Chapter 6

Sales Presentation and Finding Investors

The truth is that I had not planned to do a sales presentation. It came about by necessity, and I’m thrilled it happened that way. It actually helped create an urgency that was needed at that time. Prior to producing Candy Stripers, my whole focus was on international coproductions – and raising funds for coproductions was a whole different ball game. Much of it was done through government soft money, sale and leaseback deals, labor/tax credits, and territory presales. Even raising equity funds in other countries at that time was fairly effortless because of the tax benefits provided to the investors.

So here we were, raising funds for our first low-budget film in the United States, and we had a pretty arrogant attitude. We thought, “This will be easy – a piece of cake, right?” Wrong! What happened was that we froze! We did a great job of putting together all the paperwork and prided ourselves on our PPM, our operating agreement, our amazing business plan, and opening an LLC for the first time. But when it came to selling the units in the film, we seemed to go totally unconscious.

I remember looking at the calendar and realizing that it was March 1. Two months had drifted by and we had sold two units … and that was to each other! At that moment, Kate and I sat down, created a solid timeline, pushed our start date forward by two months, and made a decision to do a couple of things. First, we would start including what we were doing in every single conversation we had with people. Second, we would plan two sales presentations. There was something about planning for and scheduling a sale presentation that created a sense of urgency. We needed to move forward and we needed to do so with velocity. It turned out to be useful in more ways than one. Just the act of preparing for a presentation forced us to get very clear about our pitch and made it very real, completely altering how we spoke about the project. It was real. We were making a movie! And it worked: within three weeks from our sales presentations, we went from 2 units sold to 22!

PREPARATION

Preparing for the sales presentation was great fun. As I mentioned earlier, what I always do when I am planning any event or workshop is put myself in the shoes of those in the audience, as if I were the one sitting out there listening. So with that in mind, I had to consider what my potential investors would want and need to hear. How much time would they be willing to sit in the room? I decided that 45 minutes was enough time to get through the presentation. Kate and I would be able to get through the essential materials in that time. In addition, I allowed 45 minutes for a question and answer session. So we estimated an hour and a half for the entire sales presentation.

OUTLINE

Next came the outline. As I had never done anything like this before, it took me a few days to create the outline for the event. I wrote and rewrote it quite a few times, and here is what I ended up with:

1.  Welcome

2.  Purpose of the evening

3.  Outline of the evening (including room logistics)

4.  Introductions: Producers, Suzanne, and Kate

5.  Introduction to Snowfall Films

6.  Launching WindChill Films, why this film and budget

7.  Director’s vision

8.  Introduce team

9.  Explain the LLC offering

10.  Q&A session

11.  Thank you for coming and good night

12.  Sign out packets and answer private questions

With the outline complete, I proceeded to expand each area. Once I felt comfortable and confident that I had covered all the essential points, I went ahead and set the date.

BOOKING THE VENUE

I decided to hold two separate sales presentations in order to accommodate as many people as possible. I chose a Monday and a Wednesday evening a week apart. As I researched possible venues, I kept in mind that I wanted a fairly small room that would hold around 40 people. I really wanted the event to look like there was standing room only. In addition, I looked for added perks, like easy highway access and free parking. And because Kate and I were paying for this out of our own pockets (keeping all receipts for reimbursement later!), the cost of the room was also something I needed to consider. I found a great room at a hotel only a couple of blocks from my office.

GETTING THE WORD OUT

As you have probably realized by now, I like to keep things as simple and clear as possible. I wrote the invitation and emailed it to our entire database (people we knew personally). I sent the emails off in blind copies in groups of ten to avoid being categorized as spam. Kate and I also made the decision to go through our database, highlighting specific people to call personally to extend the invitation. Some of these people we knew were potential investors; others were friends and colleagues we wanted to come on board with us as possible executive producers. We requested that they bring potential investors to our event.

All these calls and emails provided a great reason to get back in touch with people and to let everyone know what we were planning. It also forced us to get crystal-clear about our pitch.

Here is a copy of the email that we sent out.

