Financing / Crowdfunding : Crowdfunding & Fundraising by Nyjo Brennen

I'll take "luke warm" generosity right about now.

No Nyjo, it's not just you. Everyone has a difficult time funding their films. You're right, crowdfunding in not the ONLY means; in fact crowdfunding is relatively new. I sure wish there was an easy answer to this. Private investors can work if you have track record, otherwise they are even less responsive than crowdfunding. I think you may find that in most cases it's the filmmaker and their friends and family that have financed the first several films.

Thank you so much Rik. I truly appreciate that. Its unfortunate because you find all these PHENOMENAL scripts but its a doozy trying to get the projects funded. Guess one just has to stay creative and optimistic. :)

i feel ur pain

Have you tried product placement and trade exchange?

Norman, how does product placement help in fundraising?

Rick. Here's a good link regarding product placement, although there are tons of examples on how to go about this. http://www.dailyconversions.com/all-posts/movie-product-placement-advert... Here's a few examples of other innovative ways to raise funding and yes product placement is once again high on the list. http://www.blurtit.com/q530382.html

I'm setting up a business which requires a fair amount of hard work in itself but i'll be using the income from that to fund my films. I'm setting up the business now and I still have a few years of training to achieve to become a full fledged film maker. By which time i'm hoping i'll have enough savings from the income to fund my project(s). I got this idea from a documentary about James Cameron where they are saying that his even higher passion is marine archaeology which he does! the money for being able to fund his own deep sea excavation he earns from making movies! it's tough but i believe i can do it! :)

There are more finance companies set up for investing in films with attachments made for $5m plus than there are for low budget films which are more likely to make the money back for investors. That's the reality.

Norman, Those links explain what product placement is, but not how someone like Nyjo or me can raise funds using product placement. The first link says, “That product was seen in the movie by over 30 million people.” A very, very rare occurrence for an indie film - not really the norm. I can see advertisers paying up front for a movie they know will be seen by 30 million people. Is product placement a viable method for securing financing for small movies without distribution? For a producer or director making their first movie? That first link really left me hanging; the writer “Brian” asks the question, “How do you solve this problem?” and then doesn’t answer it.

@dhaval James Cameron created a camera for the TItanic film. That's when you are getting the Marie Archelogy from. He makes his money by being an innovator in film. He is always in the cutting edge of shooting. Like in Titanic in Avatar he invented a new way to shoot. He makes his money the same way Lucas does. That's is by pushing film into the future. (Geogre Lucus was one of the first to shoot on a digital format. This is why we keep on seeing Starwars being remastered because it is one of the only films that can be!) I have seen big projects with funding pass my table. People are worried about there own projects and still with work that has Oscar or Emmy talent attached its almost impossible to get funding for them.

Ever since the market meltdown of 2008, it has become increasingly harder for Independent productions to monetize any projects. First, before 08 there were 36 large banks providing funding, now it is down to 12. Also concerning hedge funds, where a lot of Indie funding gets funneled through, there was a ennormous capital gains tax passed, and a lot of private investors moved from Investment into ventures, and moved into commodities and currencies. Safer bets when the markets are bullish, and one doesn't get shorted by the taxes on any commodity gains. I moved a portion of my portfolio to silver. Am a member of the All Cities Group, a private equity partnership, and I can tell you that the group focuses more on commodities, now, than film, at any other time. Then the Madoff scandal broke and time would tell that a large number of hedge funds, equity funds, lost it all, through hedging bets and investing in Bernie. Have the actual list of clientele, over 2K entries, that lost their entire investments through Madoff. Budget and package have alot to do with it as well. Too small of a budget scares the daylights out of Investors. Why? Fear of noncompletion, hanging their investment out to dry. Talent, are they marketable and do they have equitable markets? Director, track record for completing a picture and monetizing on it. Any potential life lines after picture? A biggie! Must represent that it will most definitely be going somewhere, once in the can. Too many variables to discuss, as to why it is harder to get funded nowadays. The market is fierce and there is a lot of competition nowadays, as well. Cheers!

Thanks Daniel. You hit it right on the money.

