Indie Filmmakers Talk About Where the Money Is

Have a strong, detailed business plan to present to potential investors if you want your independent film financed. That is what a group of directors and producers told an audience Sunday afternoon as they gathered to discuss how to get the money for indie films.

“A detailed business plan will help sell investors and will also keep them pacified later on while you’re editing it together,” said Christopher Racster, producer of Spork, Save Me, Say Uncle and other gay films. “Build and pitch to these people the same way you would for a bank.”

Director Casper Andreas (Violet Tendencies, Going Down in La-La Land) said he sells up to 50 percent of a film. For every $8,000 invested, the investor owns two percent of the film. If they buy four units, he gives them an executive producer credit.

“I sell an experience,” said Andreas. “I bring them on set, maybe give them a few lines, then later I fly them into festivals.”

Director Samantha Housman (Four-Faced Liar) agreed that dangling an executive producer credit in front of investors can often seal the deal.

“People love seeing their name in the credits,” Housman said, explaining that she got a lawyer and a dentist in Manhattan to write a check by giving them the executive producer credit.

Writer/producer Jennifer Arnold, who did the documentaries A Small Act and American Mullet, said she assures investors that they will get their money back before she pays herself.

Arnold pointed out that for documentaries, grants are often available. But these days, the grants often require the film to have some type of social impact, a way of changing the world with the information presented. That social impact requirement now greatly influences the subject matter for documentaries.

Chose the right subject matter

Even with feature films, choosing the proper subject matter is an important consideration. Racster said he knew that Spork, which deals with hermaphrodites, or intersex, would appeal to film festival programmers because it was an unusual topic.

“You can make a lot of money at festivals,” Racster said. He explained that the higher up of the film-festival food chain a movie plays, then you can charge screening fees to festivals lower on the chain. Outfest is considered the top tier of LGBT film festivals.

However, panelists noted that it is harder to get into mainstream film festivals once you have played the gay festival circuit.

Gay-related films have a built-in audience panelists explained. Racster said that gay films tend to bring in between $100,000 and $200,000 during their theatrical releases. The real money comes from the DVD releases.

“Theatrical releases are loss leaders,” Racster said. “But they do get you reviews in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times which can help with the DVD sale.”

Budgets 

Panel moderator Kevin Iwashina, managing partner in Preferred Content, a film production, sales and finance advisory company, asked about film budgets.

Panelists said it is important to create a realistic budget and stick to it. Every expense should be part of the budget, even things like Fed Ex expenses.

They note that the Screen Actors Guild will audit the books of a production. For films budgeted under $200,000, you can use the SAG ultra-low scale and pay actors $100 a day. Higher budgets mean higher pay for the SAG actors. 

Learning from mistakes

One important mistake these filmmakers learned was about getting clearances for the music, art and everything else that appears on the screen. Andreas said he spent considerable money on his first film digitally removing a piece of art work he didn’t have the rights to.

Housman concurred, saying she cut a trailer to a song she didn’t have the rights to and posted it on the internet. A few days later, she was faced with a lawsuit and had to beg lawyers to help her.

Similarly, when securing the rights, it is important to get the full rights from the outset. Director/editor Kyle Henry, who directed the 2005 film, The Room, said he got the film festival rights to a song for one of his early pictures. But when it came time to do a theatrical release, the rights to the music went up considerably, so much so that he opted not to buy it.  

The other important factor when making a movie is hiring good, experienced crew. Panelists warned against hiring someone because he is a friend. They advised to hire someone, because he is the best at what he does.

“Everyone on the crew will know better what they are doing that I do,” Racster said. “If I’m the smartest person on the project, then I’m in trouble.”