Home | How I raised over $200k for my film using this exact film business plan template
Why do I need a film business plan?
How to Write a Film Business Plan
I've been raising money for films for almost 25 years now and am always asked about what goes into a film business plan, or worse, am asked to write one for a fellow filmmaker. So here's the skinny on how to write your own film business plan. It's a general overview, not intended to be a step-by-step guide. But it should get you started.
Can I just download a film business plan template and fill it in with my film's information?
Yes. There are a number of places online where you can purchase a film business plan template, download it, and fill in your own information. My own Independent Film Business Plan Template, of course, is one I can recommend which is very comprehensive, and another is Megadox.com. I list a few more places at the bottom of the page.
Can I have someone write my film business plan for me?
Yes. There are lots of folks with great experience in writing film business plans on the internet you can pay to write you one, but just a heads up: a lot of them are uber-professionals whose rates may be out of the typical independent filmmaker's budget range. For the most part, what you're paying for is years of their expertise. Some are simply AWESOME, (FilmProfit.com is one such place.) but just like any profession, there are some who really don't know what they're doing, so watch out. Also, attorney John Cones has some great info here on Surview Entertainment.
What are the sections I need to write into my film business plan?
Every film business plan should at least contain the following sections, in whatever order you prefer:
Title Page
A Pro-looking title page which, optionally, includes a logo or graphic of your film or film company. At the bottom of the business plan you should list your "Forward Looking Statements" disclaimer, which is something like this, but consult with a lawyer - don't just copy and paste this text.
Any statements in this business plan that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties; actual results may differ from the forward-looking statements. Sentences or phrases that use such words as "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "may," "hopes," "can," "will," "expects," "is designed to," "with the intent," "potential" and others indicate forward-looking statements, but their absence does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
Table of Contents
The next section you should have in your film business plan is a solid, easy-to-read Table of Contents. That table of contents basically gives the reader a page-by-page listing of everything in your film business plan. And not only that, but it shows that you have the ability to organize a massive document into sections that make sense. I know it sounds a bit silly, but the Table of Contents, if properly written, is one of your business plan's most impressive features, because it's one of the first thing the potential investor or vendor sees, and can convey a wide swath of what your film business plan is all about in a single glance.
A good film business plan has got to impress people on a technical, informational level, but has to leave them with a "gut feeling" that you know what you're doing. That gut feeling is sort of like "Well, if this guy can put together this comprehensive of a film business plan, he's probably a professional who's organized and meticulous." Don't quote me on that, but you get the idea, as ridiculous as it sounds.
Overview Section
After the Table of Contents, your film business plan has got to have a solid Overview Section, also known as the Executive Summary. This is a section where, basically, you give a little blurb about all the major sections in the business plan that are to come. You don't want to be super-verbose here in describing each section, but you do want to convey enough information about the sections ahead to, again, show your organizational professionality, by showing the reader/potential investor that you're able to "feed" them "bite sized" chunks of the information they need without overwhelming them, and enticing them to read further.
It's a well-known fact that copywriters, who make a living off of crafting words and sentences into material which attracts people to buying products, know that breaking things into "bite sized" chunks is a valuable skill to have. Take, for example, how many times you yourself have been enticed into reading someone's blog, about a topic you really have no interest in, but which you felt compelled to read, simply because the title was something like "10 Ways To Make Your Script Better." Then you look at the blog briefly, see that it's broken into little, easy-to-read chunks, and THEN you decide to read it. It's all about getting people to keep reading the material.
Your Film's Objectives Section
The next section in your film business plan should be your Objectives section, which details what you plan to do with the film, or what you plan to do with the film company, using the film. Be very specific here. You want to list your specific, measureable, tangible goals that you want to achieve by making and selling this film. "Make millions of dollars" is not what you want to write. "Gross $14 million in domestic and foreign revenue, both theatrically and through ancillary markets by Q4 2015" is more specific. Naturally, you don't want to use too many difficult, oblique business terms if you're going to be asking for investment from folks who don't understand them. Then again, if you're targetting people who appreciate that kind of language, go for it.
About The Filmmakers Section
The next section you want to include in your film business plan is a section about your team of filmmakers or your company. Include bios of your major players, including the film's director, lead producers, and any name cinematographer or art director or special effects creator, or whomever you feel would help your cause. Listing every friend and extra you're planning to cast in your film here is probably not the best idea. Keep this short, and put your best people here. The people you want to list are the ones with the most experience, the most respectable "pedigree," and/or the biggest names. You might not have anybody you feel is worth putting here, but do your best. Include photos and bios of these people.