Money, a necessary evil some would say. That is precisely what this industry is all about. The Benjamins. Its machinations is not operated by creatives, but by accountants. Hence the logical term "Show BUSINESS". Accountants cannot equate the value of an investment based on the creative element. Only debits, (Investment), and credits, (ROI). It is really down to that. How a Line Producer and accountant arrive to their respective numbers is based on how it is packaged. Folks also might want to research SEC legalities of crowd funding before engaging it. Especially if one engages a private equity Investor, once one has launched a project by crowd funded sources. If one was to approach me with a project, and claims it has monies in via a crowd funding source, I am going to decline. Done so before. Too many financial legal issues that create a quagmire.. One major issue is the Securities Exchange Commission. Like the IRS, no one should want to have to answer to the SEC. Cheers!

The bigger evil is focusing all of it on a few major projects and furthering that focus more. Its all about the payday not about the longevity of the craft.

Rick. I don't understand your comment or what type of element regarding product placement you don't understand. Now I'm no expert on the matter and was merely raising a topic as an option that's been around for ever and has been utilized as a tool to raise money in movies, both big and small, on countless occasions. I understand that many filmmakers see it as a sacrifice and selling your soul so to speak, but the question from the thread starter was are there any other ways and I gave 2 other ways. Ways that are tried and tested. It's a form of advertising and a viable options for small movies. If you are filming in a small town you can be guaranteed that there are brands/services/products exclusive to that area that advertise in the local papers, billboards and local radio. Granted, I'm sure it isn't easy to convince, but it is possible, especially if you are able to show value. Why not approach their marketing people for an investment in exchange for branding? There are plenty of examples of small films raising money via product placement, if you do your research. But let me just state this for the record. I am no expert on product placement, but with a little work and a value proposition aimed at small businesses, you can raise money using this option.

I understand product placement, I do not understand why an advertiser would pay an independent filmmaker without distribution money to put their product in a movie that will likely not be seen by many people. The missing element is the actual investment of money in exchange for placing a product in an independently produced movie. I understand trading goods and services and products for an independent filmmaker in a small town - I have done this successfully. But that isn’t raising funds. You ask, “Why not approach their marketing people for an investment in exchange for branding?” I have. Marketing people are willing to pay money up front for a movie with stars or a movie that has distribution but they do not invest in a movie before the film has been made. At least in my experience. I was hoping your statement was from experience because I have been researching product placement as a financing tool for about ten years and have never found an example of it being used. Theoretically, what you say seem like a viable method - but in actual practice I have never seen it happen. I was hoping you had some actual experience in this when you mentioned it and I could pick your brain.

The myth continues and grows surrounding crowd funding and product placement. Misery loves company I would suppose. What about business proforma's, what about qualifying for interstate solicitation of financials, what about qualifying accredited and unaccredited investors, what about the IRS, SEC? These are realities when dealing with film finance, as well as crowd funding, much less touching upon product placement. Has anyone considered communicating with an actual product placement broker to get the real skinny? Product placement will not fund any sizable portion of any budget, IF one gets any type of funding, outside of the product, itself. Product placement is not applicable to every film project out there. Finally, let me beat on my war drum again. One cannot fund a film project based soley on crowd funding and product placement alone. One off projects do not provide the lithmus test, nor set any precedents for success with crowd funding. Tracy Parks of Film Specifics and Jeff Steele of Steele Film Closings have addressed the "one hit wonder" factor of crowd funding, and neither lend much credibility to it. I stand with them.

I (We) have spent the last 5 years searching for money & more for our true crime script. You're not alone. Onward & upward.

Rick. My apologies for misunderstanding your question. Has the internet not given a viable value to marketers to get involved in film? After all, distribution via the many online film showcase sites gives you a guaranteed platform. Or is the whole thing just too new?

Norman - A guaranteed platform doesn't not always translate to a large audience. There are more and more ways for an independent film to be seen but its harder and harder to get people to watch. And advertisers looking for films to place their products are more interested in how many viewers than anything else. If a filmmaker can show they have, in the past, gotten a lot (say millions) of views on the web then an advertiser may pay to have their product placed in the next film. Currently it's more cost effective for them to place one of those "pop up" adds on a movie and pay only when the add is seen. Not to pay up front. So product placement does not seem to be the financing tool you think it is. I wish it were and I'm still hoping to find filmmakers who have used product placement as a financing tool.