Financing / Crowdfunding

https://www.stage32.com/lounge/producing/Ask-Me-Anything-AMA-Wednesday-2...

Thanks for sharing, Jack Binder! It's going to be a great one!

Let me email you over something quite but related. Thanks

Hi Donna, what type of financing are they looking for? Getting financing for development is a tough call - I wouldn't take on anything in this stage unless I can verify several things (producers or writers have already invested some of their own resources, how packaged it already is...). Going to a potential investor when it's too soon in the life cycle of the project could be the case here. Also, are they sending out a clear ask and investment proposal? Is there any kind of structure? What security is offered? Hope that helps.

I would suggest they partner with an established producer with the resources and experience financing films (or television productions).

With a complete authentic riveting pulse pounding Drama series called THE INCISIVE: A Coincidence. S1, 10 Episodes ready to go, i'm in the same situation as you. I'm interested in hearing from that have navigated this phase successfully before. Thanks

First question... how have you protected your script? What is the ownership structure for the asset you're asking people to invest in. Start here I think Dan. Either you are selling your script to a production company to make on your behalf (?) or you want to make the film yourself (?). If you're going to co-produce you need a company of your own, an SPV.

Emma, I have the script registered with WGA. Not looking to produce myself but sell it to a production company and work with them to bring sponsors to the table from my connections in developing the script. With co-production I do maintain more control but...at this point not much desire there. I've enjoyed using the Stage32 review services to polish the script to its final form.

Hello there! I agree with Emma...

Definitely copyright with the US Library of Congress. To answer your question, a Letter of Intent (LOI) would be helpful from interested parties. This helps other potential investors to know they are not the first or only interested. Escrow is set-up once you have serious investor/financier/brand interest, an entertainment attorney for legal contracts for the investment, and create the escrow account. Never spend investment funds without the full financing for the budget in place.

Hi Tucker, for sure grants are an important consideration. They form part of the 'soft money' category within your finance plan. There are great resources available to search online for grants offering support - totally dependant upon the film (genre, short, doc, etc. etc.). Google is your best friend here. Having some funding shows potential investors that you're out making things happen, will give you resources to move the needle forward and perhaps resources in the way of advice or support from veterans. Why wouldn't you apply to grants? - thats the question I'll leave with you!

Great advice. Hope we're done with our project before Berlin 2025.

Thanks so much for sharing! This is great!

Dori Zavala, JD spot on, Dori. Always consult with a lawyer and protect your interests and give clarity to the investor as to what they will receive by way of ROI.

Have never used ChatGPT but surprisingly this agreement seems very reasonable! However as others have said, I know the SEC rules in the US are very stringent so I think I'd take advice. If it all goes wrong, can you sue ChatGPT??!!

To Dori & Geoff, please scroll to the bottom of the generated boiler plate agreement and read the "Please Note" section.

Fair point John, but with such caveats, the document is surely of little value other than information?

Templates are Trash. Consult an Attorney. If you cannot afford one, you cannot afford to make a film. Period. Always hire an Attorney, Never use a Template. For Anything. Legal Nightmare Warning.

A very critical document to comprehend, create, plan, and implement. Bravo!

Yet another example of why the word "business" is twice as long as the word "show". Awesome share, Ashley Renee Smith!

100% This information is so vital to learn. I'm thankful that David has taken the time to share these insights with us.

Wow, absolutely massive resource and a great blog to learn about how all the payment works

Never made the big screen; as far as investors, ask friends & family or hang out at places like art auctions, collector car sales, charity funds- ppl with deep hobby pockets & big egos. Or fund the old fashioned way- credit cards.

Tbh, nobody (from my experience) reads indie business plans or knows how to read screenplays. They gave us money because they trusted us.(Us being key; have a team and a lawyer with contracts in hand to sign now. Dont do this alone). GL!

Check out the book Bank Roll by Tom Malloy. Great resource on producing and finding investors.

Product placement is extremely tough for indie films because the brands are concerned primarily with the number of eyeballs on the film. So unless you have stars and a solid distribution plan, it's going to be very tough to interest any brands to contribute anything meaningful to your budget.

One well known firm is BEN. Branded Entertainment Network. They deal with streamers all the time and the average window for commitment is 18 months. Again, this makes it super hard to plan because there's no way you can hold an actor for that long so your "potential" cast will likely disappear making it very hard to package and plan to monetize any commitment from BEN.

The reason it takes so long is their network has to approve the stars, the film and evaluate the amount they'll contribute and that takes forever. BEN is paid by the brands. There's no charge to you. But unless BEN thinks there's a real chance you'll be successful, they won't take it on. My best recommendation is to avoid depending on them and go for it. Apply for it and plan on it as a "nice to have" but don't rely on it as a recoupment strategy. Same holds true for tax credits. Don't assume you'll get those.

I will say it a hundred times - sometimes going for the BIG money is necessary but don’t leave the smaller money that you can get through product integration - laying on the ground! Engage local brands who might be able to part with $500-$5K to appear in your film! They can be found all around you - even on TikTok!

Heard a great podcast interview a few years ago on Just Shoot It with Jonny Price of WeFunder. He had a lot of amazing insights on crowdfunding and how to use platforms like his for funding via crowd equity. You can find it here:

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/whats-deal-crowd-equity-w-wefunder...

Finding a real person with funds who isn't a scammer or crazy.

Perfecting your pitch, package, and closing the deal. All part of the process.

Convincing your material is worth what you say it is.

All of it? LOL Making enough of a contingency to make sure you don't go over budget is tricky. You can do all your homework to get the number right BEFORE securing financing, but details can change between quotes and production. Oh, and sharing what you've made with the promise that you'll do better.

Waking up every day believing in the project

Had my first meeting with EXILE and Alexi is reading the script over the next 7 days wherein he will tell me if he wants to go forward. Then it’s attaching talent, Director.

I have lined up a pitch deck expert and a upm for a budget.

They regularly reach out to a broad range of creatives to sell their services - and charge a fee for getting involved in your project - so beware.

They are excellent and very active and aggressive self-promoters who from what I have seen will want you to hire and pay them for their expertise. Check to see if they have ever actually had things of any substance go into production.

Hi Jean - please keep us posted - I'm curious how it will turn out