Chapter | three

Financing Strategies for Distribution

The highest ROIs have come from the micro budget world that delivers quality to a quantifiable audience, particularly when they have a somewhat recognizable cast.

—Ted Hope

When you are trying to finance your independent film, it pays to raise the extra money to be able to hire a professional cast, shoot on film or high-definition (HD) video instead of standard video, and in general make a better movie. I know many filmmakers who follow the “down and dirty” philosophy and pull together whatever funds they have, slap something together on a miniDV camera using their relatives as actors, and then expect their movie to get distribution. As a general rule, this approach doesn’t work.

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