The 3 Main Independent Distribution Models

We all know there’s more than one way to distribute a film.  What we might not think about is that there’s also a lot more to your independent film distribution choice than the self or traditional binary pervasive across many online forums and social media groups.  Here’s a breakdown to help filmmakers better understand the companies that are involved in distributing their indie films, and the broad business models they operate under so you can make a more informed choice.  

High Touch / Prestige Releasing

What we all want, A24, Sony Pictures Classics, Focus Features, etc.  These are the companies that release at most 1-2 films per month and generally have some degree of limited theatrical baked into the deal.  They give a lot of time and attention to every release, and they’re exceptionally picky about what product they take.  Most of the time you’ll need strong recognizable names or a top 5 world film festival to capture their attention.  Even then it’s far from a guarantee that you’ll be able to attract this level of attention. Sometimes you can sneak in through a sales agent who has a relationship but even then you’ll need a superior product to have a shot. 

The pros of this should be obvious.  Getting a distribution deal from one of these entities is a game changer for both you and your film.  If you can say that a major studio released your last film, you’ll be in a much better position to fund your next film.  They’ll put lots of time, effort, and money into promoting it as well, or at least more than every other type of company on this list.  You’ll probably even get a reasonably sized minimum guarantee out of the deal. 

There are downsides though.  The downside on the filmmaker side is that more than likely the MG is all you’ll ever see.  Even the Blair Witch Project had to go to court with a copy of Time Magazine proclaiming the film to be the most profitable film of all time to receive royalty payments from their distributor.  Unfortunately, most of us are not Blair Witch.  

On the distributor side, this model is extremely risky if you don’t have the backing of another revenue source or deep institutional investment.  Essentially, if you don’t have either of those forms of backing it only takes one flop to through the company into financial disarray.  Unfortunately, this means that we probably won’t be seeing too many companies enter at this level in the near future unless they’re spinoffs of larger tech, media, or maybe even retail companies.  

Hybrid Releasing / Producer Boosting

In this model, the distributor or sales agent relies on producers to handle the legwork on marketing providing assets and support in getting the film out there.  The key here is to view the work as a partnership, with the distributors handling assets, access, and amplification of the producer’s efforts while the producers handle the grind that’s involved with engaging the core niche audience of a film without doubling the production budget in ad spends.  

The benefits of this model on the filmmaker's end are that it allows the distributor to offer a much lower commission and significantly lower recoupable expenses.  If the company is extremely filmmaker-friendly, they’ll also pay out the filmmakers on a distributor gross corridor so that the filmmakers will receive money from the first dollar in.  This is the model I personally developed and implemented at Mutiny Pictures.  We paid filmmakers in line with the Mutiny Commission at the same rate as the Mutiny commission.  The only things that came out first were uncapped expenses for things like DCPs, special delivery costs, and legal expenses.  As such, the vast majority of our filmmakers received a check in their first report.  

For distributors, the upside of this model is that it allows the distributor to run a leaner operation while releasing 2-3 times more films than the high-touch model.  This allows distributors to take bigger bets on a-typical releases as they’re more likely to have their bases covered by the fact that statistically at least 1 in 10 films will break out when they’re properly managed.  A well-run distribution company that’s out of its initial revenue lag will be able to support itself on one breakout every two or three months, so long as they don’t overstaff.  

The Drawback of this is that it’s less likely a distributor or sales agent will be willing to offer a minimum guarantee on this model.  There are a few reasons for this, the primary being that the only companies really pursuing this model are smaller and younger and thus don’t have the backing of a large catalog consistently churning revenue.  Given that situation, it would be too big of a risk for them to offer an MG they would not be able to cover with a guaranteed sale.  The secondary reason may be that if it really is a partnership, filmmakers receiving a check early on may limit their willingness to help promote their own film.  I’ve had that happen a lot.

This model is my personal favorite, but it’s not ideal.  In an ideal world, filmmakers would be able to focus on making their next film after they deliver their first one for distribution.  Unfortunately, that’s not the world we find ourselves in.  

Shlock-Gunning / Aggregation++

Throw it out there and see what sticks.  This would include aggregators, and companies like indie rights or Filmhub, but also could include other indie labels that put out too many films a year with relatively high expenses that don’t put too much effort into selling them.  Basically, they, throw everything at a wall and see what sticks.  

