Film glossary

Deferment

A deferment is a fee that a participant agrees to postpone, taking payment later out of the film revenue instead of upfront.

Cast, crew, or vendors may defer part of their fee to help a production close within budget, agreeing to be paid once the film begins to recoup. Deferments sit in a defined position in the recoupment waterfall, usually after senior debt and before equity or profit participation.

Because a deferment depends on the film earning enough to reach that point in the waterfall, it carries real risk for the person deferring. The terms are set out precisely in the deal documents.

Go deeper

Film Financing guideFilm financing is the work of assembling the money to make a film from several sources at once. Most budgets combine equity, debt and gap loans, pre-sales, tax incentives, and soft money into a capital stack, organized around a written finance plan and a clean data room that a financier can review quickly.

Related terms

Keep reading the glossary

Recoupment WaterfallThe recoupment waterfall is the agreed order in which each source of capital is paid back from the revenue a film generates.Back-End ParticipationBack-end participation is a share of a film revenue or profit that a participant receives after the film begins to recoup, rather than as an upfront fee.ResidualsResiduals are ongoing payments made to talent and crew, usually through their guilds, when a film earns from reuse across additional markets and windows.Equity FinancingEquity financing is money invested in a film in exchange for an ownership position and a share of any revenue it earns.

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This definition is educational and does not provide financial, legal, or tax advice. Consult your own licensed advisors before acting. FILM.FUND is a software and workflow platform, not a broker-dealer. It never handles money, never holds securities, never takes a percentage of any raise or sale, and never predicts returns.