Independent Film Financing and Distribution: Director Interview Part 1

Lights Film School was lucky enough to have a exclusive and candid interview with the director Tom Whelan about his most recent feature film “The Art of Travel”. Tom speaks with us openly about how he got this film made for roughly $300,000. This is Tom’s third feature film so he understands the ins and outs of the film distribution process. The following interview is invaluable to new filmmakers seeking more information on the film financing and distribution process.

Before you read the 5 part interview you can watch the trailer for the film below.

1. What was your planned budget for the film?

Your plan at first is always very simple when it comes to the budget of your film. Get your hands on as much money as you can! We knew right off the bat that raising around $300,000 was the best target. That way we could convince actors to do the film for the SAG weekly rate and we knew we could deliver a good film for an amazing budget. Just a side note- the second you decide to shoot a film outside of North America, SAG determines that since you have the money to shoot in a foreign country you can afford to pay the SAG minimum rates. SAG will not allow you to shoot on the SAG ultra low budget scale, which if you were shooting the film in the USA they would grant you in second.

2. What was your actual budget for this film?

We managed to get the film ”in the can” for $305,000. Then after returning back to Los Angeles we had to raise an additional $100,000 to pay for all the Post Production and all the costs of delivering the film to First Look Studios and our foreign distributor as well. So in the end, the actual budget of the film came in at $438,000.

3. What were some of the biggest downfalls to working within a tight budget?

The biggest downfall is easy the fact that you don’t have money in your budget to bail you out of trouble or to after some shots in your head that you only wish you had the time and money to try and get. The upside to this battle is that you have to rely on creativity rather than money to get a lot of things done in your film and quite honestly it absolutely amazing what you can accomplish with creativity on the set.

First I’m going to say something that most first time filmmakers hate to hear.
When I usually speak to a first time filmmaker the conversation goes something like this.

Me: “So you’re film is a drama and it’s about child abuse (obvisously the subject is always different). If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your budget?”

Filmmakers reply: “We think we can get the film done for 2.5 million”.

Now, I’ve never been one to tell a filmmaker they’re crazy. Hell, I was told time and time again that “The Art of Travel” couldn’t be made for our budget of $300,000. So I never want to discourage a filmmaker. But, the one thing I’ve noticed while making indie films, it’s always a safer bet to try and make a film with a smaller budget than trying to go for over a million dollars on your first film. The distribution market in the last few years are FLOODED with lots of films and it’s so dam hard to recoup your money back on a film in the two million dollar range – UNLESSS you spend a million to get the biggest actor you can to be in the lead in your film. Sounds easier said than done. If you do manage to find an actor that will take a million dollar payday (which isn’t too difficult) then you have to convince the actor and all the agents and managers involved that you can actually make the film for a million, and if it’s your first film it’s hard to do! If you have a budget under $500,000 you can usually find a boat load of known actors who will do your film and you’ll have total control of your film!

4. Can you explain how you came up with the funding to shoot the film? Did you secure financing before you wrote the script or did you get financing after? Did you get all of your financing up front or did you need more for post production?

LaBelle, Graciano, and myself were able to use the last two films, “Somewhere” and “Border to Border” as calling cards to investors. But our one major strike against us was that both of those films had not been distributed at the time. But a budget of $300,000 was pretty easy for our investor to swallow and they knew we were using all our connections to go after new television talent, so everyone felt comfortable that we’d make back the investment. Then we also set up the fact that we would only ask for the last $100,000 if we actually did manage to come back to Los Angeles with the film “in the can”. When we did return back with a shot film, the investors had no problem giving us the last $100,000 to complete the film.

LaBelle, Graciano, and myself paid out of our own pockets for the location scout and to Central and South America. Then when we came home and wrote the script and budget was done to reflect shooting script and we could back it up by showing proof from the location scout. Our investors then felt very comfortable about everything and then we had our lawyer draft up all the contracts and then money was sent into an escrow account for us to go and make our film.

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Continue Reading the Interview

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