LOGISTICS

I’ve been leading seminars for 25 years and I believe I’ve mastered the art of logistics. Yes, I call it an art because it is something that you have to really work at perfecting. Nobody realizes how important logistics are. It is essential that you make a list of everything you will need for your sales presentation. Just think about it for a minute, and you can picture how critical it is. If people arrive at your event and need a pen to take notes and you’ve forgotten to bring them, it’s a reflection on you. If you’re flustered because you forgot the sign-in sheets, people will notice. It is all a reflection on you, and those potential investors are watching you closely. It’s like when you’re on a plane and notice that your seat is ripped. You can’t help but wonder about the condition of the engine. If I’m an investor and you’re flustered and disorganized and there are no pens, I’m already worried about my investment and the evening hasn’t even started yet.

Everything about the presentation represents you and who you are. Are you coming across as professional and accountable? Are you someone I can trust with my money? I know it’s just logistics, but as you can see, it’s important. The investors may want to invest in your film because it sounds like good business, but they need to put their faith in you first. Your professional demeanor is critical. So please plan and type up your logistics list – every detail! That way, you will have everything you need at your event and you won’t have to be at all concerned about logistics, leaving you free to focus on your presentation and on the people in the room.

Here is the logistics list from the Candy Stripers sales presentation:

Logistics List

Sign-in sheet (Name/Email/Phone #)

Pens/paper

Masking tape

Copies of bios (our bios and our team’s bios)

Business cards

Copies of our company mission statement

One sample script Our BAFTA Award

One-sheets of the Candy Stripers poster (with our contact info)

Copies of the synopsis (with our contact info)

Copies of the Los Angeles Times article on the success of genre films

Copies of the director’s vision notes

Quotes on poster boards for the walls

Posters of our previous films

PPM/LLC numbered packets with sign-out sheets

Small TV and DVD player (to show trailers)

Cookies, fruit, and water for the refreshments table

SETTING UP THE ROOM

When Kate and I were preparing for the Candy Stripers presentation, we gave a lot of thought to how the room should look. We decided on a visual display that supported our presentation. We took a number of the quotes from the “marketplace” section of our business plan and had them blown up on colored posters and put them on the walls around the room.

We also took the Los Angeles Times article from our business plan and had it blown up and put on an easel in the front of the room. The title alone was impressive: “Horror Films Return to Make a Killing at the Box Office.” Find quotes that give credibility to the type of film you are producing. There is a good chance you will already have them in the business plan, so just use them as a visual display. It will look great.

In addition, we brought movie posters of our previous films and put them on the wall in the front of the room. We took quotes and articles that had been written about us and our previous projects and displayed those on poster boards. For example, Hollywood Reporter and Variety had written rave reviews of our very first film, Undertaking Betty, so we took advantage of that and put it on display. If you have not yet produced a film and this is your first, you might want to display the posters of projects completed by your director, writer, or DP.

We had a side table set up with a variety of items that people were free to take: copies of the director’s vision notes, the film synopsis, our company bio, and copies of the Los Angeles Times article. We also had 8{1/2} × 11 posters of our film with a brief synopsis and contact information on the back. I know that sounds expensive, but in the case of Candy Stripers, the posters were so stunning and said so much that I think it was worth the cost. We also brought our BAFTA award and put that on the table.

Arrive at your event early to allow a good amount of time for setup. Make sure that you have lots of help. When choosing your assistants – who will be at the sign-in table – make sure to also request that they help with setup and that they are completely accountable and prompt. You don’t want to be putting posters on the wall or giving instructions to your assistants when your guests are arriving.

YOUR ASSISTANTS REPRESENT YOUR COMPANY

Make sure your assistants are prepared to welcome people as they arrive. I know you will be there welcoming people as they come in the door, but keep in mind that as you are chatting with one person, a few more are arriving and going directly to the sign-in table. Have at least two people at the sign-in table and prep them in advance to dress and look professional. They are there representing you, your project, and your company. You want to start on time, so you don’t want long lines at the table. Have your assistants sign people in without any chatting. They should be focused on making sure that everyone is filling out the sign-in sheet clearly and correctly. This all sounds like common sense, but I have missed opportunities to follow up with people because I couldn’t read the handwriting on the sign-in sheet. All these little details matter.

