The Art of Film Funding
Discover the secrets to funding and creating successful indie films with The Art of Film Funding Podcast. Join Carole Dean, President of From the Heart Productions and author of The Art of Film Funding, and Heather Lenz, director of the award-winning documentary Kusama-Infinity, as they chat with top film industry pros. Get practical insider tips on crowdfunding, pitching, saving on budgets, marketing, hybrid distribution, and the latest in A.I. filmmaking. Whether you’re funding your first project or navigating new trends, this podcast has everything you need to succeed. Subscribe and let’s get your film funded!
The Art of Film Funding
How to Party With a Purpose and Raise Money for Your Cause, Second Edition
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SPEAKER_05Hi and welcome to the Art of Film Funding. I'm your co-host, Claire Capan. Along with Carol Dean, author of the best-selling book, The Art of Film Funding, Carol is also the founder and president of From the Heart Productions and the host of this show. Maury Worshofsky is a consultant, facilitator, and writer who has spent 30 years specializing in the nonprofit sector. His work is characterized by a commitment to the core values of creativity, thoughtfulness, tolerance, and transparency. Worshofsky works with nonprofits that are having difficulty achieving their goals. He helps them reach their dreams through strategic planning. Maury is well known for his funding book, Shaking the Money Tree, third edition, and for his brilliant book, The Fundraising House Party. And Carol Maury is a donor to your grants, right?
SPEAKER_06Yes, he is, Claire. Maury is dedicated to supporting documentary filmmakers, and he gives a generous donation to the winner of our film grant. So thanks for joining us, Maury.
SPEAKER_02My pleasure. Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER_06Well, we're going to have a lot of fun today. We want to cover funding parties, your brilliant book, Shaking the Money Tree, and learn more about how you work with filmmakers. And I want to start with the fundraising house party book because I believe that it's an excellent resource for artists to fund themselves. And I noticed, oh, it is. It is so exciting, such a precious little book, but it's packed with information. Now, I noticed in the preface of the second edition that you said you had no idea how popular house parties would become. Are they still growing in popularity?
SPEAKER_02Uh yeah, because everybody knows about them now. They used to be uh only done by uh political parties. They were very popular in in the political realm. Uh and then everybody else started picking up on the fact that they could do them as well, that they were uh usable uh and an eff effective tool for fundraising in almost any kind of venue. Um so yeah, they're still going strong, stronger than ever.
SPEAKER_06And do filmmakers consult with you sometimes about making uh creating a party like this?
SPEAKER_02Uh occasionally I will have a call that's just party-oriented, and usually I'll just just say read the book first and then call me up if you still have questions. Because the the book is very, very uh granular and A to Z about exactly how to do it and what the shortcomings are and how not to make mistakes. But typically uh I will f fold uh advice about house parties into a larger discussion about fundraising, because it shouldn't be the only way you look for money. But it sh it could and should be a part of a fundraising plan.
SPEAKER_06Oh, that's exactly right. I remember in one of the classes I took that you you uh gave, you talked about uh drawing a circle, big round circle, and then dividing it up, and that circle represented your time, and you should um look at what time you want to uh use for each of the funding opportunities, like grants, fundraising parties, I guess crowdfunding would be part of that now. You want to share that with us?
SPEAKER_02Uh yeah, well I I counsel my clients to be strategic about where they put their time, energy, and money because all of those items are very l limited. Um so that means uh when I take a look at the environment for funding, I see the filmmaker swimming through a potential sea of money sources. There are lots of ways to raise money, and the filmmaker's job is to step back and look at that uh landscape and figure out uh w which areas they want to swim through and what kind of swim strokes they're gonna need to learn to be viable and successful in those arenas. Uh so I mean briefly I can outline the uh the places where many are. Um and the first, of course, is individuals. So if you take a look at where money comes from for all nonprofit, non-commercial ventures uh available, over 80% comes from individuals. And that's based on figures from like the last 50 years. Uh so that's one venue for getting money, and it turns out there are lots of different ways to get money from individuals, and house parties is one way, crowdfunding is another way, one-on-one individual asks is one way. Uh and then another pot of money is grants, and grants typically are coming either from private foundations or from government agencies, and those are two different worlds that are very dense as well, and you need to learn about them. And then there's corporate support and support from small businesses. So you've got a really nice broad swath, a rainbow of possibilities for money, but it's much too big and dense to attack all of it. And that means the filmmaker has to step back and ask to a couple of big questions. One is who am I? And which of these venues is uh more viable for me as a person? Uh so personality does have a big difference in in fundraising, you know. I if you're gonna ask people for money one-on-one, you've got to have be able to jump over that fear factor of dealing with people and looking them in the eye and asking for money. Uh or maybe you're a kind of filmmaker who's better at writing and articulating uh your work on paper. Maybe you're a filmmaker who does have business connections. Uh so that's one area, and then the second area is your project, because your project is not going to be uh attractive to every funding avenue. It's gonna be likely more um attractive to certain areas of the fundraising environment. So some projects are just never gonna get grants, some projects are never gonna get corporate support, some projects just aren't good with major donors. So you have to ask those two questions, you put them together, and then you put together a a a viable strategy for where you're gonna spend your time and energy and money and looking and looking for money. And unfortunately, you're gonna be spending a lot of your time looking for money. So it's really important to be um strategically impactful about how you do that. That you're spending your time with intent, understanding how you're gonna do it.
