Category: Distribution - The Guerrilla Rep

How to Get your Movie on Netflix

2/20/2019

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 and its founder, Ben Yennie.

Many filmmaker 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 to. What follows is an outline of how to get your film on Netflix, both as an original and as an acquisition.

5 Ideas For Email List Giveaways for Indie Filmmakers

2/6/2019

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.

When Should you Contact a Producer's Rep or Sales Agent about a Film?

11/14/2018

Seeing as how a majority of my business still comes from representing filmmakers to sales agents and distributors, it’s unsurprising that a question I get at my events and in my inbox quite often is when is the best time to approach a producer’s rep, sales agent or distributor. Well, as with many things I tend to blog about, there’a a short, true, and mostly unhelpful answer to that question. There’s also a longer, more nuanced, and more correct answer. This blog attempts to answer both in under 800 words.

6 Questions to Ask yourself BEFORE Self Distributing your Indiefilm

8/29/2018

In a follow-up to last week’s blog on self distribution platforms, I thought we would step back for a minute and try to understand what filmmakers should consider before they decide whether or not to self distribute their movie. This blog is a list of potential parameters you might want to go by. It’s not the only things you should take into account, but they are some factors you’ll need to consider

Why Genre is VITAL to Indiefilm Marketing & Distribution

8/22/2018

This is a topic that’s a little basic, but it’s a fundamental building block of understanding how to market your film. So I thought I would do a breakdown of why genre is so important to independent filmmakers in terms of marketing and distribution. I do touch on in my book The Guerrilla Rep: American Film Market Distribution Success on No Budget, but even there I only cover it in a sense as it pertains to the market. Let’s get started.

What Platforms Should I Release my Movie on?

8/8/2018

I’ve recently stepped into the world of direct US Distribution. This is primarily due to things I’ve learned from several other US Releases I’ve overseen as a Producer’s Rep. One of the most common questions I get is what platforms to release a film on. So, instead of answering the same thing over and over, I’ve decided to put my thoughts into a blog.

9 Things I learned from my first theatrical release

7/18/2018

We recently came to the close of the theatrical release of Rockhaven Film’s Goodland. It played in a total of 7 cities. This was the first time I’ve been a key part of making a theatrical release work, so I wanted to share some of what I learned along the way. So here it is: 9 things I learned from my first theatrical release.

Indiefilm Distribution Deliverables Part 4/4 - As Needed Deliverables

6/27/2018

Even though the delivery materials in the first 3 parts of this blog seemed pretty thorough, there are still more that may be required to fulfill an international sale. Generally, these deliverables are only required if requested at a later date, and sometimes they’re created by the sales agents as an additional recoupable expense to be paid before the filmmaker begins taking their cut.

IndieFilm Distribution Deliverables Part 3/4 - Legal

6/20/2018

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.

IndieFilm Distribution Deliverables Part 2/4 - Servicing

6/13/2018

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.