Give Me the Money and I'll Shoot!

Book excerpt: The must-have guide to traditional, emerging and creative TV funding models that are being developed and exploited by social media-savvy documentary filmmakers. Each chapter covers a different form of funding and combines advice from industry insiders - producers, buyers, specialist media agencies and corporate funding bodies - and entertaining case studies that illustrate the benefits and pitfalls of each method. With practical tips, case studies and advice it reveals what grantors, brands and NGOs are looking for in a pitch (they all have different needs and expectations), and the cultural differences that can trip up the unwary producer. Funding examples range from blue-chip TV documentaries, such as Planet Earth, which was co-funded by the BBC, Discovery NHK and CBC to The TV Book Club (More 4), which is funded by Specsavers opticians; to Lemonade Movie, which harnessed the power of Twitter to source free equipment and post-production resources. Readers will discover: the difference between co-productions, pre-sales and acquisitions; how to develop and pitch advertiser funded programming; the new rules on product placement; where to hunt for foundation and grant funding and how to fill in those fiendish application forms; the power of crowd-funding and how to harness the internet; how to sniff out grants and funds held in non-film focused organisations such as the Wellcome Trust; why corporations are keen to fund your documentary and how to get them to part with their money without giving up your editorial control.