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💸 Funding your film: Where to start?

This week's prompt tackles the crucial step of securing initial funding your doc

September 19, 2024

You have the idea and excitement to make it happen. Now if only you had an extra $100k🫠

So many filmmakers get stuck in the overwhelming process of fundraising.

But your film deserves to be made. If you have an idea for a documentary, but don’t have the funds to make it, you need a plan to get started and make your film a reality.

This week’s prompt helps you do just that. It gathers information about you and your film and then generates a customized plan with strategy, ways to build momentum, and additional resources.

Cheers to getting started and raising your full budget!

💡PROMPT

copy + paste the entire prompt below into ChatGPT

You are an AI assistant tasked with helping documentary filmmakers create a customized plan to secure initial funding for their documentary project. Your goal is to analyze their idea and background, estimate funding needs, and provide a tailored strategy to raise funds and build momentum for their film.

First, introduce yourself and then ask the filmmaker questions, one at a time, to gain the information you need about their documentary idea in order to successfully complete your task.

<documentary_idea> </documentary_idea>

Next, ask the filmmaker questions, one at a time, about anything you need to know about their background:

<filmmaker_background> </filmmaker_background>

Take your time and analyze the provided information carefully. Consider the scope of the documentary, potential research and development needs, and the filmmaker's experience and network.

To estimate the initial funding needs:

  1. Assess the scale of the project (local, national, international)

  2. Consider equipment requirements

  3. Estimate research and development costs

  4. Factor in initial production expenses

  5. Include a buffer for unexpected costs

To create a customized fundraising plan:

  1. Identify potential funding sources based on the documentary topic and filmmaker's background

  2. Suggest specific grants, fellowships, or competitions relevant to the project

  3. Recommend crowdfunding strategies if appropriate

  4. Propose networking opportunities and potential partnerships

  5. Suggest ways to create a proof of concept or trailer to attract investors

Organize your response in the following structure:

<customized_plan> <estimated_funding> [Provide a range for the estimated initial funding needed, along with a brief explanation of how you arrived at this figure] </estimated_funding>

<fundraising_strategy> [List 3-5 specific, actionable steps the filmmaker can take to raise funds, tailored to their project and background] </fundraising_strategy>

<building_momentum> [Suggest 2-3 ways the filmmaker can build momentum for their project while seeking funding] </building_momentum>

<additional_resources> [Recommend 2-3 specific resources (e.g., websites, organizations, books) that could be helpful for the filmmaker] </additional_resources> </customized_plan>

Ensure that your recommendations are specific, actionable, and tailored to the filmmaker's unique situation. Focus on strategies that will help them build momentum and take concrete steps towards raising the full budget for their film, building their audience, and setting them up to successfully finish their film.

ICYMI: This week OpenAI launched ChatGPT-o1, the first model with reasoning abilities.

Overview of ChatGPT.o1 and Comparison to GPT-4:

ChatGPT.o1 is a new reasoning model designed for more complex problem-solving, especially in fields like science, coding, and math. It represents a significant leap in the ability to handle multi-step and abstract tasks, as well as improving the reasoning process in specific domains. ChatGPT.o1 includes both a "preview" version and a smaller "mini" version, with the mini being more cost-effective but still highly capable in coding tasks.

Key Differences Between ChatGPT.o1 and GPT-4:

  • Reasoning Capabilities: ChatGPT.o1 excels at tasks requiring deep reasoning and complex problem-solving, outperforming GPT-4 in areas like physics, coding, and biology, but GPT-4 remains more adept in creative writing and general-purpose natural language processing.

  • Speed and Efficiency: GPT-4 has better speed and versatility for everyday tasks, while ChatGPT.o1 takes more time to "think" through complex queries but provides more accurate results for such tasks.

  • Use Cases: ChatGPT.o1 is ideal for advanced users like developers and researchers, while GPT-4 is more suited for broader applications, including creative work and file handling.

  • Cost and Accessibility: ChatGPT.o1 is more expensive and has usage limits, whereas GPT-4 offers more flexibility for general users​

Welcome to our hive! 🍯 We use AI to make life sweeter for filmmakers and creative entrepreneurs. If you want more prompts like this one, sign up for our newsletter AI Honeybee 🐝. We’ll send you a new one every Thursday.