Hi,
I am a writer, director, and producer working on an interactive tv pilot going into production asap and am actively seeking out investors. In addition to this, I'm looking for an experienced indie producer to jump on board (preferably someone with a background in experimental film or drama) to assist in logistics. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
More details about the project-
Principal photography is currently slated for February '22 in Boston with preliminary shoots planned for late December. We have a full cast and crew lined up and are working to secure funding pending we can get a competent producer on board. The tentative budget is for $300K with ~$50K as the target to begin filming (the rest of which to be reconciled with deferred pay agreements for the cast/crew). The project itself is a groundbreaking concept for a rearrangeable narrative- so it's a great opportunity to get involved on! Message for more info! https://www.thechronicadventurestory.com/
Good to meet you, Eric Bergquist, and welcome to the community! Wow, congratulations on your project, that's awesome! And interactive? How does that work? Actually, I'd love for you to post about it in the Filmmaking Lounge: https://www.stage32.com/lounge/directing You can also reach out for advice about funding in the Financing Lounge: https://www.stage32.com/lounge/fundraising
Keep in mind that these lounges are like the VIP Filmmaker's Lounges at Film Festivals, so this is where you can meet the people doing the work, get advice on anything you're working on, and/or give back to those who may need advice. We're a very supportive and encouraging community! I think you'd also enjoy my blog post on how to get the most out of the Stage32 Community:
https://www.stage32.com/blog/SocialSaturday-Mining-for-Gold-in-the-Stage...
Also, have you put together a pitch? You can sign up for pitch sessions here: https://www.stage32.com/scriptservices/pitch-sessions If you need any recommendations, definitely reach out to our Director of Script Services, Jason Mirch, who is excellent at matching projects with potential executives (or managers, in your case): J.Mirch@stage32.com
Enjoy exploring the lounges, and don't forget to comment and respond to others’ posts, too! It's the best way to really connect!
What's your plan for distro? How are investors going to get their money back (because that's all they're going to care about)?
Welcome! Good luck!
John Ellis To answer your question, we're primarily looking at online distribution for the sales of the film through a combination of license agreements as well as self-distribution.
The investment itself will be a loan against the MA film tax credit (totaling approx. $54K) which the production will be applying for as part of its decision to film entirely in the state of Massachusetts and will pay for all of the upfront costs to get the feature completed. The rest of the budget (totaling approx. $300K) will be reconciled as follows:
- sales of the pilot (as already mentioned)
- grants + donations through our fiscal sponsor (a 501c3 organization capable of providing tax deductions)
- prizes through competitions/festivals
This said, as the experimental nature of the premises will allow viewers to watch it multiple times over, we believe the best options for distributing this is through AVOD and platforms which pay out royalties based on viewing hours (such as Amazon Prime's video direct). With the popularity of such things as the gold-dress-blue-dress image that circulated the internet (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_dress), we believe there is an opportunity here to make this go viral, with internet users challenging each other on their differences in perception. This said the roi investors can expect through the associated loan agreement comes out to about 125% in approx. 6-18 months.