Thursday, July 31, 2014
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
huf post gaza
Things are so deeply screwed up there, the numbers alone, just the numbers make it hard for me to not to feel for Palestine, trying to make a little sense and look at both sides I guess. I am with Noam though.
7 Things to Consider Before Choosing Sides in the Middle East Conflict
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Are you "pro-Israel" or "pro-Palestine"? It isn't even noon yet as I write this, and I've already been accused of being both.
These terms intrigue me because they directly speak to the doggedly tribal nature of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. You don't hear of too many other countries being universally spoken of this way. Why these two? Both Israelis and Palestinians are complex, with diverse histories and cultures, and two incredibly similar (if divisive) religions. To come down completely on the side of one or the other doesn't seem rational to me.
It is telling that most Muslims around the world support Palestinians, and most Jews support Israel. This, of course, is natural -- but it's also problematic. It means that this is not about who's right or wrong as much as which tribe or nation you are loyal to. It means that Palestinian supporters would be just as ardently pro-Israel if they were born in Israeli or Jewish families, and vice versa. It means that the principles that guide most people's view of this conflict are largely accidents of birth -- that however we intellectualize and analyze the components of the Middle East mess, it remains, at its core, a tribal conflict.
By definition, tribal conflicts thrive and survive when people take sides. Choosing sides in these kinds of conflicts fuels them further and deepens the polarization. And worst of all, you get blood on your hands.
So before picking a side in this latest Israeli-Palestine conflict, consider these 7 questions:
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1. Why is everything so much worse when there are Jews involved?
Over 700 people have died in Gaza as of this writing. Muslims have woken up around the world. But is it really because of the numbers?
Bashar al-Assad has killed over 180,000 Syrians, mostly Muslim, in two years -- more than the number killed in Palestine in two decades. Thousands of Muslims in Iraq and Syria have been killed by ISIS in the last two months. Tens of thousands have been killed by the Taliban. Half a million black Muslims were killed by Arab Muslims in Sudan. The list goes on.
But Gaza makes Muslims around the world, both Sunni and Shia, speak up in a way they never do otherwise. Up-to-date death counts and horrific pictures of the mangled corpses of Gazan children flood their social media timelines every day. If it was just about the numbers, wouldn't the other conflicts take precedence? What is it about then?
If I were Assad or ISIS right now, I'd be thanking God I'm not Jewish.
Amazingly, many of the graphic images of dead children attributed to Israeli bombardment that are circulating online are from Syria, based on a BBC report. Many of the pictures you're seeing are of children killed by Assad, who is supported by Iran, which also funds Hezbollah and Hamas. What could be more exploitative of dead children than attributing the pictures of innocents killed by your own supporters to your enemy simply because you weren't paying enough attention when your own were killing your own?
This doesn't, by any means, excuse the recklessness, negligence, and sometimesoutright cruelty of Israeli forces. But it clearly points to the likelihood that the Muslim world's opposition to Israel isn't just about the number of dead.
Here is a question for those who grew up in the Middle East and other Muslim-majority countries like I did: if Israel withdrew from the occupied territories tomorrow, all in one go -- and went back to the 1967 borders -- and gave the Palestinians East Jerusalem -- do you honestly think Hamas wouldn't find something else to pick a fight about? Do you honestly think that this has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that they are Jews? Do you recall what you watched and heard on public TV growing up in Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Egypt?
Yes, there's an unfair and illegal occupation there, and yes, it's a human rights disaster. But it is also true that much of the other side is deeply driven by anti-Semitism. Anyone who has lived in the Arab/Muslim world for more than a few years knows that. It isn't always a clean, one-or-the-other blame split in these situations like your Chomskys and Greenwalds would have you believe. It's both.
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2. Why does everyone keep saying this is not a religious conflict?
There are three pervasive myths that are widely circulated about the "roots" of the Middle East conflict:
Myth 1: Judaism has nothing to do with Zionism.
Myth 2: Islam has nothing to do with Jihadism or anti-Semitism.
Myth 3: This conflict has nothing to do with religion.
Myth 2: Islam has nothing to do with Jihadism or anti-Semitism.
Myth 3: This conflict has nothing to do with religion.
To the "I oppose Zionism, not Judaism!" crowd, is it mere coincidence that this passage from the Old Testament (emphasis added) describes so accurately what's happening today?
