PROJECT PLAN -
Primarily Used to Secure Funding and Participation of Key Players

Contents:

• Project Summary
• Story Synopsis
• Profit Centers
• Project Team
• Bankable Attachments and/or Targets
• Marketing Elements Specific to Project
• Distribution Strategy
• Budget Production and Marketing to Distribution]
• Financing Plan
• Comparables
• Risk
• ROI [Anticipated Profits Over Time]
• Project Schedule / Funding Release Schedule

APPENDIX

• Full Script
• Director Reel
• Soundtrack Sampler
• Promo DVD for Project
• Letter/s of Attachment or Interest from Bankable Talent
• Letter of Attachment or Interest from Director
• Letter of Commitment or Interest from Financing Source
• Letter/s of Interest from Merchandising Entities
• Letter of Interest from Record Label / Distributor for Soundtrack
• Relevant Locations Photos
• Relevant Illustrations [Costumes, Merchandise Designs etc]
• Newspaper, Magazine, Internet Articles Supporting Interest in Subject Matter
• Any Other Information Supporting Viability or Profitability of the Project

NOTE 1: All plans are built over time. You start with whatever info you have, and build from there. As you build the plan, you use what you've built to interest other parties in the project; then you build them into the plan as they become formally involved.

NOTE 2: This is an optimum plan. Not every plan will involve all of these elements. Incorporate everything you can provide that will explain and support the project.

NOTE 3: Do not show this to a potential distributor or network - particularly information related to budget -- as they should not know the budget of your project when you are negotiating a licensing or acquisition deal for the completed project. If the distributor is acting as a co-producer on the project and providing production funding, budget will naturally become an issue. In general, distributors are interested in the end product, recognizable actors, a strong script, talent of the directors, and any marketing elements unique to the project.

FilmNashville Project Plan______2

Project Summary

>>>provides a thumbnail overview of everything about the project, such as what kind of project it is, a couple of lines about the story, the production team, target market, and so on -- basically it's a compressed overview of all the other sections to follow, and you get going on it first, then build all other pages, then come back and refine the Project Summary -- i.e., constructing a project plan, itself, is a process. you also want to indicate the type of legal entity the project is ; i.e. and LLC [Limited Liability Corporation], LP {Limited Partnership], C Corporation etc

Story Synopsis

>>>Story Synopsis - this is purely an overview of the characters and plot [it does not talk about any business aspects, target market, distribution etc]

Profit Centers

>>>these are all the different ways any given project can earn revenues, and it varies from project to project. i.e., Schindler's List basically had domestic and foreign distribution to theatres, television, dvd, along with soundtrack, while Jurassic Park had all that plus toys, lunch boxes, action figures and so on - the filmmakers has to look honestly, not hypothetically at the realistic revenue centers of a project. investors do not like or trust hype language. technically, each distribution window is a profit center, meaning domestic theatrical run, first domestic television, second domestic television, dvd, foreign sales, possible Spanish market, possible Christian market, and other niche markets that may be applicable.

Project Team

>>>list anyone attached that will bring credibility to the project and highlight why in a couple of lines; e.g., producer, director, cinematographer, editor, composer with feature film experience

Bankable Attachments and/or Targets

>>>actors that are on board or are targeted once funding is available -- mainly, the actors that are important to investors are Bankable Actors, who have some sort of name recognition that will help attract a distributor or a network because they, in turn, will be able to use that to sell the film to their audiences; secondarily, one can list actors with significant acting credentials, so that investors at least know the roles will be professionally performed [head shots are important to include for all attached or targeted actors, though the head shots should be saved
for the Appendix at the back of the plan

Marketing Elements Specific to Project

>>> just like it sounds - every project has unique aspects about it that can be capitalized upon or developed to push the project; e.g., Flick's whole idea with Chupacabra being truly feared by the Latin American market, therefore indicating a built-in audience there, etc; or someone may do a story about fighting drug addiction and develop a promo campaign for the project through nationwide non-profs dedicated to preventing substance abuse, etc

Distribution Strategy

>>>just like it sounds - who's going to handle it; target distribution companies and networks; how they're going to be contacted; and everything else that can be thrown in here

Budget Production and Marketing to Distribution]

>>>for production and some for promoting the film via festivals and meetings with potential distributors and networks to try to sell the finished neg

Financing Plan

>>>how the funding is going to be cobbled together; i.e.. some investor financing, some in-kind contributions for crew and equipment; some sponsorships via product placement in the movie; some completion funding from a distributor, gap financing from a lender, foreign co-production deals, and so on [financing for a single project can involve any one of the above, or any combination of the above] - See separate sheet in Indie Production Financing

