The Most Important Parts of your Indiefilm Marketing Mix RIGHT NOW.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been writing about how we used to market movies, vs what works in marketing them now.  So to expand on that, here are the most important things in marketing your movie in today’s day and age.

Consumer Reviews

It’s been decried as outlandish and treasonous by many studio heads, but among the most important things that filmmakers need to do to make money making movies in today’s market is to focus on getting good customer reviews.  The same is true across any consumer product in any industry these days. 

People tend to look closely at what other people who bought the product think of it.  As such, negative reviews have a hugely negative effect on your bottom line.  The fact that the reviews are often tied into various algorithms or listed across multiple platforms generally makes it the most important single factor in how your film will sell. 

Genre

Genre is still as important as it ever was.  It’s a classification of both what you like, and what you’re presently in the mood for.  When I watch a movie with my wife, one of the first things I ask is what sort of movie we want to watch, and then we list through a few genres.  Not sure of what genre or sub-genre is? Check the links below.

Related: How distributors think of Genre

Related: How distributors think of Sub-Genre​

Professional Reviews

The term professional review has become more varied than it used to be. I don’t just mean someone reviewing your film for the LA Times or the NY Times, in this instance, I could also mean The Nostalgia Critic, Lindsay Ellis, MovieBob or any one of dozens of prominent YouTubers. (I understand that a lot of these are more in-depth film criticism than standard reviews, but I would lump them in there.) Sites like Bloody Disgusting would also fall into this category.

Traditional Press

Traditional press other than reviews is more important on an industry level and as such is much more important for traditional distribution. This would be things like acquisitions announcements trade magazines, or something of the sort.

The other way the traditional press can be useful is if you can get some kind of coverage on YOU or your company in a paper for where you grew up, or something of that sort.  Like most things in the entertainment industry, this is largely relationship based.  

Related: 6 rules for contacting press

​Poster

The poster for the film will always be important, but given that all of the pieces I’ve listed above tend to either greatly influence search results or Search Engine Optimization for your film, the poster has ended up down there. As I’ve discussed in other blogs, the post needs to be both authentic and eye-catching enough to drive the potential viewer to click through to the next stage and find out more information.

Related: The MOST important thing in Marketing your Movie RIGHT NOW.

Trailer

On an independent level, unless you can get some press with it, the trailer is most likely going to help convince people to watch the film more than help them discover it. That being said, next to the reviews, this may have the biggest impact in convincing them to watch it.

Synopsis

Finally, people want to know what the movie is about. It needs to be short, punchy, and focus more on SELLING your story than telling it. 

Thanks for reading! If you liked this blog, you’ll probably like the stuff you get on my mailing list.  For signing up you get a film marketing & distribution resource packet, as well as monthly digests of blogs just like this one.  Or, if you’re researching whether or not you want to self-distribute your independent film, you might want to submit it.  I have hybrid models for distribution that help filmmakers build their brands, and get the right amount of visibility for their films so they can rise above the white noise of content being created.

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The SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT Asset for growing your Indiefilm Career RIGHT NOW

Last week I wrote about how distribution has changed over the last several years.  This week, I thought I’d expand on the number one most important thing for independent filmmakers when it comes to building their brand and marketing their movies. What is it?

AUTHENTICITY

Gone are the days when you could simply push out your product with a cool poster and bomb trailer that had nothing to do with the film and expect to make a lot of money.  If you’re going to be a creator, especially one who focuses on selling content to Gen Z millennials like myself you’re going to have to make sure you’re authentic about it. Here’s why

Authenticity makes you more relatable

Most people (especially younger people) have been watching insane amounts of media from a young age.  As such, we’ve learned to tell when someone is full of it.  Most of the time, we can tell when people are playing a character (even if that character is TOO idealized a version of themselves) and when they’re not telling the whole truth.  The rise of youtube and social media has shown us that millennials crave authenticity. If you want to relate to your audience, you’ll need to be authentic. 

Authenticity helps you build stronger relationships with your community and fan base.

Similarly, if you’re not authentic, it’s very difficult to build a relationship with your audience or your community.  It’s not the 80s anymore.  You can’t just blast out music and ads in a pink windbreaker, puffy shirt, big hair, and striped socks and expect people to buy your movie.  Every brand tries to build a relationship with its potential customers using various social media platforms.  However, you can have the advantage, if you’re careful about it. 

Major brands are such a large collection of people it’s not possible for them to maintain an authentic, personal brand.  As such, they generally need to spend a huge amount of money on advertising and sponsorships to keep moving their products. ​

You, on the other hand, need only be authentic and work to speak for your audience in a relatable and non-condescending way. 

Authenticity helps you organically grow your brand reach

Paid growth on social media is expensive.  Authentic, valuable content has more viral reach, and as such it will help you grow your brand, your impressions, and as a result your audience.  If something seems extremely corporate or sponsored or unrelatable, nobody is going to share it. Most filmmakers can’t afford the fees to boost content regularly enough to build their entire brand by it. 

Authenticity correlates to higher reviews

I talked about this at the top of this blog, and in much more detail in this blog. But you can’t just sell your film as something other than it is anymore. If you do, the reviews will suffer. If you made a wonderfully written break in narrative time thriller and then it gets marketed as a heart-racing action film, people are going to be pissed. I would be too, if I was expecting Commando and got Memento.

Thanks so much for reading! If you want to know more, you should join my mailing list for blog digests of blogs just like this one, as well as an awesome film marketing resource pack. That button is right below. I don’t just write about film distribution, I also used to run a US distribution company, and I still represent films to bigger players to myself. If you still need distribution for your film, you should consider submitting it. I rep on commission and there’s no submission fee.

How Did Film Distribution Get So Broken?

It’s no secret that many (if not most) filmmakers think film distribution is broken.  While there are many reasons for it, part of it is due to the rapid change in the amount of money flowing to distributors, and what constituted effective marketing.  What works for marketing films now isn't what worked in the past, and the systems distributors built themselves around have fallen apart.  Here's an elaboration.  

First, some history.

​Independent Film Distribution used to be primarily a game of access.  By controlling the access and becoming a gatekeeper, it was easy to make buckets of cash.  If you had a VHS printer and access to a warehouse facility that could help you ship to major retail outlets you could make literal millions off of a crappy horror film.

In those days it was also significantly harder and significantly more expensive to make a film, as you’d need to buy 16mm or 35mm film, get it duplicated, cut it by hand using a viola, and then reassemble it and have prints made.  This was a very expensive process, so the number of independent films that were made was much smaller than it is today. 

Then DVD came along, and around the same time some of the early films from the silent era that actually had followings entered the public domain.  As such, a good amount of companies started printing those to acquire enough capital to buy libraries and eventually build themselves into major studios.  Sure, DVD widened the gate a bit, but it also expanded the market so everyone was happy. 

Around this time, Non-Linear Editors and surprisingly viable digital and tape cameras were coming into prominence.  As a result, it became much more possible to make an independent film than it was before.  Of course, at that time it was still beyond the reach of most people, and since the average amount of content being made went up, the demand was growing enough that there still wasn’t a massive issue with oversaturation.

A similar expansion was expected with Blu-Ray, but at around the same time, alternative services like iTunes were starting to become viable as broadband internet was becoming commonplace.  As such, the demand for physical media started to dwindle, and as a result, the revenue being made dropped.
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At the same time, Full HD cameras were now very affordable, and some even rivaled 35mm film.  So the amount of money being made in the industry went down, and more films were being made than ever before. 

Shortly after that, the ability to disintermediate and cut out the gatekeepers came to be.  As such, the market became flooded with often low-quality films that the challenge was no longer getting your film out there, it was now getting your film noticed.  That’s where we are now, and nobody has fully been able to solve that problem yet. ​

Here’s a summary of how we got there, and how the process of distribution has changed.

Access USED to be enough

It used to be that access was all you needed.  Once you had that, you could make an insane amount of money selling other people’s content.
​

Sell it on the box art

The box art being caught was the most important thing.  Stores didn’t let you return movies because you didn’t like them, and other than your own limited circle of friends consumers didn’t have a lot of power to let people know about bad movies, or bad products in general. 

Sell it on the trailer

Even if it was bad, nothing would come of it.  Once you had their money, that was all you needed.  The idea of making your money in the first weekend before bad word of mouth got around was much more viable as people couldn’t just tweet it out or rant about it on Facebook or YouTube.

Let’s contrast that with how things work Now:

Access is easy

Anyone with a few thousand dollars can put their film up on most Transactional platforms on the internet.  You can also put it on Amazon or Vimeo yourself for free.  There are very few in terms of quality controls. 
​

the Poster/keyart is still important, but reviews are more important.

Sure, people still get their eyes caught by a poster.  But the reviews matter significantly more in terms of getting them to a purchase decision.  The poster may catch their eye, but the meta score from users on whatever platform you’re watching the film on is important. 

The trailer might still be the deciding factor

Generally, after people see the poster, they’ll read the synopsis, and then they’ll either watch the trailer or read the reviews.  If they watch the trailer, they may have more leniency on reviews.

Also, if the trailer is really good, it can get a bit of viral spread.

