Good day all.

I would really welcome ideas and suggestions for raising the funds for a screenplay near completion.  I have gathered together a team of writers (a couple of big names included, and I don't mean due to the number of letters in those names :lol: ) and I'm working closely with a young director and producer.

Now the film is a collection of stories involving one particular building in my hometown in England, and it's not London.  The building is a landmark of the city and I have invited writers who live here or were born here or nearby.  Overall, the aim is to 'big up' the city, this building and its people, and I want to exploit that positive vibe by inviting local businesses and luminaries to financially invest in the film.  I'm not the money-man here, so I can't talk with any knowledge yet about the £returns but we're aiming for a minimum £90k amount.

We are arranging a big invitation only 'pre launch' party for March, and we'll be pitching the idea to the attendees, hoping to persuade them to part with their £thousands.  

Has anyone here had similar experience, can anyone suggest other ways of fundraising?  We're looking into 'crowd funding' ventures too, though the UK's versions seem much smaller compared to US's.

Thanks for your time  

I raised money with crowd-funding for a project I'm working on.  It's a much smaller amount than what you're asking, but I've seen other projects ask for more.

If you are going to go this route, make sure you have a dynamic video and pitch.  And some cool rewards for the pledges.

Another site that I frequent has a lot of people posting their kickstarter or indiegogo campaigns and most of these were doomed to fail from the beginning.  The pitches are dull an uninspirational.  One campaign only offers 'thanks' on their website; it didn't matter where you offer a dollar or a thousand dollars.

Good luck with it.


Phil

Great advice that Phil, thank you.

Here are examples of goos and bad crowdfunding campaigns (IMHO).

The good one raised five times its goal with an incredible pitch video and some great rewards.  The video, itself, had me laughing out loud.  It was hysterical and professionally done

The bad one hasn't raised any money yet.  There is no pitch video, and the rewards are pretty much non-existent.  Ironically, the money to be raised is for a comedy show; there is not one joke in the entire pitch.


Phil

Thank you, quality responses, much appreciated.

Just to let you all know that this project has stalled a bit, though around 50% of the screenplay has been written or at least 'compiled'.  The hotel pulled the offer of initial funding and that disappointment deterred the director and producer a little.  So no fundraiser though for my part I'm continuing with the script, not as manically as before though.

If you have the materials you need to pitch to an investor, then it depends on your country’s laws regarding solicitation.

Crowd funding might be a good option if you don’t expect the film to make money. If you do, then you should be careful with crowd funding. Investors may have a legal claim to ownership of your work. If they invest and make nothing while the filmmakers prosper, they may have a legal recourse. They may be able to sue you. I’m not a lawyer, but you might want to consult with one before you crowd fund. I’m sure those who contribute to crowd funded projects have rights.

As far as what investors to approach or how to approach them, well, that’s the trick, isn’t it? Most film financing breaks down prior to that, however, because most filmmakers don’t generate the materials they need before they go soliciting. Do you have a budget breakdown? A business plan?

My view is that you should do absolutely everything you can do yourself before you solicit investors for a project. There is a boatload of work you can do yourself. I wouldn’t even consider approaching a potential investor unless I at least had a detailed budget breakdown and business plan, otherwise you just look like every other amateur out there.

You should also consider putting up as much of your own money as you can. Of course, if you don’t have any, that’s the end of that, but being willing to risk your own money along with other investors shows that this is an investment, not a handout.

Just some thoughts. Good luck!


Breanne

I'm skint while the diredtor and producer have ongoing projects and THIS one slipped down their ladder of importance once the funding offer failed to materialise.  I'm still writing it though and one of the team of writers has a bit more work to do as I asked for her help recently.  She's been the keenest of the team as well as the most reliable, plus she's the only female involved (not for want of trying).  It's been a good learning experience for me and of course I'm still learning.

Thanks for the advice and the goodwill

Sorry to be so rude as not to keep the forum updated.

I had great contributions in form of stories or at least story ideas from around 10 writers.  I left the script alone for a while because of the above issues.  In addition to that, a prominent character in the story of the hotel was to be Jimmy Savile, who died over a year ago.  Since his death, so much horrific info has come out about him that I'm relieved I shelved the whole idea!

Many of us in Leeds always thought there was something creepy about Savile, and there were always rumours about him, right from the 70s, but no one ever had any evidence.  

If I/we ever go ahead again with the script then it will need much more consideration about the said beast of a man, as well as I would think, detailed permission from the hotel owners themselves.  There always were dark aspects in the overall story of the hotel but not as disturbing.