Reduced Budgets To Green Light Your Feature Film or Documentary
Part two of my 2025 Predictions + Last Day For Bootcamp Discount
Hello dear readers! Welcome to another edition of my 2025 Predictions. You can read my previous ‘softball’ prediction here - titled Can You Make Films In America Anymore?
And also, today is the last day to save 20% on my upcoming Funding Strategies Bootcamp. Let me help you develop an actionable Finance strategy in five weeks. We start Jan. 20 right here on Substack. Lessons are written with audio enhancements from me :) Plus I’ll be available to answer questions about your specific situation, guide you along, and help you course correct. I’m calling this a live cohort because for five weeks, I’ll be leading you through the process of developing a Funding Strategy one step at a time, and remain available to answer your questions ‘live’ as you go through the lessons.
I hope you’ll join me! Register today so you can save 20% on tuition.
The Year Of Reduced Budgets
As if this already wasn’t happening in 2024, but in 2025 be prepared for reduced budgets to go mainstream. To that end, I’m predicting even lower budgets than last year that financiers will actually approve or green light. I include in that sales agents, distributors, and lenders too. Any legit financier will disregard you as a complete amateur if you hand them a finance plan that is so out of whack with reality it’s not worth their time to deal with you lol. Sounds harsh but it’s true!
I’ll give you an example of how this might play out….
Let’s say you want to pitch your project to a Distributor/Sales Agent for a possible MG or Pre-Sales estimates. If they like the concept of the film, they will likely ask for the budget and finance plan. Now, these don’t have to be complicated but a general idea of what your budget looks like and how you plan to finance it (along with any financing already attached to the project) will do.
At this point they will review the project holistically and decide whether it’s realistic that the film will get made before deciding to commit as a financing partner. I’ve had distributors and lenders flat out tell me I’m out to lunch with the budget I want for the type of film I have. And you know what? That often leads to helpful conversations about what should my budget be for this type of project, this level director, producers, and cast. So I welcome it. But I could save a whole lot of time and energy if I just got a handle on how to lower the budget in the first place and present something to them that is realistic for the market.
With SVOD acquisition prices down and Ad based streaming still in the development phase around independent features, the truth is that it’s hard to project out more than a couple hundred grand or million bucks of revenue at the highest unless you’ve got actors attached who will significantly drive sales.
I’m advising one production company who was set to make a $30 million ‘mid budget action’ film from an A-list writer but in order to green light it this year, had to figure out how to make it for $18 million which required script changes and moving production and post to Eastern Europe. It also required hiring a First AD/Second Unit Director as the Director (it’ll be his feature directing debut) because no established action director would consider the project at this budget range and we couldn’t afford one anyway.
So to get the green light, you’ve got to be in touch with the financial realities of the market and be willing to adapt to them. Otherwise you’re welcome to fund the film yourself and do it the way you want without partners and face market realties later when the film is done.
I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences around reduced budgets for green lighting projects. Hit me up below in the comments or email me at stacey@filmspecific.com.
On that note I’ll wrap things up for today. I hope you have a wonderful day ahead and speak to you again soon!
Stacey
PS: Don’t forget to register today for my Funding Strategies Bootcamp if you want a deeper dive into realistic Finance Plans for your films. Click here to learn more.
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Hi Stacey,
"...because no established action director would consider the project at this budget range and we couldn’t afford one anyway." May I presume that you had a number in mind for what an 'established action director' would cost? In the context of the fact that I and my associate work on very small budgets, I'll offer an 'editorial comment'. Based on my experience in other businesses in which something similar has happened, it's clear to me that some people in the film business have not yet realized that everything is getting cheaper and if they want to work, they'd better lower their price, especially in America.
To follow up on a previous post, financing it yourself is likely the main (only) course of action for micro-budget features, say under 500k?