Film Producers' Foundation Certificate

Weeks 3 & 4 of this course, Legal Requirements for Filmmakers and Movie Money, will take place online only - the Zoom link will be sent before the classes

Learn how to create the paperwork and marketing assets to get your film funded and sold

Each class is taught by a different leading film industry professional

5 Tuesday evening classes
Take them all or take individual classes

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This course is for:

• Producers who are tired of guessing
• Writers and directors who want control
• Actors who want ownership
• Filmmakers who’ve realised the paperwork runs the industry, not the passion

It is not for:

• People waiting to be “discovered”
• Anyone who thinks producing is just “having taste”
• Filmmakers allergic to numbers, contracts, or responsibility

If you want your film to exist in the real world, keep reading.

By the end of this certificate, you won’t just understand producing — you’ll be able to do it.

You’ll know how producers:

• Develop films strategically (not emotionally)
• Raise money without sounding delusional
• Build budgets that don’t implode
• Protect their film legally
• Market and sell work in a hostile marketplace

This is the difference between a “project” and a career.

A producer is not:

• The loudest voice in the room
• The person who “knows people”
• The one with the nicest pitch deck

A producer is the person who:

• Controls the project
• Assembles the team
• Protects the rights
• Manages the money
• Gets the film to an audience

Producers create the conditions for everyone else to thrive — or fail.

If that responsibility scares you, good.
If it excites you, welcome.

No Plan. No Film.

Once you’ve chosen a script and a director, reality hits:
Where is the money coming from?

This session dismantles the fantasy version of film finance and replaces it with something investors actually understand.

You’ll learn:

• How to approach investors without embarrassing yourself
• How to structure a real business plan
• How to estimate sales and income streams
• How profit participation actually works (not how people pretend it works)

This is where your film either becomes viable — or quietly dies.

***THIS CLASS WILL RUN FROM 7PM TO 9PM WITH NO BREAK***

*Take this class on its own for £57.60

*Remember: save 30%

Get This Wrong and You’re Finished.

Budgets and schedules are not admin.
They are survival tools.

If your budget is fantasy, your film collapses halfway through.
If your schedule is wrong, quality dies or the film never finishes.

This session teaches you how professionals break down scripts and turn ambition into reality.

You’ll learn:

• Script breakdowns that actually work
• Realistic pricing
• Union vs non-union realities
• How to build a schedule your film can survive

***THIS CLASS WILL RUN FROM 6.30PM TO 9PM***

You can take this class on its own for £57.60

*Remember: save 30%

No Chain of Title = No Sale. End of Story.

Finished film. Buyers interested.
Then they ask one question:

“Show us the chain of title.”

If you can’t, your film is unsellable.

This session is legal self-defence for filmmakers.

You’ll learn:

• Copyright fundamentals
• Rights of creatives and performers
• What contracts actually do
• How to negotiate without getting destroyed
• Legal terminology you must understand

Think of this as insurance — because fixing it later is expensive or impossible.

***THIS CLASS WILL TAKE PLACE ONLINE ONLY FROM 6.30PM TO 9PM***

You can take this class on its own for £57.60

*Remember: save 30%

Week 4:

The Boring Stuff That Unlocks Everything.

This is where most filmmakers panic — and most producers separate themselves from the crowd.

This session covers:

• Tax-efficient finance vehicles
• Enterprise Investment Schemes (EIS)
• Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs)
• Profit participation structures

These tools are why the UK remains one of the best places in Europe to raise film finance — if you know what you’re doing.

***THIS CLASS WILL RUN ONLINE ONLY FROM 6.30PM TO 9PM***

You can take this class on its own for £57.60

*Remember: save 30%

(Note: This session focuses on business finance tools, not current BFI schemes.)

Make the Film. Then Make Them Care.

If you don’t know who your audience is before you shoot, you’re already behind.

This session shows you how films actually get noticed — not how filmmakers wish they did.

You’ll learn:

• How to write a synopsis that sells
• How to build a real press kit
• How festivals actually work
• What film markets are for
• How sales agents operate
• How to create marketing assets that travel

Plus practical social media strategies that generate buzz instead of noise.

***THIS CLASS WILL RUN FROM 6.30PM TO 9PM***

You can take this class on its own for £57.60

*Remember: save 30%

Because the industry doesn’t reward talent.
It rewards execution.

Because great films fail every year due to bad producing.
And because no one is coming to save your project.

If you’re ready to stop guessing and start producing —
this is where you begin.

Attend all five evenings. Get certified. Get dangerous.

Elliot Grove (Creating a Business Plan) is the founder of Raindance Film Festival and the British Independent Film Awards. He has produced over hundreds of short films and also five feature films, including the multi-award-winning in 2006 and in 2014.

