Hiya,

I think it's a case of who you are trying to get to sponsor you and also what you want out of them as well as whatever you're promising them in return.

When I made my Hitchcock film I tried to blag as much free stuff as I could and all I could promise in return was a line credit of thanks in the closing credits . . However, I did make sure to tell everyone I tried to blag that I was going to put the finished film out to festivals all over the place and while there were no guarantees of screenings there was plenty of possibilities.

In hindsight maybe I was too honest with this last bit but figure it's better to be that way. If you know for a fact that you've already placed the film or know you're going to stick it up on various websites etc then make this known up front.

I tried various local businesses for costume, catering and anything I thought I'd need but didn't want to have to pay for. To be honest the response I got was friendly but didn't get much in return . . Some Community Vouchers from Tesco which paid for a bit of food. Other places referred me to their head offices which I shied away from figuring I was going to end up in endless debates with marketing suits when all I wanted was some free Matalan shirts that I could cover in blood. I tried the angle that I'm a local film maker and wanted to deal with the local store rather than the whole of Marks and Spencer as an organisation . . However sympathetic store managers were they still referred me to head office as they didn't seem to want to get into trouble for sullying the good name of their employer.

I had more success in blagging locations but to be honest I'm not sure there is a set way of going about things unless you know you're film is going to be in cinemas next summer and want to do burger tie in or product placements with coca cola or McDs or the like.

Stick your neck and and go for it is my advice. Try everyone you can think of and if you've got time and inclination go through head offices though maybe it's wirth making initial contact with a local branch first and let them refere you so you've got a point of contact rather than doing a cold call straight away to the big boss.

Hope this helps and if you do come up with anything better and more sucessful than I did (which shouldn't be too hard) I'd love you to let me know.

All the best

John

fmow03 <fmow03@...> wrote: