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Filmmakers and Financing: Business Plans for Independents
The first, most crucial step in making a film is finding the funds to do it. Let Louise Levison, who wrote the innovative business plan for "The Blair Witch Project," show you how. Whether you're planning a feature, short, documentary, or large format film, this unique guide teaches you how to create a business plan that can be presented to a potential investor. In jargon-free terms, the author leads you through every step. Each chapter concentrates on a different section of the business plan, including the industry, marketing, financing, distribution. There are supplementary exercises and spreadsheets on the CD workbook so you get comfortable crunching the numbers--no math degree required!
The fifth edition contains completely revised and updated industry data, updated information on the market for short films, as well as a new chapter on nontraditional films such as documentaries.
The fifth edition contains completely revised and updated industry data, updated information on the market for short films, as well as a new chapter on nontraditional films such as documentaries.
272 pages, Paperback
Published November 20, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 20, 2014
A business plan for an independent movie maker
This is a very interesting book by an author whose business plan for the independent movie "Blair witch Project" was a huge success. This simply illustrates that the author knows the "tricks" of the trade, and she is good in communicating these ideas through this book. She starts with the basics, and provides step-by-step instructions as how easy (or difficult) it is to study, research, and then come up with a business plan for your project. The key steps are; information about your film company; the type of films you like to make; and the industry you want to be in, e.g., theatrical, cable TV, Pay-per-view, DVD industry, etc. The niche market you are going to target; for example, children's movie, environmental movie, action movie, religious movie, movie targeted to a particular culture such as Spanish movie, etc. Then you need to focus on the distribution of the movie to domestic and international markets. After the final analysis of the risk factors involved in your venture, you need to come up with a business plan to finance your project. Getting investors interested in your idea is a key step in making your dream come true. Selling your idea to a potential investor is essential for any type of business. In chapter 9, the author discusses this in a great detail stressing the importance of a business plan; a clear vision and avoiding mistakes is the key to secure an investor. The author interviews five successful film makers and fund raisers to relate their experiences when raising money from equity investors. I found this chapter very useful and interesting.
In chapter 11, the author provides a financial plan for two films from a fictional company to illustrate as how you can write your own business plan. The concept she uses is simple; the actual financial data from several independent movies produced around the time you want to make movies, e.g., 2008 and 2009, are considered, and then using the actual financial numbers of these films you can develop a projected income statement and projected cash flow statement for your film. In this example the author uses the income statement and cash flow statement for 14 independent films with varied genres, developed by three different companies between 2005 and 2007. The financial statements are crucial to interest a potential investor: A good return on his investment is the key motivating factor. The figures the author uses for the fictional films are a little sketchy and the forecasted returns on investments are rather high. She needs to provide a little more detail as how she came up with these numbers, and the reader is expected to have some basic knowledge of preparing and reading financial statements. The author's business plan does not have a balance sheet; the investors would be interested to know the liabilities and potential liabilities that this business plan may incur. The lack of this info is sometimes a self-defeating factor of the plan. There are many books about writing business plans and they are available at online bookstores; they all use the same general strategy. I did not compare this book with them; however, I very much enjoyed reading this book.
This is a very interesting book by an author whose business plan for the independent movie "Blair witch Project" was a huge success. This simply illustrates that the author knows the "tricks" of the trade, and she is good in communicating these ideas through this book. She starts with the basics, and provides step-by-step instructions as how easy (or difficult) it is to study, research, and then come up with a business plan for your project. The key steps are; information about your film company; the type of films you like to make; and the industry you want to be in, e.g., theatrical, cable TV, Pay-per-view, DVD industry, etc. The niche market you are going to target; for example, children's movie, environmental movie, action movie, religious movie, movie targeted to a particular culture such as Spanish movie, etc. Then you need to focus on the distribution of the movie to domestic and international markets. After the final analysis of the risk factors involved in your venture, you need to come up with a business plan to finance your project. Getting investors interested in your idea is a key step in making your dream come true. Selling your idea to a potential investor is essential for any type of business. In chapter 9, the author discusses this in a great detail stressing the importance of a business plan; a clear vision and avoiding mistakes is the key to secure an investor. The author interviews five successful film makers and fund raisers to relate their experiences when raising money from equity investors. I found this chapter very useful and interesting.
In chapter 11, the author provides a financial plan for two films from a fictional company to illustrate as how you can write your own business plan. The concept she uses is simple; the actual financial data from several independent movies produced around the time you want to make movies, e.g., 2008 and 2009, are considered, and then using the actual financial numbers of these films you can develop a projected income statement and projected cash flow statement for your film. In this example the author uses the income statement and cash flow statement for 14 independent films with varied genres, developed by three different companies between 2005 and 2007. The financial statements are crucial to interest a potential investor: A good return on his investment is the key motivating factor. The figures the author uses for the fictional films are a little sketchy and the forecasted returns on investments are rather high. She needs to provide a little more detail as how she came up with these numbers, and the reader is expected to have some basic knowledge of preparing and reading financial statements. The author's business plan does not have a balance sheet; the investors would be interested to know the liabilities and potential liabilities that this business plan may incur. The lack of this info is sometimes a self-defeating factor of the plan. There are many books about writing business plans and they are available at online bookstores; they all use the same general strategy. I did not compare this book with them; however, I very much enjoyed reading this book.