IT’S SHOWTIME: WELCOME EVERYONE

It’s now 7:00, people are seated, and it’s time to go to the front of the room and formally welcome everyone and thank them all for coming. Take the time to really thank them for coming:

Hello, I’m Suzanne Lyons and this is my film partner Kate Robbins. Before we begin, we want you to know that we appreciate your being here. I know there are a number of things you could be doing this evening, and the fact that you are here to find out about our film project and possibly participate as an investor is something that we truly appreciate.

PURPOSE OF THE EVENING

It is very important to explain the purpose of the evening. Don’t just launch right into your presentation. In fact, this is a great practice to adopt for every call, meeting, and event. Be honest and direct and say why you have invited them here this evening:

The purpose of the evening is for you to hear about Candy Stripers, LLC, and to have any questions answered. We would love for you to invest in our film project and we look forward to doing this sales presentation for you this evening.

OUTLINE FOR THE EVENING

Tell the attendees what you are planning to cover and exactly how the evening will unfold. Go over the timeline, and if you are planning a break, now is the time to let people know that. People will have a hard time fully listening to you if they don’t know the timeline and exactly how the evening is structured. In our case, it went like this:

Here is how tonight’s presentation will go: Kate and I will talk for 45 minutes. We will introduce ourselves and our company and tell you about the film and the offering for the project. We will introduce our line producer and our director of photography and Kate will discuss her vision as the director of the film. At the end of the 45 minutes, we’ll open it up to a 45-minute Q&A, and at the end of that time we will complete the evening. However, Kate and I will stay here to be available for as long as you need us to answer any further questions and of course to sign out our LLC/PPM packages.

At this point, it’s also important to go over the hotel logistics. For example,

The bathrooms are just outside the door to the right and the refreshments table is at the back of the room. Our two wonderful assistants, James and Ruby, whom you met on your way in, are seated at the back of the room and are available if you need something throughout the evening.

IT’S YOUR TIME TO SHINE: HAVE FUN!

Remember people are investing in you and putting their faith in you. Please keep that in mind during the entire evening. In fact, in the car on the way to your event or with your partner, remind yourself of why you chose this particular project, this career, this amazing life in the entertainment industry. You are going to get a chance to pitch yourself, your company, and your project, so it’s important to get completely in touch with your passion, your joy, and your love of this industry. The truth is that it all comes down to enrollment. You will be enrolling people into playing with you. If you’re not having fun, people won’t want to play with you. It’s not just about the money, and in many cases it’s never about the money – it’s about having fun. That’s why we’re here. That’s why we all chose this career in this industry. We get to make movies. We get to bring joy and magic to people’s lives. We get to provide an escape for people. We get to create memories for families. We impact, enhance, and make a difference in the lives of people on a global scale. You have a great sandbox in a magnificent playground, and you are providing an opportunity for people to come play with you … how cool is that? Remind yourself of that on the way to your sales presentation.

INTRODUCE YOURSELF

Be careful not to jump right into the conversation about your film or the details of the offering. Remember that they are investing in you, not just your film. This is the part of the evening when you get to speak about yourself and your background: possibly the most important part of the presentation. Really take time during your planning stage to outline what you are going to say. Make a point of speaking about the areas of your background that highlight your strengths, drawing from both your career and personal life. This stage will create credibility for you and a comfort level for your potential investors. Here is a form that I took from my Flash Forward (FFI) seminar and adapted to use in the Indie Film Producing workbook.

This exercise will help you choose the areas that will highlight your expertise in the areas that are important and relevant to your film project. I chose three specific areas. I mentioned my background as the head of marketing and promotions at a television network and affiliate in Nova Scotia. I talked about my job in sales for a film and TV distribution company in Philadelphia. And I highlighted the fact that I was cofounder of the successful entertainment industry company Flash Forward Institute, having led workshops for well over 15,000 participants and having guest-lectured at nearly 50 entertainment industry organizations, colleges, and guilds. I did some name-dropping here and noted that the participants in my workshops had gone on to great success.