I want to be clear that in the case of some companies like IndieRights or FilmHub, this model is not necessarily a bad thing for filmmakers.  Filmhub would probably not like that I’m saying this, but in general, I use them as an alternative to traditional aggregators like BitMax, Quiver, or even Distribbr.  Of any company on the shlock-gunning list, I’d say my favorite is Filmhub as they’ve found an ethical and economical way of monetizing their wide access to AVOD, FAST Channels, and TVOD platforms.  

The issue with this model is when it’s not properly disclosed.  If your distributor is giving you the high touch or the hybrid pitch but then unceremoniously dropping your film it’s a problem.  To be clear, platforms don’t always tell distributors exactly when a film will show up, so sometimes there’s a bit of this that’s unavoidable.  I would share some names of companies I know that use these tactics, but they can get a little nasty at markets given most companies would take umbrage at this sort of accusation.  One way to suss them out is their volume of releases.  If they distribute more than one film per week, you might well be dealing with a schlock-gunner.  

I might discuss the matter in future unrecorded live streams, and if you want access to those check out my mailing list, Patreon, and sub stack, all linked below. 

Thanks so much for reading, and check back next week for more.

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What you CAN and CAN’T negotiate in an Indiefilm Distribution Deal

A HUGE part of my job as a producer’s rep has been to negotiate with sales agents and distributors on a filmmaker’s behalf.  While I happen to think my contracts are exceptionally fair, most filmmakers tend to do some level of negotiation.  However, others can overplay their hands and lose interest.  I’ve checked up on some of the ones that did, and they didn’t make it anywhere.  So, no matter who you intend to negotiate with here’s a list of what tends to be possible to negotiate.  

One thing to keep in mind is your position as a filmmaker.  Distributors tend to have more power in this negotiation.  Filmmakers do still have power, as you own your film, but it’s important to keep in mind that in many circumstances, they’ll have significantly more options than you will. 

It’s also important to note that these contracts are only as good as the people and companies you’re dealing with.  So vetting them is important.  The link below has more information on that.  

Related: How to vet your sales agent distributor.

There are of course exceptions to these rules, but you knowing the general rules will help. Those exceptions are directly tied to the quality and marketability of your film.  

What you CAN negotiate

These are things you CAN negotiate, within reason.

Exclusions

Distribution deals are all about rights transfers and sales.   In general, you can negotiate a few exclusions to keep back and sell yourself.  It’s important to note that you shouldn’t try for too many of these though, as the distributor needs to be able to recoup what they put into your film.  Here are some of the common ones

• Crowdfunding fulfillment

• Website sales

• Tertiary regions the film was shot in.  

In general, all rights are given exclusively, but crowdfunding fulfillment might need to be carved out so you can fulfill your obligations to your backers.  I’ve never had trouble with this one.  

Generally, it’s wise to retain the right to sell your film transactionally through your own website using a platform like Vimeo OnDemand or Vimeo OTT.  Distributors tend not to utilize these platforms, so they generally won’t have an issue with it so long as they get advisement on release timing AND it’s only available on said platform transactionally.  That is to say, people must pay to purchase or rent the film.

If the film was shot in a very minor territory like the Caribbean, Paraguay, parts of Africa, or maybe parts of the Philippines, it might be possible for you to retain those territories and sell the film yourself.  Be careful with how many of those you do.  

Marketing Oversight (Home Territory)

Pretty much no matter what territory you’re from, you have some pretty meaningful ability to negotiate additional marketing oversight.  This is not an unlimited right, however, and it’s common that final say will remain with the sales agent or distributor.  It’s important to do your diligence on how they’ve used that oversight in the past.  

Term (To an extent)

If a Distributor or sales agent brings you an agreement with a 25-year term and no MG, walk away.  If a Distributor tries to get a 12-15 year term, try to get them down to 10.  That’s the industry standard for what we work on. 

Exit Conditions (to Some Extent)

You need to make sure that you have aa route out if things go sideways.  In general, you need a bankruptcy exit, and I would push for an option to exit on acquisition of the distributor, or if a key person leaves.  

What you CAN’T GENERALLY negotiate
(but should probably look out for)

Here’s what you generally can’t negotiate.  There are exceptions to how much you can negotiate this, but no matter what these are things you need to fully understand.  

The Payment Waterfall

I wrote about the waterfall fairly extensively in the related blog linked below.  The biggest issue is that most distributors start taking their commissions BEFORE they recoup their expenses.  I understand how and why they do it, but it’s generally not the best.  

The biggest negotiation you MIGHT be able to get is what’s known as a producer’s corridor, which effectively helps you get a small amount of money from the first sale.  Generally you’ll be placed (essentially) in line with the distributor or sales agent, which means it will take significantly longer for them to recoup their expenses.  That said, any way you slice those numbers, you still get paid more.  

