In the below Film Courage video, filmmaker Byron Q. discusses his thoughts on using credit cards to finance an independent film and why he would personally never do it again.
Often I see newer producers and filmmakers over-extend themselves by maxing out personal credit cards to fund their early pro Expand post
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Maxing out credit cards or draining personal savings is irresponsible, especially if you have a family / mouths to feed. On the flip side, it's not ethical to expect someone to fund your dream project...
Expand commentMaxing out credit cards or draining personal savings is irresponsible, especially if you have a family / mouths to feed. On the flip side, it's not ethical to expect someone to fund your dream project which has less than 1% chance of making enough money to pay anyone back. Your dream, you pay for it. Once you get to a certain stage, then do some outreach.
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I don't think I ever used my American Express Gold Card to finance any of my movies; but I often spent $10,000 and paid it at the end of every month without O% interest. But I travelled with my Americ...
Expand commentI don't think I ever used my American Express Gold Card to finance any of my movies; but I often spent $10,000 and paid it at the end of every month without O% interest. But I travelled with my American Express God Card and it was nice to have $10,000 cash in my pocket everywhere I went -- Vic Alexander, independent filmmaker.
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I think that's exactly right, Stephen Folker. I'm not suggesting that every filmmaker should go the financier route. If you can afford to pay out of pocket for your project, you should, especially whe...
Expand commentI think that's exactly right, Stephen Folker. I'm not suggesting that every filmmaker should go the financier route. If you can afford to pay out of pocket for your project, you should, especially when you're learning. I just hate seeing people go into serious debt that they can't crawl out of. I think the key is educating yourself. Part of understanding professional financing options is learning how to properly revise your project to meet a reasonable budget, whether that's for yourself or for someone else. Oftentimes, I think newer filmmakers get in over their heads trying to make something that is too expensive right off the bat and if they approached a different project with more reasonable and affordable auspices, they'll be able to learn and grow without overextending themselves. Then later down the road, they'll be more prepared for that bigger more expensive passion project at a time when they can approach financing options differently.
Meh. This business is about failing. And getting up from failing. Do what you got to do to finish. So many experts say this and that and they're preaching to general audience but never to peers. My fi...
Expand commentMeh. This business is about failing. And getting up from failing. Do what you got to do to finish. So many experts say this and that and they're preaching to general audience but never to peers. My first Hollywood assistant job to a famous producer and this dude used his house equity to fund a movie. The movie flopped, the bank took the house and his wife divorced him. He went back at it again. Made another movie; this time the movie made $, he bought another house and married someone else. His third produced movie became a franchise and he was filthy rich.
Dan MaxXx - to quote Thomas Edison (speaking of films, not personal life) - "I have not failed, I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." We have to keep trying, learning, making and repeat....
Expand commentDan MaxXx - to quote Thomas Edison (speaking of films, not personal life) - "I have not failed, I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." We have to keep trying, learning, making and repeat.