How to Finance an Animated Film or TV Series

How to find finance?

Our animation students at BNU aren't just technicians, they are creative artists developing their own ideas. Many will be pitching original content for games, films and TV series.  

Of course, the business of content creation involves finance, and one of the most common questions we get asked at BNU is how to secure project finance for an animated film or TV series. 

Film finance is never easy, but it can be done, if you follow the right steps. 

Who Needs a Business Card?

At the VFX Festival this past week I bumped into a number of my students, many of whom were taking the opportunity to talk to recruiters from the UK Animation and VFX industry, all scouting for rising talent.

So I asked them - I hope you've brought some business cards? Almost none had.  Now, you might think that business cards are a little old-fashioned, a bit out-of-date. But actually, you'd be wrong.

Alexi Balian Animation Art & Design Academy

Alexi Balian was one of the first students to enroll in our Online MA in 3D animation at Bucks. He graduated last week, becoming one of the first-ever students anywhere in the world to receive his animation MA purely online.

Alexi has now made a career of teaching animation. In his capacity as Provincial and National Skills Canada Chair for 2D and 3D Character Animation, Alexi also runs workshops and seminars in Canada through his Animation Art & Design Academy.

What Do Sales Agents Do, Exactly?

Sola Media - Sales Agents with a focus on animation

Any animator with dreams to bring their own project to the big screen will eventually need to understand the business of making and financing animated films. This includes the question of who, exactly, is going to sell your film for you. Are you going to do it yourself? Or are you going to bring in experts who know the business? Probably, you will do the latter. As part of our series on the business of animation, we take a look at what exactly a sales agent is and what they do.

Akshay Ohari Wins YouTube Silver Plaque

Akshay Ohari

We're delighted to congratulate Bucks Student Akshay Ohari who has won his very own Silver Plaque from YouTube. These coveted awards are handed out to Channels at YouTube with more than 100,000 subscribers - a huge milestone.

Akshay started studying Animation & VFX with us at Bucks last year, but left to set up his one online business FutPacks, which has been growing rapidly.  Here at Bucks we encourage all our students to be entrepreneurs, taking on freelance work and growing their skills as digital artists and creators of original content.  Congratulations to Akshay on a great achievement.

Steve Burch Brings Producing Animation Workshop to Bucks on Monday 26 May

Steve Burch

On Monday 26 May we again welcome Steve Burch visit Bucks for a lecture and workshop on Producing Animation.  Steve has 26 years experience in the industry, having worked on around dozen animated features in Hollywood and Europe, including Brad Bird’s modern classic The Iron Giant. His roles have included Special Effects Supervisor for Dreamworks and Warner Brothers feature films. Steve has worked with three Oscar winning directors and has produced and directed many commercials and animated shorts.

Akshay Ohari's Online Business - Futpacks

Futpacks.com by Akshay Ohari

Akshay Ohari is a student at Bucks who has launched his own online business, carving out an entrepreneurial niche for himself in the rapidly expanding world of online digital media.

Futpacks.com already has 45,000 subscribers, appealing to fans of the wildly popular FIFA video game, made by EA games.

We asked Akshay to talk about his new business career, and how he got started.

Five Rules for Handling Tricky Clients

How do you deal with a tricky client?  Difficult clients are so common that there are websites such as are clientsfromhell.net, dedicated entirely to horror stories written by freelancers about having to deal with hard-to-please clients. So, if you are starting off on your career, how do you handle a difficult client? Below are our five rules for success

Last Chance to Register for Cartoon Business!

Cartoon Business

Cartoon Business is the finance and business counterpart to Cartoon Movie and Cartoon Forum. If you are interested in the business side of producing animation, but don't know how to assemble, package and sell an animated TV series or feature film, then Cartoon Business is the place to learn. Supported by MEDIA, the EU fund for the creative industries, and backed by the French Government, Cartoon Business will walk you through all the steps needed to bring your ideas to the market. And you don't even need to speak French - the event is conducted in English, the international language of media and animation.

Should Freelance Animators Set Up a Limited Company?

A freelancer at work

Part of our job at Bucks is to teach our students to be working professionals, which includes not only the ability to do excellent work at a high level of professional skill,  but also the ability to run a small business and tackle freelance work. Almost all digital artists take on freelance work of one kind or another, and we help our students out by bringing in small commercial projects at our virtual online studio at nano-films.com, giving our students paid experience on live briefs. Being a freelancer involves learning a lot of new business skills, and one of the most common questions asked by students is: "Do I Need to Set Up a Company before I become a freelancer?" The short answer is "no", but it's not quite as simple as that - it all depends on your personal circumstances.

Secrets of Independent Film Finance Revealed

How do you finance an independent animated feature film? And what is Gap Finance? If you are trying to raise funds for a movie, gap finance is something you need to understand. In brief, it's the point in the funding process where you bridge the gap between what you have been promised, and what you actually have in the bank to start making your picture. At the European Media Forum Closing the Gap, Ian Hutchinson of Silver Reel partners explained what Gap Finance is, and how it actually works.

What questions should you ask a client when you start work on your first freelance job?

What questions should you ask a client when you start work on your first freelance job - or indeed any freelance job? It's your job as a professional to keep everything on track and deliver what you promised. All projects start off full of optimism and excitement, but the scope for misunderstanding is great, and the risk of things going wrong is considerable. So it's worth asking the right questions up front, to ensure that the job goes well and your happy client comes back for more. Below is a list of useful questions to get you started.

How Do You Handle a Difficult Client?

Every freelancer occasionally has to be deal with a difficult client. In fact, in happens all the time. Talk to any freelancer, especially after a few drinks, and they will gladly tell you stories to make your hair stand on end. Clients, even the good ones, drive everyone crazy. Tricky clients are so common that there are websites such as are clientsfromhell.net, dedicated entirely to horror stories written by freelancers about having to deal with hard-to-please clients. So, if you are starting off on your career, how do you handle a difficult client?

How do you start a small animation business?

Our new animation collaboration at Bucks

One of the most common questions asked by prospective students at our university open days is "how many of your graduates find work in the industry?". After all, it's all very well to train animators and digital artists to do excellent work, it's quite another to turn that knowledge into a successful career.

In media production of any kind, jobs for life are nowadays almost non-existent. Even highly successful artists tend to be freelancers of one kind or another. But there is another way of dealing with the perpetual uncertainty of finding paid work in the arts - and that is to start your own business. So how, exactly, might you go about doing that?