SPEAKER_06Wow, yes, that does take a lot of thought and planning. Um and this uh going back to the fear factor and making the ask, uh that's a major problem for a lot of filmmakers because they're very creative people, but they they either love to write and then storyboard and talk to the director, uh, but they're not, they're just not people people. And they tell me, I can't do this, I can't do this. So um what do you say to someone like that? How do you help them?
SPEAKER_02Well, uh the first thing I say to them is um, do you need to do it? Does it need to be done? Because if it doesn't, then you don't have to. But I I I don't have a problem with that. Uh and then the filmmaker will sit back for a minute and say, Well, yeah, it absolutely must be done because this project has to happen and I have to see it through. And then I'll say, Well, okay, if that's true, then how you feel about it doesn't matter, does it?
SPEAKER_03Right.
SPEAKER_02You have to get over that. Uh so so I'll say, let's take a look at the avenues that are most appropriate for this project. Where could it get the money? And then you've got to find a way to overcome your uh your uh fears or disabilities or impediments. You have to find a way to get over those impediments and just get that m money the way it must be gotten. So, you know, the there are workarounds for disabilities, uh and sometimes it means finding uh a partner who's really good with people or hiring someone, uh bringing in a team. Um so in different areas of fundraising it's easier or harder to get that. So, for instance, if you're not a good writer, uh that's the easiest problem to overcome. So if you find that your project is really going to be appropriate for for the granting environment, then there are many, many good writers out there and and and grant writing people that you could hire. And as long as you can articulate your project well and be passionate about it, they can turn that into good verbiage. Uh what's harder to find is someone who would uh approach major donors with you or for you. That's very difficult to do. Uh and actually when we talk about house parties, that's the one thing I love about house parties is the filmmaker does not ask for money at the party. So you can be a very sh a shy, introverted filmmaker and still have a house party and and raise a lot of money be and you don't have to make the ask, but you do do have have to be articulate and passionate about your film.
SPEAKER_06And passionate about your film, that is so very important. Um because being pitched as much as I am because of the the film grant that we give, I uh can tell you that uh that I love the passion. I think that passion is the key and um because people seem to override and do things that are impossible with their passion. It's amazing, don't you find?
SPEAKER_02They have to. And that's why, you know, when I talk to filmmakers about pitch, passion is the first thing I mentioned because if if you don't have that, the rest is moot. Forget about it. And you know what? Uh when you are talking to people, they can feel that or not feel it immediately. They know from many signals whether or not your heart is in that project. And because I mean especially people like you and and I, we know what it takes to make these things happen. And I can tell you if the filmmaker is not passionate about it, it ju it ain't gonna happen. 'Cause it's just too hard.
SPEAKER_06Exactly. And I remember you saying one time, I can tell in thirty seconds when someone starts to pitch me, in thirty seconds I can tell you if they're gonna get their film funded or not.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I'll have a good f I'll have a good beat on it, yeah.
SPEAKER_06Yeah, it's right. And um so w and I tell people, uh I because I do t teach pitching to our physically sponsored filmmakers, and I tell them that when sometimes when people start to pitch me, I'm looking at them wondering, because the thoughts I want to know is are they going to finish the film? Are they committed?
SPEAKER_03Exactly.
SPEAKER_06And uh are they passionate? Will they shop at the thrift store for the next five years? Can they drive the same car for a long time? I mean what uh uh are their commitments and um and so th sometimes you and so you must not pitch too long because there's a lot of stuff going on in the s recipient's head. You need to make it a very short beginning, pause, and make sure they're still with you because uh when they there's a moment when you can feel that that person has crossed over a trust line and they have decided they're going to trust you, and then they often say, Now what was it you were saying? Tell me again, right?
SPEAKER_02Yes, that's right.
SPEAKER_06And uh it's so yeah, so you can you can tell pretty much. So what do you do? Um you advise people on how to get better or hire someone to help them, but they have to really commit to the fact that they know they're going to need, and that's the second thing that's so important, is a valid budget to look at, right?
SPEAKER_02Yes. Yeah. And I'll tell you something funny, uh, when I started doing this work with with filmmakers, I I am not an accountant or a good bookkeeper. I have trouble balancing my checkbook every Honesty, I mean I just admit that publicly. Uh but what I learned early in this game is that uh when filmmakers send me a full proposal and it includes the budget, I I know this is a little odd, but I will look at the budget first.
SPEAKER_03True.
SPEAKER_02Uh because what I've learned is typically I can discover many of the things that are either wrong or or right with the project and its approach from looking at the budget. It tells me whether or not the filmmakers really understood what's cooking and what's viable and what's what's necessary for the project. Have, for instance, have they included any money in for PR? Uh is there. Oh, you never see that. You never see it, but how are you going to get the the film out if you don't market it, you know? Is there money for distribution and the community engagement? And uh I'm looking for all of that just to get a sense of like how uh smart and aware that filmmaker is. Um and then I'll go back and you know and read read the project. But typically uh I've got a lot of good notes just from from looking at that budget.
