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This week, we offer a sneak preview of one of our Business Plan lessons in our free film business course, all about your Logline. We also have a great article on the site with lots of Independent Film Logline Examples.
Free Business Plan Course Week #2 Lesson
What makes my independent film special and sets it apart from the rest? As you well know, there are 1000s of filmmakers who ALL think their script is the best.
Describing your screenplay to potential investors will undoubtedly be your favorite exercise in writing your feature film business plan. This is the part where you get to highlight the many reasons you believe in this script, but do not get carried away!
Even in the film industry, filmmakers need to think like an investor when talking to film financing companies, non-accredited investors, or even crowdfunding sites. While the social message behind the film or even its potential cast and production are merits you wish to shout from the mountaintop, know that the investor reads every word in your plan with the mind and eye of a business person. The content of your plan needs to continually reinforce there is a promising opportunity for return on
investment.
Your synopsis of the film should be no more than one page of the business plan. (Think back to the quote you read in last week’s installment: In a recent investment article, the Wall Street Journal actually tells potential film investors, “...don't worry too much about the script. You don't even need to read it since a good business plan should include a one-page synopsis of the storyline.")
Do not be tempted to inflate this summary with long quotes from the script. Instead, in this section of the feature film business plan, you will highlight for potential investors the basics of the plot and any unique attributes of the screenplay.
Try to avoid long and flowery prose. Keep the sentences short and catchy and pretend you are writing the content for a DVD jacket. This section of the business plan needs to be a quick sell and you want to grab the investor’s attention but not lose it by stating too much.
- “They Were Mine” tells the heartbreaking story of children ravaged by the effects of war.
- “Coffee Dates and Other Catastrophes” follows twentysomethings in New York searching for love and stumbling along the way.
- “Down to the Wire” is a fast-paced FBI thriller for fans of true crime stories.
In those short, simple introductory sentences the investor has a good idea already of the type of film you are making. Expand on this to include some additional highlights…
- “They Were Mine,” tells the heartbreaking story of children ravaged by war. Three separate stories are woven together from the Civil War to Vietnam to Desert Storm to depict a shared experience across decades and generations. This film captures the horrors of war but also the decency of humanity and the need to protect our children at all costs.
- “Coffee Dates and Other Catastrophes” follows twentysomethings in New York searching for love and stumbling along the way. The lives of six strangers intersect in a hilarious and heartwarming tale of love found, love lost, and love found again.
- “Down to the Wire” is a fast-paced FBI thriller for fans of true crime stories. The film is based on the true account of a novice field agent thrown into a world of drug smugglers, escorts, and high-stakes gamblers, before barely escaping with her life.
In addition to highlighting the basic plot in your business plan, you will also touch on screenplay rights and development highlights in this section. The experienced entertainment attorney you hired comes into play here! A sample statement on screenplay rights might read as follows:
The screen rights to “They Were Mine” are under option by DreamMakers, LLC. The rights to the screenplay and underlying rights to the book will be purchased by DreamMakers, LLC upon funding. The script purchase agreement is attached in the Exhibits section of the business plan.
In development highlights, you have the opportunity to touch on potential casting. You may use “A-List” Hollywood celebrities to conjure up the image of the type of casting you wish to pursue, but do not insinuate you will land them (unless you really can). This section might read as follows:
As of 2020, the following individuals are being pursued to play lead roles:
- Ellen Pompeo (Grey’s Anatomy, Catch Me if You Can, Old School, Moonlight Mile….various other credits)
- Giovanni Ribisi (Sneaky Pete, Ted 2, Selma, My Name is Earl…various other credits)
- Susan Kelechi Watson (This is Us, The Blacklist, Louie…various other credits)
As of 2020, the following individuals are being pursued to direct and produce:
- Quentin Tarantino (Django Unchained, Inglorious Basterds, Pulp Fiction….)
- Lee Daniels (The Butler, Precious, Monster’s Ball…..)
Note: A big name on the cast list will help, but it is just one variable among a large number of factors which impact a film's chance of success and is, arguably, one of the smallest factors. Big-name talent applies to Hollywood productions as well as indie outputs in the film industry. No film is immune to failure regardless of cast or budget. So while you definitely want to highlight the fantastic cast (and production) you hope to secure, don’t expect to draw much in the way of useful
projection figures from it.
Your Assignment for Next Week
Create your film logline, short synopsis and development highlights. Read them again and again. Practice them out loud with friends and family. Post on social media, "hey friends, would you go see THIS movie?" and add your logline. If you can't get a reaction from those who already trust and admire you....try again.
In business, we call this an elevator speech, which is 30 seconds to make your pitch. Imagine meeting your favorite actor/producer/director in an elevator - the very ones you've dreamed of in the above exercises - and you have 30 seconds to tell them about your project and get them on board. We at Filmproposals always tell you it's easy to find film investors once you are PREPARED to find them and this is a crucial step in being prepared.
"Chance favors the prepared mind!" - Louis Pasteur
About FilmProposals
If you’d like to avoid opening a blank document, or worse, a blank Excel spreadsheet, and starting from scratch, we encourage you to consider starting with our Movie Investor Toolkit, which we’ve spent years creating and has been used to successfully raise millions of dollars in film financing. If not, you’ll still easily be able to follow our course and use whatever methods you choose for your Business
Plan.
No matter what path you take, we wish you nothing but the utmost success with your independent film career!
Stay Tuned...next week, we'll tell you all about The Industry section of your business plan!
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"I'm now sending out my completed business plan/film proposal document to potential investors and the one comment I'm getting back almost immediately is that it's so well laid out and professional. Believe me, first impressions really do count." - KATHLEEN
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