Are You Ready To Get Your Film Or TV Show Financed And Produced?
Any time you’re making a film, TV show, web series, short film, or any other kind of content, the entertainment industry is an exciting place to be!
Whether it’s your first production or your twenty-first, the rush of putting a project together is thrilling, and seeing your vision come to life on the screen is an exhilarating reward for all the hard work you’ve put in over the previous months or years.
So, you’ve got a great script, the perfect location, an awesome crew, and maybe even some cast in place. There’s just one tiny detail that you’re missing…
MONEY!
Financing is the one thing that EVERY production needs. It also happens to be one of the most difficult things to obtain in an industry that is spilling over with projects and filmmakers who are desperate to get into production.
How do you find the financing you need? Where do you start? How does it work? And how do you spend your financing in a responsible way that will return this money to investors so that they will invest with you again in your next production, and the one after that, and maybe even the one after that too?
Whether you’re a filmmaker trying to get your project financed, or an investor looking to make that first foray into funding a piece of content, a basic knowledge of how entertainment financing works is crucial.
So many people work in the entertainment industry and are reliant on films and TV shows being financed – writers, directors, producers, investors, actors, lawyers, managers, agents, development executives, production managers… The list goes on and on. Their livelihoods are completely dependent on finance being raised, spent, returned, and then raised again.
And yet you’ll come across so many of these people who have absolutely no idea about how entertainment financing works!
It's tough getting started. It’s tough to know who to listen to and from whom to take advice. Lots of people will tell you lots of different things – some of it true, some of it false, some of which you can use, and some of which will lead you down the wrong path altogether.
The entertainment industry can seem overwhelming and scary at times. If only someone would just tell you what to do and how to do it…
Don’t worry! When you are brave enough to look behind the curtain, you’ll see that entertainment financing really isn’t that complicated after all. Much of it is basic economics and common sense, with a few unique elements to learn along the way.
DON’T tell yourself that you’re not smart enough to understand this stuff – YOU ARE!
DON’T tell yourself that you don’t have time to learn it – YOU DO!
And above all, DON’T believe anyone who tells you that you don’t “need” to educate yourself on how the industry works – YOU NEED THIS NOW MORE THAN EVER!
If you’re an independent filmmaker, long gone are the days when you can be “just” the creative and let someone else handle the financing for you. Nowadays, there are more options than ever to get content made. But the only person that can make that happen is YOU!
By not knowing how the business works, you will put the fate of your career into the hands of other people who may or may not know what’s best for you. DON’T just sit around and wait for them to make your vision a reality.
You don’t have to be an expert. And you don’t have to be a math whizz – I certainly am not! But this basic understanding of how entertainment financing works will put you way ahead of your competitors, no matter which sector of the industry you are in.
If you could dedicate just a fraction of your time to learning about and understanding the way in which your content will ultimately get funded, you would improve yourself, your career, and the work that you create.
Above all, you would improve your chances of getting your film or TV show financed and produced.
One of the things I love about working in the world of entertainment is being surrounded by creative people who dedicate themselves to bringing their visions to life. I love watching passionate people spend so many hours every week creating new and exciting stories to tell and then figuring out how to make these dreams a reality. It’s a wonderfully exciting process and I’m so happy to be a part of it.
But don’t forget: showbusiness is still a business. You're a part of it, and with just a little time and effort, you WILL succeed!
Are you ready to start your journey? Are you ready to enhance your understanding of how this business really works? And are you ready to put yourself in the best possible position to get your films, TV shows, short films, web series and anything else financed and into production?
Through our series of books on film finance, as well as the tips and articles you'll find on this website, we will de-mystify the business of film and television, and answer all the questions you have been wanting to ask.
Let’s go!
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