What is Better to Shoot for Fund Raising?

[Modern Day Myth Prod. LLC]

Originally, I was planning to script and shoot the teaser of a script I working on for fund raising a sequel to I, Creator. As some of you may know, a teaser is like the first 5 minutes of a movie with an explosive opening to draw people into the movie.

But, it is evolving into a whole introduction like Act One of a script. I'm introducing a new major character and two villains. I'm also showing the tensions between groups that will lead up to a revolution on an alien planet before the war starts. Act One can be between 20 and 30 minutes long. A 20 minute long work is used, from what I hear, in fund raising for movies to give investors a good sampling of the movie.

I can cut several trailers and teasers from that much footage.

Is it better? Or, should I just shoot the 5 minute piece and shorten my ideas?

 

[directorik]

It's very, very rare for either to work. People attempt
it all the time, but there are so few successes that I'd
be hard pressed to remember even one.

On the other hand, many feature films have been
developed from completed, award winning short films.
Not a teaser and not the first act, but a finished short
film.

Billy Bob Thorton - Sling Blade
Jared Hess - Peluca/Napoleon Dynamite
Sam Rami - Within The Woods/Evil Dead
Wes Anderson - Bottle Rocket
James Wan - Saw
Martin McDonagh - Six Shooter/In Bruges
David Gordon Green - Pleasant Grove/George Washington
Paul Thomas Anderson - The Dirk Diggler Story/Boogie Nights
Neill Blomkamp - District 9
Michael Davis - Shoot ‘Em Up
Paul Solet - Grace

 

[Modern Day Myth Prod. LLC]

Sam Raimi also went to AMA meetings and coonventions and showed the short on a projector to fundraise for The Evil Dead.

Maybe as a modern technology updated way, I can setup a web page with a teaser to entice people to watch the short for a $3 charge per view with PayPal. Add a nice poster art on the page. Maybe I can say on the page that prooceeds from viewing the short will be put in a fund to help with expenses for filming the feature?

 

[Zensteve]

I have a friend who's doing the "shoot the first 10 minutes, then shop around" thing right now.

I think he has more money than sense, and he knows the odds of this working are very slim - he's doing it anyway. He's very involved in the industry here, so maybe he's banking on bonus points for having professional connections. Who knows.

teaser to entice people to watch the short for a $3 charge per view with PayPal.

As a viewer/consumer, I would not even consider paying $3 to watch a teaser. Even if it was a complete self-contained short film, it would have to have something extremely compelling to make me fork over money, when there is so much hi-quality material out there that is 100% free.

You'd probably make more money by creating something that goes viral on YouTube, while being in one of the ad revenue-sharing programmes. Of course, how does one go about creating something viral from scratch? That's a whole other problem.

If the whole goal is to raise money, how about trying to sell some of your concept art on consumer goods such as t-shirts and coffee mugs? There are online stores that let you easily do that, and there are many fetish-markets that would love to have a mug with cartoonish muscley amazon women with oversized boobs staring back at them.

That reminds me - last May at Vegas IndieMeet, I met a fellow from Texas who makes short films (serial-style) of young female superheroes & supervillains. The acting (and storylines) were quite ridiculous, tbh, but entertaining I 'spose. He makes money from the members-only pay websites, that has galleries of all the young ladies in their cheesey costumes. No nekkid ladies, no pr0n, nothing like that. Just posing & flexing in cheesy spandex superhero costumes. He's playing to that particluar fetish, though, and makin' some good bucks by charging a monthly fee for access, and selling compilation DVDs of the short films.

 

[Papertwinproductions]

Maybe as a modern technology updated way, I can setup a web page with a teaser to entice people to watch the short for a $3 charge per view with PayPal. Add a nice poster art on the page. Maybe I can say on the page that prooceeds from viewing the short will be put in a fund to help with expenses for filming the feature?

Again, I couldn't possibly pay to watch a teaser, unless that is you're deciding to have the viewing of the movie for free. Amidst illegal downloading, the "cinema experience" apparently in decline, another factor is the prices, it would have to be unworldly devotion for anybody to pay to view a teaser.

This simply falls to distribution, how many sets of eyes see your "pitch"-what that is composed of, is up to you-. The more people that see your material, the better chance you've got of a significant number of people gaining interest, and paying for whatever it is you decide to sell, in aid to your funding.

