Summary
Learn from Emmy-winning Producer and Director Shane Stanley (with a #1 movie on Hulu)
Get email templates on how to approach investors and a downloadable ASK and TAKE sheet from a sales agent
PLEASE NOTE: Although this exclusive Stage 32 class is no longer live and the teacher is not available on email, we highly encourage you to do any assignments to get the most out of the educational experience.
More and more film and TV projects are being privately funded outside of the studio system. Because the demand for film and TV has never been higher there are many opportunities for you to get private equity to fund your project and sell it to a buyer. There is an art to the business of fundraising that is essential to understand if you are planning on raising money for your project.
How do you first approach an investor for your project? How long does it take for your relationship with your potential investor to develop into a business partnership? What financial projections and creative materials do you need to have already prepared to show them? And how can you ultimately close the deal?
All these questions and more will be answered in this exclusive Stage 32 4 part on-demand class taught by multi–Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and best-selling author Shane Stanley. Shane is the founder of Visual Arts Entertainment, which produced the #1 Box Office hit, GRIDIRON GANG starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson for Sony Pictures. Shane has successfully raised independent capital for countless films and knows how to make and keep investors happy so you can build the relationship into consistent funding for your projects forbears to come. Shane's new film, NIGHT TRAIN, that he directed, edited, and produced reached #1 on Hulu!
Over 4 information-packed sessions, Shane will teach you his secrets to raising money to help get your projects made and give you essential tips to maintain a lasting relationship with your investors. You will learn how to target potential investors for your project, how to forge a lasting relationship with them, the dos and don’ts on how to approach business conversations with your potential investor, how to effectively present your business plan, and most importantly, how to close the deal.
PLUS! Shane will give you exclusive handouts to help with your own fundraising. Downloads include:
- Email templates on how to approach investors
- An ASK and TAKE sheet from a sales agent
Testimonials for Shane's Previous Webinars:
"Shane was thorough and encouraging. Easy to listen to and follow. I'll be signing up for other classes he teaches in the future." -Karena K.
"Just straight-forward, real, the kind of producer most of us would kill to work alongside." -Clark T.
"Shane was relevant, knew what was happening, and could walk the walk." -Chuck R.
What You'll Learn
Session 1: How to Find and Approach Your Investors
- The approach – how to contact or approach investors
- Dos and Don’ts of approaching investors
- Email vs. call
- Which potential investor is right for you?
- Know your gameplan before you start.
- Lean on your strengths and face your weaknesses.
- Q&A with Shane
Handout: Email templates to approach investors.
Assignment: Make a list of target investors for your project based on the tools we discussed in class.
Session 2: How to Establish Trust With Your Investor
- Approach the relationship for the long game
- Practical prompts to build the relationship and trust with your potential investor
- Investing in yourself so it’s not a one-sided relationship (cost of doing business)
- What do you have to offer besides an idea and a dream?
- What if they say “no”
- Q&A with Shane
Assignment: If you have an investor in mind, research the person and their field, how they made their money and how you can relate to them.
Session 3: How to Create Your Compelling Business Plan
- ROI (Return on Investment)
- Is your investor a savvy movie person or outside the industry…and why that matters.
- What does and does not go into your presentation and how to make it realistic.
- Q&A with Shane
Handouts: Book excerpts on CLOSING and KEEPING THEM HAPPY; What does and does not go in your presentation document
Assignment: Read the book excerpts
Session 4: How to Close Your Deal
- Gaining the investor’s trust to make this a long-term business partnership.
- How to keep them content if things go wrong
- Transparency is key – what and when to tell your investor about the production.
- How to keep them engaged throughout the ‘risk vs. reward’ stage of the discussion
- Keeping your investor informed throughout the process so they feel a part of the process without losing control
- Q&A with Shane
Handout: Book excerpts on CLOSING and KEEPING THEM HAPPY
WHAT TO EXPECT:
PLEASE NOTE: The opportunity to learn from an expert in the field in this intensive way is an incredibly unique and valuable opportunity.
- This class is designed for beginner and intermediate students looking to learn the fundamentals of closing deals in the independent film world. This is an in-depth, practical, and detailed class with significantly more content than a standard 90-minute webinar.
