Producing Low Budget Films
Webinar hosted by: Susanne Bohnet
CEO, Serafini Releasing
Susanne Bohnet is a producer who has worked on hundreds of films under $2MM. She was previously heading the U.S. office of Equity Pictures (Equity Pictures has been the second largest film fund in Germany). During her time with Equity Pictures, the company's annual investments grew from USD $30 million to USD $200 million. Ms. Bohnet worked with Equity Pictures on films with budgets between USD $2 million and USD $80 million. Prior to managing funds with Equity Pictures, Ms. Bohnet was S.V.P. of Taunus Film in Germany, where What Women Want (starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt) became the company's most successful Hollywood endeavor generating over $300 million of box office. and ancillary revenue. Mrs. Bohnet is a regular speaker at conferences, has spoken at the UN, was a consultant to create the Dubai Film Festival, has consulted for the Government of Trinidad and Tobago for many years assisting in building a film ecosystem and has lectured film, film-finance and business classes for many years as stand alone modules especially in emerging markets as the Middle East and the Caribbean and for financial institutions. Mrs. Bohnet holds a MBA degree in Media Economics from the Film/Media Academy in Cologne and a bachelor in Film from University of Dortmund. Full Bio »
Webinar Summary
Your goal as a filmmaker or producer is to make your project more financially attractive to investors over everyone else presenting projects to them. What many filmmakers and producers don't know is that there's a "sweet spot" in a film budget range that will help you raise funds successfully and get the ROI your investors are looking for. Setting the budget for your feature film below $2 million opens up a variety of options for you to be able to attach the talent you're looking for, the distribution you need and make your investors money. But first, you have to understand the financial blueprint to get you there.
For many independent film producers and filmmakers, approaching financiers and securing financing for your project presents one of the biggest challenges in the entire filmmaking process. How do you build your team, bring in development funds, attach name talent and work with rebates, sales estimates, and distribution to attract financing, all while compiling a plan to mitigate your financial risk? It can be overwhelming for a producer, especially given the ever-changing landscape and the increasingly competitive nature of independent film.
Susanne Bohnet is a producer who has worked on hundreds of films under $2MM. She was previously heading the U.S. office of Equity Pictures (Equity Pictures has been the second largest film fund in Germany). During her time with Equity Pictures, the company's annual investments grew from USD $30 million to USD $200 million. Prior to managing funds with Equity Pictures, Ms. Bohnet was S.V.P. of Taunus Film in Germany, where What Women Want (starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt) became the company's most successful Hollywood endeavor generating over $300 million of box office and ancillary revenue. Susanne has worked on countless productions under $2MM and is here with the Stage 32 community to share her knowledge.
Through this webinar, you'll receive the tools to approach your film from the investor's point of view so you can not only get the money you need for your project but, most importantly, how your investors can get that money back with profits. You'll be able to build a team around your project that will make investing more attractive and assure you don't make mistakes when you go after funding. You'll know the type of funding available to you and how to approach the investors attracted to and interested in every kind of financing. You'll dissect how to get agents on your side to attach talent to your project and how to work with attorneys. You'll also know the most effective distribution options for this type of film budget.
Give yourself the competitive advantage to understand the investors you need to approach, how to approach them, how to get talent attached, and, ultimately, how to get your film made, distributed, and profitable, so your investors return again and again!
What You'll Learn
- Script is King: You need a good script to make a good movie
- What to avoid to increase the budget, yet ensure a solid script that can deliver a cinematic execution
- Pitfalls to avoid during script development for an ultra-low-budget film
- The freedom to develop as you please with no oversight
- Do's and Don't's for Development
- Studio/ Streamer versus the low budget independent indie route
- Understanding your genre and your audience
- How to incentivize and recruit top tier Above and Below-the-Line attachments
- Development Funding
- You will need it, you need money to make money, the business of first money in and first money out
- Packaging
- How to build a strong talent package that caters to your audience
- Dealing with talent reps/ agents
- Common terminology, lingo, ie. pay and play, first out...
- Production Funding, Production, and Post Production
- Funding strategies and methods
- Soft Money
- Working with a reputable line producer being in charge of the budget
- Innovative ways of producing your film
- Pitfalls
- Do's and don't's during post
- Music Supervisor and Licencing
- soundtrack
- Waterfall of a Film and Projected Revenues, Timing and Priority
- Who gets repaid when
- How does the revenue cycle break into all the ancillary markets
- Dynamic between the investor and the producer
- Executive Producers (Investors) expectations and involvement
- Executive and additional Producer on the talent side
- Tax Incentives, Rebates, and on Screen Credits
- Understanding how to monetize them
- On-Screen Credits
- Who deserves what credit
- Distribution Options for your Film
- Outline of the current distribution landscape
- Analyzing the core demographic for your film
- International vs. Domestic
- Streamers versus the independent festival router
- US Theatrical Opening
- How to attain a US theatrical release
- Print and Advertising (P and A) spend
- Who are the current players, what are they looking for
- US Sales Agent
- Marketing and Distribution Strategy
- Pitfalls in entering into a deal with a major player
- Incentives and Add On's
- Cameos
- Product Placement and Integration
- Favors and Barters
- If it's free, that's good too!
- First Time Director/ Producer
- ways to strengthen and support such
- Business Team
- How to find a credible and affordable attorney
- Advisors/ Consultants
- When to bring on a Publicist
- Domestic/ Foregin Sales Agent
- Bank (monetize tax credit)
- Accounting firm
- Collection agent
- Q&A with Susanne
About Your Instructor
Susanne Bohnet
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