A Guide to Funding Your Film — How Development Works in Film [Stages of Filmmaking, Ep 1]

as Tom Hanks once said no one knows how a movie is made though everyone thinks they do from a flicker of an idea to the flickering image on screen the whole process is a miracle this series will cover the entire film making process from script to screen in this episode we'll start at the beginning the development process examining how filmmakers get their stories green lit and financed show me the money show you what money show me the money show me the money nothing yeah these are the stages of film making development before we begin remember to subscribe to Studio binder and enable notifications to catch all of the future episodes in this series in today's episode producer Alex saaks will help illuminate what it takes to get through the initial stage of Film Production my name is Alex ax I'm a film producer I have produced movies like the Florida project and the recent Jennifer Lawrence comedy no her feelings I have a movie and post right now called it ends with us starring Blake Lively based on Colleen Hoover's book let's get started I got an idea for a movie the development process in film making refers to the Inception of a movie from coming up with an idea turning it into a screenplay and getting funding the development process has evolved through Cinema's history during the height of the studio system in the 30s and 40s films were made in an assembly line process and all the creatives were under the employment of the studio assigned by Executives to different projects they got you shooting on the lot uh well Mr manx uh pulled me off the Western says I'm doing a movie on a Sound Stage after the collapse of the studio system a new mold began to take shape the package unit system the package unit system gives more power to producers who assemble a collection of elements for a film in order to get funding The Collection is called a package and can include a script a piece of intellectual property a movie star and a director with the package unit system creatives have more freedom but it is often more difficult to put a project together producer Steve goolan explains the variables in assembling a package if you have a good piece of material and you get the right filmmaker you will attract a good cast good directors get good cast but good material gets good directors today the package unit system continues to dominate the American film industry let's take a closer look at the packaging process when packaging a project a producer has one Central goal to obtain funding I like to package movies before I take them out to the market it just gives us more leverage it increases the value of the package and you really need those value attachments to get independent here is interested in in writing you a check for your movie This Means that whatever shape the package takes it needs to make clear why it is a good investment for potential financiers a package can begin in a few places one way is with a spec script a fully written screenplay that a writer has made on their own with no guarantees no attachments and no payment a spec script May land in a producer's lab through through a writer's agent or manager beardly Oberon gave us a draft that's extremely classy or a script may get the attention of a producer by doing well at a festival getting selected for a fellowship or appearing on The Black List a list of Highly sought after screenplays the wrestler is one such script which was written by firsttime screenwriter Robert seagull the script made its way onto the Blacklist and there it got the attention of pro toer pictures Darren aronovsky production company the spec script packaging process is much publicized but rare more often than not spec scripts are a way for producers and Executives to scout talent for other projects rather than make the script itself if a producer does see a spec script they want to make they might not buy it outright and instead get an option for the rights meaning they have the exclusive ability to purchase the script within a few years if the project isn't produced the project is released back to the writer or the option is renewed options cost much less money than buying and allow the producer to only have to spend big on the screenplay once they know it will be made IPS and squs that is the thing that people want another initial step for packaging is intellectual property or IP a creative work like a book or an article which you can legally protect with copyrights a producer will obtain the rights for a piece of pre-existing intellectual property and seek out the necessary creatives to convert this IP into a movie you are without doubt the worst pirate I've ever heard of but you have heard of me this packaging method has always been popular in Hollywood entire departments and Studios and production companies are dedicated to obtaining the rights for various properties producers often have an easier time finding funding for a project based on intellectual property because the material has already proven to be popular so it's less of a gamble for a financier you love Pokemon no yeah yeah you do that was a long time ago it can unfold in a million different ways but it always has to do with identifying the material going to the representative and starting an Association the creative comes into it too some authors are more interested than others in terms of like I want to understand the Creative Vision I want this to be something that complements the book and the vision of the book that I wrote whereas like I said others don't care um and they'll just take take the check which good for that IP can be found anywhere as Greta gerwig's Bobby illustrates closer mat had licensed the film rights of its popular doll to many producers and production companies over the years before it finally got made at Warner Brothers as Gerwig described she had to find a story where there hadn't been a story it