A short film, for me, well made, has to aim for not only "The Festival buzz", but a respected one. Going "Viral" on Youtube, will help too. The two don't always partner eachother, but if it's something that appeals to the masses, i can't see why not.

Just work your fingers to the bone, and keep 'em crossed.

 

[directorik]

Sam Raimi also went to AMA meetings and coonventions and showed the short on a projector to fundraise for The Evil Dead.

Exactly my point. He had a completed short film. Not a teaser, not
act one. Do you know how much of the budget was raised that way?
Are you prepared to take your act one or teaser to meetings and
conventions, screen it and ask for money for the feature? There are
a lot more conventions now that there were back then.

Maybe as a modern technology updated way, I can setup a web page with a teaser to entice people to watch the short for a $3 charge per view with PayPal. Add a nice poster art on the page. Maybe I can say on the page that prooceeds from viewing the short will be put in a fund to help with expenses for filming the feature?

Think about your viewing habits and ask your friends about theirs.

How often do you pay to watch a teaser? A teaser made by people
you don’t know starring actors you’ve never heard of. Ask your
friends if they would do that. Not pay to watch your teaser, but
pay to watch a teaser made by people they don’t know starring
actors they’ve never heard of meant to raise funding for a movie.

There are websites set up to do just this. People post their
project and ask for donations. I’m sure you’re aware of them. How
many times have you, a filmmaker, donated money to a fellow
filmmaker you don’t know? Ask your friends how often they donate.

My point being: YOU don’t do it. I don’t do it. Zensteve doesn’t
do it. Papertwin doesn't do it. I have yet to meet anyone who
does it. So how do those sites work? Their friends and family
donate. Perhaps they get friends of friends to donate.

Don’t take my comments as suggesting you shouldn’t do it. If you
can get 10,000 people to pay $3 to watch your teaser you will have
$30,000 minus all the costs. How much to you need to make your
movie?

 

[Modern Day Myth Prod. LLC]

Okay. It's obvious I did not ask the question clearly enough by the number of people who don't understand what I am asking. So, I'll try it again.







Maybe I should create a web page with lots of tags to draw viewers and a FREE teaser to preview the short for FREE to get people to want to watch a complete short for a $3 per view charge to fundraise for the sequel. There will be spicey pictures on the page with the teaser to entice people to want to pay to see the short on a PayPal page connected by a link, which will be a prequel to the movie like on thr tv series 24 a 2 hour movie called REDEMPTION was a prequel to season 7. The movie and prequel to proceed the movie will feature beautiful Amazons in great science fiction costumes as human soldiers and the Cyborg Black Ops Special Forces, the goddess Artemis in disguise as a human army medic from Greek and Roman mythology reimaged for the future world of the story where humans are disenchanted of the gods, all new cool looking alien predators, better action. better cinamatography, and better sound with great music. All this will be visible on the web page. The fan base of the original will check it out and recommend it to their friends. So far, the original is drawing a fan base in the UK and Canada.







There web sites around the Internet that use my suggested approach.

 

[Papertwinproductions]

Still, with your edited statement, ours is still viable, that profit is rarely gained via a short film. There's simply no money-in.

With so much variety, for free, why would anybody pay to see a short-film?

I must note, that you have mentioned a fan base of the original, would benefit your project. May i add, it could have the opposite effect, and hinder, as your material comes with a fee, possible free publicity to your work.

 

[Adeimantus]

We'll be shooting a self-contained short "in the style of" the proposed feature. We have some funding, but we're hoping to secure additional investors. So, we've already set up several one-on-one pitch meetings at the American Film Market (http://www.afma.com/) in November, and we'll have the completed short and a full-length script under our arms (assuming I have it finished by then ) when we show up.

Since we intend to shoot in either Spain or Puerto Rico, we are targeting Spanish production companies, as well as literary and historical societies in those countries who we hope to get logistical and technical support from.

Worst-case scenario, the genius of the short and my script don't penetrate and we are left to fall back on what funding we do have, in which case we just scale back our production and shoot it in Santa Barbara and environs and try our best to make it look like 1930's Spain.



on edit: The people I've talked to, including the director, are convinced the only way to go is with a 10 minute short (long enough to exhibit craft and the "feel" of the proposed feature, but not so long as to bore or take up too much time from a production exec) that is, in itself, a fully viable dramatic entity, with beginning, middle and end. The point is NOT to show an excerpt of the feature, but to have someone view the short, be blown away by its technical competence and vision, and say "Hell, I'd love to see an entire feature on the same subject and in the same style."

