Filmmaking – What To Do Until The Money Arrives
by Angela Taylor
If you are not busy making your movie, you should get busy
making your movie. “How can I start,” you whine, “when I
don’t have any financing?” I know it seems you can’t roll
film or tape until you have some money, but your lack of
funding isn’t permanent, is it? You will have money at some
future time, won’t you? You must have faith that things will
get better, or they won’t. So that’s a good place to start.
Generate a little faith, and step out on it. Actively
visualize how your film will look, and sound, and how it
will be financially successful. Visualization is key here.
It literally costs nothing, but makes the real movie
possible.
I recommend the book, “Creative Visualization” by Shakti
Gawain. http://snurl.com/gr88 Ignore any negative people in
your life, and drive yourself on faith that your movie will
get done.
Visualizing your movie may seem like a waste of time, but is
one of the best uses of your time. Visualizing your movie is
working on it. A present lack of money should never keep you
from working on your independent feature.
Besides visualization, there are many things you can do
until the money arrives. Work on your script. Read it, then
read it again, and rewrite it. Punch up the dialogue, fix
the scenes, weed out weak characters, get to the point of
each scene. Your script is never perfect, it needs work.
Working on it a terrific use of your time before financing
arrives.
Have parties, where you and your friends read it aloud, just
like doing a radio play. Take note of audience response, and
revise accordingly. After each revision, read it again, and
again. When funding comes through, you will know your script
inside and out and upside down. You’ll know the scene
numbers, without looking at the script.
Once your script is polished, start planning. Now you need
to be as artistic as possible. Read your script again, with
your Director hat on. Imagine what the players look and
sound like. Make notes in the margins of your script, and
figure out how you’re going to do it. For now, don’t even
think about the money.
Once you’re sure how the movie will go together, start
breaking the script down. Make lists of all the cast and
crew and props and costumes and locations that you will
need. Assemble your ideal team, on paper. Figure out how
many special effects shots there are. Then make up your
preliminary schedule.
Think through the shots and get a real understanding of how
long setups and shots will take. Just because a shot only
takes two sentences in the script, doesn’t mean it will only
take twenty minutes to shoot.
Obviously, after you’ve broken down the script, and know
what you’ll need to buy, then you make up your budget, last
of all. Really think about each line item and do some
research to determine realistic costs for crew and
equipment. Call labs and rental houses and get rate sheets.
The good news is a practical budget and schedule and artwork
will help you get financing. When you show Investor
Prospects you’ve really put some thought into how the money
will be spent, they’re much more likely to see it your way,
and give you the money.
You might read “Secrets Of Raising Money For Your Movie,” by
Sam Longoria, to learn how to gather and approach investor
prospects. http://secretsofraisingmoneyforyourmovie.com
You should be using your TBF (time before financing) to
network. When you call those labs and rental houses, get to
know the people who work there. Ask for names, and write
them down. They’ll be good resources when the time comes, to
get things at a discount. Not only can they help you on
rates, but they’ll know crew wanting to break into features,
who will also work at lower rates.
Join a filmmaking group. A good one is IndieTalk,
http://indietalk.com It’s online, and you can reach it from
anywhere. Networking with other positive filmmakers gets you
moral support, and you can learn from the mistakes of
others. Be selective, don’t hang with people unless they
have a “can do” attitude. If you let them, individuals and
whole groups can waste your time! If all they want to do is
argue or debate, move along.
Pitch in! Help out on other filmmakers’ shoots, to get a
better idea of how a set runs, and how long setups and shots
take. This helps scheduling your own film. By lending a hand
to other filmmakers, you also make deposits at the favor
bank. You will need to visit the favor bank repeatedly as
you make your film, so it’s best to have an account there.
If you help on their projects, it will be hard for your new
filmmaker friends to deny you assistance, when you call.
Put your face before the industry. Filmmaking associations
have events where industry professionals speak. Go to these.
Be bold, and push through the minions and introduce
yourself. Go to film festivals and be sure to attend the
mixers and panels. Go to film markets, and sit in the lobby
and talk to everyone.
When your financing comes through, and you have a green
light to start pre-production on your film, you will already
have done most of the work, just about everything but
casting. Your schedule and budget will be done, you will
have leads on crew and equipment, and your script will be in
top form.
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About The Author Angela Taylor is a Hollywood producer, and
a seven-time Telly Award winner. She teaches Independent
Producing at http://hollywoodseminars.com © 2005 Angela
Taylor, All Rights Reserved.
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Copyright (c) 2007 Peter D. Marshall / All Rights Reserved
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