The search for funding of a film
In the article of last week : the preparation continued, the projected budget. We have seen how and why it was necessary to make an estimate of the cost of your film.
This week we are going to talk about of possible sources of funding. This is a quick presentation of the various aids which you can claim, I’m not going in depth for each help, because this will be the subject of other articles.
Also I forget can be. Feel free to put a comment if you want that I add a source of funding that does not appear. But with this information you will already have what to do.
The production must find the necessary budget for the shoot. For this purpose it has several possibilities, whether it be a short film or a feature film.
You will find links allowing you to have all the necessary information for admissions, aid, etc…it doesn’t help that I make you a summary each time. The sites are very well done and explanatory documents very simple.
For an association or a production company, there are several possibilities of financing.
Company :
– The regions
– The CNC
– Bank loans*
Co – productions for French and foreign
– Tv channels
– Distributors*
– Procirep* (using between 12 000 and 50 000 euros)
– Procirep (short. Using between 2 500 and 10 000 euros)
*Only Feature-Length Film
Please note that to aid in the region, in general, the amount of assistance for a feature film oscillates between 150 000 and 200 000 euros. (I invite you to make contact with the structure which arranges the film in your area. Some of them are listed in the article : “finding funding in the region” (the link is in the paragraph below).
Association : (to the shorts)
– The regions (1) To apply for financial aid or in industry (hardware)
– Adami(2)**
– The CNC
– The site of crowfunding
– The commons
– Private companies
– Clap
(1) cf funding in the region
(2)** see how to produce a short film
You can also try all the scholarships and aid if you are eligible.
Foundation Lagard * re : Grant writer TV.
The amount of the scholarship : € 20 000.
This scholarship is awarded to a young screenwriter (co-writer accepted) with a draft of the tv movie, sitcom, mini-series, shorts, live action or computer-generated image.
Admission : to Be 35 years max and have already secured a writing contract (option, command, text, assignment of rights) with a producer of TV or the internet.
Groupama Gan foundation for the cinema : ATTENTION : this is only for the first feature-length film.
Admission : be a production company.
Amount of aid : 67 500€, distributed as follows : 60 000 euros for the producer and 7 500 euros for the director. The director touches the entirety of the aid at the signing of the convention, whereas the aid paid to the producer is divided in two : € 30,000 on proof of expenditure (in preparation), and 30 000 euros to the first day of shooting. Application form.
Beaumarchais : (writing Assistance) : For the short film or feature film.
The next commission is in July 2013, but the nominations are to be sent before the 13/03/2013 !! The commission next will take place in January 2014 and the deadline for submission of proposals is on 2/10/2013.
Admission : to have a project of short or long. Not have already had the help Beaumarchais.
Amount of assistance :
– 5 000 euros for a long
– 2 000 euros for a short
All means “legal” are good for finding money. But be careful ! Do not finance your films with YOUR MONEY ! NEVER ! this includes grandma and tata Suzanne ! Do not borrow money.
The economy and the negotiation are part of the research funding, I’ve talked about in the last article : quotes of estimates, but I would like to return to it.
The financing of a film, whether it is for a production company or for an association, the financing problems are the same, in effect, it is necessary to save money on rentals and/or on all the positions imaginable, because these savings are part of the funding.
I don’t need to remind you that we live in a period of economic dark, but it must continue to move forward. To save money, optimize positions, becomes a matter of survival. Moreover, it is not rare but common that a production requires all of its providers, rental companies and technical teams to make “an effort” more or less large sometimes !
If you climb up your first short, you will not be able to pay your technicians. If you edit your first feature, you will need to ask your team a effort wage less 20% to 30%.
It is for this reason that you need to be persistent, unifying and obviously have to have a super project. But be careful, this will not prevent you from trying to find the maximum amount of money to try to pay for it, even symbolically, your team (I’m talking about the short film !!). This is not because you get 20 000 euros in addition you have to lose all sense of measure and rent a crane rather than spending it to your team.
Despite all this, it may happen that this will not suffice to enter “nails” financial. As you look for digital or film, he will have to answer your phone and dealer, item by item, to have everything you need to turn in the best conditions.
ATTENTION : Don’t be too greedy at the risk of you to be left with nothing !!. Negotiation is the delicate balance between what you can bring, what you would like to save money and the limit that your service provider may not cross, under penalty of losing the money because in this case he will prefer not to rent you their equipment. Do not forget that every provider has operating expenses (fixed) but also that he must amortize his hardware before any.
If you are produced by a production company, it is their responsibility to search for funding. If you are produced by an association, you can find help, but, in general, it will be up to you to mount folders. Do not believe that it is easy, in one case as in the other, it will still take you mouilliez the shirt.
That’s it for the research funding.
There is another important step in the pre-production, before going really in preparation, they are : the locations.
But we will see this next week ;o)
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Soon,
Tom Weil