Saturday Night Special

Are you kidding me? I do a search for a filter, I come across this thread and start reading. A thread started over 1 year ago! I spend an hour reading 19 pages of posts. Hanging on every word! People are begging for trailers pics and the what not. I hear about the film festivals and the Lumen and yadda yadda, in the end there is still no damn trailer and the Lumen is dead?!? WTF!?
Dude...your killing me here! At least tell me what happend at the SFFF and what about the DVD? It's like readinga thriller novel and when you get to the who dunnit you find some bastard ripped the last 3 pages out of the book!
I need closure!
 
I'm really sorry to hear about that, Justin, and I hope that you'll be able to get just compensation and some day be able to release the lumen. Do you have any tips for seeing through problem-investors? It took me 21 years to finally learn how to see through the bullshit that most doctors give patients (I am a cancer survivor and have crohn's disease). I'm hoping it won't take me as long to navigate manipulative business partners.
 
Justin - incredibly sorry. The Lumen sounded exactly like what I, and many others have been looking for. I'm pretty certain that if I tried to build something like it myself, it might work and be useable, but wouldn't look professional and have few of the capabilities you'd designed into your enclosures. Hopefully, you still own the patents.
 
Prodigi Pictures said:
It took me awhile to learn how to deal with investors. I have quite a few comments about investors on the thread for A Lonely Place For Dying. I explain the type of investor I'm currently working with and why that is preferred.

Read the thread and then ask me some questions. If there is any one thing of I want to help DVXUsers learn it is that finding money is not the solution to their problems. Money always has strings, regardless of what is in a contract. And most investors will not treat you like a true partner. They want your talent but they would prefer you sit at the little kids table at dinner time.
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Hey Justin,

Sorry if my question was too vague. What I wanted to ask was if there were any easy 'tells' to signify that maybe it's not a good idea to work with this person. I've come to look for different things depending on profession when it comes to working with people. If they're a client I want them to be understanding and yet on-the-ball (if I go in for a half-hour reel demonstration and they sit and talk to me for two hours I think maybe this guy isn't the most organized). If it's a doctor I look for someone who's both sympathetic and posseses strong analytical reasoning, etc. Upon rereading some of your posts I realized you did touch on something like this in ALPD.

"I've worked with the wrong kind. Most professional investors are the wrong kind. You might as well call them what they are...white collar vampires. They may wear a $1,000.00 suit. Maybe they graduated from Harvard. But, don't confuse a Silicon Valley venture capitalist with a human being. They'll give you money, but they expect:
1.) To make 300-500% return on their money.
2.) To be in first position to recoup their money, above anyone else...including other investors. And they'll suggest ways for you to cheat other investors.
3.) For everyone else to make as little as possible. They don't want you to get rich. To them, it is a zero sum game and if you get rich that means they didn't get rich enough.
4.) To make their profit FAST.
5.) To cut corners as much as possible to increase profit...even if this means compromising the quality of the project."

I have a friend who is introducing me to a couple hedge fund managers whose firms specialize in investing in films and tv pilots. I'll keep these tips in mind. If I am offered anything I don't want to get blinded by the initial reaction of "Oh wow, this guy's giving me the money to make a movie" and forget the fact that maybe I'm giving up control of the movie / any chance of making a profit.
 
Prodigi Pictures said:
The #1 character trait your looking for is passivity. You want an investor who will let you be in control. If they overtalk you, if they interrupt you, if they display any type of controlling behavior it is best to walk away.

Everything else is secondary. Is it best if they are extremely intelligent? Yes, because they'll understand the nuances of your choices better. Is it best if they are knowledgeable about the industry? Sure, because they'll understand the counterintuitive elements of the industry.

But, none of this matters as much as being passive. Quiet, passive investors will not try to seize control of your company.
Click to expand...

I will be remembering this. Thanks...
 
Unfortunately I have had a lot of experience dealing with investors, both in the dot.com world, and now with film-financing.

The smartest investors will give you the money with an option to put more in at a later date if needed, and only take enough points to get their percentage back (which is usually at the most 20%). The smart investor knows that they know jack about your business, and that you're the pro or they wouldn't be investing in you.

The smart investor mentally kisses their money goodbye, but waits for you to come back to them in a year or so (whatever the term of the contract is) with their percentage.

I've been burned so many times that I'm now extremely picky about who gets to invest, and that has saved a lot of heartache.
 
Thanks so much Prodigi. I know that you are first and foremost an artist not a business man. I can't wait till you start posting stills and I can ask you questions like: "why did you arrange those characters so that if you drew a line between them it'd bisect the frame?" or "how were you able to get such amazing lighting?" Until then I'll continue to be amazed at and thankful for your patience and enthusiasm for answering questions about the business side of things.

davide
 
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