While living out in Southern California I've been asked by many young up-and-coming filmmakers to invest in their movie projects. After speaking with them off the record, and in passing, as well as after I had turned them down, many of them had told me that they spent more time chasing money to get their film made than they actually felt they would making the movie. That's unfortunate, what's most troubling is that it costs so much to make a movie these days, even a so-called low-budget film.
Of course, most filmmaking artists are not business people, they are in it for the pure enjoyment of their artistic creative genius, not just to make a profit. Yes, of course they dream of one day getting rich and having enough money that they can fund their own movies and not have to try to chase down venture capital, still, each year the major universities in Southern California graduate a tremendous number of moviemakers with their degrees. They learn cinematography, and a little bit about the business, and try to stay up with real world changes in technology, something that's becoming more and more difficult as all of the industries technology seem to be merging into one.
Even though I hadn't invested in any of these movies, and it turns out that it was a good thing because most of the ones I was invited to participate in did not pan out, I do recall a few of these movies which actually were in the final stages of production, but were riddled with lawsuits from investors, screenwriters, actors, or people that claimed to have been hurt in the production trying to get on disability and some pocket money. The reality is when you're making a low-budget movie you are going to need twice the money you think you are, and it will probably take you two or three times as long as you figured in your business plan to complete the project.
Even if you complete the project near or on budget, generally you are broke and you don't have the money you need to market the film. That's a big cost too, and probably the most important part. Not long ago I was talking to a film and movie agent, now a cinema professor emeritus, she explained to me that it was surprising how many people don't realize that the movies which do get made, well, it doesn't have much to do with the quality of the movie, quality of the screenwriting effort, or quality of the talent.
More or less it is those movies which have the most capital, and/or the most friends in the right places to get the ball rolling. Please consider all this and think on it.
Of course, most filmmaking artists are not business people, they are in it for the pure enjoyment of their artistic creative genius, not just to make a profit. Yes, of course they dream of one day getting rich and having enough money that they can fund their own movies and not have to try to chase down venture capital, still, each year the major universities in Southern California graduate a tremendous number of moviemakers with their degrees. They learn cinematography, and a little bit about the business, and try to stay up with real world changes in technology, something that's becoming more and more difficult as all of the industries technology seem to be merging into one.
Even though I hadn't invested in any of these movies, and it turns out that it was a good thing because most of the ones I was invited to participate in did not pan out, I do recall a few of these movies which actually were in the final stages of production, but were riddled with lawsuits from investors, screenwriters, actors, or people that claimed to have been hurt in the production trying to get on disability and some pocket money. The reality is when you're making a low-budget movie you are going to need twice the money you think you are, and it will probably take you two or three times as long as you figured in your business plan to complete the project.
Even if you complete the project near or on budget, generally you are broke and you don't have the money you need to market the film. That's a big cost too, and probably the most important part. Not long ago I was talking to a film and movie agent, now a cinema professor emeritus, she explained to me that it was surprising how many people don't realize that the movies which do get made, well, it doesn't have much to do with the quality of the movie, quality of the screenwriting effort, or quality of the talent.
More or less it is those movies which have the most capital, and/or the most friends in the right places to get the ball rolling. Please consider all this and think on it.
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