Raising Funds For The Next Short Film Project.

Here we go again. One of the main hurdles any independent filmmaker faces to get their films made, raising funds.

Some would argue that with the advances in filming technology, budget is no longer an issue. You can hire a Canon 5D for next to nothing, shoot in one location, persuade crew to work for free, and so on.

The reality is, you’re going to need funds. The important question is – how much? And without cutting too many corners to just ‘get-the-film-made’.

There were many lessons learnt from the last fund raising episode, raising over £10,000 for my last short film Love Like Hers in 2010. The majority of the funds were raised via crowd funding contributions. It was a very long and time consuming process. Successful yes, one that I’d want to repeat on P.I. – no.

If I’m honest, crowd funding has lost its appeal. I mean no disrespect to anyone currently in the process of crowd funding their projects, but it is a little tiresome. There’s way too many projects ‘begging’ for money via Twitter. A year ago I was one of them. It was soul destroying.  Anyway, this isn’t a post on my ramblings about crowd funding.

Development on my next short film, P.I., is making incredible ground. I’m already working on the second draft of the screenplay and looking at possible dates for principal photography, as well as possible locations. Scary.

I’ve spent several hours number crunching, working out how much we’d need to cover the expenses on this film. The production value on this film has to be of an incredibly high standard. I want it to look like it was made for the big screen, with the Hollywood gloss. We’re not shooting this film on the Canon 5D, or any other DSLR to save money. I want to work with the latest digital cinema cameras, experienced crew etc.

The figure I have on the page at the moment is £25,000. However, I’m confident that this can be cut significantly after some negotiation with suppliers. I have a great relationship with equipment hire companies and crew members after Love Like Hers.

It’s a lot of money. At the moment it’s looking likely that principal photography will be at least 6 days, double what we had on Love Like Hers, and this comes at a price.

My pledge is to pay EVERYONE on this film, there’s no such thing as working for free on this project.

Raising the funds for this film, well this is going to be one hell of a hurdle. The two main avenues I’m looking at right now are as follows:

• THE FILMMAKER’S JOURNEY | ONLINE EXPERIENCE
  This isn’t crowd funding. This is having something that I hope people will want to buy. Sharing my journey as a filmmaker is going one step further with this online experience. For a £20 ($30) payment you will have access to PART 1 of The Filmmaker’s Journey, with hours of exclusive behind the scenes video on how we made Love Like Hers. Interviews with crew, cast and other associates. You’ll also see every last detail of how we made this film. From the writing process, through pre-production, filming and post. Download all the documents we used on the film, EVERY version of the screenplay and so much more. This truly is an open and honest account of the filmmaking process. Part 2 will be the P.I. experience. There’s more on The Filmmaker’s Journey Part 1 here.

• PRIVATE INVESTMENT
  Taking inspiration from other filmmaker’s. We’ll be looking for individuals with disposable income and a love for the movies to invest in me as a filmmaker. Not the film, but in me. Currently working on some ideas that I hope will attract significant attention and subsequently, investment.

I will of course share my experiences and progress via the blog. Wish me luck.

Another important step I’m about to take in this process is finding an experienced producer to work with me. Emphasis on experienced. It would be great to hear from anyone interested, or from anyone who might know someone who would fit the bill and be interested in getting involved. Please do email me.

Thanks for stopping by and a quick reminder, the new look Live Show is coming back in just over a week (Tuesday 26th April at 9pm UK time). It’s a place where writers, directors, crew, actors and other film people can come together and talk about film, as well as talk about their projects. More info here.

Danny