This is my third and final eMail to you. I think it’s silly that you have a filmmaking website, but when it comes time to actually help people make movies, you just ignore them… So here it goes – again!

My name is Idiot Filmmaker from another planet. I think you should invest in my movie because it is totally awesome. My friends and I are going to do everything – so all we need from you is the money…

I am thinking our budget is going to be eighty-thousand dollars, but I am really not sure. But we think you should help us because you know all that stuff about film distribution. ( We don’t care much about that stuff, ha-ha.)

Assuming that you do invest in our movie project (you don’t want to miss out, right?) – We are prepared to give you all international rights. So again, just 80K will make you as a producer. Sound good?

You can send the check to my return address.

Sincerely,

Mr. Idiot Filmmaker

P.S. If you pass at this opportunity, it’s your loss. But if you find other film financier for our project, we will still give you an associate producer credit.

P.P.S. What is your personal phone number? I’d like to call you with more details.

- – -

This note was modified and slightly embellished to protect this idiot. However, I get at least three emails like this per week. Please don’t send this kind of stuff to me. I’m busy with my own projects… Besides, this sort of thing will never get you anywhere in business, because you aren’t focused on the most important aspect of any deal: “What’s In It For Me?”

If you can not create a marketing, sales and distribution plan for your movie (that you control), your project becomes very risky.

Fortunately there are two developments that have helped in this arena.

Firstly, through companies like distribber (Disclosure: They pay me to promote) you now have the ability to get your movie into the marketplace. This allows you to create a business plan and marketing strategy with a fully accessible sales channel. (This is huge!)

Secondly, sites like Kickstarter and Indie GoGo allow you to crowdfund. With crowdfunding, you can test your concept long before you get into the marketplace. This will help you determine if your movie has a market – long before you dive into your project both feet first.

When you have a sales channel and a proven concept, having conversations with prospective investors will be much easier.

If you would like more information on movie marketing, check out these filmmaking tools.

In these audio podcasts, you’ll get valuable information on how to source your audience, audio interviews with industry heavy weights, how to maximize box office revenues, ideas on filmmaking business models and business plans and movie distribution…

To access this FREE filmmaking podcast, click on Jason Brubaker’s picture.

On November 11th, I’ll be speaking and participating in the 2010 Indie Film Finance And Production Conference in Los Angeles.

When: November 11th.

Where: Writers Boot Camp
2519 Michigan Ave
Santa Monica, CA 90404

To register, go here: http://www.iffpc.com

For those of you who tuned into the filmmaking conference call over the weekend - it was great to meet you. For those of you who missed it, no worries. The call will be available for download soon. (So if you’re on the filmmaking stuff mailing list, you’ll get it for free.)

For those of you who missed the call, we focused on film finance and digital self distribution. (These are the two areas I learned the HARD WAY.) And if you happen to be one of the many filmmakers with a movie and no deal, stay tuned. . . I’m very passionate about digital self distribution and know a ton about this topic (FROM EXPERIENCE) and I want to make sure that your movie distirbution needs are getting met in this ever changing climate. (In other words, I want to show you how to market and sell your movie for maximum profit.)

As always, thanks a lot for tuning in.

“Discover A Simple, Step-By-Step System For Finding Investors and Getting Money To Finance Your Movie!”

Today, I’m going to offer yet another bit of perspective on the whole question of how to raise money for movies.

As you may or may not know, independent film funding can be a little overwhelming. If you’ve ever dabbled in the business side of making a movie, you know what I mean. The first time I heard people talk about writing a business plan or offering a private placement memorandum, I suddenly felt like I was on another planet. And if you’re like most filmmakers, you would much rather focus on actually getting your movie made, instead of cold calling rich and successful people to set up random pitch meetings.

• So, the first challenge you have in the world of film finance is: How do I find investors for my movie?
• The second challenge is: How will my feature film provide enough ROI (return on investment) for my investor?

Assuming you’ve followed some of my previous advice on creating relationships with rich and successful people, even if you do make a favorable impression on a few rich folks, your potential film investors may still shy away from making an investment in your project. Why? Because without star talent, a known director, a film distribution outlet and an experienced crew – it’s very tough to answer the important question of ROI.

Your potential investors want to know how you plan on spending their money, how you plan on getting their money back, and when. Can you provide your investors with this information? If not, then you can understand why independent film financing, especially for your first feature, can be a pain in the butt.

However, having worked as an account executive for one of the biggest investment banks in the world, I would like to share some thoughts and end today’s article on a positive note. If you can come up with a plan that at least attempts to answer the question of ROI – then you’re in the ball park. While I can’t say it’s common, there are a few potential investors out there, for which their excess cash sometimes burns a hole in their pocket. These folks will assess the potential for gain and loss, and despite the risk (which you will always disclose and never hide!), they will still choose to do business with you.

I have a friend (who I’ll interview in a few weeks) – but anyway, he made a short film that went viral on the internet. One day he gets a call from a random multimillionaire who says he has always wanted to produce a movie. Suffice it to say, my buddy is now in pre-production on his first independent feature film.

Stranger things have happened. What’s important is that you keep pushing forward!

- – -

If you are wondering how to get money for your movie – Almost every resource will tell you that you need a business plan. Very few resources will tell you how to actually go out, find prospective investors, qualify them, contact them, get a meeting and build a relationship.

Since getting money for movies was such a frustrating experience for me, I spent the last few months creating: The Independent Producer’s Guide To Financing Your Movie. In it, YOU will gain valuable insider experience so you can avoid my past mistakes, find investors and make your movie. To learn more CLICK HERE

I also mentioned how some filmmakers employ bartering or trading to get the necessary resources.

Now, does cutting your budget and exchanging cash for favors involve A LOT of creativity and planning – YES! But we are talking about your first feature. And if you can learn to cut costs and be creative with virtually no money, imagine what you’ll accomplish when you actually do have money!

That being said – in the last lesson, I spoke about the traditional way business professionals find investors and raise funds by exchanging private equity for cash. Today, I’m going to talk about a lessor known, yet very popular way some filmmakers make their movie. It’s called the risk share method.

GET THE MONEY, PART 2

The other, more common, yet sometimes overlooked way to produce a feature is simply to ask your cast and crew if they would like to partner up and throw in some cash. Now, this is complicated and VERY RISKY and if done incorrectly, could get you into a lot of legal trouble (SO YES, TALK WITH A QUALIFIED LEGAL AND TAX PROFESSIONAL)…

But if you have 20 people working on your movie, and each throw in a few hundred dollars, you’re in the money.

ACTION

1. If you go this route, SPEAK WITH A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL to help you out, as this sort of structure is ripe for lawsuits if something goes wrong.
2. Get everything in writing!
3. Understand who controls the process and who doesn’t. You don’t want an equity owning production assistant telling you what you can and cannot do with your finished film. And if you take shortcuts, this could happen.

Now again, this risk share strategy has many pros and cons – way too many to write about here. But for some filmmakers, being able to successfully structure a project this way, while at the same time doing it legally could be the difference between getting a movie made, or not.

It’s been a long time since I’ve read Extreme DV at Used-Car Prices: How to Write, Direct, Shoot, Edit, and Produce a Digital Video Feature for LessThan $3,000, but I seem to remember that Rick Schmidt mentioned the risk share model in the book. I could be confused about that… But Rick Schmidt is quite a filmmaking inspiration and his book is totally worth a read.