Your Film Details Section
The next section is your Film Section, where you detail what your film is about. This includes a brief summary of your film, maybe the film's logline, synopsis; whatever you think best conveys your film to potential investors. Keep it brief and don't overwhelm them. You may want to use "mashups" to help bridge the gap of understanding. That is, instead of just writing "Raxxid The Space Pirate" is a sci-fi adventure, try using terms to help folks get a picture of what it's about. "Raxxid The Space Pirate" is "Pirates of The Carribbean" meets "Aliens." But do be careful when using these mashups, as they can be pretty annoying, and some people downright hate them.
Name Actors / Name Talent Section
If you have any name actors attached, the next section in your film business plan should be a section detailing and/or highlighting those name actors. If they're truly name actors, their photos in your business plan will speak for themselves, but for those who aren't quite as well known, and even for those who are well known, include a little bio about each one of them, which focuses on their last few hit movies, how much money each movie grossed, etc. If you've got "star power" on your film, you need to highlight it here. And don't be shy.
But what you don't want to do is highlight a bunch of no-name actors and try to pretend they're big names. Big mistake. People know stars on sight. That's why they're called stars. You're not fooling anybody when you put up a photo of some John Doe theater actor from Mentor, Ohio and try to tell me he's a bankable talent. You'll look like an amateur, so don't do it.
Your Film's Target Audience Section
The next section you'll want to include in your film business plan (and again, you can arrange these however you like) is your Film's Target Audience section, where you detail to the potential investor who you're targeting when you're trying to sell this film. Is it a film about two senior citizens who fall in love? Maybe you shouldn't have a target audience of 17-35. Unless those senior citizens are a husband and wife assassination team. Or one is a serial killer. Is it an animated film about a midget bouncing around a fantasy world with a magic sword? Maybe you shouldn't list your target audience as 18-60. Find your sweet spot for your film. Don't say your film will appeal to everyone. It never will. Be realistic. Keep your focus small and it will read as more credible, and that's what you want.
How Movies Are Made and Make Money Section
If your film business plan is going out to a lot of potential investors who don't know a lot about making movies or how Hollywood works in general, you should then write a section that gets them up to speed on all that. From the basics of pre-production to shooting the film itself, all the way through post-production and what you're planning to do with the final film to try to sell it and make the investors' money back. This section should also have a fairly descriptive, easy-to-understand section on Distribution/Marketing/Etc. If you can't explain to the investor how it all works, you're not going to get them to invest. Or the chance of successfully doing so is a lot less, at the very least. Give it to them straight. Tell them about how the film will make money theatrically, on DVD, through festivals, on pay tv, cable, VOD, and the internet. And be especially ready to tell them what you're expecting to do with the internet with regards to your film.
Financial Nitty-Gritty Section
The next section in your film business plan needs to get into the nitty-gritty of how much you're trying to raise from the investor, what you plan to do with that money, specifically, and exactly what that investor can expect to see in returns on his money. Investors aren't stupid, so do your math and do it well. They're not interested in fairy tale projections on revenues. They don't want to hear that your film is going to make more film than James Camerons' films, or that it's the next Star Wars. But at the same time, they're holding your film's business plan in their hands and reading it because they know that's there's a huge possibility for any film, even a little film, to explode and make a lot of money at the box office.
Everybody's heard the stories about the little filmmaker from nowhere who's little film which cost $5,000 went on to gross $20 million at the box office. That's why they're investing, but you have to be careful. You don't want to over-inflate their hopes. You've got to be very reasonable in your projections. Include recent films who are similar to your film in your projections. Show how much money those films made, how much they cost, and translate that into terms your potential investor can understand. Give an example of a high scenario of how much money you think your film could make, then a medium, and then a low. And be absolutely up-front to the investor that they could potentially lose their investment if the film doesn't do well. Any film investor worth his salt is going to want to hear that from you.
No film investor in their right mind wants to deal with a filmmaker or producer who thinks that their film is going somehow get made and magically make a million dollars and has no chance of tanking. When people with money see someone like that, they walk away. That's generally how they became people with money, and remain so. By avoiding clowns like that.
I hope that answers some basic questions on what goes into a film business plan. It's a bit of a general overview, and not intended to be a comprehensive course on how to write one, but hopefully I've imparted a little bit of what I know about the whole process that can be helpful to you.
And for further edification on film business plans, the one book on film finance / film business plans I recommend you read is Filmmakers and Financing, Sixth Edition: Business Plans for Independents by Louise Levison.
Useful links to consider when writing your own film business plan from scratch:
Film Biz 101 - Offers film consulting services and has a film financing blog
Film Specific - A subscription site that offers a lot of film financing resources, community, and more
A List of Mistakes to Avoid When Writing a Film Business Plan - From MovieMaker Magazine
Film Funding Fundamentals - A great film business plan article by Nancy Fulton at Brighthub
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Home | How I raised over $200k for my film using this exact film business plan template
Why do I need a film business plan?