The 501(3)(c) thing was supposed to be an example of a potential topic. I was showing the depth of a single issue. I could have picked lots of other topics, like any of these: How often should you post updates? How open should you be about your finances? Who long should you take to make a film, and do you have to provide a hard release date? Should you release scenes as they're completed to show everyone what their money is paying for, or should you hold back and wait until the whole thing is done so as not to spoil the overall story?
My understanding of 501(c)(3) is that you have to have a whole team put together with specific people occupying specific positions within the organization before you can realistically start to file for non-profit status. You have to write a complete set of bylaws and such. It's a long, involved process. So, you'd be better off waiting until you're fairly far along (end of pre-production?) before even considering it.
I have not made a film yet. This is, in part, because I moved to a new city a year ago and I'm still trying to find local clubs and resources. I did get involved with a film a club a few months back, and we were in the process of making a (non-Trek) short film. We had a somewhat experienced indie director, and he'd asked us to write scripts with a specific theme.
My script and two others were submitted. One lady wrote a script with a very obvious political slant, and in a style that looked more like a novel than a script. (I mean it was obvious that she hadn't even bothered to research how to format a script.) The other fellow wrote a script with a lot of brilliant dialogue (and really, it was actually quite clever), but the entire scene consisted of a single room where a voice over character talked to a woman dressed in nothing but a bath towel. In other words, if you'd muted the film, it would have just been a wet woman just standing there staring up at nothing for 5 to 10 minutes. Understandably, my script was the one selected. (Although I missed the selection meeting due to a misunderstanding about the schedule and didn't even get to vote on it.)
After another couple of meetings, the two other people who wrote scripts decided to break off and form their own groups, and the original group folded. If you'd like to see the script, I can give you a copy. It's solidly mediocre fare, but it's only four pages long, so it's a light read compared to my other effort so far.
That would make a lot more sense if they were writing a serial and they'd release the first installment. You'd have product you'd be delivering every month to justify the subscription.
From everything I've read and heard, you have to practice a lot at the format you choose, no matter what that is. Experienced poets would not necessarily make good short story or novel writers, and vice versa. So, if you want to write a good novel, you'll probably need to write a lot of crappy ones first, no matter how may poems or short stories you've written.
Now, I'm not sure how much this applies to short films versus TV episodes versus feature films. You could make the argument that scripts are less time-sensitive, I suppose.
A gentleman does not justify his behavior by saying "He started it". Could Gabriel have been more thoughtful in his initial posts to this thread? Perhaps. However, that doesn't excuse the lack of hospitality demonstrated in this thread. For what it's worth, I don't think he intended to be rude, and a simply letting him know that he'd been rude and how probably would have sufficed.
