The first, most crucial step in making a film is finding the funds to do it. Let Louise Levison, who wrote the innovative business plan for "The Blair Witch Project," show you how. Whether you're planning a feature, short, documentary, or large format film, this unique guide teaches you how to create a business plan that can be presented to a potential investor. In jargon-free terms, the author leads you through every step.
Each chapter concentrates on a different section of the business plan, including the industry, marketing, financing, distribution. There are supplementary exercises and spreadsheets on the CD workbook so you get comfortable crunching the numbers--no math degree required!
The fifth edition contains completely revised and updated industry data, updated information on the market for short films, as well as a new chapter on nontraditional films such as documentaries.
1. Executive Summary
2. The Company
3. The Films
4. The Industry
5. The Markets
6. Markets Part 2 : The Nontraditional Film
7. Distribution
8. Risk Factorys
9. Financing
10. The Financial Plan
11. Sample Business Plan for a Financial Company
12. Short Film Distribution
"An excellent, insightful guide to attracting financing for indie films. Louise Levison takes a sane, balanced approach to research, comparables and projections, achieving honest outlooks in business plans that are accurate and convincing to equity investors. An important tool for filmmakers and producers seeking innovative financing models."
-- Danny Glover --
Actor/Director/Producer
"Thank you so much for all your help from the business plan to the emails and introductions. You have helped this film become what it is today."
-- Robin Cowie --
Producer, The Blair Witch Project
"Levison's book gives filmmakers an inspiring and coherent merger of plain English, film lingo, and traditional business-speak. It helped me create a straightforward and thorough business plan that ultimately raised $2 million for my new project."
-- Stu Pollard --
Producer/Director, Keep Your Distance