How do I Finance Film & Video Projects?
- 1). Fund the film yourself. If the projects are short, home-movie style videos for friends and YouTube, you might find they are easily self-financed. Use your savings, your tax refund, the inheritance from old Aunt Marjorie, or in a pinch, your credit cards. Many fledgling filmmakers also pay as they go, shooting scenes when they have the cash in hand then saving up for more production.
- 2). Ask your friends and family for production funds. This can be an outright request for a gift with no return on the back end. You can also sell small film "shares" of a few dollars to many family members and friends, who get their investment back with interest should the project make money. Another idea is to host a funding party for a documentary or small film, where you show a clip as a hook then ask the attendees for a donation.
- 3). Ask a producer to bankroll your film. If your project requires more funding than you can reasonably expect through family and friends, an interested producer can be the answer. In return, you'll give up most of the ownership of the film or video. Anyone with access to money can be a producer, but the Hollywood Creative Directory (in book format or at www.hcdonline.com) lists a huge number of studios and independent producers and production companies.
- 4). Ask a foundation or a company for a grant to make your film. Often companies donate items or pay fees for their products to be shown in films--a good example of this "product placement" is when a character on screen uses a laptop computer and the audience sees the company logo throughout the scene. Non-profit foundations often fund films (usually documentaries), which fall under their mission guidelines. A great resource to match your film with the proper foundation is the Foundation Center (foundationcenter.org). Patron of the Arts is another non-profit that matches up filmmakers, both narrative and documentary, with individual funders.
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