Introduce Yourself : The spirit of alliance by Roger Owen

In a direct response to the increasing difficulty in raising investment for film production – I have decided to create a scheme to assist great ideas to become reality rather than never actually being produced. Pre-sale funding from broadcasters and private investors is rapidly becoming a thing of the past, the knock-on effect being that many worthy projects often get no further than a proposal document or treatment stage. The ‘Alliance’ idea is very simple, it relies on participants’ to believe in the project they will be working for, and be prepared to wait a while to receive the rewards. Put very simply - people offer their talents and expertise just as they would for a fully paying commission; the only difference is that payment is deferred. Sceptics (I know there will be some) can stop reading now. There is nothing new about this idea and ‘No Pay, Low Pay, Expenses Only’ deals are common place within many low budget, non-broadcast arenas. The main difference with our arrangement is that there exists a proven, long lasting market for the kind of programmes we make. Our programmes have sold well worldwide in broadcast, cable, Internet and DVD distribution. How does it work? A budget to produce a programme is created in the normal way, including all standard production costs, fees and expenses. Everyone involved in the production provides a ‘deferred payment notice’ which is the fee and/or expenses that they would have normally charged. These notices will be collated by a professional independent accountant, also on deferred fees, who calculates a percentage profit share based on the individual deferred fees. The completed programme is offered up for a range of distribution deals – and as money starts rolling in from sales - the accountants become enabled to supply dividend payments to all the programme contributors. Example; A completed programme with a production total of £20,000 makes an initial sale for a 1 year licence to a UK broadcaster for £5000. If the programmes’ ‘script writer’ deferred fee was £2000 they would be allocated a profit share percentage of 10% and so would receive £500 from the first sale. Then as the film attracts more and more sales for different territories and delivery platforms – more and more payments are made which will continue for the life of the film. A series of films we produced in 2001 are still selling 12 years later! I believe the idea should work - maybe others might see if it works for them too. Roger Owen. www.alliancepictures.co.uk