Execution Speaks Louder than Words

Last week I sat on the Film Financing panel at the Hollywood Black Film Festival.   The diverse group of panelists covered everything from Section 181 tax credit strategy (Hal "Corky" Kessler of Levin Ginsburg Attorneys at Law) to embracing leadership as a key tool to success (Frank Greene of New Vista Capital). 

Some key learnings:

1. Don't Undersell Your Own Success:  Execution speaks louder than words.  If you've made a film then you've demonstrated an ability to execute an idea from conception to completion.  Don't forget the value of a track record when in discussions with distributors, investors, and other supporters!
2. The Future is Hybrid... and We're Not Talking Cars: Investments, debt, contributions, sponsorships, tax credits, and DVD pre-sales are just some of of the types of "money sources" that when mixed and meshed can fund your film.  Hybrid financing is the future.
3. New tools >> New Answers >> New Fans:  "Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results."  So don't settle when someone says your film won't travel or play well to a specific audience.  Go find out for yourself, instead!  Release your trailer on the web and see what markets bite. (Tip: YouTube's Insight tool allows you to track where your trailer has been viewed across the world). 
4. Call-To-Action Traction: Never leave your fans hanging with nothing to do once you've entertained them!  Include a Call-To-Action at the end of every video, trailer or clip you release.