Distribution deliverables are far more than simply technical requirements. As we saw last week, there are also substantial marketing materials that you’ll have to provide to the distributor, and more that they may have to generate themselves. This week we’re covering the basics of legal distribution deliverables.
Last week, I covered the basics that are required as deliverables for almost every U.S. Distribution or International Sales Contract. This week, I’m going through the servicing lists. Most of these servicing requirements are for internationalization of the film, be they subs or dubs. Some are more for marketing purposes, but in the end it’s what the sales agent need to effectively put together a package and the film to where it needs to go.
So there’s a lot of questions about what’s involved in Distribution Deliverables for an independent Film. So I’ve scoured a few contracts to find a very thorough list of what you might need to provide for a distributor or Sales Agent if they take your film. Since this list is quite expansive, there may be some stuff on here that most distributors do not ask for, but If figured it best to know what you might have to be able to provide
 A few weeks back I did a post on how to get a Letter of Intent from a Sales Agent. You can read that post here. However, I realized it might not be a bad idea to step back and examine the differences between a Letter of intent and a Pre-Sale. While I touch on it in the Rules for getting a Letter of intent blog, It seemed like the topic was worth a little bit more explanation.
I’ve been quoted as saying that investors get the short end of the stick in film investment. They end up putting up all or most of the money, and then are often left with their hands out. They’re the last to get paid on the production, and the system is structured in such a way that it’s almost Impossible to create a sustainable investor class.
I wrote an entire 7-part blog series on WHY film investment is in the tubes, so I don’t need to do that again. This blog will focus on exactly what I mean about investors being the last to be paid, when filmmakers don’t get any profit share until after the investors have recouped. The answer to this question lies in the standard distribution waterfall  A lot of people are afraid of the complexity of deals with sales agencies. They have a reputation as being very dense, and difficult to understand. While there is truth to this, there’s also a general layout every filmmaker should understand. Many of the pitfalls for distribution can be avoided by knowing these 7 major deal points. That said, you should always have a lawyer or a producer’s rep look over your contract.
 To Celebrate the launch of the Second edition of my book, The Guerrilla Rep, American Film Market Distribution Success on No Budget, I'm giving away the first chapter for free. This blo represents a small fraction of the 58 additional pages in the second edition. The book is currently the only book that currently exists on film Markets. So without further adieu, Here's the first chapter. After the prologue, you have a 50,000 foot view of AFM. Let’s zoom in a bit, and check out a bit more about the total landscape of Film Markets in general, as well as the sales cycle for them. What’s the difference between a Film Market and a Film Festival?When speaking, I get asked this question more than any other, with one possible exception that will be covered in the next chapter.
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AuthorMy name is Ben, I'm an Entrepreneur, Producer's Rep, and Author. I'm the founder of Guerrilla Rep Media, Co-Founder/CMO of ProductionNext, and founder of PRoducer Foundry. Together, the organizations seek to help make filmmaking a more economically sustainable endeavor. I am dysic, I have capitalization issues, and the blogs are often unedited. opinions all my own. 
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