If it’s bad, it will become known.

Thanks to social media, if the film is bad it’s not hard to let people know about it. If the film is mismarketed, people will know. As such, authentic marketing to the film is extremely important.

Thanks for reading! If you liked this blog, you’ll probably like the stuff you get on my mailing list. That includes a film marketing & distribution resource packet, as well as monthly digests of blogs just like this one. Or, if you’re researching whether or not you want to self-distribute your independent film, you might want to submit it. I have hybrid models for distribution that help filmmakers build their brands, and get the right amount of visibility for their films so they can rise above the white noise. Check out the buttons below, and see you next week!

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The Problem with the IndieFilm Distribution Payment System

A lot of filmmakers I’ve worked with don’t know enough about distribution to really make a career making creative content.  This shouldn’t be a surprise, as it’s something film schools tend not to teach.  That being said, there’s a part of the equation most people just don’t talk about, and WHY it takes so long for filmmakers to get paid?  This blog addresses that.

As an aside, this is laid out from a financial perspective in the blog below.  However, we will also be tracking how much of the money goes away throughout this blog.  This will admittedly be very much oversimplified, but we’re going to be tracking it as a single dollar for ease of understanding. 

Related: Indiefilm Waterfalls 101

How long it takes for the platform to pay the aggregator

I talk about this in workshops quite frequently, but each different stakeholder takes a while to pay the next person in the pay chain.  Most of the time, this starts with the platform and aggregator relationship.  In general, this is the first section in the chain. 

Normally, the platform will take 30%-35%. This should include credit card processing fees.  So if the consumer gave 1 dollar, then we’re down to 65-70 cents. 

While exceptions exist, the platform most often pays the aggregator on a monthly basis.  After that, the aggregator will need to pay the distributor.  If you’re self-distributing, that distributor is you, but not all aggregators will deal with you in the fashion you’d prefer, for more information, read the blog below.
​

RELATED: What platforms should I release on?

How long it takes for the aggregator to pay the distributor

Once the aggregator is paid, the money will flow to the distributor.  As I stated, this may be you.  Depending on what aggregator the distributor is using, payments will be either monthly or quarterly.  Sometimes the aggregators that pay quarterly have lower overheads, so it might make sense to wait.  That said, I think the most current data you can get is necessary to make smart marketing decisions.
​

If you still don’t know the difference between a sales agent and a distributor, check the link below. Most aggregators operate on more of a flat fee model, so we’ll assume that the money is passed through.  If you worked with an aggregator, you end up with about .70 cents for every dollar the consumer spent, but you also probably had to put the aggregation fees in yourself, so you’ll probably need to sell around 2100 copies (assuming they sell for 2.99 each) to break even.  You’ll also get insights within 2 to 4 months.

Related: What’s the difference between a sales agent and a distributor?

How long it takes for the Distributor to pay the Sales Agent

Most distributors don’t deal with filmmakers directly.  They’ll either deal with a Producer’s Rep or a Sales Agent.  Generally, Distributors pay quarterly to start and sometimes will move more towards bi-annually after a few years.  This can be arduous, but it’s very difficult to negotiate.

Generally, the distributor will take 30-40%.  (As of publishing this, I take 25% for direct US Distribution.) So of the 65-70 cents, we had after the platform.  That means that after the distributor takes their cut, there are between .39 and .49 cents left to the filmmaker.  (or around .52 cents if you work with me)

Also, even though I am a distributor, I work directly with filmmakers. So you’d keep .52 cents on the dollar, and be paid around 4-5 months after the initial sale is made.  (I time my reports to work with my aggregator to minimize wait times.  Plus, I cover aggregation and the majority of marketing and publicity fees.
​

Related: What does a producer’s rep do anyway?

How long it takes for the Sales agent to pay the production company

Finally, the sales agent pays the Producer’s Rep and production company. This is also generally on a quarterly or Bi-Annual basis, although there’s more room for variation here. After that, the filmmaker uses the money to pay back debts, then investors, then whoever else is left to pay back from the production.   

The Sales Agent normally takes between 20% and 30%, but they sell territories across the globe. A Producer’s Rep will normally take 10% of the money paid to the filmmaker, and will normally be paid in line with the sales agent.

So, following the chain we talked about before, by the time the sales agent pays the filmmaker, we’re looking at between .27 and .39 cents on the dollar without a producer’s rep, or between .24 cents and .35 cents with one. That’s not a great representation of what a good producer’s rep will do for you though.  (including the potential to get you paid immediately from the first sale) I’ve painted these deals in the most simple possible light to help you understand, but there are lots of single-line items that can screw you if you’re not careful.  So, while the producer’s rep may take a small piece of the pie, (.03 to .04 cents on the total dollar) they can help you make the whole pie a fair amount bigger.

Thanks so much for reading! If you have any questions for me, you might want to check out my mailing list. I send out monthly blog digests including ones JUST LIKE THIS, plus you get lots of great resources like templates, links to money-saving resources, and a whole lot more!   Or, if you’ve got a completed project and you’re looking for distribution, submit it using the link below. You can also learn more about services for early-stage projects using the other link. I’ll review it and reach out soon.

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Why Film Distributors & Sales Agents Need to know about your Social Media.

I try to stay active in at least a few Facebook and LinkedIn groups, and one question that comes up more often than I thought it would is why distributors need to know your social media numbers.  The argument that generally follows is something like “Just because people follow us doesn’t mean they’re going to buy our movie.” For the most part, we get that you probably have a lot of filmmaker friends, and your filmmaker friends are often surprisingly difficult to get to buy your movie.  That’s not the only, (or even the primary) reason why we need to know about your social media.  Here are 6 reasons why

1. Film Marketing works better if we’re amplifying your voice rather than creating it. ​

Your distributor is likely to be releasing multiple films around the same time as yours.  That’s just the nature of the business.  We generally need to have at least 5-7 films that we’re promoting or getting ready to release at any one time in order to continue to pay our overheads.  As such, if you can amplify the successes we have for your film, it’s likely that they’ll have a much greater effect than if we just sent out the announcements on our own.

You sharing big announcements and successes of your film with your community will not only have some level of an impact on sales, it will also help build awareness of the film which will help the broader marketing done by your distributor be effective at helping your film capture enough attention to break out of the white noise caused by the sheer amount of content being created. ​

2. We need to see you have the ability to build community.

Being a successful filmmaker requires a lot of the same skills required to build community.   (Check the Community Tag below for more on why.) Your social media is generally the easiest way to understand that.  Again, this is not JUST about sales.  It’s also about how personal you are and likely feeds into how easy you are to work with.

3. We need to see you understand and engage with your target market.

The most important thing in selling your film in the current market is authenticity.  If you try to write about a niche you’re not a part of, it probably won’t be very well received by said niche.  We look at your social media to make sure that you do have ties to those communities, as it means that your work is more likely to be authentic.

Unfortunately, we don’t have the time or sometimes the inclination to be a part of all the niches and subgroups we’d like to truly understand.  As such, it’s not always possible for us to accurately assess the authenticity of any film targeting a niche or sub-group that we don’t take part in.  Seeing that you take part in those groups can be a good indicator for us. 

4. If you’re a filmmaker, you’re a public figure.  We need to see how well you manage that.

If we end up with a breakout success on our hands, your social media will get some additional scrutiny.  We want to see if there are some bombshells that could cause problems for us later on.  Most of us don’t go back too far, but we do take a look to assess whether or not it’s likely that something bad might come out.

5. We want to understand your brand to see how it will be to work with you

As I said before, filmmakers need a brand. For most people, the way they manage that brand is through social media.  We want to see what you do with it.

Further, we want to see if you tend to do nothing but troll, shitpost, or rant about politics all day.  We also want to see if there’s a major sign of mental instability in your posts.  I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that on its own, but we will be working with you in some capacity for a few years, and we need to ensure that the working relationship will be healthy and productive.

6. We’ll help you find new customers, but it’s more effective if there’s a base to start from.

Finally, as I alluded to at the top our voice and marketing is best used to act as a megaphone to hone to get your message out there. If you already have an engaged base, our job will be much easier. It really is as simple as that.

Thanks for reading. I hope you found that information useful. If you did, you should consider joining my mailing list on the left. In addition to monthly blog digests segmented by topic, you’ll also get a resource packet including templates for submissions to distributors, lead tracking sheets, and even templates to make your investment deck. deck. Also, if you found this because you’re in search of a distributor, I don’t just write about it, I have been one in the past and I currently still know most of them. Click the lower button to learn about my services.

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The Practical Guide to DVD/Blu-Ray Distribution for Independent Filmmakers

Last week I examined the rise and fall of physical media for the film industry.  As promised, this week I’ll outline WHY that matters, and the practical aspects of the current independent film industry.  Well, the answer to that (and so many things in both this industry and in life) is that it’s all in how you do it.  What follows is an examination, looking to lend guidance to that question.  Here are the ways you can still make money with independent film.

A disclaimer: a lot of this article is something that filmmakers can’t do themselves, and will require a distributor to help get the film into place. 

