How not to approach investors

Good day!

In this post I will show you some examples of how not to approach investors. I will come back to several things in this post. Please try to remember this post because it can or probably will help you and save a lot of time for the one receiving your proposal.

I receive a lot of messages and e-mails with different proposals. Some are good, few are great and many, way too many are just plain bad. Bad grammar, ideas and some just don’t put effort into the e-mail or proposal. These examples are unfortunately very common. Because of these messages I thought I’ll write about what to do and not to do when approaching an investors. It doesn’t really matter what industry or area this person is active in. These rules or pointers are universal but for now I’ll use the film industry as an example.

Skip comparables

Don't use comparables or comps as a way of showing potential earnings because they are simply not true, instead use comparables as a way of explaining how you will try to recoup the investment. Maybe a film used guerilla marketing in a successful way or maybe they had a great distribution or marketing strategy, use this instead of how other (comparable) films made in terms of money.

For anyone somewhat knowledgeable, comparables are an insecure way of luring in partners. If you use comparables, use them as a way of showing the type of movie you want to make, show or explain the demographic or number of screenings, viewers and so on. Do not try to show the potential financial upside your movie will have because of other movies that are somewhat similar, that is not right and will not interest serious entities.

Know who you talk to

It goes without saying but I’ll say it anyways, connections is everything in this industry and the next. If it isn’t everything it surely is a lot. If you talk to people you know, the changes are they want to help you. If you don’t know the people you talk to, then it is not so sure then want to help or put some time of effort into what put infront of them.

The thing is, you can do well without connections but with connections it will be much easier and this is the truth. If you don’t know who you talk to or approach, then at least do your homework. Know who the person is, when he or she likes or what the do. See if they are open to talk or if they are even interested in what you offer. If not, don’t even ask. I don’t know how many people write to me with the same questions without them looking at my first line on my LinkedIn profile: “Hi, please do not send any unsolicited material, ideas or scripts.”.

This week I’ve received three or four proposals where they assumed I wanted to read their script or pitch. Don’t do this, this is an easy way to get to a full stop with me and problably most other people in the same situation. Instead, send a quick message, explain the situation or idea and ask if I would be open to take a look. Simple, fast and with respect. I would probably take a look simply because someone took their time to explain and see if I would be interested. It doesn’t have to more complicated then that.

Deal with rejection

All too often people take things personal especially in film making or any other creative projects for that matter. Realize that I or the person you approach did not ask for you to write the script. I know it sounds harsh but that is the reality. Please understand that most people you approach get a lot of scripts and ideas in front of them. Why should they read yours or even invest? I want you to seriously think about this.

Also, if you decide to send something to someone and they reject the idea or whatever you send. I’m sure you’ll feel unrewarded or unnoticed or if you receive unwanted critics of your work, you might even get angry and upset. This is a sign to step back and to seriously consider if you are a good fit for the creative industry.

The other day I gave someone a few pointers, feedback and yes, critic on their screenplay. I could see their faces, disappointed and destroyed and that the single point where I lost interest. If you ask for my opinion, take it and understand that not everything you make is good or something everyone will like. Today, I didn’t like your screenplay, well, fix it and be happy that someone told you. Not everything people say will be good or bad for that matter but if you want to work with people, accept their opinions and go with it.

The truth is, everyone in the film industry or any other business is busy, especially is they are somewhat in the loop. The key is to establish yourself in the minds and memories is how you deal with rejection.

One big mistake people make is that they neglect to stay updated and interested in their project. I’m not saying people purposefully let their projects go down the drain but as soon as something bad happens they get uninterested in the project or dissuaded. Rejection is one of those things that usually test a project and its team.

Rejection is inevitable in this business and any other business for that matter, however, because people take this extremely personal, rejection can be devastating. Rejection can also be the lack of response and most people think that a lack of response means a no and that is not always the case. People are busy and your email is probably not a priority, maybe your email is in “the interesting list” and they just wait until things are calmer to get back to you. Sit tight and wait until getting worked up.

Be ready to follow up

If you haven’t heard back from someone, then contact them. Taking things personally will only lead to unwelcome feelings and bad results. Take any rejection AND positive news with a nice calm. This is an overcrowded industry with heavy workload, deal with rejection like a professional. Do your part and the rest will follow.