"I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the desert to the Euphrates River. I will give into your hands the people who live in the land, and you will drive them out before you. Do not make a covenant with them or with their gods." - Exodus 23:31-32
Or this one?
"See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land the Lord swore he would give to your fathers -- to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob -- and to their descendants after them." - Deuteronomy 1:8
There's more: Genesis 15:18-21, and Numbers 34 for more detail on the borders. Zionism is not the "politicization" or "distortion" of Judaism. It is the revival of it.
And to the "This is not about Islam, it's about politics!" crowd, is this verse from the Quran (emphasis added) meaningless?
"O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies. They are [in fact] allies of one another. And whoever is an ally to them among you--then indeed, he is [one] of them. Indeed, Allah guides not the wrongdoing people." - Quran, 5:51
What about the numerous verses and hadith quoted in Hamas' charter? And the famous hadith of the Gharqad tree explicitly commanding Muslims to kill Jews?
Please tell me -- in light of these passages written centuries and millennia before the creation of Israel or the occupation -- how can anyone conclude that religion isn't at the root of this, or at least a key driving factor? You may roll your eyes at these verses, but they are taken very seriously by many of the players in this conflict, on both sides. Shouldn't they be acknowledged and addressed? When is the last time you heard a good rational, secular argument supporting settlement expansion in the West Bank?
Denying religion's role seems to be a way to be able to criticize the politics while remaining apologetically "respectful" of people's beliefs for fear of "offending" them. But is this apologism and "respect" for inhuman ideas worth the deaths of human beings?
People have all kinds of beliefs -- from insisting the Earth is flat to denying the Holocaust. You may respect their right to hold these beliefs, but you're not obligated to respect the beliefs themselves. It's 2014, and religions don't need to be "respected" any more than any other political ideology or philosophical thought system. Human beings have rights. Ideas don't. The oft-cited politics/religion dichotomy in Abrahamic religions is false and misleading. All of the Abrahamic religions are inherently political.
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3. Why would Israel deliberately want to kill civilians?
This is the single most important issue that gets everyone riled up, and rightfully so.
Again, there is no justification for innocent Gazans dying. And there's no excuse for Israel's negligence in incidents like the killing of four children on a Gazan beach. But let's back up and think about this for a minute.
Why on Earth would Israel deliberately want to kill civilians?
When civilians die, Israel looks like a monster. It draws the ire of even its closest allies. Horrific images of injured and dead innocents flood the media. Ever-growing anti-Israel protests are held everywhere from Norway to New York. And the relatively low number of Israeli casualties (we'll get to that in a bit) repeatedly draws allegations of a "disproportionate" response. Most importantly, civilian deaths help Hamas immensely.
How can any of this possibly ever be in Israel's interest?
If Israel wanted to kill civilians, it is terrible at it. ISIS killed more civilians in two days (700 plus) than Israel has in two weeks. Imagine if ISIS or Hamas had Israel's weapons, army, air force, US support, and nuclear arsenal. Their enemies would've been annihilated long ago. If Israel truly wanted to destroy Gaza, it could do so within a day, right from the air. Why carry out a more painful, expensive ground incursion that risks the lives of its soldiers?
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4. Does Hamas really use its own civilians as human shields?
Ask Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas how he feels about Hamas' tactics.
"What are you trying to achieve by sending rockets?" he asks. "I don't like trading in Palestinian blood."
It isn't just speculation anymore that Hamas puts its civilians in the line of fire.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri plainly admitted on Gazan national TV that thehuman shield strategy has proven "very effective."
The UN relief organization UNRWA issued a furious condemnation of Hamas after discovering hidden rockets in not one, but two children's schools in Gaza last week.
Hamas fires thousands of rockets into Israel, rarely killing any civilians or causing any serious damage. It launches them from densely populated areas, including hospitals and schools.
Why launch rockets without causing any real damage to the other side, inviting great damage to your own people, then putting your own civilians in the line of fire when the response comes? Even when the IDF warns civilians to evacuate their homes before a strike, why does Hamas tell them to stay put?
Because Hamas knows its cause is helped when Gazans die. If there is one thing that helps Hamas most -- one thing that gives it any legitimacy -- it is dead civilians. Rockets in schools. Hamas exploits the deaths of its children to gain the world's sympathy. It uses them as a weapon.