SPEAKER_06Yes, and one thing that I find is that they under budget music. Yes. Music rights.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_06You know, you'll uh uh uh like I saw a dance film in my film grant, music rights, fifteen thousand. You gotta be kidding me. What you're gonna do.
SPEAKER_02Yes, and they're planning to use Bruce Springsteen's music.
SPEAKER_06Yes. That's right. So uh first, yes. First they have to have a b a budget that is realistic, and then they have to face the music and say, My gosh, is it really $250,000? And the answer is yes.
SPEAKER_02Uh well I'll tell you the other thing that's always missing from a budget I see 99% of the of the time, is the uh expected and potential income sources. So typically I only see the expense side. I'm also really interested in where they think the money's gonna come from. Uh yeah, and definitely, you know, if you you go to uh a granting agency with a budget, they're gonna ask you, the filmmaker, well, where have you already raised your funds from and where do you think the rest will come from? Because I'm not gonna give you a hundred percent. Uh and how safety or smart are you about about the potential th the potential sources. Do they look like really viable sources?
SPEAKER_06That's right.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_06That's right. That's why um I that's when people get in the finals of our film grant, that's the first thing I do is go back and say, if they haven't included it, what grants have you applied for? Because that gives me a good idea if they are actively out there and if the grants w uh would match their film. Because that seems to be the number one reason, isn't it, that that uh people are turned down for grants because they don't fit the criteria?
SPEAKER_02Oh, that is a major reason. Uh what I find is that uh filmmakers have gotten smarter and smarter over the years about that arena. Uh and I don't meet too many filmmakers anymore who are going for gr grants that are inappropriate for their project. Uh what I find the major reason for getting uh turned down for a grant now is a simple reason, and that's competition. So the and that's why grants are harder and harder to get now, and it it can't be your own only potential source of funding. If with the exception of very few filmmakers like, you know, maybe Ken Burns. But for most filmmakers, the odds of your getting a grant are you know maybe twenty to one or thirty to one or even higher. Yeah. Uh so I consider twenty to one good odds now. So that should tell you something. And the competition is really stiff because there are a lot of people out there who've, you know, who've been around for a while, they're competing with you for the same money. It's really, really a tough environment.
SPEAKER_06Absolutely it is. Um and you don't want to discourage filmmakers, but it is the competition. Uh and every grant, uh I can say that as a grantor, every grant is different. And I see that, you know, if uh sometimes I'll sit there and think, you know what? If the woman who was second in the summer grant had applied again for the fall grant, she would have probably won because the competition isn't here. And when you say to a filmmaker, I'm sorry you didn't win the grant, and they say, Why? I said, Well, it's the competition. And uh now I I just get more specific, Maureen. I tell 'em, is it's human trafficking, it's people living on the streets in LA. I mean, some of these subjects that we get are so urgent that they d automatically get go above uh an art film, which I love, or something or a biography about someone who is very special, and it's a shame, but that's what happens.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. And that's why you need to have a strategy for fundraising that is multidimensional. That doesn't look for just one kind of source for support. Uh and luckily there are many more avenues open now for fundraising than than ever before. That's an upside and a downside, but you're absolutely right.
SPEAKER_06One of the uh b one of the best films that ever applied for the grant was a film about Kusama by two women who were adamant. Do you remember uh Heather and Karen?
SPEAKER_02Oh yes, I remember them. Yeah.
SPEAKER_06Fifteen years it has taken them, and they are now opening, and of course, it's as if the universe put them on hold because no one knew who Kusama was.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and now everybody does.
SPEAKER_06Everybody does. So now their film the submarine took their film and uh the big event is happening in a m in a month where they're going to have their major screening. And they they went to Sundance.
SPEAKER_02I'm so happy for them, and you know, timing is everything.
SPEAKER_06It is, but Maury, I mean, they never gave up.
SPEAKER_02And Well that's the other thing, you have to b if you're gonna be in this game, you have to learn how to be persistent. You have to learn how to be persistent because it just doesn't happen overnight. It takes years. I mean, the first film that my daughter did, she thought sh she could finish it in a year or two and it took six years. And I warned her, I said, Well, you may think you can get this done in a year or two, but call me three years from now, let's see where you are. It took six years. And her second film took six and a half, seven years. But by then she knew it would. Yeah. Her latest film, that's how long? Six and a half.
SPEAKER_06Big Big Sonya?
SPEAKER_02Six Big Sonya took six and a half years. And it started out again, she thought it would be a little twenty minute film and they could knock it out in like a one trip to Kansas City, and then the first trip to Kansas City opened up their eyes to a larger story. And now you've got a ninety minute film that came out a year ago but took six and a half years to do. It's now in its seventh and a half year and it's just finally entering uh the the educational market. And you know, it's gonna be another two years of work distributing an education. So we're talking about nine to ten years of her life.
SPEAKER_06Well now, talk about tenacity and commitment, that's your daughter.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_06She's wonderful.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, she is. If she s sets her mind to doing something, just get out of her way. It's gonna happen.
SPEAKER_06That is great. Well, Claire and I are big fans of hers 'cause we've been watching how Big Sonia is so well received around the country. And um and see, she's uh right. Sometimes you turn on the camera And people start talking and you see all these threads to the story that you never knew were there. And a good filmmaker will follow those, right?
