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 — 2^nd 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

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 Commercials

WashingtonFilmWorks 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/

It’s not Hollywood, but Spokane, Washington has a film industry that is certainly helping to spark the economic life of the city. Filmmakers in the area will often spend 85% of their budget locally, and when the budgets reach $5M dollars that can be a significant amount of money.

How does it work? As one local producer notes:

[we] wouldn’t be able to land clients without funding from WashingtonFilmWorks, a Seattle-based nonprofit that administers funds from the Motion Picture Competitiveness Program, which was created by the Washington Legislature in 2006. The funds cover up to 20 percent of production companies’ in-state expenditures, up to $1 million per project, its Web site says. WashingtonFilmWorks can collect up to $3.5 million in funds a year, which it obtains from businesses that count their contributions as a credit against their business-and-occupation tax payments.

Legislators created the competitiveness program to help the state’s film and video industry compete with other states and Canada, many of which provide some form of tax relief for film producers. In the winter of 2007, North by Northwest became the program’s first funding recipient, for its movie, “The Holidays.” Since then, the company has received assistance for five more films, including “Norman.” For those movies, it has spent roughly $7.6 million within the state, and has received nearly $2.9 million in funding assistance, according to a project summary report by WashingtonFilmWorks. One of its upcoming films, “LadyKiller,” which also will be shot here, has been approved to receive roughly $324,000 in funds.

Food, lodging, and transportation are some of the basic industries that get a lift from Spokane film companies such as North by Northwest Productions. However, other less predictable industries, such as office supply, and hardware and lumber vendors have also gotten a boost from local production.

Tax legislation in Washington, which favors filmmakers, is also a bonus. There is also a blend of rural and urban areas, and the general consensus that Spokane is in general a nice place to film, and to live in.

Read the full article at the Spokane Journal:http://www.spokanejournal.com/spokane_id=article⊂=3618

Continuing our description of forms of film financing, we now examine Independent Distributor Financing and Talent Agency Financing. Based on “How to Fund Your Film” by Robert C. DiGregorio, Jr. imageMATTE Executive Producer

Part II:

Independent Distributor Financing is a more co-dependent form of financing. Because these distributors are not affiliated with a major studio, when submitting a project to them, one must already have some form of financing available and be ready to take on principle photography. The benefit to independent distributors is that both parties are coming from the same level, so the negotiation of a better deal is significantly easier. And, there is a higher chance of receiving a larger portion of net profit.

Talent Agency Financing is using a talent agency to gain the resources needed to finance a project. A clear advantage is that there is clear access to actors, directors, and even a distributor. So while the financial means might be pulled from the talent agency’s own variety of resources, the one-stop shopping aspect might streamline the entire process.

Contributed by Christina Chen,
UC Berkeley student

Here’s a blog post that suggests a few different options for financing films at least partially through internet sites: http://cinematech.blogspot.com/2008/04/internet-film-financing-evaluating.html

Here’s a short description of the three sites mentioned:

IndieGoGo : Free, but they take a cut once the target goal is reached.

ArtistShare : So far mainly used by musicians, but at least one filmmaker has used it. Set-up fee and monthly fee.

IndieMaverick : Offers investors a profit if the film does well. The filmmakers also must agree to agree to split any profits with IndieMaverick investors, 30/70.

All the sites are in the preliminary  stages of development and are open to all filmmakers.  Please post comments if you have direct experience with any of these sites.

Written by Lena McCauley, Wellesley College student

An occasional series of posts that will discuss the extensive process of putting together a grant application.

Part II:

When putting together your grant application, the two largest components are the script and the budget. However, the other supporting items can also make or break it.

The synopsis should be brief yet descriptive, and in principle, should reflect the essence of the work. This is one of your tools to encourage the reader to accept your grant proposal. Also, in terms of the biography, it should essentially be a tailored resume that includes anything relevant from college coursework to previous work experiences with film.

Your entire grant application should be a well-crafted piece of artwork in and of itself. Straddling the line between a lack of relevant information that could potentially sway the reader, and an overwhelming deluge of relevant but useless facts, is the key to receiving the grant.

Get more specific details from the following link:
http://2billiondesirables.multiply.com/journal/item/2

Contributed by Christina Chen,
UC Berkeley student

Earlier this month the State of New York put the finishing touches on its new tax credit plan:

NY To Triple Tax Break For Filmmakers

The expanded tax credit comes during tough fiscal times with the hope it will bolster a business Paterson said generates billions of dollars of economic activity in New York each year.

The change will give film companies a 30 percent tax credit — up from 10 percent — for qualified production costs and extend the program from 2011 to 2013.

Here is the summary from WNBC

NY Times Square

New York’s Governor Paterson said in the official press release:

“It is vital to our state’s economy that New York remains a premier destination for film and television productions,” said Governor Paterson. “The entertainment industry plays an important role in fostering economic growth by promoting our state on movie and television screens across the world, and creating thousands of jobs for New Yorkers.”

Wall St.
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said: “Film and television play a major role in New York City’s place as a world-class center for culture, and the industry’s continued growth will play an important role in our efforts to diversify the economy. The expansion of the Empire State film production tax credit program is good news for New York City, and I thank Governor Paterson for signing it into effect.”

Great post on Johanna Blakley’s blog over at the Norman Lear Center. She provides an account of the recent AFM Film Financing Conference held in Santa Monica. Some interesting insights into film funding trends:

How do you convince a financer that you’ve got a marketable film?
Once again, financers could care less who’s directing. The real gatekeeper in this business is . . . get this: the sales agent. If you’re a new filmmaker and a credible sales agent has decided to hawk your film, the financing is yours.

Isn’t it hard to get a film financed these days? Why, no! There’s so much “dumb money” out there (read: hedge funds) that the barriers to entry are lower than ever. This may come as a surprise to every indy filmmaking friend you have; their problem is that they probably haven’t made an expensive enough movie. Got a film under a million? Ask grandpa to fund it. Got a film over $10 million? Now you’re talking.

What genres of movies are the easiest to presell (i.e., to sell the rights before the film is made)? According to Nu Image CFO Trevor Short, generally action movies and thrillers are the best bets. Comedy and drama are tough because the quality of the film depends on (get this) the execution.

Get the full story

When it comes to film funding, it is a lot harder to finance your film from jail!

Nov. 9, 2007, 7:17AM

Film producer arrested in Los Angeles in suspected movie-financing scam

From the Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — A film producer has been arrested on suspicion of using bogus contracts with foreign distributors to help secure more than $35 million in loans to finance movies, federal authorities said Thursday.

Gary Howsam, 56, was taken into custody Monday at Los Angeles International Airport on a criminal complaint accusing him of bank fraud, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.

He was released on $500,000 bond and placed under house arrest with an electric monitoring at a friend’s residence in Los Angeles. If convicted, he could face as many as 30 years in federal prison.

There is more to this story on Film Funding at the Sacramento Bee