How to Write a Documentary Proposal That Will Drive Funding for Your Film

Creating a proposal for your film project can fast track your journey to generating the funding that you need for production. Whether you’re attempting to generate funding through grants or through investment financing, the proposal is the first step to getting started. If you need a way to generate maximum funding for your film, learning how to write a documentary proposal should be at the top of your to-do list. 

Before you get started, make sure that you have researched your target audience so that you know exactly who you’re writing the proposal to.

You should have a firm understanding of who your potential funder or grantor is and what they expect from the proposal. 

Be Thorough With your Details

Writing a documentary proposal is going to require that you take your time and thoroughly provide details for the project. This is not the time to be vague with your answers or to otherwise generalize information.

You should not only prove that you know your project inside and out, but also that you’re passionate about it and that others should be too!

Structuring Your Documentary Proposal

Structuring the proposal is an incredibly important step. You cannot forget any sections and you absolutely must not lose focus of the task at hand.

Just like writing a script, every word in your proposal is going to be important. So choose carefully and wisely. You should be incredibly detailed, but you should not repeat yourself as this will waste the reader’s time. 

Most grantors and investors are reading over hundreds of documentary proposals at a given time. They certainly don’t want to have their time wasted. So make sure that you’re delivering the details they need to resonate with your story, to see the value, and to connect. 

Include the following parts:

An abstract

This is the summary of your proposal and should be one page in total length. It should summarize the details of the project and will form the first impression that the reader has so it’s very important that you plan it out carefully.

Table of contents

This is going to help the reader navigate to sections that are most important to them.

Treatment

This should provide a short version of your documentary so that the reader will know what is going to happen on screen. Make sure to be descriptive.

To include colors and styles that directly relate to the film, and to keep it interesting. It should include details about characters, story beats, and the economic value of the film.

Project history

This is your chance to provide detailed information about how the documentary has formed. Where did the idea come from? Why should the public be interested? How will it impact the world?

Audience 

This is your change to explain who your target audience is and why they will be interested in your film. Share other films that the audience may have liked on a similar topic for proof of concept.

Style and approach

What kind of style will you use for the documentary? Consider the visual style that will be used and detail that within this section. Will you use found footage? What about using interviews? Will you rely on photographs? Will you create reenactments?

Cast and Crew

This is your chance to detail who will make up your documentary film. Will you have a cast that is particularly noteworthy? Who is your Producer? Who is your Director? Are there people involved in your production that have a strong reputation in the industry?

Statement of Work

You should include a timeline with expected dates for pre-production, production, and post-production. This is your opportunity to outline the expected timeline for completion and steps you intend to take should you raise the necessary funding for the project.

Budget & Expense Breakdown

This will include a breakdown of costs for each phase of the project. It’s important that you are not overly humble with your costs because doing so could result in your not getting adequate funding.

Likewise, you should never over exaggerate your expenses because investors could find this to be overzealous or they might not be happy with the expenses. If you don’t have your budget prepared, you should estimate based on research which means you MUST do your homework!

Quick Tips on How to Write a Documentary Proposal that Gets Results

Now that you know what to include and what each section entails, let’s take a look at what you can do to be sure that you’re writing a proposal that’s going to get the results that you’re looking for.

The first step is to make sure that you are being detailed in each and every section, we addressed that in the beginning. Next, you’re going to need to be realistic. Don’t claim a budget that doesn’t make sense and absolutely do not over exaggerate your expenses!

Plan Diligently 

It’s possible that you’ll need more than just grants or investments to fund your project. Planning your fundraising strategy out can help you to achieve the desired funding goals. You might be asked by the investor what your fundraising strategy is, too.

Ideally, you should have a multi-channel strategy in which you’re exercising several different options in finding adequate funding for your documentary project.

This means you’ll want to do things like crowdfund, apply for grants, seek investments, and consider bank financing or other forms of financing for the project.

Double Triple Check

Before you submit your proposal, it’s important to triple check for grammar and spelling. A single error could result in your grant or funding request being denied.

In fact, grammar and spelling errors show that you are not invested fully in the value of your project so it’s important that you do NOT ever allow a single error to be found.

You might want to have others read the proposal before submitting, this way they can tell you if there are areas that need improvement or if there were mistakes made.

In Summary

Learning how to write a documentary proposal is all about knowing your audience, using terms and wording that targets them directly, and knowing your project.

If you’re not familiar with your project and passionate about it, that will show in your documentary proposal writing and it won’t look good! Thus it is equally important for you to know your project inside and out as it is for you to double and triple check your work before submitting.