Kate mentioned that she had studied acting at NYU and how that would enhance her talent as a director. She also shared about the number of prestigious awards she had won for her screenwriting, including the Spielberg Chesterfield Fellowship and the Diane Thomas award. Kate wrote Candy Stripers, so mentioning her awards as a screenwriter was invaluable.

It is important to get specific numbers whenever you can and include them in your talk. It is so much more powerful to the listener. For example, you have produced five short films, winning six festivals. Or, your script won best screenplay at La Femme Film Festival competing against more than 300 entries.

YOUR COMPANY INTRODUCTION

Once you have introduced yourself, tell them about your company. Kate and I started with our trailers. We had produced four movies at our Snowfall Films company, and the trailers were around a minute and a half each. It was worth the time because the trailers were impressive and the casts in our previous films were big names that everyone knew. It gave us immediate credibility and proved that we were able to take a film project through to completion. We were now doing a series of SAG ultra-low-budget films for $200,000, so the fact that we had already proven ourselves in the higher-budget world created a comfort level for our potential investors.

However, if you don’t have a background in film and this is your first project, don’t worry about it at all. When it comes time to introduce some key members of your team, like your director or DP, they can always share their industry background and show a couple of their trailers.

During this introduction, we shared about what Snowfall Films was planning for the long term. I know that if I were the one sitting in the room listening to the presentation, I would want to know that you and your company were planning to be around for years to come.

Another suggestion is to read your mission statement. We made a point of including copies of our mission statement on the information table and reading it aloud. I found out months later from one of the investors that he made his decision to invest solely on the strength of our mission statement. So if you don’t have one, write one! The Snowfall Films/WindChill Films mission statement is available in Chapter 4.

LAUNCHING WINDCHILL FILMS: WHY THIS FILM? WHY THIS BUDGET?

It’s important to share why you are producing your specific project and what made you decide on this particular budget. Because genre films were doing so well at the time of our Candy Stripers sales presentation, we talked about the fact that we had just launched WindChill Films, a new genre division of Snowfall Films. We were serious about producing Candy Stripers as our first project in a series of genre films for WindChill Films. We talked about how great those films were doing (at that time) worldwide and we shared our plan to shoot them at an ultra-low budget of $200,000. We explained how, with high-quality yet inexpensive digital cameras along with our huge number of contacts in the industry, we could keep our budget low without sacrificing quality.

We told them about the Screen Actors Guild offering a fantastic deal for those producers interested in staying within certain budget levels. When runaway production was hurting film production in the United States, the unions and guilds reformatted their policies to make allowances so that producers could shoot their indie films in the United States. The cost per day for SAG actors in the ultra-low-budget agreement was $100, so it made it very doable for our project. I believe it’s important to explain to the investor why you decided on your budget and how you plan on staying within your budget. Of course, your line producer can expand on that conversation during his or her part of the presentation.

When we were writing our business plan, we researched film comparisons, so we read aloud numbers from some of the similar films, highlighting specific examples of other projects that had performed well. Of course, we clearly explained that there were no guarantees that Candy Stripers would have the success that these other films had. We chose this opportunity to read the quotes we had posted on the wall as well as sections from the Los Angeles Times article that talked about how extraordinarily well horror films were doing worldwide. Some of the quotes included the following:

“Horror titles continue to sell extremely well,” said Martin Blythe, chief of publicity at Paramount Home Entertainment.

“They have a fiercely loyal fan base.” Hollywood Reporter

“Horror film makers slash and earn: Low cost, high returns, wider audiences mean bloody good business.” Pop Culture

“Massacre Appeal: No matter how you slice it, horror movies are making a real killing at the box office.” Entertainment Weekly

The TV series Project Greenlight just happened to be about the making of a horror film that year, so we showed a clip from the pilot in which Matt Damon and Ben Affleck spoke about the success of genre films. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. If you can find anything like that to back up your claim for why your project is marketable and has profit potential, that would be a great addition to your presentation.

If you chose your project for a personal reason, share that. Is there something about the story that resonates deeply with you? Is it something you are truly passionate about? Is it based on events that affected you personally? This type of information is extremely important, so be sure to include it in your presentation.