Comparables

See separate sheet on Comparable. For each project you will need to get comparables that are similar to your project both in terms of budget range and genre; i.e. a drama in the $1-to-5 million range. Consult Baseline/FilmTracker.com - they provide domestic and foreign revenue
numbers on many feature films [this is for a fee, but much more useful financial info than something like imdb.com or imdb pro]

Risk

>>>these tend to be standard risks, such as no guarantee that the film will get a domestic theatrical release, no guarantee of dvd revenue amount, no guarantee that there will be a soundtrack issued - this section is somewhat optional, though Risk is an area that investors typically need to see addressed in plan so that 1] they are prepared for any potential downside, and 2] they know you are being honest with them rather than presenting any smoke and mirrors you can dream up in order to get their funding.

ROI - Return On Investment [Anticipated Profits Over Time]

>>>1] Use Comparables sourced above from Baseline/Filmtracker to create revenue projections for domestic and foreign sales including television first run, second run; dvd; foreign sales, applicable soundtrack and merchandise; 2] subtract budget of the film and costs for distribution to arrive at net profits earned by the project LLC; 3] determine percentage of profits earned by the LLC that will be returned to investor/s who funded the production costs [ typically an investor will receive 100% of all profits earned by the LLC until they have recouped their initial investment, then they may receive 30% or more of all
profits earned by the LLC from any revenue stream, in perpetuity].

Project Schedule / Funding Release Schedule

>>> if funding source is already known and targetable, then provide an actual set of dates for pre-pro, principal, post, a few festival submissions, meetings with dis tributors and ne tworks etc and theoretical release dates [usually anywhere from 6-to-12 months after film is completed, though sometimes sooner if going direct to TV or DVD etc]

APPENDIX

Full Script

Director Reel

Soundtrack Sampler

Promo DVD for Project

Letter/s of Attachment or Interest from Bankable Talent

Letter of Attachment or Interest from Director

Letter of Commitment or Interest from Financing Source

Letter/s of Interest from Merchandising Entities

Letter of Interest from Record Label / Distributor for Soundtrack

Relevant Locations Photos

Relevant Illustrations [Costumes, Merchandise Designs etc]

Newspaper, Magazine, Internet Articles Supporting Interest in Subject Matter

Any Other Information Supporting Viability or Profitability of the Project

For further info contact: andyvr@filmnashville.org

Indie Production Financing Overview

There are numerous basic and sophisticated ways to finance a feature project, though usually involving a combination of one or more of these elements:

Investment capital -- yours and/or that of third parties [typically, investors get 100% of first profits earned until they recoup all of their initial investment, then receive 30-50% of all profits earned from the project, in perpetuity [deals can vary from project to project, depending on type of investors, risk factors, ancillary revenue opportunities, pre-existing distribution arrangements, etc]

Sponsorship, usually in the form of product placement -- $$ contributed for exposure of corporate brand in the film - this is a favorable option because sponsors are paying for the marketing value, and typically do not become part of the equity of the project; therefore, hypothetically, if you had a $1million film that secured $1million in product placement sponsorship, 100% of the profits would be returned to the filmmakers, rather than any percentage to investors] - oftentimes, however, product placement tends to be free goods and services contributed to the production, as in an automobile company providing a number of free cars for a production in exchange for brand exposure, etc

Service or production equity - e.g. personnel and/or equipment rental and/or post-production services contributed, whereby contribution is assigned a $$ value and earns a percentage of equity in the finished project and pro rata percentage of profits earned

Pre-sales of certain dis tribution windows -- e.g. , pre-sale of North American dvd rights provides part or even all of funds to produce the film -- this literally means, however, that you are selling off one or more specific windows, meaning that if you sell off North American dvd rights for $XX, you can use those dollars to finance your production costs, but you will no longer see any profits from domestic dvd sales

Bank financing - [investors take risks, banks do not] banks loan money against pre-sales contracts which serve as instruments of collateral; some investment bankers loan money based upon credible sales projections from a significant distribution company [some desperate low budget filmmakers have been known to put up their house or something similar as collateral -- bad idea. it is possible, however, to leverage the cash flow of one's business]

Domestic co -production deals - you find another company in Nashville or Los Angeles that brings part of the financing and/or service equity to the table

Distributor completion funding - just like it sounds - you have most of the film financed or completed and a distribution company provides the balance of financing, though this buys them both equity in the film and locks them in as the distributor - and they tend to cut deals that are heavily in favor of the distributor

Foreign co-financing - this comes in a variety of forms, through foreign production companies, networks, and governments who may require part or all of a film to be made in the foreign country providing the funding

Gap financing -- the "gap" of remaining production funding is provided by either a private or institution lender, and is typically in an early position in the sequence of returns, meaning the gap financer will get their money back with interest before the investors or producers or anyone else sees a dime of profits. the only entities that will see revenues prior to gap financers are those providing P&A $$, or costs for film prints and advertising, which is typically last money in, first money out. Again, bear in mind that a single film might be financed by cobbling together some or all of the above methods of financing. The financing of each project oftentimes comes together in as creative a manner as the screenplay and other artistic elements of the project.

