Starting your own production company.

DanteHicks37

DanteHicks37

Hello all,
I'm pretty new to the whole filmmaking thing and while I know most of the basics, there is still some things that I'm not aware of or sketchy on. So expect many more questions from me in the future. Onto the current question, I was wondering what steps one would have to take in starting their own production company.
For example, Kevin Smith's View Askew. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
 
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'sup, DanteHicks37! :cool:

The question "what steps one would have to take in starting their own production company" is a bit too broad for me, though I'm sure others will have excellent suggestions.

I wouldn't mind hearing more about this:

I know most of the basics, there is still some things that I'm not aware of or sketchy on
Click to expand...

I could probably toss in an idea or two, if I had a better understanding of where you're at.

:welcome:
 
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DanteHicks37 said:
Hello all,
I'm pretty new to the whole filmmaking thing and while I know most of the basics, there is still some things that I'm not aware of or sketchy on. So expect many more questions from me in the future. Onto the current question, I was wondering what steps one would have to take in starting their own production company.
For example, Kevin Smith's View Askew. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

Just create a name and make films. View Askew is Kevin's company for the films he makes.
 
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Thanks for all the replies and welcomes. Yeah, I already had a name for my production company and everything, I just figured it being considered a buisness of sorts, there would be some kind of legal hoops to go through to make it official. I've watched Smith's documentary on how "Clerks" was picked up and what it went through but I didn't recall them saying how View Askew was created. So if it's as easy as just putting it on there, than that's awesome.
 
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DanteHicks37 said:
Thanks for all the replies and welcomes. Yeah, I already had a name for my production company and everything, I just figured it being considered a buisness of sorts, there would be some kind of legal hoops to go through to make it official. I've watched Smith's documentary on how "Clerks" was picked up and what it went through but I didn't recall them saying how View Askew was created. So if it's as easy as just putting it on there, than that's awesome.
Click to expand...

Nah. Just make movies. Too many people think they need a "production company". Worry about that after you've made some commercial success.
 
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At one point in time, my co-workers and I were going to use "Glance Askance" as a fake production company :) Just make films...figure out a name later, base it around one of the In Jokes that will eventually end up in all your productions. Then go to office depot and get business cards made...then you're as good as real.
 
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A “production company” is a business that produces movies. So there are two things you need to do; start a business and produce a movie.

Start with your local Small Business Association. They will get you started setting up a business. It can be as simple as a “DBA” (Doing Business As) or an “LLC” (Limited Liability Coorporation). And then there are many other variations. Learn about them and choose the one that suits you best.

Many people simply print business cards, put up a website and call themselves a production company without ever actually producing a movie. Frankly, I see nothing wrong with that. But the moment you are seriously going to produce your own movie it will be essential for you to do everything the legal way.
 
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Thanks again for the help and advice. My current plans are to begin shooting on my first feature length movie this Summer. It's going to be a low budget horror movie that takes the stalker in the woods mold and puts it through a twist. The plan is to send it into a couple horror film festivals (one locally and the other in Florida) once it's finished. I'm currently working on the rough draft of the script.
 
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You've got to make your company legal.
Usually when you want to shoot at a location or rent some location you need to have insurance.
To get insurance you have to have a company or organization.
This way in case people get hurt you don't get sued.
 
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Read this link. Learn it. Live it.
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Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.

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Awwww no fair! What was it?
 
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We run a small "production company" if you want to call it that. We got tired of running out of money for our films so what we did was start a "personal videography" as a subdivision of our production company to fund our films. Our budgets went from -whats in my wallet- to $10,000 in a few months. Granted that money is not going to go far if you are attempting the hollywood thing, but if you have a good "broken flowers" feel to your film it could go a long way.

I agree that a production company is really pointless if you cant use the perks of the business aspect. Find a way to fund yourself and then you can start a production company. Otherwise just make movies yourself.
 
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I'm making my first feature next month. I use a production company name only to make letters I send out look more professional. Hopefully in five years from now my production company name will actually be useful to me in terms of funding as for right now I'm sure no one even notices it.
 
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You don't have to be a "production company" to make films. You should have a business entity separate from your personal identity to protect yourself legally.
directorik said:
Start with your local Small Business Association. They will get you started setting up a business. It can be as simple as a “DBA” (Doing Business As) or an “LLC” (Limited Liability Corporation). And then there are many other variations. Learn about them and choose the one that suits you best.
Click to expand...
A DBA - which in my area means a commercial bank account and a $10 fee at the town hall - establishes that you are a business but provides nothing in the way of legal protection. An LLC provides liability protections - for a price - and requires you to do a fair amount of paperwork. A common practice is to have an umbrella corporation that provides the framework for all of your business activities. You then create separate LLCs for each of your productions. Sometimes you also create separate corporate entities for each aspect of your company's operations.

For instance, LucasFilm has Skywalker Sound, Industrial Light & Magic, Lucas Licensing, Lucas Learning, Lucas Books, LucasArts and Lucasfilm Animation under its corporate umbrella. Each subdivision takes care of its own management, taxes, employees, etc. but are responsible to - and overseen by - the parent corporation. To top it all off, each film produced by LucasFilm is a separate LLC created exclusively for the production of that one project. In essence, "Indiana Jones 5, Geriatrics Revenge LLC" is legally a separate corporate identity that "hires" LucasFilm and it's subsidiary units to produce the film. In this way the only corporate entity liable for any litigation against the project is "Indiana Jones 5, Geriatrics Revenge LLC"; none of the other corporate entities have legal liabilities connected with the production.

It's a lot more complicated than that, but we'll leave that to the lawyers; it's their job to strain at gnats, swallow elephants and to shove the occasional camel through the eye of a needle. That being said, you should always consult an attorney when making legal changes to your life.
 
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