Related: Indiefilm Distribution Payment Waterfalls 101

Related: The Problem with the Film Distribution Payments  

Recoupable Expenses

Recoupable expenses are money a distributor or sales agent invest into the marketing of your film.  They generally have to get this back before paying you.  The exception above is notable.  Generally, there is little ability to negotiate this but you should make sure you get the right to audit at least once per year.

Related: What is a Recoupable Expense in Indiefilm Distribution

Payment Schedule

The payment schedule is how often you receive Both a report and a check.  In general, they start out quarterly and move to semi-annually over 2 years.  There are exceptions, some of my buyers report monthly.  However, in general, after 2 years most of the revenue has been made, and the reports will continue to get smaller and smaller. 

DON’T EVEN BRING THESE ONES UP

These are issues you just can’t bring up.  The distributor might walk away if you do.  

Their Commission

Don’t bring up the sales agent’s commission.  You probably don’t have the negotiating power to alter it beyond the corridor I mentioned above.

EXCLUSIVITY

I wrote a whole blog about this linked below, but the basics of it are that we’re essentially dealing with the rights to infinitely replicate media broken up by territory and media right type.  The addition of exclusivity is the only way to limit the supply, which is the only reason the rights to the content have any value at all.  

DIRECT ACCESS TO THEIR CONTACTS.  

These contacts are generally very expensive to acquire, and the entire business model of the sales agent or distributor relies on maintaining good relationships with them. No distributor is ever going to give this to you. They’ll get very annoyed about you even asking.   

Thanks so much for reading!  If you think that this all sounds like a bit much, and would rather have help negotiating, check out Guerrilla Rep Media’s services which include producer’s representation.   your film using the button below. If you need more convincing, join my email list for free educational and news digests and resources on the entertainment business which include an investment deck template, a contact tracking template to help you keep track of the distributors you’re talking to, and a whole lot more.  

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How COVID-19 Affected the Indie Film Industry

Many Filmmakers, like everyone else affected by COVID-19, are itching for some level of a return to normalcy.  Unfortunately, like many others think that there may never be a full return to normal.  It may well end up as a pre-COVID and a Post COVID period.  Similar to how the world changed before and after the great depression, 9/11, The internet, or World War II.  Societal traumas tend to leave lasting scars, and that tends to effect the market as a whole and certain industries in meaningful ways.  So let’s look at what one executive producer thinks is likely to happen in the film industry as a result.

2023 Update: I put some self-reflection on this blog commenting on how I think my predictions were, and adding more context to what’s happening in 2024 and beyond.

1. The Majors will bounce back quickly

Historically, the film is industry mildly reversely dependent on the economy.  It remains one of the cheapest ways to get out and one of the best ways for families to bond while in isolation.  The most unpredictable part about this recession’s likely impact on the film industry is the much greater presence of free or cheap entertainment options available right now as compared to the past. 

In any case, A significant amount of the pain that’s likely to be felt from this crash is going to be on the lower end of the spectrum.  Right now many of the major studios are already gearing up for their next projects since the projects they have will either be released ahead of schedule while people are quarantined or they’ll need to find alternative release plans. 

2023 Update: This was right. The majors bounced back quickly. They may not bounce back as quickly from the strikes though.

2. Freelancers will be hurt in the short term.

There’s no sugarcoating this.  Freelancers are going to be hurt in the short term.  Government stimulus may help, but won’t solve the issue.  If you’re in a position to help out by hiring someone to help with your web maintenance or other jobs they can do in isolation, you should do so. 

As this crisis continues to drag on, it’s really important we band together as a community and help each other to get work made, even if it ends up making many of us less money than it normally would. 

2023 Update: I was wrong, it wasn’t just freelancers that were hurt. As Aide dries up we’re likely to see a lot more pain on the lower 3 quintiles of the economic spectrum. I think this will hurt the entertainment industry as we’re a mass-market product that still only makes significant margins from transactional sales. I’m not sure film is still reversely dependent on the economy, and I’d write a blog about it if someone comments.

3. SVOD Surge

Given people are going to be locked at home with less money than normal and lots of time, we can expect to see viewership and subscriptions to Subscription Video on Demand platforms go up significantly.  Not all of these new subscribers will cancel when we return to the new normal.  I’m not the only one seeing this, it looks like development and acquisitions are on the rise form many of these people. 

