Film Funding

Funding Method: The BFI

The BFI are an organisation that uses Lottery funds to support film development, production and
distribution in the UK. This helpful that it is an organisation that has little influence on the idea that
you produce and just provide the funding. The process you have to go through to receive this
funding includes first of all completing an online application, you have to submit two written
proposals one creative and one strategic. After this has been submitted and reviewed they will
then send the person an email within 8 weeks that either they are rejecting you or accepting your
application. This then will lead to a meeting where all members of the production should attend,
after this has been done and funding has been decided then the BFI will send a letter of intent. After
this you will have to enter into an agreement with the BFI that sets out the terms and conditions of
their funding. After all this has been done the funding will be received and you can begin on your
project.
Pros:
It covers first-time filmmakers.
Provide a large amount of funding (100,000)
There is a termination provision.
No influencing of your film idea.
Cons:
They dont fund short films.
Must have a director and producer already.
Dont accept applicants from a sole writer, director and producer.
Need to provide BFI with a net profit share.
Has to be within the UK or the European Union.
Their funding is only a contribution towards the costs of the film.
Has to be fictional or documentary.
Cant be a short film, programme, series or intended for TV.
The lead characters have to be British.
Has to be based in Britain.
Has to represent British culture.
They will not fully fund your project.
Expect you to fund other finance towards the film.
You need to repay them for development funding, which has to be no later than the first day
of principal photography of the film.
Overall I believe the BFI are a good company to receive funding from as they are able to produce a
large amount of funds. There is seemingly no influence on your idea and they just decide if they like
it or not, the process is quite long but can also be helpful to developing your film further. If you are
someone that has a clear idea of what you want your production to be and it all follows the terms of
it being within a British culture then it may be quite easy to receive the funding.
Source: http://www.bfi.org.uk/supporting-uk-film/funding-filmmakers

Funding method: Crowd funding
Crowd funding is the idea of receiving small amounts of money from a lot of people to create a large
sum of money. Kickstarter is an organisation that does crowd funding and they fund things from
films, games and music to art, design and technology. They ask the general public to part with small
amounts of their money and if this is done numerous times and the general public like the project
than a lot of money can be made.
The way to receive funding is done online, first of all you need to build your project and post it on
the Kickstarter website, and they guide you through the process so that you can make it clear. You
then receive feedback from your friends and choose what improvements need to be made. Once
you feel your project is ready then it is time to launch it, from this point on you can track your
funding progress and see what people are backing your project. Once the amount you have
requested for has been received, you then have the money available to begin your project, it is
suggested that you keep your backers in the loop and let them know how its going. You can choose
to send rewards to your backers and some projects put some of their profit towards their backers.
Pros:
Kickstarter have made $1 billion so far.
The film producer will have complete control and responsibility for the project.
Creators keep 100% ownership.
Its a popular idea so that means films are more likely to be funded.
Already creates a fan base.
No limit on how much backers can give.
Cons:
Difficult to get strangers to part with their money.
All or nothing funding, meaning if the general public do not like your idea that your film
wont be published.
Only really viable for documentary projects.
You must create something that you are able to share with others.
They must be honest and clearly presented.
Projects cant fundraise for charity, offer financial incentives or involve prohibited items.
They restrict anything illegal, heavily regulated, or potentially dangerous for backers.
Overall I believe that Crowd Funding such as Kickstarter is a good way to receive funding for your
project as you are solely the ones that are in charge of what you create. You have 100% ownership
and you dont have to repay your backers for any money the give you although it is optional once
the project is over. Although it may be difficult to get backing from the general public and it may be
a long and slow process, and you might not get any backers at all.
Source: https://www.kickstarter.com/

Funding method: Competitions
Competitions are a good way to create a project to receive a prize amount of money at the end to
help support your future film making. The 48 hour film project is an example of this; they give you 48
hours to create a production that will be shown within a theatre, you will be assigned a character, a
prop, a line of dialogue and a genre that must be included within your movie. It is done over a
weekend and you could be in with a chance of $5,000.
Pros:
Receive good experience.
Good for people that need experience more than money.
Their production gets shown within a theatre.
Could win a sum of money that can assist you within your next production.
Cons:
Have to pay a sum of money to enter.
Dont receive any support.
Not a good chance of winning.
Wont receive enough funding to make a proper production.
Will have to be accustomed around what the competitions rules are, most probably not free
to make your own choices.
Most probably a short time period would be given.
Most probably no support for future productions.
Overall I believe that competitions is not the best way to receive funding, you many only receive
funding for a production that is based around the competition rules and you will not be free to make
your own choices as see by the 48 Hour Project website. This means that the funding will only
probably profit the company that are holding the competition and there is a slim chance of you
winning the competition yourself and prize will not cover the costs of future products. This is most
probably the least reliable one and is only helpful if you are in need of experience of making a
production.
Source: http://www.48hourfilm.com/tour/how.php