was like a big question mark how do you adapt a doll I mean they just like a very um odd assignment I'm actually not sure but that's also but yeah what made it kind of intriguing get that Barbie there are a few considerations to take into account when acquiring rights to IP first a producer must decide if they need the exclusive or non-exclusive rights exclusive rights means no one else can own the rights to the property and as such cost more to obtain a producer also needs to determine how long they want the rights for typically a producer will want the rights in perpetuity meaning forever but a producer can also get an option for the rights to keep development costs lower who owns what rights to a property is referred to as the chain of title and producers are sure to review a chain of title before dealing with the property a package can become more enticing if a producer lands promising attachments that are a compelling fit for the idea this may be a high-profile actor or a big name director a movie that we are in the middle of selling right now called uh Americana it ended up becoming this really robust package and that was part of how we were able to raise the financing because let's say we had only had Sydney and Paul attached I don't think it would have been as undeniable give it to me you shoot me Martin scori explains how Robert dairo was crucial to getting Taxi Driver made what we did there basically was a very low budget and dairo had just won the Academy Award for Godfather too and they had just seen my film Mean Streets which dairo was also in they figured they sold the two of us together in so a sort of package for taxi driver I know I know you must think that I'm you know you must think I'm pretty sick or something you know must think I'm pretty sick right you must think I'm pretty sick [Music] H or it can be a bigname director with exciting IP producer Gail Burman explains how important Bas lerman's name was to sell Elvis it came from an idea about what would it be like to have baz lurman tell the Elvis story I thought it was a great idea because the story is a big American story and baz knows how to do that well and it also is a musical story and baz really knows how to do that well sometimes a filmmaker would create a proof of concept to try to further sell an idea to investors Daman chazelle was able to get funding for whiplash with his short version of the film why do you suppose I just hurled the chair at your head Neiman I don't know yes you do James Cameron meanwhile shot a scene from Avatar using its groundbreaking motion capture technology in order to prove to financiers that additional funding would be well spent I mean look at all that cheddar if a package doesn't already include a completed screenplay a producer may try to get initial seed money to pay a screenwriter George Lucas presented a 15-page treatment of American Graffiti in order to get $10,000 from United Artists to hire a screenwriter getting funding for a screenplay however doesn't mean that the financier will give a filmmaker money for production United Artists passed on American Graffiti after reading its script till College Strikes Out The Writer's Guild rules state that a writer can offer one draft one revision and one polish before they require additional payment this means that the best producers are ones who could give insightful and effective notes from the get-go making sure they and the screenwriter have a common goal for the final product and I'll usually you give some notes especially if we need to find a director or if the writer is also directing there may be things visually that I think need to be more on the page or just maybe some things that need to be tweaked but it really it's different for every every writer there are a lot of writers that I work with that really love writing on spec without intrusion from Studios and thoughts about marketing Etc and then there are other people who do want to develop something with marketing and Studio thought processes in mind so it can look all those different ways you have captivating eyes like a unicorn or a princess producers may also put together a table read where actors read through the script live allowing the filmmakers to hear the project out loud and locate where things may need to be changed a read through can also be used to generate excitement Martin scorsi and Robert dairo put on a table read of the Irishman at Tribeca and producer wiwin Winkler describes the effect it played like Gang Busters and uh I think uh everybody at that point said okay we got to make this movie you charge a guy always charge a guy with a gun with a knife you run away run away from a knife so you charge with a gun with a knife you run that's right the producer will usually also work with a writer to create a log line one sentence which summarizes the general tone and plot of the film this helps a producer sell the project and so does a proposal a few pages which include a brief overview of the film some pre-existing movie it could be compared to and a summary of the finances involved a proposal will often incorporate market research which explains the potential audience for the movie as veteran producer Todd black explains I always tell young producers set yourself apart by having material that's good and Commercial don't come in to see me if you have material that isn't commercial I don't see a lot of money here a producer will also put together a pitch which is similar to a proposal but is more focused on generating excitement for a project and is typically delivered verbally sometimes I'll have a writer bring me an idea and from the jump I will know that what we're developing is really a pitch to take out to Studios and financiers sometimes they don't need much development which is is amazing because it's just much less heavy lifting and frankly it's always nice to read uh a screenplay that's kind of already singing H Pay The Man He's a genius beautiful