By Kevin Hemminger

The 2008 film “Paranormal Activity” has been named “The little movie that could.” Its success has been phenomenal, but what is even more remarkable is that the film was produced for around $15,000. How does a film with a low-key budget end up being such a mega blockbuster? This film has grossed over $100,000,000 (that’s a hundred million dollars) in the US market alone!

Perhaps you have a similar idea for a movie. What steps do you need to take in achieving the kind of success Paranormal Activity was able to garner? Assuming you have the creativity to conjure a movie the masses will love, there remain two obstacles you need to overcome to achieve this level of success. You need to finance your film, then you need to find a distributor.

Film Financing

How does a film get its financing? Not all films can be produced with the relative pocket-change that Paranormal Activity was produced with. If you cannot foot-the-bill of your movie, then you must obtain financing. When receiving a conventional type of loan, such as for a mortgage, the loan acrues interest and gets paid off by a guarantor. This is a person who vouches the debt will be paid and is responsible for regular payments on the loan. However, when your film gets financed - you won’t be responsible for making scheduled payments, and a guarantor isn’t necessary. Instead, films are financed with the projected income the film will earn after it’s public debut. A film’s finance is essentially venture-capital, representing a gamble on the success of a film. This being the case, the payoff for the investor, investment banker or film financier is disproportionately high when compared to a conventional loan. However, the repercussions of a “bad gamble” rests with the financier.

Your job then becomes to convince the investment banker that your movie is a safe gamble. Unfortunately, the focus of many aspiring movie producers centers heavily on the script, the cast, the storyboarding or other aspects of the movie, but not on what matters most. The movie financier is interested in “How do I make money by investing in your movie?” The most essential part of your presentation to the investment banker is how they can make money by investing in your film, so make this a priority and central focus in your proposal for your film’s financing.

What types of research can you present to the investment firm as you make your proposal? Research past films of similar genre, what they cost to produce, the popularity of their cast, and the profitability of their film. Including many examples of similar movies which had beneficial bottom-lines will go a long way towards convincing them that your project will be a success.

Perhaps you are able to finance your film out of your own pocket, similar to the producer of Paranormal Activity. Yet again, maybe you need to secure funding for your movie’s production. Film financing is an important aspect of producing your own movie, but what becomes of a great movie if no one ever sees it? An equally important step in producing your own movie is to secure a distributor for your film.

Film Distributors

Major film studios compete with independent production companies for showings in local theaters around the world. These independent production companies are the film distributors that will be acting on your behalf to build marketing momentum for your independent film. In the case of Paranormal Activity, marketing momentum began with submissions to film festivals. In 2007, the film was screened at the Screamfest Horror Film Festival. This lead to signings with Creative Artists Agency, Miramax Films, Dreamworks and ultimately Steven Spielburg.

It will be an important part of your proposal to your investment banker to submit a list of proposed film distributors. There are hundreds of independent film distributors available. Showing your film financier that you have researched distribution channels for your film, including those which specialize in marketing your genre of film, will boost their confidence in your ability to bring your film to a profit.

The author maintains two resource websites for film financing companies, and film distributors, please visit these websites for more information.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kevin_Hemminger

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