You don't have to like what Israel is doing to abhor Hamas. Arguably, Israel and Fatah are morally equivalent. Both have a lot of right on their side. Hamas, on the other hand, doesn't have a shred of it.
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5. Why are people asking for Israel to end the "occupation" in Gaza?
Because they have short memories.
In 2005, Israel ended the occupation in Gaza. It pulled out every last Israeli soldier. It dismantled every last settlement. Many Israeli settlers who refused to leave wereforcefully evicted from their homes, kicking and screaming.
This was a unilateral move by Israel, part of a disengagement plan intended to reduce friction between Israelis and Palestinians. It wasn't perfect -- Israel was still to control Gaza's borders, coastline, and airspace -- but considering the history of the region, it was a pretty significant first step.
After the evacuation, Israel opened up border crossings to facilitate commerce. The Palestinians were also given 3,000 greenhouses which had already been producing fruit and flowers for export for many years.
But Hamas chose not to invest in schools, trade, or infrastructure. Instead, it built anextensive network of tunnels to house thousands upon thousands of rockets and weapons, including newer, sophisticated ones from Iran and Syria. All the greenhouses were destroyed.
Hamas did not build any bomb shelters for its people. It did, however, build a few for its leaders to hide out in during airstrikes. Civilians are not given access to these shelters for precisely the same reason Hamas tells them to stay home when the bombs come.
Gaza was given a great opportunity in 2005 that Hamas squandered by transforming it into an anti-Israel weapons store instead of a thriving Palestinian state that, with time, may have served as a model for the future of the West Bank as well. If Fatah needed yet another reason to abhor Hamas, here it was.
***
6. Why are there so many more casualties in Gaza than in Israel?
The reason fewer Israeli civilians die is not because there are fewer rockets raining down on them. It's because they are better protected by their government.
When Hamas' missiles head towards Israel, sirens go off, the Iron Dome goes into effect, and civilians are rushed into bomb shelters. When Israeli missiles head towards Gaza, Hamas tells civilians to stay in their homes and face them.
While Israel's government urges its civilians to get away from rockets targeted at them, Gaza's government urges its civilians to get in front of missiles not targeted at them.
The popular explanation for this is that Hamas is poor and lacks the resources to protect its people like Israel does. The real reason, however, seems to have more to do with disordered priorities than deficient resources (see #5). This is about will, not ability. All those rockets, missiles, and tunnels aren't cheap to build or acquire. But they are priorities. And it's not like Palestinians don't have a handful of oil-rich neighbors to help them the way Israel has the US.
The problem is, if civilian casualties in Gaza drop, Hamas loses the only weapon it has in its incredibly effective PR war. It is in Israel's national interest to protect its civilians and minimize the deaths of those in Gaza. It is in Hamas' interest to do exactly the opposite on both fronts.
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7. If Hamas is so bad, why isn't everyone pro-Israel in this conflict?
Because Israel's flaws, while smaller in number, are massive in impact.
Many Israelis seem to have the same tribal mentality that their Palestinian counterparts do. They celebrate the bombing of Gaza the same way many Arabs celebrated 9/11. A UN report recently found that Israeli forces tortured Palestinian children and used them as human shields. They beat up teenagers. They are oftenreckless with their airstrikes. They have academics who explain how rape may be the only truly effective weapon against their enemy. And many of them callously and publicly revel in the deaths of innocent Palestinian children.
To be fair, these kinds of things do happen on both sides. They are an inevitable consequence of multiple generations raised to hate the other over the course of 65 plus years. To hold Israel up to a higher standard would mean approaching the Palestinians with the racism of lowered expectations.
However, if Israel holds itself to a higher standard like it claims -- it needs to do much more to show it isn't the same as the worst of its neighbors.
Israel is leading itself towards increasing international isolation and national suicide because of two things: 1. The occupation; and 2. Settlement expansion.
Settlement expansion is simply incomprehensible. No one really understands the point of it. Virtually every US administration -- from Nixon to Bush to Obama -- hasunequivocally opposed it. There is no justification for it except a Biblical one (see #2), which makes it slightly more difficult to see Israel's motives as purely secular.