It’s very possible that the balance of power between distributors and creators could see a minor shift in the coming months as distributors are going to need more content and the current embargo on production in many states, regions, and territories might cut down on the glut of content that’s been driving down acquisition prices recently. ​

2023 Update: The consolidation in streaming platforms ended up keeping license fees for the major streamers as low as they were pre-pandemic. It’s unlikely that trend will get much better any time soon.

4. AVOD Surge

Given the general financial issues that were facing the majority of Americans prior to this recession, many may seek to cut recurring subscription services.  This may well give rise to AVOD platforms like TubiTV and PlutoTV.  I bet Fox is really happy that they bought Tubi right about now. 

2023 Update: This was very much true, but the amount of consolidation in the AVOD space is looking like there will be a royalty cut due in part to advertisers tightening their belts. This will cause a lot of problems for indie productions.

5. TVOD Plummets

Transactional VOD hasn’t been healthy for quite a while.  If people are hurting for money, it’s unlikely they’ll continue to buy movies one at a time when there are so many films that are available for free or with a low subscription cost.  This might not happen immediately, but as the crisis wears on and belts get tighter the TVOD crunch might well continue to worsen. 

2023 Update: This one was right on the money. IT’s a rough time for micro-budget films outside of SVOD and AVOD.

6. ​Presale Surge

Given that we’re likely to see a surge in demand for content right as equity markets are drying up we may well see a surge in presales from distributors in order to fill the gap.  This is somewhat speculative, but there is ample historical precedent, most recently in 2008 after the economic meltdown.  However, it should be noted this can only go so far given production embargos. 

2023 Update: Presales did surge, and they’re still growing for small and midsize films. I’m negotiating a few right now.

7. Theaters may fold at a high rate

Theaters have been in trouble for quite a while.  Independent theaters have been very hard hit, but even giants like AMC may end up closing many of their locations instead of re-opening them.  The possible Amazon Acquisition of AMC is really quite interesting for the entire landscape. Drive-throughs also seem to be seeing a bit of a resurgence.

​2023 Update: Some indies folded, the chains largely survived, although some smaller chains took a haircut. Luckily, theatrical exhibition is still around.

8. Rise of legal simulstreaming

People are feeling lonely and isolated.  Film is an inherently social medium.  Given we can’t go to the theater as we did before, we might end up seeing the rise of simulcasts for consumers to watch content with their friends.  This is something that happened with the Netflix computer App, and Alamo Drafthouse starting virtual streamings limited to certain territories is quite an interesting development. 

2023 Update: Sadly I was wrong about widespread simulstreaming, but I am aware that it happened with families via zoom a lot at peak quarantine.

9. Death of DVD greatly Hastened

It’s no secret that physical media (DVD/Blu-Ray) has been in trouble for a while now.  Now that it’s been confirmed COVID-19 can live on plastic (like a DVD case) for several days, I can see consumers being even more hesitant to buy movies like this when there are so many options available on Streaming for free. 

2023 Update: I was right about this one, although there’s a bit of a nostalgic re-emergence of rental stores going on so there may still be a very limited niche market for physical media.

10. Easier Microbudget sales for a time.

I’ll end on a cheerier note for Most of my readers.  Acquisitions seem to be picking up since so many catalogs are being watched much more quickly than originally expected.  This spells an opportunity for many filmmakers.  

2023 Update: It was easy for a little bit, but the WGA (And probably SAG) strike may still represent an opportunity for micro-budget filmmakers. That said, I stand in solidarity with the Union and I think the cause is just, but I don’t really think micro-budget films are similar enough to be called competition, so let’s get those low-budget films out there so we can swell the ranks of the guilds.

If you want someone to help you sell your movie, track down a presale, or strategize how to market your movie Check out Guerrilla Rep Media Services below.

Also If you’re not convinced about Guerrilla Rep Media Services yet, grab my Free Film Business Resource pack for an ebook, a whitepaper, an investment deck template, and a whole lot more.

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18 Steps to GROW your Filmmaking from Shorts to Features

Every filmmaker wants to see their work on the big screen.  However, given the state of the indie film theatrical market, very few filmmakers can pull it off outside of the festival circuit.  Especially for their first films.   It requires a lot of skill, and an idea that appeals to a wide audience, ideally an audience you already have an in with.  So how do you scale your films to that point?  Well, this blog can get you started.

In order to get a theatrical run for your film in today’s day and age, you need a distinctive voice, flawless technical execution, great writing, an audience you know how to reach, and some level of recognizable name talent.  But those things don’t come cheap.  Here’s a roadmap starting with what you can start as soon as you finish reading this blog. 

