Active films can use Opportunities Matchmaking to reach out to any collaborators or investors on Slated who match their film's specific criteria (budget, genre, project score).

If your film already has a producer, director, and lead actors, then you may be ready to reach out to investors and sales companies straight away.

If not, it is advised that you package your movie first. Opportunities Matchmaking is designed to help you do just that.

What is film packaging?

Packaging is the process of putting together the team that will make your movie. Generally speaking, your director, lead producer, and lead actors make up the package. 📦

There are right ways and wrong ways to package your movie. Building a valuable package can lead to interest from investors, even if your film is a low-budget drama. On the other hand, going out with a weak package, or no package at all, can sometimes get crickets from investors.

Remember, investors have hundreds, if not thousands, of screenplays to choose from. For them, understanding who's making the film and who's starring in it is of paramount importance in deciding which scripts they'll prioritize reading.

In addition to using Slated's matchmaking system to meet collaborators, you can also use our FREE Team Analysis and Script Analysis to increase your odds of success. Let's dive in.

Find your director and producers first, then your lead actors, then investors.

If you have a great script but no team, you need a director and producer to start.

Why? Professional actors don't typically sign onto a project until they know who is producing and directing the movie. They want to hear the vision from the director. They want to know they'll be in good hands.

And understandably, investors want to know who'll be starring so they can get a sense of the sales value of the film once complete.

You can start reaching out to producers and directors right now!

Some people begin with looking for an established producer, since they can help secure a director. However, you can also reach out to directors and producers at the same time.

Once you've secured your producer and director, you can strategize which actors you'll reach out to. See Tip #2 below to learn about valuing each attachment. Once the film is cast, the package is ready for submissions to investors.

The Team Score (FREE) is an indicator of how much collective experience your team has.

As you add people to your project's team tab, your Team Score will change. Only 5 key team members (writer, director, lead actor, lead producer, and sales/distribution company) contribute to your Team Score.

Generally speaking, films above $1M budgets should try to achieve a Team Score north of 30 before sales agents or distributors are considered.

An important note: not every member of your team needs to be high-scoring. After all, Slated has helped many first-time writer-directors get their movies made and secure meaningful distribution. Investors and collaborators are simply looking to make sure that there are experienced members in some of the key roles.

It's all about balance. So if your writer is a first-timer, you should aim for a producer with 1-2 successful films under their belt. If you director is a first-timer, then you need at least one lead producer with experience delivering successful films.

To gauge the value of directors, producers, actors before adding them, check out their Slated Credit Score.

Each person's Credit Score is product of their total experience in film and television. Total number of film and television credits, lifetime box office, awards nominations and wins, and viewership across streaming TV and film all factor into a person's Credit Score. Credit Scores also adjust for depreciation over time, as well as how central you were to each project you participated in.

Just go to your Team Tab on your film page and enter their name. If they're a Slated member, their Credit Score should pop up. If not, we'll calculate it for you.

If you want to save them on your wish list, click Verify Later. (**Do not click "Verify Now." Clicking "Verify Now" should ONLY be used if you've already struck a deal with that person to be involved with your film.)

Last but not least, we advise make sure your screenplay is rock-solid before approaching directors, producers, actors, and investors.

A "good script" is usually not good enough.

To get made, the screenplay should be incredible!

It needs to be so good that an established film professional who reads it will be motivated to reserve several months on their calendar to work on the project.

Slated has a tool for advising filmmakers on when their script is ready to be sent out. And it really works.

Script Analysis is a three-reader double blind review of your screenplay that comes with 10 pages of confidential feedback.

You'll also get a Script Score that can increase the number of matches you get on Slated. Script Scores over 75 tend to get 10x more matches on Slated.

When one in three readers loves the project enough to give it a Recommend, you can be sure that a meaningful percentage of film professionals you send it to will like the script too.

That's why Slated's EP Team prioritizes considering projects with 75+ Script Scores. Not only are they 4-5 times more likely to be Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes when made, but they're also far more likely to get a positive response from investors when we send the script out.

If your first draft doesn't get a 75 right out of the gate, don't fret! We've seen some Script Scores climb 10-20 points over the course of the development process, including Oscar-winning films like SOUND OF METAL.

You can submit as many drafts as you want and keep all of your Script Scores hidden until you get one that you'd like to display.

Script Analysis is optional. However, it is highly recommended. Not only are Script Scores of 75+ more likely to get made, they're more likely to be great films, which sets you up to make your next movie.

Last but not least, be patient. Making an incredible film takes time. It's worth taking each step carefully to ensure you're setting yourself up for success - not only on this film, but on every film after.