For further info contact: andyvr@filmnashville.org

FilmNashville - Typical Paths of Distribution for an Indie Feature Film

• Festival run, no distribution other than perhaps via internet / direct DVD sales [usually no soundtrack, other than perhaps via website]
  
  
• Direct to Retail DVD distribution [no theatrical release or television] [usually no soundtrack, unless bundled with DVD and/or sold via website]
  
  
• Direct to TV cable, DVD, and foreign [sometimes a soundtrack, depending upon strength of TV promotion]
  
  
• Four-walled, limited domestic theatrical release [self-distributed, renting out theatres] - this is often done by makers of art films, without much financial gain [usually no soundtrack, other than perhaps bundled with eventual DVD or via website]

[NOTE: DEFINITION OF TERM: "P&A" - Prints & Advertising - refers to that part of a theatrical distribution campaign where distributors pay for film prints to be shipped to theatres around the country, and the advertising campaign in theatres, television, print and radio to promote the movie - oftentimes referred to as The P&A Campaign]

• Arthouse theatrical release [less than 100 screens] - film released by a distributor who believes in the project though feels the project is too artsy or non-mainstream and therefore too big a risk for greater expense on P&A [soundtrack usual]
  
  
• Limited theatrical release [500 to 1000 screens] - film released by a distributor in order to secure wide enough domestic exposure to drive up value of domestic television licensing deal, domestic DVD sales, and foreign sales - relatively modest distributor expenditure on P&A -- $5-to-15 million [soundtrack definite]
  
  
• Wide theatrical release - 2000+ screens - mainstream release, with significant expense on P&A -- $25-to-40 million or more. While at one time movie theatre exhibition was the only way for a movie to earn revenues, now there are multiple ways. While a film may in fact be seen by more viewers on television, the function of a domestic theatrical release these days is to act as a marketing driver to dramatically boost sales of domestic DVDs, dramatically boost domestic television licensing fees, and foreign sales. Without such exposure, a work going directly to retail DVD or to television has much less dometic and foreign exposure, thereby reducing its revenue potential. [soundtrack significant part of promotion and sales]

TELEVISION SHOW BIBLE -

Ultimately used to pitch a series to networks, though can be used when ramping the project up to secure initial development funding for presentation ackage, and secure key attachments or other assets to the show.

Contents:

• Overview of Show and Overall Project [condensation of all other elements that follow]
• Details of the Concept
• Breakdown of Characters and Inter-Character Dynamics [if dramatic, comedic or limited series]
• Beat structure per episode [i.e., intro, segment 1, seg 2, seg 3, outtro etc - structure identity of show]
• Synopsis of pilot episode
• Brief breakdown of 6 to 12 succeeding episodes [to demonstrate it can work as a series rather than a one-off movie concept]
• Profit Centers [different ways the project can make money, if applicable]
• Project Team [thus far]
• Bankable Attachments and/or Targets [stars, celeb host or participants etc]
• Marketing Elements Specific to Project
• Target audience - comparable shows that audience watches
• Appropriate sponsors
• Budget [start-up to build sets etc, and per episode after start-up]
• Project Schedule / Funding Release Schedule

APPENDIX

• Pilot Script
• Promo DVD for Project
• Reel of Producing Production Company - DVD
• CD of Theme Music for Show
• Letter/s of Attachment or Interest from Bankable Talent
• Head shot/s of Attachable Stars
• Letter of Commitment or Interest from Potential Sponsor/s
• Letter/s of Interest from Merchandising Entities
• Relevant Photo or Illustration of Set Design
• Newspaper, Magazine, Internet Articles Supporting Interest in Subject Matter
• Any Other Information Supporting Viability or Profitability of the Project

NOTE 1: All plans are built over time. You start with whatever info you have, and build from there. As you build the plan, you use what you've built to interest other parties in the project; then you build them into the plan as they become formally involved.

NOTE 2: This is an optimum plan. Not every plan will involve all of these elements. Incorporate everything you can provide that will explain and support the project.

For further info contact: andyvr@filmnashville.org