Business Plans And Marketing Plans In Independent Filmmaking

By Author: Jennifer Moore
Total Articles: 1
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Making a film is an artistic endeavor. Unfortunately, to be able to continue creating artistic endeavors in the future, a filmmaker has to make money. Many filmmakers wish it weren’t that way, but… it is. Without capital, there’s no film.

An artistic, capitalistic conundrum. But, you know that MAKING money is an important component to the film business. Most of us don’t work for a nonprofit film company after all.

So, what’s the best way that you can invest money to help ensure that your film actually makes money? Obviously, we’re biased at TDSFF… but without a great marketing plan that includes promotional design, your film is dead in the water.

Luckily, the promotional design side of marketing of your film can actually be a very artistic undertaking. At TDSFF, we’re artists whose job it is to get your film into the public eye in a unique, visually memorable manner. Artistic cooperation in promotion is important to finding an audience following and creating some buzz about your film. Once you have a known commodity, the business side is much easier.

Bringing a film that already ...
... has a unique identity to potential investors and distributors is a great way to make your film stick out from the crowd. Everything should be represented in a notable, brand able visual representation. Letterhead, business cards, business plans should all be pre-branded with the films promotional imagery. Getting your film noticed is then much, much easier.

Having a great idea for a film, writing a great script, casting the roles… everything is a lot of work, but most of that hard work is creatively rewarding. That is until you get to the … business plan. The two words that bring both fear and overwhelming boredom to both filmmakers and accountants alike.

Having a business plan is one of the most important things that you can do for your film. The thought of actually creating a business plan trips up many potential filmmakers. My suggestion to you is… don’t let it. It is vitally important to both YOU and your investors.

Creating the business plan should actually be a creative process. Let the creation of the business plan be a guide to your vision and production.
After you’vecarefully crafted your film’s business plan that lays out how you’re going to make a profitable movie, then you might be ready to bring the plan to investors. The plan should show your budget, audience, genre and demographic reach, as well as many other components. As you can imagine, this allows you to get a great understanding of your audience as well. A business plan can actually make your movie more agile since you are forced to put more thought into it into a business sense.

Really, the whole independent film business comes down to what you and your investors return on investment is going to be from your film. If you run the numbers a hundred times and can’t legitimately show a profit, then you’ve got some work to do.

Be honest with the numbers and work with them until you show a nice profit. Show that your movie has got some legs and longevity. Keep your costs as low as possible and look for the biggest return on investment possible.

It may not be the most enjoyable part of the creative filmmaking process, but creating a film marketing and business plan is vitally important. You simply need to do this if you are going to be in the business. Let TDSFF help
you brand your films startup with superbly crafted, iconic imagery that will get your film noticed and funded in the startup phase.

For more information visit at - http://www.tdsff.com!