Producing

I’d say you’re spot on about the cycle. Funding slows everything down, and when budgets are tight, promotion becomes its own uphill battle. What I’ve learned is that indie creators end up wearing ten hats: filmmaker, marketer, strategist, hype squad. It’s exhausting, but also kind of the game right now.

For me, the only workaround has been consistency. Even when the money isn’t flowing, the visibility has to. Promotion is slow magic. It stacks over time, even when it feels like nobody’s watching.

I also think it’s okay to grow later than others. The people who “pop” fast usually had resources behind them that weren’t visible. For the rest of us, it’s a marathon built on patience, community, and showing up even when it feels like you’re shouting into the void.

That’s been my experience so far.

Dave Cj What are your answers to promotion?

Having a creative marketing campaign can help, Dave Cj. It doesn't have to cost a lot of money, like a social media game that ties into the movie. Maybe give the people who win movie tickets, digital copies of the script, etc.

Hey :) I recently discussed this topic with a director client of mine. He wasn't sure whether having a poster was important to promote his short film, and whether the image gpt created would be enough. When I explained the various critical issues and saw my work, he understood the value of a critical eye in promoting a videographer's work. It doesn't take much, but for now, it's important to enhance your film with something that highlights its uniqueness, not something banal and obvious like so many others.

To write this answer I relied on the online translator since ENG it is not my first language, I apologize for any typing/mistakes :)

Fantastic!

>_< \m/ ye!!

Very impressive the leaps and bounds Certification is making around the globe! Bravo @samsokolow @stage32 @mauricevaughan

Thank you very much.

Happy New Year.

The same to you, have a great, productive, and rewarding year.

Happy New Year Aleksandr Rozhnov !

Based on the concept and the world.

That means a great deal to hear—thank you, Hermina Orcsik . You articulated something I’ve been circling around: the idea that awareness itself can be the resolution. I’m drawn to stories where the shift is internal rather than external, where nothing “wins” but something is finally seen clearly. Those moments tend to stay with me longer than neat endings.

Thank you, Meriem Bouziani . I’m glad the world itself came through for you. I’ve tried to let the concept shape the environment rather than explain it—so the repetition, the atmosphere, and the emotional echoes do as much storytelling as the plot.

That’s so good. I wish you good luck on your journey. Nasir Lone

Nasir Lone I completely agree. I believe real change begins within a character’s inner world, and only then becomes visible on the outside.

When that inner shift is felt, it naturally reaches the audience as well—and in some cases, even inspires them.

Thank you

You're welcome, Mark Simmons. I hope you get the financing!

Great work @marksimmons With that package of talent and distribution LOI you should be in good shape to attract investors. I wouldn't spend or waste time raising $30k for a concept video. Use those funds for development expenses. How is your budget, finance plan, pitch deck? Contact me for advice, help on these as I have 30 years creating those for myself and my clients of www.filmbudget.com - good luck!

Mark Simmons The only thing you need to show real film investors or a real producer is the logline and script. Anything else is irrelevant and a waste of time, regardless of what anyone who isn't putting their own their money into your project tells you. Faith based films have an obvious constituency - consider getting churches involved in a crowd fund for the film, or at least an actual short version of it (which can be shown at festivals, churches etc as its own thing, instead of a mere POC). If you want to do "faith based" you also have some minefields to navigate. "Faith based" usually means catering to a specifically North American Protestant evangelical audience, so both writing and marketing has to be done with due consideration of the biases of that market (ie. with respect to mainstream denominations, etc.). Some good films which focus on other denominations or use articulates symbols as in other denominations have tanked in the market specifically because of that bias. Angel Studios holds the lead in faith based distribution, so look there to see if there might be funding or producing interest. My understanding is that as far as funding for most films they operate pretty much like every other distributor, ie. they want your product completed and given to them with no advance (there are exceptions for high profile films). However, they also have groomed a large and connected community user base so there may be good crowdfund potential there.

Thank you all for your advice, I have been in contact with Angle studios, they require a POC in their application process so members can vote on if the project should be funded. I also talked to some film festival organizers and they suggested that you have a POC to show to people attending.

I am also willing to share my script with anyone who’s interested in reading it.