1. WATCH A LOT OF MOVIES.

I know, this is about filmmaking, but in order to develop your voice you need to consume the work of others.  If you consume the work of others, you’ll find things to emulate.  There’s no reason not to do this.  Many professional filmmakers I know try to watch 2 movies they have not seen a week and at least 2 movies they have seen in order to revisit and better understand the craft. 

2. MAKE SHORTS AS QUICKLY AND CHEAPLY AS YOU CAN

In order to develop both your Voice and your skills, you need to churn out some content.  Assuming you’re working full-time, you may want to try to make 12 limited to no budget shorts in a year.  One per month.  This will let you hone your skills and develop your work.  Don’t spend any money on this. 

3. GET CRITIQUE ON YOUR WORK.

The Filmmakers Subreddit as well as many groups on Facebook offer the ability to share your work for the purpose of critique.  Getting critique from other filmmakers will help you both develop your network, as well as your skills.  This can be a tricky prospect, but I've seen some decent feedback happening on the R/Filmmakers Subreddit.

4. SCALE UP FOR A BIG SHORT.

Now that you’ve honed your craft and developed your voice, you should try to make something of a calling card.  This time, instead of spending a month on it, spend 3 months on it.  Limit yourself to a few locations, but get a bigger crew and spend a little money on this.  Continue to grow your presence on social media while you’re at it.

5. SUBMIT THAT SHORT TO FESTIVALS TO BUILD YOUR BRAND.

You need more than rapid iterations to scale your brand.  You also need validation.  Start submitting to local fests so you can attend them and build your network.  As you’re submitting, make sure to continue to build your brand and your engagement on social media.  Do everything you can to get press once you get into festivals.  You probably won’t get major press, but you should definitely reach out to the smaller local papers. 

RELATED - 6 Rules for contacting Press 

6. START WRITING YOUR FIRST FEATURE, WEB SERIES, OR OTHER SALABLE PRODUCT.

As you’re doing this, start fleshing out the concept for something bigger. Something more than skill building.  Something you can actually sell.

7. AFTER YOUR FESTIVAL RUN IS DONE, DO ONE LAST SHORT.

This one is for all the marbles.  Make the short in the same genre and generally same feel as your feature.  It doesn’t have to be a proof of concept short, or the short to get the feature financed, it has to show you can pull off a feature.  Spend between 3 and 6 months making it perfect. 

8. SUBMIT THE FILM TO GENRE FESTIVALS AND BIGGER FESTIVALS.

Now that you’ve got what will (hopefully) be your last ever short, time to start making relevant contacts in the corner of the industry you seek to inhabit.  Submit your film to the relevant festivals, including one or two big ones then finish your big project script.

9. CROWDFUND YOUR NEXT BIG THING.

Yeah yeah yeah.  I know everyone hates crowdfunding.  However, if you do it right, you can fund a large portion of your movie for free, and get a huge piece of validation to help you, close distributors and investors.

10. SHOOT AND EDIT A FEATURE FILM

Expect this to take a year, but make sure you finish it well and in a technically adept way so that you can get distribution.

11. SUBMIT THE FILM TO ALL THE FESTIVALS YOU GOT INTO BEFORE, PLUS THE MAJORS

The reason you did your last two festivals was to make contacts, time to start calling them in.  Submit your film, and travel to all the ones you can.  Only wait for one major before giving your premier to a tier 2 festival. 

12. GET DISTRIBUTION FOR YOUR FEATURE OR WEBSERIES

This product won’t do you much good if no one can buy it.  Distribution is hard though and it helps to have good people on your team.  If you’re already here, check out my submissions portal through the button below.

13. MARKET YOUR WORK

After the festival run is done, make sure you work with your distributor market your movie. If they’ll let you this process will take a while

14. REPEAT STEPS 9-13

Make another feature.  If you can, double the budget.  Go back to the same people you worked with before if you liked them and they did well. ​

15. MAKE A BRAND FOR YOUR COMPANY

You should also consider monetizing your intellectual property in another way, like starting to brand your production company by creating T-Shirts for your crews, and other perch for your friends.

RELATED: 4 Reasons Niche Marketing is VITAL to your Indiefilm Success

16. HELP OTHERS MAKE THEIR FIRST FEATURE

If you want to be successful you’ll need to have a strong network and weird considerable influence.  No one can survive as an island in this industry, and helping others build their resumes and work can pay huge dividends.
​

17. GET AN AGENT, OR REPEAT STEPS 9-13

If you want to scale up, you’ll need help.  An agent can help you immensely.  You’ll need to live in a hub to get one, or at least have a MAJOR win at some film festivals. 

