Financing / Crowdfunding : Considering a Personal Loan by Apolos Israel

Well the conventional wisdom is to not put yourself in dire financial straits but the other side of that coin is that it isn't bad to invest in yourself. In the past, for shorts, one of which was in the mid 5 figures to produce, we found the money from investments from friends and family. options included any amount but mostly finding people who were comfortable investing about $1,500 a piece with the expectation of nothing more than a credit as a producer and a thank you credit. We invited them to set and to our premiere and eventually to some of the festivals we were accepted to.

Someone has to pay for it and it's not realistic or ethical to expect people to do it for free, on a project that essentially benefits only you. A short is unlikely to make much (or any) money. So while you have to fund the production, and borrowing is a better option than burglary, you do have to understand that you will be paying off your production for some time. That's just the hard facts. BUT IF YOU ARE WILLING TO PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS AND BORROW THE CASH, YOU ALREADY HAVE MORE GUTS, ETHICS AND BELIEF IN YOURSELF THAN THE MYRIAD WANNABES WHO TRY TO TALK PEOPLE INTO MAKING THEIR SHORT FILM FOR FREE OR WON'T EVEN PAY SOMEONE TO PREPARE A BUDGET OR PITCH FOR THEIR "AMAZING" FEATURE. Did I say that loud enough? Other possible ways are to offer a co-producer or producers part ownership of the project in return for their contribution... More power to you.

Shadow Dragu-Mihai, Esq., Ipg Thanks for the words of encouragement. A few other people I've asked said it could be a bad idea as I'd be in the hole a couple grand but, but honestly a part of me sees that as worth it if I can produce something that will benefit my career in the long run. Have you had any experience with self financing?

Dave Maxwell The short I'm producing would be <$6,000 including festival runs. It's 20 pages but only two locations and I've got an experienced group of friends from film school willing to be my crew. I feel this already puts me at an advantage that many don't have. When you were looking for producers who didn't necessarily need to recoup their losses, what kind of people did you approach and how did you present your idea? Did you receive funding based on the merits of the project alone, or were they looking for past completed projects? Any and all advice is helpful. Thanks in advance.

Apolos, I'm guessing you didn't consult an experienced producer to come aboard before budgeting and planning the shoot? This could have helped you immensely, rather than just doing it yourself. It could not only help you with advice, money, perhaps saving money on planning the shoot, budgeting, getting recognizable actors (yes, even in a short) and in so many ways. An experienced producer with a track record could have helped you in SO MANY WAYS to make a BETTER and MORE COST EFFECTIVE FILM, and with advice, much better than just throwing it to the board. If you ever want advice, feel free to reach out. I wish you BREAK LEGS on your endeavor. GOD BLESS and STAY FRESH! <3

Let's see how the pages look before we go to the next steps...

Sam Borowski You're right, I didn't consult a producer. I got the $6,000 figure when I broke down my script in Movie Magic Budgeting software. I already have the locations and most of the crew. If getting a semi-famous actor is in the cards, do you know of a producer/producers that I could pitch to? Of course I'm not asking you to put your neck out for a stranger but if you know anyone who is actively looking for shorts or if you can point me in a general direction, that would be great.

Apolos Israel So you didn't ask me for all this long narrative, but here you are:

I have executive produced several of my own features, an couple unscripted pilot, two of which I sold, and now am prepping a series pilot for a new distribution platform. Most of these with my money being first in and last out, or the only money. Because I believe in my projects or I don't do them, and I don't invest money or services in anyone who doesn't believe in their own work.

I work often as a Development Producer, Line Producer, Supervising Producer and one thing I will tell you straight is, those here who say "never spend your own money" have probably never made a professional level production in their lives. That attitude is for the studio level producers, none of whom are on this thread, and most all of whom end up spending their own company's money in development (ie. spending their own money).

