all this online. Oh, it's wonderful. But tell us now how does Thrive Card connect with the larger mission of From the Heart and the work we're doing to support independent filmmakers.

SPEAKER_00 20:46

I really just see it as a natural evolution of what we've been doing for 30 years and just, you know, get getting with with our modern technology and the times by being able to put everything together in one robust platform instead of having it all just, you know, in in a lot of different places. It gives us a lot of room for growth. It lets us, you know, give filmmakers a tour through everything that we have available so they get the full from the heart experience and it gives them a way to stay connected. Um as we develop more and more, as we release more classes and more courses. It's meant to be an ongoing, evolving thing that as we continue to grow, as our filmmakers continue to grow, this platform can continue to grow.

SPEAKER_02 21:35

Exactly. I see a pitch class that we definitely are doing, but the most important thing is for me uh to hear people pitch their film properly because that's where the money is. It starts with your pitch and your confidence when you give it. And uh the other, the next important thing is your trailer. And people think that this is easy and simple to make, but it's not. And that's another thing we're going to improve and talk about is creating a trailer. What makes people donate to your film? Well, you start it with the pitch, but your trailer is really what captures and motivates people. That's the next thing I think that's of paramount importance to have correct for achieving your goals of getting funded, getting your film seen by the right people. So talk about any filmmaker listening now, what um how do they go? Where do they go and how do they get started with Thrive?

SPEAKER_00 22:55

Yeah, we'll put a link in the chat or in the episode description for this podcast. But I can just say right now it's from the heartproductions.thrivecard.com is the main domain. And then to um see the landing page that kind of lays out everything that's included in the platform and gives you the options to either sign up for the pre plan, the free plan or one of the premium plans that's from the heartproductions.thrivecard.com slash from the heart thrive. And then there are hyphens between each of those words and from the heart thrive. And again, that'll be in the episode description. We're giving any listeners to this podcast um a 10% discount code uh to sign up for for one of the premium plans or for any a la carte offering that they want to want to try. We'll put that in the episode description as well. But that code is going to be AFF Pod 10, all caps.

SPEAKER_02 23:58

AFFPOD10. Great.

SPEAKER_00 24:01

That's it.

SPEAKER_02 24:02

That's it. Adam, thank you so much for this information for all your work with From the Heart. I know from reading all the emails how much filmmakers love working with you. So thank you for from From the Heart and from me for all the work you've done on this. And I hope that this conversation gives filmmakers and listeners inspiration and encouragement and a deeper understanding of what we're building with From the Heart Thrive. This is a place where filmmakers can learn, grow, connect, and support one another through a very through every stage of the creative journey. So and From the Heart, we truly believe that filmmakers have the power to create change through storytelling. That's why we're committed to continuing to provide education, mentorship, tools, and heartfelt support for creators everywhere. And don't forget, you are the magic. Your voice matters, your story matters, and the world needs the unique perspective that only you can bring. So if you'd like to learn more about From the Heart Thrive, explore the membership options, or even take advantage of the special 10% podcast discount using that code AFFPOD 10, all caps, please visit From the Heart Productions.com. Thank you for listening, and Claire and I will see you next time on From the Heart Podcast.

SPEAKER_00 25:45

Thank you, Carol.