Ep. 42 Ingredients for a successful documentary film proposal

Filmmaking is a time consuming endeavour. While it might take someone less than 90 minutes to consume and fall in love with your film, it takes you and your team countless hours, many sleepless nights and endless shots of espresso to pull it all together.

From storyboarding your narrative to perfecting your script, securing talent and selecting locations and lets not to forget the actual filming and editing part! – let’s face it, a lot of blood, sweat and tears goes into making a movie. 

However there is one part of the filmmaking process that can feel like it takes an eternity to create and get right. And it actually has very little to do with the overall look of your documentary feature film…but oh boy, can it make or break your production! 

I’m talking about your proposal. AKA your ticket to funding your project. Because while documentary filmmaking will give you a great sense of accomplishment it also carries more than a few challenges. And writing a great proposal is one of them.  A great proposal is directly related to the single biggest factor in determining if your film will be made.  Finance! 

And securing enough finance or funding to make what you envisioned in your mind is probably one of the biggest challenges a filmmaker faces. 

Which is why in this episode I wanted to take a close look at crafting a proposal that’s so convincing, it’ll have potential funders begging to get behind you and your documentary. Writing proposals is something I do regularly and I’ve learned a lot of tips and tricks that help to get the structure and tone right.  What to include and what to leave out. And sometimes it’s what you leave out that makes it more successful!

Listen now.

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Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:03