THE DIRECTOR’S VISION

Introduce your director and let him or her have the floor to share his or her vision for the film. Make sure your director is well-prepared and has rehearsed with you exactly what he or she is going to say. It shouldn’t be long and drawn out – and it shouldn’t catch you by surprise. The idea is to give your audience a sense of how your film will look and to show them that it is well planned and well thought out.

In our case, Kate was to be the director on Candy Stripers, so she shared her vision in a crystal-clear, visually stunning way. As she spoke, you could clearly see the look and feel of the film she had in mind. She had typed up her speech in advance, so I had it copied and put on the information table for people to pick up at the end of the evening.

When I asked her to share some advice for this book about the director’s vision, Kate said, “When communicating your director’s vision, always include the color palette of the film as well as the angles of shots and the mood and emotions those angles will evoke over the visual progression of the story. Remember that the listeners are not likely to be media-savvy, so speak to them from the point of view and emotions of an audience member, and you’ll be amazed by their enthusiasm.”

Here is a copy of Kate’s director’s vision for Candy Stripers.

INTRODUCE YOUR TEAM

Who is on your production team? I would highly recommend getting a few key people on board before you have your sales presentation. In fact, by that time, you will have done your budget for the film, so have your line producer present. You should certainly have your director by this stage, and because the director usually brings on his or her favorite DP, you have a great start already. You are not paying anyone at this point, and there is always the chance that you may lose them to another project, but for now they are part of the team. Have their bios on the information table and of course in your business plan that is part of your PPM package; be sure to note on each bio “subject to availability.”

In addition, if your writer has existing credits or has won awards, he or she would be a great addition to the evening. If there are any other major keys that might be especially important to the type of film you are producing, consider having them there as well, even if just for a quick introduction. For example, in the case of the horror genre, having your special effects artist there with his or her portfolio would be excellent.

I had invited our line producer and our DP. Our line producer spoke about how we could shoot our film for the budget we had planned, reinforcing what Kate and I had already discussed. He shared his relationship with professional, experienced keys, crew, and vendors and how with his years in the business, he could bring on board a professional team while still keeping costs at a minimum. Our DP, Geoff Schaff, had 25 years’ experience; he shared his past successes and his vision for our project. They were both amazing in front of the room.

If you don’t have any film credits or trailers of your own, now would be a perfect time to take advantage of your team and show a few of their film trailers.

YOUR OFFERING

Here is the part that your audience has been waiting for. And now that you have built sufficient relationship and given enough background, you can move comfortably and confidently into this section.

Let me just stop and explain what I mean by having “sufficient relationship” and why it is important to establish relationship before moving into action and making your request.

I worked with a management consulting firm for a time in Philadelphia that specialized in small business consulting. One of the most important things I learned there was to never jump directly into action. It’s a guaranteed way to have your business fail. I took that to heart. First, create relationship, then possibility, then opportunity, and then take action. Notice what comes first is relationship! It is extremely important to create relationship before ever jumping into action. It is a business model that is used in companies worldwide; when you are standing in front of the room doing your sales presentation, you are the president and CEO of your company. So follow this model. It works.

So far in the presentation we have created relationship and we’ve provided the possibility of fun, participation, and involvement in the project. Now we’re presenting the opportunity to potentially make a profit, and finally, we’re taking action: requesting they consider investing in our film and signing out a PPM/LLC package upon competition of the evening.

WHAT′S IN IT FOR ME, THE INVESTOR?

I was clear about what exactly our offering provided (see Chapter 4 for details) and felt very comfortable speaking about it. I specifically made a point of telling them that it was a high-risk investment throughout this section of the evening.

Kate and I had a sales agent do estimates for us, and although these estimates were listed in the PPM packets, we also made a point of putting the information in a handout for everyone at the presentation. We called the handout a “revenue scenario”; it showed clearly what return on their investment they could receive if the estimates came in as planned. This handout was a huge success. It showed that we had done our homework and it looked great. Of course, even on the “Revenue Scenario,” we noted at the bottom of the page that there was “no guarantee.”

If you are not planning to go the traditional route with a sales agent and you are planning to self- distribute, then you may want to type up a handout explaining how you envision the revenue flow. Or, if you are planning to distribute to a specific niche market, then I would have the statistics available to back up your claim.

