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Top 5 Reasons Why Funding is NOT Your Biggest Problem

Nothing is wrong with wanting funding.

I’m all for earning money with your craft, whether that’s via YouTube or finding investors.

SURE they’re certain movies that you can’t do without a bigger budget but if that’s what stops you from taking action to making a feature then your biggest problem isn’t funding.

You’re a filmmaker. You should have plenty of goddamn ideas for films. Most of the time, a movie you think needs $750,000 can be shot for $50,000 but just for argument’s sake let’s say you’re the most skilled producer and you’re SURE the budget can’t be less than $750,000. Then is getting funding still your biggest problem?

The answer is an emphatic NO.

For example, do you not have other films you can work on to build your way up to that budget (see #3 below)?

If you’re letting the fact that some angel investor won’t give you 3/4 of a million stop you from taking action because it’s the only decent film idea you have then I’m sorry — you’re not a filmmaker. You’re a one hit wonder who doesn’t even have a hit.

5. Timing

An analysis done on over 100 businesses tried to answer the question: What factors matter most for early success?

Is it the funding? Is it the idea (your script, in the case of film)? Is it having a great team/crew?

The results surprised everyone. Guess what number one is.

Timing. The time that the script/product was released mattered more than THREE TIMES as much as the funding. In fact, funding mattered the least of all the factors!

 

Film Businesses Chart

“Yea but my film’s not a corporation. It’s art mannnn.”

Sure… but the truth is you would LOVE to be making a living shooting films you’re proud of. You just don’t think it’s possible and so it’s easier to hide behind saying “it’s art” rather than face the fact that the market doesn’t want your film or you’re not able to sell it to them properly.

This is why our newsletters are geared towards filmmakers who are sick of this self-pitying attitude and wanna learn how to treat their films as a startup business.

Your script and your crew matter TWO times more than funding as well. If you feel you have a problem with funding, first improve those two things.

Bill Gross’s full TED talk on this study can be found here.

4. Resourcefulness

We all have that bratty rich friend. The kind that his father bought him a Ronin when he was 16 and a RED when he was still teething. He still complains that he needs more funding. And his movies suck. Like not even subjectively suck, but objectively suck — to God.

Then we’ve all heard of those other kids, that came from nothing. Maybe even their parents were abusive, they were bullied, definitely no film school. And their movies… are fucking wonderful.

So what is it? What is the difference between them?

If you ask yourself why you didn’t achieve a certain level of success, or why your project failed you’ll come up with a bunch of excuses.

“I wasn’t given enough time on set.”  “I need more computing power.” “I just need more reliable people.” “I need more funding.”

Sound like yourself? That’s fine, I was like that too.

But from the two examples above the difference clearly isn’t the resources. The difference is RESOURCEFULNESS.

If you think you need more funding, that’s just code for “I need to be more resourceful.”

If you were resourceful enough, you’d make your movie. Think Blair Witch, think The Following (Christopher Nolan’s first short). Each done for nothing back when film was actual film!

Every time you find yourself asking for more funding, what you really need to ask yourself is “How can I be more resourceful?”

We even have a brand new product geared towards surrounding yourself with other ambitious and resourceful filmmakers so that you can get your features made this year. It closes July 6th, 2016 so hurry.

3. It’s a marathon, not a sprint

If you’re coming from the mindset that you need a lot more funding RIGHT NOW then you’re losing the game before you even play.

This kind of “get rich quick” mentality plagues businesses and filmmakers too.

If you’re aiming for $200,000 feature when you haven’t even shot a $20,000 film, then how do you even know you’re competent enough to use that money? More importantly, how are you gonna convince the guy/girl with the chequebook that you are competent enough to use their money?

Why would you expect a million dollar budget to be feasible when you haven’t even generated $10,000 from your last film?

Here’s a standard formula we call the Curt Expectation Value so you can get a ballpark of how much you can expect for your next film:

(your previous budget + profit) x 4

What does that mean? Well let’s say your previous budget was $20,000 and you made $5,000 profit, then a reasonable range for you to aim for is ($20,000 + $5,000) x 4 = $100,000 to make your next film.

Lesson: Don’t try to skip to $1,000,000 straight out the gate. Aim for the Curt Expectation Value and treat it like a business. You’re in it for the long haul.

2. You’ve been lied to

“It’s soo hard to get funded dude! The government turned me down five times now, producers won’t answer my emails, and I’m in debt from my last film.”

You’ve been told getting funded can be one of the hardest things. I’m here to tell you you’ve been lied to.

Getting your film funded is not hard. That’s right, I’ll say it again. Getting your film funded is not hard! — if you can show a clear ROI (return on investment).

It’s called show business, so start treating it like one. Think about it from the investor’s point of view. What value are you giving them if you just have a script, with no method of selling it and no previous experience making your money back (in fact, you’re in debt if anything!)?

Here are some great resources on outlining a business plan with a clear ROI:

If you hate the traditional ways (above) and are looking for something more modern, using more advanced sneaky and unconventional methods to sell your film then join our newsletter because we give a lot of our most prized tactics away to our members only (free).

1. You need to get better at selling yourself

If your script is just “good” and you’re not getting funding then the world doesn’t owe you money. Your script has to be FANTASTIC.

Now, if your script is fantastic and you’re still not getting funding, then the STILL world doesn’t owe you money. Don’t complain “No one’s funding me 🙁 woe is me. I haz a sad.”

It’s your job to sell your script and sell yourself — not the world’s. If you have a project with a clear ROI and investors are still like “uhh I dunnnooo” then that’s your fault.

It sounds like I’m being negative BUT it’s actually the most positive thing ever. It means it’s within your control to change it! This is how I got my first feature funded.

So how do you learn to sell yourself? Pitching is a great way and don’t worry if you’re not good at it. It’s a skill like anything else and you can gradually improve it.

https://vimeo.com/171364280

Here’s a link to a No Film School article we just did on pitching for more insight.

Action Step

This is all well and good but I don’t want you to leave here reading this like a Buzzfeed article and not absorb anything. These are the steps you’re going to do right now to change how you view funding.

Pick one of the steps that resonates most with you.

Put your ego aside and write down and ask “what ONE step am I going to do today that will help me get my film made?

For example, if you’re not good at selling yourself, then ordering a book on pitching would be good. If you’re feeling like your script doesn’t have an ROI, then read and re-read everything there is on business plans.

Now, write your action step in the comment section and make public commitment that you are going to change. We’re all here for you.

***

Funding is not the be all. The last point I didn’t talk about is how much your social circle matters. If you’re around billionaires all the time, then your mind frame will change and you’ll start to think more like them.

Conversely if you’re around soul sucking people, then you will be held back as well. So if you feel like you’re ready to take that next step and surround yourself with ambitious filmmakers just like you take a look at our latest product. We’ve never offered anything like it before.

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  1. Great article – it’ very Raindance – The Following was a feature BTW! 😉

    1. Haha, thanks Elliot! Correction: The Following was a GREAT feature. 😉

  2. extraordinary article for proactive and just-now action

    1. Thanks Sai! Feel free to email with what action steps you’re going to take and I’ll help you get there if I can.