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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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.
​
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.

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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.

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.

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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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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.

When should you Contact a Sales Agent/Producer’s Rep about your Film?

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’s 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.

The Short Answer: As soon as you realistically can

Marketing a film on a budget isn’t something you can do overnight.  It takes a while to build a social media presence, as well as to build up a base to market your film to.  It’s not something that can be done efficiently overnight, so you’ll want to get some marketing support on your project as soon as possible.  That’s why you hire either a producer’s rep or a Producer of Marketing and Distribution (PMD). 

The Long(er) Answer: When you can afford them, and they’re willing to come on your project.

Most people tend to approach Producer’s Reps and PMDs only when their film is completed, or even after the initial festival run of the film.  This can shut a surprising amount of doors for you. I had one client who submitted to Sundance and was rejected outright.  The next year, after I connected him to US Distribution, the distributor talked to a programmer at Sundance who said that they would have accepted the film and programmed had it been brought to his attention. Unfortunately, they’d given premier status to another, smaller festival so it was too late.

PMDs and Distributors often have connections to help get you past the initial round of screening at major festivals, which can be all you need to actually get into the festival.  99 films out of every 100 submitted to Sundance don’t get in.  90 out of 100 of those are declined by extremely low-paid (or unpaid) staffers who look for any possible reason to decline so that the submission queue is more manageable for the actual festival programmers.  If you have the right rep, PMD, or distributors they can help you bypass that first layer of screening, giving you a huge leg up. ​

How much will this cost you?

Producer’s reps tend to get a bad rap for charging up front.  If all they’re doing is brokering your film to sales agents, and they’re taking a commission, then they really shouldn’t need to.  I don’t.  However, if I’m writing a business plan, deck, pro formas, or developing a financing, festival, marketing, or distribution strategy, I do charge upfront. We all have bills to pay, and just as you should always pay all other members of your crew, you should pay your producers too. My services are packaged based on need, more information on my services page.
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Generally, it’s wise to allot some money for marketing as soon as you create the initial budget for your film.  You should do this even if you plan on raising it at a later date, say after completion of principal photography. It may be wise to keep this budget separate given a distributor will most often foot some of the bill and sometimes it can bump you into a higher guild tier.

Related: The 4 Stages of Film Financing

If you’re raising money for prints and advertising, then you should allocate some of that money to a Producer of Marketing and Distribution (PMD) or Producer’s Rep to help you execute your marketing plans efficiently. 

Essentially, if you’re looking for a rep to do anything other than broker a completed film, you had best expect them to charge you some money upfront.  Unless the Sales agent pays you a minimum guarantee, it’s unlikely that the film or the filmmaker will get paid anything for about a year after the initial signing.  You can’t expect a Service provider to wait even longer than that to make any money, especially when there’s a significant amount of work involved in the creation and execution of the work you’re asking them to do. 

If you want more resources to help you distribute your film, you should grab my free film business resource pack. It’s got an e-book, a whitepaper, a deck template, a film festival promotional brochure template, and a whole bunch of money and time-saving resources. Also, if you need a producer’s rep, check out my services page.

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5 Takeaways from AFM 2018

I’ve been going to the American Film Market® for 9 years now, and I’ve been chronicling what’s going on with the market in many ways from podcasts to blogs and even a book or two.  So given that AFM® 2018 wrapped up yesterday, I thought I would do something of a post-mortem.  While I’ll outline my feelings on the whole thing in this blog, the long and short of it is that the state of the American Film Market is mixed

But before I dive into it too deeply, I’d like to say this.  My vantage point on this is purely my own, and subject to the flaws that one would expect from experiences of someone only attending the market for a few days this year.  I went on an industry badge because I simply needed to take a few meetings to check in on things I’ve already placed with Sales Agents, as well as shop a couple of my newer projects to the people I prefer to do business with.

I considered exhibiting this year but decided against it after hearing how slow Cannes was in May, as well as the massive drop in buyers AFM Experienced last year.  We’ll see how that changes next year.   One last note, I wrote this blog in traffic in LA, while my wife drove.  I normally don't publish first drafts, but it's time-sensitive, so apologies for any typos. 

So without Further Adieu, let’s get into the post-game.

1.  Buyer numbers appear to be up, and they’re buying

Word in the corridors last year was that AFM went from around 1800 buyers in 2017 to around 1200 buyers in 2017.  After talking to a few sales agents who shall remain nameless, it appears that the total buyer count at this year’s AFM is somewhere in the vicinity of 1325.  While walking the corridors I definitely saw a lot more green badges than last year. 
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Not only were there more buyers there.  It appears that they’re actually buying films.  I heard several sales agents remarking that they had closed multiple sales at the market, and the buyers were sticking around much longer than they have in years previous.  Overall, this is good for the market, especially given that for many years almost all of the business was done in follow-up not actually during the market, especially for smaller-budget films. ​​

2.  Exhibitor numbers appeared to be down

In previous years, both the second and third floors of AFM were packed with smaller sales agencies,  This year, only the third floor was booked and even then it seemed as though fewer offices were booked.  Also, it appeared that many of the offices on the 8th floor seemed to be vacant. 
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After talking with a few exhibitors, it appears likely that this trend is going to continue next year.  Several I talked to were unsure of whether or not they would continue to exhibit at AFM.  Although we’ll see if new names come up to take their places.

3. The Entirety of the Loews required a badge to access

This made a lot of headlines prior to the market.  I was hesitant to believe that this would be a good thing for the market, particularly for the high priced film commission exhibitors on the 5th floor.  I only showed up to the market on Saturday, but apparently it was extremely quiet for the days preceding it.  The market seemed somewhat slow to me, but mildly busier than I expected it to be on Saturday, and, but began steadily dropping off on Sunday and Monday, and Tuesday was VERY slow, even by the generally slow standards of what is functionally the last day of the market.  

