Creating a Mission Statement

When you are trying to get together financing for your digital video project you need to communicate to possible investors or donators what you are trying to do with your film. It is often hard to communicate your goals to people outside the production without a clear form outlining what you want to accomplish. One way to do this is to create a mission statement.

A mission statement should be a pretty basic document that can go along with the company book, treatment, and any other bit of information you are distributing to those you want to get involved. Start it off by labeling it a mission statement for your film. Beneath this put the name of the film, as well as any intended production information. This can say things like “feature documentary” or “experimental video art project,” depending on how you are going to produce it.

Next you need to put a spot labeling who the document is addressed to. This is the only part of the mission statement that will change according to who you send it to. Make sure to leave this blank on the saved copy, but fill it out each time you send it out to a different person or institution.

The form should finish with a short paragraph listing what has already been accomplished, how much has been spent, and why you believe that all of these goals are doable in the time you have listed. Include you contact information, and try to print the form on some type of letter head that identifies your production company. Official stationary can be important for communicating a sense of professionalism to others.

After this you put a header labeling that the following are the goals for the project in a specified period of time. From here you label and number several goals, usually between five and seven. These should be somewhat broad, including statements like “completion of the project” and “distribution of the film.” Along with those statements you need to label them more clearly with specifics. For example, if you are planning on distributing it in your period of time you need to list some possible avenues for that distribution. If you are attempting to gain returns you should put some of the plans you have for accomplishing this. They do not have to be absolute, but they should give the reader a good idea as to how you think you are going to go about this.

The form should finish with a short paragraph listing what has already been accomplished, how much has been spent, and why you believe that all of these goals are doable in the time you have listed. Include you contact information, and try to print the form on some type of letter head that identifies your production company. Official stationary can be important for communicating a sense of professionalism to others.

This is a very simple process, but can be very effective for finding completion funding. Write out this mission statement and try to get it to as many locations for funding as you possibly can.