ASK & DISCUSS INDEX

7 years, 11 months ago - John Lubran

Thanks for the update Lawrence.
Would you please clarify the difference between the 100% funding stated in the header of your message and the 30% cash referred to in the text?

7 years, 11 months ago - John Lubran

Ought that be 'between' 30% and 100% ?

7 years, 11 months ago - John Lubran

Thanks again Lawrence. That's clear now.

70% possible for films budgeted over $5m from one fund and another 30% possible, making 100% from another source or perhaps parallel arrangement?

A different arrangement of up to 100% is possible for lower budgeted projects under £3m?

Is that right?

7 years, 11 months ago - Lawrence Perry

It is right - these are essentially funds and private individuals. However the film has to a good fit.

7 years, 11 months ago - John Lubran

I imagine that the fitness of a film according to the criteria of funders and anyone else who may wish to be involved is a given.

Likewise the fitness of funders and those others to be involved with producers and their films must also be compatible with criteria of projects.

The fund that Lawrence sources requires prescriptive ethics subject to the funders subjective views. Perhaps only a U or PG censorship rating. It's a clear market even if not one that reflects reality. In that world, for example, is war and strife without swearing and the realistic portrayal of suffering deemed acceptable? Or are the funders seeking only projects that are suitable for audience that might include very small children?

7 years, 11 months ago - Richard Anthony Dunford

Hi Lawrence

When I looked into this previously I was under the impression the fund was solely geared towards family films but is this no longer the case?

Except of course no horror and war films that you mention above...

7 years, 11 months ago - John Lubran

Lawrence's funding potential will be an opportunity for some film makers and I hope it will be a happy and successful thing for those who discover mutually agreeable purpose, especially if it provides a breakthrough for a member here who might otherwise never get the chance.

For my little outfit though I'm grateful that we don't have to jump through other folks hoops or be subject to the moral, religious or political dogmas of anyone other than our own. Nor do we need the capital structures of bankers, big business or the prescriptions of worthy institutions. Sadly for the present, most purely entertainment features without any other purpose, still depend on those things. I imagine that until a viable mechanism is created that allows crowd funders to take a meaningful business interest in the production and distribution of such films, that won't change quite yet. Right now though, projects that inspire the aspirational support of crowd funders already can and do.

It's so exciting on so many levels.

7 years, 6 months ago - Jane Sanger

Seedrs is based on that principle John Lubron, investors have shares in the project but they don't seem to do films! More's the pity.

7 years, 6 months ago - John Lubran

The challenge for everyone is sustainable viability. Unless one is a hobbiest with another source of income there's usually a limit to making shorts and features that rely upon VOD type revenues. Until someone devises a truly viable alternative distribution platform, that'll almost certainly be Internet based, and significantly different from anything we've seen yet, currently the only truly sustainable and viable systems are crowd funding and other fully front loaded productions. I can't see any form of distribution that relies on viewers to pay for the privilege of seeing someone's pet arts or entertainment project other than through the current mogul cartels. Inevitably there's going to be some ground breaking distribution and monitising structures based on new forms of commercial and institutional financing (advertising linked to bums on seats and the long tail business model). For fiction drama the creative and technical quality demanded will still need to be high. The mitigation for producers though is that production costs are going to fall conciderably as smarter and less demanding technologies emerge and traditional disproportionately high budget elements evaporate. Contrary to dogmas of the recent past, audience's are not so much concerned with mega buck actors as they are with great stories that respect their intelligence and make the suspense of credibility easily achieved. It's an evolutionary thing.

7 years, 6 months ago - James McCann

Are you still accepting scripts? I have one that already has most of the cast and a director attached.

7 years, 5 months ago - Lawrence Perry

I would like Action Movie scripts please - funding to £5m and above found.

I am interested in Medical/ mental health scripts from £5000 to £3m.