Word on the street is that many of the regular exhibitors on the 5th floor were not too happy with it, especially for the first few days.  Although I’ll keep my sources on that anonymous.  One notably missing 5th-floor exhibitor was Cinando.  It’s possible they moved, but the spot that they normally occupied was vacant.  This could be due in part to the growing prominence of MyAFM. 

In some ways, it was nice, though.  It was never too hard to find a seat, and once you got into the building there were no additional security checks.  Not sure if that makes up for the drawbacks though. 

4. The Location Expo on the 5th floor was fantastically useful, but under-attended

AFM opened one of the Loews Hotel Ballrooms for use by film commissions and specialty service providers starting on Saturday.  It was really useful to be able to talk to various commissions and compare incentives.  However, there very few times I saw more than a handful of people there, and I dropped by at least 8 or 9 times because of various sorts of business I had to do with some of the vendors in the rooms.  (More soon)
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Overall I hope to see it again, but I can’t help but think it would be more useful to all involved if it were in an area that did not require a badge to check out. 

5. Early Stage Money exists there (For the Right Projects

I was surprised to see how much traction my team got for an early stage project, despite the fact it has a first time feature director.  Admittedly, we came in with a good amount of money already in place, and it’s a good genre for this sort of thing but the fact that there might be a decent amount to come out and report in blogs early next year.
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Thanks so much for reading!  If you haven’t already, check out the first book on film markets, written by yours truly.  Also, join my mailing list for free film market resources so you’re ready for future film markets.

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All opinions my own. AFM and the American Film Market are registered trademarks of the Independent Film and Television Alliance (IFTA) This article has not in any way beed endorsed by the IFTA, AFM, or any of its affiliates.

How to Write an Independent Film Business Plan - 4/7 Marketing Section

In this installment of my 7 part blog series on business planning, we’re going to take a look at the marketing section of the plan.  This section is likely to be the longest section, as it encompasses an overview of the industry, as well as both marketing and distribution planning.  Generally, this section will encompass 3-5 pages of the plan, all single-spaced.  This is among the most important sections of the plan, as it is a real breakdown of how the money will come back to the film

Industry

In this subsection, you’ll want to define some key metrics of the film industry.  You’ll want to include its size, how much revenue it brings in, and ideally an estimate of how many films are made in a year, as well s the size of the independent part of the film industry vs the overall film industry.  If you want help with some of those figures, you should look at the white paper I did with ProductionNext, IndieWire, Stage32, and Fandor a few years back.  To the best of my knowledge, it’s still among the most reliable data on the film industry.

The fact that the film industry is considered a mature industry that is not growing by significant margins is also something you’ll also want to mention.  You’ll also want to talk about the sectors of growth within the film industry, as well as where the money tends to come from for independent producers, and a whole lot of other data you’re going to have to find and reference.  As mentioned above, the State of the Film Industry book linked in the banner below has much of this information for you.
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Overall, this section should be about a page long.  The best sources for Metrics are the MPA THEME report and the State of The Film Industry Report. You can find links or downloads of both of those in my free resource pack.

Marketing

The marketing subsection of the plan goes into detail about both the target demographics and target market of your film, as well as how you plan on accessing them.  To quote an old friend and long-time silicon valley strategist Sheridan Tatsuno, Finding your target market is like placing the target, and marketing is like shooting an arrow.  For more detail on how to go about finding your target market, I encourage you to check out the blog below, as my word count restrictions will not let me go too deeply into it here

Related: How do I figure out who to sell my movie to?

Figuring out how you’re going to market the film can be a challenge for many filmmakers.  Generally, I’d advise putting something more detailed than “smart social media strategy.”  I tell most of my clients to focus on getting press, appearing on podcasts, and getting reviews.  Marketing stunts can be great, but timing them is difficult to pull off. 
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All of this being said, you’ll need more to your marketing strategy than simply going to festivals to build buzz. The marketing category at the top of this blog, as well as the audience, community, and marketing, tags at the bottom of the page, are a good place to start.

Distribution

This section talks about how you intend to get your film to the end user.  This section should be an actionable plan on how you intend to attract a distributor.  This section should not be “We’ll get into sundance and then have distributors chasing us!” I hate to break it to you, but you’re probably not going to get into Sundance.  Fewer than 1% of submissions do. 
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The biggest thing you need to answer is whether you plan on attaching a distributor/sales agent or whether you intend to self-distribute.  if you’re not sure, this blog might help you decide. There’s lots more to it, I’d recommend checking the distribution category or the international sales tag on this site to learn more of what you need to write this section.

Related: 6 questions to ask yourself BEFORE self distributing your indiefilm

Somewhere between a quarter and a third of all the blogs on this site are devoted to distribution, so there’s lots of stuff here for you to use when developing this plan.  If you want to develop more of a plan than distributing it yourself, it’s also something I’d be happy to talk to you about it.  Check out my services page for more.

If that’s a bit too much for you but you still want more information about the film business, check out my film business resource package. You’ll get a free e-book, monthly digests segmented by topic, and a packet of film market resources including templates and money-saving resources.

This is part of a 7 part series.  I’ll be updating the various sections as they drop.  So check back and if you see a ling below, it will take you to whatever section you most want to read. 
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Executive Summary
The Company
The Projects
Marketing (This post)
Risk Statement/SWOT Analysis
Financials Section (Text)
Pro-forma Financial Statements.