- This class consists of four sessions, each roughly two hours in duration.
PLEASE NOTE: Although this exclusive Stage 32 class is no longer live and the teacher is not available on email, we highly encourage you to do any assignments to get the most out of the educational experience.
Who Should Attend
All levels of producers (advanced, intermediate and beginner) looking to close investor deals.
All levels of producers (advanced, intermediate and beginner) looking to learn how to work with investors and close deals.
All levels of screenwriters (advanced, intermediate and beginner) looking to close investor deals.
All levels of filmmakers (advanced, intermediate and beginner) looking to build and maintain investor relationships and close investor deals.
Actors who want to take control of their careers by building and maintaining investor relationships and closing investor deals.
Executive
Shane Stanley is a multi-Emmy® Award-winning filmmaker and best-selling author who grew up in/around “the biz” in Hollywood. As a childhood actor he appeared on-screen in over 100 projects with Hollywood legends which included June Lockhart, Lloyd Haynes, and David Arkin. By age ten, he was comfortably running an Arri 16mm camera, a flatbed-editor, and Moviola.
Along with his father, Lee Stanley, Shane produced The Desperate Passage Series which, during its six year run, received world-wide syndication and was nominated for 33 individual Emmy® Awards winning 13 statues. Two specials from the series went on to become successful feature films including Gridiron Gang, which was acquired by Sony Pictures and became the #1 box office hit starring Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson which Shane executive produced. Additionally, he has overseen and produced dozens of big-budget motion pictures which have starred Marlon Brando, Mira Sorvino, Thomas Hayden Church, Donald Sutherland, Marisa Tomei, Sean Penn, John Travolta, and Charlie Sheen.
Shane began his writing career penning episodes of Zalman King's Red Shoe Diaries for Showtime Networks before creating an original television series for Jeff Sagansky, former Head of CBS and developing scripted drama for Fox Television Studios under then Vice President, David Madden. Shane made his directorial debut with a film he also wrote entitled A Sight for Sore Eyes which was invited to screen at Cannes the following year. Additionally, he has directed countless television commercials and highly acclaimed music videos, including two that went #1 on VH1's Top 20 Video Countdown and another that made the network’s list of Best 100 Music Videos.
Other directing credits include the romantic-comedy, Mistrust, starring two-time Golden Globe® and Emmy® Award winner Jane Seymour and amidst COVID, Shane produced and directed the action-comedy, Double Threat starring Matthew Lawrence and Dawn Olivieri (Yellowstone, 1883), which The New York Times listed on their Top 5-Action Movies to Stream (July 2022) and was the sole indie feature amongst Hollywood blockbusters on Amazon Prime's “Top 10 in the US” list remaining there for several weeks and peaked at #4. This year, Shane’s action-thriller, Night Train, starring Danielle C. Ryan and Diora Baird premiered on HULU where it reached #1 on the platform and remained in the top spot for an astonishing four weeks. Currently, Shane is in post-production on Six Days in Evergreen, a music-drama with a star-studded cast and is prepping to direct a psychological thriller for legendary producer, Mario Kassar (Terminator, Rambo, Total Recall, Basic Instinct) slated to start filming next year.
In addition to his Emmy® Awards, Stanley has received 11 Telly Awards, 2 CINE Golden Eagles Awards, 5 Aurora Awards, 4 WorldFest Remi Awards, and 28 International Film Festival Awards. He has spoken at several prestigious film and art institutes around the country including The Screen Writers Expo, the world’s largest tradeshow for screenwriters, alongside Oliver Stone, Michael Goldenberg (Harry Potter franchise) and Adam Herz (American Pie) about the secrets of marketing to today’s youth.
Testimonials
Testimonials for Shane's Previous Webinars:
"Shane was thorough and encouraging. Easy to listen to and follow. I'll be signing up for other classes he teaches in the future."
-Karena K.
"Just straight-forward, real, the kind of producer most of us would kill to work alongside."
-Clark R.
"Shane was relevant, knew what was happening, and could walk the walk."
-Chuck R.
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