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Financing / Crowdfunding

From all facets of a traditional raise to soft money to crowdfunding strategies, this is the place to discuss, share content and offer tips and advice regarding raising funds for a project.

Actors: Your Step-By-Step Guide to Getti

Liked by Maurice Vaughan

Jack Morrison
Grants for ages 20-25/fledgling writers?

I'm in the process of bring to life 4 mini short films leading up to full fledge short film... Does anyone have knowledge on grants?

Shellie Schmals

Hi Jack Morrison - here's a great resource list for you of grants available in Florida >>

Are you working with a grant writer?...

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Jack Morrison

Shellie Schmals A grant writer?

Liked by Maurice Vaughan

Amanda Toney
Investor Pitch Deck Lab with Sara Elizabeth Timmins

We're excited to have Emmy-nominated producer Sara Elizabeth Timmins teaching about how to create an investor pitch deck. We're excited to have her knowledge in the Stage 32 community!

Greg Wonder

Los Angeles

Emanuel Nisan

Hey. Emanuel from NYC.

Amanda Toney

Hi John - I'll resend the questionnaire to everyone, check your inboxes!

Erica M. Manrique

Hey Everyone, if you want to stay in contact after this class, please add your email here. My email is Erica.Manrique@gmail.com if anyone wants keep in touch. I wish all of you the best of luck in you...

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John Adam White

Hi Erica, & everyone else, I'm very saddened that I missed the last few labs. Some unavoidable life happened and my work for the class had to be compromised.

I echo what Erica said, I wish you all the...

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Liked by Maurice Vaughan and one other

DAvid Rorie
Grants for 55+ ?

Any grants out there for 55+ directors? Only ones I can find are for "new young" filmmakers.

Shellie Schmals

Hi DAvid Rorie - I haven't been able to specifically find any film grants for 55+, but I'm on the look out for you! I encourage you to keep applying, "emerging" filmmakers happen at any age!...

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Haythem Ameur

It's difficult to have and find grant, as a 28old producer and director i never found a grant as Algerian so i work on finding sponsors or Algerian gouvernement found to make our films and serie

Shellie Schmals

DAvid Rorie - Arizona has a lot of grants that could be good options for you >>

https://azarts.gov/grants/...

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Liked by Maurice Vaughan

Joe Orlandino
Film Funding

What would be the main motivation for someone to financially back an independent film? #film #independentfilm #filmmaking #filmdistribution #filmfunding #boxoffice #streaming

Shellie Schmals

Hi Joe Orlandino - The scope of the film matters. Are you asking about a passion project that is going to launch via crowdsourcing or a million+ project backed by investors?

Haythem Ameur

In Algeria we have a different approach for cinema and funding, we dont have a private funding, we have an Algerian gouvernemantal fund that give us the entire price for production and postproduction...

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DAvid Rorie

Because they have always dreamed of being in show-biz?

Sam Sokolow

Different investors have different criteria but putting a sound package together that exhibits the value of a film is always the first step. Here’s a great class that producer Sara Elizabeth Timmins i...

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Olivier Hero Dressen
The Passport - Sci-fi Feature. Looking for collaborators.

Back to filmmaking here!

I am excited to announce that our award-winning short film, The Passport, is being developed into a full-length feature film.

With over 71 official selections and 19 wins, including Best Short at Stage 32 and Best Cinematography at Macau Film Festival, we couldn't be more thr...

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Studio Supreme Films | Feature Film "The Passport"
Studio Supreme Films | Feature Film "The Passport"
https://www.studiosupremefilms.com/the-passport-feature-film
Discover The Passport, the highly-anticipated feature film from the creators of the award-winning short film of the same name. Join our heroes as they uncover the truth lost in their memories, delving…
Dan Robins

The graphic artwork for this is absolutely stunning and the content on the website, is just next level, even I was getting excited about it! I'd love to be involved in some creative capacity but in general wanted to say a massive well done! Oh, I almost forgot, the music tracks are just epic!

Olivier Hero Dressen

Hi Dan! First of all, thank you, we working hard on several films now so it’s always really welcome to have some extra boost of energy and motivation!

Right now we are looking for funding and investmen...

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Jack Binder

Bravo. Good luck and congratulations!!

Viviana Zarragoitia
Ask Me Anything (AMA) 1/28 to 1/29

Hi everyone!  This is Viviana Zarragoitia, Vice President at TPC (https://www.tpc.us/), and I'll be hosting an AMA this weekend, Saturday-Sunday, about film financing. Come with all your burning questions!  I was at Sundance last week, where we had ONYX THE FORTUITOUS premiere at the festival.  Here...

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TPC
TPC
https://www.tpc.us/
We return millions of dollars to brands like yours every year. From concept to cash, we handle your entire production incentive process - finding the right state program to fit your creative vision. O…
Lisa Weiss

Thanks, Viviana. I meant other than querying or contests to attach a producer. I can't attend live events at this time due to my health. I am doing my best to network online.

Shellie Schmals

Hi Viviana Zarragoitia - what fantastic insight! Thank you!

Amanda Toney

Thanks Viviana Zarragoitia! Really enjoyed reading your answers!

Sam Mannetti

Thank you Viviana - appreciate your insight!

Maria Brenda Acopiado

Thank you. This is informative.

