How a film gets paid for, sold and seen.

How the money works

Same stages, whatever the size. Money comes in at different points from different people, each wanting something back.

Development

Idea to script, budget and package (director, key cast, producer). Paid for by development funds, a production company, a broadcaster, or the producer's own risk. Most projects stop here.

Financing

Covering the budget before the shoot. A feature might combine public funds (the BFI, a national or regional agency), equity, pre-sales, a tax credit and a gap loan.

Pre-sales

A distributor in one country agrees to pay a minimum guarantee for the right to release the film there, before it is made. A bank can lend against that contract.

Gap finance

A specialist lender covers the gap between money raised and the budget, against territories not yet sold. Expensive, and paid back first.

Production and post

The shoot and the edit. The completion guarantor (on bigger films) makes sure it is finished on budget.

Sales and distribution

A sales agent licenses the film to distributors country by country. Money flows back in an agreed order, the recoupment waterfall: lenders and costs first, then investors, then (if anything is left) profit shares.

TV drama is simpler: a broadcaster or streamer commissions it and pays a licence fee or the full cost, sometimes with a co-producer or distributor filling the rest. See how a film gets made and development, and try the build the finance stack game.

TV commissioning: who to approach and how

UK broadcasters publish their briefs and how to submit. They commission mostly from indies, not individuals. Take your idea to an indie that makes that kind of programme; the Pact directory lists them.

• BBC: BBC Commissioning lists commissioners, briefs, tenders and how it works with producers. Writers go through BBC Writers, which runs open script calls at set times.
• Channel 4: 4Producers has each genre's brief and contacts; indies submit through the 4ideas platform. New directors can look at schemes like the First Cut pitch on the funding page.
• ITV: ITV Commissioning sets out what each genre is looking for.
• Channel 5: Channel 5 commissioning.
• Sky and the streamers (Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV, Disney+): mostly commission through production companies, agents and producers they already know, not from individuals. Get there by working with those companies first. Sky Documentaries' shorts scheme, on the funding page, is one that takes applications from directors.

Before you approach anyone, watch what they've commissioned this year, read the brief, and pitch one idea that fits, on one page.

Sales agents and distributors

A sales agent represents a finished (or packaged) film to buyers around the world, mostly at markets. A distributor buys the rights for one territory and releases the film there: cinemas, streaming, TV, DVD. Sales agents charge a commission and recoup their marketing costs; distributors take a fee and costs before money goes back to the producer.

They find films at festivals, markets and through producers they trust. A first short rarely needs either: shorts travel through festivals, then online. A few short-film agents handle submissions and the few buyers who license shorts. Check their fees and which rights they want before you sign.

Release windows and going it alone

A window is the period a film is available in one way before the next: cinema, then rental and buy online, then subscription streaming, then free TV. In the UK there is no legal rule for windows; they are agreed film by film between distributors, cinemas and platforms, and they have got shorter.

Self-distribution means releasing the film yourself: booking screenings with cinemas and community venues, selling or renting it online, or putting it out free to build an audience. It keeps control and rights with you, and it is a lot of work. For a short, a festival run followed by a free online release is common. Check each festival's rules first: many won't take a film that is already online.

A UK cinema release normally needs a BBFC classification, which is a cost to budget. Online releases follow the platform's own rules.

Rights and clearances

Copyright protects scripts, music, footage, photos and artwork automatically in the UK; you don't register it. GOV.UK explains the basics. Your film is full of other people's copyright: get written permission for each piece.

• Chain of title: the paper trail that proves the producer owns the film: the writer's agreement, any option on a book or life story, and every contract that passed rights along. Buyers and insurers ask for it.
• Music: a recording has two rights. The sync licence for the composition comes from the publisher; the master use licence for the recording comes from the record label. You need both. PRS for Music licenses production music libraries (through MCPS) and collects royalties for writers and publishers; PPL licenses recorded music for broadcast and public playing. A composer writing original music is often simpler: agree in writing what rights they grant.
• On screen: artwork, logos, brands, posters and recognisable buildings may need clearing. So do archive clips and photos.
• People and places: a release form from everyone who appears on camera, and a location agreement for every location.

Keep every licence and release in one folder from day one. Clearing later, when a buyer asks, costs far more. See also clearances in the glossary.

Contracts: the basics

• Option agreement: a producer pays a fee for the exclusive right, for a set period, to develop a script, book or life story, and a price to buy it if the film goes ahead.
• Writer's agreement: commissions or buys the script and assigns the rights. Guild agreements (the Writers' Guild with Pact and the BBC, for example) set out common terms.
• Crew deal memo: the short written terms before someone starts: role, dates, rate, hours, overtime, kit, credit and payment. See deal memo and the Bectu rate cards; Bectu members can get contract advice.
• Cast agreements: Equity publishes agreements and guidance for performers, including for low-budget work. Check with Equity before you cast.
• Release forms: contributor and personal releases for people on screen, and location releases. Templates help, but adapt them to your film.

General information, not legal advice. Use a solicitor who works in film and TV for anything involving money, rights or an investor.

E&O insurance

Errors and omissions insurance covers claims that a film infringes someone's rights: copyright, defamation, privacy, a title or a trademark. Broadcasters, distributors and platforms usually require it. Insurers want your chain of title, clearances and releases, often with a lawyer's review. Most shorts on a festival run don't need it; check each festival's and buyer's terms.

Pitching and treatments

Every pitch builds on four pieces, each longer than the last:

1. Logline: one sentence. Who wants what, and what stands in the way.
2. Synopsis: a paragraph or a page, including the ending.
3. Treatment: the story in present-tense prose, with characters, tone and why it matters now.
4. Pitch deck: ten or so slides for a meeting: story, characters, look, team, audience, budget and the ask.

In the room: why you, the story told simply, then stop before time's up. Leave the deck. Follow up within a week.