The first thing that every aspiring filmmaker always asks is “how do I get money to make my project?” You need a pen and a piece of paper. Ready? Now, make a list.
When I’m coaching someone who wants to make a film (short film or feature) or a web series one of the first things I have them do (after I ask them to answer the first 2 questions, of course) is to make a list. A list of what, you might ask? Good question.
You want to make a list of your assets. Now, before you tune me out because you think you don’t HAVE any assets, let me explain. I understand that many (or most) of you who are reading this don’t have lots of money in the bank or investment portfolios or things of that nature – most of the people I work with are trying to make projects on a budget. I get that. This is a handy way to do that. You start by making a list of everything you can put your hands on for free, for next to free or for barter. Let’s say your friend works at a bar. Well, it’s probably not open during the day so perhaps they’ll let you shoot there during the daytime hours. Or say you have a friend whose parents live a little ways out of town in a nice house – they might let you shoot there if you help them set up their computer system (or tune up their car, or trade them something that you can do for them). See what I’m saying. Maybe you drive an older interesting car or a motorcycle or any car at all because I’m sure one of your characters may need a car. Perhaps you have a friend with some sort of interesting collection (a doll collection, a knife collection, a collection of antique whatsits, whatever – you get the idea). Once you start writing down “things” you’ll realize that you have lots of friends and the possibility of access to lots of things (for props) and locations.
The operative word here is “writing down.” You need to put pen to paper or sit down at your computer and open a word program and start listing the stuff you can think of. Trying to think of it all “in your head” doesn’t work. I was working with an actor who hired me to write, produce and direct a short film for him. So, I pitched him a couple of ideas and he picked one of them and I told him to write me a list of his assets. Great. About a week or two later he emailed and asked how I was doing on the script. I told him I hadn’t started yet – I was waiting for his list. “Oh no,” he said, “I don’t want to do that. Besides, I don’t really have anything.” Well, I told him I wasn’t going to start until I had the list. Unless he had about $40,000 to produce the film or I had his list the film was a “no go.” You see, he wanted an action film along the lines of “James Bond” meets “The Bourne Identity” starring him. To do that we either needed a LOT of money or a fair amount of assets in the way of locations and vehicles. He grumbled a bit and said he’d work on the list. A few days later he contacted me, all excited, because he had his list and it was two pages long, single-spaced. He had no idea he had so many assets. He had been “thinking” about it and he didn’t think he had anything, but when he started writing – voila! He found he had more than he could list on one page. We ended up with a boatyard in Long Beach (with boats and shipping containers), an auto repair shop in the south bay, a nightclub in LA, a couple of mansions in Malibu, a helicopter, a plane, some luxury vehicles and a superbike… all because he started writing the list.
What we used in the film: mansion in the Malibu Colony with grotto pool overlooking the Pacific Ocean for both exteriors and upscale interiors, limousine, superbike, black Lincoln Navigator SUV, BMW, boatyard in Long Beach (with all the drydock boats), auto garage (with all set dressing), nightclub in LA (with all set dressing), beachfront house on PCH in Malibu, exterior of G5… all of this was donated and added at least $100,000 of production value to the film.
I don’t know what kinds of assets you have – but I can guarantee you this: you HAVE assets. You just haven’t thought about them like this. Once you start writing your list you will activate that part of your brain that will think about these things in this way and you’ll find yourself suddenly coming up with all sorts of things you hadn’t thought of before.
I recommend you do this before you start writing your script. Then you go to your list and use those assets as your locations, your props, your “assets” in your script. It will save you money and elevate your production, adding hundreds, if not thousands of dollars of value to your project.
Try it and let me know how it works for you
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