The thought of finding financing for a film project can be quite a stressful and daunting task for any would be filmmaker. This experience is especially frightening for new filmmakers. Thoughts like “where can I find someone to invest in my film”, “can I really sell the idea before the finish product?” and “what if I run out of money?’ are just some of the thoughts that comes to mind. As a CEO and overall project manager of your film project, your pre-production planning and budget is critical to the success of your film project. In fact you may want to consider taking an “out of the box” approach to obtain financing for your project. These “out of the box” methods include network marketing and investing in real estate.
The word network marketing has a love/hate reaction to those who hear it. Often misunderstood to those who fail to actually research the subject will be quick to label the industry as a “scam” or “pyramid scheme.” After attending a seminar for one particular company, I quickly learned that for a newbie filmmaker, this is a hidden jewel to finding investors to finance their film project. I met Mr. Sam Orum a gentleman who founded his own network company after having success in another network work marketing company as a medical student. (http://cutlergultry.1voiceinc.com) Needless to say that Mr. Orum’s stay in medical was short lived. Before leaving medical school Mr. Orum was already making more than most doctors would make in their lifetime. After a brief conversation with Mr. Orum I learned that he also had a silent role in the marketing and production in many theatrical plays and movies. The conversation was like a light bulb exploding in my head! Any newbie filmmaker could find a network marketing company, become a representative and earn money to finance their own film. Another alternative is to network with the top earners of the company and form a partnership. I suggest this method because once you start earning a residual cash flow from your network marketing business you can keep your film project going because you can have some money to back your project if investors decide to pull out. Please keep in mind that this technique is for small film projects.
Newbie filmmakers who are trying to get films produce must consider the time and budget of the project. The timeline for shooting the project and how much it’s going to cost to shoot the film per location can become expensive. The financial spreadsheet alone will cause the faint of heart to rethink becoming a filmmaker. While researching ways to find money to produce I stumbled upon yet another seminar or should I say webinar. A young and successful real estate investor named Chris Bruce hosted this webinar. On this webinar Chris taught everyday people how to make 10,000-20,000.00 with 30-90 days of getting started in investing in real estate. Now let me clarify Chris was not a bunch of hype and fluff! (http://www.c-bruce.com) Chris is the real deal, what most so-called gurus charge for the information Chris teaches would be in the thousands! On the webinar I quickly realized that a newbie filmmaker could actually facilitate a few real estate deals to earn money and finance their own projects. Another method is to network with other real estate investors to form a partnership. In a recent article Curtis “50-Cent” Jackson just launched his own Film Company called Cheetah Vision with a group of investors. One the investors is none other than real estate investor Gary Sawka. 50 Cent’s film company was able to secure $200 Million in funding and a distribution deal with Lionsgate films (http://www.mtv.co.uk/artists/50-cent/news/242006-50-cent-gets-200-million-film-fund).
I know what you’re thinking; you are not 50 Cent! But let’s look on a smaller scale, within your circle of influence and right under your nose in your city, you can do some research and find a few real estate investors who want to diversify their income. So think outside of the box!
Remember that you are the CEO and overall project manager of your film company. There are no rules in obtaining funding for your projects! Before you go into preproduction and planning for your project, you should have some financing if not all of it secured. If you don’t then I advise you to consider implementing some of the above techniques. It just might save your project from going bust!
0 comments:
Post a Comment