The occupation is more complicated. The late Christopher Hitchens was right when he said this about Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories:
"In order for Israel to become part of the alliance against whatever we want to call it, religious barbarism, theocratic, possibly thermonuclear theocratic or nuclear theocratic aggression, it can't, it'll have to dispense with the occupation. It's as simple as that.It can be, you can think of it as a kind of European style, Western style country if you want, but it can't govern other people against their will. It can't continue to steal their land in the way that it does every day.And it's unbelievably irresponsible of Israelis, knowing the position of the United States and its allies are in around the world, to continue to behave in this unconscionable way. And I'm afraid I know too much about the history of the conflict to think of Israel as just a tiny, little island surrounded by a sea of ravening wolves and so on. I mean, I know quite a lot about how that state was founded, and the amount of violence and dispossession that involved. And I'm a prisoner of that knowledge. I can't un-know it."
As seen with Gaza in 2005, unilateral disengagement is probably easier to talk about than actually carry out. But if it Israel doesn't work harder towards a two-state (maybe three-state, thanks to Hamas) solution, it will eventually have to make that ugly choice between being a Jewish-majority state or a democracy.
It's still too early to call Israel an apartheid state, but when John Kerry said Israelcould end up as one in the future, he wasn't completely off the mark. It's simple math. There are only a limited number of ways a bi-national Jewish state with a non-Jewish majority population can retain its Jewish identity. And none of them are pretty.
***
Let's face it, the land belongs to both of them now. Israel was carved out of Palestine for Jews with help from the British in the late 1940s just like my own birthplace of Pakistan was carved out of India for Muslims around the same time. The process was painful, and displaced millions in both instances. But it's been almost 70 years. There are now at least two or three generations of Israelis who were born and raised in this land, to whom it really is a home, and who are often held accountable and made to pay for for historical atrocities that are no fault of their own. They are programmed to oppose "the other" just as Palestinian children are. At its very core, this is a tribal religious conflict that will never be resolved unless people stop choosing sides.
So you really don't have to choose between being "pro-Israel" or "pro-Palestine." If you support secularism, democracy, and a two-state solution -- and you oppose Hamas, settlement expansion, and the occupation -- you can be both.
If they keep asking you to pick a side after all of that, tell them you're going with hummus.
eyebrow- AKA learning to be a woman to play one in the upcoming film I am staring in! UGH FEM FAKE FAB FEM
This article was written by Gyan Yankovich and repurposed with permission from Refinery29.
In today's beauty world, it's hard to imagine a time when we wanted anything other than the biggest, baddest, boldest brows in town à la Cara Delevingne and Lily Collins. So to keep this hot trend from looking like a hot mess, we reached out to brow expert Maribeth Madron from Maybelline New York for six ways to you might be ruining your fabulous arches.
You Wax or Thread Your Brows
Apparently, these methods are generally not right for your face. "Waxing and threading are a fantastic method for cleaning up body hair or chin hairs—but not brows," says Madron. "Waxing rounds your brows, which in turn can make your face appear older. As for threading, when one thread is in the technician's teeth when they're pulling the hairs, they end up looking over their shoulder—so they can't even see what they're doing."
Apparently, these methods are generally not right for your face. "Waxing and threading are a fantastic method for cleaning up body hair or chin hairs—but not brows," says Madron. "Waxing rounds your brows, which in turn can make your face appear older. As for threading, when one thread is in the technician's teeth when they're pulling the hairs, they end up looking over their shoulder—so they can't even see what they're doing."
You Only Tweeze Once A Week
So, wax and thread are out. But if you think a quick tweeze every now and then should be able to keep you in top shape, it's time to reconsider your brow-maintenance strategy. "A couple of hairs should be pulled every single day," says Madron. "It's the only way to maintain your arches. If you wait a week or two, you're going to have hair sprouting everywhere, and it'll be hard to know what's new growth and what needs to stay." The best solution? Tweeze between taking a shower and putting on your makeup.
So, wax and thread are out. But if you think a quick tweeze every now and then should be able to keep you in top shape, it's time to reconsider your brow-maintenance strategy. "A couple of hairs should be pulled every single day," says Madron. "It's the only way to maintain your arches. If you wait a week or two, you're going to have hair sprouting everywhere, and it'll be hard to know what's new growth and what needs to stay." The best solution? Tweeze between taking a shower and putting on your makeup.
