FILM BUSINESS PLAN

The landscape for film finance has changed radically. Today, successful independent film producers must cobble together film financing from a variety of sources:

Private equity investors comfortable with film investing

Soft-money motion picture funding from U.S. state tax incentives

International film co-productions from the UK, Canada, EU, and elsewhere

Foreign territory pre-sales of film, video, DVD, television, and other distribution rights

Studio financing, production company backing, and distribution deals

A film business plan is most helpful for indie filmmakers who want to raise money from private investors. In financing a film, potential investors want to know that there is a strong producing team in place. They also want to feel confident that the filmmakers have a strategy for generating film revenues from a variety of distribution channels. A film business plan helps to deliver the information an investor will need to make a reasoned judgement.

Private investors are just one source of film funding. A successful independent film producer will need to explore several options to raise the negative cost (film production budget) for a project. Before you can put your film into preproduction, producers will need to be as creative about the film's funding as they are about developing the script.

Generic approaches to developing a film business plan will generate generic results. Be wary of templates, prepackaged software, or using someone else's film business plan as a model. While cheaper, they are unlikely to enable you to create a business plan that will respond to the unique needs of your independent film or the group of investors you plan to target.

Documentary filmmakers have faced tougher challenges in generating the needed film funding. The channels of distribution that generate significant revenues are far fewer. Fortunately, several high profile recent independently produced documentaries have helped to increase the liklihood of finding private investors. In these cases, a business plan may be of value to a documentary producer. Likewise, several foundations and grant sources are requiring documentary makers to develop film distribution strategies. Instead of providing outright grants, organizations like PBS and ITVS are entering into rights acquisition deals with revenue-sharing from film distribution. The grant and fiscal sponsorship applications become much easier to submit with the strategy articulated in one of our film business plans.

Producers who don't familiarize themselves with all of these film funding strategies may be leaving money on the table. Sharp Angle helps filmmakers to develop a business plan that takes advantage of each motion picture project's unique strengths.

Do you already have a film business plan? We'll help to validate your assumptions and help to identify independent film financing options that may otherwise get overlooked.