Redbox pays up front, most others pay on consignment

There aren’t that many large-scale DVD retailers left.  It used to be that everyone sold some DVDs by the checkout because people would pick them up on impulse.  Now the only places that still retail DVDs in the US are RedBox, Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and Family Video in the Midwest.  I’m sure I’m missing a few smaller players, but not much beyond that.  

The trouble with this is that while I won’t name names for legal reasons, a lot of the retailers listed above buy DVDs on consignment, not outright.  In practice, this means that your distributor will need to replicate anywhere between 10 thousand and 50 thousand DVDs and then pay shelf rental fees with no hard guarantee that they will get their money back.  Replication at that scale is not horrendously expensive, but even while the per-unit cost of replication is cheap, the sheer number of units means that the distributor will have A LOT at risk. 

Redbox on the other hand buys DVDs outright.  Plus, since they don’t use standard cases the DVD replication tends to be cheaper.  Even with that, they pay pretty well on a per-unit basis. 

Redbox might well be your highest-value single deal

Since Redbox tends to buy anywhere between 10 thousand and 50 thousand units outright, the profit on the sale can reach well into 6 figures.  This is not a small amount of money, especially considering that they do still buy low-budget movies.  By contrast, most PayTV providers only pay low-mid 5 figures. 

If the franchise has strong sequel potential and is brought to Redbox by a distributor they’ve worked with in the past, they’ve even been known to issue a sales agreement while still in development, which can greatly help in financing.  It should be noted that this is rare.

A HUGE Caveat to note here is that both Redbox and most Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) providers only acquire films that have had at least 250,000 USD at the box office. ​

MOD is almost certainly worth doing

MOD stands for Manufacture on Demand. A LOT of the films you see online but not in-store are put there through MOD services. Not all, but a lot. There are some services that are available only to distributors. These services tend to be the widest-reaching MOD providers. However, Amazon’s CreateSpace has recently become a place primarily for Video on Demand and MOD sold through Amazon. Their analytics are great, and anyone can do it.

I have done MOD Distribution for most films I distribute in the US, and most outlets I work with will do MOD for their releases as well. If it’s a theatrical film, and it’s something that has a real chance at getting to one of the major retailers, most distributors work with a partner to get it there. If you enjoyed reading this, you should check out my mailing list and resource package using the other button. The resource package has lots of great templates and additional information, plus you get a monthly blog digest segmented by topic.

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Should you STILL Release your Indie Film on DVD?

We’ve all heard about how Physical media is dead. However, for a long time, there was still a significant amount of money in DVD and physical media. In fact, DVD impulse buys are and large rental orders are a lot of what allowed the independent film industry to exist at all. TVOD (Transactional Video on Demand) has not risen to replace the revenues lost from Physical Media, so it only makes sense to try to get revenue for your film from as many sources as possible to try and cobble together an ROI from all the different pieces. ​

But in order to truly understand the problem, it helps to understand the history behind it.  So I’ve decided to make this into a 2-part series.  The first of which (this one) gives background and context for how physical media came to prominence and why the fall of physical media spells trouble for the industry, and the second examines the real question of does Physical Media still make sense as part of the planned revenue mix for indie films. However, in order to properly utilize the practical advice, it helps to have a thorough background of how these things came to be and as a result which tactics are most likely to succeed.

This part is about the history of physical media in the film industry.  Check out this blog for a more practical guide to making money from it.

Blu-Rays vs DVDs

Prior to VHS (god that makes me feel old) the primary way people would see movies is either when they aired on TV, or when they toured through the local cinema.  This meant there were both huge gatekeepers and huge costs associated with distributing a film, as you needed a 35mm print for every theater you were going to be in, and there wasn’t much else that you could do to get your work seen.  When VHS came along, a lot of that changed.

The VHS market largely defined the independent film scene starting in the 80s.  But VHS tapes were expensive to manufacture.  This led to fewer gatekeepers holding more power.  VHS tapes started out exceedingly expensive, and it was only when Top Gun made you watch a full-Trailer length Pepsi commercial that the price of VHS dropped low enough that most consumers could afford it.
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When DVD entered the scene, there were some initial wins from people with DVD Replicates printing lots of recently public domain films to bolster their catalogs, then using the revenue to bu up old catalogs and grow their revenue even further.  So even though more people had access to the technology, the Lower price point and manufacturing costs expanded the markets​

When Blu-Ray entered the market, many expected that it would largely act as DVD had.  That was not the case.  Around the same time Blu-Ray dropped, TVOD became viable.  While the 2.99 movie rentals from iTunes worked very well at first, it wasn’t long before Netflix launched the first public iteration of its Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) platform.  Once people could stream a huge array of movies over the internet any time they wanted for free, many consumers didn’t see the need to buy physical media or pay for content the same way they had in the past.

Also, with the glut of content that was beginning to be created by the wide availability of cheap HD cameras and other lowered equipment costs, the price SVOD and PayTV platforms were willing to pay for content took a nose dive. This is among the biggest challenges that are facing the current indie film industry.  How do we break out from the white noise, and create enough revenue to pay our investors back? 

​I’m not going to pretend to have all the answers, but it’s a lot of what I work towards as an entrepreneur, If you want more of what I’ve learned from my decades in the business, grab my resource pack to get an e-book with exclusive content and a whole bunch of other goodies like a whitepaper, templates. and a blog digest.

Thanks for reading.  Check out this blog for the practical portion.

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When and Where to use Each Indiefilm Investment Document

There are 3 different documents you would need to approach an investor about your independent film. I’ve written guides on this blog to show you how to write each and every one of them. Those three documents are a Look Book (Guide linked here.) a Deck (Guide Linked Here) and a business plan. (Part 1/7 here) But while I’ve Written about HOW to create all of these documents, I’ve held back WHY you write them, WHO needs them, and WHEN to use them. So this blog will tell you WHO needs WHAT document WHEN and HOW they’re going to use it.

As with some other blogs, I’ll be using the term stakeholder to refer to anyone you may share documents with, be they an investor, studio head, sales agent, Producer of Marketing and Distribution (PMD) or Distributor.

What are these documents and WHY do you share them?

So first, let’s start with what each document is, just in case you haven’t read the other blogs (which you still should)

A Look book for an independent film is an introductory document, that’s very pretty and engaging and gives an idea of the creative vision of the film.  The purpose is to get potential stakeholders interested enough in the project to request either a meeting or a deck.  The goal in showing them this document is to get them to start to see the film in their head and get them to become interested in the project on an emotional level.

Related: Check out this blog for what goes into a lookbook

A Deck is a snapshot of the business side of your film.  The goal is to send them something that they can review quickly to get an idea of how this project will go to market and how it will make money so that they get an idea of how they’ll get their money back.

Related: The 12 Slides you need in your indie film investment Deck

A business plan is a detailed 18-24 page document broken into 7 sections that will give potential investors not only an idea of your investment but of the industry as a whole.  In a sense, it’s equal parts education and persuasion, especially for investors new to the film industry.  The goal is to give the prospective stakeholder a deeper understanding of the film and media industry, and a very thorough understanding of your project and the potential for investing in it. 

Related: How to Write an Indiefilm Business Plan (1/7 - Executive Summary)

WHO needs these documents and HOW they’ll use it

Different stakeholders need these documents at different times.

Look Books should be sent to any potential stakeholder, including investors, studio heads, sales agents, distributors, producer’s reps, Executive Producers, and more.  It’s a creative document that gives a good idea of the product at the early stage.  It helps people gauge interest in your project

Decks are primarily used by Investors, Executive Producers, PMDs, and potentially Sales Agents.  Distributors and Studio Heads are less likely to need a deck since they know the business better than you do. At least most of the time.

Business plans are primarily needed by angel investors new to the film industry and Angel Investment Syndicates to use as the backbone for the Private Placement Memorandum (PPM) The First and last sections of the business plan (The Executive Summary and Pro-Forma Financial Statements) may be more widely used, often at the same general place as the deck, or only shortly after.

WHEN do they need these documents?

Look books come early on.  It’s generally the first thing they’ll ask for when considering your project.

Decks come shortly after the lookbook.  Sometimes in an initial meeting, or sometimes directly after that first meeting. 

Looking at a business plan is generally very deep in the process of talking to a potential stakeholder, it’s almost always after at least 2-3 meetings and a thorough review of the deck.

If this was useful, you should definitely grab my free film business resource packet. It’s got templates for some of these documents, a free e-book, a whitepaper that will help you write these documents, as well as monthly blog digests segmented by topics about the film business so you can sound informed when you talk to investors. Click the button below to grab it right now.

Check out the tags for related content.

How to Make LookBook for an Independent Film

I’ve written previously about what goes into an indie film deck, but as I get more and more submissions from filmmakers, I’m realizing that most of them don’t fully understand the difference between a lookbook and a deck.  So, I thought I would outline what goes into a lookbook, and then I’ll come back in a future post to outline when you need a lookbook when you need a deck, and when you need a business plan.

What goes in a lookbook is less rigid than what goes in a deck.  It’s also designed to be a more creatively oriented document than a deck.  But in general, these are the pieces of information you’ll need in your lookbook.  I’ve grouped them into 4 general sections to give you a bit more of a guideline.