You Match Your Arches to Your Hair Color
The only people who can really get away with this simple option are ladies with dark hair that’s all one shade. But if you're a brunette and have highlights, you should be matching your brows to those lighter strands. "By making your brows lighter—with a brow mascara, for example—your eyes will really pop," says Madron. If you're a blonde with fair to medium skin, it's the opposite rule. "Anyone with light everything needs to go a little bit darker," says Madron. "Look for the absolute darkest lowlight of your hair, and match that."
The only people who can really get away with this simple option are ladies with dark hair that’s all one shade. But if you're a brunette and have highlights, you should be matching your brows to those lighter strands. "By making your brows lighter—with a brow mascara, for example—your eyes will really pop," says Madron. If you're a blonde with fair to medium skin, it's the opposite rule. "Anyone with light everything needs to go a little bit darker," says Madron. "Look for the absolute darkest lowlight of your hair, and match that."
You Do Your Brows First, Then the Base
Considering how brows are the frames of your face, it's understandable why you might do them before applying blush, bronzer, and the like—but that's a major faux pas. "It's important to finish your complexion first," says Madron. "If you're washed out, with no blush or color, you're going to totally overdo the brows. It's similar to the way ladies always end up overdoing liner and mascara if they've left their brows until last." The formula for success: base, bronzer, blush, brows, and then everything else.
Considering how brows are the frames of your face, it's understandable why you might do them before applying blush, bronzer, and the like—but that's a major faux pas. "It's important to finish your complexion first," says Madron. "If you're washed out, with no blush or color, you're going to totally overdo the brows. It's similar to the way ladies always end up overdoing liner and mascara if they've left their brows until last." The formula for success: base, bronzer, blush, brows, and then everything else.
You Use Just One Brow Product
Remember how proud you felt when you bought that very first brow pencil? Well, imagine that feeling times three—because that's how many brow products you should be using daily. "Pencil for structure, powder for color, and then a gel to settle the hairs and keep them in place," says Madron.
Remember how proud you felt when you bought that very first brow pencil? Well, imagine that feeling times three—because that's how many brow products you should be using daily. "Pencil for structure, powder for color, and then a gel to settle the hairs and keep them in place," says Madron.
You Start from the Outside and Work Your Way In
Logic would say the best place to start anything is, well, at the start. However, beauty logic often disagrees. "What you really want to do is start in the middle of your brow, where it's naturally fullest," says Madron. "From there, work lightly toward the tail. When you're done, go back to the start of your brow and add a few fine flicks so the inner corner is lighter and more natural-looking than the outer one."
Logic would say the best place to start anything is, well, at the start. However, beauty logic often disagrees. "What you really want to do is start in the middle of your brow, where it's naturally fullest," says Madron. "From there, work lightly toward the tail. When you're done, go back to the start of your brow and add a few fine flicks so the inner corner is lighter and more natural-looking than the outer one."
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
white wig
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Wig-130cm-white-long-straight-hair-high-temperature-wire-cosplay-wig/1437987198.html
olsen hair products
"I always start by spraying Dove Nourishing Oil Care Detangler on her wet hair and blow dry with a round brush. I always use Spornette mixed bristle brushes - they are the absolute best. I am OBSESSED with the new Harry Josh Protools blow dryer - best one out there! Then, I loosely pin her hair into a low bun and let it set while she has make-up done. When I take out the bun, she has these great bends in her hair. I then spray Dove Dry shampoo on the roots and massage it in to create that amazing 'second day' texture in her hair."
"They have been going to Lorri Godard-Clarke for hair color for years! I think since they were 13 or 14-years-old and she takes great care of their hair. I recently made up a conditioner for the girls to take with them on their vacations and told them to put it in their hair before swimming and while in the sun; it was coconut oil, almond oil, jojoba oil, and vitamin E. !ll things I picked up at the health food store! When they got back, they both asked me for more and I could feel a huge difference in their hair. They use it a couple times a week and leave it in for up to an hour."