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Yes. And that's why films take longer to make than you think.
SPEAKER_06Yes. But then you're really making the important thing. Well, this brings me to something that I find often people say to me, uh I'm not sure exactly what the story's going to be till I start till I do more interviews. I think I know, but I'm not sure. And I say, Well, you have to tell me what you think it will be, because if you don't tell me s uh a story, that's what we fund, so you have to tell me that. Um and it's d d so how do you get them in the beginning to come up with a story when they're really they they don't know. I understand that they don't know, but usually I've never given a grant to anyone that didn't make a better film than they expected to make.
SPEAKER_02Right, yeah. Um well I use a mechanism uh a mechanism to make that happen and that's forcing them to write a treatment. Um and that forces the issue. So I don't let a filmmaker get away with uh in their packet for funding w without having at least a two page treatment. And quite often if it's especially uh, you know, a verite documentary filmmaker, they'll say, Well, I don't know what's gonna happen. And I'll say, Right. Well, that doesn't matter, pretend. Let's start out with pretend that this is what you're hoping will ha or likely to happen. Give me some sense of that. And I understand you're doing a documentary and things are gonna change. Uh, but you've got to start someplace, so let's start with that. And that usually helps get them over that hump by giving them permission to pretend and know that they're not locked into that treatment as a script. You know, it's not like a a narrative film where you've got a script, you need to kind of follow it. It's what you're ho hoping will happen. It gives me a sense of the shape of what the story might look like and where you plan to go with it and how you plan to do it. And that that's what I need to see at the beginning. Once you start shooting and you're into it, then things will change.
SPEAKER_06Right. And usually for the better.
SPEAKER_03It's a great way. Yeah.
SPEAKER_06Well, let's I want to go back to the funding uh party again for a minute. Um so do you recommend that people have more than one party?
SPEAKER_02Uh I typically do. Uh but everything depends on uh uh whether or not uh it's appropriate for your your film and where where and its geography and who's supporting it. So most films can definitely have more than one party if they can find more than one host. And the key really is finding the host. But if you've got more than one host, I mean you could be in a small town and have three, four, or five parties uh and be just fine. Or you could have parties all over the country if it's appropriate for your project, and you've got people who love you and the project around the country. Um so yeah, I I I would think about having more than one party.
SPEAKER_06And um when you have these parties, tell us what you want the host to do for you. What do you ask them to do?
SPEAKER_02Oh, well, the host is key to the whole thing. If you don't have a good host, then you're not gonna have a good party. Because well the first thing is the first thing you need from the host is the love. They need to love you and love the project. The second thing you need from the host before anything else happen is happens is they must make a commitment to the project. They have to make a donation. So typically your hosts will come from people who've already donated. Um but if you've got someone who approaches you or you approach them to be the host of the party, they need to know that that party's not going to work unless they can stand up at the party at night in front of their friends and say, I have already given to this project, or I'm going to be writing a check tonight to that project. So that's square one. They have to be really committed. And then square two is they need to uh volunteer the use of their home, the place where they live. Not their business, not renting at a hall or going to a gallery or wherever. They need to be willing to invite people into their house. The second thing is, and it's bottom line, they must be willing to open up their Rolodex, their address book, and invite their friends. That's crucial because you know what drives these things is being social and social pressure. So they need to be willing to personally invite their friends. Uh after that, they're like there are things they can do but don't have to do. Uh typically they will provide for and take care of the food almost 99% of the time. But if they don't, and that's something the filmmaker might have to to uh provide. Typically they will design, write, and send out the invitations. Uh but again, if they don't have time or energy to do that, then the filmmaker might have to do that.
SPEAKER_03Right.
SPEAKER_02Uh right. And then the last thing is uh it would be great if they would volunteer to do the follow-up calls after the party, but again, uh they are not required to do that. It just helps if they will. So that's the range of things you you would like from the host.
SPEAKER_06And that is a lot. So going back to what you said, they have to love you and love the project.
SPEAKER_02The square one. That is square one. You don't want someone who just says, Well, you can come to my house, you invite people, and you know, I won't even be there that night, but you can have my house. No, that that doesn't work. Even if they have a mansion on the hill, you know, that everybody wants to get into, no, they they've got to be there to vouch safe for you and the project.
SPEAKER_06Yes. And a lot of times people go just to see the inside of the house, you know. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03That's right.
SPEAKER_06No, I I was invited, one of the women that was uh physically sponsored under me, she had a house funding party in Montecito. It wasn't too far of a drive, and I wanted to see the house. It was the guy who wrote the chicken soup of the soul thing.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_06And um it was a wonderful party, but um they they offered you there were three ways that you could contribute. And I think people got confused.
SPEAKER_03Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_06Uh and so uh I don't think that she got the money that th that she had the potential to get. Uh so I d I don't know, I think it's keep it soup simple. Very simple.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely. Keep it really simple and easy uh to happen. Um don't c don't complicate it, don't throw up any impediments, just you make it easy for people and you'll get the money.
SPEAKER_06Well, one um woman who raised an enormous amount of money through fifty dollar checks, fifty, a hundred dollar checks, uh she it just came in like popcorn for her. And she had a funding party, and at the party she gave everyone the little put like a postcard side size thing where you check off I want to donate, and here's my credit card or here's my check, and with an envelope. And those envelopes came in for three to six months later than after the party. Why why is that? That was shocking to me.