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6 Questions to Ask yourself BEFORE Self Distributing your Film

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

1.  Do you have money for promotion and aggregation?

While you get to keep 100% of the money you make when you use someone like Distribbr, you also have to pay them upfront to get you on those platforms.  If you use traditional distribution, generally the distributor will take on that risk for you.  Also, they’ll generally pay less than distribbr would charge you in aggregation fees, so they can put more money into marketing the film.

NOTE FROM THE FUTURE: If you need aggregation services, use FilmHub or IndieRights. The model is better than pay for placement even if you give up an extra 20%.

Further, with traditional distribution there tend to be some notable economies of scale.  One of these factors is the fact that most good distributors and sales agents will have a publicist on retainer so your film will get better press, and further reach.
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2. How your social media following.

If you don’t have a pretty decent social media following, then you really should consider traditional distribution.  If the equation below works out to more than 1, then perhaps you should consider selling your film yourself, especially since this doesn’t factor for your personal press contacts, etc.  If it doesn’t, then maybe you should look into traditional distribution.

I know I'm asking you to do algebra, but if I get asked in the comments I may create a calculator that runs the math for you.

((TF*0.01+FF*0.05+IF*0.05+OFX*0.03+EL*.1)*(SP-PF))/OLF+5000

TF = Number of Twitter Followers 
FF = Number of Facebook Fans
IF = Number of Instagram followers
OFX=Number of other social media followings(Can repeat multiple times)
EL = Number of people on your relevant email list * 0.2)*
SP = Sales Price
PF=Platform fees
OLF=Outstanding Liabilities of the film (I.E. how much do you need to pay back investment and deferments)

The 5,000 represents money you’ll have to spend to get your film out there between marketing assets like posters and trailers, publicity, and limited social media boosts.

NOTE FROM THE FUTURE: This is a simplification of your marketing reach, and does not account for including how underserved your niche is as well as how much access you have to said niche. Given these calculations really only account for Transactional distribuion, it undercounts potential spread via AVOD and international sales if you seek them. I might remake this algotithm if I get enough requests.

3. What was the Budget of your film?

While I’m a big fan of traditional distribution (I am, after all, a distributor) I will say that in many cases it doesn’t make sense to try to sell a film made for less than 10k unless it came out REALLY well.  Generally, that equation above will also look favorably on you if your budget is that low.  There are, however, cases where this is not true.

4. Do you have press contacts?

Press is the most cost-effective way to market your movie.  If you have a list of close contacts in the press, it can be a huge difference in your effectiveness at selling your film without help from a traditional distributor.  If you don’t have them, the equation above had better result in something closer to 1.5.

5. Do you have the ability to create awesome marketing material?

Can you cut a great trailer?  What about make a great poster?  Your distributor will have contacts for that, but you may not, and that will make a huge difference in whether or not you should self-distribute.

6.  Would you rather market this movie than make the next one?

This point is subjective. If you’d rather continue to market your film than make the next one, then by all means, self-distribute. If you’d rather put your energy into making the next one, then it probably makes more sense to work with some partners like sales agents and distributors. If you’re looking for those partners, I might be able to help. Just click the submit button below.

For more tools and information on film distribution, you should grab my free film resource package. You’ll get a FREE e-book on the business of indiefilm, digests on the film business segmented by topic, as well as free templates to streamline financing, marketing, and distribution. Plus, you’ll get all the latest on Guerrilla Rep Media releases and occasional special offers and discounts.  Check it out below!

Why Genre is VITAL to Independent Film Marketing & Distribution

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. 
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Before we begin, we should talk about what a genre actually is.  At its core, the genre of your film is primarily a simple tool for categorizing how your film compares to other films.  It’s a broad bucket of similar elements that lump films together in a way that makes it easier to sell them and easier to convey the general experience of a film succinctly.  Knowing this will inform everything else on this list. 
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Generally, there are both genres and sub-genres.  Sub-genres can generally pair with any genre, but some pairings work better than others.  Here’s a somewhat complete list of genres and sub genres.  Genres tend to focus on plot elements and overall feel whereas Sub Genres also have more to do with themes or settings.

Genres

• Action

• Horror

• Thriller

• Family

• Comedy

• Drama

• Documentary

Sub-Genres

• Adventure

• Sci-Fi

• Fantasy

• Crime

• Sports

• Faith Based

• LGBT

• Romance

• Biographical

• Music/Musicals

• Animated

So Why is Genre So Effing Important?

Genre provides a general set of guidelines for filmmakers to follow when crafting a story.

Since there are certain elements that are inherent in any particular genre, understanding the tropes of any particular genre can be very helpful in crafting your narrative and in shooting your film.  If you know you’re shooting an action film, then there had better be fight scenes, shootouts, and car chases.  If you’re making a thriller, there should be a lot of suspense.  If you’re shooting a horror, a good amount of your budget will go on buckets of blood.  Knowing the tropes in advance can really help frame your story and what you need to shoot your film. 

Genre categorizes it for potential customers

As mentioned above, genres are simply categorizations of similar elements of a film.  As such, certain viewers will develop an affinity for a certain genre. Some people will like some genres more than others.  Sometimes a viewer will be in the mood for one genre, but not in the mood for another.  Kind of like how sometimes you’re craving Mexican food, and other times you’re craving Chinese.

Genre helps to find an audience for the film

Think of this as the reverse of the point above.  If your film has a well-defined genre, it can be great for discovery by the audience that’s seeking it out.  Again, think about the food example.  If you’re a Mexican food restaurant in an area where the community is all huge fans of Mexican cuisine, you’re likely to do well.  However, if you’re a barbecue joint in a city known for its insanely high levels of Veganism, you might be in for a rough go of it. Of course, this kind of ignores the problem of oversaturation but there’s only so much I can tackle in 600-800 words.

