The last film I directed or produced had a budget of...
- Thread starter indietalk
- Start date
I'd love to have been able to say $5,000,001+, but alas, I am a po boy.
Poke
Poke
Hmmmm radical poll... the last thing I directed/produced had a budget of £1500... but the thing before that was £4000 and the next thing coming up is £9000.... arrghhh - I hate money! And come on guys... realistically who's going to have worked on a £5,000,001 dollar movie here?! I think the person who votes that should definately spill the beans and let us know about it!!!!
Once again I am a minority. My next project will probally be in the $200,000 range. But I have done plenty of project with no money. My first short had a price tag of $10.00 cost of toliet paper.
Peace,
Redemption
Peace,
Redemption
Don't feel down all you under 500 dollar people. Remember this...Money isn't everything! 
To the people who are OVER 200,000 I have a question for you, HOW? How in the world do you find someone to help finance your films? I'm just wondering as I have such a hard time finding anyone in invest. Just wanted to see if you could pass some tips along to us poor folk...
Great poll by the way indietalk!
To the people who are OVER 200,000 I have a question for you, HOW? How in the world do you find someone to help finance your films? I'm just wondering as I have such a hard time finding anyone in invest. Just wanted to see if you could pass some tips along to us poor folk...
Great poll by the way indietalk!
How?
Good question and one I wished I asked four years ago.
I'm based in the UK, I know that in the States the rules about approaching investors are slightly different. So, I don't know how much help this will be.
In our case it all came from private investors. We knew some well off guys who wanted to dabble in the film business. We went to them with the project and basically explained how it would work financially.
Both myself and my business partner come from business backgrounds and we presented a credible, all be it high risk, business oportunity.
For the people we were talking to, the risk was no greater than that of putting the same amount of cash on a horse. We felt OK about the whole deal, because we knew we could deliver and we knew that everyone involved could afford to write the whole thing off if we didn't.
What got us the finance in the end, was our understanding of the business side of film making and our ability to show that providing certain things were done it was possible to make films profitably.
Another thing that helped, was the fact that we staged our production over three separate shoots and only asked the investors to commit to the first one. They then got to look at our first shoot promo footage and were asked to commit to completion of the film based on what we'd already delivered.
Good question and one I wished I asked four years ago.
I'm based in the UK, I know that in the States the rules about approaching investors are slightly different. So, I don't know how much help this will be.
In our case it all came from private investors. We knew some well off guys who wanted to dabble in the film business. We went to them with the project and basically explained how it would work financially.
Both myself and my business partner come from business backgrounds and we presented a credible, all be it high risk, business oportunity.
For the people we were talking to, the risk was no greater than that of putting the same amount of cash on a horse. We felt OK about the whole deal, because we knew we could deliver and we knew that everyone involved could afford to write the whole thing off if we didn't.
What got us the finance in the end, was our understanding of the business side of film making and our ability to show that providing certain things were done it was possible to make films profitably.
Another thing that helped, was the fact that we staged our production over three separate shoots and only asked the investors to commit to the first one. They then got to look at our first shoot promo footage and were asked to commit to completion of the film based on what we'd already delivered.
... and one last thing
I just realised something ...
It's a really good idea to remember that the budget on a film and the amount of cash raised to make it, are not always the same thing.
To quote the guru of all real independent film makers the world over
"Sure these Hollywood pictures cost millions, but when it comes down to it all films cost exaclty $2,340 dollars cash" Bowfinger
It's not a precise quote, but the jist is there.
Although the maths is slightly off, the underlying truth is completely true.
I just realised something ...
It's a really good idea to remember that the budget on a film and the amount of cash raised to make it, are not always the same thing.
To quote the guru of all real independent film makers the world over
"Sure these Hollywood pictures cost millions, but when it comes down to it all films cost exaclty $2,340 dollars cash" Bowfinger
It's not a precise quote, but the jist is there.
Although the maths is slightly off, the underlying truth is completely true.
Things in the US are similar to the UK. I put together a business plan that spelled out the upside and the downside of film, and I approached people with a lot of money that wanted to dabble in film. The key is not to make promises you can't deliver.
In most cases the investors were investing in me, not the film. A lot of people are interested in having a conversation card, like the movie I invested in is in Blockbuster.
A film like "Redemption" is a least a five-year investment. Look for investors who play the stock market or are looking for a tax shelter and can afford to lose money.
Peace,
Redemption
www.redemptionmovie.com
In most cases the investors were investing in me, not the film. A lot of people are interested in having a conversation card, like the movie I invested in is in Blockbuster.
A film like "Redemption" is a least a five-year investment. Look for investors who play the stock market or are looking for a tax shelter and can afford to lose money.
Peace,
Redemption
www.redemptionmovie.com
the doucumentery i am makeing now is turning out cheap everyone is doing it for free,and the guy who i am editing it with is doing it for free also,the only thing i really want to pay for is the distro,i am haveing trouble with that acctaully.maby someone can help,n-e hints comments on how to get some money to distrobute my film.
Whilst I'm not rich, I lucked out by meeting and being friends with someone who is. As I delve into this business more and more, I'm seeing that it is indeed "who you know." If you want advice on how to raise money for your film, from my point of view, the key is: Network, network, network. I mean, talent is part of the formula too, don't get me wrong. When you have met key investors who are willing to invest in your project, you still need to have the talent and business acumen to deliver on your business plan.
Hi everybody!
I´m new to this forum. The situation for raising money here in Sweden for a project is virtually impossible. There are little or no private investors for films here. Almost every film made in Sweden is financed thru the Swedish Film Institute which is run by our government. Other than that there are very few films that are produced outside that system. Recently thou a couple of films have been produced by Universal Pictures but besides that there are not many ways of finding fundings for projects. The last film I did which had a proper budget was a short film I did 4 years ago. It had a budget of $20.000. As of now all my projects have to be funded by myself. It´s not easy but you have to use all the tricks up your sleave to make it work. You shoot digital instead of film. You make your script suitable for a micro budget so you´ll be able to make it on a shoe string budget. All the money you can get your hands on you invest in your own equipment so you can shoot whenever you have the chance. It´s truly a challange to make it work but you can.
I´m new to this forum. The situation for raising money here in Sweden for a project is virtually impossible. There are little or no private investors for films here. Almost every film made in Sweden is financed thru the Swedish Film Institute which is run by our government. Other than that there are very few films that are produced outside that system. Recently thou a couple of films have been produced by Universal Pictures but besides that there are not many ways of finding fundings for projects. The last film I did which had a proper budget was a short film I did 4 years ago. It had a budget of $20.000. As of now all my projects have to be funded by myself. It´s not easy but you have to use all the tricks up your sleave to make it work. You shoot digital instead of film. You make your script suitable for a micro budget so you´ll be able to make it on a shoe string budget. All the money you can get your hands on you invest in your own equipment so you can shoot whenever you have the chance. It´s truly a challange to make it work but you can.
My last film, the first one i worked on, cost us however much one battery for a mini DV camera costs....haha... Im sixteen so i wasn't about to drop a couple grand on my first film.