We also explained to our audience exactly what our “private placement offering” was going to be, clearly laying out the percentage we were offering, the time period the offering would be open, and the estimated time schedule for return on territory sales. We explained that we had the full PPM/operating agreement packages available to sign out if they were interested in investing in the project. However, we told them that if they were interested and had made a decision to invest, they still had to take the packet home with them and read it carefully before writing us a check and investing in the film. We also shared some of the perks here, a few of which included being on the set, perhaps being an extra, an invitation to the wrap party, getting a copy of the DVD, and getting a credit on the film – depending on the number of units they purchased.

Also, during this session, if you have any investors who have already invested or made a commitment to invest, have them in the room and call on them to share about why they decided to invest in your project. If they can’t be there, have them put it in writing so you can read it to everyone in the room. One of our investors, a retired stockbroker, was in the room; he stood and said, “Thirty-eight years on Wall Street taught me to look for four things in investment opportunities: (1) a good product, (2) a market for that product, (3) good company management, (4) good profit potential. Candy Stripers contains all four things. I’m happy to be an investor.”

At our second sales presentation, that investor couldn’t be there, so he emailed us what he had said and I read it during the evening. In addition, a woman who had been at our first event and bought a unit came to our second presentation and shared why she had decided to invest. Endorsements like that are invaluable. Make a point of doing this when you plan your sales presentation.

QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION

After we formally ended the first 45-minute session of the evening, we moved on to the scheduled 45-minute Q&A session. It’s important to stay on schedule. At our sales presentation, the Q&A took the full 45 minutes. Plan for every possible question. Talk to people who have raised money for films, talk to your mentors, and ask people you know who have done sales presentations. What are some possible questions that potential investors may ask? Some of the questions that were brought up at our event included: How long before we could see our first check? Could you clarify exactly what happens when the film is done? Is it going to be in film festivals? Are you going to be having a premiere of the film? Is there any chance it will be at theaters?

When the questions are answered, remind people that you and your team are going to stay for as long as possible to answer any further questions one on one. And of course remind them that the PPM packages are available to be signed out for those who are interested in investing in the project.

WRAP-UP

Keep your wrap-up short and sweet:

Thank you so much for coming this evening. Feel free to come up and say hello. We truly appreciate you coming to our event to find out more about Candy Stripers, LLC. It was a pleasure meeting you. Thank you, good night, and drive carefully.

MOCK SALES PRESENTATION

One of the participants in the Low Budget Film Workshop had a great idea. She organized her entire sales presentation and invited the class to her house for a mock sales presentation. She treated it exactly like the real thing and got her feet wet doing the presentation with friends. She learned what her weak areas were, and the mock presentation gave her the confidence to book the date for the real thing.

A PROMISE IS NOT A CHECK

Just a quick word of caution here. There may be people who will tell you that they are going to be investing in your film and you might take them at their word. Don’t do that. A promise is not a check. Until the money is in the bank, it isn’t real.

ADDITIONAL PERKS

Don’t forget that people are often attracted to this industry because of the cachet and because they want to play and have fun. It’s not always about the money. In fact, because of the high risk, it’s seldom about the money. So keep that in mind when you are creating your investor proposal, preparing your sales presentation, speaking with potential investors, and even while sharing about your project with friends and colleagues.

When an investor approached me after the sales presentation and asked if there were a possibility for his sons to write and sing a song for the end roll credits, I was more than thrilled to say yes – why not? Another investor asked if his wife could have her picture taken with the stars in the film. He ended up buying three units! As I mentioned in my chapter on business plans, I make sure to be generous to all at all times.

TIPS TO GETTING INVESTORS

In my workshops on indie film producing and at every speaking engagement I have ever done on this topic, the number-one question is, “How do I get investors to invest in my film project?” I got asked the question so often that I sat down and wrote a short booklet that focused solely on this question. I came up with 13 valuable tips. Here is a brief summary of the booklet:

1.   Mine your own network of people. Call everyone you know and tell them exactly what you are doing – and make a request!

2.   Do more networking. Go to events and get to know more people and tell them what you are up to (be clear, brief, and specific).

