When you make a decision to step out in faith, there is often a price to be paid. Sacrifice comes when you believe in something so much and you know deep within your soul, this is the right direction, but there are many obstacles in the way.

One of the greatest obstacles in intellectual properties is capital.  People don't like to talk about it, but I want to stop and make this the focus of this month's blog.  Capitalization.

GREAT FILMMAKERS BELIEVED

Filmmakers have long determined that the pursuit is worth the effort when it comes to taking an idea and transitioning this idea into a film.  George Lucas for years (almost seven) shopped Star Wars and without the success of American Graffiti, it would have been buried.  Can you imagine if he had given up?

Mel Gibson spent twelve years to finally release the Passion of the Christ, but did you know the story began with him on the top of a building almost getting ready to commit suicide?  The relentless pursuit of sharing a story with the world can often be tumultuous and rocky.

People just don't like talking about the "tough stuff", because everybody wants a happy ending and a Hollywood finish where it was all easy.  The facts are simple that 8 of 10 films do not economically model very well, they lose money.  Many people are making stories which are questionable to even be in cinema.  

Speculation, like drilling an oil well is a simply put, a risk.  So why does one decide to risk capital to put toward a film?  

YOU MUST BELIEVE IN YOUR STORY

So many people are timid and not bold about their own belief in their story.  My father used to say, "I have never seen someone so proud to be humble".  Beware of these kind of people because they are filled with false humility.  We are not talking about being full of pride, but instead being confident you "believe" your story is good.

When you ask yourself the question of "belief", ask others whom you have confidence if they also believe.  Beware, we all are somewhat empirical and this leads to the next key in succeeding in your capital efforts just below. 

YOU MUST BE WILLING TO LISTEN TO OTHERS

There are many different kinds of professionals out there, from Screen Writers, to Script Doctors, to professors of story and more.  Filmmaking veterans and professional readers are worth seeking out, for their insight and knowledge.  Finding a great team of people who have real cinematic experience can make all the difference in the world.

Notice I did not suggest you talk to mom, dad, family and friends.  The reason is because they are usually not professionals in film.  It's like a person who says, "I have seen a lot of movies and I know what is a good movie and what is not".  They become self proclaimed experts with no real educational or professional experience.  Look for good counselors, so this leads to the next section. 

FIND THE RIGHT TEAM MEMBERS

Team is always such a big part of filmmaking and since we are focusing on capitalization, you need people who "care" about your subject matter.  You need people who are not just "dumb money" in that all of us need people who can contribute even more than just money.  These individuals have resources, talents, connectivity and partners who can expand on your ideas.  

Finding the right team for capital will mean "someone" paying for their services.  Don't expect people to come to your side for free.  The good team members cost and they are worth the expense and become mere "dots" in the total process of filmmaking. 

PUT SKIN IN THE GAME

When someone desires for "everyone else" to pay their bills, there is usually a red flag which goes up the pole.  As a filmmaker, I have "skin" (finances, resources, research and even people) in ALL the games we play.  For the past ten years, I have equity, cash, sweat equity and more in every movie we make and there is a cost to everything we do, not matter how large or small.  Every movie has the entire team cheering for a win together. 

One more thing about "skin in the game" I believe is important to note.  Make sure you don't try to do it "all" by yourself. Get a group around you, find others who will believe in your dream and are willing to do this by putting their money where their mouth us.  It's an expensive process to be in film, so know this part going in the door. 

BE PATIENT

Don't give up on your efforts.  We have authors, playwrights and screenwriters put on screenings for us all over the country.  They invite investor prospects and we have the honor to show up, share one of our recent films and talk about the importance of great story-telling, well created and moving films which can impact an audience.  The patience truly is a major part of all funding efforts.

Hopefully, this has been helpful as you consider the sacrifice you are willing to make to see if your "creative work" has the potential to make it to the big screen.  Dream big dreams and don't give in to "stinking thinking", but believing in something even greater than yourself.

