Financing / Crowdfunding

My apologies, In regards to funding or representation in order to further support the end goal which is in this case filming the pilot.

Damian, You are "HERE" as far as the best place to start. You have executives (power brokers and decision makers) on here looking for EVERYTHING you want and what you have to offer. Keep an I eye for the pitch meeting they offer, (funding, sales or representation).

I DO NOT get paid or compensated for what I say about this site. I have been through the fire and bumped my head for five (5) years wasting time and energy. I DO NOT know any other sites where executives give us direct access to their time and if anyone else does, PLEASE LET US ALL KNOW. Just kill the pitch meeting.

Thank you for your insight Cab!!

Good words from Cab & Damian, yes Mark Hardin I also suggest that you not only identity your target market but reverse engineer it with studying other projects and how they did it. Like is this pilot for example like MODERN FAMILY meets BLACK-ISH or drama like WESTWORLD meets POWER, what 2 shows pop in to mind like this then research the creators what they did from start to finish and those incorporate elements into that plan.

Nice breakdown of the numbers. To summarise: crowd-funding is a huge risk unless you're massively popular or have cast/crew with huge online followings.

Personally, I'd rather focus on getting money via other means.

Damian couldn't be more right. It's crowd and funding. Even more so, it's crowdSOURCING & crowdFUNDING. This confusion and the idea of sourcing a crowd toward not just raising money, but identifying and building not only the brand of your film, but your personal brand was why Focal/Routledge asked me to write CROWDSOURCING FOR FILMMAKERS. To understand crowdfunding, you need to understand crowdsourcing first. But, again, even if you are just trying to build an army of support for YOU and the brand of your content, you need to understand how to crowdsource.

The Audiobook is available for free on Audible and the paperback and Kindle version are on Amazon. And while the book is on crowdsourcing, there are 2 chapters and 3 case studies of films that used crowdsourcing toward to successfully crowdfund.

Audible:

https://www.audible.com/pd/Crowdsourcing-for-Filmmakers-Audiobook/B07N6L...

Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Crowdsourcing-Filmmakers-Indie-Power-Crowd/dp/B07...

Great perspective guys, like they say, dig the well before you're thirsty lol

I use all avenues for fund raising, the more the better, including making the money yourself - don't get caught up in how every one else does it, that can be very discouraging - think outside the box and hit every angle possible. Make it fun and stay positive.

I wasn't involved on the creation of the crowdfunding site for my short film, but the producer decided to use GoFundMe rather than one of the sites more geared towards creative types. GoFundMe is more for charitable and individual support, while IndieGoGo or Kickstarter tend to favor artists and filmmakers, but the fees are higher. One of the ways that those two sites also help boost contributions and make the campaign successful is through offers based on the size of the contributions, such as signed scripts, a walk on role, links to the finished film before anyone else, etc. I would also suggest you make your goal smaller than you actually need (at least on Kickstarter, which is an all or nothing arrangement). Just do your research and see what campaigns are actually working on each of the sites and what they're offering to make them successful. They're are also a lot of reviews and comparisons out there on the web about these sites so make sure to check those out.

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Hey Trevor Prime! I've worked on two of my own campaigns, one for a short film and another for a comic book series, and I've consulted on over 1,000 campaigns (I worked from 2013 - 2018 as Indiegogo's Film Campaign Strategist). All of my learnings from my short film campaign and well over two dozen other film campaigns are detailed in my book CROWDFUNDING FOR FILMMAKERS, so feel free to pick up a copy either on Amazon (https://goo.gl/xZmls4) or you can buy one directly from me for $25, as I'm including a free 15-minute phone consultation (an $80 value) for anyone who purchases a book from me before February 21st.

If you're interested, hit me up here or via email at jtrigonis@gmail.com and we'll get you all set up.

Ok, thank you, I will get my story synopsis to you ASAP

Have you read John T. Trigonis and Richard RB. Botto's books on crowdfunding yet?

Hi Vasco Phillip de Sousa, I'll admit I'm biased because I oversee Stage 32's education, but I've found Masterclass's "classes" to be extremely vague. It reminds me of a lot of panels that I see that say "do this, do that" and talk in generalities but don't give any actionable advice or resources. I brought in a Sundance director, JT Mollner to teach how to finance your short film and he did a great job explaining how to find money, ask for money, provided documents for our members, etc. I know that's different than what Herzog is talking about, but my point is that I'm also curious on the "actionable steps" Herzog is implying for you to make $10k working for 3 months.

I absolutely agree Amanda and I have access to all the Masterclass 'classes' but the stage 32 webinar I took was so much more practical... it's just soaked in specificity. Masters was more like a Barbara Walters interview meets a private 15 minute conversation-- stretched. (@ Amanda Toney ) Vasco Phillip de Sousa congrats on your feature at less than that!

Petula Miller ...you made my day :) :) :)

Thanks for that both of you. I like the Masterclasses, because it gives me a chance to connect with other learners, to watch / read / listen to and review their work, and discuss the lessons in the forums.

