The best ways to raise money for a film.

Raising money for short films can be a big hurdle for filmmakers. After making a $25k short film, I got a lot of questions about how to finance a short film project, especially one with a larger budget. Here are 5 ways I've found funding for over 50 short films.

I forgot to mention one thing in the video - if you aren't in a rush to film your project, and have the patience to fill out a bunch of applications, applying to filmmaking grants can be a great way to raise money for a film (although I've never done it myself). Try searching for short film grants on Google to find one relevant to your project.

00:00 Intro
00:15 Financing a Short vs. a Feature
00:40 Self-Funding
1:02 Splitting the Budget
1:50 Crowdfunding Platforms
2:22 Kickstarter Campaign Tips
5:10 Investors
8:33 Loans/Credit
9:45 What to do BEFORE raising money

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About me:
I've been making short films for 20 years, starting at age 11. I directed my first feature film, Bad is Bad, in 2010. Made for only $6,000, the film went on to reach over 7 million views and garner critical acclaim. More recently, my short film, Will "The Machine", screened and won awards at film festivals around the world. Released online in 2019, it reached over 1 million views in just a month. I also work as a video editor, cutting ads for clients such as Apple, Netflix, and Beats by Dre.

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[Steger]

The best way is to have a YouTube channels for a while and talk about your movie show pics and build your channel then talk about your crowd funding then lunch it live. Give them things like sign photo of the cast poster and stuff.. I see many ppl crowd funding comics on youtube, one of them made 1 million $ for a comic book. Other make 400, 200, 100 thousands, 60, 40, 10 thousands..

[FrictionMakesFire]

The insight in these videos continue to be great!

Would love to hear how you run your sets in a future video. Always curious to see how different directors manage productivity and workflow during the production process -assigning crew roles and all that stuff. Especially smaller sets that require people wearing multiple hats.

[sami_rye]

Thank you so much for sharing so much information with the community. This kind of content is so helpful.

[ColsonStudios]

Love your content! These videos are super beneficial for me when making my Ben 10 and Spider-Man fan films, thank you!

[ayonsg]

A no nonsense, to the point video. Thank you so much 🙏🏽

[NoahPopejoy]

As an aspiring film director, this is such a great help! I know that seeing so many comments complimenting how helpful this is makes people sound like a broken record, but it's the truth. I have so many ideas for short films. I'd post them here, but I don't want anyone to steal them. XD But I thank you for this! This is so helpful since I know my first serious short film with interior buildings would have to be expensive.

[JMELLOW]

Thank you for spreading your knowledge to the masses 🙏🏽

[SFCFilms]

Very helpful, thank you. I've been doing a ton of research and have done a proof of concept, getting ready to start a kick starter campaign in January. Wish me luck :)

[parkercrossjr]

These are all excellent tips. Subscribed.

[ehvway]

Very inspiring videos you got.thank you Sir!

[timcannon]

This is good info! My first kickstarter campaign we hit the 100, 000 dollar goal and actually when all said and done almost hit 200, 000. The scariest 30 days of my life.

[passiontaylor]

Helpful video! Thanks for the breakdown of the different investors. In your experience have people that have invested wanted a say in creative control? How do you navigate that?

Also, would really really appreciate a video on how to plan out the shots list. I'm a screenwriter wanting to get into directing my own films but they always tell you that you're not supposed to incorporate camera directions into the screenplay. I've gotten so used to this that I draw a blank when thinking of what shots to get now. Any advice you have on this would be greatly appreciated!

[jayhoovy]

Great tips! Seems to be really helpful for organically getting people to notice my channel.

[sihimmanuel]

which streaming or distribution platforms are recommended to submit your film?

[syrustav]

HOW LONG CAN THE DONATION CAMPAIGN BE? 1 to 3 months the most?

[AndoBobando]

Me and my friend are starting an indie film (45-1:20 length) and are hoping to make it this summer. We aren't 100% sure how we will fund it but looking for around 2000-3000$. We are still writing the script btw. Which one of these strategies do you think would be best for us?

[LivingRoomTrader]

Why do I first see this at day four of my kickstarter campaign 😖

[AlexanderBennettVideo]

Great content! I'm binging it all. You mentioned passive income from your first feature. If you were willing to share, it would be fascinating to know how much that is, where it comes from & how it's changed over the years.

[wadewapass]

Man I loved your film Bad is Bad I watched it many times 🔥 Question, have you ever met anyone famous?

[syrustav]

CAN YOU PUT THE DONATION AMOUNT YOU WANT? Like $25 for example? Per person?