 

[Modern Day Myth Prod. LLC]

Still, with your edited statement, ours is still viable, that profit is rarely gained via a short film. There's simply no money-in.



With so much variety, for free, why would anybody pay to see a short-film?



I must note, that you have mentioned a fan base of the original, would benefit your project. May i add, it could have the opposite effect, and hinder, as your material comes with a fee, possible free publicity to your work.

People will also buy cheap bootlegs or look for free torrent downloads.

But, there are also fans who will support a series or sequels because they like the cast, characters, and what the producers are doing.

I was reading that the digital age and the Internet are powerful tools that can help independent filmmakers to level the playing field with the studios with their great financial resources.

There are fans who like the 4 minute preview of the original with its bad sound, lighting, and camera work. They've put in orders to buy the DVD. So, paying for movies is still the way to go. I have a friend lined up I've known a few years who is an award winning filmmaker to DP the short and sequel. He's suggestiing to add lots more action than the original because it will appeal to a larger part of the globe. So, we will. Fans like to see sequels and new episodes getting better too. A true fan will support what they like to see.

I'm hoping to generate some money at NY Comic Con and get new fans there this October. I hope to get disks of the feature 100 minutes of I, Creator printing starting next week. I'm getting good feedback on the audio from everyone testing the beta copies that the sound is much better.

Another friend gave me a link of where to rent retro science fiction props.

 

[Modern Day Myth Prod. LLC]

We'll be shooting a self-contained short "in the style of" the proposed feature. We have some funding, but we're hoping to secure additional investors. So, we've already set up several one-on-one pitch meetings at the American Film Market (http://www.afma.com/) in November, and we'll have the completed short and a full-length script under our arms (assuming I have it finished by then ) when we show up.

Since we intend to shoot in either Spain or Puerto Rico, we are targeting Spanish production companies, as well as literary and historical societies in those countries who we hope to get logistical and technical support from.

Worst-case scenario, the genius of the short and my script don't penetrate and we are left to fall back on what funding we do have, in which case we just scale back our production and shoot it in Santa Barbara and environs and try our best to make it look like 1930's Spain.



on edit: The people I've talked to, including the director, are convinced the only way to go is with a 10 minute short (long enough to exhibit craft and the "feel" of the proposed feature, but not so long as to bore or take up too much time from a production exec) that is, in itself, a fully viable dramatic entity, with beginning, middle and end. The point is NOT to show an excerpt of the feature, but to have someone view the short, be blown away by its technical competence and vision, and say "Hell, I'd love to see an entire feature on the same subject and in the same style."

Thank you for sharing. I know that is an approach a lot of independent filmmakers will take.

I'm sure there are investors. But, there are also fans who support what they like.

I should have bookmarked the web site I read the article on. But, it spoke about the importance of building a fan base. The biggest mistake too many independent filmmakers make is not considering it. You build a fan base by bringing back actors to reprise their roles as characters in sequels and new episodes in series. Fans always want to see more of their favorite actors and characters.

 

[directorik]

Okay. It's obvious I did not ask the question clearly enough by the number of people who don't understand what I am asking. So, I'll try it again.

I think you asked your question clearly enough. Maybe you didn’t
like the answers you got.

You have a plan you want to try. You should try it.

I’ve read a lot of articles and blogs about building a fan base.
It sure sounds like a reasonable plan. Which brings me to my
original question to you:

How many films are YOU (and your friends and family) fans of? I’m
talking only about films made by people you don’t know starring
actors you’ve never heard of. Do you follow films like this on
line and then pay to see them when they are finished? Just curious
if you (or anyone you know) follows any filmmakers progress and then
actually buys the finished film.

I love the idea of it so I’m not putting down this method. I hope
it works for you.

I'm looking for success stories. I've been working on a documentary
about these financing methods for over a year now. All the filmmakers
I have followed and interviewed are still trying. None have made enough
money to make their movie.

Yet...

 

[Papertwinproductions]

The point is NOT to show an excerpt of the feature, but to have someone view the short, be blown away by its technical competence and vision, and say "Hell, I'd love to see an entire feature on the same subject and in the same style."

Exactly.

 

[Modern Day Myth Prod. LLC]

Exactly.