Genre categorizes your film for Distributors and sales agents

Distributors and Sales agents understand the issues above.  In addition, they often build a brand around certain genres so that there’s a high degree of audience recognition from them.  Buyers and distributors often continually serve the same end viewer, and as such their brand is particularly important, and they often seek a similar sort of film time and time again.  Think about the difference between the programming on Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, or the difference between Comedy Central and MTV.
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Sales agents generally develop deep relationships with the same buyers.  As such, they become acutely aware of that buyer’s brand, and the sort of content they normally buy.  As such, that’s the sort of content they look to acquire. 

What happens if I cross-Genres?

So this is somewhat beyond the scope of this blog, but it’s a point that should be made and I don’t think I could spend an entire blog on it.  So keep in mind that cross-genre is different than a genre and a sub-genre.  A Cross Genre would be a horror comedy or an action thriller.  Those are two examples that generally work, at least in the right circumstances.  Other genre-crossing like Action Drama or Family Horror probably don’t work so well. 

Here are a couple of things to keep in mind about going cross-genre. 

It doesn’t add to the audience it limits it

If you make a film that’s both horror and comedy, it doesn’t sell to people who like either Horror and Comedy, it generally only appeals to people who like BOTH horror AND Comedy.  So instead of expanding your horizons, it limits them.  However, people who like both of these genres are going to be far more likely to really enjoy your film, just because they don’t get as much horror/comedy content as they might like.  That said, getting to these people can be both difficult and expensive. 

If done poorly, it confuses the message.

As you can see from the later two examples above, if you cross genre poorly it can be very creatively limiting.  A horror family movie doesn’t sound like it would be possible to do very well.  I know that Indiana Jones and the Temple of doom had elements of this, as did Gremlins, but The Temple of Doom was primarily an Action Adventure movie, and Gremlins would be very difficult to package in this day and age. 

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The 7 Essential Elements of A Strong Indie Film Package

Most filmmakers want to know more about how to raise money for their projects.  It’s a complicated question with lots of moving parts.  However, one crucial component to building a project that you can get financed is building a cohesive package that will help get the film financed.  So with that in mind, here are the 7 essential elements of a good film package.    ​

1.Director

As we all know, the director is the driving force behind the film.  As such, a good director that can carry the film through to completion is an essential element to a good film package.  Depending on the budget range, you may need a director with an established track record in feature films.  If you don’t have this, then you probably can’t get money from presales, although this may be less of a hard and fast rule than I once thought it was.
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Related:What's the Difference between an LOI and a Presale?

Even if you have a first-time director, you’ll need to find some way of proving to potential investors that they’ll be able to get the job done, and helm the film so that it comes in on time and on budget

2. Name Talent

I know that some filmmakers don’t think that recognizable name talent adds anything to a feature film.  While from a creative perspective, there may be some truth to that, packaging and finance is all about business.  From a marketing and distribution perspective, films with recognizable names will take you much further than films without them.  I’ve covered this in more detail in another blog, linked below.
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Related: Why your Film Needs Name Talent

Recognizable name talent generally won’t come for free.  You may need a pay-or-play agreement, which is where item 7 on this list comes in handy. ​
​

3. An Executive Producer

If you’re raising money, you should consider engaging an experienced executive producer.  They’ll be able to help connect you to money, and some of them will help you develop your business plan so that you’re ready to take on the money when it comes time to.  A good executive producer will also be able to greatly assist in the packaging process, and help you generate a financial mix.
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Related: The 9 Ways to finance an Independent Film.

I do a lot of this sort of work for my clients.  If you’ve got an early-stage project you’d like to talk about getting some help with building your package and/or your business plan I’d be happy to help you to do so.  Just click the clarity link below to set up a free strategy session, or the image on the right to submit your project.

4. Sales Agent/Distributor

If you want to get your investors their money back, then you’re going to need to make sure that you have someone to help you distribute your independent film.  The best way to prove access to distribution is to get a Letter of Intent from a sales agent.  The blog below can help you do that. 
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Related: 5 Rules for Getting an LOI From a Sales Agent

5. Deck/Business Plan

If you’re going to seek investors unfamiliar with the film industry, you’re going to need a document illustrating how they get their money back   This can be done with either a 12-slide deck, or a 20-page business plan.  I’ve linked to some of my favorite books on business planning for films below. 

6. Pro-Forma Financial Statements

Pro forma financial statements are essentially documents like your cash flow statement, breakeven analysis, top sheet budget, Capitalization Table, and Revenue Distribution charts that help you include in the latter half of the financial section of a business plan.  

There’s a lot more information on these in the book Filmmakers and Financing by Louise Levinson.  I’m also considering writing a blog series about writing a business plan for independent film.  If you’d like to see that, comment it below. ​

7. Some Money already in place

Yes, I know I said that you need a package to raise money, but often in order to have a package you need to have some percentage of the budget already locked in.  Generally, 10% is enough to attach a known director and known talent.  If you’re looking for a larger Sales Agent then you’ll also need to have some level of cash in hand.

This is essentially a development round raise.  For more information on the development round raises, check out this blog!

Thanks for reading, for more content like this in a monthly digest, as well as a FREE Film Market Resources Package, check out the link below and join my mailing list.​

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Why do distributors and Sales agents ask for Weird assets to sell my Independent Film? (Deliverables 4/4)

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.  

As with the other three parts of this installment, this list is not meant to be exhaustive.  Every deliverables contract is different, and although this may be thorough, it may still miss an item or two.  More likely though, there would be things on this list you’d never have to worry about. 

