So you’ve exhausted the list of all of the organizations you can get funding from, and you even signed up to get my Step by Step PDF on how to get funding… But you’re still hungry for more? Good. I wouldn’t expect anything less from my rapacious scholars; I have a load of knowledge. And I’m here to deliver my load unto you (which, by the way, was what you would say before pulling out, in Biblical times).

Product Placement

Don’t you love when you really engrossed in a scene, like, there’s a dying father, and the son wants to give the his dad one last piece of joy, so he opens up a refreshing can of Nestle’s Brisk Ice Tea?  Well, you can learn how to create timeless art like that too!

Kidding aside, if you can figure out an unobtrusive way to bring in a product on your show, and you’re brand-indifferent right now, then there are a couple places you should check out.

MMI Product Placement (link)

Located in midtown Toronto, this place has a lot of connections to major brands. Email them with your script ready, and make sure you have some sort of plan as to how people will see your movie. They’re not going to try and get you product placement if no one will see the products being placed. This means, have contracts saying your film will be in theaters, or certain festivals, or even broadcasted on TV (if it’s a TV show or straight-to-TV-movie).

As an aside, I might cover “How can I have my movie seen by a sh*tload of people, in Toronto” depending on how bad do people want me to write it. By the way, “delivering my sh*tload unto you” was the working title for the Biblical 2 Girls, 1 Goblet. Anyway…

How-To Apply

In your email, make sure to include the following:

• Length of your episode, short, or feature.
• Projected number of views
• Timeline for distribution
• Confirmation that you are ready to start filming and your script is complete

Once you have all of that, email lisa@mmiproductplacement.com and you will be talking to Lisa Outos. Let her know you heard about MMI from indieFilmTO for extra points ;). She’s the Director of Client Services and Production Resources and so that email address should get you a better response rate than emailing the standard info@mmiproductplacement.com.

Product Placement Canada (link)

This company has one guy managing almost everything; Jason Silver. This company is a little more strict, in that you must have a distribution agreement with some major distributor or you have to have a marketable cast. For MMI (above) you don’t really need this, but for Product Placement Canada you definitely do.

How-To Apply

In your email, include everything that you would for MMI, but with the following addition.

• Confirmation that you have a distribution agreement, or a bankable cast

Email Jason directly at jason@ftwk.com for a better response rate.

ASC Public Relations (link)

Located at Bay and Bloor, this ASC is the one I’m least familiar with, even though it’s basically my neighbor.

How-To Apply

Contact them at 647-477-5909 or info@asc-to.com and specifically include:

• Length of your episode, short, or feature.
• Projected number of views
• Timeline for distribution
• Confirmation that you are ready to start filming and your script is complete

Even though it might seem obvious, just make sure to let them know that you’re in interested in having product placement in your movie, just to avoid confusion. They actually do a lot of stuff besides just product placement.

Getting it from people directly

Private Investors

I leave this for last because this is the most obvious route for a lot of people, plus the most difficult if you don’t have connection. Does that discourage you? Don’t. Don’t ever let someone saying “f*ck man, it’s all about connections and we have none.” You don’t have any connections? That’s okay. GET SOME. I’ll teach you how to GET connections. There are always ways to get what you want. Don’t let someone discourage you, rapacious scholar…

Anyway, If you want to get people to invest, then you have to have a business plan and a way to make sure your movie has profit. Which means it’s marketable. Which means you have to have a marketable cast, or a huge following already. Here are some resources on making a business plan: 1, 2, 3, and the last one is a great sample business plan.

York Angel Investors (link)

When you hear the term angel investing you normally think “startups” but this group is actually not particular when it comes to what type of business you have. They just care about one thing. Return on investment. If you thought applying to Product Placement Canada was hard, well that was little league my friend. Now you’re dealing with people who are extremely risk averse, and don’t care if you’ve done the most interesting rack focus in the history of cinema. “But! My aperture was so wide, and it was handheld and windy, and…” Nope. They don’t care about the craft. Just have a damn good business plan and make sure that you believe your film will return money so much that you’re willing to put your own money on the line. That’s what they want to see.

Angel One Investors (link)

The exact same strictness applies here when it comes to demonstrating a “return on investment.” Have a solid business plan that shows exactly how you will make money. You’ll need to register a company for these investors though.

Cast and Crew

This is something people don’t realize: your cast and crew are investors. Now I don’t mean to ask them for money, unless you want them to disappear faster than your browser history when your mom wants to use your laptop. What I mean is that they are investing their time and effort into you, because they hope that their return will be greater than what they put in. So treat them as investors! Treat them with respect and appreciate the fact that they’re actually putting time and effort into something for FREE (most of the time) just for you.

Here’s an interesting article about startups and finding the right talent. How does this apply film? What can you learn from this?

Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding has been talked about to death and rather than rehash the same old tips, I’m going to point you to people smarter than me who have written about it.