You’ll often see the term stakeholder.  I use this to mean anyone who might hold a stake in the outcome of your project, be they investors, distributors, or even other high-level crew. ​

Basic Project Information

This section is to give a general outline of the project and includes the following pieces of information.

• Title

• Logline

• Synopsis

• Character Descriptions

• Filmmaker/Team bios

The title should be self-explanatory, but if you have a fancy font treatment or temp poster, this would be a good place to use it.

The logline should be 1 or 2 sentences at most.  It should tell what your story is about in an engaging way to make people want to see the movie.  You probably want to include the genre here as well,

The synopsis in the lookbook should be 5-8 sentences, and cover the majority of the film’s story.  This isn’t script coverage or a treatment. It’s a taste to get your potential investors or other stakeholders to want more. 

Character descriptions should be short, but more interesting than basic demographics. Give them an heir of mystery, but enough of an idea that the reader can picture them in their head.  Try something like this.  Matt (white, male, early 20s) is a bit of a rebel and a pizza delivery boy.  He’s a bit messy, but nowhere near as bad as his apartment.  He’s more handsome than his unkempt appearance lets on,  If he cleaned up he’d never have to sleep alone.  But one day he delivers pizza to the wrong house and gets thrust into time-traveling international intrigue.

Even that’s a little long, but I wasn’t actually basing it on a movie, so tying it into the film itself was trickier than I thought it would be.  That would be alright for a protagonist, but too long for anyone else. 

Filmmaker and Team bios should be short, bullet points are good, list achievements and awards to put a practical emphasis on what they bring to the table DO NOT pad your bio out to 5000 words of not a lot of information.  Schooling doesn’t matter a lot unless you went to UCLA, USC, NYU or an Ivy League school. ​

Creative Swatches

These are general creative things to give a give the prospective stakeholder an idea of the creative feel of the film.  They can include the following, although not all are necessary.

• Inspiration

• Creatively Similar Films

• Images Denoting the General Feel of the Film

• Color Palette

The inspiration would be a little bit of information on what gave you the vision for this film.  It shouldn’t be long, but it definitely shouldn’t be something along the lines of “I’ m the most vissionnarry film in the WORLD.  U WILL C MAI NAME IN LAIGHTS!” (Misspellings intentional) Check your ego here, but talk about the creative vision you had that inspired you to make the film.  Try to keep it to 3-4 sentences.

Creatively similar films are films that have the same feel as your film.  You’re less restricted by budget level and year created here than you would be in a comp analysis, that said, don’t put the Avengers or other effects-heavy films here if you’re making an ultra-low budget piece.  I’d say pick 5, and use the posters. 

Images denoting the general feel of the film are just a collection of images that will give potential stakeholders an idea of the feel of the film.  These can be reference images from other films, pieces of art, or anything that conveys the artistic vision in your head.  This is not a widely distributed document, so the copyright situation gets a bit fuzzy regarding what you an use.  That said, the stricter legal definition is probably that you can’t use without permission.  #NotALawyer

The color palette would be what general color palette of the project.  This is one you could leave out, but if there’s a very well-defined color feel of the film like say, Minority Report, then showing the colors you’ll be using isn’t a terrible call,  Also,, it's generally best to just let this pallet exist on the background of the document on your look book.  ​

Technical/ Practical swatches

This section is a good indicator of what you already have, as well as some more technical information about the film in general.  It should include the following.

• Locations You’d like to shoot at

• Cities You’d Like to shoot in

• Equipment you plan on using

Photos are great here, if you use cities or states include the tax incentives for them,  The equipment should only be used if it’s the higher end like an Arri or Red.  If you’re getting it at a fantastic cost, you should mention that here as well. People tend not to care about the equipment you’re using, but if you’re going to put it in any pitch document, this is the one.

Light Business Information

The lookbook is primarily a creative document, but since most of the potential stakeholders you’re going to be showing it to are business people, you should include the basics. When they want more, send them a deck.

Here’s what you should include

• Ideal Cast list & Photos

• Ideal Director List

• Ideal Distributors

These are important to assess the viability of the project from a distribution standpoint. It can also affect different ways to finance your film. If your director is attached, don’t include that. If you have an LOI from a distributor, don’t mention potential distributors. Unless your film is under 50k, don’t say you won’t seek name talent for a supporting role. You should consider it if it’s even remotely viable.

If this was useful to you but you need more, you should snag my FREE indiefilm resource package.  I’ve got lots of great templates you get when you join, and you also get a monthly blog digest segmented by topic to make sure you’re informed when you start talking to investors.  Click below to get it.

The 12 Slides You Need in Your IndieFilm Investment Deck - WITH TEMPLATE!

Pitching to independent investors is a much different formula than we’re generally taught in Film Schools. The formula we’re taught in Film School is generally built around a studio pitch. A studio does a lot more than give money to a project. They have huge marketing, PR, legal, and distribution teams that they use to monetize any films they finance. As such it’s not the filmmaker’s job to pitch their projects on anything except story when working within that system.

Would you rather Watch a video than read a blog?  I've got you covered in the video from my Youtube Channel. 

​Filmmakers must take a different approach when talking to independent film investors. Generally, angel investors are only looking to finance projects, they don’t have resources to help market and distribute the film. While Film is a highly speculative and inherently risky investment, and most film investors don’t invest in film solely for the ROI, they need to know you have a path to get their money back to them.
​
There’s a certain formula for creating a successful slideshow for investors. These presentations (Generally referred to as “Decks” in Silicon Valley) have been honed to tell the story of your company. Investors are used to seeing this format when deciding whether or not to invest in your project. It’s pretty easy to find samples of this formula for regular companies on SlideShare, but since the film industry is so specialized there must be some modifications made to the formula in order to make a good Deck to pitch your film to an investor. Below is a breakdown of what should go into a Filmmaking deck, or you can just grab the template in the resource pack.

SLIDE 0 – Project Name/Artwork.

In a standard company pitch, the first thing that appears is the name of the company and the logo. For a film or media project, instead use the name of the project, the name of your production company, and the one sheet for your project.

SLIDE 1 – Project Overview

Generally, this would be where an entrepreneur would put an overview of his or her company, what it does, and what its mission is. For a film or media project, put the logline of your project, as well as the genre and a basic overview of the story.

SLIDE 2 – Why Does this Project Need to be Made?

In a standard company pitch, slide 2 and 3 would be the problem that the company seeks to solve, and the solution it offers. Since Films are generally made more as entertainment, they don’t always have a problem that they’re fixing. So instead, focus on why this project should be made.
​
Some approaches you could take on this would be that there’s not enough family-friendly media being made, Women and minorities are vastly underrepresented in media, young LGBT kids need a role model, or that whatever niche you’re targeting doesn’t have enough entertainment. Figure out WHY your story needs to be told, and it can’t just be that you’re an artist and it’s in your soul.

SLIDE 3 – Why Your Project is the One to tell That Story

In the standard company deck, this would generally be the solution that your company offers. For film, focus on why you and your team are the ones to tell the story you established in slides 1 and 2. Don’t go too deep into the team, you’ll cover that later.

SLIDE 4 – Opportunity

This slide is where an entrepreneur or filmmaker focusus on the size of the market and how they plan to access it. Focus on any niche communities you can target, and the genre your film is in generally performs internationally.

SLIDE 5 – Unique Competitive Advantage

Your Unique competitive advantage will remain mostly the same as it would in a pitch for any sort of company. You need to emphasize why your film should be the one they invest in. Do you have a large following in the niche audiences you’re targeting? Do you have some unique insight into the subject matter that no one has heard before? Is there something unique about your background that makes you the ideal person to tell this story.
​
Focus on why your film or media project will stand apart from the competitors and has the best chance to make a profit. In short, How will you stand out from the pack when others don’t?

SLIDE 6 – Marketing Strategy

Long time silicon valley strategist Sheridan Tatsuno likens market research to setting up a target, and marketing to shooting the arrow at it. You’ve set up the target in slides 4 and 5, now it’s time to show how you’re going to shoot the arrow and make a bullseye. How will you utilize social media? Which platforms will you use? Are you already a part of the communities of your target market?

SLIDE 7 – Distribution Strategy

Generally, this would be your Go-To-Market strategy. In the film industry, this essentially means your distribution strategy. What rights will you be handling yourself, and what rights will you be handing to a distributor? What platforms will you use? How will you handle US Sales? Are you planning on attaching an international sales agent? How will you go about doing that if you haven’t already?

SLIDE 8 – Competitive Analysis

Show other films in a similar genre that have done well. Remember, this isn’t your business plan, so only show about 3 if you’re showing individual projects, not the 20 you should research. If you’ve already done your full competitive analysis, show one or two profitable representative samples and then the aggregate on all of the 10-20 films you researched. The charts and tables are good here.
​
You only want to use content from the last 3-5 years. Content older than that doesn’t realistically represent the current marketplace. This is something that even professionals who estimate ROIs don’t always follow. It’s always a red flag for investors when your examples are too old,

SLIDE 9 – Financials

Generally, you’ll need a few of the major line items from your top sheet budget. A good bet would be your above-the-line, pre-production, principal photography, post-production, and marketing and distribution (or P&A) costs. Due to union caps, it can often be beneficial to raise your marketing and distribution budget at a later date. Projected ROI will also go on this slide.

