Filmmakers and Financing: Business Plans for Independents, Third Edition [Paperback]

Louise Levison (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0240804325 | ISBN-13: 978-0240804323 | Publication Date: December 2000 | Edition: 3

The third edition of Filmmakers and Financing: Business Plans for Independents contains completely revised and updated financial and industry data. With its easy-to-follow format and its step-by-step approach, this book teaches readers how to create a business plan that can be presented to a potential investor. Whether you want to create a plan for one film or multiple films, this unique guide bridges the gap between the filmmaker and the business.



Each chapter concentrates on a specific section of the business plan, such as the executive summary, industry, market, distribution financial planning, etc. A sample business plan provides readers with a reference as they write their own plans. This book provides information needed for approaching potential investors, including: defining goals and objectives, describing proposed films, researching markets and distribution systems, developing complete financial projections, and applying the plan to the management of one's company. The third edition also includes a new chapter on the growing use of the Internet as an outlet for film.



*The only book devoted exclusively to a specialized business plan for filmmakers

*Presents a step-by-step approach to creating a business plan that will attract investor financing for a project

*New chapter on the needs of Internet filmmakers

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book presents the information in a concise, informative and unique format - with this book, the class section on financing films practically teaches itself. I find the advantages/disadvantages sections very helpful."

Book Description

The popular film funding guide by the author of the business plan for The Blair Witch Project now includes an interactive CD workbook --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Focal Press; 3 edition (December 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0240804325
• ISBN-13: 978-0240804323
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,414,671 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a must have for any and all independent filmmakers!!, August 31, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Filmmakers and Financing: Business Plans for Independents (Paperback)

I found the book to be perfect in describing how to set up an independent film company. The Sample Business Plan for a Fictional Company (in the Appendix) is written in plain english which made it easy to see how one could put together their own thorough business plan. I definetely enjoyed the book and am working on my business plan for my independent film company as I type this.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars better than basic/could be more specific, August 16, 2006

By 

film book reader "Eddie" (Alameda, CA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Filmmakers and Financing, Fourth Edition: Business Plans for Independents (Paperback)

"Filmmakers and Financing..." is pretty good at helping you piece together a business plan for making a film (or creating a production company) and is better than a lot of the material on the web related to general business plans because it deals with issues specific to films and the filmmaking business. On the other hand, another reviewer has suggested that the book wasn't specific enough and that the example "fictional" business plan didn't seem to have enough substance. I agree with that comment. The author, who helped the "The Blair Witch Project" folks with their business plan, could have suggested some real-life examples (tough to walk the fine line drawn by naturally protected "proprietary information"). It's nice to see what a multi-million dollar production company business might look like, but I have to say that if I'm going to handle that kind of money, I'm probably going to retain a consultant to help prepare my business plan--maybe even the author! It's a good review of things you should know. Glad I read it. I think I'll pass it along to the next person.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I expected more...., September 25, 2006

By 

Ernesto Alcantara - See all my reviews

This review is from: Filmmakers and Financing, Fourth Edition: Business Plans for Independents (Paperback)

I bought this book to get detailed information about how to build a business plan for my start up Film Company. I was very excited when I saw the overview of this title and the fact that it now included a CD-ROM.

After going through the entire book in just a few days (I must admit it's a quick read) I found that the explanations were just slightly above basic knowledge and the CD contains only a few forms and worksheets to fill out. The best chapter (Chapter 10), which has a sample business plan, is NOT included in the CD-ROM! This was a complete disappointment since I expected to use this as digital blue print to fill in the blanks for my own business plan.

All things considered I did learn some useful principles on how to prepare and present information to potential investors and how to analyze some number (getting them boils down to research and a lot of work, which the Levison herself will admit to) but I really expected more out of the author of the business plan for the Blair Witch Project.