Film Financing in an Entrepreneurial Age with Paul Miller
Past workshop — registration closed.
Film Financing in an Entrepreneurial Age
23-24 February 2019 Warsaw
ABOUT PAUL MILLER
Paul Miller is an independent producer working in the United States, Europe and the Middle East.
From May 2012 until October 2013 Miller was Director of Film Financing at the the Doha Film Institute in Qatar. Miller oversaw a $2.5M education training programme, a $1m global grants fund and managed a $25M film financing fund.
Prior to this Miller produced The Birder’s Guide to Everything directed by Rob Meyer, Babygirl, written and directed by Macdara Vallely, produced with Samson Films and the Irish Film Board. During this period Miller produced a feature length documentary, Poor Consuelo Conquers the World, with Les Films d’Ici for ARTE in 2011. Miller also Exec-Produced the feature length documentary, The Man Who Drew the Future with Una Films and ARTE.
From 2002 – 2009 Miller was Head of Film Production at Crossroads Films, where he produced Snow Angels, which was released by Warner Independent Pictures in 2008. The film was written and directed by David Gordon Green and stars Sam Rockwell and Kate Becksinale and Golden Globe nominated, and A Love Song For Bobby Long starring John Travolta and Scarlett Johansson, released by Lionsgate Films in 2006.
Previous films include John Sayles’ feature The Secret of Roan Inish (1994), the Academy Award nominated Lone Star (1996) and Golden Globe nominated Men with Guns (1997). Miller also produced Prozac Nation, directed by Erik Skjoldbaerg’s (“Insomnia”) and starring Chistina Ricci, Jessica Lange and Anne Heche. The film was released by Miramax.
Miller was educated in England and is a graduate of the National Film and Television School in the U.K. He is a member and consultant with Paris based Ateliers du Cinéma Européen, (A.C.E.) Europe’s premiere producer’s association and a member of the Director’s Guide of America and the Producer’s Guild of America.
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION
The Film Financing workshop will focus on the art of producing a film in our entrepreneurial age, where the means of manufacture and distribution are in flux and where finding your audience is key.
The workshop will look at the how to develop, finance and complete a movie from the viewpoint of a creative producer. The workshop won’t be looking so much at the making of a movie more about setting off on the right track and finishing ahead of the game.
The workshop will be practical and interactive, with participants also having the opportunity to assess the issues they encountered on their own films, and receiving the feedback to help similar situations in the future.
Participants should be prepared to discuss an unproduced project that has been previously developed by them to the point of a first draft screenplay. The project doesn’t have to be an active project, just an idea that the participant can use in the workshop. The scripts will not be read or shared during the workshop. If the participant doesn’t have one, then an idea that has been developed to treatment stage is also sufficient.
For each film idea, the participants should also think of a director, lead cast, location and budget range.
The topics covered in the workshop:
A. THE BEGININGS:
Ideas: Auteur vs. Industry/Art vs. Culture/Writer-Directors, Budget/Audience
Developing your Pitch: the Elevator Pitch/Longer Pitch
Pitching to a writer and director, pitching to investors
Partnering with another producer
Logline
Synopsis
B. FIRST STEPS
Assembling a Creative Team and making a few Key Decsions:
Commissioning a Writer
Choosing a Director
The Filmmaking Triad: Director/Writer/Producer
Hollywood vs. Europe
Packaging of Talent: agents, managers and lawyers and casting directors
Location of the Filming
Screenplay Rights and Collaboration Agreements:
Property Rights:
Copyright/Chain of Title
Screenplay Rights: Option/Purchase Agreements
Underlying rights: articles, books, life rights, etc.
Creative Team Agreements: Short Form/Long-form Contract:
Director Agreement
Producer Agreement
Writer Agreement
Producing Partnerships
Development Budget
Casting:
Cast Lists, Casting Directors
Securing Cast
Actor Agreements: Major Deal Points (Upfront/Contingent Compensation, Deferments, Profit Participation: Gross vs. Net
The Glory of Schedule ‘F’.
C. MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTION RESEARCH AND BOX OFFICE COMPARABLES
Box Office Comparables: including budget, domestic, overseas and worldwide revenue and any known ancillary revenue, year of release, distributor and maximum # of screens
Marketing and Distribution Plan, Film Festivals, Distributors and Sales Agent
D. FINANCING
Revenue Flow
-Theatrical and Ancillary Rights: Domestic and Foreign BO, Domestic and Foreign Ancillary Rights
Revenue Projections
‘The Waterfall’
Estimating revenue based on Box Office: low, medium and high
Budget/Financing
– Financing Sources: Equity, Pre-sales, gap financing, loans and soft money
E. BUSINESS PLAN
How to Create a Business Plan for Your Film:
Executive Summary
Overview of Industry
Investor Return/Deal
Comparables
Projections
Revenue Stream
ROI
F. MAKING YOUR FILM BETTER AFTER THE SHOOT
Post-Production Decisions:
Improving the picture edit
Composer, Music and Music Rights: Sync and Master Use Licenses, Rights Clearance for Publicity and Festivals, Royalty-free Music, Composer/Score, Cutting Edge)
Test Screenings (friends, film professionals and NRG screenings)
Deliverables
G. INTO THE WORLD: MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTION
Who is your audience?
Precedents/Box Office Comparables
Demographics: age, race, location, gender, socio-economic class, religion, education, consumer tastes, musical tastes, sports identification, hobbies, politics, occupation, exercise habits, food habits, etc.
Influencers
How will you reach the potential audience for your movie?
Promotion: P & A Fund, Producer of Marketing and Distribution, Supporting Materials
Marketing: Social Media, Press, Publicist, Website, Blogs, Word of Mouth
Release Plan
Film Festivals
Film Markets
Theatrical: Distributor or DIY
Non-theatrical
VOD (streaming archived content): free/Ad driven, Pay
Community Screenings
DVDs
PROFILE OF PARTICIPANT
The workshop designed for, Film Producers, Film Financiers, Directors, Film Students, or anyone interested in entering the Film Business on the area of Film Production.
LOCATION OF THE WORKSHOP
Warsaw, Poland
16 hours
Duration: 2 days
Dates: 23-24 February 2019
Location: Warsaw, Poland
Price: 499EUR (375EUR Until the 20th February)
Maximum number of participants: 25
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