"They have been going to Lorri Godard-Clarke for hair color for years! I think since they were 13 or 14-years-old and she takes great care of their hair. I recently made up a conditioner for the girls to take with them on their vacations and told them to put it in their hair before swimming and while in the sun; it was coconut oil, almond oil, jojoba oil, and vitamin E. !ll things I picked up at the health food store! When they got back, they both asked me for more and I could feel a huge difference in their hair. They use it a couple times a week and leave it in for up to an hour."
make-up
What it does:
Still color correcting and incredibly versatile, this formula is creamier and yet even more lightweight than the original and blends seamlessly into skin to create the perfect nude canvas. Intended to mimic the look of healthy skin, it can be worn all over the face or just to touch up where needed. The revolutionary clear base allows for ultimate skin match and skintone correct shades that are completely color true for eight hours of water-, sweat-, and humidity-resistant wear.
What else you need to know:
"The ultimate nude foundation."—Bobbi Brown
What it is:
A lipstick that doubles as a blush.
What it does:
Stila's ingenious lipstick and blush-in-one proves irresistible. Non-greasy, this creamy, sheer tint adds an natural glow to the cheeks while lips bloom with fresh, radiant color. A mini mirrored-compact makes touch ups on the go a snap.
Still color correcting and incredibly versatile, this formula is creamier and yet even more lightweight than the original and blends seamlessly into skin to create the perfect nude canvas. Intended to mimic the look of healthy skin, it can be worn all over the face or just to touch up where needed. The revolutionary clear base allows for ultimate skin match and skintone correct shades that are completely color true for eight hours of water-, sweat-, and humidity-resistant wear.
What else you need to know:
"The ultimate nude foundation."—Bobbi Brown
What it is:A lipstick that doubles as a blush.
What it does:
Stila's ingenious lipstick and blush-in-one proves irresistible. Non-greasy, this creamy, sheer tint adds an natural glow to the cheeks while lips bloom with fresh, radiant color. A mini mirrored-compact makes touch ups on the go a snap.
make-up
“First, you need a flat toothbrush,” Ashley says. “It’s bigger than a brow brush, so it works better, then we just use Anastasia Clear Brow Gel ($22).”
Benefit Erase Paste is a concentrated, creamy, blendable concealer that instantly brightens and camouflages all-in-one. It has an innovative formula which makes sure signs of stress and fatigue are a thing of the past. These three brightening neutral shades give every gal correction perfection.
Benefit Erase Paste is a concentrated, creamy, blendable concealer that instantly brightens and camouflages all-in-one. It has an innovative formula which makes sure signs of stress and fatigue are a thing of the past. These three brightening neutral shades give every gal correction perfection.
The secret is all in this top-selling formula. This waterproof, ultra-light, water-based gel contains no emulsifiers and provides a totally natural, satin finish. Ideal for normal skin-types as well as for fine lines and large pores. Gives skin a uniform tone without accentuating imperfections. A makeup artist's favorite.
Dany's Tip: "This foundation is also formulated for the body. Apply a fine layer, let dry three minutes, then blot the excess with a tissue before getting dressed."
iphone 5s case :( why no 5c
http://www.miniinthebox.com/lip-pattern-silicone-soft-case-for-iphone-5-5s_p1156603.html
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this is a demo for mally
pitch
Pitching to Investors
Written by Jeff CarneyMy secret wealth formula is: very Long hours, many months of work spread over 2 years, Countless meetings/phone calls, cancelled meetings/rescheduled meetings/ with weeks and in some cases months of waiting, networking, lots of patience and a never say die attitude. A lot of people don't get to the last part.
Also having a good package available for investors to look at - eye catching package art, breakdown on how you are going to make the movie, breakdown of a investment plan for their money, Good bio of yourself, who you are with video clips or in some cases a copy of a movie you made to show what you have done in the past, Good actors.......Finally not as important but it can draw extra attention from investors - good equipment to show that you can actually make the movie and do it all without going to outside rental companys etc..(saves money on the budget that way from not renting equipment - investors like that since it saves them money).
Even for someone starting out (without a lot of background or equipment in making movies) I would say a good package with eye catching art and a breakdown of how you are going to make the movie and a plan for their investment in your project - could be enough in with some investors. I had some investors in the past tell me that they want to invest not to make money but it sounds cool and something they can brag to their friends on the golf course about - Playing golf and their friends start talking about stocks and the investor can start talking about the movie he is financing. He said it opened their eyes wide. Wouldn't it be great if all investors were like that - those types are rare and are the exception but they are out there. He was a dentist. Doctors/lawyers/business owners etc.. are all potential leads. I just asked around and found connections here and there among people which sent me on a interesting and ultimately rewarding journey.
