Financing / Crowdfunding : Ask Me Anything (AMA) 2/21 to 2/22 by Ryan Little

Hey Ryan Little! Thanks so much for doing this AMA for us! What would you say is the biggest mistake that filmmakers make when looking to fun their first film?

Thanks for having another AMA, Ryan Little. Do certain financiers look to invest in certain genres?

Hi Ryan,

What would you say are the five things filmmakers should have in place before seeking financing, aside from a good script and pitch deck?

Thanks for doing this!

Emily I think the biggest mistake that filmmakers make for their first feature is going after too big a budget. There are exceptions to this rule of course, but one it comes to your first feature it really should be about getting your name out there and building some street credit. If you can "reverse engineer" your film thinking about amazing resources you have then build a good story around that then you can make something great on a budget from 50 -500K range. So often I see people who tell me they are trying to raise money for their first film and they want $5 million. Then I see them like six years later in the same boat. Getting that kind of funds 1st time out for most people is like winning the lottery. Shelf that movie and make it your 2nd or 3rd film. Build up to that budget.

Maurice I think when it comes to getting private equity for a film there has to be an "emotional" component in the mix. If you want to do sports film you should try to go after someone who really loves sports or has made their fortune in something related to sports. That way they will have an emotional tie to what you are doing. I don't think there is standard to what genres investors are more likely to put money into really. For investors who have done it before they might be a bit more savvy on the genres that sell better, especially in foreign markets. Personally I think true stories are a great place to start for your first film if you can find a good story.

Excellent advice, Ryan Little! Use the "emotional" component. Thanks.

Great question Steve. Story is king of course and having the pitch deck comes from that. But after you have that foundation in place I think the next things to do is a budget by a qualified Line Producer. Plan out where the film will be shot. Know the Tax Incentives for that area and what is qualifications are required for your film. If you can, try to attach a named actor to the film if you have that relationship. Most people do not, so it's rare for first time filmmakers to use the "named actor" card to get the funding. Start meeting with sales agents who will meet with you, especially if they have sold film that are similar to yours. Hope these suggestions help.

Hey Ryan: Thanks for doing taking time out of your day to do this. Question - For those just starting out, what are you looking for in an investor and how do you start that relationship?

Hi Ryan, I'm a producer based out of SFM and I'm working on my next project titled "GABRIEL' . We have raised about 1.6M so far, but I need to raise another 5M to attach some know talents to the movie . HAVE SOME FOR MARKETING PURPOSES AND OF COURSE ENOUGH FOR PRODUCTION AND POST/ 5M is a lot of money, any tips about how I can tap into different resources to get my budget finalized?

Thanks!

GABRIEL: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1TuQRnRAafYFgY-f1D-lyiOxIwYlZTNdx...

Leonardo. Great question. When it comes to looking for an investor I want to partner with I am looking for someone who is passionate about film. Passionate about the kind of film I want to make. For example if I want to make a WWII film I want to find an investor who loves history and might even have a strong family tie to WWII. They are emotionally invested in what I am trying to make. I am also looking for someone who has enough money that if the project we do does not financially succeed that it's not a big deal for them. I don't want to take money from someone who will lose their house if we don't make the money back. Along that same train of thought I try to find investor who understands the risk of filmmaking and is okay with taking that risk.

Ryan Little That's a great moral compass to walk in. Thanks so much!

Armen. Great pitch deck and presentation and congrats on raising some capitol. I think since you have raised some money now and have some "Skin in the Game" as they call it, then I would look for a production company / sales company to do a co-production with and help raise the rest. Someone like Devin Carter at Premiere Entertainment would be a good person to talk to. They have a nice relationship with SABAN films and love to make movies in this genre you are doing. I think something like that would be the next logical step.

Ryan Little -

I agree, having a budget in place is key. And of course, depending on the budget, incentives would come into play. But, there is the chicken and egg dance where no bankable talent will get on board without pay or play money and Sales Agents are are not really doing pre-sales on smaller budget films. Unless you're talking about films in the multi million dollar range, which is not really feasible for most smaller filmmakers.

What about an approach for MicroBudget filmmakers looking to upgrade to something in the 75k - 250k range?

Hi Ryan, Thanks for doing this AMA! What advice do you give to new filmmakers and producers, about financing and investors, who are starting from scratch in terms of a network?

Thanks Ryan Little!

Steve you are certainly right. Bankable talent is hard to get without a "pay or play" deal in place. And let's be honest "bankable talent" changes so quickly that who is bankable now might not be in a year. And yes pre-sales are almost impossible without talent attached. I was able to do pre-sales on my second film with no talent attached because it was a sequel to the first film and due to the finical success the foreign countries saw on that film they were willing to buy into a sequel based on script alone. When I mentioned talking to sales agents in my other comment as nice as it would be to get a pre-sale I was talking about the idea of finding a good sales agent to go with after you have made your film. By lining up a sales agent you think could do a good job selling your completed film you can share that with your potential investor to show you are working towards making their money back as quickly as possible once done. Micro-budget films are really the best way to start for your first feature. Reverse engineer it. Build something around the resources you have. I was well connected with the WWII re-enactment community so I wrote a script to build around that resource and it paid off. With films done at that budget range they are not based around talent of course which means you would be selling the film to a platform like Tubi for example who are comfortable with showing good films that have good no named actors in them. If you can find an investor for 50 -100K they are certainly more likely to take the risk on a 1st time filmmaker and give you that money. If you can defer certain budget costs like: directing fees, script, locations, actors, and equipment then you can tell you investor that you are covering a certain portion of the budget with "sweat equity". Which to them means you have "skin in the game" and have something to lose along with them.

Hey Niki. When starting from scratch I think you just need to get in social gatherings where you might potentially meet money people. I do mean you have to go to a ton of parties, but for example I knew a bunch of WWII collectors and re-enactors. Even though re-enactors are not actors in the traditional sense they do love the idea of performing. And the collectors spend a lot of money on the vehicles they own. I knew spending time with those people at events and getting to know them was going to pay off, and it did eventually lead me to people who were passionate about WWII and wanted to invest in a film on that topic. So as you think about the kind of film you want to make think about the kind of people who would want to see a film about that topic and figure out where they spend their time on social level. You can also think about people you know who might not be film people but do know people who do have that kind of money. You can then ask them to come on as an executive producer if they can help the people they know to consider financing your film endeavor, and of course the person who helped you get the money would be paid either a finders fee or participation in the films backend, or both.