Copyright © Steve Buissinne and made available under CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0)

The reality is that movies can take a lot of money to make if you want to produce something professional, and it isn’t always possible for just one person (you) to do enough odd jobs to get a film made. Below are some examples of how many filmmakers approach fundraising for their movie ideas.

1. Family, Friends, and Their Networks

The very first place where a lot of filmmakers start looking for funding is their immediate circle of family and friends. You can ask them for a loan, donations or you can offer them special incentives to become an investor in the film. You can also ask them to just help spread the word about your project and the fact that you’re looking for investors to see if there is anyone else in their networks at school or work who may be interested in becoming partners with you.

2. Cast & Crew

One way to help reduce your expenses is by making arrangements with interested cast and crew members to give them something other than a paycheck in exchange for their time and expertise. Some cast and crew members may be willing to invest their time and skills in return for a credit, a longstanding relationship, a clip for their demo reel, etc.

3. Events

Some filmmakers have hosted special events, wrap parties, raffles, and more to help raise money.

Check out some fundraising ideas via TheCreativeMindGroup.com (Page 4)

4. Contests & Competitions

If you look around online, you may come across some contests that you can enter to win monetary prizes, such as screenwriting, short film or feature film competitions.

5. Grants & Tax Incentives

There are private filmmaking grants available as well as government-funded grants that you can apply for to help subsidize the cost of producing your film project. There are also local jurisdictions you can contact to see if they have any tax incentives to offer you if you film locally.

6. Investors

Individual investors are another popular source of funding for film projects. Networking with the right groups of people can lead you to wealthy individuals who are interested in exploring a variety of investment options – one of which could be your film.

7. Crowdfunding

There are websites like KickStarter.com and IndieGoGo where you can put your movie pitch up there and get funded for it. Check out previous projects that were successful and see what they did right.

Click here to explore the “Most Funded” Film & Video projects on KickStarter.com
Click here to explore the “Most Funded” Film projects on IndieGoGo.com

8. Credit Cards & Business Loans

If you have excellent credit and a lot of faith in yourself to pay back a loan with interest, another option you can explore is to pay for your production via a business loan or credit cards. Of course, it may be a bit more difficult to convince a bank to loan you money for a film considering that they’re extremely risky investments, but it’s not impossible!

Here’s an infographic showing low budget films financed with credit cards: How Low Budget Films Get Financed

9. Equipment Donations & Product Placement Financing

Another way that you can cut costs is to reach out to local schools and universities as well as local businesses and residents to see if they may be interested in donating or letting you borrow equipment or even a location that you need for your project

You can also contact brand managers to see if a company might be interested in paying for product placement in scenes throughout the movie. In Minority Report, Lexus, Bulgari and American Express paid a combined total of $20 million for product placement. You can also see if a company would be interested in just donating or loaning some of their products as props for filming.

More Information

For more information about how to raise money for your film project, check these links out:

FilmMakingStuff.com – The Secret of Pitching to Film Investors (Shhhh. Don’t tell.)
PremiumBeat.com – How to Raise Money for Your Indie Film
LightsFilmSchool.com – Beginner’s Guide to Independent Film Financing (5 Parts – Be sure to check them all out!)
RainDance.org – 10 Routes to Finance Your Film
TheEntertainmentExpert.com – Indie Film Financing: A Banker’s Perspective on Banks, Hedgefunds and New Distribution Platforms

Note: It is very important that you learn all of the requirements necessary to comply with federal and state laws regarding investments sought from private individuals and those sought from the general public.

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