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Making Movies Without Losing Money: Practical Lessons in Film Finance
£18.00
This book is about the practical realities of the film market today and how to make a film while minimizing financial risk. Film is a risky investment and securing that investment is a huge challenge. The best way to get investors is to do everything possible to make the film without losing money.
Featuring interviews with film industry veterans – sales agents, producers, distributors, directors, film investors, film authors and accountants – Daniel Harlow explores some of the biggest obstacles to making a commercially successful film and offers best practice advice on making a good film, that will also be a commercial success. The book explores key topics such as smart financing, casting to add value, understanding the film supply chain, the importance of genre, picking the right producer, negotiating pre-sales and much more. By learning how to break even, this book provides invaluable insight into the film industry that will help filmmakers build a real, continuing career.
A vital resource for filmmakers serious about sustaining a career in the 21st century film industry.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Routledge, 1st edition (30 Sept. 2021) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 160 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1032173718 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1032173719 |
| Dimensions | 13.8 x 0.94 x 21.6 cm |
by Lee Adams
As a writer, film critic and lifelong movie buff, making a film is the ultimate dream. It’s just the prospect of getting together everything you need – especially money – to make a film that’s the frightening part.
How do you raise enough money to get your project off the ground? How will it make money once it’s finished? Will your budget stretch to half-decent actors and equipment capable of making the movie watchable? Once that’s all over, how will you raise money for more films if, like a vast majority of low budget movies, yours disappears without a trace? Or worse still, loses money for the people who stumped up the cash to get it made in the first place?
It’s all daunting stuff, and thankfully Daniel Harlow is trying to answer these questions in his book, Making Movies Without Losing Money. A former IT entrepreneur, Harlow spent two years interviewing hundreds of business-minded figures in the industry, seeking answers to help budding filmmakers stand a chance of negotiating this minefield.
Harlow makes no bones about the difficulties involved, and initially the book makes the industry sound as scary as I suspected, laying out the harsh realities. Making a financially profitable film for under $1million has a failure rate of 90%, we find out in the intro. He paints a picture of a whole army of dreamers networking and haunting film festivals, looking for a way in, but aren’t as far along with their projects as they’d like because they spend most of their time seeking funds.
Harlow takes a pragmatic approach. His key thesis is that as an artist, you must consider what will make a commercially attractive product for potential investors, buyers and audiences. Sure, he wants to make movies too, but as a successful businessman himself, he also doesn’t want to throw money away. Would-be auteurs who want to create their vision without compromise will find little solace here – as Harlow matter-of-factly states, if you want to make your movie your way, then you should use your own money.
Going in, I had little knowledge of this side of the industry, and I feared that the book might be a chore. Luckily, Harlow writes in a succinct, no BS manner, peppering his advice with colourful descriptions and anecdotal examples. It all makes for an entertaining read.
For all the daunting obstacles facing the indie filmmaker that this book is aimed at, Harlow ends on a positive note. “For all its turmoil, entertainment is thrilling, creatively challenging and ripe with opportunity. This is the time to be in entertainment.”
Making Movies Without Losing Money will offer insight, encouragement, and help recalibrate your ideas about how to get your project made, and maybe even make a success of it.