What do you mean what am I going to be doing with your money?! None of Your Business!

MikeBarcode

MikeBarcode

I'm preparing to talk to a couple of local business about helping with some financing on my project, however, I'm at a loss about how to present myself properly.

I was planning on laying out a "While we most likely not be gaining a profit on this, I'll include your business/name in the credits, and make sure you get mentioned somehow while I try to promote around town, and you can promote yourself as someone willing to help local artists in your community."

Thoughts, suggestions?

Mike B
 
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See, that's the part where I'm having trouble.....I can spin shit into gold for a lot of things....but it's hard to find a good way to want to make people to spend money when there isn't promise of a return.

My second thought is to not mention return at all, simply approach it as "investing" into the community. Make them feel like a hero for helping me, we the wee little independent filmmaker in their hometown.

Mike B
 
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As a small business owner, I can tell you that there are lots of people competing for my advertising budget. If you want business owners to listen to you long enough for you to break through their defenses, you may want to show some interest in their business, what they do, how they do it, etc.

Speaking for myself, if the right guy came in and wanted some money for a project, I might be open to what he was doing. I would probably judge the person's chances of success based on his enthusiasm and how well grounded he was in the nuts and bolts of what he was doing. I'd want to know he had a plan for how to deal with every aspect of the job, and contingency plans to prevent the project from being derailed the first time some part of the plan fell through.

I have been running a profitable business for 14 years, and I have a pretty good idea what it takes to succeed. I think you'll find that most successful business people have pretty good insights about people and they can smell B.S. from a mile away. I'd say you should have a comprehensive plan, a specific budget, and obvious enthusiasm and confidence in what you're doing. If you have those things, then you may get the business person's ear long enough to sell him on why he wants to invest in your project. If you don't have a viable plan, you're probably going to get rushed out the door.

Finally, try to make an appointment with the person who makes the decisions, and don't take it personally if he/she doesn't share your enthusiasm. Just hold your head high and move on to your next prospect.

I hope this helps.
 
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Hey Oakstreet


Hey Oakstreet,

I wanted to let you know that I read the valuable information that you bestowed upon us fellow "new-beginners" and I just want to tell you thank you so much!

your truly,

Triple Threat
 
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From a "please let me use your location/goods/services for free" standpoint, what you have to trade/barter is screen time in front of a captive audience. If you can define the number of (pairs of) eyeballs on the screen that you can guarantee...and the relevance to the company (local community members/affluent middle to upper class art lovers, etc.) that will be in your audience, you'll have a better chance to sell to them. Offering them a full screen with phone address and website will be bolder than just a Special thanks credit...even moreso a logo or photo in the credits.

Going in with a solid eyes on your company's identity and presence plan will go a long way considering the prices of ads in the paper (which you should know off the top of your head - a full page ad for a single day is darned expensive and hit and miss for eyeballs) or ads on radio or tv (should also know the value of), your advertising simply for trade is a steal...they come out ahead on the deal. Please sign here on this location release form.

If they require insurance and you can't afford it, thank them and ask if you can include them on other higher budgeted projects in the future...put the contact info in a database for location reference (could I snap a couple of still photos while I'm here to add to my database?).
 
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If the budget is small, you can probably change the term from "investment" to "donation" and approach business owners (small business owners, not T-Mobile or Time Warner) that way. A nice amount of money to get you started going into production can be had this way, as more people are willing to donate small amounts of money into independent films rather than spending large amounts of money on a film if there is no guarantee or assurance that there will be some type of monetary return on investment.

The term investing tends to make many people expect a good ROI once the film is in the can and being distributed. They are giving something and they want something in return. You can also try to offer to show their product/logo/storefront/location, etc. in the film during one of the key scenes. I took a few days one time and went around one county, collecting money from small business owners to help with the budget of a feature film once, but I wouldn't recommend doing it that way. You will need a good car and/or a nice pair of walking shoes for that approach.

