Why can't you just look this up?

Film school teaches you how to make a film. A quick search tells you what gap financing means. Neither shows you the numbers from the other side of the deal.

Ask how much a lender will advance against a sales estimate, and you'll hear rules of thumb that don't agree: half the estimate for the unsold territories, a 50-70% haircut, or a quarter of the worst case. And the people who know this business best either can't talk about it or have only seen their own side of the numbers.

So a plan can look covered from the producer's chair and short from the lender's, and both readings can be honest. It's better to see how that happens on a made-up package than on yours.

What will you see?

The package is fictional, so every number can go on screen.

• One package, worked through. Phil goes through it and says what he'd question, and why.
• What my data says. I'll show what my research finds, how big the sample is, and where it falls short.
• Your questions, answered live.

It's one financier's read (other lenders weigh things differently).

Is this for you?

It's for producers and production-company principals working on films over $1m, producers stepping up to that level, and people who finance, sell or advise on those films.

If you've closed films, you already know how a deal works. What's hard to see from your chair is how a financier reads the same pages.

It's especially useful if a finance plan of yours is going to a lender or investor soon.

If you're working under $1m, you're welcome to watch, but the hour is aimed at bigger films.

It's not a general introduction to the industry, and it won't introduce you to investors or find you money. We won't be reviewing anyone's own project on the day, either.

What if I can't make it live?

Register anyway. Your joining link arrives by email straight away, and the day after the webinar I'll send the recording to everyone who registers. It stays up until 8 January.

Who's presenting?

I'm Stephen Follows, a film data researcher. I've spent 20 years working in and studying the film business, looking at budgets, box office, crew credits and careers, and I publish what I find at StephenFollows.com, which has nearly 15,000 subscribers (plus 20,000+ followers on LinkedIn). My research has been covered more than 2,000 times by over 1,100 outlets in 36 languages, including the BBC, the Guardian, the New York Times, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, and I've worked as a data consultant to Guinness World Records.

Phil Hunt co-founded Head Gear Films in 2002 and has executive produced more than 300 feature films. Few people have financed more independent films. He lends against films like yours, which puts him on the other side of the table.

Is there a pitch at the end?

Yes. I'll tell you about Advanced Film Financing, the live course I'm running with Phil. It's six live sessions on Zoom, 12 to 28 January 2027, at US$1,000, and that's the whole price (no VAT is added). Enrolment is already open, until 23:59 UK on Friday 8 January, and there's no special offer on the day.

I don't like webinars that pretend to be neutral and then swerve into a pitch, so I'm telling you now. The package and the data come first, and they're built to be worth your hour either way.