18.  RINSE AND REPEAT STARTING WITH STEP 9. 

Unfortunately, there isn’t a single roadmap to make this work. No one could give an 18-step process for foolproof success in any industry, and the film industry is particularly tricky.

The best we can do is more a flowchart and a series of steps until you can catch a big break. The real key is making a sustainable life while you wait for that break. It’s not easy, but it can be possible.   

If you liked this, share it. It helps a lot.  Also, sign up for my mailing list to get a bunch of free goodies including an ebook, whitepaper, investment deck template, festival brochure template, and a whole lot more. Get it today!

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How Independent Filmmakers can THRIVE in the current distribution Marketplace.

To cap off my first-ever distribution month, I thought I’d talk a little bit about where Independent Film Distribution is heading.  Markets are going to be a big center of commerce for the film industry for a few years, but they’re going to continue to wane for the truly independent filmmakers, which means one of the biggest areas for entry for filmmakers is likely to go away.  With the fall of Distribber, and how Amazon looks like it’s going to scale back its filmmaker direct distribution programs there’s only one real path left for filmmakers.  That path is to build an audience that’s highly engaged with your content and distribute not only your film to them but other products related to your Intellectual property (IP.)

BUILD AN ENGAGED AUDIENCE

The first step in this (as I’ve brought up in at least half of the blogs this month…) is to build a highly engaged audience and following.  This is something that Youtubers have become fantastic about.  You have to have lots of touch points with your audience and provide them a perspective that they emote with but can’t find anywhere else.  By that I mean…

Create Niche Content that speaks to an underserved audience

With a massive glut of generalized content, You have to identify an underserved niche and start to make authentic, high-quality content that speaks specifically to a small niche of people.  This turns the old TV model on its head, instead of being a 6/10 for 10 people, you need to be a 10/10 for 2 people, and budget your film in such a way that you can keep your business afloat on the revenue from that much smaller audience.  Luckily, when you do this you’ll be able to successfully sell the film, as you won’t be competing as directly with outlets with huge, bland libraries. 

Think less about the format

Movies don’t just have to be 90-minute feature films any more.  If you can establish a following, keep content coming in the form of shorts, webseries, and features.  Don’t spend more time on them than you have to, but make sure that you continue to release new content to engage with your audience. 

Sell Merchandise

Once you have a dedicated following, think about ancillary ways you can monetize your brand and your content.  Bands sell T-Shirts at their shows as their primary source of revenue, and film trends tend to follow about 5-10 years behind the music industry.  You have to start building ways to monetize your Intellectual Property and your Brand beyond simply selling your movie at 3.99 a pop. 

Community Screenings

Theatrical releases are not cost-effective for many filmmakers.  Instead, you can focus on building community screenings that give your core audience a place to congregate, and if you organize them well they can also be a great place to sell merch. It’s also a great place for you as the filmmaker to Skype in and answer questions directly. 

Create Custom Experiences around your IP

Mark Cuban (former owner of Landmark Theaters and Shark on Shark Tank) is fairly well known for saying this is the future of entertainment.  It’s not always easy for Indies to commute in this space, but if you’re releasing a horror film you might consider a themed haunted house as part of a release or as part of a community screening.  There are other ways to make this work in conjunction with your core IP, but it’s difficult to scale and tends to be a custom solution for each film.

​​Thanks so much for reading!  This blog is something of a mix between a distribution blog and something to make you think a little bit more like an entrepreneur.  If you like this sort of content, make sure you come back in February for Entrepreneurship Month.  If you don’t want to miss it, make sure you subscribe to my mailing list or check out my Youtube Channel.  If you want to be extra awesome, throw me a few bucks on Patreon. Links below.

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Can Independant Filmmakers Survive the Streaming Wars?

It’s no longer a controversial statement that streaming has changed the whole game for independent film distribution.  It hasn’t been controversial for quite a while.  However, it is becoming apparent that not only has streaming changed the game, it might as well have become the game, at least here in the US.  That’s not really a good thing for Indies.  Here’s why.

Streaming has made such a vast library of content available people don’t need to buy movies.

The biggest reason that Subscription Video On Demand streaming has engulfed the entire media landscape is that it’s put a giant library of films at the fingertips of anyone for only around 6-15 bucks a month for most platforms.  It’s putting entire on-demand catalogs that are even more convenient than owning a film on DVD.