filmmakers will sometimes supplement a pitch with concept art especially if they are hoping to build a fantasy world once a package is put together a studio or production company may agree to to make it this is called green lighting but even after obtaining a green light a Project's completion isn't guaranteed you're kidding right a green lit film can be put in turnaround which is when a studio halts the production of a film and usually tries to sell it to another Studio this can happen if a studio changes hands or if other mitigating circumstances arise this happened with Steven Spielberg's ET Colombia decided to Halt the development of the project doubting there was an audience for it big mistake big huge and Spielberg had to convince Universal to purchase the script from Columbia for $1 million failure to obtain a green light may send a project into what is called development hell where a package May languish in various iterations for years this may be because a studio owns the rights and doesn't want to sell them or attachments to the project drop out this doesn't necessarily spell Doom for a film however projects like Dallas Buyers Club and Mad Max Fury Road spent years in development after a green light a script will go through additional changes as budgeting Logistics and additional crew enter the picture once a script is nearing its final iteration the producer will create an estimated budget typically broken down into production post- production and distribution costs this estimation is rough but it is crucial for the next step of the process financing fil film funding methods can be split into two different camps financing for Studio films and financing for independent films let's begin with Studio financing Studios typically have more established Roots toward financing since their projects usually earn more money one type of financing for a studio is pre-sales this is when a film is licensed to a distributor to distribute a film in a given territory for example a Distribution Company in Japan will prepay for the right to distribute the film in Japan today pre-sales may not just be theatrical rights instead a production company may choose to pre-sell with streaming platforms licensing the rights to stream a film in different territories filmmakers sometimes would go to a French distributor or a French distributor and a a an English distributor and that would be enough money just those two territories to maybe fund the movie and then everything else once the movie is done is upside pre-sales typically depend on a film's attachments if there are big names involved pre-sales are more lucrative a studio can also use Gap financing which are loans that are based on a film's unsold rights this means a studio doesn't have to use pre sales and can instead anticipate the money from the eventual sales to Distributors once the film is finished another form of Studio financing is a negative pickup where a producer sells their movie to a studio and the studio gains distribution rights so that the profits are split between the producer and the studio in other words the producer or production company will be responsible for the initial funding of their film where a contract from a studio that they will buy the project upon completion this means that if a film goes over budget in production the producer has to make up the difference themselves this can create a tremendous amount of pressure as it did on Superman where budget concerns resulted in tension between producer Pier Spangler and director Richard [Music] Donner bad vibrations there is also slate financing which is an investment in a slate of films typically by private Equity firms or hedge funds this mitigates the Financial Risk since there is a higher probability one of the films will be a success a lucrative example of this investment approach was the 2005 deal between Warner Brothers and legendary pictures which secured $500 million in private Equity funding for a 25 film slate though some films included in the Slate like the Ant Bully or Lady in the Water were not box office hits they were offset by the success of other projects like 300 The Dark Knight and the hangover I think it's safe to say that our luck is officially turned around guys we are back baby we are [ __ ] back we're back classic the reverse of this approach is a co-production when multiple Studios will finance a film and divvy up its rights auson Wells who famously had difficulty finding funding for his later works made chimes at midnight as a co-production the film was financed by Spanish production company International films and swiss production company Alpine films another source of money for a studio film can be found in product placement where a brand will pay to have their product in a movie well that's where I see things just a little differently contractor no I will not bow to any sponsor heiniken reportedly paid nearly 45 million for this appearance in Skyfall I actually think brands are going to continue to infiltrate entertainment more and more as we are losing market share of General audiences we need financial support from other industries that benefit from celebrities and content Etc so I think we're going to continue doing more more with Browns go go go similarly there is the military entertainment complex where the US Department of Defense will collaborate with Studios on certain action movies Top Gun for example got production assistance from the US Navy in return the film positively portrayed the military branch helping to rehabilitate its image after Vietnam you lost love is gone gone many of these avenues for funding are not available to independent film financing independent financing can often look more Scrappy than at a studio with producers and filmmakers sometimes searching for money in less conventional places where's the money he oh it's uh it's down there somewhere let me take another look look the goal is always you get one Equity Finance here which