Private funding versus funding programs, selling your doc.

[starcentral]

I'm considering producing a documentary here in Canada and as far as funding programs offered by government, broadcasters, and some communication companies, has anyone here had any experience success or failure just producing it on your own and selling (licensing) to a broadcaster after the fact?

I know very well that broadcasters like to take part in the development and production of your idea and will gladly fund aspects of the cost - however not without strict guidelines like giving up overall creative control, working only with federally incorporated production companies and crew, and requirements that you must have prior published work either on TV or in festivals.

Don't get me wrong, I completely understand the beaurocracy at hand here when it comes down to a company giving a completely "unknown" and independant producer money for their production - but from the research I have done a broadcaster is only going to give you X percentage of your total budget in form of a license fee anyway, so it means to get a good license fee you have to have a high budget, but most funding sources will only fund so much, so the rest of it, is you guessed it, out of pocket!

 

[dop16mm]

And there's the rub. I don't know how they do it either. It's all a big mess, and for new guys, good luck, the system is oversubscribed by the established players. The license fees are set at the minimum levels needed to trigger the government money, which you can't get after the fact. All things have to be set up on paper before you roll or you'll never see anything. I've heard stories of productions going on spec and getting maybe a $5000 license on the finished product and no access to the grants or top-up funds because it is already finished. Can't even get anything out of the tax credit, because films made for no money have no salaries to credit back from. At least in fiction I think the independents working without grant money are banking on foreign sales and tax credits.