Producing : Considering a Personal Loan (Cross Post) by Apolos Israel

My advice - don't do it. For a short, raise the capital yourself - that way, if it fails (likely), you're not on the hoot to someone else and if it succeeds - it's your profit. If it fails - it's your education.

Kay Luke As a first time filmmaker, I thought it'd be impossible to convince someone else to invest in me. Did you run into this problem when you first started out? If yes, what did you do to circumvent (or not) the situation?

Doug Nelson I see what you mean by not owing someone else money if I fail. Guess it's picking up more shifts for me.

Lots of ads for medical research volunteers in the NY papers. Some of the stuff it pretty benign and pays well.

See my comment on the finance lounge.

I just shot a ten-minute concept short for a pilot last month. It's in post-prod - paid for at 1,250 plus transportation cost. But I'm fortunate - my people work for free, take a minimal fee, or pay to be a part of my projects. What would you like to know? I, like Kay, am a writer, turned producer, so we know everything starts on the page. your best move would be to show me the money -- those ten pages - before you do anything else. What's your story craft look like?

Shawn Speake Hey Shawn thanks for the reply. I'm not sure if you're asking me directly to show you my script or if you're saying to pitch the script to producers and try to get them on board by showing my script.

If its the former, here's a link:

https://www.scriptrevolution.com/system/files/beholder_draft_4.pdf

If it's the latter, in your honest opinion, do you think a producer would take a chance on a first time filmmaker? Is there any way that I could stack the odds in my favor in any way? What do you look for when you are ready to put your energy into producing something?

1. I wanna see the script, bro! That's how I help you right here, right now.

   2. Post on S32 - I won't leave S32 to provide S32 feedback - free to you compliments of RB and Amanda, my bosses, but my services are free to you only on this website.

   3. No, I don't think a 'name' producer is going to take a chance on you, because you haven't taken a chance on yourself yet. Real talk.

   4. How do we stack the odds in our favor is the best question you've asked. This is the X-factor among writers growing into filmmakers. The way we stack odds in our favor in this game is by 'quarterbacking' everything. Gone are the days of the quiet bedroom writer. I believe we must be the all-star team captain and rock star in the room. I specialize in Rock Star but that confidence comes with craft. I know my shit. I'm also an above-average actor because I don't act. I play versions of myself. I'm in tv-series and movies on Netflix and Amazon. I can create, write and star in my own projects like a Seinfeld. when you bring steak and potatoes to the table, people wanna eat with you.

   5. I look for the sale abilty of the project first. A project is never for me, it's for my people. I pitch loglines in Walmart to see what people like. Then I look for the right team to work with my company of three camera ops, and three actors/writers My company is only six deep. the more people involved in your project, the greater the chance of failure. My last project totaled ten including cast and crew. Script and vids posted on my page. hope this helps. take what you like and funk the rest. my man. https://www.stage32.com/profile/185490/Screenplay/DreamHouse-Ave

Apolos, WHY DON'T You reach out to me - I said it in the other thread. I would be willing to have a phone conversation with you and I will give you the MOST GENUINE ADVICE I CAN. GOD BLESS and STAY FRESH. <3 Send me an email first at cinematicheroes@aol.com or reach out here.

Shawn Speake Hey Shawn thanks for reaching out.

Here is a quick link to the screenplay: https://www.stage32.com/profile/509052/scripts_screenplays

I'm going to check out Dreamhouse Ave.

Thanks again!

Apolos, my best advice would be to get your business plan sorted before you make anything. I know a lot of producers who have properly skinted themselves out on getting a project done, only to not know what to do with it once it's ready.

The moment you become and independent producer, you become and entrepreneur. Treat this business the same way as anyone else would, any other business.

Hello Apolos, I'd be willing to look over your script and budget and give you advice. Shoot me an email at NewNuwmedia@gmail.com

Unless you have a producer or a film festival programmer, screener etc. whom you know personally that you can get to look at your short when you're done I would hold off. Once you have that connection, make something you think they'd like. Then have a feature ready to pitch them when they ask, "What's your next project"?

Blindly making a short and relying on acceptance to a major tier festival is akin to playing powerball. Screeners have too many shorts to watch and most don't even get looked at. That's the reality. If it's great and it gets watched, you're in luck. But odds are overwhelmingly against that due to the sheer numbers of entries. It's math. Nothing more.

Apolos, mate, you're going about it all wrong.

You don't have money, so look at what you can use that doesn't cost you anything, and then look at where you can send the end product that won't cost you anything.

Our company just shot proof of concept footage; the idea is that we send the proposal with links to the clip/s out to buyers so we can land delivery deals (different to being commissioned, since commissioning only works with companies based in the same country as the network and if the producers are already in the guild).

If you're doing it not as a producer but as a film-maker trying to gain some recognition, there are free festivals that may boost your reputation and YouTube and/or vimeo - to name but a couple - are free and your work will be judged by merit (to some degree). If you can get enough views and you post it around, you'll eventually get noticed.

Or, you then go to agents/producers and say, "My short has XXX many views, can we do anything together?"

Shit, sorry, I didn't even realise this was a dead post! Maybe the mod's could BOLD FONT the age of 1st posts?