SPEAKER_02Uh it's not. In fact, if you if you kind of look at the statistics for how and when money comes in for parties, typically I tell my clients thirty percent of the final amount is gonna come in after the party.
SPEAKER_03Wow.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Uh so if you know, if you raise ten thousand dollars at night, you're gonna get another three or four thousand dollars afterwards. And there are there are lots of reasons for it. Sometimes it's just because uh people uh have to go home and talk about it. Like, you know, my wife and I have uh uh have an agreement that if uh a donation is offered a certain amount, we both have to agree to it. Under a certain amount I can just write the check and nobody cares, but if it's gonna be a big amount, then we have to talk. Uh so they might have come to the party without their spouse. Sometimes they just like some some people need time to think about it. So you know the difference between uh thinkers and feelers, or if you know most about personality types. So some people just need to go home and and reason it out. Um and then uh so that's part of it. And then sometimes people need a little nudging, a little pushing, and that's why uh calls after the party are are really crucial. And it's most powerful if the host will call the people who didn't give that night to check check in with them after the party. And that will that will bring money in.
SPEAKER_06Oh, what a great idea. The host calls and says, Did you have a good time? Did you like the film? That kind of thing.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and then they say, I noticed you weren't able to write a check that night. Woo! Uh are you ready to give now? And if not, can I help you, you know? Wow. That has to be that direct.
SPEAKER_06This is great, of course, why not? And then that really works, doesn't it?
SPEAKER_02Oh yes. Oh yes, it does. That is it it it's a lot about social pressure.
SPEAKER_06Wow, all right. Well, um your book is just so full of information. Uh d uh it's when you look at it, it's d w and what is it, fifty pages? But everyone It's a slim volume, yeah. It sits with four or five great ideas. I mean, you read it and you think, oh, that's great, and then oops, that I never knew that. Even uh uh with as many parties as I've attended and suggested people have, I've still found new stuff in your book. So thank you for that.
SPEAKER_02Oh, you're welcome. Well, you know, what I found was that the devil is really in the details. Uh and to make a a party really successful you have to do everything right. If you miss one of the details, then you can miss out on on the money. And uh I'd been doing a lot of fundraising and before foreign noticed that nobody had ever really deconstructed the party and talked about how to really do it. They uh they all just recommend that you do it. But that doesn't help the person who who needs to have it done. You know, they need to know the nitty-gritty.
SPEAKER_06Oh yeah, these details are terrific. Now, in the book it mentions a host committee. Uh and I don't know what that is. Tell can you tell me about that?
SPEAKER_02Uh well, double your pleasure, double your fun. Uh see, the key to the the party really working is to have enough of the right people in the room. Uh and uh what helps I found is if the host will gather together a small committee of p of other like-minded people who will also inv uh do two things. One is they will invite their friends to the party as well. Uh and they help uh arrange for for the evening, taking care of the decorations and and the food. Uh they help send out the invitations, they might help with the follow-up calls. And they're there that night to Miller on to talk to people. Oh, and by the way, if you want to be in the host committee, you have to make a donation too. One of the beautiful things about party is you raise a lot of mone money before the party even happens. That's one of the things I love about house party. So you're raising the host is gonna give you money.
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_02Everyone on the host committee is gonna make a donation, so you've already got money there. And then the other thing is when you send out invitations, you know, a g sixty to seventy percent of the people you invite are not gonna come that night, and a percentage of those people who can't come are gonna send you money anyway. They're gonna write back 'cause you send them a card that says, uh, sorry I can't come, but here's my donation. So you make money before you even open the doors at the party.
SPEAKER_06Oh, this is marvelous for filmmakers to know. But they wouldn't know this if you hadn't put it in the book. They wouldn't know how to do that. So I like that host committee because then you've got uh you've got a better chance of getting twenty people or twenty-five people there because it's really hard for one person to have to get that many people uh unless they're really well known and yeah, and it takes a lot of pressure off of the host and it makes it more fun.
SPEAKER_02So you one of the reasons to do these parties is they are a lot of fun. And in fact, in fact, one of the byproducts of these parties is almost always somebody who came to it said, I want to host one for you too, can I do that?
SPEAKER_06Oh yes, that is a key factor, isn't it, to keep it going. Well, I went to I went to a party and uh the food was fantastic and uh the filmmaker talked about her project and um it just didn't work. There were it wasn't working. I don't know why, uh, but nevertheless I had to sit out. So I went and sat next to an older gentleman and he was watching the trailer. And I uh said, Wow, look at that, she was in Paris. It was uh uh a film on Neon, and there she was. Uh I said, Wow. He said, Oh, really? I said, Yes, and look, that's South Texas, I know that. And uh what a great job she did editing all this together, and I love the music, and I made comments, you know, and he he ended up being the biggest donor of the night because even though he was sitting there watching the film, he had no idea what it took to make the film.
SPEAKER_02Yes. Uh so that night did they entertain questions from the audience and did somebody make a powerful ask?
SPEAKER_06They made no, they didn't entertain questions from the audience.
SPEAKER_02That's a mess.
