Here is a video on film finacing you may want to take a look at:
Learn how to create a business plan for film making for a feature film in this free video series. Get movie producing tips from a producer.
I came across a very insightful blog post from Tanuj Garg on the international box office performance of Bollywood films in 2008.
One nice tidbit is his quick list of the key markets for Bollywood product:
In terms of the market size, the UK, US & Middle East lead the way, followed by Australia, Mauritius and South Africa. Select films have had a day-and-date release in East & West Africa, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Germany, Netherlands and Scandinavia. Indonesia, once lucrative, has collapsed, while Pakistan, which successfully opened only a year and a half back, seems to have closed down pre-maturely (starting Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi) in the light of the attacks in Mumbai.
Read his full post here
To close, we describe End-User Financing and Completion Funds Financing. Based on How to Fund Your Film by Robert C. DiGregorio, Jr. imageMATTE Executive Producer
Part III:
End-User Financing occurs when a theater, cable network, or television station contributes money for a project in exchange for an equity percentage in the film’s profit stream. The greatest advantage is that you are in the best position to generate profits because the end-user is creating revenue in its own familiar territory.
Lastly, Completion Funds provide partial financing based on a couple of requirements:
The financiers can have the upper hand in terms of negotiating a better deal for themselves because without them, production may never finish. The advantage to you is that you are able to spread some of the risk to the completion financier.
These are only some of the basic and popular ways of financing your film. There are a limitless number of ways to fund your film.
To get even more detailed descriptions on these financing methods, continue to the link below:
Contributed by Christina Chen,
UC Berkeley student
The Associated Press is reporting that the Sundance Film Festival is concerned about the slow pace of corporate sponsorships and is requesting funding from the State of Utah.
Read a brief report in the Salt Lake Tribune.
I’ve also heard that there are a lot of open condos & rooms to rent in Park City for 2009.
Sundance 2009
The film and multimedia project The Black List is terrific idea. It looks like it very nicely combines documentary filmmaking, social media/web 2.0, and good old fashioned brand building. You can catch the first film installment on HBO, if you did not see it at Sundance or SXSW.
Here is some background information:
Project Overview
The Black List Project was conceived of by photographer/filmmaker Timothy Greenfield-Sanders with Elvis Mitchell, public radio host and former New York Times film critic. It consists of a number of components including a film, a book, a traveling portrait exhibition and an educational initiative. The project was produced by the media collective Freemind Ventures. The idea was to interview, film and photograph prominent African Americans of various professions, disciplines and backgrounds. These stories and insights on the struggles, triumphs and joys of black life in this country would work toward re-defining “blacklist” for a new century in the process.
The media coverage has been very positive and The Black List brand is being launched successfully. In addition to the film (and upcoming DVD), the book will soon be on sale.
To see a well-executed and multi-faceted campaign, take a look at their web presence and marketing:
SWAMP and TALA present the Business of Film Conference 2008, a day-long event focusing on the business of making movies. This information-packed conference features panels and discussions with professionals from the film, legal and financial worlds that address a wide range of topics, including budgeting for film, funding resources, music rights, distribution and much more!
CONFIRMED SPEAKERS/PANELISTS:
James Barham (Documentary Filmmaker, For the Sake of the Song)
Greg Carter (Producer & Director, Ressurection: The J.R. Richard Story)
Barry Coffing (Musician/Music Supervisor - musicsupervisor.com)
Don Gillespie (Production Accountant, Tree of Life)
Roanna Gillespie (Musician/Music Supervisor - WOW Sounds)
Deena Kalai (Entertainment Attorney)
Linda Olszewski (Co-Head of Global Acquisitions, Development, Podcasts for Shorts International)
Clark Richards (Attorney, Texas Motion Picture Alliance Board Member)
Danae Ringelman (Founder and CFO, IndieGoGo.com)
Al Staehely (Entertainment Attorney)
Nguyen “Wyn” Tran (Sales Agent & Executive Director, The Institution)
Full details are available here
There is a great article on financing a documentary feature film over at The Independent:
I recently talked to fundraising expert Morrie Warshawski, whose book The Fundraising Houseparty: How to Party With a Purpose and Raise Money for Your Cause, is now out in its second edition and includes new sample invitations, new tips on making use of the Internet for the party, and a brainstorming worksheet to help filmmakers identify potential new partners and hosts. Warshawski is also the author of Shaking The Money Tree: How To Get Grants And Donations For Film And Video — 2nd Edition and speaks regularly about fundraising and career issues for independent filmmakers.