1. HDcamSR Masters

And you thought we moved past the need for tapes.  Think again.  Not every television broadcaster in less developed parts of the world has made the switch to HD.  A lot of them still run on tape workflows, so you may be required to provide an HDCamSR Master.  Often, this is something that the distributor will generate through their own sources, and add to your recoupable expenses. 

Note From the Future: This really isn’t common anymore. It’s all generated from the 422 masters.

2. DCP

Generally, this deliverable is only required if the sales agent is going to be hosting market screenings.  If there’s a theatrical run, more may be required.  Generally, the first one is relatively expensive to have done, and the others are simply the cost of a hard drive. 

EDIT FROM THE FUTURE: You probably don’t need this. Market Screenings use different deliverables and if your distributor is doing a theatrical they’ll need to put their own bumper on it. It will be a recoupable expense for theatrical that will come back to them before you get paid.

3. Digibeta Masters

What is this, the 80s?  If you thought that Digibeta lost the format wars to VHS, you’re only half right.  Digibeta is a much higher quality format as compared to VHS, and as such it was used in broadcasting for quite a long time.  In fact, it was even used in the US until all broadcasters made the switch to HD.  I still have some Digibeta tapes laying around my apartment from Film School.  (and I’m only 31, thank you very much.)
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The reason that some (admittedly thorough) sales agents put this on their as-needed deliverable lists is the same reason they put the HDcanSR on their deliverable lists.  Some broadcasters (Particularly in Eastern Europe) Still use digibeta tapes as their primary workflow. 

NOTE FROM THE FUTURE: Yeah, nobody requires this anymore. In the EXTREMELY rare instance, it does happen, the sales agent or distributor will have it made from your master as a recoupable expense.

4. Clip/Footage/Stills/Bonus Material Licenses

I almost put this in the legal section, but that one was already a bit long.  These are essentially licenses for any bonus materials or stills that may appear in DVD extras.  Similarly, if you licensed any stock footage for the film, you’ll need to prove you have the right to use it. 

5. US Distribution Deliverables

The rest of this list is generally only required for US Distribution.  However, that is not always the case. 

5A. Closed Caption File

There’s a well-defined professional file format for closed caption files.  If you expect to distribute in the US, you’re probably going to need to get one of these. ​ If you don’t have one, distributors will commonly use their vendor and bill it back as a special recoupable expense. This isn’t a bad thing for you to have in general, and it generally costs between 100 and 200 USD per feature.

5B. Copyright Search and Title Reports

This is essentially proof that you have the right to license the film to distributors, and that there aren’t any legal reasons barring you from licensing the film.  Generally, this will be required at least 3-6 months prior to distribution.  Contact the copyright office for more information. 

5C. E&O Insurance Certificate

Generally, E&O Insurance is only required for wide-reaching Domestic Television and Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) sales.  However, a distributor may require it for other purposes as well.  The exact coverage amount will vary depending on the distributor.  The specifics will include per-instance coverage caps, aggregate coverage caps, and minimum deductibles. 

Often the sales agent/distributor will have a preferred vendor for this and may provide it as a recoupable expense above the existing recoupable expenses.  If they do not provide it as a recoupable expense, there’s a good chance that their vendor gives them a sweetheart deal, and it’s still in your best interest to consider using their vendor. No matter what, you probably want to wait on getting the policy until it’s required just to make sure that you’re getting the right policy.

5D. MPAA Rating

If the Distributor is planning any level of a wide theatrical release, they’ll need a rating certificate from the MPAA.  Often there will be rating caps such as R for any adult-oriented movie, or PG for any family-oriented movie.  The Producer will be expected to bear the cost of acquiring this certificate.  Also, unless you have the official certificate, the film is unrated.  DO NOT attempt to rate the film yourself without going through the MPAA.  If you’re getting a relatively limited theatrical release, your distributor may use the TV rating system which is generally self-regulated. If they go that way, they’ll probably err on the side of caution and up the rating to avoid a fine. A few of the films I’ve released are rated MA where they should be more like TV-14.

Thanks so much for reading!  Hopefully, this 4 part series has been illuminating as to what’s involved in deliverables.  If you’re a film school teacher, feel free to use this information in your classwork.  You can also reach out to me via my contact form and let me know if you’d like something more suited for a handout.  

Also, if even if you’re not a film school teacher you should grab my free film business resource package. It’s got an e-book with exclusive articles to help you grow your filmmaking career. It’s also got templates for investment decks, festival brochures, and more.

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What paperwork do I need to deliver to my Indiefilm Distributor? (Deliverables 3/4)

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.

This list is thorough, but not exhaustive.  There may be things required outside of this list for legal, and there may be things on this list that are not required, depending on who you’re dealing with.  Also, I’m not a lawyer, this isn’t legal advice. Check with your attorney to get some advice if anything is unclear.

1. Key Production Agreements

These are essentially legal documents from key cast and crew saying that you have the right to use their work in your film.  Essentially, you’ll have to prove that either you’ve paid out all of the filmmakers, or that they have no claim on the intellectual property of the film. Essentially, you’ll have to prove that whatever work they did was “For Hire” or that you will take on the liability of ensuring that all deserving stakeholders are paid appropriately

Generally, you’ll have to provide agreements proving this for key cast and crew.  Most of the time, those appearing in the main title sequence are a good measure. The preferred form of delivery for this is fully executed contracts or deal memos.   A lot of times you won’t need to deliver these unless it’s asked for.

You’ll also have to provide separate agreements for composers, or any other songs or assets that you’ve licenced.  For the composers, you’ll need to make sure you have the right to use their work in any way you see fit.  This can include trailers, promo spots, DVD extras, and anything else in conjunction with promoting or marketing the film.  This is particularly important and must be treated separately from a standard crew agreement. 

