We are looking to rise £1.5m for our British tv comedy series and have looked at usual routes (crowdfunding), however, have had little success. We have also hired an in-house grants specialist to help assist us with applying and obtaining grants. I would greatly appreciate some guidance and or suggestions of how we could obtain the said funding? Any producers considering new comedy options? Any completion companies you could recommend in the US or UK? Many thanks again.
Financing / Crowdfunding : Finance Needed by Peter Wilson
Finance Needed
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Have you received feedback from an executive about your pilot? Since you can choose your executive on Stage 32, I would highly suggest trying out Ewan Dunbar, who is experienced with international productions: https://www.stage32.com/scriptservices/coverage/buy?id=55&genre=tv&exec=1263&affid=mjm
Otherwise, definitely reach out to our Director of Script Services, Jason Mirch, who is excellent at matching projects with potential executives: J.Mirch@stage32.com
The BFI used to take a % in exchange for their financial input, so I'm not sure it's really a grant... but that would normally be the best place to start.
Other than that, look into the SEIS & EIS schemes (assuming they're still in effect - I don't know, as I moved & I haven't done business in Britain for a while), but you may want to approach a financing company/accountant that specialises in raising money via those schemes.
Finally, £1.5m for a comedy series seems steep! But then, that's me assuming that you don't have Ray Winstone as the lead role!
You may want to hire a professional Line Producer or Production Manager to put together a proper budget (and that person most likely has crew connections too).
With a proper budget, you could even approach someone at Amazon (firstname.surname @ amazonstudios.com), as they're open to finding new talent and building bonds with new companies). Check out interviews at Edinburgh, for instance, to find out who you need to get in touch with.
P.S. Please don't PM me for details as I don't check my messages here.