Question more on the Producing side of things...

[Clayton Taylor]

Hey everyone. This is pretty off-topic, but I have a question more on the producing side of things. Working on our next film and we're shooting for a shoestring budget with hopes of passing goals for a much easier time. We're doing the crowdfunding way of things (IGG) and so far are having decent luck from friends/family.

We had an idea and I'm curious what everyone thinks. We are offering an exclusive Exec. Prod. perk, but it's aimed towards businesses in a way. We are trying to appeal to the marketing side of things with "Presented by (name/business name/logo)" in the credits, logos/names on all of our merch/promo materials and special thanks any time we are given the opportunity to speak at a festival/class/presentation. Also blasts and placement on the film's web and social media presence. The pricetag is $2,500.00. The script has been reviewed by the former shorts programmer for Sundance and her words were, "This is fantastic writing... Absolutely fantastic." We have great cast attached.

So - thoughts on that as a perk? What would you target? local businesses? Businesses who are relative to the film industry? I live in an area that's not known for having a ton of people involved in film financing so we have to hustle every year. How would you present something like this to businesses/individuals that you approach? Any thoughts or feedback is greatly appreciated. I hope this doesnt break rules, as I'm not posting links.

Thanks!

 

[Hugh Scully]

"And now a word from our sponsor... " I guess you have to discern whether the perq is right for the donor. My first question is this is a donor to your Indie Go Go project? If it's tied in with FA then they get a tax deduction if you're working it that way. If it's an investor then well, that's different.

I would guess that it depends on the type of business. A single entrepreneur might prefer an EP credit and time on the set - to be actually involved. People love that stuff... walk-ons, etc. If your donor is a small business you could push that you're local too and plan on doing a bunch of local outreach for it to be worth it. Say a local car dealership won't do well if you talk them up in an out of state festival but a national brand would.

I think it's a good idea. I'd be interested to see how you make out. That's great feedback about your script.

 

[Clayton Taylor]

Thanks Hugh. Well, we are featuring the perk on the IGG site - however we are outreaching personally (or about to once we figure out where to start). If we get a taker, then we deposit the funds through the site (or have them do it that way) and it's gone. What would we need to do to make sure it would qualify them for a tax deduction? We are reporting everything tax wise to make sure we're covered and they would receive whatever paperwork was needed.

Thanks for the tips. So far the individuals we know that have the means haven't given anything firm yet. Any tips on approaching those we don't know personally? Set up a meeting? Email? We were thinking businesses tied into the industry may be more interested due to if we get into Sundance or other Oscar qualifiers - it's a crowd of people interested in film/filmmaking. What better place to advertise, right?

 

[Elsie N]

If it's possible to do in the script, try approaching companies about product placement. That way, if the movie makes it to distribution or streaming services, the ROI is multiplied many times over.

 

[Clayton Taylor]

Elsie - thank you. I think the writer/director is open as long as the project isn't compromised, obviously. I'll PM you a quick question.

 

[Hugh Scully]

I was just thinking, Clayton, of how I've done some higher budget shorts in the past. Since the chance of profit, or even recovering expenses is negligible, I'd used Fractured Atlas (FA) as a 501c3 umbrella organization for fiscal sponsorship. Once that's set up then all donations to the project go through them and are tax deductible. It's pretty handy. They work directly with Indie GoGo but you don't have to do that.

I don't know that I'd do a feature that way as hopefully there would be some return We'll see. I won't be far behind you.

 

[Terry VerHaar]

Just one clarification on the deduction thing...

if you can legitimately set yourself up as a 501(c)3 - probably easiest through Fractured Atlas, as Hugh says - then any "donation" can be tax deductible. But, that doesn't really matter to a business donor as you are describing, because they can deduct their "payment" to your project as a legitimate business (marketing) expense. So, the 501(c)3 is just a complication for what you are specifically describing here.

 

[Clayton Taylor]

Thanks Hugh.

Yeah Terry - we were spinning more as a legit business "marketing" write off. We didn't think about the 501(c) thing.