DON'T STOP BELIEVING

You can be a kid from Oklahoma who grew up in a modest home, self made and dream the dream of being in a movie and one day, be making movies, just like I did.  Do everything you can to hone your craft, get a great education, tell your story with passion and don't stop believing, just as the song goes.

Love you,

Coach KMAC

Tonight is a special night in our family's life and in home in Franklin.  Lynn's daughter, Julia Damore is performing as a new artist in the music world here in Music City, USA now as a professional.  As one of the rising stars in Nashville, Julia has spent her entire life preparing for this very moment to step into the world of music professionally.  

Like an Olympian who trains for a lifetime for the ultimate race, she begins her new journey in music.  Soon, you will see more about her on SPOTIFY and ITUNES.  You can learn more about her at julia.damore.com and experience her talent first hand. 

So what did it take to get here for this amazing talented new artist?  A lifetime of work is the answer. 

Julia focused on her craft from the time she was a child. She was in productions at Bravo, involved in middle school and high school singing in chorus, in musicals and vocal contests.  She later became the choir president at Franklin, High School and began to focus on musical presence in her youth.  Getting a scholarship in music at Lipscomb, she was selected by an all college choir to be one of three soloists.

On the national level, she won at NATS third place for her amazing vocal talent and became nationally recognized early on.  After an opera and classical training background in her first two years in college, she studied in Vienna.  Then, she flew to NYC to meet with casting directors on Broadway and also Juliard School of Music considering her future options.

Belmont University quickly became the next musical focus and she transferred into commercial music for her remaining under graduate years where she could also have more of a variety background.  Quickly rising as one of the lead talents, Julia began to visualize a future in professional music. 

Getting married in January of 2017 was a landmark with her wonderful husband, Brandon Damore who is a barista at Golden Sound in Nashville.  He is an artist, vocalist, guitarist and an audio engineer in his own right graduating from Belmont's prominent sound engineering school with a B.S. in Audio Engineering Technology.  The talented couple had become a real first family in music in our home and have been working together on this new project, AN EVENING WITH JULIA DAMORE.

At the country club this evening, Julia will be performing her first three song demo ever as a professional recording artist.  She has invested thousands in getting to this place and tonight launches her entire career performing.  Continuing to invest in other vocal students, she is practicing and performing all the time.  A sacrifice is truly involved in being a committed musical artist.

Having this special event, her goal is to fund raise for an album project which will be expensive, but worth performing.  People are being asked to contribute to her dream and they will!  She has a CD of her new three songs with one original song created for her entitled Time Waits.  Stephanie Musser and I wrote this song dedicating the piece to our mother's have prematurely gone to heaven. 

You can't just "wing it" when you are an artist in the competitive field of music and being an author is exactly the same story.

If you have a dream to be involved in film, you have to sacrifice, invest, being disciplined to connect and network with the right people and it takes years to prepare.  Julia has an amazing accompanist in Stephanie Musser who has traveled from Oklahoma to join our family and we are so thankful for her involvement in Julia's life too.

A team gathers when an author desires to move from one place to a higher place. Can you imagine being Tom Clancy, Stephen King or J. R. Rowling and having a dream to be in film too, but the goal seems almost unreachable?   Ms. Rowling barely had enough money to survive before HARRY POTTER. The process is never fast, but always worth the journey.  

So if you are an author, let us know if you would desire to have your book reviewed for the purpose of transitioning your book to film.  It is our honor at the Filmmaker's Roundtable to be a part of your journey and we take every author seriously.  We pledge to read carefully every word through our team of professionals and bring solid advice on the process you will need to be most successful.

Congratulations Julia and thank you for being a great example of working hard to achieve your goals, investing in your future and believing when the times get rough and believe me, they will get stormy.  Remember it will not always be easy to reach your dream, there will be supernatural attacks which can come against you, but don't be discouraged as you can rise above any obstacle with God's help.

We honor you on this special occasion and are praying for your success in every way.  To the entire team, family and host of people surrounding you, we thank you. Johnny Hodges for your musical direction, Javier Solis for helping us find the right studios and for all of the "dedicated" music people believing in your future, we salute you too.

Excited about the future,

Coach Papa K.