My attitude is that even investors who don't invest can be useful - ask them if they can suggest anyone they know. Networking is a key. Your Aunt Agnes probably doesn't have the money to invest but she may know a friend who is best friends with the son of a brother who has a sister-in-law who has a daughter and is married to the town investment banker or cpa or doctor or...I've found some that way. Worse thing you can do is be shy about it or not make a call to a potential investor (even one who you don't think will invest) as you never know where that call may lead.
Financing is the worse part of any project - takes the most time regardless of how much or how little money you need (god aweful amount of time) and is probably the part I enjoy the least. But necessary......
I've got a larger project that I've been trying to finance for 2003 and had 17 out of 25 investors. Not enough to finance it but just came across (through dumb luck and a chance talk with a old friend) a single investor interested in financing the whole project but have to wait to talk details to the gentleman later this year. I've learned that "the details" mean A LOT..So have to wait and see on that one and see if details means that he wants his two headed daughter in the movie in a starring role or if I can cast whoever in it..Sometimes you do get strange requests from investors and then you have to decide if it is worth taking or not.
Nice thing about investors is that sometimes it only takes 1 of them believing in you and your project for it to get financed.
The main thing to remember in putting it together and pitching investors is that you are really selling an idea (the movie). Selling an abstract product is very tough. So the more you have to show the investors (actual physical things) the better off you are. If the person putting together the investor kit has experience in filmmaking hit on that, if you don't then try to get some actors cast who have independent movie experience or theater/stage background from your area. Then you can talk in the Investor package about their experience.
Artwork is a major key. I always make a professional looking video and dvd case so the investors can see what the art on the box would like sitting in a store and that is something they can hold in their hand. It helps make this abstract concept of movie making a bit more of a reality. Probably most of the investors you approach will never have thought it was possible to be involved in a movie before (which most people will tell you is bad because you then have to then sell them on the idea of making movies which they are not familiar with. But I've found that most people/investors want to talk to you out of curiousity - and that is great because all you need is one open door to get in. Anyone on this list knows the hard work and the very unglamorous world that is filmmaking. A lot of investors don't - they see it as glamorous. Hey - if that helps them come board your project then great it is a glamorous business.
You basically want 1) artwork 2) one page synopsis (with mention of a script available upon request) 3) details on how the investment will work (50/50 split with the production company, which is you the filmmaker, or possibly with 100% going to the investors until they make their money back and then a 50/50 split.). Explain to them how video distribution works (most investors won't have a clue so you need to educate them. A lot of investors won't realize that the movie you make will be sold online, in stores, for rental..and tell them you make money from sales not rentals because they won't understand this usually)...4) details on the video industry/sales figures of the video sales in the genre you are doing, Mention films that succeeded.. 5) bios of yourself, any cast, any crew (good crew bios can help too), 6) photos/resumes of actresses/actors with the name of the part they will be playing underneath their headshot 7) Stress the plus sides to investing (not only financial but the bragging rights they can have around their friends/business associates by being involved with a movie, let them visit the set with the family/friends..If you have some sort of name actor/actress involved - let them them meet the star during shooting.. 8) and stress the risks involved - that movies make money and they can also not make their money back. If you have ever seen a real investment plan for a business it is scary as almost every other page talks about not making money and losing money and the negative aspects which is legally what they have to do for large businesses. 9) check to see what the legal requirements are for # of investors in your area. Where I am at you have to keep it under 25 investors on a project and it probably varies from state to state. 10) list potential distributors - show them there are a lot of distributors to market your movie to. When in doubt consult an attorney.
These investment packages can be a short as 10 pages or as long as 40. I try to have everything summarized (my bio/cast/investment/synopsis) in the first four pages (for those with short attention spans) and then go into depth/details/longer resumes in the back of the package/examples both positive (selling a lot, selling break even point, and negative ( not selling many copies but also not selling any) of how payments would work/etc.. during the rest of the package. Be fair, be balanced - consider what you would want to know/be told about if you were investing.
If you have some interesting locations - take pictures and include those...The more you can show on your movie before you shoot the better of you will be. My attitude is, and I had it happen once, that the investor says "if you can do all of this without any money, I wonder what you could with money."
Check please..
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