• 5 Project Crushing Kickstarter Mistakes & How to Avoid Them
• How to Fund a Successful IndieGogo/Kickstarter Campaign in 5 Easy Steps
• Eight Insider Tips For Crowdfunding Success
• Kicking Ass & Taking Donations: 9 Tips on Funding Your Kickstarter Project
• Using Kickstarter to Finance Your Movie
• 7 Things to Consider BEFORE you Launch your Kickstarter Project
• How I Raised $125,000 on Kickstarter

Just so you know, I’m doing a Kickstarter video for a company and I’m learning lots in the process. When I’m done that, I’m going to be helping out with someone else’s film Kickstarter, and then even do one myself. Email me if you want me to share some insider tips from Toronto on Kickstarter with you fine folk.

Tax Credits

Don’t overlook tax credits. Yes, they only apply if you own a business, but if you’re making a film with anything more than a few thousand dollars then you must register a business so here’s a quick guide. Just don’t turn into one of those people that registers a business and then changes their Facebook occupation status to “CEO of Hardcore Enterprizez” or whatever.

There are two types of tax credits. Refundable and non-refundable. Now what you want to look for are the “refundable” ones since these can give you money, instead of just making it so that you owe nothing. Thankfully, I have compiled a list of available refundable tax credits for you. Aren’t I just the greatest? And the best looking? I’m also amazing in bed, right? I know. Damn.

Just keep in mind that you’ll have to have a registered business for all of this to work. You will also need a business bank account. The only bank I’m aware of that gives free business accounts with no monthly fees is RBC. You can sign up online here, and then a couple days later, they’ll call you to bring in your business registration number and sign documents in person.

Canadian Audio-Visual Certification Office (CAVCO)

Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit (link)

Also known as the CPTC, the Film/Video Production Tax Credit is a federal credit that you have a high chance of receiving (as long as you’re eligible).

Eligibility

Although their full guidelines are listed here, they have a great “CPTC Checklist” that explains everything you need to have. It includes things such as:

• Corporate documentation (Shareholders, officers and directors of the production company, as well as the corporate structures of any and all corporate shareholders of the production company, business numbers and incorporation numbers, and fiscal year ends);
• Financing and exploitation documentation (All agreements from entities providing financing to the production and any distribution or broadcast agreements);
• Application fee (0.3% of the Eligible Production Cost for a Part A/B, with a minimum fee of $200, OR 0.15% for a Part A and 0.15% for a Part B,)

Funding

25% of the labor costs.

Film or Video Production Services Tax Credit (link)

This looks like it’s the exact same name but notice the “services” added. Essentially, this is for if you provide services like video editing or equipment, etc. By the way, there’s an application cost for this of… wait for it… $5,000. Yes, that’s right. You can basically make half of another super microbudget film for $5,000! So think twice before applying, though I guess you’d have to be in the services industry anyhow; so this doesn’t apply to filmmakers that much.

Eligibility

Just like the CPTC, for this one, there’s a “PSTC Checklist” online which includes:

• Corporate documentation (Name and contact information of copyright owners, official designee information);
• Financial information (Budget or top-sheet, total Canadian expenditures);
• Production details (Synopsis, genre, production type, target market, production format, number of shooting days in Canada);

Funding

16% of your labor costs.

Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC)

This is a branch of the Tourism part of the government, so make sure you don’t show them Brampton in your film since we would like to encourage tourism.

Film & Television (link)

This is for production companies, so most likely this one doesn’t apply to you but I wanted to include it anyway for the few of you that need it. The Production Services credit below is more suited for indie filmmakers.

Eligibility

The full list of rules can be found here but the following are the rules that I think you should be aware of:

• must have six Canadian content points
• has an agreement with an Ontario-based distributor or a Canadian broadcaster to be shown in Ontario within two years of completion (broadcast must occur between 7:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m., except for children’s programming)

Funding

35% of the total eligible Ontario labour or 40% on the first $240,000 of qualifying labour expenditure is available for first-time producers.

Production Services Tax Credit (link)

This is for corporations, with respect to an eligible film.

Eligibility

• Your total film’s budget has to be at least $1,000,000 for you to be eligible (or if you’re making a pilot episode, then $100,000).

Funding

You can get up to 25% of money you spent on labour. That is, hiring cast and crew. There is no limit to how much they’ll give, as long as it doesn’t exceed 25% of your labour costs.

Computer Animation & Special Effects Tax Credit (link)

This is one that only applies to if you actually have a production studio and you do animations or visual/special effects for films in Ontario. It will not apply if you’ve simply hired an Ontario based visual effects company, BUT if you hired an individual, then it can apply.

Eligibility

Eligible productions are productions created for commercial exploitation, which are not in an excluded genre. Don’t ask me what “commercial exploitation” means. It sounds if you were to get Super Bowl ads to have extended nude scenes with each other.

Funding

The credit is 20% of your labour costs.

Canada Film Capital (link)

This organization doesn’t actually give you tax credits but it provides tools to help get you tax credits. In particular, they have a wicked calculator you should be aware of. Enter in basic info on your film budget, and how much you’re paying for labor, etc., and it’ll tell you how much you can expect back.