Use oakstreetphotovideo's suggestions if you are really serious about getting "investors" (as opposed to random donations) for your film as I have found that those points are necessary during the fundraising chapter of making a film. I haven't been seeking out investors, but still had a plan mapped out about the stars, distribution, actors resumes, key crew members who were interested when I chose the donation route. That stuff works and it is very useful, as people want to see fact and figures (even if they are projected figures) and images, and screenplays and storyboards.

There is a book called The Independent Film and Videomaker's Guide by Michael Wiese. It contains some information on how to set up presentations for investors. You may find it helpful. The author also has a budgeting book, but I'm not sure if information on securing investors is included in that one also.

Good luck :)
 
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Wow Knightly


Hey Knightly,

Great information! I LOVE the barter system and I have been doing a darn good job of living mostly by that principle...mostly! I didn't even think about it like that! That is definitely a deal!

Thanks again,

Triple Threat
 
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p.s. My business has donated cash, services, and equipment to local artists, and the local high school. It is part of being a good corporate citizen. However, with finite resources, we like to donate to people who will make good use of our resources. Which brings us back to having a good presentation and appearing to be organized and well grounded.
 
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Wow, I haven't been on indietalk in ages...I posted this a while ago.

And I really appreciate the advice, it's come in handy. In the year since I posted the original post in this thread, I've been through a ton!

I'm editing right now...I plan on having my first full length feature project done in about April/May. Gonna try the whole festivals plan of action, been saving my money for those fees.

All I'd ever done was skits that were never more than 2 minutes, this was an endeavor to say the least....and it was friggin' awesome and absolutely terrifying all at the same time...through casting, getting my crew together, shooting...just damn.

I'm gonna start work on a trailer soon...I have about an hour of a rough cut together right now.

I'm rambling, I just wish I could really get across what an experience it was to get this project together...I met so many good people. I cast last March, I started shooting last May, finished up in early September...just so much stuff.

And I thank all who imparted a bit of wisdom along the way. Now, let's just hope no thinks it sucks eh? ;)

Mike
 
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I'll be happy to get mine finished for you all to slaughter on here (it's currently nigh unwatchable). I've got lots of editing to do, including restructuring the story to present the flashbacks first as history to make the rest of it flow right (DOH! Learning experience).

I wish you the best at the festivals with yours MB, keep us up to date on how that's going!
 
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Remember WIIFM - WHATS IN IN FOR ME. If you can make this part appealing enough then people will be more intersted.

Sell them the idea, show them the benifits, tell them the cost.

WARNING: 99% will still say no. It's just a sad fact of doing this kinda thing. But that 1% will be worth it.
 
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MikeBarcode said:
My second thought is to not mention return at all, simply approach it as "investing" into the community. Make them feel like a hero for helping me, we the wee little independent filmmaker in their hometown.

Mike B
Click to expand...

In my opinion you should assume you won't make a dime off of this. That way if you do, you can buy everybody a round at the bar.

I just had the opportunity to do this sort of thing. I asked an established business for assistance on one of my short docs. Though I would have only needed to be in the establishment for about 5 - 20 minutes, you still have to ask permission and make an argument for their help. As it turns out, even though I was not able to take them up on it, they were agreeable. I told them upfront that I could not pay them and they were still interested. So now I have 2 contacts to use in the future.

...anyway, good luck.

-- spinner :cool:
 
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Thank you everyone for the replies to this thread also. I have finished a screenplay and am going to try and get some funding for the project as I would like to direct it.

I'm curious, do filmmakers ever offer a percentage of the profits from the film to their investors as part of their approach?

I particularly found the replies from the small business owners helpful. Would offering something like that make an offer more appealing?
 
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A great way to get funding is to use the web as a social network to gather your friends, family, and other film lovers that might be willing to donate money to your film. I don't know if you've ever heard of IndieGoGo.com, but that is a website that can help get fans to finance your film. It's basically a social network for filmmakers and filmlovers to connect and create projects by contributing money.

This is a great way to get complete strangers to finance your project, if you're willing to offer some incentives for them. Some people have offered credits in the film, a signed DVD, or an invite to the premiere of the film. I think it's a cool and creative way to get publicity for your movie. Check it out! www.indiegogo.com
 
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