SLIDE 10 – Current Status

This should be fairly self-explanatory, but here are a few questions to ask yourself. What have you accomplished so far? Do you have any talent attached? Are you talking with Sales Agents? Where is the script in development? Are there any notable crew on board?

SLIDE 11 – Team

Focus on why you and your team are uniquely qualified to not only bring this film to completion but deliver a quality product that can give an excellent ROI to all involved. Has your leadership team won awards at festivals? Have projects they’ve been on done impressive things?

SLIDE 12 – Summary/Thank You

For the final slide, put the three most important and/or marketable things about your project into a single slide. Investors get approached with a lot of opportunities and their brains can get cluttered. If an investor walks away knowing only these three things about your project, what do you want them to be?

Most importantly, thank them for their time and consideration, and make sure there’s an easy-to-find way to contact you ON YOUR DECK. Ideally on the first and last page. We’ll often send out decks when we send out the executive summary, so make yourself easy to contact if they’re interested.

Also, I alluded to this at the top of the article in the image caption, but this post did indeed originally appear on ProducerFoundry.com.  But, this isn't just a port.  I also set up a FREE template in both Keynote and Powerpoint in my resources packet.  Grab that with the buttons below. 

What Filmmakers NEED to Know BEFORE Submitting to Distributors

I get a lot of submissions to my portal in the upper right of my website.  In fact, it’s how I get most if not all of the films I distribute.  As such, I’ve noticed some trends filmmakers tend to have.  So as with most recurring things that happen to me in the business, I decided to write a blog about it.

1. Yes, we do need a screener and the password.

If we’re going to distribute a film, we need to watch it.  Generally, that’s the first step, not the second or the third.  We’ll probably want to talk to you before we sign you, but the first step is to see if the product is any good.  It’s easiest for us to be impartial about the market potential of your film if we watch it cold first.  I always get back to people who submit, and I do a strategy call before I sign them, 

We understand that you’re sensitive about your intellectual property and that your film is your baby.  The good ones among us also expect that you’ll do some legwork and diligence on use before you submit.  Don’t make us email you for a password.  I use google forms to manage my submissions portal, and only I have access to it.  The only reason I didn’t create more of a custom solution is that the security protocols for G Suite apps are better than most anything else that would be cost-effective to use or create. ​

2. Get a Vimeo Subscription

While I like Youtube for a lot of reasons, reviewing films is not one of them.  Vimeo’s player is higher quality than youtube’s, and when I’m reviewing a film one of the things I’m looking for is if there are likely to be any expensive quality control problems.  Youtube makes that very difficult to gauge, due to the compression of the files that go up on the site.

Also, it looks cheap to send an unlisted youtube link.  Vimeo isn’t expensive, and there will be costs associated with distribution that get passed on to the filmmaker at least in part.  If you can’t pay for a Vimeo subscription, we worry about the viability of your business. 

3. We generally only watch a film once, if we watch the whole thing at all.

I get a fair amount of submissions to my portal, most of which I decline to represent.  A lot of the films I decline are ones I stopped watching after 20 minutes.  I give every film 20 minutes, but if it doesn’t grab me in that time I don’t continue to watch it, and if I don’t continue to watch it it’s an automatic decline. 

Most of the time, if I watch a film all the way through, I’m going to represent it.  There have been exceptions due to some self-imposed content restrictions. 

That being said, we have to watch A LOT of movies.  We almost never watch them twice.  So don’t keep submitting with minor changes.  If it’s a decline, it’s a decline.  Also, don’t submit it until it’s where you need it to be. 

As an aside: If you’re going to make changes to the film after we’ve made an offer, we’ll probably rescind the offer unless you talk to us about it.  We made an offer to the film we saw.  If you make substantive changes, it’s not going to endear you to us.

Films Brought to Market by Guerrilla Rep Media

4. Festivals provide some level of validation but are far from the be-all and end-all of the film.

Similar to how festivals aren’t likely to get you distribution (discussed in this blog, right here.) they’re far from the only thing that matters to distributing the film.  The laurels mean less than you probably think they do to the sales of a film.  Unless it got into one of the top festivals, it’s not going to help you as much as you may think.  For more, read the link below.
​

Related: Why you won’t get Distribution from your film festival

5. Yes, we do need to know about your social media, but not why you think.

Yes, I ask about your social media. Sure, it has a bit to do with assessing your total reach, but it has more to do with your engagement in your community. Distribution on a budget requires working together with filmmakers.

Also, it helps us know your voice is authentic. We, distributors, do tend to have favored niches, but we also want to make sure that the films we’re distributing are authentic. Your being heavily involved in relevant online communities is a great indicator of that authenticity.

I think I might write more on why distributors care about social media, but I definitely will if someone tweets to me about it or comments below.

Anyway, thanks so much for reading this blog! If you learned something, but still want more, you should grab my FREE Indiefilm resource Package. It’s got an e-book on the film biz, a whitepaper on the industry, templates to help you track your contact with distributors, plus a while lot more! Check it out via the button below!

What Film Distributors Mean by Sub-Genre

If you thought that I missed a few genres in my blog last week, it might be that they’re more classically sub-genres.  The biggest difference between a genre and a sub-genre is that a genre is generally a tone or a feel of a film (and sometimes some elements related to those tones) and a sub-genre is more related to Themes, Settings, Style, or niche audiences that targeted largely by those themes settings, or style. Some sub-genres pair better with certain genres than others, and it’s common to have more than one in a film.  More as we go through them.

Before we get started, this is not an exhaustive list.  If I get requests, I may publish a secondary add-on to it. 

Crime

Crime is as it sounds.  It’s a piece of content about crime.  These generally have some level of mystery associated with them.  Noir might be classified a sub-sub-genre of the crime sub-genre.  Nearly all noir films revolve around crime (I know exceptions exist) but not all crime films exhibit the gritty darkness that characterizes Noir films. Also, there’s no major demand for noir films, at least as of right now.

Faith Based

What I’m about to say is purely a US distributor’s view on how we classify faith-based films.  When we refer to a faith-based film, we mean an overtly Christian film.  They nearly always have a lot of overt bible references in them and generally involve a fall from grace and a redemption arc.  If you’re making a film about murderous nuns and sexual assault, it’s probably not a faith-based film.  Generally, they have an inspirational feel. 

Again, I’m not saying that movies about Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, or any other religion are not films rooted in faith, it’s just not generally what distributors and sales agents mean by Faith-based films.

As an aside, authenticity is Important in these films.  If you get things wrong, it’s easy to alienate this market.

LGBTQ+

So, I put LGBTQ+ here because as an ally and a member of a strong queer community in my social life, I’d rather use the proper term.  However, sadly, when a distributor says they work in LGBT films, they mean films targeted for consumption by gay men.  For quite a while they were the people who consumed the most content in this niche, and distributors figured out how to target them and make money getting them content. 

Again, I’m not defending that, but it is generally what’s meant when you’re having these conversations. 

As with faith-based films, Authenticity is key.  If you haven’t spent a lot of time in the LGBT community, you probably don’t want to make an LGBT film.  This is probably even more important than it is with the faith-based community. ​

Animated

Animated films should be relatively clear, although generally, this refers more to Western animation than it does to Eastern animation like Anime.  It can mean 2d, 3d, or even stop motion, but generally, it means 3d and that’s where the highest demand is.  Most of the time it’s family content, but there’s a bit of a movement building up steam to take it out of that sphere.  We’ll see if it gets there.   ​

Sci-Fi

I’m going to get nerdy on this for a second.  Technically, Sci-fi is a subset of fantasy where there’s an extrapolation of real science in the universe-building.  As such, Star Wars would not be Sci-Fi, but Star Trek would be.  Technically speaking, Star Wars is a fantasy action adventure set in a space-faring culture. 

via GIPHY

​But in practice, Star Wars would be considered Sci-Fi 19 out of 20 times.  Sci-Fi generally means space stuff to distributors.  Aliens would be sci-fi as well.  Shrink Rays are also Sci-Fi, Sci-Fi as are ice rays, multiverses, and a few other things although those types of films are less likely to be thought of that by distributors. 

As an example, Futurama would be an example of Animated Sci-Fi by anyone’s definition.  While they take A LOT of liberties with science, they also had Stephen Hawking consult on the show to invent new math. 

Fantasy

Fantasy is things like magic, unicorns, orcs, centaurs, and the like.  If you could see it in a Dungeons and Dragons game, a Brother’s Grimm Story, or Lord of The Rings it’s likely fantasy. 

There are a lot of other ways one might decide to classify as fantasy, but in general that’s what distributors are thinking about with fantasy.  The massively fantastic world involves some kind of magic. 

Romance

People falling in love, generally with some sort of romantic foil, often a jerk of a rich, handsome boyfriend that the clearly much better Ted Mosbey of guy must win the girl away from that dude she’s been with for years just because the new guy is creative or something.  Clearly not the favorite genre of this author and producer’s rep.

