The CEO Filmmaker

One of your primary objectives as a filmmaker is to raise money.  Without funding, you have no film.  Filmmakers by nature are creative people, who are good at putting themselves in others’ shoes.  Yet, for some reason they often struggle with putting themselves in the investors’ shoes.  In order to be successful at financing independent films, the filmmaker must be able to do this. Sixty percent of independent films are funded by individual investors – you need to start thinking like them. Break investors down as you would a character in your script.  Determine what motivates them – what is the film investors’ objective?  I will give you a hint… it’s green.

Knowing why your film needs to be made and why you are the only one to make it is not enough. You need to know how and why it will make money. Filmmakers need to have a firm grasp on business of show business, understanding that ROI is king.  This allows you to better communicate your film’s value proposition to the film investor, ultimately allowing you to achieve your creative vision.

Expose yourself to the same material that Investors do.  Here is a few books to get you started: