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Andrew McCarrick

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Looking for suggestions on how to raise the $15,000 I need for a feature. We're looking to shoot at the Eastern State Penitentairy in Philadelphia, and they're asking for $25 a person per hour, as a location fee. We need 20-25 people in there for 8 hours a day, for 5 days = $25,000.00. We're working on getting product placement, which will get us about $9000. Looking to shoot by the end of June or July.
 
Do you not already have a business plan for the $25K feature itself? Those costs are line items in the budget which would be available as part of the business plan. Any investor will want to see a plan and how you plan on recouping the expenses and how he/she will make a profit over what period of time.

Michael
 
MichaelP said:
Do you not already have a business plan for the $25K feature itself? Those costs are line items in the budget which would be available as part of the business plan. Any investor will want to see a plan and how you plan on recouping the expenses and how he/she will make a profit over what period of time.

Michael
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There's only two items, and that's the location fee and insurance. I don't see a point in doing a budget when it'll only have two lines. Crew is $0, Cast is $0, Equipment is $0.
 
At that level, I would imagine it would almost be easier to raise a lot more money and pay everyone, have a detailed budget and recoupment strategy and fully fund the project. I could never get that much money and then blow it ALL on location... imagine all the other stuff and production value that could get you....
 
Mister Stocks said:
At that level, I would imagine it would almost be easier to raise a lot more money and pay everyone, have a detailed budget and recoupment strategy and fully fund the project. I could never get that much money and then blow it ALL on location... imagine all the other stuff and production value that could get you....
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Have you seen Ghost Hunters on SyFy? That's the look we're going for. Hand Held, shot in IR, ect.

I guess I should say, we're getting two films out of this. Since it's the same cast, it'll be easier to knock out both of them in one set of 5 days. So it's basically $12.5k per film. So we basically have the first film covered, if the placement comes through.
 
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Again, it is about the business plan and how the investor will get his or her money back. You already have upped the ante by saying you are getting two films for the production cost of one. Good thing to put in a plan - the investor has two bites at the apple to ever see a return on the money. An investor doesn't really want to see budget (some may) but a plan to revenue is needed. And if all your money is tied up in production, it would raise a flag for me that you have no marketing in the budget - be it for festivals, to distributors, or directly to the end consumer. An investor wants to make sure you have what you need to be successful, rather than on the edge and fail.

Michael
 
I think you need to look hard at whether you really need that location, or if there is somewhere else you can get for free. It is not even remotely logical to spend that money on a location and not have any money left for anything else. What if you can't finish in five days, where are you going to get $5000 a day to continue. If this is public property and you are a resident, why aren't you getting it for free? Appeal to local government, get local press on your side. There is no reason why you should have to pay the "Hollywood" rate. Raise the $25,000 to pay your cast and crew, and show that you are contributing to the economy.
 
dop16mm said:
I think you need to look hard at whether you really need that location, or if there is somewhere else you can get for free. It is not even remotely logical to spend that money on a location and not have any money left for anything else. What if you can't finish in five days, where are you going to get $5000 a day to continue. If this is public property and you are a resident, why aren't you getting it for free? Appeal to local government, get local press on your side. There is no reason why you should have to pay the "Hollywood" rate. Raise the $25,000 to pay your cast and crew, and show that you are contributing to the economy.
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All filming done at that location is $25 a person per hour. Even to conduct a simple paranormal investigation, it's the exact same rate.

http://www.easternstate.org/visit/protocol.php

I don't see why anybody would be able to swing a discount.


I've tried to think of every location near by, and can't find anything. I've even tried a local church where my grandmother is the secretary, and I was told no. In fact, I wrote the script based around that location thinking it wouldn't be a problem. So I'm actually working on rewriting the script now, for Eastern State.
 
I live right outside of Philly, PA. I know Sean that runs Eastern state. Eastern State has been filmed to death with all the paranormal shows copy catting each other. It's old news by now. That is my opinion. I don't mean this to sound harsh by saying this... but I wouldn't watch your show just because it was filmed at Eastern state... I've seen the same thing way to many times. I would keep searching for a cheaper and less rehashed alternative location. How about the closed and run down steel mills in Bethlehem, PA? They have been used but not nearly as much as Eastern State. The old mills are very cool. Actually Robo Cop was filmed there a number of years ago. PA is loaded with old locations. You just really need to look around. If I were you I would do some intense scouting. I am sure you can come up with an alternative.
 
Andrew McCarrick said:
What do you think about the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum instead then?
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Without knowing what your script/storyline is about, it is hard to picture a location suitable to what you really need. Is the Trans-Allegheny the one in Wheeling WV? That also has had a lot of paranormal shows filmed there recently. But it is a better choice than Eastern State.

Are you doing a reality knock off of Ghost Hunters etc? Or is this a scripted feature movie? I am just curious. Honestly though, do you bring something different or better to the table, that hasn't been already done countless times? ... This whole paranormal thing has been really over saturated (imo). Is there a market for it and will you be able to find a broadcaster to pick this show up from you?

