Film Development Funds: Your Startup Budget Think of film development funds as your startup cash. Without them, it’s tough to get your project off the ground. You’ll want to aim for 5-10% of your total budget to cover some key early costs like: Entertainment Attorney Fees– To handle contracts and protect your project. Sales Agent Projections– So you know how much money your film could bring in. Producer Retainer– To get an experienced producer on Read more…
Limited Theatrical Release Case Study After some research here are some standout films that had a budget of $1,000,000.00 and under that did extremely well with a limited theatrical release. Did production have a budget set aside for marketing and a theatrical release or did the distributor cover the cost? Those questions will be answered in Part 3. Regardless having a limited theatrical release does increase your exclusive and nonexclusive deals on streaming services! If Read more…
Cinema is going through a similar death the way that theatre had about 20 years ago. The majority of Broadway plays/musicals are now based on IPs. Back to the Future, Beetlejuice, The Notebook, “the musical” etc. Broadway had to adapt to spectacle. Of course there is still off-broadway plays that still challenge their audience. Now AI is coming. The audience will now custom make their own fantasies, dreams, nightmares, and bypass the filmmaker. Add a Read more…
Do you need money for your film? Thinking about approaching a film investor? How much do you need? $300k, $1 mil, need more? To keep things simple, let’s say you need $300k. Now tell your potential investor to go to the convenience store and buy $300k worth of scratch off lottery tickets. What are the odds that they still get zero? -5%, -20%, -50%, break-even, or make a modest profit of $100k (I’m pretty sure Read more…
Mastering the Art of Pitching in the Film Industry In the world of filmmaking, pitching is a defining skill—some fear it, while others thrive. It’s an indispensable craft that you must cultivate. Your ability to effectively convey the creative and financial value of your film project is of utmost importance. One of your most potent tools is a visually compelling pitch deck. Filmmakers can often be categorized into three distinct groups: Screenwriters: Aspiring to sell Read more…
Proof of concept works! Whether they are photo stills or a short film. Making a feature film is expensive and time-consuming. So break it down to the bare minimum. Can’t afford a proof of concept video yet? Or a short film? Start off with a photo shoot! What better way to start envisioning your film than doing a photo session that reflects the mood of your screenplay? Last year I got hired to do a Read more…
Film Budget Red Flags! Here are some major red flags on your script and film budget that can really affect your indie film! If your script has more than 25 major speaking roles that’s a red flag! For every actor you have, you must pay SAG Health and Pension, Per Diem, Lodging, Travel, and Payroll taxes. So keep that in mind when writing your script. Keep your lead and supporting roles to a minimum. Shooting Read more…
Hey Crew! Honored to be invited to film distribution Producer Rep. Ben Yennie’s new podcast! We discuss film budgets, pitching to film investors, and distribution! It goes live today at 3 PM central! If you need a film pitching package that includes; a film budget, pitch deck, shooting schedule, and temp poster send me an email immediately at filmproducertx@gmail.com
Very promising future for indie film producers. Mark Ruffalo recently stated that more notable actors should take a bigger risk and work on indie films during the SAG Strike. SAG defines an indie film under $2 million ($3 million with a diverse cast). Most films in that range can only afford one Schedule F (flat rate of $65,000.00 for a notable actor). Actors like filmmakers have to adapt to the market! If notable actors and Read more…
What if, the studios said F_CK IT and end their contract with the WGA? I’m going to play devil’s advocate for a second. What if the studios cut their losses and end their deal with the WGA? I’m already seeing clever and conniving strategies. I first caught wind of it when HBO started taking films and series out of their library. Residuals hurt their bottom line! Now with the invention of AI, ChatGPT, Deep Fake, Read more…