Author: Ted Hope

The New Model Of Indie Film Finance, v2011.1, Foreign Value

Post author By Ted Hope
Post date February 16, 2011
161 Comments on The New Model Of Indie Film Finance, v2011.1, Foreign Value

Today continues my efforts to try to define the takeaway from the two most recent and robust US acquisition markets of Sundance & Toronto. I (and hopefully we) will try to extrapolate from them where we are today. How can we use our most recent experiences to determine the reality of our filmed dreams today? How can we move to a more realistic model of indie film finance?

Foreign estimates still set the initial value for films, and it is CAST that is the predominate determinator for this value. Before a film is shot, there are three types of actors that mean something to foreign buyers:

1) stars that have been in big hits in the relevant territories;
2) stars that have been in popular television shows in those territories;
3) stars that can be expected to generate a great deal of publicity everywhere.

Other than stars, there are a few other aspects of a film that create foreign value. Stars are another entity altogether from cast or actors — and it is really the stars that determine foreign value.

Are there any other factors that help shape what your project is determined to be worth overseas? Fortunately, yes!

Tags acquistions, film finance, financing, foreign sales

Truly Free Film

The New Model Of Indie Film Finance, v2011.1

Post author By Ted Hope
Post date February 15, 2011
92 Comments on The New Model Of Indie Film Finance, v2011.1

I recently had one of the top sales agents explain to me that the only indie film that gets made or sold these days are those projects that make absolute sense. Okay, granted what he was referring to was only within the mainstream indie business — the type of films that he and his cohorts commission — but it is worthy of our time to delve a bit deeper into this. What indie film project makes absolute sense?

The agent said there was no room for guess work in today’s mainstream indie business. If you want to get your film made, you have to have to make it for a price that all concerned feel it will certainly recoup at. “Absolute sense” is this regard is a film that will inevitably make back what it cost. “Absolute sense” can also mean a project that a company feels it has to have, usually due to the people involved or the timeliness of the concept, but those “packages” are frankly even harder to come by than those that seem to be inevitably recoupable. You are looking for the needle in the haystack with either, and need to build it yourself if you want to hope to come close.

My last few projects all were designed to remove any guess work for financiers. Between foreign sales estimates, tax credit rebates, and the undisputed value or attraction of the stars, if you want to be sure your film will get made, your project needs to read that the value of the work will exceed the cost of creating it. Value in this regard, is strictly business related, and not cultural (sorry art-for-art’s-sake fans, this isn’t going to be one of those posts). As much we can understand or even accept, those words though, what is the math that adds up to this formula? And where do the numbers even get their value anyway?

Even with 39 or 40 (and still rising) films selling at Sundance this year, the first take away from it is

Tags acquistions, financing, financing film, foreign sales

These Are Those Things

SUPER Guerilla Campaign Takes Hold

Post author By Ted Hope
Post date February 14, 2011

How many times do I have to tell you, we had nothing to do with any of these either.

Tags guerilla marketing, Super

The Next Good Idea

Animation Is Inexpensive, at least right NOW.

Post author By Ted Hope
Post date February 14, 2011
155 Comments on Animation Is Inexpensive, at least right NOW.

This won’t be the only time I don’t know what I am blogging about.

Still though, this looked like something some of you would want to know about. Chip Roughton of Rough Pictures wrote in and hipped me to this deal. For what I can tell it looks like an opportunity to get a $500 studio level animation software set up for $10.00. My quick scan for reviews also makes it look like a good deal. So if enough people sign up, you can get Messiah 2.o for $10.

Tags animation, deals, software

Truly Free Film

Wondering Why Music Licensing Is The Way It Is

Post author By Ted Hope
Post date February 14, 2011
40 Comments on Wondering Why Music Licensing Is The Way It Is

The NYTimes has a nice article on Matt Porterfield’s truly free film PUTTY HILL. I got to moderate a discussion around the film last year after its Berlin premiere and again this year for our screening series at Goldcrest — yet the movie had a significant change during the time that passed. The Times piece touches upon it: The Rolling Stones wouldn’t even enter into discussions about licensing “Wild Horses” to Matt and his team.

Why is it if you are an artist whose art is singing other people’s songs, our culture has worked it out in the most frictionless way manageable? But if you are an artist whose art is filming artists whose art is singing other people’s songs, you have to go to herculean tasks to gain permission?