I really like the Booth brothers shows (Spooked TV), who are members and contributors here. They do more of a very polished documentary on the paranormal than a reality show. If you are spending a decent amount of money for the production, I think you must really consider the market, unless you already have a deal worked out in advance. Just some things to ponder. But I do wish you the best of luck and success on the project.
 
Alright... I'm completely stuck now.... Tried product placement and got shot down from every single company. Tried donations, haven't gotten anything in months of trying. Tried investors and a no go there as well. Any ideas? Credit Cards and Bank Loans are not an option, as I have no credit history.
 
Are you planning on shooting it and just hoping someone will want to pick it up and make it all pay off? If so, you have no chance to get investors to bite. How did you try to raise money? Did you list it on IndieGoGo and really promote the hell out of the project? You need to put in a lot of publicity and marketing work to make it pay off.
 
Snazzy Flapper said:
Are you planning on shooting it and just hoping someone will want to pick it up and make it all pay off? If so, you have no chance to get investors to bite. How did you try to raise money? Did you list it on IndieGoGo and really promote the hell out of the project? You need to put in a lot of publicity and marketing work to make it pay off.
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I have a whole site devoted to taking donations. http://makethemoviehappen.com, the problem is I can get any traffic to the site. This month I didn't even break 100 unique visitors. I've even tried to get a mention on the radio during a morning show out of Philadelphia, and keep getting blown off. We're self-distributing to a minimum of 40 theaters.
 
Andrew:

Welcome to the World of Film. It's hard to get funding for the best of projects and the difficulties you are experiencing are not unlike anyone has had to go through in the past, whether you're a first timer or a veteran.

My suggestion: Make a really, really, really good proposal and then a treatment complete with pics and/or storyboard. If you have footage already shot, include that too. You won't get funding for a paranormal or supernatural idea if your proposal and treatment isn't rock solid. It's not that it's a bad idea or been done to death (in reality, it kinda has but so has WWII, zombie and vampire flicks but they seem to sell still) but you need to make your idea that much better than the others that are being submitted.

It's a hard road to do, you may have to get people to work for free too as much as that sucks but in this economy, it's also reality.

Best of luck too... remember, if it was easy, everyone would be doing it.
 
dalethompson said:
Andrew:

My suggestion: Make a really, really, really good proposal and then a treatment complete with pics and/or storyboard. If you have footage already shot, include that too. You won't get funding for a paranormal or supernatural idea if your proposal and treatment isn't rock solid. It's not that it's a bad idea or been done to death (in reality, it kinda has but so has WWII, zombie and vampire flicks but they seem to sell still) but you need to make your idea that much better than the others that are being submitted.
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Well that's partly the issue.... there is no script yet, because it's going to be mostly written as cast and some is improved on set. The catch there is, we can't start writing, until we have a full cast and I can cover the cost for them to come up here and work on the script. So basically before we start writing we need the money. I want to be shooting in two months or I'm pushing the entire project back an entire year, or dumping it altogether. When it comes down to it, I'm sick not being able to get a project off the ground. In the past 6 years, I've attempted 4 projects (this being the fourth), and have had to shelf every single one of them so far.
 
Andrew, you're putting the cart before the horse. You're trying to run when you haven't even figured out how to walk, or even crawl.

Go make a short that wins awards at Sundance. THEN try talking to investors. You're going about it the wrong way -- nobody (except maybe your mom) will give you a penny until you're a proven entity and you can show them how they will get their money back with a proven business model.

Besides, you're trying to raise money in the middle of the second major economic depression, in the second-worst economic times in the last hundred years. Stop beating your head against the wall. It isn't going to happen. Nobody has speculation dollars anymore, and if they did have any, they're not going to take a complete flyer on an unknown who hasn't even started writing the script. It doesn't work that way.

If you want to see how raising money really works, there's a great little show on ABC called "Shark Tank." Has nothing to do with film, but it has everything to do with understanding who the money people are, and how they think, and what they want to see.
 
Barry_Green said:
Go make a short that wins awards at Sundance. THEN try talking to investors. You're going about it the wrong way -- nobody (except maybe your mom) will give you a penny until you're a proven entity and you can show them how they will get their money back with a proven business model.
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Another problem... I don't have the ability to write shorts. If I sit down to write a short, it turns into a feature. And I can't hire a writer, or for that afford to even shoot a short. I have $0 in my bank account and my mom is $35,000 in debt. I have no access to free locations, or any sound gear, or lighting gear. For that matter, I don't even have a tripod for my HV30.
 
Then (and please take this appropriately) IMO, you have no business asking other people for money. You are in no position to responsibly use funds that would be raised. You're not at a point in your life where you can realistically be soliciting investment from others.

Don't try to run before you walk. Get your feet under you first. Get financially stable first. Get a job, work hard, build up some cash reserves, produce some shorts, show off your skills. As someone who has occasionally funded projects for other DVXUsers here, I can tell you that unless you had a mindblowingly awesome project already done, I wouldn't consider extending funding to you at your current state. You're just not ready.

So get ready. Do the groundwork. No shortcuts, do the hard work.
 
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