Hello, fellow creatives. I am so excited to be back with you today because I am going to be talking to you all about one of the most incredibly important parts of filmmaking, and that is creating a proposal to get your film funded. Now, filmmaking is a time-consuming endeavor, and while it might take someone less than 90 minutes to consume and fall in love with your film, it takes you and your team countless hours, many sleepless nights, and endless shots of espresso to pull it all together. From storyboarding your narrative to perfecting your script, securing talent and selecting locations. And let's not forget the actual filmmaking and editing part. Let's face it, a lot of blood, sweat, and tears goes into making a movie. However, there is one part of the filmmaking process that can feel like it takes an eternity to create and get right. And it actually has very little to do with the overall look of your documentary feature film. And boy, can it make or break your production? I am talking about your proposal, also known as your ticket to funding your project, because while documentary filmmaking will give you a great sense of accomplishment, it also carries more than a few challenges, and writing a great proposal is one of them. A great proposal is directly related to the single biggest factor in determining if your film will get made. Securing enough finance or sometimes called funding to take what you've envisaged in your mind is probably one of the biggest challenges a filmmaker can face. And this is why this episode I want to take a really close look at crafting a proposal that's so convincing, you'll have potential finances begging to get behind your project or your documentary. And writing proposals is something I do regularly, and I have learned a lot of tips and tricks that can help get the structure and tone right. I'm going to talk to you all about what to include and what to leave out. And sometimes it's actually that thing that you leave out that makes it more successful. I'm Sue Collins and I am part of the team behind Moonshine Agency, an impact film production house producing films that have positive social impact. Impact films are films that are designed to take an audience from passive viewing to being an active participant and it gets them doing something, getting involved and being part of a solution. I've recognized that learning how to craft films is a challenging process. When I was just starting out, it was really hard to find information about learning about filmmaking without formal study and without being under the wing of a mentor. So avoiding the pitfalls, being pigeonholed, running out of funding, or simply not understanding the business side of the industry has meant that over the years I have seen many people with a lot of great talent give up or simply move on to more stable work. But my hope is to see this industry thrive here in Australia and beyond, and I recognise that to do that I have to be more open with my skill sharing. So I've decided to share more of what I've learned through many years of filmmaking through this podcast, Moonshine Moonshot, and with online courses at the Moonshine Communications Academy. So make sure you check out the Academy, particularly the resources section, where you can access free downloads like check sheets and ebooks that complement the podcast. So back to today's topic. Behold my top tips for creating a successful documentary film proposal. But first, let's have a little chat about who has the money. Who are these potential financiers? Determining the right group, organization, or even individuals to approach for financial support can be a really tricky game. There is a lot that you need to consider. And figuring out the right contacts, understanding how to pitch with passion, and shortlisting your target financiers, well, that's a lot to do. As an impact filmmaker with a focus on health equity, the potential funders that I reach out to are often philanthropists, foundations, and not-for-profits. In other words, organizations and groups that have a mission aligned to the same mission of that of the project that I am creating. And they may have either the resources to help me on that mission or the finance to help me fund my film. So don't be afraid to get a little bit creative with your approaches. I made a film about a childhood disease called rheumatic heart disease or often called RHD. When I was filming in the top end of Australia, it was brought to my attention that we were making films to educate children on why it's important to practice good hygiene because it's one of the prevention steps to preventing RHD. And I became aware that we were asking children to regularly wash their hands with soap. The problem is that many of the children don't have access to soap. There's a whole bunch of reasons why, but one of the main ones was that soap in remote communities can be extremely expensive. So on learning this, I reached out to a soap company to see if they would like to be involved in the project. And yes, they were. They came on board as a project sponsor, which was fantastic. But more importantly, they have made a really strong relationship with a couple of the communities and were able to supply soap directly to them. So you can check out the short film I made about it on YouTube if you head over to Takeheart.tv because it's a really good example of how a project funder that is aligned with the film project you're producing can really turn into a fantastic relationship. So you are looking for groups or organizations that would find your project useful and helpful in progressing their own mission. So it's a win-win scenario that you're looking for. And another thing to keep in mind is that often who you know is going to be really helpful. Receiving a warm introduction to a potential funder via a colleague or acquaintance is a really great way to get a conversation started. Scour your LinkedIn and maybe you're old school and you've got a little old black address book. And if you get in touch with anyone working in an industry that relates to your project, they might be very willing to provide that introduction for you. So if you don't feel you have any right connections, don't fret. The soap sponsor that I mentioned above, completely cold call. Just simply Googled them and reached out. And I knew of their products because I used them myself. So I felt very comfortable in, you know, saying that they were the right project partner for that project. It all comes down to how you position your ask and the proposal that you share, which brings me nicely back to crafting that proposal. So let's get yours underway. Now, what am I meaning by a proposal? You might be thinking of a document and wondering if I really mean a pitch video. A pitch video is definitely helpful to have in the mix, but I am absolutely talking about a written document, often with pages and pages in a PDF. Yes, you have to do a lot of writing in this filmmaking business. So first thing is first. Get out your laptop and open a blank page. So here's a really basic structure that you can follow when you're just getting started. First up, project summary. Start by detailing what your film's about. Yes, it might just be a glimmer of an idea right now, but outline what interested you in the topic. Do you have any personal connections to the subject matter and why you believe you are the best person to share this story with the world? If it's