If you used source music, you’ll also have to provide that you have the right to use any and all of that source music under similar terms to the composer’s original music listed above.  there’s slightly more wiggle room on this here, but not a whole lot. 

2. Certificate of Origin

This is a certificate stating where the film was shot, and essentially stating that the film had the right to be shot there.  This is important in all cases, but particularly important in the event that you took tax incentives to finance your film. 

3. Chain of Title Summary

This deserves its own blog, which it will get.  However, in summary, the chain of title outlines the passage of intellectual property between source material, Script, and Production company.  It’s generally a document summarizing all of the associated rights agreements.

4. Rights Agreements

These are essentially documents proving that you have the rights to all the intellectual property used in the film.  These documents can include options, proof of option payments, assignments, licenses, certificates of authorship, written permissions, powers of attorney, and other similar documents. 

Often, if the name of the copyright owner is different from the owner of the picture, you will need to write up a transfer letter as well.  Most of the time you’ll need to generate a chain of title summary for your sales agent to track the rights across multiple documents.

5. Copyright Registration Certificate

This should be fairly self-explanatory, but you’ll need to include the copyright registration of both the picture and the screenplay.  Yes, you do need to copyright your work, a WGA registration will not suffice.  And yes, you need to have copyright certificates for both the screenplay and the film. 

There are other deliverables that can suffice if the copyright is pending, however, those vary by sales agency so I’m not going to go into them here.  Additionally, if you shot your film internationally it’s generally wise to file for a US Copyright as it tends to have the most standing in international courts as not every country has a well-staffed copyright and patent office.

6. Additional Agreements/Statements/Letters

There are a few other documents you may have to provide under certain circumstances. 

6A, If the Film is Not Originally in English

A deliverable you might need would be an English translation if the film is not in English originally.  Most of the time, buyers prefer a film to be in either their native language or in English.  It doesn’t matter if they have to translate the film anyway, they prefer to be translating the film from English. 

6B, If you worked with Children

Another ancillary document would be some degree of documentation that all children were treated legally on set. Most of the time you can find relevant documentation from the Screen Actor’s Guild, even if your shoot was not a signatory. if the film has any children in it. You’ll also need to provide some documentation that you abided by local child labor laws as they pertain to the film industry.

6C, If the film contains nudity or sexual content

In the event that the film contains sexually explicit material, then you’ll need to provide proof of 28 C.F.R. Compliance and record-keeping responsibilities and documentation of those record-keeping responsibilities. 

Similarly, you’ll need to provide additional documentation from any actor appearing nude or partially nude on screen consenting that their nudity was meant to be widely disseminated among the public. 

6D, If it was a union picture

If the film is union, you’ll need to provide all your agreements and proof that you’re in good standing.

6E​, Other Contractual Obligations.  

There may be a whole host of other releases from governmental, technical, and legal entities that prove this film can be distributed, but there’s such variance, it goes far beyond the scope of this blog. 

Thanks for reading!  This one ended up being a bit scary.  Check the other posts for more.  Also, Grab my free Indiefilm Business Resource Package to get a free e-book, templates, and a monthly blog digest to increase your ability to find meaningful distribution, and check the tags below for more information on filmmaking.

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What Deliverables does my Sales Agent Need to sell my Independent Film internationally? (Deliverables 2/4)

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 the 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 needs to effectively put together a package and the film to where it needs to go.

Again, this list though expansive may not cover every distribution deliverable from every contract you may encounter, although it should get most of them.  

NOTE FROM THE FUTURE: After running a distribution company, I found these blogs are overly intensive, and really you’re not going to need everything across the 4 blogs. I may do a revised version in the future if I get enough comments, but until then I’ll leave this up for posterity.

1. ​Final Timecoded Continuity Script/Spotting List:

This is different than a script.  This is you watching the final cut of your movie and going through and noting the timecode of every single line of dialogue.  You’ll also have to write down exactly which words are spoken for this spotting list.  This document is generally used for creating subtitles and dubbing scripts. 

You may also be required to provide this for any trailers. ​

2. Final Shooting Script

Even though you will need to have the spotting list, turning over the final version of the shooting script can help provide a backup, in case parts of the spotting list are unclear, or do not translate well. 

3. Music Cue Sheet

A Music Cue Sheet is similar to a spotting list, but instead of being for dialogue, it’s for music.  While you will be required to provide music and effects tracks, the music queue sheet is required in case of edits are made to the film for censorship or time reasons. ​

4. Music & Effects (M&E) Tracks

If the sales agent sells the right to dub the film, they’re going to need the Music and Effects tracks to do it well.  These tracks are essentially all the audio in the film without any dialogue.  Sometimes the tracks on which each type of audio will be placed on are specified, however, that’s beyond the scope of this article. 

5. Final Main Credits

This is a typed list of the opening credits as they appear on the screen.  Generally, these are more for subtitling purposes than straight-up replacement purposes.  Most of the time delivery of this item will be via Word document. 

6. Final End Credits

Similar to the final main credit entry above, this is a list of all credits in the back end of the film.  Again this is something you can deliver to your international sales agent in a simple Word document.  Generally, these are preferred to PDFs in case minor changes or copy-pastes need to be made.

7. Press Kit

This deserves a longer entry than I can give it here, but a press kit is essentially a list of all pressworthy information about the film.  What goes into it is subjective relative to space requirements and how you’re using it.  In this instance, it’s best you talk to your sales agents to clarify what they really need in a physical press kit.  Although generally speaking, you’ll want a review or two from festivals, any festivals you got into, any press coverage you’ve already gotten, some screenshots from the movie, the poster, and maybe a few quotes from the director/producers/lead talent. 

