Do you know how to make a movie? Becoming a film producer is not only an opportunity to capture the hearts and minds of millions of people, it is also an opportunity to build a strong, relatively easy to fund, robust business that can deliver millions in profits over the course of a few years.
Film Production Companies Make Profitable Small Businesses
As a startup business, film production companies have to be considered one of the best. For example, did you know that film is a nationally subsidized business in the United States? Many states offer large cash rebates that return a percentage of the money spent in the state to the production companies who film there. Michigan currently offers a 40-42% tax rebate, New Mexico offers 25%, and Georgia offers a 30% rebate. Film is an attractive industry to have in a state because it provides high paying jobs, lots of tax revenues, produces little in the way of toxic waste, and its the kind of industry that can grow and prosper very quickly in the right environment.
Armed with this knowledge, you can create a film business plan that makes it much easier to find funding for your production.
Another nice thing about film is that it provides many possible revenue streams. Before production, a production company may be able to receive payment for integrating products into a film. After production it may be able to receive ticket revenues from theatrical releases, revenues from PPV and cable rights sales, overseas rights sales, broadcast television rights sales and DVD rights sales. These are just a few of the revenue streams a good, high quality film, can exploit.
Finally, films are very fast turnaround businesses. Unilke an Internet startup which might take five years to turn a profit, or a manufacturing company which might take a decade, film production companies can develop a project, produce it, get it into theatrical release, and sell off its rights in a matter of three years. In some cases, films generate revenues for decades.
The intrepid souls that launch small businesses usually follow their heart in the businesses they choose. That's actually an important thing to do. Every small business requires endless twelve hour days and lots of hard work to launch. If you have a passion for film, a very solid understanding of small business management skills, the ability to identify commercially viable projects, and an absolute determination to produce the best films anyone has ever seen, starting a film production company may be the right decision for you.
Is a Film Production Company Really a Small Business?
Feature films and television shows rarely show you the truth about film production companies. That is because film production companies don't look all that exciting until the cameras start to roll. The truth is, most film production companies are composed of two to five people who work to put one or more films together. They may or may not have an office for most of the time they are working. They may not even have a dental plan. What they do have is a film they want to make and a blueprint for how it will be done.
A film production company is absolutely a small business all the way up until it is funded and it has moved into production. Then, for a period of weeks, it is a big business. It often has more than 100 employees, union contracts, large insurance policies, millions of dollars in its bank accounts and lots of people looking over its shoulder.
After that, the production company goes back to being small again. The footage shot by the production company is edited, music is added, special effects are put in, and the whole package is sold a few rights at a time to folks around the world.