If or I mean when your pitch or idea gets rejected be mature enough to ask serious questions as to why the recipient didn’t like the project or whatever you did pitch. Rejections are common and nothing bad, unless you burn the bridge by leaving angry without asking the right questions.

Sometimes people does like your work but they might feel they are not the right fit or maybe they even feel they can’t help you or offer what you need. If you do follow up a rejection or an unanswered e-mail, maybe you’ll learn something.

By being respectful, understanding and by seeing things from other peoples point of view you’ll have the tools to ask the right questions and follow up with value. I can’t believe I have to write this post to be honest but there are so many people out there not having the slightest idea how to act and just leave after a rejection or even after sending an email. Not many are actually following up, me included. It is easy to forget.

Be patient, be present and be consistent in your check-ins, this is rare and hard but people will take notice and remember your efforts. Also, you will be on top of your projects if you do follow up. Use whatever tools necessary to keep yourself in the loop and a head.

Thanks for taking your time reading this piece.

Developing and investing in Intangible assets

Nowadays we see many examples of how IPs (intangible assets; simplified, assets that can not be "touched") increase in value and how you, as the owner, can manage, buy and sell different types of IPs. A clear example that we all encounter next to every day is movies and books that often change owners and develop into other products. We have also seen how mobile games like Angry Birds can evolve into movies, books, etc. Many who are not familiar with the industry of movies, books and games, or who have not been particularly involved in intellectual property, might not know that the rights of every movie and ideas, like books and games, are owned by someone. As in the case of many films today, companies or individuals often own the rights to these and the value of the brand or idea can be sold or in other ways earn money. This can be valuable, especially if you have an idea or intangible asset that is unique, popular or may have sold well in the past or as another product.

I will talk more about this on my Youtube channel so feel free to subscribe on the link below for future videos.

Daniel Bramme on YouTube

 
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why focus on IP?

One of the most common reasons why you choose to make movies of a game or book is almost exclusively for economic gain. Many times you see a greater value in expanding an IP's market than writing a new book or developing the next game. A new product under the same IP will often reach a new audience or otherwise exploit it's already established customer base to boost its revenue from an already existing product. One example is the books you make a movie of, the book sells the movie but the movie also sells the book to those who did not read it. Another strong advantage of intangible assets is that you can collaborate with companies in other industries to take their IP into a new market without having to invest resources in development and production costs of a new product. A clear example is Angry Birds whose owner made stuffed animals to further capitalize on Angry Birds and the movie they released during the same period.

A brand can therefore be incredibly valuable. Look at Star Wars who Disney owns or why not Swedish examples such as, "The man called Ove" or "Men who hate women. A perfect example on an IP is Valerian, a movie I wrote about some time ago. The horizon has become much broader and today you can see opportunities where you would not otherwise think that a brand or IP could fit, much thanks to great successes like the ones above. This has in turn increased the understanding and importance of protecting intangible assets. You should never underestimate the value of your intangible assets and take a day or two to figure out how to protect and use them to your advantage. I am convinced that we will see a greater willingness in expanding and protecting IPs in the future and that can only be good.

For more information in Sweden, please visit: Patent- och registreringsverket

For more information in the U.S, please visit: USPTO

And as always, thanks for visiting.

The Swedish Film Industry

Swedish Film abroad

The impact of Swedish films abroad are often overestimated. If you are Swedish and don’t agree, hear me out. Locally, Sweden see an upside, however, outside of our borders, you clearly see the limitations of Swedish film. Unless there is a unique story, english (great) speaking cast and international people or experienced film workers in key positions throughout the production, the movie won’t come far.

The problems are first of all the Swedish language and second, the small market opportunity outside of Sweden. The Swedish film industry is not at all close to Hollywood and Bollywood in terms of marketsize. The way people make film in Sweden is very different from how we work internationally. One could argue that we should be closer by now and the industry be more mainstream, sadly this is not the case.

Different reasons

The main reason to why Swedish film makers leave Sweden to work elsewhere is simply because of the market size and the fundamental differences in how we think. I take the opportunity to promote an interview about Hollywood/Swedish adaptations. The reason to why I work with foreign markets is because of the incredible value, cultural and financial. Swedish film as an industry should think seriously about it’s next step.