8. Logos

You’ll need to deliver logos to the distributor for the production companies involved in making the film.  If you’re using a producer’s rep, then you’ll need theirs too.  Generally, the distributor will want the Photoshop file, and they’ll probably have other tech specs for you as well. 

9. Bonus Material

If the distributor is planning a DVD release, they may ask for bonus materials.  Things like BTS Footage, deleted scenes, an alternate ending, a blooper reel, cast interviews, and commentary tracks. ​

10. Electronic Press Kit (EPK)

This is an electronic version of the press kit.  It will contain everything listed above, plus more links to reviews, broadcast-quality interviews (if available) and more dynamic and updatable content than a paper press kit can provide. 

Thanks so much for reading!  Check the other posts for more.  Next up is legal, and it’s LONG. Also, Grab my free Indiefilm Business Resource Package to get a free e-book, templates, and a monthly blog digest to increase your ability to find meaningful distribution.

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What do I need to deliver to my Independent Film’s distributor? (1/4)

So there are 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 I figured it best to know what you might have to be able to provide

Given how massive this list ended up being, I’m actually going to break this out into 4 parts.  This part is the basics, the next part will be deliverables used in internationalization and marketing, part 3 will be legal, and the fourth and final part will be some of the stranger and incidental things you might have to provide or be willing to pay for the sales agent to provide.

All of this being said, even though this list is massive, I may have missed something, so definitely talk with your post-house supervisor, lawyer, and editor before submitting these items. 

Let’s Dive right in.

​1. Color Stills and Photographs (50):

These color stills and photographs are generally not meant to be Behind the Scenes photos.  They’re meant to be stills from the movie itself to be used in various forms of promotion. They can also be images of the talent in costume to use in the creation of key art, posters, trailers, and other places where art may show up across platforms.

2. Screeners (50)

While many distributors/Sales Agents have moved to providing internet screeners through services like Vimeo, some still prefer DVDs.  These distributors generally won’t want you to put a watermark of any kind on the film.  I’d be hesitant on this due to piracy concerns, but I’m putting it on here because I found it in a contract. 

NOTE FROM THE FUTURE: This isn’t really done anymore. Distributors just use the master file to create their own screener to send to buyers.

3. Digital Promotional Trailer

Unsurprisingly, the sales agent will want a trailer to help with sales.  It's extremely important in market meetings with buyers.  It’s reasonably likely they’ll need a new trailer cut, but if the trailer you deliver suits their needs, they’re less likely to charge you for that deliverable.

4. Credit/Billing Block

This is just a listing of all credits for the film, to help the distributor keep up with legal obligations and consistent crediting across platforms. Be careful in delivering this, as their distribution agreement probably includes something indemnifying them should issues result from errors in files you delivered to them.

5. Certified Statement with Contractual Obligations.

This statement is just so the distributor knows how underwater you are with investors, and more importantly debtors.  Among other things, the distributor wants to know that they won’t lose the film because the bank took it from you. 

6. Tax Payer Information: W8/W9

The Distributor is paying you, and they have to pay their taxes just like anyone else. 

7. Layered Keyart

Most of the time the distributor will need to make changes to your art, so they’ll need the PSD file. If you don’t deliver that file, they’ll just have one made completely independent of your art.

8. 4k Technical Sample.

If you’re delivering in 4k, The distributor will also need a 4k sample to show buyers in market meetings.  That’s what this is. 

9. 100% QC'd HD ProResHQ or 4444 Master .mov Files: 

If a sales agent is going to sell your movie, then they’ll need a copy of it.  They may ask for a few versions for SD, and they may also ask for a 4k version.  There will be a lot of technical specs you’ll have to match exactly, and you’ll have to undergo a QC Check from a professional lab. By the way, if they ask you for a 422 file, don’t send them a 4444 file. 4444 files are only needed for really specific tasks that your distributor doesn’t need to do. The increased file size will annoy them or their lab.

10. Bluray Market/Festival Screening Masters

These are for screenings the sales agent might want to do for buyers in any of the provided market screening rooms. 

11. Master Audio Files

They are going to need the stems for the film.  Every once in a while, sales agents need to make edits for other markets.  That’s where these come in. ​

12. Copy of Music Score: Digital Files

Sometimes when you cut a film to comply with censorship in other countries, you’ll need to mask some cost by replacing the score.  That’s why they need some original files for the score. 

13. Certificate of Full QC Pass

A QC Check is required for any distribution you would actually want to have.  This generally involves sending the completed film to a lab, and and having every part of the film checked to ensure it’s in broadcast quality.  Generally this sort of check costs around 1500 per time you have to have it checked.  That means, if you fail your QC check, you’ll have to pay to have it done again.  I may do an entire post on the QC check process in the future, if I do, I’ll post it below. ​

​Thanks for reading!  This is the first of several posts covering Deliverables for Distribution.  Check the other posts for more. Also, Grab my free Indiefilm Business Resource Package to get a free e-book, templates, and a monthly blog digest to increase your ability to find meaningful distribution.

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Why Exclusivity is GOOD for Filmmakers

In closing contracts, one question I get asked a lot is why distributors, sales agents, and producer’s reps need exclusivity when we do our jobs.  Sometimes, this question even comes from the lawyers of my clients.  I understand there is risk when giving someone the exclusive right to represent your project, so I thought I would write up a blog post examining exactly why we need exclusivity.  Generally speaking, the goal is not to tie up your rights and make it so you can’t do anything with them.  There are lots of other reasons why sales agents or producer’s reps need exclusivity.

To truly understand the need for exclusivity, one must first understand the nature of our business.  We deal in the buying and selling of rights to infinitely replicate content.  If something can be infinitely replicated, the only way to ensure it's value is to control who has the right to produce it, or to authorize others to replicate the content.  