It wasn’t so big a threat when there were only a few companies in the space, but once HBO blew the doors open with the launch of HBO NOW the writing was on the wall for those of us paying attention.  We all knew that Disney and Warner would follow.  With Disney+ putting a gigantic pile of legacy content on their platform, it’s going to get harder and harder for independent films to compete.

Physical Media used to be the primary way people could watch films when they felt like it.

It used to be that licensing a film to A TV station was pretty lucrative, and didn’t really affect your physical media sales.  In fact, it often increased them.  People didn’t want to have to wait around for your film to screen if they liked it, so they bought the disk.  Yet SVOD companies license a film, and for the term of the license their subscribers can just watch the film wherever, whenever they want. 

This level of convenience has made it significantly more difficult for filmmakers and distributors to sell content for a transactional fee which has a much higher margin per unit sold.  When Netflix started the game, it was still just one platform, and many people didn’t have the level of internet needed to stream without a significant amount of lag.  This result often ends up that filmmakers and distributors are left with whatever the license fee for each film is, and will see little to no revenue beyond those licenses.

It basically means that not only is streaming taking up a much bigger part of a given film’s revenue mix, it’s also shrinking the pie. 

With so many platforms and so much content, there must be lots of licenses and acquisitions being made though, right?

It depends on how you’re looking at it.  Sure, these platforms are creating massive amounts of content, and acquiring still more.  However, the price they tend to pay for acquisition is lower than you’d think, and some of the terms tend to be a bit unreasonable.  For originals, it’s a long road requiring a strong package that 95% of filmmakers will never reach. 

You might think that many new platforms are going to be looking to make even more original content in order to make sure subscribers keep paying for their content.  There’s some truth to that, but the problem is that there are so few outlets likely to survive the streaming wars that the system of gatekeepers that the streamers were supposed to break may become even fewer than they were before. 

The big problem here is that there are A LOT of these same sorts of platforms seeking the attention of an oversaturated audience and market.  The impact is that there’s a lot less money to go around for indies, and much of the consumer base is just subscribing to a few services, and not buying a lot outside of that.  So unless a filmmaker has a strong engaged audience, they’re not going to be able to compete. 

Essentially, the SVOD wars intensify the problem creators have been facing for several years, and that’s the fact that while anyone can get their film out there, getting anyone to see it is an entirely different matter. ​

It all comes back to audience engagement.

This comes back to one thing. Build and engage with your audience, and create content that speaks to them on a deep level. It needs to evoke an emotion or speak to an experience that no one else can. In order to succeed, we Indies need to defragment our market and find our tiny place in it. We don’t need to be 8 people’s 6/10, we need to be 2 people’s 10/10.

Thanks for reading. This one was more of a think piece than my general practical advice. Let me know what you thought about it in the comments. If you like this and want more, please consider joining my mailing list, you’ll also get a great film business resource pack that includes templates, a free ebook, a whitepaper, and more!

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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 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.

5 Ideas For Email List Giveaways for Indie Filmmakers

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

1. An unreleased short film

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

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

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

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

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

3. Behind the Scenes featurettes.

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

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

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

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

5. Concept art and Character Bios from the film.

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

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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.
​

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.

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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. 
​

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.
​
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. ​
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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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What platforms should I release my movie on?

I’ve stepped into the world of direct US Distribution and even ran a US Distributor that released around 50 titles ahead of being acquired by a larger company. This is primarily due to things I’ve learned from several other US Releases I’ve overseen as a Producer’s Rep.  One of the most common questions I get is what platforms to release a film on.  So, instead of answering the same thing over and over, I’ve decided to put my thoughts into a blog.

When answering this question, the biggest questions you have to ask yourself are what platforms are likely to yield the highest return.  I know that’s obvious, but it’s not as easy to find that information as you would think.  A lot of TVOD (Transactional Video On Demand) Sales are in the toilet, and it’s surprisingly common for filmmakers not to make their money back.

So all of that being said, here are the platforms I’ve had the best luck with so far.  This is all through a very narrow lens, of films I’ve represented, but it’s information straight from the horse’s mouth.  

Vimeo on your Website

No matter what your distribution deal is, you’re going to want to hold back the right to sell the film yourself through Vimeo on your website.  You may have to work on the timing of this with your distributor due to piracy reasons, but it is something that you need to know. 

This gives you the ability to sell your film no matter what happens with your distribution deal and guarantees you can make yourself some level of return, even if it’s tiny. It’s extremely high touch and has no meaningful metric of discovery.

