Omg you need to make so many materials

When you are getting your project ready to make and distribute, there are many materials you may be asked for along the way - and every investor/production company/platform might be a little different. However, there are some common materials that will get asked for for almost any project (especially if you are asking for money) that you will do well to create. Making these materials is also a great exercise in deeply understanding your project and your plan for success.

A non-exhaustive list of materials

• A lookbook. Studiobinder has a great article on building a lookbook. This lays out the tone, look, feel, color, production design - to capture the creative vision for the project. This can be useful for your cast and crew to all be on the same page creatively, but it’s also a great way to socialize your project with investors, production companies and more.
• A pitch deck. This will include elements from the lookbook but it will also include: key details about the above-the-line talent (writer, director, producers, cast) as well as the financial plan for the project. This includes: top-line budget as well as the distribution, audience outreach and monetization strategy. For impact films, it’s important that the audience outreach strategy include impact goals, metrics and tactics. You would also include your amplifiers: these are organizations, production and distribution companies or celebrities who have committed to amplifying the project.
• A Website. Websites are easy to make these days with platforms like Squarespace and Canva - and they can be a catch all for the information your audience needs about your film. It’s a great marketing tool and it’s a good idea to grab the domain that works best for your film and set it up. You can include components from your lookbook as well as your pitch deck.
• Financial packet. If you are planning to finance the film through investments or large scale donations, you will need a packet that outlines what participation levels you are seeking and the benefits/agreements of each level. This needs to include the total addressable market for your film. How many people are likely to see this movie? How much are they willing to spend? How will you reach them? These are important elements to entice investors and donors. Please, for the love of all the Goddesses, consult an attorney before taking money for your film! Make sure you are prepared to have all the right contracts in place.
• Screenplay/treatment/synopsis. People will want to read this before they get involved (usually). The synopsis (and a great logline) will also be components of your pitch deck/financing packet, but you will use these ALL THE TIME in every email you send to build the team and funding for your project.
• Sizzle reel (also known as: demo reel, showreel, promo video, teaser). A sizzle reel is a short promotional video for a TV series or film typically made up of existing films and shows - these could be your past projects or taken from well known tv/film - cut to give the look and feel of the project.
• Crowdfunding pitch video. This is different from a sizzle reel as it has to include the ask to the audience, what their participation will mean to the project, and how audiences will be rewarded for their participation.
• Outreach email. It’s 2025, we are not spamming people, we are getting double opt-in introductions. A double opt-in email means that if your friend Allie knows the person you want to meet, you are sending Allie an email about your film or project with all the most important details that your target person would care about, and Allie will forward that email to your target person and let them opt-in to the introduction. Cold intros simply do not have the same conversion rates as when someone is allowed to opt-in. A great outreach email includes the shortest and slickest way to describe your project, why it’s exciting and why your target person is the perfect one to get involved.