Romantic comedies can sell well, and romance in general can be very interesting when it’s paired well with other content and breaks the mold a bit.  Also, it’s pretty common in content targeted at teenagers, and any sort of serial TV.

Historical/Biographical​

Movies are at least loosely based on history, generally from the 20th century or earlier.  Or, a movie about a real person of significance.  Vice is a recent high-profile example, or anything on the history channel before they started focusing more on ice road truckers and aliens than actual, you know, history.

Music/Musicals

Music would be something like any rockumentary you’ve ever seen, and musicals would be something like Les Mis, Dr. Horrible, Aladdin, Mulan… I can go on for a bit here. (I would have listed Hamilton first, but it’s not a movie yet.)

Note From the Future: That last line almost got this blog the “aged-like-milk” tag.

If this helped you prepare for distribution or sales conversations, you should grab my film resource package to be even more prepared. It’s got an e-book with a lot of exclusive content, a white-paper, tons of templates to help you shop your film for distribution, and you’ll also get monthly blog digests segmented by topic to help you keep your skills sharp. Plus, you’ll also stay up to date on what’s going on in the world of Guerrilla Rep Media and help support the content.

What Film Distributors Mean by Genre

most filmmakers are at least passingly aware of the importance of genre in independent film distribution.  (If you’re not, read this.) But even while most filmmakers have a cursory understanding of what defines a genre, the lines are often less bendable than many filmmakers think they are.  So with that in mind, here’s what distributors mean when they say a certain genre.

Horror

The classic definition of horror is somewhat crass.  Distributors generally say they’re looking for babes and blood when they’re talking about horror films.  The difference between horror and thriller is that generally there’s a substantial amount more blood and gore in a horror film, and even if that’s not the case there’s generally more of a focus on jump scares and less of a focus on suspense. 

Thriller

What I learned in Film School was that Horror films focused more on the supernatural and thrillers focused on crazy white guys.  There’s some truth to this, but in recent years it’s become less true.  The real defining characteristic of a Thriller is SUSPENSE.  The thriller focuses more on the build-up to what’s lurking at the top of the stairs, and the Horror focuses more on the guy with the Axe chasing the protagonist. 

Thrillers definitely need a good payoff at the end.  Think about The Shining, how 80% of the movie is largely build-up and the last 20% is Jack Nicholson chasing his family around.  Without the payoff at the end, the film would be boring and unsatisfying.

Action

We’ve all seen action movies, and they still sell well.  Action movies are all about the chase, the explosions, and the gunfights.  Generally, there’s also a woman who’s in some level of danger and wearing way too little clothing for the situation she finds herself in.  That’s why distributors often call what they’re looking for Girls and Guns. 

Generally, it’s difficult to do an action movie on a budget.  It can work with martial arts and foot chases, but those are difficult to pull off in as heart-pounding a way as would be required to truly sell your film as an action piece.  It’s for that reason, I generally recommend filmmakers making their first film to focus on building suspense and making a thriller. 

Family

Family films are very in right now, and as such a lot of people are trying to make them.  But, just because you call your film a family film doesn’t mean it is one.  Family films generally focus on two things.  Kids and Animals.  If you’ve got a heartwarming movie that focuses on Kids and animals, use this link to submit it.  I’d love to represent or distribute it (if it’s good). 

Generally, these films are rated G or PG.  If it’s rated PG-13, then it’s probably no longer a family film.  (at least according to the general genre guidelines.). Now I get that many families take their kids to see PG-13, this delineation is purely to communicate what sales agents and buyers are looking for, and in the case of family films, we’re generally looking for films that appeal to families with young children.

Comedy

Comedy is fairly self-explanatory.  It’s funny.  The point of it is too funny.  Most times, this genre is mixed with either another genre or a sub-genre.  The Sub Genre is much safer.

All of that being said, I wouldn’t recommend making a low-budget comedy.  Sure, there have been times that it’s worked, but for every breakout success you can name there are at least 20 you’ve never heard of and never will.  In order to make it possible to attract international sales, you need strong, recognizable name talent.  Otherwise international sales are very difficult.

Drama

Drama is an interesting genre to define.  All films require some dramatic elements.  But dramas are generally dealing with life, and the problems that face all of us, or enough of us that the topic is worth exploring.  In general, they can make some incredible cinema, but if they’re not exceptional they tend not to make money.  Also, to be attractive to an international market, you need recognizable name talent to a very high degree. 

Bruce Nash of The-Numbers.com and Stephen Follows of StephenFollows.com did a couple of blogs for the American Film Market exploring this in much greater detail.  I’ve linked them below, but it’s important to note that you SHOULD READ THE WHOLE article before flaming me in the comments on LinkedIn or other social media outlets. 

https://americanfilmmarket.com/what-the-data-says-producing-low-budget-dramas/

https://americanfilmmarket.com/update-types-low-budget-films-break-out/

Documentary

Finally, we have documentaries. These are films that use a mix of interviews, found footage, and re-enactments to tell what’s sold as a factual story. In reality, every documentary has a bias, although some have less than others. Even if everything contained in a documentary is technically true, there’s often bias in how it’s framed and nearly always bias in what information the filmmakers choose to present.

Documentaries tend to make less money up-front but have a longer shelf life than narrative films. As such, more distributors are getting interested in them since Distribution is increasingly becoming a game of large catalogs and long-term profits. More on that in another blog.

With that in mind, the best way to sell a documentary is to figure out what demographic you’re targeting, first, and make a story on a topic that they’ll be able to understand and hopefully learn at least a little bit from. If you want to get a distributor for a project like this, making sure that you and the distributor both understand the target market is absolutely necessary.

Thanks so much for reading!  I try to release blogs like this every week, but it’s not a guarantee given I actually produce and sell movies.  If you want to stay up to date, you should join my email list.  You’ll get access to my film business resource packet which includes templates, money-saving resources, additional information, and MORE! Also, email sign-ups are one metric I track to keep creating film business content, so signing up makes more content happen.

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Why you WON'T get Distribution from your Film Festival Run

Part of what I do through the consulting arm of Guerrilla Rep Media is review people’s Decks and business plans.  One thing that I keep coming up in these documents is that entirely too many filmmakers list their distribution strategy as sole their festival run.  There are a lot of issues with this line of thinking, so as I do with any question that keeps coming up I thought I would write a blog about it.  So without further adieu, here’s why you probably won’t get a distribution deal from your festival run.

You generally only get distribution from top tier festivals

Realistically, there are only a few film festivals that will get you distribution.  The festivals that can get you a good distribution deal are pretty much the ones you’d expect.  Sundance, Tribeca, COMPETITION screenings at Cannes, TIFF, and to some extent South by Southwest (Although that’s far less true than it used to be.) Unfortunately, due to Amazon Discontinuing the Festival Stars program, there are no longer any festivals that GUARANTEE a decent distribution agreement if you get in. 

Even if you do get into these festivals, it’s probably not going to help as much as you think it will, although it will definitely help a fair amount. That being said...

You’re probably not going to get into a top-tier festival.

I know I’m being a pretty major buzzkill.  Unfortunately, fewer than 1% of films that submit to Sundance get in.  While that’s likely to be the lowest acceptance rate among the majors, it’s unlikely the other festivals that would get you distribution are going to have much more than a 2-3% acceptance rate. 

So realistically, do you think it’s a good idea to hedge all bets on your film’s distribution on the 2-3% chance you’re going to get into a major film festival?

Even if the film festival offers distribution, it’s probably not very good.

There are some film festivals that offer distribution to the films that get in.  Generally, this sort of distribution is only slightly above aggregation.  Even though it’s often framed as non-exclusive, it’s generally not in your best interest to take it as it ties up a lot of platforms and can greatly discourage more reputable distributors from coming on.  Also, a lot of times the split with these distributors is far less than ideal. 

Some festivals retain this right as part of their submission process, so be careful.

Even if your film gets into festivals, that doesn’t guarantee butts in seats.

If you’re looking to get your film into festivals as a way of building awareness for your project, then you’re going to need to make sure you market that your film will actually be at the festival and drive people to show up.  There are far too many times when a film is shown at a festival in an all-but-empty room.  Don’t let this be you.

If you show your at too many festivals, you can saturate your market

While you definitely want to build buzz about your project, showing the project at too many festivals can just make sure that all the people who would seek out your film have already seen it.  That’s somewhat hard to do, but it’s still something to be aware of, especially since most festivals don’t share their box office with filmmakers or pay a screening fee.

Thanks so much for reading!  Check out Last Week's Blog for guide on what you should prepare to make the most out of your festival run.  In the meantime, you should consider joining my email list for some great giveaways including FREE monthly blog digests segmented by topic.

Also, I do both US Direct Distribution and marketing/Festival planning as a service for my clients. Check out my services page for more.

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7 Things to Prep BEFORE STARTING your Festival Run

Far too many people consider the festival circuit as the be-all and end-all of their marketing and distribution plans.  While there are quite a few things wrong with that approach from a distribution standpoint.  (See last week’s blog here for an outline of why) film festivals can be a great way to market your film.  Although getting ready to attend a film festival is generally a bit hectic.  There’s always a lot to do, and it’s easy to forget something.  So with that in mind, I’ve prepared a prioritized list of the top 7 marketing assets you’ll need to prep before going to a film festival.

