In many ways, their investor was an ideal partner. "He was great, creatively. He said many times that he was going to let us do what we do best." However, they did learn some lessons along the way. Preston"s advice: "If you get an investor who just wants to do things on a handshake, that may not be the best idea. It might be better to take the time to put together a more official deal. On that project we did not involve our lawyer or our manager up front, and we should have."

"It's funny, because it could be argued that that project might never have gotten off the ground if we had instituted the restrictions right off the bat of, No, Mr. Investor, you're not going to be allowed to call us because you're going to have to speak with our manager or you're going to have to speak with our lawyer. Hoodwinked! launched us and maybe that's the reason we did the project."

Treating It Like A Business
The great lesson from Blue Yonder Films is that it can be done. But that leads to the next question: How can you do it?

According to Christine Comaford-Lynch, leader of Mighty Ventures, "None of us are that smart. Whatever idea one of us has, probably a few dozen of us have, at least, worldwide. It's all about the execution."

As a five-time ceo/entrepreneur, Christine is an execution guru. And she has some very specific advice for artistic people entering the uncharted minefield of financing. "You need to explain the project in terms that are compelling to the financier. What are the dollars and cents? How much do you need, what do you need it for, what's the payout going to be, how soon will that be, and let's talk about the risk."

An attorney, a business advisor and an advisory board can help you wade through the language and create a pitch that speaks to investors. "It's so easy to be immediately dismissed and then never be considered. You have to do that friendly fire pitch testing to make sure that you're coming across like a business person."

Five-time ceo/entrepreneur, Christine Comaford-Lynch advises those seeking independent financing to explain the project in terms that are compelling to the financier. Be specific about what you need and why.

Once you pull your pitch together, there are three elements that must be addressed when meeting with investors:

• Your pitch must be concise. It needs to be specific about exactly what you're doing.

• Your pitch must be compelling. Don't be shy about touting the amazing people you have involved in the project, the market demand, any intellectual property or any other edge you might have.

• Your pitch must be complete. Any financier is going to need to know how much the project will cost, where the money will be allocated, when it will be needed and when they can expect to see a return on their investment. The financier will need to feel confident that the project will be executed.

"If it's not concise, they immediately dismiss you because you can not define what your particular project is. If you're not compelling they're like, I know what the project is, but why do I care? And then if it's not complete they go, they've got this sexy idea, they've got some interesting people, but I don't think they've got what it takes to execute."

And while it might be tempting to jump at the first investor who shows interest, there are a few precautions that are worth considering. "They really have to understand your space and the project that you're doing because if they don't, they're going to be second guessing you all the time." That means working with people who understand what you're doing and trust your credibility, people who aren't going to micromanage you, and people who are in it for the duration. "They have to understand how long your project's going to take. They have to be in line with you on the return of investments, in line on the risks, and in line with operationally, what's going to be involved so they're not hassling you."

So do your homework. The better prepared you are, the more options you'll have and then you can go back to the reason you got involved with this business mumbo-jumbo in the first place.

You have a movie to make.

For free start-up business planning tools and to read more about the business of financing, visit Christine Comaford-Lynch's site http://mightyventures.com/resources.php.

Chara Campanella is a writer/producer with a background in both animation and reality TV. Currently, she is working on the independent animated feature, Time Piglets.