Is this where filmmakers make 20 shorts to show distributors to secure presales money?

I had a "producer" approach me a few years ago about a script I wrote about another image I created for the goddess, Artemis. He thought the idea had legs. He wanted me to come up with $10,000 and he would make the 20 minute short, based on the script called RED ARTEMIS to secure a distributor and presales for the feature.

So, I'm bring the goddess into the short and feature script with a different image. She will be kinder, gentler, and walk around among mortals in disguise at times as one of them to understand them better.

I told that "producer," if I'm the writer and he is the producer, he should be paying me to option the script. I had that same script up for sale on Inktip.com. Some production companies read the script and synopsis over 3 and 4 times, but did not contact me. So, there must have been interest.

 

[Modern Day Myth Prod. LLC]

I think you asked your question clearly enough. Maybe you didn’t
like the answers you got.

You have a plan you want to try. You should try it.

I’ve read a lot of articles and blogs about building a fan base.
It sure sounds like a reasonable plan. Which brings me to my
original question to you:

How many films are YOU (and your friends and family) fans of? I’m
talking only about films made by people you don’t know starring
actors you’ve never heard of. Do you follow films like this on
line and then pay to see them when they are finished? Just curious
if you (or anyone you know) follows any filmmakers progress and then
actually buys the finished film.

I love the idea of it so I’m not putting down this method. I hope
it works for you.

I'm looking for success stories. I've been working on a documentary
about these financing methods for over a year now. All the filmmakers
I have followed and interviewed are still trying. None have made enough
money to make their movie.

Yet...

Thanks!

Part of what will make it work, IF it works, is a marketing plan.

I have an idea of who the market is that I'm targeting. I'm looking for an overseas market where made in the USA is more important than name talent and a story that people already know with a proven track record of making money. The Internet makes it possible to reach out to the world. I was very surprised that people in the UK would like the look and production values of my ultra low budget movie. I was expecting Japan and other parts of Asia would like it. But, if the 4 minute preview wasn't on YouTube and DailyMotion, this audience may have never seen the 4 minute preview to get interested. People underestimate DailyMotion.com. It has the second largest audience of viewers worldwide after YouTube.

I'm looking to make a teaser, trailer, and spots from the footage of the short to market around to build a fan base. A good strategy to keep in mind that the characters, story, and actors need to be introduced to the world. Most independent filmmakers believe that the public can read their minds and less is more--NO. Look at how a studio promots a movie or TV series. They spell everything out. Their success proves they have a better handle of how to market and promote than independent filmmakers who need to take a page out of the studio productions' play book.

1. Make spots where an actor introduces themselves and talks about the charcter they will be playing and a little something about the movie or episode to start and interest.

2. Make trailers that introduce the lead characters and the conflict.

3. Have promotional material to hand out at shows.

4. Attend shows where the fans are--NOT Festivals. How is the public ever going to know about your movie, web series, or TV show idea if you never go and meet the public? I'm going to NY Comic Con to promote my movie to meet fans of science fiction and comic books because I, Creator will be right up the alley of some percentage of the fans attending. Last year, 77,000 fans attended. Suddenly, fans will know about I, Creator. If they like what they see, word of mouth will attract more fans.

filmmakers and actors looking for work attend film festivals more than fans. In small festivals, ONLY independent filmmakers and actors looking for work attend. So, filmmakers need to go where the fans are.

If we talk about the sequel and the short at NY Comic Con, fans will look out for it if they like what they see with the original.

In signing on as an exhibitor at NY Comic Con, I had to agree that we may be on camera for the David Letterman Show--imagine that? Wouldn't that help with publicity if David Letterman approachs us to talk about I, Creator?

And so it begins . . .

 

[Gonzo_Entertainment]

I didn't write my current short for that purpose, it's a completed narrative, but it could easily be fleshed out into a feature by providing a lot of the detail merely implied by the short, and by a more full treatment of the characters. So I view it as, I did the short for the purpose of doing the short, but if it does well, I might try and parlay that into a potential feature.

 

[Modern Day Myth Prod. LLC]

I've decided that putting out a short before the feature sequel is a good idea because it will be a prequel to the feature, filling a gap of information for viewers to better understand the social structure and social problems of the extraterrestrial world I'm creating for the movie in the sequel.

It will be like REDEMPTION was to Season 7 of 24.