SPEAKER_06And somebody made an ask, but it wasn't powerful.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, there you go. So those are el key elements to being successful at the party. Uh so even if you're a shy filmmaker, you need a dynamite trailer that moves people emotionally. And it doesn't have to be long, but it must move people somehow emotionally. Be exciting. Get them excited. If you can get them to cry, they will throw money at you. You don't even need to ask for. That's my favorite kind of trailer. If it if people are pulling out their hankeys and Kleenexes, they will pull out their checkbook and their credit cards. So that's really important. The second thing that's important is you you must give t the attendees time to participate and ask you questions. Uh you need to find out what they're interested in. So, and that's hard for some filmmakers to learn is they need to shut up and listen. I mean, God gave you one mouth and two ears for a reason. Listen twice as much as you talk, and you'll be more successful. So that has to happen. And then the other thing is someone in the room who is respected by everyone else in the room, and m often it's the host, but it could be anyone else in the room who's respected by everybody, needs to get up and make a very powerful and direct and passionate ask for support right away. And if you don't do all of those things, you're losing money. You're l losing the opportunity for donations.
SPEAKER_06Well said. That's great. Well, another funding party I went to, this gentleman um had a a board made, I think he went like to FedEx and they maybe it was four feet long and maybe three or four feet high, and it started with executive producer five thousand. And it had a line next to it, you know, to put the name on.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_06And the second was associate producer 2500, and there were two lines.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_06Down to a thousand and about five lines, and then down to five hundred, and that was it. He didn't go any lower. And so I had um driven there without uh, you know, the GPS, and it was up in the mountains. I got lost, finally got there, and uh I was a nervous wreck. So he said, Okay now, Moustine, what I want you to do is uh we have to get the five thousand dollar donation. If we don't get that, I'm not taking any money until we I said, Wow, you're gonna be that strict. He said, Yes, and I said, Well, and who's gonna ask for that? And he said, You are.
SPEAKER_02That's great.
SPEAKER_06Oh my god.
SPEAKER_02It put you on the spot, right?
SPEAKER_06Yes, I mean it would have been nice if he told me ahead of time I could have practiced or something, but I I did it. I talked to I said, Listen, I've worked on this film for three and a half years, and if I get an associate producer credit, I'll be thrilled to death. I've put in countless hours and he has two, and he's a dedicated filmmaker, and you know he's good. So this one-time offer, if I'm only gonna offer this one time. Anyone who will write a check right now for five thousand dollars, you can have an executive producer credit. And up went a hand, some woman just said, I have to have that. And I that was the best moment I've had in years more.
SPEAKER_02That's great. Yeah, it's wonderful when it happens, it feels great, and that's what you have to do. You have to be passionate and just ask directly.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_02Don't tip don't tiptoe around it, because every everybody knows why they're there that night. They know they're gonna be Yes.
SPEAKER_06They are.
SPEAKER_02And that's why house parties are successful, because they are a self-correcting environment. What I mean is if people are not gonna give money and they don't want to give money, they don't come that night. Because they know you're gonna ask. And that's why seventy to eighty percent of the people who show up that night should should should end up giving you money if you do it right. Because they know they're gonna be asked. They've walked through the door and they're saying to you, Give it your best shot. I know you're gonna ask me for money tonight. I brought my credit card, I brought my checkbook, I've got cash, and if you do it right, then I'll write I'll give you the money. Right.
unknownRight.
SPEAKER_02So I do want to say a couple things about that particular ask. Uh, and one is the amounts are really important and they should be appropriate for the people you've invited. And that's why sometimes you have to throw more than one party, because some parties are appropriate for people who can give five thousand dollars, some parties are appropriate only for people who can give five hundred bucks, and some pr parties are appropriate for people who can give a hundred bucks or less. You don't want to mix those parties and those people together. So they need to be uh disparate. Uh uh this uh the second thing is uh I would always have an amount that's other, no matter what your low point is. So maybe five hundred is the least that you want to get and that they can afford, but I always say other.
SPEAKER_06Okay.
SPEAKER_02Because I'm I'm never turning any donation down. And the other thing is uh uh a little mechanism uh I like that works is to have what I call a shill in the audience. And that's someone who before the party has already agreed that the we will stand up and give you a large amount once you ask. And that really helps fuel other people giving.
SPEAKER_06Exactly.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_06That's a great idea. Yes, it would fuel because um when we after that when we asked for more donations, uh you know, the hands went up and the checks came out and so it's five thousand and and they could afford it, believe me. Yeah, there were bank presidents, top uh directors in Hollywood. There were that was very uh easy.
SPEAKER_04Right.
SPEAKER_06Uh but I thought it was m really wonderful that the woman took the lead and because you know most of the time they have to check with their husbands. She didn't ask, she just took it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, well these days uh you know, everybody's got the power.