Cable TVOD

Cable TVOD platforms are essentially the grandchild of the Pay Per View us older millennials and Gen Xers grew up with.  These are the rentals you can get directly from your Cable box.  These tend to convert at pretty decent numbers since people who actually still have cable packages have the money to rent movies through their system and often do.

From what I’ve seen, InDemand from Comcast pays out the best, followed by DirectTV’s rental system. 

Where you get placed in these systems can greatly impact how much you make from them, so if you can get yourself a 7-10 city theatrical run you’re going to be in a much better place. 

In terms of how long you can expect your film to be tied up there, normally these licenses last at least 6 months, often up to 2 years, or whenever the provider feels like taking them down.​ This is also something you probably need a distributor to do for you, as most aggregators release too much content to be able to place on these platforms reliably.

iTunes / AppleTV (no +)

Next up is iTunes.  If you’re releasing your film, you need to get it on iTunes.  This is partially due to it remaining one of the best selling TVOD platforms, but also because it’s the most technically stringent for you to get on.  If you can make it on iTunes, you can make it anywhere. 

Often that’s the real reason that aggregators put iTunes as the first required platform on the list, and then give you discounts to other outlets.   

So long as you’ve got a good marketing plan, you’ll generally at least make your aggregation investment back from iTunes.  I know that’s not saying a lot, but it’s a start, and there are many platforms where that’s not true.

Note from the future: Since iTunes Rebranded to AppleTV, it’s not putting up anywhere near the numbers it used to. It’s been entirely surpassed by Amazon.

Google Play

While Google Play may seem like it’s the equal opposite of iTunes, in practice it doesn’t pan out this way.  Part of the reason could be the greater market penetration of Apple TVs, or it could be that people who buy apple products tend to have the expendable income to buy movies, or it could be something else entirely.  While I can’t say why with any certainty, I can say that you should give google play a miss. That said, Google Play gets you on the next platform, so why not. Also, as mentioned above Apple just doesn’t perform as well as it used to since the rebrand.

​YouTube TVOD (YouTube Movies)

If your film is targeted more towards millenials, you may want to consider making it available on YouTube.  The numbers out of YouTube TVOD can be surprisingly good, often rivaling iTunes if the film is targeted towards Millenials.  This probably has something to do with the fact that you don’t have to leave the platform you’ve hosted the trailer on.  This one tends to perform second best on films I’ve released.

Fandango Now

If your film had any level of a theatrical release, you should consider fandango now.  The numbers tend to be pretty good.

If you haven’t had a theatrical release, discoverability on the platform can be lacking, but since they merged with Vudu it’s probably worth the fee if you end up on both.

Gaming Systems

Honestly, I haven’t had much luck with the direct TVOD sales through Xbox One and PS4.  I personally wouldn’t bother with them.  If your content is oriented towards 15-24-year-old males, or has some tie-in to video game culture then it might be worth trying, but in general it’s hard to even make back your aggregation fees. 

Note from the future: This isn’t as easy as it once was. Your best bets are YouTube and the next one on this list.

Amazon

DEFINATELY put your film on Amazon.  In my time running Mutiny, it accounted for a majority of sales despite the fact we released films to around 6-8 platforms.

I’d recommend doing it in two stages, first, as a TVOD/MOD (Manufacture on Demand) DVD release in line with your other TVOD releases, and second as an SVOD (Subscription Video on Demand) release through Amazon Prime. 

Note from the future: too bad you can’t do this anymore. Use an aggregator to get on Tubi, Vudu, and Pluto instead.

Once you get it set up on Amazon Prime, you’d be surprised how quickly Prime will overshadow the rest of your VOD sales.  Generally, waiting 3 months for prime as a window is about right, just to make sure you get the most you can out of your other TVOD outlets. 

You won’t have to take them down for prime, but you will see the sales figures drop steadily once the film is free to watch on a service pretty much everyone has. 

That said, it will be much easier to get people to watch the film once it’s free on Amazon Prime.  Once it’s set to go live, make sure you get AT LEAST 5 friends to watch it ALL THE WAY THROUGH and rate it.   If they do, it serves as a recommendation to Amazon’s Algorithm and it recommends the film to up to 100 more people you don’t know.

Whether or not you work with a distributor, getting your film out there is a lot of work. It’s also not something that film schools tend to teach as well as they should. That’s why I developed this free Film Marketing Resource package. It’s got a monthly content digest full of useful articles just like this one, as well as templates to help you contact distributors, raise money from investors, and market your film at festivals. Get it for free by clicking below.

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