3.   Find other great people who can help you. Have friends and colleagues introduce you to potential investors, get to know them and see if they are interested in reading your business plan package.

4.   Offer a bonus: an executive producer credit. Offer this credit on a single card in the main titles and on the DVD cover and poster to people who buy and/or sell a larger number of units (i.e., our number was six units).   Many people who are looking to start their own film company really liked this opportunity.

5.   Credibility is key: partner up … way up. If this is your first film or if you are moving into a bigger budget arena and have done only low-budget films, team up with a powerful partner.   Having a partner who has more experience and more credibility will help give potential investors a better feeling of security.

6.   Hold a fantastic sales presentation. Have some of your team/key attachments there if possible: for example, your director, line producer, DP, or anyone on your team with great credits.

7.   Talent means money. If you can get talent on board early, that is great. But make sure the talent is worth something from a domestic and/or international sales point of view. Always check names that you are considering with a sales agent to get a sense of whether they are really going to help sell your film when the time comes.

8.   Buy a unit yourself. It really means a lot to investors that you have invested in your own film. (Buying just one unit is fine.)

9.   Get educated on state and provincial incentives. And think globally. It’s important to know all of the state and provincial incentives. It can save you a lot of money and it’s great information to include in your business plan. And remember that there is a lot of money out there in the world. My first few films ($5 to $10 million) were coproductions with different countries. It may mean teaming up with a producing partner in another country but this is well worth it if it means getting your movie made.

10.   Talk to sales agents. Ask if they know anyone who might be interested in investing in films or if they themselves are interested in buying units. One of our sales agents was interested in purchasing two units on one of our films.

11.   Ask your state/provincial film commissioner (if you are shooting in your own state or province). Ask if they would be willing to get investors together for you to do a sales presentation. This tactic has proven to be very, very successful for some of my students in my Low Budget Film class. One of the participants raised her entire budget of $650,000 during the two meetings set up by the film commissioner in her state.

12.   Look for common ground. If you have a project that has a niche market, then use that to your advantage when looking for funding. For example, a faith-based project would have an excellent appeal to potential investors who are committed to seeing more of those types of films produced.

13.   Give investors a chance to play. Offer the possibility to investors to really have some fun with you by offering a number of things – having a line in the film, being an extra, just being on the set (make sure you have headsets and chairs for them), getting pictures taken with the stars, inviting them to the wrap party (at their own expense, of course), and perhaps even doing the song for your end roll credits. It’s all about having fun! If you are not having fun with all of this, they won’t have fun, and they will go play somewhere else. Of course, it is a business and you are a professional, but they are not just investing in your film, they are investing in you. And of course offer them a really great deal. Be generous when you write up your business plan.

BE PREPARED

I am giving this tip its own heading because it’s something that I’m just now learning about and I think that it deserves special attention. I had the pleasure of meeting Justin Trefgarne at a Women In Film and Television event in Toronto, and he shared something that I think is invaluable when it comes to finding the money. His motto: “Be prepared.” It was that type of thinking that got him the entire budget amount he needed for his science fiction film. Here is Justin’s story:

When pitching my futuristic thriller, Junk, the same question was asked again and again: “What’s it going to look like?” As a first-time director, I had only my passion and my shorts to convince people, so when we received some funding from a regional agency to develop story and script, the idea came to me: why not use the money to make a trailer? When I think of the kinds of films that reach out and grab my attention, I so often think of the first teaser trailer as the thing that hooked me. At the time we were thinking about this, the first teaser for Inception had just been released. I thought it was amazing – the impact that 30 seconds of film had on me was enormous.

The fact was that I knew exactly how I wanted my film to look and feel. I sat down and wrote the teaser script in about an hour – all I had to do was imagine that we’d made the film and that I was some marketing person charged with the challenge of selling the film. The film deals in distorted reality, so I decided to pose a series of questions culminating in the shot I had wanted from the start: the protagonist aiming a handgun at himself. So I designed the big moment of the film around this final enigmatic shot of the protagonist gazing out across the radically altered cityscape.

