Thanks. I'm about to attend AFM with the goal of raising some finance for my next feature. A potential funder has asked me for a finance plan before our meeting, so this video was very helpful, and so was the template.
This is actually a bit of a hidden gem, I'm glad I came across this... I am wondering if you can edit the finance plan, and just take out the government agency sections instead of leaving them blank with 0... especially if you are presenting the finance plan to investors.
Hey Alexi, This video is great! Thank you so much for taking the time to talk about this. I have my own spreadsheet that I designed, but I loved how yours had a percentile breakdown of the total sum of the projected budget (on top of the sheet) but I don't understand how you got it to break down each portioned investment. (Total sum beside the allotted portion) How did you calculate that? I'm usually stuck between choosing a percentile or a total sum, can't seem to combine the two in google sheets.
Noticed that the total initial investment from yourself and the co-directors went down once the incentive was added in. Wouldn't that drop you down below the hypothetical min-100K to get the incentive, rendering the project unqualified? Don't these entities require your actual spend/budget to be above their minimum on your own before qualifying? On top of that, they don't give it to you up front, so that expected incentive needs to be monetized up front somehow, which usually cost a percentage of the expected incentive.
Hi Ryan, thanks for your questions, here are the answers: 1) No it wouldn't because you have to separate the budget from the finance. The finance that comes in from the incentive decreases the amount of finance that needs to come from other sources but the budget is the same. 2) No, the finance created by the incentives can take you over their minimum spend to qualify. Hypothetical: if the minimum spend is $500k and the rebate is 40%, you need $300k in committed finance and the rest can come from the incentive. BUT in order for you to receive the benefit of the incentive at the end, you need to have spent the money, which leads to your next question. 3) You're right, they don't give you the money upfront, so you borrow the money from a private investor or a film finance company (who charges interest and fees; usually around 7-8% interest and 2-3% fees - can be higher or lower depending on the lender). Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any follow up questions.
Thanks. I'm about to attend AFM with the goal of raising some finance for my next feature. A potential funder has asked me for a finance plan before our meeting, so this video was very helpful, and so was the template.
Glad to hear mate, best of luck at AFM!
This is actually a bit of a hidden gem, I'm glad I came across this... I am wondering if you can edit the finance plan, and just take out the government agency sections instead of leaving them blank with 0... especially if you are presenting the finance plan to investors.
Cheers! Yes, you can just delete those rows.
Hey Alexi,
This video is great! Thank you so much for taking the time to talk about this.
I have my own spreadsheet that I designed, but I loved how yours had a percentile breakdown of the total sum of the projected budget (on top of the sheet) but I don't understand how you got it to break down each portioned investment. (Total sum beside the allotted portion)
How did you calculate that? I'm usually stuck between choosing a percentile or a total sum, can't seem to combine the two in google sheets.
Hey! I just added a link to the spreadsheet in the description for you. Also keep an eye out for my video tomorrow as I run through it in more detail.
Great video man! Love this
Cheers!
Noticed that the total initial investment from yourself and the co-directors went down once the incentive was added in. Wouldn't that drop you down below the hypothetical min-100K to get the incentive, rendering the project unqualified? Don't these entities require your actual spend/budget to be above their minimum on your own before qualifying? On top of that, they don't give it to you up front, so that expected incentive needs to be monetized up front somehow, which usually cost a percentage of the expected incentive.
Hi Ryan, thanks for your questions, here are the answers: 1) No it wouldn't because you have to separate the budget from the finance. The finance that comes in from the incentive decreases the amount of finance that needs to come from other sources but the budget is the same. 2) No, the finance created by the incentives can take you over their minimum spend to qualify. Hypothetical: if the minimum spend is $500k and the rebate is 40%, you need $300k in committed finance and the rest can come from the incentive. BUT in order for you to receive the benefit of the incentive at the end, you need to have spent the money, which leads to your next question. 3) You're right, they don't give you the money upfront, so you borrow the money from a private investor or a film finance company (who charges interest and fees; usually around 7-8% interest and 2-3% fees - can be higher or lower depending on the lender). Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any follow up questions.
Can't you say you're getting the finance from a distributor who finances films?