How to Fund Your Film

So you've got to the stage in pre-production where the only thing in the way of getting your film off the ground is funding. Whether its £100 or £100,000,000 it has to come from somewhere. For small lo/no budget productions it should be quite easy for you (maybe with the help of some small "donations") to stump up the cash yourself. However if this isn't an option there are some alternative routes you can try.

The first is Crowd Funding. There are a few dedicated sites on the web now that allow you to post a cause, in your case the production of your film, along with a few details and a target amount of cash. People can then browse your post, and make a donation. You can also set up tiers of donation with rewards such as film credits and copies of the final film. Two of the sites that offer a service like this are indiegogo and Invested.in. You can specify how long you want your campaign to run for and once its finished they take a small percentage and you keep the rest. They also have tools on their site that allow you to let others know about your campaign on Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites.

Your second option is looking for investors. You can try local businesses who may be willing to give you a decent chunk of your budget in return for having their shop/business shown in a shot of your film or just a credit. You may also find an investor willing to take a risk on your film for a return. For this route to pay off you need to have a clear and professional looking plan of how their investment will be spent and how you expect to recoup that for them.

Finally try the big industry players. If you think your script has what it takes to secure serious funding from a film production company or even a studio then don't be afraid to give that a go. Regional film councils are also a good place to try, as well as national film funds such as British Film Institute (BFI).

Good luck!