SPEAKER_06So got the power, right. Now, your book also talks about a friend raising party, and I I've never heard of that. So could you share something about that?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I mean what I find more quite frequently is that people say they're gonna throw a fundraising house party and they end up throwing a friend raising party. b by accident. Um and they're they're very similar but they're different. In friend raising, uh you're not asking people for money. That's the big difference. You you're promising them though that if they come to the party they will not be asked for money. You're just going to inform them about uh uh what you're doing and maybe ask for advice and feedback. And you know friend raising often turns into fundraising. However, uh I've got filmmakers that come to me and say I'm gonna do a fundraising house party and here's what I'm gonna do that night and it doesn't include asking for money. So if you are doing a fundraising house party you must let people know they will be asked for money and you must actually ask for money that night. Um you're always whatever you're doing you're always doing friend raising. Always every day every moment every time you talk to somebody you're doing friend raising and you're hopefully f quite frequently turning that into fundraising.
SPEAKER_06Yes yes that really is the job of the filmmaker from the moment they from the inception of the film isn't it?
SPEAKER_02Yes yes well now tell us uh where can we buy the fundraising house party book oh well the best place is to come to my website which is my last name uh Worshowski.com W A R S H A W S K I dot com and you can buy them directly from me and in fact uh uh if you mention the show drop me an email before ordering I'll give you it an additional five dollar discount. So I've already discounted a little bit but I'll throw in another minus five bucks. Uh but if uh you just need to go any place and you can't remember how to spell my last name it's on Amazon uh I've got it available on on Amazon.com both as uh an ebook and as a hardcover.
SPEAKER_06Great. Well now if could you tell us a uh about your book Shaking the Money Tree. It's in the third edition. It's gotta be good to get to a third edition. That's quite an achievement.
SPEAKER_02Well people tell me it's the Bible on the subject so I just I'll I'll accept that. Uh it's been around since uh you know the first edition uh you asked me when the first edition came out and I had to go back and find out it was 1994.
SPEAKER_06Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_02Uh yeah and then those were in a a different world in different times. But it's I tried to write a book that was both uh very, very practical like the House Party book uh but also um inspiring and a little theoretical 'cause I'm actually a little more interested in that. So it's a bit about how to live a life as an independent filmmaker and the basic building blocks for being successful at that. And then it's a a lot about the the different avenues of fundraising and the very specific granular thing that you you need to learn and do to be good at any of that. So for instance there is a a sample a couple of sample grants in there. There's talk about uh how to do a pitch, how to talk to funders um you know a little bit of everything and I brought in a lot of um experts from the field to give uh th they're specific about about areas where they're more expert than I am. So it's got that full range of of work in it and um I'm kind of well known for it. Although I I don't do fundraising anymore but I just give people the book and say in fact that's why I I wrote it to begin with is I got tired of telling people how to do it. So I wrote a book. Uh unfortunately after people read the book they still want to talk to me so I'm sure they do more than ever, yes.
SPEAKER_06Well I love the platform that you teach filmmakers. You want them to find their mission as a filmmaker, their vision for themselves and clearly define their values. So could you share a bit of that with us?
SPEAKER_02Yeah that's for me that is the the bedrock of all of my work with every client especially with independent filmmakers. So what I began to understand when I was first doing this work with filmmakers on how helping them uh fundraise and create strategies fund fundraising was, I was looking at their impediments and why they weren't getting grants. So filmmakers come to me and say I've hit a wall, you know, no nobody's giving me money for my grant proposals, um my ask isn't working, I'm stuck, what what's happening here? And what I began to realize was they weren't grounded well enough uh in the very basic deep areas that w would not only lead them to m money but will make people want to give them money. And that first step, the first big rock was values. Did they understand what their specific and personal core values were because you talk to anyone who's really in fundraising and they will tell you that what a donation is is an investment in values. It's really a values exchange. So the donor is saying to you you are a amplifying values in the world that I want want to in increase to to see multiply and to nourish. And those are my values and that's why I'm giving you money essentially if you really dig deep into that exchange of the donor giving the money to the filmmaker and that's why trust is so huge. So how do you engender that trust? Well the first thing is to be really clear about who you are deeply. And that's either going to attract people to you which is good and or detract people away from you quickly and that's really good too. Because you don't want to waste time with people who who aren't in that same kind of values world with you. It's gonna be an unhealthy relationship. So I have all of my clients uh identify their their core values first and I've rarely met a filmmaker who's done that before we've worked together. And that's why you notice in the first paragraph you read about who I am it's like the second sentence of my website, I say what my core values are. And I'm just saying to people if these values are tasty to you or warm to you, great, maybe we can work together. If they're not then do me a favor, don't call me. It's not gonna work Okay so that's values. Uh and then uh the second little animal that's really important in my work is your mission, your purpose. Why are you doing this work? And for the filmmaker you must be very very grounded in that often a filmmaker will say well here's the mission of my film I'll say no no no no eventually we'll get to that. I want to know what your mission is first. Why are you doing this w work? Why do you feel it's so important to be a documentary filmmaker? Why make documentaries as opposed to like writing a book or lecturing or just writing a check to to help save what whatever it is you want to do in the world. So and that work is really very important uh and often uh deep and emotional work for the filmmaker to find the heart of what they're doing. And the reason that's important is two things. One i is it's your brand it's how you speak to the world about why you're doing the work but more importantly is it is your energy nugget. So when you get stuck and the work that's really hard you go back to your mission mission and say to yourself am I still really committed to this? Do I remember why I'm doing this? Is it still important? Because if it's not let me find something that's important and I'll put my energy there and it helps the filmmaker get through those tough times and if you are an independent filmmaker you will have tough times.
