Film Financing - Can Film Graduates Take the challenge

Graduates of a Film Studies program have a new opportunity in film and video production. Of course, with every opportunity comes a challenge - and in this case, the challenge is to find financing for, or projects of their employer.

With the advent of digital equipment in the field of film and video production has expanded. The usual Hollywood production style is no longer the only route to a career for graduates of the film. There are a multitude of opportunities in audio and video applications across business, government and entertainment industry. That means opportunity for enthusiastic graduates to produce their own film and video projects, or the land of the most interesting positions with major production companies, film and video.

Funding has been a dirty word for years in the film industry. The "blue suit and the cold heart of banking are synonymous with enemy of creativity. However, in this new era of opportunity that needs to be the" blue suit "and the creative.

How to find a way to learn about financing the film, the film's budget, etc? First let's look at the Film Studies program.

There are many programs available study Film confusing me, and I have worked in the film industry for over 20 years. The universities are adopting a liberal arts degree in curriculum, and the Colleges / Schools are taking a practical approach mainly technical. In any case, it is indisputable that the movie studios is big business. The following excerpt from The New York Times, published
March 6, 2005 ©, let me clear that major movie studios business is actually:

"About 600 colleges and universities in the United States offer programs in film studies or related subjects, a figure that has grown steadily over the years .... At the University of Southern California, whose School of Cinema and Television is the oldest film school in the nation (founded in 1929), half of 16. 500 undergraduate students of the college take at least one cinema / television class. "

The university, school or university graduates better prepare for a career in film and video? If a student has spent 2 to 4 years of his life at this point, how they will turn into a worthwhile career?

Let's see what the universities say about their own programs, and the type of results they expect - that is, what the graduate will be able to do as they enter the workforce. This promotional letter, posted on a University website says it all:

"One of the major film studios is not an occupational or professional degree. A good program of studies in this discipline, however, must qualify a student for a variety of career possibilities. Clearly, an individual must use their knowledge about film in either a creative or practical ability, and in any case, the exercise of the trial and the initiative to rigorous monitoring of a minor in Film Studies to develop. "

The use of 'must' twice in three sentences the story - that's up to you, Bud!

Film Studies program (at any level), or disregard, or not concerned enough, the main force behind the whole film and video production - money! If money is put the word at all, just a handshake and a nod. Most undergraduate programs have very little mention of the budgets of movies, and things such as cost reports and business plans are treated as foreign issues completely. Master's programs are only slightly better.

The reason for this lack of information about things like Film budgets, cost reports, etc. in the academic sector originates in the great machine of Hollywood production. Negotiations with the three unions perpetual large (SAG, DGA and WGA), as well as IATSE and Teamsters unions has forced the crew to the study of production is extremely confidential.

That was total confidentiality is not over, however there is great demand to know more about film financing, film budgeting, etc. The new crop of Independent Film & Video manufacturers want to make their own projects, find your own funding and make their own movie budgets and reports of production costs. Even it is increasingly possible for producers to distribute their own projects through the Internet.

Believe me, the graduate film school who has a deep knowledge of film studies program and understands the basic processes of film budgeting, cost reports and business plans, is light years ahead of the rest. A graduate of film studies can help prepare a financing package (ie, help prepare a budget of a film and a simple business plan) would be absolutely blow away any and Independent Film Production Company video. Can you imagine an independent producer who would not like to have help preparing and filing a financing package?

I used to think film students was a lack of interest in the Budget Film and costs (any type). Not any more. I recently did a survey of film students in film school respected. These are the results of the survey:

Over 80% of students said they felt it was important to know more about the budget and how it affected his career as a filmmaker.

The film and video production is one of the largest industries in the world (along with weapons, of course). The widespread use of digital media has created a new opportunity. That opportunity, though less expensive than the production of Hollywood-style movies we used to, it remains expensive and requires funding. How do you get that funding? Where to begin?

Answer: Start with the basics of film budget, cost reports and business plans simple. If you can calculate a focal point, or learn to handle a video camera, a budget of a film is a piece of cake.

Based on my experience over the past 20 years in the film industry, I can say with confidence:

1. Graduates of the movie studio programs that you know the basics of money from film and video production (budgets, cost reports and business plans) realize they can assume greater responsibility for their film and video projects, and

2. As a result, have more successful careers than their peers who have not learned to prepare budgets for Film productions that do not understand the Report of Costs and never saw a simple business plan.

So how does a film student to become familiar with budgets, cost reports and a simple business plan? I have been a production auditor for 20 years and have never shown a crew member of a final budget or weekly cost report (the universal financial report card, issued to the financiers and producers each week) throughout the time. They are considered sacred by the studio executives, producers and financiers everywhere.

Well, I'm going to annoy some relevant articles that will open the door enough to let you walk through. They are written for the novice, so be patient if you've been exposed to the budgets and cost reports.

Written by John Gaskin - With 20 years of experience in the film industry as a Production Auditor, John has managed over 40 major motion pictures worldwide. John has worked with some of the important industry professionals as the Academy Award-winning producer Ron Howard, Brian Grazer.