The Swedish film industry makes us think Swedish film is a success abroad and rightfully so but that is not completely true. We are far from bad at what we do. However, we have never seen a financial success abroad, or at least that's not what we see or hear about. Great foreign box office numbers could be a reality, if film makers changed focus to a more financial strategy and market strategy. That includes script and production value.

The problem is, no one is watching Swedish movies, or not as much as people may believe. Most of the viewers are hard core and are watching movies from European countries, in the same way we watch french movies in Sweden. The largest markets are based in both the U.S. and China and of course India but both the Indian and Chinese market are not a viable option for Swedish films for a few reasons.

The movie, Let the right one in had a very limited window in the U.S. It had some distribution in smaller "European cinemas". The film was not a financial success, It could've been though. The idea was bought buy an American production company and had an English adaptation, the reason is simply the increased audience and market size. Don’t get me wrong, the movie was a nice addition to Swedish Film.

Above is a picture from A man called Ove, a movie that will have a future american adaptation.

Above is a picture from A man called Ove, a movie that will have a future american adaptation.

Swedish Film in Sweden

The movie, A man called Ove was partially funded by The Swedish Film Institute. SFI was founded in 1963 to support and develop the Swedish film industry. It supports Swedish film making and allocates grants and funds for production, distribution and public showing of Swedish films in Sweden. It also promotes Swedish cinema internationally. The Institute also organizes the annual Guldbagge Awards.

Through the Swedish Film Agreement, between the Sweden and the film and media industry, the Government of Sweden, the TV companies which are party to the agreement, and Sweden's cinema owners jointly fund the Film Institute and thus, indirectly, Swedish film making.

At a rate of, currently, 20 films a year the Swedish film industry is on par with other comparable North European countries.

In Trollhättan Municipality there is a film production facility known as Trollywood; movies shot there include Show Me Love, Dancer in the Dark and Dogville. The movie studio Film i Väst centered here produces about half of Sweden's full-length films.

I will write an update the Swedish film industry later on but for now, this is what we have to work with.

As usual, thank you for reading and be sure to visit me on youtube or Instagram if you want to continue the conversation.

#Metoo panel during Stockholm Film festival

I was invited to participate in an extremely important panel about the #metoo movement during the Stockholm International Film Festival. We had a lot to say during the hour we talked. I think enough men has spoken, I rather see men listen then speaking up to be honest. I write and talk about the subject quite a lot and I believe more men need to step up their game and think before they speak. How would it be to see men joining the conversations by just being in the audience. Of course, men are also affected and are most definitely being abused on set as well but if you ask me, that is a discussion for another day. Let's focus on Women in film, music, stores, fashion, medicine and all the other millions of women working and being constantly pushed around. I also talked about this earlier in the year, find more about that here.

 
Anna Serner (CEO Swedish Film Institute), Josefine Tengblad (Head of Drama, TV4), Zoë Que (Director of Photography), Anna Velander Gisslén (WIFT), Daniel Bramme (Executive Producer, Investor), Emely Crona Stenberg (Heja Livet) och Jan Blom…

Anna Serner (CEO Swedish Film Institute), Josefine Tengblad (Head of Drama, TV4), Zoë Que (Director of Photography), Anna Velander Gisslén (WIFT), Daniel Bramme (Executive Producer, Investor), Emely Crona Stenberg (Heja Livet) och Jan Blomgren (Bob Film/Art89).

 

You can find the original picture here on Instagram. Also, the panel was mentioned in Aftonbladet. Don't forget to visit the Swedish Film Institute's website while you're at it. Thanks for stopping by and keep talk about #metoo.

Interview: Hollywood politics after "Weinstein"

On October 18th I was invited to talk with Jakob Stenberg on Kongressen Podcast about hollywood politics. We discuss how and why the Weinstein scandal and the #metoo movement could affect the next election in the U.S. Interesting because we see that the #metoo movement has grown stronger for each week and hopefully it will not stop.

 
Daniel Bramme and Jakob Stenberg
 

If you want to listen to the podcast, you can find it here or listen directly on the link below. It is in Swedish, just so you know.

 

Feel free to comment or contact me directly if you would like to talk about issues in the industry or have questions about anything else. As always, thanks for reading (and or listening).