Wounded Pride, th Prodigal Son as a western

LOGLINE

“A young Montana rancher, Joseph, blames his father, Montana and their ranch for his mother’s sickness. Joseph tries to convince his family to move to Denver where he feels his mother will get better treatment, the family refuses to move as they love Montana and the ranch they have built, Joseph demands his inheritance so he can move away, he is given what he feels he is owed and leaves only to fall in with a blood thirst gang that will kill him and his family if he runs.”

I’m not only faith based but also family friendly. I worked in Hollywood for 15 years and got tired of films that used gay relationship and showed men and women kissing, I also got tired of the over use of sexual activity between men and women. I believe people’s imagination is a much more successful tool in that respect then actually showing that activity.

I’m a Christian and feel that you can have a great film with less sexual activity, swearing, when it’s over used ashen not called for or need in the scene, and other woke activities.

I want to show people, without hitting them over the head, about Gods loving grace, and his forgiveness. My films are meant to give all people a look at a world where we forgive each other, love each other, though we hate the sin. My films are meant just to get people to think and ask questions about God and his word.

The story! Provide a good logline and short synopsis, this can get us interested in reading a script. It's all about the story, what and why the characters are doing things. Don't just let it be all about visuals and action.

Thank you Lindbirgh E Hollingsworth for sharing this — very helpful.

Logline:

A world-class athlete whose memory is destroyed by a covert experiment finds stability only through emotional connection—until the system weaponizes that love to turn him into a controllable asset.

Short Synopsis:

When Olympic champion Ethan Cole is falsely implicated in international crimes, he is disappeared into a classified black-site where human cognition is weaponized through neural uploads. His rare ability to remain calm under extreme pressure makes him invaluable — and dangerous. As the program strips away identity and conscience, a neuroscientist assigned to stabilize him becomes his only emotional anchor. When the system exploits that bond to turn him into a controllable asset, both must confront a moral choice: obey a machine that preserves order through erasure, or destroy it at the cost of their own survival. The story is driven by internal conflict, restraint, and the psychological cost of control rather than spectacle.

Complex, unique characters with emotionally charged, complicated relationships. A grounded world that feels viscerally real. Something to say about our world but buried 15 layers deep under tons of entertainment value. You really have to think or you'll miss it, but it is there. A reasonable budget that feels producable. Some personal connection between the writer and the material that makes it feel like only you could have written this. A distinctive voice in the writing / tonal element that sets the concept apart, which could be flashes of humor, strict scientific accuracy, turning genre tropes on their head, etc. - any other element that keeps gnawing at you long after you're finished reading. If it's clear by page 5 that this is a parable about climate change / social media / AI is bad, I'm definitely out., because it's the fifth such script I've come across... this week.

Anna Marton Henry

Thank you for this — extremely insightful and well articulated.

The emphasis on complex characters, emotionally charged relationships, and a grounded world that feels real resonates strongly with how I approach storytelling. I’m especially aligned with the idea of burying meaning beneath narrative and character rather than foregrounding theme or message.

I also appreciate the point about personal connection and voice — the goal, at least for me, is always to write something that couldn’t exist without my own lived perspective, while still remaining producible and accessible.

This is a great reminder that the most effective stories don’t announce what they’re about — they linger and reveal themselves over time. Thank you for sharing this perspective.

What does that mean?

Kevin Hager what does what mean, Kevin?

I don't know. Could you help explain it to me?

Kevin Hager it’s a link to an application for an Associate Product Manager at Disney. The information is there if you follow the link, Kevin.

Antony Voronov The dichotomy, if there is one, is not between sci-fi and other genres, but between studio and indie films at all. Indie hasn't been permitted by the studios to get into theatrical for a couple decades now, with notable exceptions. The removal of the Paramount Decrees in 2020 made the cartel and it's anti-competitive practices legal again. So "clean screens", "block booking" and other practices which keep independent film out of theatrical releases are now essentially condoned by the DOJ. This is not going to get better, and your observations about event films etc. is both rationale and effect.

For a study on independent film profits (or lack thereof) see:

https://independentproducersguild.org/paper-cartel-or-collapse

Yeah, You are talking about the scale of players and monopoly. But it is another topic.

Great analysis Antony Voronov and good work in doing the research into the viability and market positioning of your project. Understanding the business of entertainment is just as, if not more so, than an outstanding screenplay, critical for achieving success. Show. Business. Bravo.