Elliot has written three books which have become industry standards: Raindance Writers’ Lab: Write + Sell the Hot Screenplay, now in its second edition, Raindance Producers’ Lab: Lo-To-No Budget Filmmaking, and 130 Projects to Get You Into Filmmaking. In 2009 he was awarded a PhD for services to film education.

Alec Christie (Budgeting and Scheduling) is Founder and Director of Creative at Them Apples.

Alec has experience working as a Head of Production. Executive Producer, Line Producer and Production Manager. He is proficient in budgeting, scheduling, managing production units in feature films, drama, commercials, animation, documentaries, promos and live events. He has a wealth of industry contacts in Europe, the United States and further afield.

Between 1984 and 1993 Alec Christie worked professionally in front of the camera before going on to study film at the University of Warwick.

Tony Morris (Legal Requirements for Filmmakers) has more than 40 years’ experience as a lawyer working across the media, entertainment and technology industries. His main focus is clients operating in the film, television and music industries – not only in the UK but also in the USA, Europe and elsewhere.

Tony has been lecturing regularly since 1997, most recently and currently as the provider of the legal modules for the Raindance course for independent writers and producers. He is regularly booked as a guest lecturer at the National Film and Television School and at the University of Portsmouth.

Tony has published dozens of articles and commentaries on a wide range of media and entertainment legal topics in the industry and national press and has appeared as a commentator on both radio and television. He is the author of ‘The Filmmakers’ Legal Guide’ now in its second edition.

Follow Tony Morris on | Twitter |

Dave Morrison (Movie Money) is both a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Advisor, Dave was a tax manager at two large firms before spending a number of years running his own (MOBO Nominated) DJ, club and concert business. He joined NLP in the late 1990s and his association with the world of entertainment continues, with specific areas of expertise in Creative Industry Tax Credits and EIS share issues. Along with his skills with regards to tax enquiry work, Dave has also represented clients at tax tribunal cases and takes a keen interest in a wide range of technical tax matters.

He was chairman of the Institute of Chartered Accountants’ Entertainment and Media Group for several years and regularly presents and writes articles on issues salient to both the entertainment and tax industries.

Beyond that, he spends less evenings dancing, now opting to spend his weekends cycling, accomplishing most Audax awards and completing many prestigious British and European rides. He even has a trophy or two at home! He also still proudly holds a season ticket at QPR.

Having previously served as the Investment Manager at London based The Fyzz Facility
Jasmin Morrison (Movie Money) has been involved in the financing of over 100 feature films and has experience working from conception to distribution.

Jasmin Morrison has wide experience as a film professional having worked in production, post production and film finance. In 2019 Jasmin founded Soul Cognition a production and consultancy company which is committed to diverse stories from a myriad of filmmakers.

Jasmin is also an experienced public speaker having presented at numerous events worldwide including at SXSW, Film London’s New Entrants course and having been featured on The Best Girl Grip and Screenster Podcasts. Jasmin also serves as a consultant for Breaking Through the Lens

Deborah Sheppard (Marketing and Selling Your Film) is a highly experienced senior marketing and distribution executive. Deborah started her career in advertising before moving into major studio distribution.

As Marketing Director for over 12 years for United International Pictures and Paramount Pictures UK, she worked extensively within an international sphere. Deborah presided over the campaigns for 420 releases across multiple genres, from festival films and local acquisitions. She masterminded releases of the hit movies Billy Elliot, Jarhead, Inside Man, Babel, Into the Wild, Revolutionary Road, True Grit, Made In Dagenham, and Killing Bono. She also released the animated favourites, Wallace and Gromit, Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon, Madagascar, Rango, Shrek andTintin. She also worked on major franchise blockbusters including Bond, Bourne, Transformers, Star Trek, and Mission Impossible contributing to the impressive achievement of $4.2bn at the UK box office.

Deborah set up her consultancy, Iheartcinema in 2012. She offers expert advice to film-makers, UK and international distributors. She offers script advice, audience research, casting and festival campaigns. She has supported a wide range of clients. From an indie Russian distributor with localising international film releases, built and managed teams for hybrid/self-distribution campaigns, with social/digital and PR focus. These include the doc, We Are Many (UK theatrical, US/Canada virtual premiere event release in 2020), experiential feature, The Last Faust, comedies, The Hippopotamus, Hurt by Paradise. She worked on a festival and strategic release campaign for foreign language Oscar longlist short film, Messania’s Story..

As producer, Deborah is developing and producing a number of live action features and an animation. As mentor Deborah delivers a number of industry distribution and marketing training programmes in the UK and internationally, through renowned institutions such as NFTS and Raindance.

“I found Producer’s Foundation Certificate course very worthwhile. Five days after finishing the course I am now in the process of producing my first two projects.” - Justine Penn

"All classes were informative and the tutors chosen were so knowledgable. Although I know there’s a lot more I need to learn, I feel a lot more confident about handling the role of a Producer." - Marcus Abington

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

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