a topic that's been covered previously, and you know, let's face it, there's nothing new under the sun, most have, but you could discuss why your take is fresh and relevant at this moment in time. So talk about the key problem and ultimate solution your film will bring to the foreground. Second, audience. Think about your target audience and how they will experience your film. Explain who they are and why they might be interested in your project. Potential funders will want to know if your audience is overlapping or aligned in some way with their own audience. So discuss the kind of impact you think your film can bring about from financial returns to people reached and behaviors changed. If you're needing a bit of help with finding out who your audience is, we actually created a whole course over at Moonshine Communications Academy on how to define your ideal audience. So again, head on over to Moonshine Communications Academy when you finish up here, and you will be able to find a whole ton of resources. So that was number two, audience. Number three is style and approach. Is your film hopeful or an expose? Does it include a mix of interviews with experts and everyday people? Where do you plan to shoot? In one location, multiple cities, or at a studio? Provide some detail about your style of cinematography and the key elements that will make your documentary unique. But don't feel like you need to be too specific. A vivid but broad overview is absolutely fine. At the start of a documentary process, you really don't have all the answers, and you're not going to know exactly where you're headed for every single shoot. So you're talking about it in broad strokes. What is your style and how are you going to approach this topic? Next, number four, key participants and collaborators. Now you've probably done quite a bit of the development work already, if you're already up to here in this series on how to create a documentary. So you're trying to share who you're already collaborating with. Who are the key people that you hope to interview? And have they already agreed to be interviewed? Provide brief bios for each person so potential funders can get a real feel for who they are and how they will enhance the film. Number five, plan of work. What does that mean? How do you plan your work? Well, come on, this is a documentary. You do know how to plan your work. I know planning is something that everyone thinks is boring, but it's not as awesome. So provide an indicative overview of each phase of your project. So you need to talk about pre-production, production, post-production, and distribution. And also include any specific outputs, including is this a feature film or is it going to also have accompanying content on YouTube? Are there other touch points such as website and social media places? So just have a think about what are the nuts and bolts of what you're trying to create and what are the big milestones that you will create throughout the process? Because that's really the plan of work. Number six is next. The ask. Okay, you have to ask for something. How much are you asking for? You'll need to include an outline of that and whether you are seeking support from one sponsor or a number of sponsors. So be clear on the benefits to them as financial investors in the project. How will their contribution help you to further your mission and what's in it for them? And be sure to align your vision with your potential investors' vision. Now, my tip on the ask is this is really important. You do not want to provide a line-by-line budget breakdown unless you're going to one of the screen agencies that require that kind of detail. You just want to be talking about an amount. For example, I need $250,000, and that will enable me to fulfill pre-production, production, post-production, and delivery, and that will cover everything involved in those steps. You don't need to get really specific, you just need to talk about the overall amount that you need to realize your film, and if you're planning to get all that money from one investor, or have you got a number of investors, and a number of investors will contribute X amount towards the budget? And which part are you asking them for? Now, next part, ensure your proposal is visually led. So I can't emphasize this, you know, you're a filmmaker, it's visual, and nobody likes to read big slabs of text. Well, maybe some academics do, but most of us really don't like to read that way. So once you have all the information side sorted out, it's time to pull it all together into a visually engaging document. You do not need to be an art director to knock this out of the park. Tools like Canva or PicMonkey are great resources for non-designers. Not only are they incredibly user-friendly, they carry a stack of templates that you can adapt to suit your own style and project. So my top tip to use as much imagery as you can, avoid big slabs of text, incorporate bold, punchy headlines and breakout boxes to keep your reader focused so they don't just glaze over at a wall of text. Include links to your past work or to pre-interviews or to teasers that you may have already created that are relevant to this documentary. And if you have them, share images from your documentary development journey. But know that it's okay to use stock images in your proposal because this is for a private audience and they will not be expecting you to have produced any work yet. So stock images are okay if that's what you can access. Proofread your proposal and give it to somebody else, no matter how much you think that you've done all the checks. When you're so familiar with your own work, you simply cannot pick up on all the typos. So make sure you share it with someone who has a great eye for detail. And you'll want to ensure that your error-free typos, grammar mishaps, check it, recheck it, check it again, and better still, make sure that the person you hand it over to has also checked it twice. And use, you know, there's all these tools like Grammarly, use them. Just don't let that typo be the difference between someone taking you seriously or not, because a lot of people are very, very particular about typos. So do your best to get it as accurate as you can. Now it is time to get your beautiful proposal and put it in front of funders. So once you're happy with it, you need to get it out there and do not lose heart if you send multiple email after email and just don't get a response. Securing funding is a long game and it can take many follow-ups and many meetings to bring somebody on board. There is nothing like the sense of achievement you'll feel when you receive a response to an email saying, yeah, I'd like to meet and discuss your project. So if you're wondering what to do once you actually get that awesome meeting, then the best thing to do is actually go and check out podcast 33 on how to get your film funded and the three questions funders always ask. Because once you get that meeting, you want to put your best foot forward. So in the meantime, hit subscribe on whatever platform you're listening on, and happy pitching! And I will be back next week. Do not hesitate to reach out if you have questions. You can reach me on most social platforms via at Moonshine Communications Academy. So, looking forward to hearing from you. And please do go back and check out Podcast 33 on the three questions funders will always ask. Hit subscribe, and I'll speak to you again soon.