Anything Goes : Looking for investors by Harun Shah

I'd like to see a complete line item budget. Who should I contact at DRP? I'm not going to discuss an investment this large over a hotmail account.

Thanks for the response. I am the producer and I have forwarded the request to Rob Beare and Adam Besse, the owners and directors at Digital Roads Production. We just have to do some fine tuning of the budget and I will forward their contact information to you shortly. The treatment and script is with me, and all the other relevant information, regarding the location, lodgings, crew list and a few cast members. We all live in British Columbia, Canada and hopefully we can arrange a meeting with you soon to forward the package, which will include the short film, the poster, the logo and all other relevant information. Looking forward to meeting you in person. Regards Harun Shah

I don't want to burst your bubble but asking for investment money for your movie from passive and non-accredited investors and the general public (which this and other websites are considered ) The solicitation of funds from either a non-accredited or a passive investors in exchange for a financial interest in your movie project will create federal and state securities compliance issues and will probably impact your ability to later distribute the movie or if your film tanks, you could be liable for some serious lawsuits because you didn't provide proper and legal investment documents. A security, in this case a movie project, “is the presence of an investment in a common venture premised on a reasonable expectation of profits to be derived from the entrepreneurial or managerial efforts of others.” If you want to ask for investment for your project from the general public or passive investors you need to work through crowd-sourcing parts (still a long term SEC issue being resolved soon I hope ) or through a formal SEC style set of documents in order to do so legally. A Passive investors is an investor that is NOT actively involved in the management of the undertaking and invest in exchange for an economic interest. If you take money from someone and they are ACTIVELY involved as a hands-on producer in the management of the project they will be considered an Active Investor and its more fair game to take their money. The distinction between active and passive investors is important because it dictates what financing options are available to you. For example, a film producer who raises money from active investors (who act, for example, as executive producers and have approval rights over major decisions or other defined, sufficient forms of participation) is likely able to avoid dealing with federal and state securities law disclosure requirements and investor eligibility limitations. In contrast, equity investment offerings to passive investors either must be registered with the SEC and the appropriate state agency, or the offerings must qualify for an exemption and comply with any applicable state securities requirements. The important Difference and differentiating aspect of Investors and Crowd funding is that Crowd funding deals with passive investment offerings via DONATION-based funding and does not involve the sale of securities to investors, and those who donate do not receive a financial interest in the project. Equity-based crowd funding, on the other hand, involves a potential return on investment and a detailed legal framework intended to protect investors. Filmmakers interested in equity-based crowd- funding need to be familiar with this SEC regulations. You can get away with asking High Net Worth accredited investors because to an appropriate accredited investor in a movie, the investors has to be active in funding movie projects and this cannot be their first endeavor, and therefore proves they understand the risks. If I were you I would stop asking for money from the public until you you can create the proper funding/investment vehicle and associated documentation or simply do private requests with people you know or are connected to and use Crowd sourcing as well. As always my discalimer: I AM NOT AN ATTORNEY AND YOU NEED TO CONSULT AN ATTORNEY WHO IS FAMILIAR WITH THE SEC AND FILM INVESTMENT BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO SECURE INVESTMENT FOR YOUR PROJECT.

Thanks for the info

When you have a full, complete line item budget please contact me. I'm not interested in logos or posters. I'm only interested in cast and crew attachments if they are "names". You want money from me so I'm only interested in how the money will be spent and how I will get a return on my investment. Unless you want me as a creative producer who will have control over the creative process. When will you have a complete line item budget finished?

We have already started to fill in the line item budget and it will be complete soon. I am meeting with the guys this weekend and will keep you posted. Thanks for your time and I really appreciate it. Talk to you soon

My phone number is 1 604 897 4825

Your $300,000 to $500,000 proposed budget sounds very vague. As Marcus noted, you'll need a much more specific budget to attract investors. You'll also need a great business plan, including the name talent you've attached, your ROI projections, track record, etc. Have you checked with sales agents and distributors on the marketability of your name talent, on both the domestic and foreign markets? Did you take note of the fact that at the recent AFM market the horror market was virtually dead because of over-saturation? If you aren't aware of these things, you're first feature film may be your last. Remember also that budget is determined by a very simple formula: Budget = anticipated sales of movie Anticipated sales of movie = what distributors will pay What distributors will pay = who is in the picture.

Ditto Erik's comments and for your 300K to 500K budget, I think you will find it is mandatory to have name talent firmly attached. By mandatory, I mean that investors will be looking for that and that will be one of the first questions sales agents and distributors will ask.

All reasons why I would like to see the plan and budget. Any potential investor needs to see these things.

Well guys...thanks for all the input. I didn't anticipate any replies this fast, and yeah I have all the materials. I thought email was the best way to go, but we are working on the budget for D. Marcus and I am getting together with the directors and owners of DRP tomorrow and will get the budget outlined. We have some actors lined up, locally of course who have appeared in the short film, and we are in the process of getting the rest signed up. I have been getting things together for the last six months and have secured the location...which is going to define the expenses related to the shooting as we are from British Columbia. Alle Segretti, if you are also interested, we can get a package ready for you as well. After tomorrows meeting, I will have a fair idea when I can get this package ready, as we all know that the Holiday Season has started. For starters please visit the website www.killerfootage.com Thanks guys and this is not a Blair witch project.

Thanks Dan for the helpful hints and yeah as soon as I get all this together, I will email you. The budget projection is all there is going to be, pre production, production and post production, including editing, distributer fees and everything in between. I did a rough copy and sent it to DRP and after Sunday, I will have a fair idea. the budget will include transportation, travel, food, accommodation for fifteen to twenty, security for Holmesburg prison, overtime for staff of the prison, errors and omissions insurance, directors wages, 20% for cast, daily crew wages, Producers fee...and the whole list will be itemised. The package will include all the names of actors and others involved. During the making of the short film, we had a great crew and they will be working in the feature as well. We wanted to do crowd funding, but decided not to at the moment. We are looking for one to two investors. I invested in the short film and will forward the link as soon as it is polished. www.killerfootage.com Harun Shah

Thanks bud...will do that.

Anytime I have solicited for funding for a project, my lawyers did a formal SEC filing. Since you need to be familiar with the current SEC regulations, it's best to work through an entertainment lawyer. I agree with Georgia Hilton and others who expressed caution.

Duly noted but I think I have found what I am looking for, a distributer and production funding company in one. They contacted me

Excellent news. One month and you find not only the money but a distributor, too. Congrats! Sorry I couldn't be involved.

I think asking for investors on a social media site is a bad idea. First, you are clearly breaking SEC regulations and could hinder your movie's progress, and also, it makes you, the producer look extremely unprofessional. I'd advice you take a break, study up, or quickly hire a lawyer before you kill your film with lawsuits before turning on the cameras. You should really take a look at your script and figure out what your budget is as well. Asking people for such a vague amount of money is juvenile and won't get you real investors.

Just out of curiosity, how is everything going for your film? And thank you for posing your question. Some of the responses offer quite a bit of clarity.

Thanks guys for all the feedback. I have hooked up with a distributer and a production company GGG...Genesis Global Media Group, and everything is falling into place. No need for financing at the moment. Even my debut novel has been picked up by them. Thanks to Stage 32