I can guarantee you that any sales agent you would actually want to work with will require exclusivity at least for international.  If you try to negotiate their exclusivity out of a contract, I can guarantee you will not be successful.  It's the nature of the business. In fact, if you try to negotiate too much to be non-exclusive, then you’ll likely just end up scaring off the sales agent. 
​​

Buyers want exclusivity, and if the sales agency doesn't have exclusivity, then they can't sell it to the buyer.  Producer's reps have less necessity for this normally, but if they work directly with domestic buyers, then they will generally need exclusive rights for similar reasons to why a sales agent needs exclusivity to sell international rights. ​

As a more practical example, let's say that two sales agents each have the right to sell your film.  There are a lot of territories for which only a few buyers come to the market.  There's a good chance that the sales agents would both know these buyers.  If the buyer can buy it in one of two places, then the two sales agents will just undercut each other to make the sale, and the filmmaker ends up hurt.  Giving Sales Agents exclusivity actually protects the filmmaker, if the deal is done properly.  

Further, almost all license fees and deals with a minimum guarantee require exclusivity. The buyer doesn't want to pay good money for a film, only to have it air on the competition's channel or platform at the same time.  Of course, if you're looking at Transactional VOD, this is not really the case, but those deals generally don't pay up front.  Also, that's essentially an aggregation deal.  

I'll admit, a producer's rep needs exclusivity less than a sales agent.  Since most of what Producer’s Reps do often involves shopping the film to sales agents, so long as there's a lit of who I'm approaching that's separate from who you would be approaching, there's room to negotiate.  However, since I act as a sales agent for North America, I at least need exclusive rights domestically for exactly the same reason.

Also, to avoid issues, if you’re working with a producer’s rep non-exclusively, then you’ll need to list what companies that producer’s rep will handle. If you don’t, you could be in for a tricky legal battle down the line, in case multiple approaches are made to the same company.

So I’d like to thank you for reading and say that I hope you found it helpful. If you did, you should grab my FREE Film Business Resource Package. It’s got a free e-book called The Entrepreneurial Producer to grow your filmmaking career, templates for investment decks, film festival brochures, and other money and time-saving resources. Check it out below.

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5 Reasons Traditional Film Distribution Still Matters to Indie Filmmakers

When you look at most of the other bloggers and podcasters talking about indie film distribution, a lot of them are very convinced that aggregators like Distribbr are the only solution that a Filmmaker needs.  As a Producer’s Rep, I disagree.  A good sales agent, distributor, or producer’s rep may each take a piece of the pie, but if they do their job well they’ll also make the pie significantly bigger, increasing the payout for all involved.

Here are 5 reasons why a traditional distributor or sales agent is still a necessary partner.

1. Distribution and Marketing are their own Skillsets

Unless you happen to have a background in marketing or a huge social media following, it’s not likely you’ll even make back the money you put into the aggregation fees.  It’s a surprising amount of work to get the amount of money you need to pay back fees upwards of a thousand dollars to put the film on iTunes. 

Distributors also help market the film.  It’s all they do, so they’re generally pretty good at it.  (At least, if you get the right ones) In addition to cutting the costs of aggregation and paying them out of a recoupable expense, Sales agencies and distributors will also often put money into a publicist, social media ads, and other marketing expenditures that will help your film make more money for all involved. ​

2. It's generally No/Less Money Up Front

If you use an aggregator or even a company like FilmHub or IndieRights, all marketing expenditures are on you. This includes posters, trailers, publicity, social media ads, and more. If it were me, I’d much rather give up a piece of the action to have someone else cover some of these costs up-front. ​

3. Not Every Avenue is Truly Open Without a Local Distributor

No matter what people tell you, not every avenue is completely open to self-distribution.  Theatrical is rare for most indie films, but unless you want to give up 90+% of the take, or pay a few thousand dollars per screen per week. pay a large amount of money to a platform or directly to theaters, you’re not getting into theaters.  If you work with the right distributor, they MIGHT be able to book you some screens. 

I’ve helped in organizing several theatrical releases of up to 50 screens per film. The way we did it avoided paying up front. Filmmakers generally don’t have the specialized knowledge or relationships to make that happen.

Further, other outlets most often won’t get you into Cable VOD, or SVOD other than Amazon rentals, even though they may claim they have the ability to. ​

4. Local Distributors Control Specialized Knowledge

Do you have any idea how to localize a film for South Korea?  What about Germany, Italy, or Mongolia?  I’m a Producer’s rep, and while I might have an idea of who would buy any given film on a territory-by-territory basis, I couldn’t tell you how best to market a film in every country across the globe.   That said, I do know people who do, and I know lots of people who can get it to the territories I can’t and I also know what they tend to pay for that content.  Successfully selling a film internationally involves a lot of highly specialized skills most filmmakers simply do not possess.  They’re the sort of skills that take decades to perfect.  So if you want your film to be truly exportable, then you should consider working with some partners to help you capture the foreign market.
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5. Marketing is Much More Effective with Multiple Partners.

Multiple voices pushing your film will do a lot more than yours alone.  Working with Producer’s Reps, International Sales Agents, and distributors will amplify your voice and help it rise above the white noise to really take your project to the next level.   Without multiple experienced partners helping spread the word about your film, it can cost significantly more to raise awareness of your film.

I get this is a lot. If you want to learn more about it, you should check out my FREE Indiefilm Resource Package. It includes an E-book, lots of form letters, tracking templates, and other templates to help you get in touch with traditional distributors, and a monthly blog digest that will help you better understand the industry and improve your knowledge base in a sustainable way.

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