means it's someone who is literally just writing you a cash check it's easy it's simple like that is the goal of Indie financing that's the easiest way to do it many filmmakers in the early stages of their career will use crowdfunding depending on personal connections to raise money for their project the B Duke used the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter to raise additional funds for its visual effects the Cohen Brothers meanwhile funded Blood Simple by shooting a trailer and showing it to private investors inspired by Sam ry's approach for Evil Dead Sam sort of taught us that if you ask people to you know call them up on the phone and ask people to invest in a movie they' tell you to go to hell but if you said I have a piece of film I want to show you then some of them would let you to come into their living room set up your little projector and show it to them grants are another route toward funding these are funds given by institutions like a government or nonprofit that do not have to be paid back [ __ ] Lee's first film she's got to have it got initial funding from various New York based grants if a filmmaker has already completed a script or a short version of their project a film festival can provide opportunities for funding there a filmmaker can network with potential financiers with the extra leverage that their project is already critically celebrated Wes Anderson secured funding for his first film bottle rocket when its short version was screened at Sundance James L Brooks saw potential in the project and offer to produce the feature the American Film Market provides another opportunity for financing filmmakers can give presentations and network with financiers we can announce a package for the first time a script a director with cast attached and get interest it's almost like you need to sell something at a market so that 3 to four months later you could actually make the movie independent filmmakers can find additional funding through private Equity firms investment companies that manage pooled Investments of large amounts of money these firms will bet their money in the hopes of a big payout on the back end small films are high-risk Investments however usually private Equity firms will only fund independent production companies with proven track records bond companies can help a film Garner Investments these are companies that act as guarantors a third party that will lower the risk for investors a completion Bond dictates that a film must be done on time and within budget if a film is unable to be completed the company will assume the rights of the project it's no longer your film another Financial resource is called Bridge financing a short-term lender provides a loan to secure an attachment with an Investor's promisory note as collateral this loan gives the producer the money to obtain said attachment like a pricey director or actor Bridge money is very expensive it's money that they know you're desperate for that you need for a very short amount of time and they're going to charge you for it this is something that came to be a necessity when people started making more and more independent movies and structuring financing and you know just wanting to figure out how to do things outside the system of course a filmmaker can also self- Finance their project this is an incredibly risky Endeavor since in all likelihood the filmmaker will not make their money back and even independent projects can become quite expensive of course there are a few success stories like Kevin Smith's clerks which he funded with a collection of credit cards cards wellestablished filmmakers will sometimes bankroll their own projects as well M night shalan has taken this approach for most of his movies since the visit mortgaging his house for each new project a filmmaker or actor who is passionate about getting a project made may also forego a salary for backend points thereby lowering the costs of production this is referred to as deferred compensation making use of tax incentives can also keep the budget on a film down many countries and states in the US have tax breaks for film Productions this cost cutting measure is often also utilized by Studios and Productions will typically choose to shoot in locations that have incentives like Vancouver or Georgia we save money absolutely making a the movie requires creativity and this applies to acquiring funding as well the best producers are constantly finding creative ways to secure the money they need show me the money show me the [Music] money the development process is one of the most difficult stages in film making it can be filled with rejection delays and frustration for even the most successful filmmakers but with a Clear Vision a compelling package and some Financial Savvy anything is possible for the full interview with Alex Sachs you'll find the link in the description to our studio binder Academy Channel and be sure to subscribe and click the Bell to catch our next entry in the stages of film making Series where we'll cover everything involved in pre-production including budgeting hiring a crew and prev visualizing your movie start your next entry into the development process with Studio binder screenwriting software until next time we hope you find your green light at the end of the [Music] [Music] tunnel

Channel: StudioBinder

Views: 167,984

Keywords: Film funding, film development in movies, development and financing in film, film finance, film financing 101, financing a movie, film financing, how development works in film, development in film, basics of film financing, proof of concept, alex saks interview, presale film financing, independent film financing, funding your film, how to raise money for a movie, intellectual property development in film, producing a movie, packaging a film, optioning a script, studiobinder

Id: A0W0JLP7Eow

Length: 29min 27sec (1767 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 06 2023