Investing in Screenplay and Film Production – Contributing to the Silver Screen

If you are the kind of person who has dreams of influencing Hollywood, but you don’t necessarily have the skills to direct or star in your own film, there is no reason to give up there. One way to get into the film business and to have a big impact is to begin investing in screenplay and film production, which is a great way to make management calls about staff, materials, and even marketing decisions without having to go through the regular channels. Of course, if you want to begin investing at the big level, you have to have a lot of money. If you’re not quite there yet, you can still become a big investor, but you might have to work your way up to the top. The good news is that this is very possible, and it also can be fun.

Your first step toward investing in screenplay and film production is to start small. There are many talented filmmakers around the country who need a little financial kick start to get their films off the ground. These filmmakers often start out by making short films and sending them to film festivals. If you don’t know any talented filmmakers personally, a good way to learn about what’s going on and who has the most talent is to attend these film festivals. Wait until you find a film that you not only like, but which shows a style and sensibility that you know has some market value. Other investors might care less about market value and might be more concerned with putting money into meaningful projects.

Finding willing filmmakers should be no problem at all. As a matter of fact, even the biggest directors and writers need people who are interested in investing in screenplay and film production in order to get their films out to the public. In most investment situations, you can only benefit from having an understanding of a particular market, field, or industry. If you are serious about investing in film, you should know a lot about movies, or a lot about movies in a genre or which appeal to a certain audience.

When you plan on investing in screenplay and film production, it’s important that you stay engaged and monitor production, but that you also don’t interfere with the artistic process. This is a difficult note to strike for many people. Investors tend either to give too much leeway and go far over budget, or they lay down too many restrictions, killing the project’s momentum.

Investing in Screenplay and Film Production – A Unique Option

Investors are one of the driving forces behind nearly every aspect of our society.  From technological advances to medicine, from new products to new music studios, there’s no end to the different things that investors help create.  While an idea may be groundbreaking, without the funds it will never come to fruition.  And one of the more unique investment opportunities you can find is that of investing in screenplay and film production.  It certainly isn’t the same as buying a few shares of a company, but it can be rewarding in both financial terms and in personal ones, which explains why so many people actually do it.

There are numerous options if you’re thinking of investing in screenplay and film production.  On a small scale, you can usually find a low budget film that needs funding.  While it might not reach the levels of worldwide releases, it could actually provide a major return.  Many micro budget films like The Blair Witch Project cost only a few thousand dollars to make but ended up netting their investors millions upon millions of dollars.  Obviously that’s the exception rather than the norm, but with technology making it more affordable than ever to make a film it’s always a possibility and can usually be easy to find.

The key to investing in screenplay and film production is to find a project that you not only believe in, but one that you feel will yield rewards.  There are several things to look for in these cases.  A look at the credentials of the group trying to make the film is important.  Directors with some experience are a plus, for sure.  Also, many films may manage to gather some well-known actors who agree to perform if funds are raised.  A document called a Letter of Intent is used as proof that these performers will take roles in the film if it finds the needed capital.

If you find a film production company with Letter of Intent from one or more respected actors and the budget seems to be right, investing in screenplay and film production could very well be a good call to make.  Take a closer look at the fine details and treat it just as you would any investment – with a review of credit risk and debt to assets ratio along with any other factors.  This will help you determine if you’re placing your money in good hands.