The real industry runs on money. Period. Professional production is by definition a commercial enterprise, and if you aspire to that, you need to attend to professional ethics yourself. That means someone has to pay for a project and that someone has to be paid back and make a profit in a reasonable time. And when you are starting out, that means that no one (perhaps family or close friends) will invest in you because you are NOT likely to get them their money back. So either you do nothing, or you find someone who you can take to the cleaners, or you fuddle along making freebie amateur content (which will go nowhere), or you invest in yourself. Maybe it's obvious from my comments that I don't think taking other people's money on non-commercial projects is ethical unless they intend it as a gift. It's unacceptable in any other industry, being justifiably equated to fraud or theft - why people think it's fine in film is beyond me. It's not.

Further, as a Line Producer and Development Producer, I get constant requests to do on-spec budgets and schedules for "important" films, usually first films, from shorts to features. People who haven't the skills to do important functions themselves, and somehow think that someone with the skills should give it to them absolutely free. (negotiating lower rates never occurs to them because they don't want to pay anything at all). Budgets, scripts, pitch decks, business plans etc are DEVELOPMENT COSTS and the PRODUCER or CREATOR should be doing it themselves or PAYING someone to do it. They should not be begging for very valuable services on a project which they don't believe in enough to pay for or save for themselves. The fact they won't invest their own money, or save or borrow, proves to the world that they don't believe in their own project. So why should anyone else believe in it or invest in them?

(Think about it. If you want a new car, or new computer, or anything that YOU REALLY VALUE or BELIEVE IN or REALLY WANT, YOU SAVE FOR IT).

Now - the fact is that even teensy projects cost a lot of money and the financial part of professional filmmaking is really tough. Sorry to say, that's just the way it is. A reasonable ultra low budget short with people paid at minimum wage, with all required functions covered, inexpensive locations/sets, reasonable food and equipment, etc. will run realistically $5k-7$ a day. Your project will vary, of course. Again though, WHO is going to pay that, and more importantly WHY SHOULD THEY PAY THAT?

That's the question, which YOU have answered, but which wannabe filmmakers who will remain wannabes don't want to answer.

"But I want to make my movie" - I am all for going for it and making your movie. But the "I want, I want, I want" attitude is for people who will only ever be amateurs and probably not good ones. "How do I make this happen?" is the attitude of the real producer, and that person will tailor their production to what they can actually do without stealing other's work, with a focus on WHY they are doing that particular project, and they will succeed in the long run in the industry. Because they actually do believe in themselves, and actually can make something happen. And those are the people who will attract investors when the time comes to produce commercially viable projects.

Well said Shadow! I have committed up to $100k of my own funds for development of a project I believe in. I just started pitching to investors and I feel confident knowing and telling them that I have personally invested. I have paid everyone associated so far and even set aside funds in the production budget to reimburse with interest everyone who has invested time and money in development. Development funds being the riskiest. We structure every step of the project with ROI in mind. The plan is to do multiple projects for a lifetime and build solid, profitable relationships with all along the way. I have "given" money to a couple of projects designed to get exposure and build a brand also. As long as we are always honest and straightforward with what we need and expect to produce and return, we should sleep like babies every night. Be well. Randy.

Shadow Dragu-Mihai, Esq., Ipg I value you for taking the time to respond. A lot of the things you said, I've felt, but didn't want to be too arrogant to think I know about something I've never done. I'm going to figure out a way to get this done.

Hey thanks for posting. Kind of in a similar place. I'm sure you don't need a loan for that.. Perhaps you can talk to some people you know that could invest in your film? Perhaps you can ask them if they know of anyone else who might be interested? Be honest up front: "you may not see your money back", but explain how this can be a very real stepping stone up to bigger film projects, etc. and they can be part of those too. There are tons of people out there who would love to be part of a film. Explain they'll be in the credits, etc. Crowdfunding 6000,- bucks, or a mix of both these options is also a viable option :) Perhaps you can try bringing it down to 5000,-.

Would love to read the script btw :)