I don't find many people discussing what they learned in the webinars on this site.

Looks beautiful. Congratulations for finishing your film. I hope many more people can get to see it.

Thank you!

Hey Steve Crawshaw, I am the Director of Script Services at Stage 32. I wanted to let you know there are actually a TON of ways to connect with producers and production companies through this site.

Chick Fight starring Malin Ackerman, Alec Baldwin and Bella Thorne was written by Stage 32 member Joe Downey. It is currently in post-production with director Paul Leyden. Joe connected through a Stage 32 pitch session with Stage 32 Educator Tiffany Boyle of Ramo Law who packaged the project with Stage 32 Educator Jordan Levine of Yale Productions.

Laurie Ashbourne's script 10-31 which was developed through a Stage 32 online writing lab is going into production in 2020 with Horror legend Eli Roth producing through his company The Arts District and female filmmaker, Gigi Saul Guerrero directing! The film will be distributed by Orion and United Artists Releasing. Laurie is a Co-Producer along side Eli Roth and Roger Birnbaum. Eli Roth said it was the scariest thing he has read in years.

Vagic, a romantic comedy written by Stage 32 member Julie Ann Cross, received a $7,500 option with legendary producer Amy Baer of Gidden Media Group through then Stage 32 + Gidden Media Rom Com Contest.

My Clone’s an A-Hole, a comedy written by Julie Ann Wight was offered a $5,000 option by National Lampoon through the Stage 32 + National Lampoon Search for Comedic Gold Contest

Toby Tate's feature film, They Who Walk Among Us, is now in pre-production with Executive Producer Charles Stiefel (SUPER TROOPERS 2, A VIOLENT SEPARATION), Director Jon Keeyes (DOOM ROOM, THE HARROWING) and visual effects supervisor Richard Clabaugh (THE PROPHECY, PHANTOMS, CRYPTO, BURN) on board!

I could go on.....the point is all of these projects and writers connected with producers through the Stage 32 site. Feel free to reach out to me directly at j.mirch@stage32.com and I will endeavor to be as helpful as possible to you!

Steve you have to check often and A List company pitches can go very quickly once posted, like in seconds, stay positive, keep at it.

Thank you Charles!

Depends on what one would define as a "big production company". Big in terms of credits? Big in terms of Box Office revenue? Big in terms of staff? Big in terms of office space?

To give some further background on each of these companies mentioned, Amy Baer ran CBS Films and Sony Pictures Entertainment before that. She films she has supervised and/or produced have grossed nearly $2 billion in worldwide box office. Gidden now has a huge development fund and a production financing deal with Media Rights Capital. National Lampoon is a massive brand which was just recapitalized in 2017 and just inked a series deal with Quibi. Orion and United Artists are two of the most prolific distribution and production companies out there. Eli Roth is Eli Roth.

Hi David. I am a director of photography in the Chapel Hill area, Generator looking to collaborate. Let me know if I fit into any of your projects.

just asking what genres are you seeking

Great movie poster!

We are going for a "Hip Hop Musical". You can check out the official site for the project at "therebirthofkool.com" where we showcase the proof of concept film.

There are hundreds of funding grants for features and shorts. Identify who your audience is and find a like minded grantmaker and fiscal sponsor or two. I just published a directory of them.

Matthew Cherry beat the haters and doubters. He got a Sony Deal for an animated short movie funded on Kickstarter, won an Oscar.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair_Love

Damian Lloyd continues to misunderstand the difference between Doers and Theorists.

He is the latter. Knows it all from the sidelines

Interesting how This question comes up constantly. Everyone in this industry is looking for money, not a good sign for the industry. Yet, look at the waste of air space with the poor quality of programming that some are doing quite well with.

Based on a course I took on Binge Worthy Programming, knowing "How each industry works" is critical to determining future success. Education section on Stage 32 provides resources to obtain the funding along with the Script Services. Short films are a niche market and require a special marketing approach. The Frequently Asked Question section can elaborate further. Programming in some markets maybe successful in other markets based on number of channels, lack of programming and availability of programming. I have lived and visited places that still have limited programming. I lived with no TV in my apartment for 6 months. The owner who lived upstairs with the pool, gave me one a month before I turned my apartment over to a best friend. I hooked him up with a tenant for two years. (Side note if you are interested, Location Malaga, Spain)

Welcome! Visit Stage 32 Resources and Crowdfunding and Finance Lounge.

thank you =)

I do remember buying an HVX-200 camera years ago and getting a tax exempt form as a small business so that I was able to avoid paying taxes on the camera itself. But you need to be an actual business with a tax I.D. (again, I believe. Check to make sure)

It's a depreciating asset and your accountant will know how to schedule that as a write off over a period of time. It's not usually done all at once. Again, it depends on the purchase price. Check with your accountant to make sure. A camera that's under $1,000 may not fall into this category though. It might be seen as a consumer product. When I financed a Sony FS7 with all the accessories it was over $14k. That took a while to write off.