Finding Film Financing – Can It Be Taught?

A friend of mine told me that he is very interested in opening a Film Financing School in Los Angeles. The school would deliver a series of comprehensive courses by industry professionals. His investors have asked him why no one else has done it before. My friend asked me how I would respond to that question. When I started to answer him, I realized that I needed to find out what others thought. Please feel free to chip in with your opinion.

FINDING FINANCING IS A GAME OF CREATING CONFIDENCE

Finding financing is primarily a game of creating confidence – this is true of any business, but especially of film financing. Those who have expendable income can afford to have professional investment advisers. Those advisers are allergic to risk – period. This is not only true of “Accredited Investors” (those who the Securities Commission have defined as being open to general solicitation of funds) but also of the Major Studios.

REDUCING RISK FOR INVESTORS

So, Film Financing is a game of reducing the risk for investors. Reducing risks CAN be taught. It just isn’t taught in film schools, and is only very rarely addressed in graduate schools. Remember that those with expendable income generally have a wide spectrum of ways to invest their funds. Film is risky; however, it is also sexy, and if a large amount of the risk is eliminated through good business practice I believe that investors will come.

CREATIVE BUSINESS PRACTICES

How do you reduce the risk? The answer could generally be split into two fields: the creative script, and creatively performing the business of film and television.

The creative script is where 90% of the effort is placed, and that’s why so few Indies make it. The writing and casting of the script is left alone here. That is something that the film schools DO know how to teach. In this blog let’s look only at the creative business practices and what it takes to reduce risks as perceived by the investor.

FILM FINANCING – WHAT IS THE BEST COURSE CONTENT

Here is where I need your help. Can you give me feedback as to what you would like to learn in order to make film financing a possibility for you? These are the categories that I feel are needed. Each of these courses/categories could be attended separately; however, it would be best in sequence. These categories are well in advance of most of what’s on the web. Please let me know how you feel about it, especially if you would rather do it online, as opposed to going to LA to attend in person :

1. Film Budgeting and Scheduling: using Excel and/or Movie Magic applied to an actual script.
2. State Tax Incentive estimating on at least three film friendly States (say, Georgia, Louisiana and California), utilizing the film budget and shooting schedule completed above. Once an estimation is learned, then the student must learn how to best monetize that tax credit estimate.
3. Process “An Offer to Sell Securities”, otherwise known as Crowd Funding, applying the current rules and forms per the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
4. Prepare Cash Flow Schedules (both cash expended and cash funding arranged/postulated) acceptable by a bank as part of a Bank Loan Process. Use the Film Budget as the basis for the cash expended and the State Tax Credits, Pre-Sales to specific territories and Equity expected as the cash funding arranged/postulated.
5. Process a mock bank loan based on an actual loan processed to experience the range of legal and accounting documents required by the banker and the Completion Guarantor. Use the cash flows above as the basis to estimate the loan interest.
6. An introduction to the Guilds and Unions of the film industry: What are the general rules of payment and fringe due per the rules of the Writers Guild, the Screen Actors Guild, the Director’s Guild and the IATSE crew unions. How does the residual system work and what are the budgeting and cash flow obligations which the producer must manage.
7. Film Production Cost Control Points for both producers and accountants: The investors need to know that you have the ability to control production; otherwise the investors will cut you out of the process very early on. The only way for them to have confidence in you is if you can demonstrate an understanding of film industry specific production workflows, forms and practices, including your relationship with the Completion Guarantor through the weekly Cost Report.
8. Final Business Plan: Bring together all of the above into a final business plan that is professional looking, scalable and defensible.
9. Salesmanship: reenactments of pitching investors with the business plan above, pitching the script, assuring investors that you CAN control the costs during production, etc. This level is very much a practical where the student will bring together all of his/her knowledge of the line items above.
10. Other: There are certain legal templates used to Incorporate as an LLC, to acquire Rights Ownership, to write Distribution Agreements, format Pre-Sales of Rights to Territories, Equity sweeteners, etc that can either be introduced within the subjects above, or brought into the mix after acquiring the knowledge above.

 

Each of the 9 items above would have a unique curriculum.

QUESTIONS

There is no guarantee that the Semester Credits would count towards a degree in another university. Is that important to you?

Does this comprehensive course appeal to you? Would it be better delivered in person, or online?

All for now,

Cheers / John