With its movie jobs, the second most important step after the development of the story line or subject is funding. With commercial productions, it is almost always the company that is sponsoring the production that pays the production costs and approves the steps being taken. For political campaigns and public service announcements, it is normally an interested outside group that is covering the costs and making the production decision. Many videos and industrial films are normally sponsored at their inception by whoever is requesting the production. For motion pictures, though, it normally starts at the creative end and a sponsor must be sought for financing the production.
In the days of studio contracts on movie jobs, the conception, production, and financing of films was all done within one studio. For example, Twentieth Century Fox would have producers, staff writers, directors, and actors and actresses, from whom they would choose for any particular film. Now the system has changed. Although there are people who will sign contracts to do several films for one studio for a prearranged salary, most people work on a project-by-project basis. Producers will bring a project to a studio, with an estimated cost of production, and perhaps the main actors and actresses selected, and a studio may agree to back the production. The studio will pay for the costs of producing the film, and will pick up the salaries of the crew and cast, in exchange for the profits off of the film when it is released.
If the movie is successful during its entertainment career, it will bring in more money from ticket sales than the film cost to produce. Movies have become a very expensive project, with some films costing several million dollars to produce. Those films require a huge turnout in the theaters to make any money for the company sponsoring the film. Small productions need not sell as many tickets, but frequently the actors and actresses are not well known, and selling tickets becomes more difficult. With the increased cost of film production, the independent producer has to be a good salesperson to be able to sell a studio on the marketability of a film idea. If there are popular actors and actresses involved in the film, or a particular story line has done well before, the producer is more likely to find financing than if a new idea or unknown actors are involved. Some studios are more willing to take the risk of a lesser known cast and story, if the cost of production is not too high.
Occasionally a producer will go to a studio with just the idea for a film. With studio backing, he or she may be able to attract bigger names to work on the film as part of the entertainment job. Studios have developed a “step deal” for this and other arrangements. With a step deal, if the producer cannot get an adequate script or staff together, the studio can withdraw funding from a project. After funding has been arranged, the process of preparing the story for filming begins. For motion pictures, this will mean writing and rewriting the script to fit with the time limitations and the characters of the story.
Documentaries and educational films usually have more difficulties securing financing than a mass market motion picture. If the funding is sought through endowments, government agencies, or broadcasting stations, then the producer and director should anticipate putting together a fairly lengthy proposal with extensive research on the selected topic. For example, the length of the documentary will need to be planned out and explained. A time table for the research, filming, and editing will have to be calculated. The potential investors will also frequently want a biography of the more important staff members of the documentary to show the level of skill and the background of the people they will be entrusting with their money. The producer may have to produce a shortened version of the idea to show what the full-length project would look like.
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