Cut to three months later. I was now looking for a producer and an investor. The work I had done on this film had pushed me into a new orbit. I needed to find someone who had as much passion about producing and funding this film as I had about directing it. I was so proud of the trailer that I decided to put it on my iPhone, mainly as a tool to cheer me up. As it turned out, it did a whole lot more than cheer me up. It became my self-marketing gold mine!

I was at my brother’s 40th birthday party, of all things, when I bumped into a guy I’d met a few times before. When he asked me what I was up to, I decided to be open, and showed him the trailer on my phone. He watched it and said, very succinctly, “How can I get involved in that?” It just so happened that he and his brother had just sold their company – for millions and millions of dollars! So we chatted some more and then again he said, very seriously this time, “I mean it. I want to produce a film. I want to produce that film.”

Could I have just made one of the most important connections of my life? The answer is yes, and I know that I would not be where I am today, with my first feature film in postproduction, had I not had the foresight to shoot the trailer. When my producer/financier saw it, he saw it. Whatever I had to say afterward, he had already looked through a window into the world I was creating, and those images were indelibly etched on his mind.

BE INNOVATIVE

When I interviewed JC Calciano for chapter 13 on alternative distributive methods, I was super impressed with his entrepreneurial spirit and business savvy. He was not only thinking outside the box but was also planning for and thinking about his investors potential profits from the very beginning. Because the economy is unstable and investors are looking to invest in films that have an additional safety net, I asked JC what he did in his initial planning stages to give investors a comfort level and get them excited. He said,

My movie, eCupid, is a movie about an app that comes to life and helps this couple in jeopardy fall in love. So what I did is I went out and I actually designed an eCupid app that is part of the movie. So you can actually go to iTunes and download the eCupid app, and in the movie, Morgan Fairchild is the voice of the app. So Morgan Fairchild’s voice talks to you, and in the integration of the game (or love tester), you can play with the game on the app or can go on “About the Movie” and it takes you to the website, Facebook, Twitter, screening times, and trailer. I’ve created this app that is not only a fun device but is also a tool that integrates the marketing and promotion of the film – all of these things talk to each other.

LET’S GET VISUAL

The Internet has changed just about every aspect of our lives, and the film industry is no exception. There are YouTube videos on everything, and people are starting to expect something visual. Recently, while selling units on my Christmas animated feature Omarr the Camel, potential investors wanted to see a trailer. The cost of an animated trailer would be around $75,000! Not going to happen. However, I knew that I had to get with the program, so I shot a four-minute video of me talking about the project, focusing on the overview and the synopsis. I added some colorful one-sheets, and it looked fantastic. It gave the information on how to contact me for further information. It went up on my film’s website and on YouTube in late fall, and by Christmas I had over 16,000 hits, some of which generated calls from investors.

Also, companies like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo provide an incredible opportunity to raise money for your film. Usually, posting a trailer is required, and it is up to you to get the word out and drive people to your site. It doesn’t conflict with the selling of your own units, as those online companies help you raise funds as donations toward your project. People will not be making an investment in your film. Instead, they will be pledging a certain amount of money. Producers use these online companies to raise development funds, finishing funds, and money for delivery and even for raising enough money to produce their film.

I spoke with Part Time Fabulous indie producer Jules Bruff and director Alethea Root. They made the decision to raise the finishing fund needed for their film using this method:

We choose IndieGoGo to host our campaign because unlike some other crowd funding websites, we would be able to keep all the money we raised, even if we missed our goal. Thankfully, we surpassed our goal! We believed in the film and so did everyone else. We sent out tweets, Facebook updates, and personal emails to everyone we knew. We were shameless in our quest, but we had no shame. I (Alethea) even got a person I met on an airplane to donate to Part Time Fabulous. Raising the funds this way also helped with the promotion of our film. Indiewire and Shinkrap ran articles about the film. We were thrilled. Our 30-day finishing funds campaign was successful. We had enough money to complete post, and we had a huge list of supporters of our film. So far, Part Time Fabulous has gone to two festivals – the Monaco Charity Film Festival and the Berkshire International Film Festival – and we have two wins! So our advice: just do it, and do it with a film you can stand behind, a film that you love, a film that makes you proud to ask for money.