I also spoke with filmmakers Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar who successfully raised funds through parties for their 2007 film, Made in L.A. about the labor struggles of immigrant garment workers in Los Angeles. The film screened on the PBS series P.O.V., is continuing to play festival and community screenings around the world, and has been nominated for an Emmy. Also providing insights fresh from the experience of his first fundraising houseparty is first-time producer/director Christopher Wong. He is in the process of raising funds for his film Whatever It Takes about a year in the life of an urban high school whose staff is determined to protect their kids from falling through the cracks.
This is very practical film financing advice and I encourage you to take a peek
The Tribeca Film Institute, financed by the MacArthur Foundation, is beginning to digitize and deliver films from indie documentary, foreign, and experimental filmmakers. It will be interesting to see if this takes off or not.
Hoping to launch a viable new revenue stream for a wide swath of independent films and filmmakers, the Tribeca Film Institute has unveiled Reframe, a curated online outlet with its sights set on filtering some 10,000 films and videos via the Internet.
[Executive Director]Newman added that he is not necessarily looking for new work that is just hitting the film festival circuit, but rather is hoping to lure filmmakers who have a library of content for which they already own the rights. More details on what Newman vows will be a “transparent” deal structure is available on the website. Reframe is covering the digitizing costs for work available in video format and providing a master to the filmmaker, while work originating on film can be digitized at a discounted cost.
Written by Lena McCauley, Wellesley College student
Television trade publication TVBizWire is reporting the following tidbit about YouTube:
YouTube Ad Revenue Falls Short for Google WSJ
Worldwide revenue from YouTube, which is likely to total about $200 million in 2008, has fallen short of Google’s expectations, the Wall Street Journal reports. Google Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt admitted some big advertisers are uncomfortable with the idea of their ads appearing next to amateur videos and said the company hasn’t quite figured out how to best format video advertising on the Web site, the newspaper says.
Admittedly, this comes as a shock to virtually no one. At the time that Google acquired YouTube, there was no clear business model that could justify the hefty price tag for the acquisition. As the online ad market continues its current deceleration, I am sure this is a topic that Google will be address in future earnings announcements.
For filmmakers, this is probably not a positive note. It may mean that YouTube will have even less interest in providing filmmakers with compensation for popular content that appears on the site.
Here is more detailed information on Washington FilmWorks, from their website:
Dedicated to helping filmmakers bring their vision to the small and big screens, Washington FilmWorks (WFW) is a not-for-profit 501 (c) (6) organization that offers funding assistance to commercials, television and feature films shooting in Washington State.
Offering up to a 20% return on all qualified in-state expenditures (including Washington based labor and talent), Washington FilmWorks raises $3.5M annually to incentivize production statewide. In order to qualify for the incentive the production company must meet the following in-state spending thresholds:
• $500,000 Feature Films
• $300,000 Television
• $150,000 CommercialsWashingtonFilmWorks is now accepting applications year round.
This is the link to their site: http://www.washingtonfilmworks.org/filmmakers.html
You may also want to check out the Washington State Film Office: http://www.filmwashington.com/
North Head Lighthouse, photo courtesy Washington Film Office
There is also info available from the Seattle Film Office: http://www.cityofseattle.net/filmoffice/
Next,
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