SPEAKER_06Exactly and that gets you out of bad movie. You made that commitment and that's who you are and sometimes you they get into such despair that they they think did I say that? You know and that sort of pulls them back together.
SPEAKER_02Yeah and that's where I'll take the filmmaker when they're having difficulty or getting depressed or get stuck I'll say well let's let's go back and look at your mission statement. Are you still committed to that? Does it still work? And that's why a filmmaker sometimes might take six months to a year to really articulate that mission statement well. And I like it to be really compact, maybe twenty five words or less and every word has to be important to just the right word. Um so that's the mission and then the last little um stepping stone in in my triumvirate is something I I call vision and it has its own uh purpose uh and role to play and vision is simply I'll say to the filmmaker three, five ten years from now, what do you see yourself doing? What does that look like? What do you look like? How much money are you making? What kind of work are you doing? Who are you working with? Where do you live? Draw me a really vibrant picture of what that looks like in the future. Um and once they do that uh it serves two large functions. The first is that's where energy and excitement comes from is seeing the change you want to make uh and getting excited about that. And that's how you bring people along with you, how you create teams who are also excited. Because you show them that picture of what the world looks like today but what you w w want to look like tomorrow. And the difference between that two is just really it gets people excited, or you're hoping it does. So it's like the the area of excitement. But the other thing that's crucial for for me and the filmmaker when we work together is is it's the vision that gets you strategic. Because once you can decide what you want in the future, then you can step back and look at your current stasis and say, what do I need to change? Like in the next six months, if I want to get across the street uh what do I need to learn how to do? Do I need to take a class in walking or swimming or driving? You know, where do I put my money, my energy to push me forward the best. So it's how you get intentful and smart about how you spend your time and energy and money is understanding and committing to your vision. So of the three animals once you identify your core values they never change because you're stuck with those once you're a young adult. Your mission you're gonna have missions for you yourself as a filmmaker but also as yourself as a a husband or daughter or whatever else you do in your life you'll have those different missions and because things change in the world sometimes your missions will have to get adjusted. Typically they don't change that much. But your vision because the world keeps changing your vision might change dramatically as you begin to move forward so you want to keep checking back in on your vision and adjusting your strategies accordingly. So that's my little uh map of how I get the clouds moving.
SPEAKER_06That is so powerful. I remember you saying one time that a filmmaker you had worked with years before came to you and told you that while he was going through some old papers he found the vision that he had drawn for himself and he was in fact living that vision.
SPEAKER_02Yeah and I got so excited when I heard that because I remembered the drawing uh he was doing and quite a often as a vision exercise I'll have uh the filmmaker make drawings. I'll have them draw a picture of the future that they want, what they're excited about, everything that's in it. Even if it's just like stick figures and you know they don't need to know how to draw. Uh and then I'll also after that have them draw a picture of their c current state of affairs. What does that look like? What does the future look like I mean the current your current reality look like and I remembered his drawings very vividly because they were so dramatically different. Uh and I could and he's a filmmaker that is knowable. I just won't mention his name but you're you're right. He called me back years later and said I found that drawing and I made that happen and I was very excited for him. The one thing about vision is uh timing and that is I'll tell my clients to draw at least three years ahead because if you want to make a real change, I I know it can happen in three years. Uh even if it's like a major change it's gonna take maybe at least it's three years.
SPEAKER_06Absolutely wow well Claire and I thank you so much for being with us and sharing all this information and I'm sure that we will get a lot of emails from filmmakers thanking you for this great kindness. Yes and uh your book is on Amazon Shaking the Money Tree third edition right?
SPEAKER_02Uh yeah and it's also um available uh on my website and again uh if anyone wants the book write me first and I'll give you a five dollar discount on that book as well.
SPEAKER_06Oh wonderful okay that is I'll even sign it unless you ask me not to you know no no I always love it when I get books signed. Okay well you've done us a great service thank you very much and lots of love to your daughter from both of us.
SPEAKER_02My pleasure and you do a great service for the field as well thank you so much.
SPEAKER_05Okay it was a pleasure that was great certainly indeed thank you more bye take good care and to our listeners I want to tell you how grateful we are for the donations you have given to support our podcast Carol and I sincerely thank you for donating at From the Heartproductions dot com. We urge you to send us your ideas for more shows. Who do you want to have interviewed topics that you would like us to cover just let us know and please join us next week for the Art of Film Funding podcast and be well everyone now in its second edition Carol Dean's popular book The Art of Film Funding has 12 new chapters to cover all areas of film financing and how to avoid expensive pitfalls. Learn how to start with an idea and end with a trailer how to make an ask for money create your story structure and your trailer legal advice fair use successful crowdfunding how to ask for music rights and what insurance you can't shoot without available on Amazon under Carol Dean and at FromTheheartproductions.com I want to remind our listeners that David Raikland is a brilliant and talented award-winning musician who scores films and can compose music for a trio or for a full orchestra David is a very good friend to the independent filmmaker and comes highly recommended by From the Heart Productions. If you need music to help tell your story please contact him at davidrain.com that's davidraikl.com and Carol and I want to thank you for tuning in to the art of film funding please visit our website at FromTheheartproductions.com you can also find us on Facebook and Twitter. Good luck with your films everyone
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