Anything Goes : Starting a production company by Charisse D. Hobson

Thank you Richard for your response. Over the years I have directed and produced documentaries, helped with features and currently work with an agency creating corporate videos to name a few. After years of working with others and gaining experience I am looking to branch out on my own and create my own creative content in many of those previous stated components. Now, that I'm looking to create my own I'm just trying to make the best decisions going forward in establishing it.

Grow a thick skin, but you probably already know that. Anyone in an artistic and creative field has to have one. :) Find a PowerPoint template of a business plan and use that to guide you through some of the questions you need to answer to yourself. It will also help you hone your purpose behind the why.

i think you should first get as many project attached to it as possible , a track record is more important than insurance and office dues for emerging movie production company . once you have that, then every thing will move by it self , people who need to invest in you are very many but they need to know that you can manage the funds and recoup is a sure deal .

O.o - Your track record without insurance will be zero. How do you attach a project to something that doesn't exist?

@ Racheal who makes up a company ,the owner or prepaid dues ? and if you want to own, will you be owning prepaid due reciept or products made by your company ? what makes you think you have a company , speaking about it or taking you product on market ? any way its my opinion , i don't not know how its done in the USA , but i thought emerging company is all about the quality and quantity of out put on market , but thing like legal conslutancy , insurance , can only be consindered once the company is established enough to do business with other company in that very industry , other wise i see no reason for paying insurance when i have no produce to protect .

Here, it works the other way around. You assemble a team with great track records to be part of your company. Then, you get your legal ducks in a row, licenses, insurance - all the things you need to have a legitimate business, rather than play acting at one. And no investor is EVER going to back a fake company with no paperwork, or no insurance in case of equipment or human damage on what's essentially a construction site.

@ Rachael , sure , it sounds a lit bit wired there , but any way if i was looking for a production company to merge with , then its clear i can not look in the USA , why because i can not stand a gamble in business , i need a "head" which is experienced in managng funds/human resources and making top decisions so fast . some one who can always take second option if first failures to run my business

That's why you recruit them. They don't come out of thin air.

@ Rachael i thought a company can only recruit when its self statained in business /industry , what is the meaning of offering jobs to people you don't even know if you can ever be able to pay them ? and even if i was a worker , how can i accept your offer , when i don't even know what you can produce , what if you don't pay me ? how can i handle that ? unless your telling me , its pattern ship deed i'm singing against , but that can not be employee and employer contract .

but any way the only thing , i can tell Charisse , is to find a brand or company name , if you can offord reasonable office from your saving have that and trading lienses period , if not, please put your office on your bed , and start working on your documetary as writer , director , producer , i pressume you have experience in documentary production as you mentioned above once you have it on market , then conslut a legal officer on how you can handle distribution , and all workers must be able to work on low cost , then thing like their insurance can not be neccessary at that level , when the doc makes profits , then you will be ligitement business owner in your community automatically , publicity can start working then , at that level there is no one who will be forcing you to pay insurance , why because you will need insurance policy at all cost , to protect your business from making unneccessary loses .

This is how start ups and collectives operate - accomplished, talented, or both, people agree to join forces in order to complete some sort of task - be it a film, computer program, or landscaping project. There's a lot of preproduction work that has to be done before presenting a concept to potential investors, and part of that is presenting oneself as a legitimate company. This is a partnership at the beginning, not a company. Two friends, or a group of people decide to do something. Cool. If that something involves real labor, or potential hazards, they should have protection in place. Which is when the original parties go from being people involved in an idea, to forming an actual company.

? That made less than zero sense.

Charise - if you're operating as an independent contractor, and only using yourself, the simplest form is a DBA. It offers very little liability protection, unlike an LLC - where your personal assets are separate from business ones. Depending upon your focus and subjects, you may not need anything at all.

Initially if you can find an attorney to legally set up the production company for you as a corporation so you can't be personally liable or sued...I would go for that....it might be possible to do that online as well...Our production company came into being in that manner...but if it's not something you think you can do now...find an extra job (even in this economy) it could be a temp job or create a job of your own including baby-sitting and save every dime of it to pay the attorney eventually. However...start that production company now...but in order to be a production company....you will need a script to produce and if you don't have money to purchase the script yet...write one of your own....take a class or just let the characters tell your story for you...let them run amuck...like the inmates running the asylum ....you can make the script and the characters all well on rewrites...but on a first draft...let them tell the story for you....don't censor it...just write until you have a script...first you might want to do a treatment (a one page outline of the story) and register it with Writer's Guild (you don't have to be a member and it costs about $25.00 to register and protect it...also get it copy written....then when you are satisfied with your script..go to Indiegogo or ..one of the other crowd funding sources..to try to raise money to produce your script...but...if you cannot raise that money...go to Mandy.com and ask for a crew (D.P.,, grip, etc...) for free...there are many young people who just graduated from film school and who want to put together a reel so they can get paid film work who will work for free...but treat them well...be polite and feed them...lots and lots of food...if you don't have a lot of money make a pasta dish and a salad....and have candy bars and cookies and fruit and coffee and bagels in the morning or cereal or whatever food you can get.. ..and whatever food they like..make sure nobody is allergic....get a casting director...can't afford one...go to Actor's Access online and post your casting session...and hold it in your home or a friend's place or maybe someone will allow you to have it in their yard (or in a park) anyplace where you will have a friend who takes the names of the people and the time they arrived...it's best if you are in L.A. to use a place like KAZT...you won't need to worry re: the room or the casting director here...you will just get actors (non Sag maybe but perhaps you can get a SAG deferred payment contract from SAG for new media...and do an online video. .. .if it's a documentary of course you won't have to cast it...to save money if you have something to pay the crew...if you shoot outdoors in a friend's backyard or alley and it's sunny you will only need the D.P. (Director of Photography)..the person who shoots your film and a sound guy....and you can rent a monitor with headphones....if you have some friends who are strong ask them to be production assistants for you and you will do a favor for them...and then get to work...and do it...and when you are done enter it into a contest or put it up online...whatever your choice...and break a leg.(which in NY show biz terms=good luck..pew, pew, pew, pew...we are superstitious. .

I'm doing the same thing. I actually went to the Small Business Development Center in my area and they are really helpful and free! They are walking me through the process of starting my own business. I highly recommend it!

Definitely. It's really helpful to have an expert run down the various types of business licenses - and the pros and cons of each, to figure out which option is the best for you.

Thank you so much you guys for your help! Certainly have given me more than plenty to think about and to make sure I seek and ask the right questions along the way! I appreciate you all! Thank you!!!

Charisse, I simply want to say good for you that you have the motivation and the drive to start your own company. I wish you great success. I have a script that you might be interested in. Send me an email and I'll send you a PDF.

Charisse you are getting into a biz like no other.....all's you need is a biz card and a phone. Don't buy equipment ....sell idea's. Branch off into advertising and learn media buying... it will pay your bills. good luck

@ Mark you have a point surely .

you are more than welcome! Mark does have a good point though... and if you go that route, I would recommend that you file a Fictitious Business Name form so that you make sure you are retaining ownership of your company name (and that no one else tries to use it either)!

@ Nicole good point , now that she has a business name , cards and phone [contact] besides she looking for jobs , for me she already has a business to run which will then grow in a company future to come . i just wish you the best of luck Charisse

Great point Nicole!