Funding method: Charity
A number of charities fund short films, but it is dependent on the sort of film you are making. Fiscal
Sponsorship (Women Make Movies) allows a non-commercial project to apply for funding that
requires a non-profit status.
The way to require funding is to give your application in to their office by certain deadline dates;
they review on a case-by-case basis. To apply you need to submit the proposal package that you can
get online and a statement explaining your need for their sponsorship. Your project needs to have
certain requirements to be eligible, it needs to be a non-commercial film, video or multimedia
project. The project needs to directed by a woman and you need to be a US citizen. The project
proposal should reflect the person ability to develop a quality project proposal, it can be about any
topic but the film must not reflect values that are racist or sexist.
Pros:
You can choose what profit you make for you film is used for in a charity based way.
They do not take any rights from the producer; all rights are of the producer.
Have no influence on your production.
The company will assist and hold meeting to see how the project is getting on.
There is some form of individuality to the project and to some degree you have full control
of what you produce.
Could receive a large amount of money.
Support the work of emerging filmmakers.
Cons:
Receive no profit, has to be purely for a charity based reason.
It is not a guarantee of distribution.
Has to be directed by a woman.
Have to be a US citizen.
Has to be a no-commercial film, video or multimedia project.
Need to raise the minimum of $20,000
You have to try and start fundraising before you apply
Overall I think this is a good way to receive funding for your project as you can receive quite a large
sum of money and have full ownership, although you will not be able to make any profit from your
short film as it has to be put towards the charity and it also has to be directed by a woman that can
exclude a lot of producers. This probably not the most helpful one as you need to already of
attempted to start fundraising to be able to get the company help and this can be quite difficult to
do and makes it less likely they will help fund your project further.
http://www.wmm.com/filmmakers/fiscal_sponsorship.shtml
Funding Method: Screen Agencies
Screen agencies serve the purpose of supporting those that need money to create their short film.
Creative England is an agency that invests in talented people and their creative ideas, through
games, TV, film and digital media industries. They provide direct investment and soft loans to
business mentoring.
They looks for companies who have a new idea that will help the film sector develop and grow
outside of London. It offers funds of between 10,000 and 50,000 per project. To be able to apply
you need to complete and Expression of Interest from and online application, an application form
will then need to filled out and express what your budget is. Your application will then be assessed
and be followed the selection criteria. After this is done a funding decision will be made if you are
accepted or not and how much funding you will receive.
Pros:
Can receive a good sum of money.
Can choose what you do with your short film.
Cold become popular and be received by a wide audience.

Cons:
Only companies can apply not individual people.
Need a history of being able to produce films.
The film needs to benefit the film sector.
Need to cover the outlines they list such as To grow talent and business
Overall I believe this is a good way to receive funds for your films if you already within experience of
creating films and are a business/ group. A lot of funding can be provided and this will helpful to
getting your business promoted. Although it is not a good source of funding if you are an individual
and need to get yourself noticed then this is not a very helpful way of funding as you will not be
considered by this company.
Source: http://www.creativeengland.co.uk/about/work-with-us
Funding Method: Banks
Banks are a good way for individuals or groups to receive funding for their film, although this will
have to be given as a loan which will have to be paid back so there has to be some form of hope
from yourself and the bank that you will receive a profit from your film. Some banks such as Lloyds
set up foundations that use funds gained from demutualised things and this means that banks are
more willing to loan money to people.
Pros:
Can receive a large amount of money.
There will be a clear procedure of how to receive the fund.
Help is usually available.
It will be clear when repayment will need to be made.
Your idea will not be influenced.

Cons:
More willing to donate money if the film is going to support the local community.
It may be difficult to receive funding if your personal financial situation is not good.
You have to repay the money.
A lot of financial plans will need to be made.
High risk of becoming in debt.
No support on the film from the bank itself.
Could not receive funding as its not a guarantee you will make profit from your film.

Overall I believe that banks could be seen as a good way to get a fund for your film as they will
provide a trusted service and a good amount of money, but your financial situation will have to
reviewed either as a company or individual. This means that you are less likely to receive funding as
there is not guarantee that your production will receive any profit at all, if you were to receive
funding than there is a high risk of you becoming in debt and a financial situation that will affect our
personal life.