1. Business Card

​If you bring nothing else, you should bring a business card.  Well, also a set of clothes I suppose, but I digress.  If you want to make lasting connections, you need a way to follow up with people.  If you want people to follow up with you, they’ve got to have a way to reach you. 

Simply saying that you’re easy to find online is not really an acceptable answer at networking events like this.  It’s far too easy to forget that they were going to reach out at professional events like this.

2. All your social media pages Set up and active

As we discussed last week, a big part of the reason to attend film festivals is to build your brand and build awareness of your film.  You want to make sure your film is easy to find online, and that there’s a way you can establish a connection with anyone who might want to buy it in the future as soon as you’ve connected with them at a film festival. 

For more, check out this article I wrote on proper Facebook management.

Related: How to manage your indiefilm facebook page

3. Your Website

Its 2019.  Your film needs a website.  Even if it’s just a splash page going to your social media outlets.  The only reason this is below social media is that if you’re going to drive people to your website when you’re not at a festival, you’re going to need something like social media to do it. 

For more information on what should be on your website, check out the blog below.

Related: 13 things you NEED on your Production Company Website

4. Printed Materials to give away

Even a business card can sometimes be hard to remember, and it’s nowhere near enough to capture the attention of the overworked journalists that may attend this film festival.  That’s why you need larger, harder-to-lose festival printouts.  These can give all the information a time-strapped reporter would need to write a quick blurb about your film, and direct to something like an EPK for more detailed information.  Learn more with the article below.

Related: Printed materials for your festival run

But speaking of EPK…

5. An EPK (Electronic Press Kit)

Every filmmaker will have assets that would be useful to a reporter, but not really something that could be easily handled by a printed brochure.  That’s where an EPK comes in.  The EPK is more detailed information and assets that can be used by a journalist or reviewer.  It should have blurbs, links to your trailer, sizzle reels, and interviews if you have them. 

For more information, click the link below.

Related: Everything you need in your Indiefilm EPK

6. An Email List Capture page

Going back to your website, if it’s anything more than a simple splash page, you need a way to capture the email address of people visiting your site.  With their consent, of course.  This will be much more valuable to you than almost any other social media, as it’s more static and doesn’t change its terms as often as other platforms may.  Although that’s been less true as of late with Gmail’s aggressive filtering systems. 

Related: 5 Steps to Grow your Indiefilm Email List

7. A Giveaway for people joining your list

Finally, if you have an email list set up, you should give something away to entice people to join.  I’ve listed 5 ideas for filmmakers below, as the standard fallbacks of ebooks, and other marketing giveaways aren’t always valid.  Check the article below to see what I mean. 

Related: 5 Giveaways for your IndieFilm Email Marketing

Thanks so much for reading!  If you want more content like this, you should join my mailing list.  Just as it says in #7, I have a few giveaways for you including a monthly blog digest and a FREE Film Marketing Resource package!

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How to Get your Movie on Netflix

Many filmmakers and even more film consumers just want to know when work will be on Netflix.   In recent years, this has become more difficult than it was previously.  IT used to be that it was a relatively easy sale to get on Netflix, although the money wasn’t very good.  More recently, the bar has been raised substantially, and the money you get for it hasn’t increased as much as we may have liked it too.  What follows is an outline of how to get your film on Netflix, both as an original and as an acquisition.

How do I become a Netflix original?

To become a Netflix original, you must be picked up by Netflix early on in development.  Generally, you’ll need to have contacts that can get you into meetings with the higher-end development executives at Netflix.  You’re also going to need to have a strong script and package already in place.  You might even need some money already in place, although that’s less important given the way most of their original deals are structured. 

At this point, if they take the project you’ll get a Presale stating that the money will be paid to you once the film is delivered complete.  After that, you’ll have to take it to a bank to liquidate the presale so you’ll be able to make the movie on the likely ambitious schedule they’ll put you on.

Generally, the pay for this is pretty good, looking very similar to other high-end presales.  If it’s well managed, and you focus on financing sources like tax incentives as part of your mix, you’ll make a decent wage and everyone involved will end up much better off.  ​Including your investors.  

Make sure you don’t send them any copyrighted material without them requesting it, that’s a blacklist you don’t want to be on.

Acquisitions.

What Netflix pays for acquisitions is a different matter, as is the process for your film being acquired by Netflix.  First, it’s important to note that you can’t approach Netflix yourself.   You will need to go through either a localized distributor or a sales agent to get to Netflix.  I do have contacts in this department, but it’s not something I’ve done a lot of business with directly.  Netflix has also gotten extremely picky about this in the last few years, favoring their original content.

If I’m completely honest, I also wouldn’t pay some of the better-known aggregators to make this approach for you. Given the volume of business that goes through them, it’s generally a very low success rate.  Sure, some of them will refund money if unsuccessful, but often there are hidden fees and the money is tied up for a decent amount of time.  When the fees from those aggregators are in excess of 10k, that’s not really good for most filmmakers. To be clear, this is not something Netflix itself charges.

It used to be that Netflix would take almost any content that was able able to meet broadcast standards. and they thought they would get a decent amount of views for it.  In recent tears, however, Netflix’s Acquisition strategy has been refocused to only accept films with a domestic theatrical, often demanding 6 figures at the box office to even consider the film.  While there are ways around this, it’s inadvisable to much other than work with a reputable distributor who has deep connections to the platform. 

In regards to their distribution payments, there’s a lot more that I’d love to say but really shouldn’t say publicly due to existing contractual obligations as well as other concerns regarding pending business. ​

DVDs Through the Mail

Most of the time when people think of Netflix, they think of their Subscription Video on Demand offering.  However, there are a surprising number of people who still subscribe to their DVD offering which was rebranded to DVD.com.  Generally, the way Netflix gets these DVDs is by simply buying discs at wholesale from the manufacturer.  They don't tend to buy too many DVDs, so even if you're getting lots of rentals you end up not making a whole lot of sales.  Most of the time, they buy fewer than 100 DVDs, which is less money than you probably think it is.  You don't see any money per rental beyond the initial purchase price.  

That said, since DVDs are almost always non-exclusive rights, the additional revenue does help, although it's nowhere near the amount of money you'd see from something like a Redbox deal because they don’t order as many discs. At least, that was true before RedBox's IPO and subsequent Acquisition.

Thanks so much for reading!  I hope this blog was useful to you.  If you’d like to learn more, I recommend joining my mailing list for regular blog digests and other resources about film distribution and marketing.  Click below for more information.

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Opinions expressed in this piece are not in any way endorsed by Netflix, Its parent company, or any subsidiaries. Opinions expressed within are solely those of Guerrilla Rep Media, LLC and its founder, Ben Yennie.

The 4 REALISTIC Ways to Sell a TV Series

Given that I work heavily in marketing and distribution, I get a lot of people submitting pilots to me.  While I’m looking to move my business in more of an episodic direction, unfortunately a pilot doesn’t do me much good.  Generally, when I tell this to filmmakers, they get surprised.  So, like any question I get a lot I thought I’d write a blog about it.  Here are the 4 ways to make a TV show.

1. Make a Pilot. (Or actually, don't)

I’m listing this one first because I think it’s one of the worst ways you can Go about making a TV Series.  Most filmmakers assume that if they make their own pilot, they’ll be able to pitch it to networks and then get it picked up.  Unfortunately, that’s not generally the way pilots work.  Most pilots that compete for TV shows are commissioned directly by networks and already have people on the inside rooting for them.

Apart from that, only about 1 in 10 (at the absolute most) pilots get made into a first season, and I think the last statistic I saw was something like 1 in 7 TV series make it past the first season.  That means for every series that makes it to season 2, at least 69 pilots are created.  Also: THOSE NUMBERS ARE ONLY NETWORK COMMISSIONED PILOTS.  It doesn’t factor for idle filmmakers who try to make their first episode on their own.  Those really aren’t good odds.   

In fact, I’d be willing to say that this option is probably the least likely of the 4 paths I’m laying out to get your series made.  Assuming that you’re not being requested to make the pilot by a major network. 

2. Make a Sizzle Reel

If you want to do more of the institutional route, then you’re much better off making a popping sizzle reel and approaching an agent who can take it to get you to the commissioned pilot stage.   I know that sounds like an additional step to the long road I outlined above, but it’s actually going to give you a greater chance at success since you’ll be working with people on the inside instead or shouting at the outside of the gate pleading to be let in.

If you don’t have access to an agent, I wouldn’t recommend going this route either.  I’d recommend you go with one of the two listed below. 

This option is probably the 2nd most risky in terms of getting your full season financed and made. 

3. Build an Audience with a webseries.

If you want to go a less institutional way to get your TV series made, you should consider making a webseries that’s very much in the vein of your planned TV Series, but perhaps on a smaller scale and definitely with shorter episodes.  Once you’ve made the webseries, your goal is to market the absolute crap out of your series and get at least a million views on the content.  Ideally on at least most of the episodes.  If you can pull that off, you’ll often have people coming to talk to you instead of the other way around. 