Heather McCluskey
Favorite platforms

With the large variety of crowdfunding sites available, just wondering, any favorites? Best and worst stories from any sites? (Epic fails/great success/fine print you missed?) The best info comes from real people, really trying, and every bit really helps!

Joey Madia

I've had good success in the past with Go Fund Me. Their platform is easy to use and they especially good for nonprofits. I am just launching a Patreon now and have been very impressed with them as both a contributor and now as a creative.

Heather McCluskey

Thanks everyone, I'm planning ahead to launch a crowdfunding campaign to start up a production company, and possibly fund 1-2 films. I had heard go fund me was getting to be bad about closing accounts for no reason and refusing to pay funds. I appreciate all the feedback, thanks again!

Brad Rego

If you are doing features and planning on raising several hundred thousand, you may want to look in to equity crowdfunding.

Shannon Tharp

Indigogo. It's more international and it's not an all or nothing platform so you can still get some of the money and use it towards your project

John T. Trigonis

Hey Heather! The only two sites worth anything for film crowdfunding are Kickstarter and Seed & Spark. GoFundMe is best for nonprofit or social cause campaigns, and Indiegogo has since shifted its foc...

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Richard LePow
Financing Shorts

Hey! This is my first time here, but this looks like the place to ask. I live in New York, and I'm in the process of making my first short film. It's a very stripped-down drama all set in one location. We're wrapping up the pitch deck this week, so could anyone point me in the direction of grants fo...

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Dane Johnson

Maybe look at the shorts that used fiscal sponsorship through Film Independent and other organizations. Filmmakers sometimes overlook this financing tool, but it can work for the right project....

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Richard LePow

Thank you so much, Dane! I'll look into this.

Brad Rego
Equity Crowdfunding for Film

Hello all,

I'm a filmmaker, and probably like most of you, have spent most of my career looking for money. For my most recent project I had made a few deals where I still needed to raise a 1/3 of my budget ($100k) myself in order for the rest of the money to kick in. I decided to try a new route to...

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Brad Rego

Hi LaSonya,

We ended up raising about $250k through equity crowdfunding and its connections. We were supposed to start shooting our movie in April of this year, but got shut down for the pandemic, so w...

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LaSonya Thompson

Okay. Cheering for you and the team.

Brad Rego

Hi Mark, It was a pretty long process but we are finally getting to the end of it. We ended up raising about $169k through the equity crowdfunding site StartEngine, and then through those connections...

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Brad Rego

Sounds like you are in the same boat I was in before this. My last feature I made for about $20k and it took about 4 years to make that back through Amazon, TubiTV, and a host of other streaming platf...

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Brad Rego

Could not agree more, same here.

Brad Rego
Is this the start of a new way to raise money for film, or a blip on the radar?

As a filmmaker, I watched traditional Crowdfunding, such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo, force the film industry in an exciting direction. And as someone who ran a Kickstarter campaign back in 2010, I can attest to its raw power.

It was crazy. Stars like Zack Braff were pitching their projects, and i...

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Cryptid | StartEngine
Cryptid | StartEngine
https://www.startengine.com/offering/cryptid
Maximum 3,741 Non-Managing Membership Units ($374,100) Minimum 100 Non-Managing Membership Units ($10,000) Recoupment: Investors will retain 100% of the Company's ("Cryptid LLC") adjusted gross profit…
Erik A. Jacobson

This option has been around for awhile but I've never heard of anyone raising substantial funds using it. Is a PPM necessary?

Brad Rego

Not specifically. Because this isn't Regulation D, the requirements are less extreme, but the portal that files with the SEC does have an offering document that outlines some of the information that you see in a PPM.

Brad Rego
Looking for Ideas on Finding investors

I am in the process of fundraising for a feature horror film. A creature feature to be exact. I have recently hired a producer for it, the script is ready to go, we have a crew, and now a great financial plan with excellent ROI projections for investors. given to us by our sales agents. So now I'm l...

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Brad Rego

Hi Erik, what you are saying makes perfect sense, and in a black and white situation I completely agree, but this is a little more grey area then what I described above. I started out speaking with a...

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Erik A. Jacobson

Yes, Brad, that makes sense. Once you've got your package together you might consider posting it on Slated.com for investors to see. Best wishes!

Brad Rego

Ha, already have it on there with the current people involved: https://www.slated.com/films/67127/ Hopefully as I get more people involved, I can raise its score.

Brian Hunt

Our investor group typically likes seeing names already attached, but so often talent wants to wait until they know the project has funding before making a commitment, so in situations like that, I'd...

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Brad Rego

Hi Brian, Thanks for the info! I'm going to start contacting talent this week in hopes of getting LOIs, while I'm still looking for investors. That way I can start establishing relationships and try t...

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Brad Rego
Check out the first scene in our new horror film

We started an IndieGogo Campaign to get the rest of this made. Come check out the opening scene and help us make the rest of it. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/indie-creature-feature-cryptid/x/8772929...

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Indie Creature Feature: Cryptid
Indie Creature Feature: Cryptid
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/indie-creature-feature-cryptid/x/8772929
Bringing back the glory days of the creature feature film. | Check out 'Indie Creature Feature: Cryptid' on Indiegogo.
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