5 LESSONS LEARNED FROM FINANCING MY FIRST FEATURE FILM
I should preface this article with the fact that I have no insider ties to Hollywood execs. I don’t have a rich uncle who financed my film. And I don’t have ties to high net-worth individuals. I was, however, eventually able to get my first film — The Big Day — off the ground. Myself, and the film’s director, Arian Harandi, spent over a year seeking out the funds necessary to make the film possible. Below is an account of the lessons we took away from the process.
1. You’re not just a filmmaker, you’re an entrepreneur.
I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard a filmmaker say “I don’t want to do the marketing (or fundraising) for my film, I just want to be creative and make movies.” That’s great if you have a rich uncle or insider tie to Warner Brothers, but if you’re an average joe, you’re never going to make it in the film industry with this attitude. If you’re trying to make filmmaking your full time job, you’re no longer a filmmaker. You’re an entrepreneur. The sooner your recognize this fact, the sooner you’ll reach your goals. If you don’t feel like you have the entrepreneurship skills necessary to sell yourself as a filmmaker or sell your movie, than you need to make that a
priority. Buy a book or take a class at a local community college.
2. Write a business plan.
An investor won’t fork over a large chunk of change without a business plan. It’s that simple. Learn how to write one. It’s imperative. If you don’t know where to start, I highly recommend this book:
BANKROLL, 2ND EDITION: A NEW APPROACH TO FINANCING FEATURE FILMS
needed to create an effective pitch packet and find financing for features.” (Description from Amazon.com)
3. Set hard deadlines.
I think the most important part of the financing process is to set hard deadlines. For The Big Day, we knew — no matter what happened — that we would quite our comfortable day jobs in March and shoot the film in August. This hard deadline provided us with the motivation to keep working at it, even when times got tough.
4. Success occurs when luck meets preparation.
Once you’ve begun the search for financing any venture (film or otherwise) your success is determined by a magic combination of luck and preparation. Doors will open for you when you least expect it, so you need to be sure you’re ready for those opportunities when they arise. Master your elevator pitch so you can drop it at a moment’s notice. Have your business plan ready and polished, so that it can be handed over to a potential investor immediately should they ask to view it.
5. Get your own skin in the game.
This goes against pretty much every producing book I’ve ever read, but is in line with every entrepreneurship book I’ve ever read. If you’re a first time filmmaker, one of the best ways to “prove” to an investor that you’re serious about your project is to put up some of the financing yourself. It doesn’t have to be a lot of money — it just has to be a lot of money to you. Investors are weary of working with individuals who aren’t willing to put up their own cash for a project.
If you don’t believe in the film enough to invest, why should they?
If you have any other questions about film financing or just want to talk movies, feel free to reach out to me directly via the “Contact” page on this website. I’d also be eternally grateful if you’d check out my latest film The Big Day on our Official Facebook Page.
About Melissa Izbicki
Melissa Izbicki is a narrative and commercial film producer located in Los Angeles, California. Izbicki graduated from Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts with an emphasis in producing and is currently an MBA candidate at Chapman University’s Argyros School of Business and Economics. Her latest feature film, The Big Day, is scheduled for release in late 2016. For more details, visit www.TheBigDayMovie.com
Follow Melissa on Twitter @MelissaIzbicki