July 12, 2008
Gives the basics of what goes into a business plan, but doesn't cover all the types you'd want to know, such as documentaries, plan for your own company if you're BTL (editor, cinematographer). Mainly focuses on a plan for a production company.
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June 8, 2024An informed, credible companion over the past month as I've begun navigating the world of independent film financing and readying to advance my career accordingly.
January 3, 2014
Have you ever wanted a step-by-step guide on how to finance your independent film without being given a step-by-step guide on how to finance your independent film? If so, this is your book.
A bloated, 200 pages too long, set of confusing instructions that has many glaring omissions, but still manages to tell you how to go about financing and building a business plan without actually telling you how to finance and build a business plan. A masterpiece of the round-a-bout. With great hollow sayings like, "Be persistent," "Every investor is different," and "Seeking reality," all multiple times, in different chapters.
Ugh.
Most of this book can be learned from reading a simple article on how a small film made it big in the Hollywood Reporter, then analyzing from where they started. But instead, this book contains ambiguous chapter after chapter. Promising a step by step and simple approach to creating your business plan later in the book, and then never delivering on it.
It's also a reference book to information never given in each chapter. Example; References are made to information never emphasized in previous or upcoming chapters in the current chapter you are reading -- [As discussed in Chapter 6] -- When all that was discussed in Chapter 6 is how the chapter you're currently reading has the answers. It doesn't.
It's as screwy as the head-spinners at a Hollywood party and in its Seventh Edition. There are no insights. There are a few bits here and there on what you need to do, which basically boils down to common sense: Research and use the internet. Find an example business plan out there, then adapt it to your project. Grab a phone book and call doctors, rich people, or throw a party. Use a crowd-funding site, or ask your family members for money. Get an Attorney, somehow. Not necessarily in that order! (like everything else in the book.)
I read through this believing that it would be the light in the dark, the water at the bottom of the well, the final helpful insight after my long search through book after book and article after article as it promised. But all it managed to do was reminded me that no one in this business knows what they're doing and the ones that do aren't going to help or share it with you.
The profound knowledge that is claimed to be had is never gave in the order it should be given out. Nor is it given out at all.
It reads like an executives water-cooler joke, bad, unstructured and can be summed up in one quote from page 157: "Too much irrelevant information will only confuse your reader".
A bloated, 200 pages too long, set of confusing instructions that has many glaring omissions, but still manages to tell you how to go about financing and building a business plan without actually telling you how to finance and build a business plan. A masterpiece of the round-a-bout. With great hollow sayings like, "Be persistent," "Every investor is different," and "Seeking reality," all multiple times, in different chapters.
Ugh.
Most of this book can be learned from reading a simple article on how a small film made it big in the Hollywood Reporter, then analyzing from where they started. But instead, this book contains ambiguous chapter after chapter. Promising a step by step and simple approach to creating your business plan later in the book, and then never delivering on it.
It's also a reference book to information never given in each chapter. Example; References are made to information never emphasized in previous or upcoming chapters in the current chapter you are reading -- [As discussed in Chapter 6] -- When all that was discussed in Chapter 6 is how the chapter you're currently reading has the answers. It doesn't.
It's as screwy as the head-spinners at a Hollywood party and in its Seventh Edition. There are no insights. There are a few bits here and there on what you need to do, which basically boils down to common sense: Research and use the internet. Find an example business plan out there, then adapt it to your project. Grab a phone book and call doctors, rich people, or throw a party. Use a crowd-funding site, or ask your family members for money. Get an Attorney, somehow. Not necessarily in that order! (like everything else in the book.)
I read through this believing that it would be the light in the dark, the water at the bottom of the well, the final helpful insight after my long search through book after book and article after article as it promised. But all it managed to do was reminded me that no one in this business knows what they're doing and the ones that do aren't going to help or share it with you.
The profound knowledge that is claimed to be had is never gave in the order it should be given out. Nor is it given out at all.
It reads like an executives water-cooler joke, bad, unstructured and can be summed up in one quote from page 157: "Too much irrelevant information will only confuse your reader".
September 30, 2020
Louise Levison's book is a well laid-out guide to building business plans that make sense, whether you're raising money for one motion picture or a slate of them. It's clear and concise; and it's filled with wonderful insights from her extensive experience crafting business plans for over 30 years.
September 17, 2009
Clear, reasonable examples on how to write a business proposal for film projects
September 30, 2007
An in deapth look at marketing and distributing techniques for indipendent film producers. Full of buisiness plan Ideas and schemes.
October 11, 2010
Nice peak or introduction with decent examples as to how to finance films
July 18, 2013
Great overview of different ways you can fund your film. Must have resource for anyone looking into indy filmmaking.
December 7, 2014
Well-written and thorough, although slightly dated
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews