Filmmakers hate writing business plans!

If you're a filmmaker like me, you probably hate writing film business plans, or are so daunted by the idea of writing one that you keep postponing it. And there's not a whole lot of great information on how to write your own film business plan out there that's freely available, so I know first-hand that learning how to write your own business plan can be pretty intimidating, and overwhelming.

Personally, I've spent way too much time researching and writing and re-writing film business plans for my films, when I could be out there raising money, taking meetings with potential investors, or even making the films themselves.  But I have to admit, a well-written, comprehensive film business plan is a great way to separate the professional filmmakers from the amateurs when it comes to raising money. 

What exactly is a film business plan?

A film business plan, put simply, is just a document of text (usually between 10-50 pages) that serves up information to potential investors about the film you're trying to raise money for so that you can afford to make said film. Think of it like an informational brochure for your potential investors to get a feel for what you're asking them to invest in. The information can be as detailed or as sparse as you like, but usually at least has to be comprehensive enough to be able to answer the following questions that a potential film investor would ask:

"Who are you, and why should I trust you with my money?"

"What films have you done before?"

"What's this film you're making?  What's it all about?  Who's in it?  Any stars? Let me read a synopsis."

"Who all is on your team?  Are they good at what they do?  Do they have experience?  What's a DP?"

"Who is your target market?  Seniors?  High school / college kids?  Fans of horror movies?  Sports aficionados?  What makes you think they'll like this film?"

"How does this whole Hollywood thing work?  How does a film get made in general?  What's pre-production, production, post-production, marketing, festivals, etc?"  

"Show me how you guys are going to make this film happen.  When does shooting begin?  Can I be on set?  Can my daughter be in it?"

"So how does the money come in?  When it comes in, where does it go first?  When do I get paid?  When do the other investors get paid?  When do you guys get paid?  Before me?  After me?  Do I get it in one big lump sum?"

"What about DVD sales?  What about t-shirts?  Do I get a piece of that?"

"What if the film makes no money?  What's the plan?  Do I lose my investment?"

You've got to put together a professional package that excites potential investors about your film, explains to them how it's going to get made, and show them how they're going to get their money back.  It's a tall order, and one that a lot of filmmakers get bogged down in.

So my film production company and I decided we'd put this website up, in order to help other filmmakers put together their own business plans. And there's three different ways we do that. The first is we've set up a sort of "general tutorial" on what should go into your own film business plan should you decide to write one from scratch on your own. The second is a service where we offer to write your film business plan for you. And the third, and probably the most appealing to most filmmakers out there, due to it's speed and affordability, is to offer our actual film business plan for download, one which we've actually used to raise over $200,000 for two feature films we've made recently.

Wait a sec, do I even NEED a film business plan?

If you intend to raise money from serious private film investors, attract a talented cast or crew who may agree to work on your film for a discounted rate, or nudge vendors your way with free donations and services, then YES, you probably need a film business plan. If you're just planning on packaging your script with name talent and shopping it around at the mini-majors, studios, production houses, or agencies, then you could probably get away with not having to write a film business plan. But if you're like most independent filmmakers, you're still trying to get your first or second foot in the door, and don't have the cash or the connections to package a film and get name actors aboard.

But even still, a film business plan can't hurt even in that scenario. Why? Think of your film as a train. As soon as you finish the script (or acquire the script from the writer), that train is inert. It's sitting there at the station, with just you and maybe a small handful of people aboard it. You need more people aboard to help get it to go. The more great people you get aboard your "train," the more momentum it has. The more momentum it has, the faster it becomes a real movie, in production, shooting on location, and coming to life. Momentum is a film's lifeblood. if you lose momentum on your film at any stage in the game, let alone the critical stage of raising the initial money to get it made, your film could wither and die. Or worse, implode.

A film business plan is one of the most valuable weapons you can have in your arsenal as a filmmaker who's trying to get your film moving, the necessary investors and talent aboard, and on its way to getting made. Because it shows you have, well, a PLAN. A film with a film business plan automatically stands apart from the rest of the films out there trying to get made. Most filmmakers just run around with their script and hope investors connect with the script and give them money. But a filmmaker with his own film business plan AND a script, that gives your project the extra mojo it needs to make it to the next level. That being said, a bad film business plan isn't going to help you any.

Can I raise money for my film without a film business plan?

Yes. Absolutely. Filmmakers do it all the time. Like I mentioned above, you could package your film with an A-list or B-list actor, attract other name talent onto it with those names, and get going now that you have a "package" with "bankable" talent aboard that the standard Hollywood film financiers/studios/etc can get behind. A name actor or director means less risk for their money. They know that NAME ACTOR A's last picture brought in $31 million at the box office, or that NAME ACTOR B has a 20-year history of making profitable films, and is a household name. Of course, you'll have a hard time getting a name actor to sign aboard your film unless you have money in the bank and can prove to the actor's agent that you can pay his salary.

Or you might even be such a great pitch artist that you can wow any potential film investor with your salesmanship and your pitching talent. That's certainly been done before, and it's certainly possible, if not entirely likely, to succeed.

And then there's the other route you can go: credit cards, borrowing money from your parents, having a bake sale or a pizza party, or worse, a film festival to raise money. Or you can just keep getting your script out to people with money, who may or may not be associated with the film industry, and hope that one of them takes a shine to your script and becomes an "angel investor" who showers you with money and whom you don't see until the premiere.

And that's pretty unlikely, as most private investors who are attracted to investing in film because "they've always wanted to be in movies" usually don't stay away from set, and like to be near all the action, so there's a good chance these "angel" investors might end up being quite the pain. There's a million ways to fund a film, and not all of them require your film having a film business plan. So take heart. It's just a far easier route for you to take if your film has a solid film business plan behind it.

As I mentioned, there are three different ways to put together a film business plan that our site focuses on. Click on the links below and find out which is the method that works best for you:

1) Write your own film business plan from scratch.
2) Buy a film business plan template and modify it to fit your film.
3) Have us write a custom film business plan for you