I’ll admit I first heard about this concept from another distribution company that I had on an old podcast.  However, I’ve talked to several of their former clients since and I no longer feel like linking to them is appropriate. 

I think this is the second safest way to get your TV Series made.  Plus, if you go this route you have a piece of content you can use to build your production company’s brand and even get some level of monetization. 

4. Shoot the entire series, then get someone to sell it.

Yeah, I know what I just said. I’m saying get to work and make anywhere between 8 and 13 full-length episodes for a first season. If you’re doing 44 minute episodes that’s 9 and a half hours of completed content. (or a bit over 4 hours if you’re doing 22-minute content.) That’s a lot to shoot, and it’s a big upfront investment for a filmmaker to make.

That being said, once this is done you’ll be able to sell your content quite easily, and you’ll have no trouble finding a sales agent who can take your content to television markets like NATPE, MIPTV, or MIPCOM. If fact, I’m looking to branch more into that market in a couple of ways. (Link Below)

This is generally the safest way to get your series made (If you can pull together the money to make it happen.) In fact, I’d say you’re more likely to have a positive return on investment taking this path than you are in a standard feature film.

Thanks so much for reading! Since I alluded to it a few times, I’ve included a link for you to submit your content below. Next to that, you’ll find a link to book an introductory call with me.

Finally, If you like this content, you should really grab my film business Resource Package.  You’ll get an ebook, a white paper, templates for an investment deck, promotional materials, distributor contact tracking, plus monthly content digests to help you grow your knowledge base on a manageable schedule.

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5 Ideas For Email List Giveaways for Indie Filmmakers

Traditional marketing wisdom states that you should offer something of value to your potential customer prior to trying to sell to them.  However, this value proposition is different when you’re talking about making a film versus selling a software application.  It has to be something of value to your customers, and since most of your customers are not going to be other filmmakers you’re going to need to think outside the box and offer something that people who only consume content are going to be interested in.  Here’s a list of some ideas to get you started.

1. An unreleased short film

Unfortunately shorts don’t tend to have much value of their own.  Their primary purpose is to build the skills and the brand of the filmmaker who’s making them.  Luckily, this can make them ideal for giveaways behind an email capture.  You’re giving the consumer a taste of you style, as well as developing your relationship with them for the future. 

It’s important to note that these shouldn’t be your film school exercises or camera tests.  This should be thesis-level work if it’s going to have any value whatsoever.   If it did the festival circuit and racked up some awards then it’s likely to be a good giveaway that actually provides a decent amount of value. 

2.  A concept piece for the film you’re currently working on.

If you made a short film as a proof of concept for the feature, this can be a great giveaway once you get closer to the release.  That is, unless you have spoilers for the feature in the concept film.  If you do, you might need to re-edit the piece slightly. 

Timing this can be difficult.  I would make sure that the film is at least about to hit the first window of release before offering the concept video as a giveaway. 

3. Behind the Scenes featurettes.

With the DVD market in decline, its become much harder to get the old DVD extras than it used to be.  But even if you’re planning on having a full film distributed via transactional video on demand, (TVOD) that doesn’t mean you can’t make more content available on your website for those interested enough to seek it out.  If they are that interested, they’re exactly the sort of person you want on your email list, and they’re probably happy to join it. 

4. A copy of a script for a feature film you’ve already distributed.

This one skirts the line of being more for filmmakers than the general public.  However, if you have a film that’s already 2-3 years old, giving away the script as a value add can be quite valuable.  While most filmmakers are aware of the Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) but most of the general public is not.  This seems like something that could be novel to your ardent fans, and costs you very little to generate. 

​All of that being said, don’t post this as an email giveaway if it’s not already distributed. 

5. Concept art and Character Bios from the film.

The people you want on your email list are your community and your early adopters.  The rabid fans who can’t get enough of your work.  These are the sorts of people who would also love to see your concept art, behind-the-scenes photos, and more detail about the process of making the film.  Character bios can be great for this.  If you can make these little things into a behind-the-scenes featurette, then all the better.

Thanks SO much for reading!  I practice what I preach, and since my target demographic is primarily filmmakers, I give away a free resource package.  Join my email list and check it out! The package has an e-book with exclusive content, a whitepaper, a template collection, tons of research links, and money-saving resources, plus a monthly blog digest for continued education that fits your schedule.

5 Steps to Grow Your Filmmaking Email List

At least as of right now, if you’re going to sell anything on the internet, you need to build your email list.  Since most filmmakers aren’t really marketers, here’s a basic guide to building your email list of potential customers so that you’ll have an easier time selling your film once it’s time to distribute it.

1. Provide Value in the form of content.

Marketing is telling people how great you are.  Content marketing is SHOWING people how great you are.  You need to provide a steady stream of content to your followers to really build your following and your brand.  This content can be something as simple as behind-the-scenes photos, bits about how the film production is going, or even quick little live streams talking about how everything is going on set.  You can also blog using your own site, or share your blogs on ProductionNext.com.

2. Offer an Exclusive Value Add in exchange for signing up for an email address.

If you want to sell something on the internet, you need to provide value before you do.  The product itself can’t be the value add, no matter how awesome you think your content is.  You need to build a relationship with your customer, and giving them a simple gift is a great way to start that relationship off on the right foot.  It’s good to think of this as a sample of your future value, similar to a Pink Spoon and a Sample at Baskin Robbins. 

​For ideas on what sort of giveaway to use, check back for next week’s blog.

3. Drive traffic to a form built using Mailchimp or another platform.​

Once you make the offer of the free giveaway, you have to capture their email.  Generally, it’s good to categorize people to help get them on the right list as well.  I use checkboxes on my list to sort by event location, and associations with film schools or bookstores.  I’d recommend that you do something similar, but be careful not to go beyond 3 sets of questions.  If you do, your rate of return is going to drop significantly. 

4. Have the confirmation email automatically deliver the Exclusive Giveaway.

The less work you have to do on this the better.  I recommend you have your email list automatically deliver a link to the final giveaway.  A setting on mail chimp will let your final opt-in take the new subscriber to a hidden page on your site where you can set up a download or viewing link for whatever you decide to use as a giveaway. 

5. Provide valuable content in the form of emails, as well as the occasional sales hook.

Finally, the work isn’t done after you get the email. You need to provide valuable content to each new member of your mailing list, as well as make the occasional sales hook. The way I strike a balance is by using simple Mailing Automation provided for free by Mailchimp. I use the automated mailings to send out blog digests to each new member on a monthly basis based on when they signed up. I keep adding to this automation when I have time, and I try not to include sales hooks in the first automated emails.

Anyway, Thanks so much for reading. If you like this content, you should check out my email list! As I said above, it gives your free blog digests organized by topic, as well as access to a free film market resource package and a whole lot more! You’ll also stay up to date on new releases and events from Guerrilla Rep Media.

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Everything you need in an Electronic Press Kit (EPK)

Last week I shared a few different types of printed materials to use at film festivals.  This week, I thought I’d follow up with a post on the essential components of the Indiefilm Electronic Press Kit.    I will say that this is one thing where reasonable people can disagree, so if you think there’s something I missed, comment below and I might change the post to include it.

How people should access your press kit

Your press kit is not the same as the press tab on your website.  The press tab on your website is primarily to promote your film to consumers and assemble the press that you’ve gotten for both your company and your film.  The EPK is a kit to give potential reporters and reviewers of your film so that they have most of everything they need to do an article on you, or a report on you.  Here’s what you’ll generally need to provide them.  (Often, this will be behind a password firewall, that you’ll include on your printed materials.)​

Synopsis

You’ll want to include a catchy summary of your film.  This will be in lots of places on your site, but you want to make it easy to reference for the press. 

A Running Festival Acceptance/Award List

This section will be on the press tab as well, but you should keep everything on a single page for your film.  It’s essentially just a list of any and all film festivals you’ve been accepted to, as well as any and all awards you’ve won. 

Trailer/Clips from the film

You should include your trailer and maybe a scene or two from your film to give those who are writing an article on your film the ability to do their job both easily and well.  I’d also include a direct link to wherever the videos are hosted. 

Full Bio of Cast/Crew/Production Company With Social Media/IMDb links.

Your regular site will have a lot of this information, but you’ll want to make sure you include the names, bios, previous credits, and links to public-facing social media profiles of all your key cast and crew.  These would be the producers, directors, leads, and strong supporting characters.

Photo Gallery/Downloadable Zip File

Articles tend to come with a few photos, so I’d include around 10-15 photos including stills from your movie and headshots of key personnel.  Make sure they’re high-res, but not Raw.

A Password Protected Screener

You should definitely include a password-protected screener for your film. In this instance, it’s acceptable to have something akin to an email for a password below it. Normally this isn’t something you’ll want to do to people reviewing your movie, but since you’ll probably hand the other password out as part of your printed materials that may end up in the wrong hands this one might be wise to include.

If you’ve got too much to do and wish you had templates for your printed materials, I’ve got your back. My resource pack is chock-full of templates including festival brochures, investment decks, contact tracking, form letters, and exclusive educational content to help you grow your filmmaking career. Click the link below to grab it.

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