Customer Reviews

The Independent Filmmaker's Guide to Writing a Business Plan for Investors

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This book gets to the heart of the matter when it comes to telling students/readers what works and what doesn't, what is necessary and what isn't, when it comes to searching for funds for your project. A lot of the information appeared to be common sense, but then I realized it was the writer who made it appear so simple. I read another book where you had to be an accountant or attorney to make heads or tales of the information. This book spells everything out in plain English and makes you fully comprehend what you're reading with creative examples and comparisons. This book is essential reading for anyone seriously interested in taking the next step as a filmmaker.

This book is well-written and straight to the point. If you're an independent filmmaker living in the U.S.A. and have a project that you need to get FUNDED, well, you're going to need a plan of action and a well-written business plan, whether your investors are friends and family or unknown doctors and lawyers.

This book takes you through the process, shows you what you need to compile, and gives great resource information for doing just that. There is also an excellent SAMPLE BUSINESS PLAN that you can use as a nice blueprint for your own personalized plan.

Mr. Campisi has been in the movie business a long time and has raised funds for quite a few business ventures (inside and outside the biz), so his knowledge and information is invaluable. This book cuts right to the chase and will get you motivated and on the road to securing funds for your project. It's a long and uncertain road, but this book, along with a few others, is a great way to get your business plan underway so you can get down to the business of making a movie!

Well worth the money.

This book has two sections: the first outlines the requirements of a business plan, and the second is a sample business plan, with the intention that you copy it and fill in the blanks.

The first section is very helpful in giving you an overview of what is expected in a business plan, and why. Most crucially, it gets you thinking about your investor and what they are looking for from the deal. Many projects that reach the business-plan stage fail because they to not acknowledge the business element of filmmaking, but focus on the artistic merits of the project. In reading the first section, you'll gain a good understanding of the steps to present your project to an investor. A slight weakness of this is the presumption that you'll have an army of entertainment lawyers to complete the funding process. This is advisable, but not always the case.

The second section, however, is where the book falls short. Reading through the business plan, it is laborious in its repetition - while there is a need to restate some facts or intentions, this plan goes overboard. It is also quite poorly structured: for example, half the plan is an overview of the filmmaking process that assumes your investor knows nothing about film. This information should be in an appendix - an investor should not have to wade through 20 pages of this before reaching the numbers and projections they're really interested in.

In summary, this is a good guide to the realities of presenting your project to investors, but it doesn't deliver as well on that promise as it could. Still a worthwhile read and a useful addition to any low- to mid-level filmmaker's bookshelf.

Most books for independent filmmakers focus on rudiments of the artistic industry. Gabriel Campisi's The Independent Filmmaker's Guide To Writing A Business Plan For Investors provides even the most novice filmmaker a very fine tool for understanding distribution deals, sales, and the business end of making a successful film proposal. Use The Independent Filmmaker's Guide To Writing A Business Plan For Investors to assemble a winning business plan based on proposals which work - and understand what potential investors seek in such a proposal with a title which packs in interviews with successful independent filmmakers and industry executives alike.

If there's one book you should get in order to reach your goal of getting funding for your film or television project it is this one. I don't know of any other book out there with such detail and step by step instructions about getting the most important element of producing a film, funding. You can have the greatest idea, cast, team together in the world but if you don't have the tools you learn about in this book you'll find it an uphill battle. I've recommended this book to all my friends and colleagues in the businesss. I stake my reputation on it. Go out and get this book today! (Jeff Rivera, author of Forever My Lady)

The information in this book is very real and can be applied to any film or movie project. The data is priceless. Sometimes the information seems to be repetitive in some chapters, but the writer (Gabe Campisi) definitely knows what he is talking about from his own experience, not theory. It is backed by all the interviews in the back of the book with others (filmmakers) that reiterate what Campisi says. Refreshing to see others in the industry verify the author's knowledge.

I was extremely disappointed in this book. It told me nothing I didn't already know and nothing that isn't available in numerous other books of the same subject matter. Considering the nearly $ 40 price, I thought I was getting a definitive book on the subject matter and I would hardly call it that. Oh but the cover is beautiful. Smart marketing.

Gabe's book "The Independent filmmaker's Guide to Writing a Business Plan for Investors" is a must for any indie film company. While many books exist on the subject, Gabe's is able to package complex information into an easily digestible format for all readers. The book understands the changes taking place in the film industry.
Anyone not using this book will have to work harder to find the critical information needed to be a success is this competitive industry.

Dennis Baker
Mindsplinters Films

I have been muddling around for years trying to find a reference,resource book,texts,website,or fortune cookie whatever!!! To help me clearly formulate a business plan for an entertainment production business. Typically, the various business plan guides that are so readily available prove to be nothing more then guides for structuring a generic business plan that doesn't translate well to the industry at all. I've always found myself particularly bogged down when it came to the Financial sections. How can you gather real industry numbers for an industry as vast, varied, and speculative as the entertainment industry.

Well I had the pleasure of meeting Gabe personally and acquiring a copy of his book directly from him. We're always searching for Angels in this industry. Gabe has turn out to be exactly that for me personally and his book is a Godsend. With the aid of "The Independent Filmmaker's Guide". I've organized my business and projects in such a way that my path before me is like "the Yellow Brick Road". I've reach a level with my pursuits that I have never ascertained before. I owe all to Gabe and his Bible.

I am forever grateful and any future success I may achieve I can completely and honestly say that it became real and achievable through my constant study and referring back to this book.

This Review may seem a little over the top for some but after reading countless books on business organization and planning; I found that I mastered the ability to write and organize many forms of businesses such as shoe stores, car washes, insurance sales, bakeries, pet-grooming, even manufacturing. However non of the books had not even a minimum suggestion or reference to the industry. So they all ultimately left me wondering and with little practical processes to approach a business in "show business".

So I am forever grateful for this book and my personal contact with Gabe.

The Independent Filmmaker's Guide to Writing A Business Plan for Investors:

Writing a business has it's pitfalls, but Gabriel Campisi suggests: "Since a business plan is compartmentalized, you can effectively begin it at any section - "to get started". So if the story motivates you most, start there." That might sound trite, but it is absolutely true, it is a daunting document. This book goes into a lot of detail, and spells it out, not just from research but actual filmmaking experience, from the author and a few of his closest friends. I highly recommend it.