How an Audience Buys Indie Movies

AKA The Indiefilm Purchase Process

If you want to understand how best to market something, you need to first understand the steps that a customer would take in buying it.  This isn’t just true for film, it’s true for everything any entrepreneur might want to sell.  It’s called the purchase process or purchase cycle. Here’s what it looks like for film.

I’ll start out by saying this is primarily for independent films, and the prioritization is centered around independent films where the customer doesn’t know the creator.   This process is meant to start when they see your film on a platform.  There’s a chance they might have heard of the press or on social media before that point, or that you directly lead them to that link.  If that’s the case, the only thing it really changes is that they’ll be more likely to buy the film in fewer steps due to the relationship you built with that customer to get them there. 

This is more based on my general observations of myself and others. While I’d LOVE more of a data-backed approach to this, so far as I know none currently exists that’s available to the public. At least not as of the time I’m writing this.

This blog is focused on VOD content.  The process is similar regardless of whether or not the customer has to pay for your movie.  That said, it’s much easier to move your potential customer to the next step and to click the watch button if they don’t have to pay to watch it, because duh. 

Glimpse the KeyArt

Generally, the first interaction with your film will be your thumbnail key art, or in some cases the cover of your DVD.  If you don’t catch their interest on the thumbnail, they probably won’t move to the next steps in the purchase process. 

That said, there are a few exceptions here related to search filters for whatever VOD platform you’re watching the film on.  There’s a chance the customer will have heard of your film from a review site or general publicity before seeing the key art on the relevant platform, however, even if they have it’s not incredibly likely they’ll seek the film out.  However, It might make them more likely to proceed to the next step in the purchase process if they’ve heard of it before randomly seeing it. ​

This step is also quite important on platforms like youtube or Facebook when you’re marketing the film directly to your audience. 

Read Title

Second, if the poster caught the customer’s eye then they’ll read the title.  If the title is catchy, they’ll probably move on to the next step.  If it’s not, they might move on to the genre, but it won’t help the film close overall. 

Check Genre

This step might be bypassed due to search filters, or other parts of the discovery algorithm of whatever platform your customer is interacting with your content through.  If it’s free to watch, there’s a good chance that the customer will make their decision on this alone.  If they continue on the path to purchase, every step makes it more likely until they either buy/watch the film or don’t. 

Related: Why Genre is VITAL to Indiefilm Distribution

Check Platform Rating

Some consumers are really invested in what the algorithm of their favorite platforms thinks they’ll like.  Generally, it’s an early part of their decision as to whether or not they’ll watch a film, even if it’s only something like “We think it’s a 30% match vs a 90% match.  In this instance, it seems like low ratings mean a lot more than high ratings do. 
​

Read the (short) Synopsis

If they didn’t decide to make watch the film based on the information up until now, they read whatever description of the film is native on the site.  It’s important this be exciting and punchy, as it’s getting very close to the point where the customer will decide whether or not to buy your movie. 

Watch Trailer

If the platform the customer is watching your independent film on offers the ability to watch a teaser clip or trailer, your potential customer may watch it before they watch your independent movie.  Your distributor will probably re-cut it to make it punchy, but they may not if you made it well enough.  That’s what happened with Goodland.  (watch the Trailer)

Related: How to best COLLABORATE with your distributor to Market your MOVIE

Rotten Tomatoes/IMDb

After the genre, they’ll probably check the star rating for whatever platform they’re using. If they’re considering buying the content, they may check the Tomatometer or IMDb as well. A lot of platforms have at least one of those metrics native in the display right now.

All of that being said, reviews are still incredibly important, as they’ll help you reach new potential audience members, and if they heard of you before, they’re more likely to get past the first step or two in this process.

Thanks so much for reading! If you like this blog, you’ll probably like my other blogs. Sign up for my mailing list and you’ll get free monthly blog digests segmented by topic, and a great FREE set of resources, including a free e-book, free whitepaper, templates for investment decks and festival brochures, and a whole lot more!

Check the tags below for related content

How to get Short Film Distribution

I get A LOT of questions about how best to make money with short films.  It’s something that I think is inherently appealing to most filmmakers, to start making a little bit of passive income from every project they make.  Unfortunately, while possible, it’s not that easy, and the reasons why are relatively simple.

The root issue of why it’s hard to make money with shorts lies in basic economics.  There are far more shorts created o an annual basis than there is demand from those who are willing to pay for them.  Think about it, when’s the last time YOU paid to watch a short?  When was the last time you WATCHED a short on its own outside of a film festival or before a Pixar movie?  I might be wrong for you individually, but I’d bet that for most of you, there are crickets in the background while you try to remember when it happened.

If you’re reading this, you’re probably more likely to consume shorts so than a member of the general public.  According to the best available estimates I’ve been able to find, there are around 131,000 shorts produced every year in the US alone.  (The source for that is in a whitepaper in my resources section.) There just aren't enough people willing to spend money on these sorts of shorts.  That said, shorts have their purposes.  They can help you network, build your skills, or build your brand.  So with that in mind, here are the 7 ways to.

Also, yes.  I'm aware that there are a few sales agents who license shorts.  However, they're few and far between, and I don't see many people.  flocking to them.  

1. Use it to build your brand and your skills.  

First off, almost none of these ways to make money with your shorts are exclusive.  You can likely use more than one of them at the same time.  In fact, in many ways the more of these tactics you use the better it’s likely to be in terms of building your brand, as in order to have a meaningful brand, you must first have awareness of yourself and your work. 

Part of using your shorts to expand your brand is submitting it to festivals to see if you get in, and attending those festivals to get the most out of it. ​

Skill building is slightly outside the purview of how to make money with your shorts, but since you won't make money from a poorly executed feature, it's worth mentioning.  Shorts are great practice for you to grow your skills in whatever position you want to grow into.  

2. Use as a proof of concept for a feature.

One example of this working is the film Slingblade, which started with Billy Bob Thornton giving a riveting performance as the title character in a single location and largely a single shot.  That short then got into some major festivals, and was picked up and turned into a feature film.   

That said, this is much more the exception than the rule.  Most of the time people try to expand their short into a feature by approaching sales agents or studios, it doesn’t work.  The reason it’s as high as it is on this list is purely that when it does work, the value of it is huge. 
What would mean a lot more is if you can prove that there’s an audience for your work, which really ties back into #1. 

3. Sell it to a shorts program

PBS and a few others have short programs that will actually pay to license your short.  There are also several channels on youtube offering you “Exposure” for posting your video.  They keep the ad revenue of course.  There are brand-building advantages to doing this, as it can expose you and your work to an audience it would otherwise be difficult to reach, however, there’s not as many brand advantages as you might hope there are.  Additionally, you should not give these people the exclusive right to your short under any circumstances.

4. Put it on Amazon Prime and put considerable effort into promoting it.

As we mentioned earlier, it’s unlikely people are going to pay for your short.  #SorryNotSorry.  That said, if you can give them a way to watch it for free, then you might get something.  So you might want to try Amazon Prime. Sure you only get paid 6 cents per hour viewed, but if you happen to strike a chord and get caught up in their algorithm, it can lead to more money than you may be expecting.

Edit from the future: this sadly isn’t possible anymore.

5. Use it as an email capture giveaway.

If you’re starting to get a brand behind you, then you might want to keep some of your early shorts behind an email capture on your website.  This might also be a good place to keep some special features from your feature-length DVDs as few people tend to actually buy physical media anymore.  Using this as an incentive to join your email list can be a good way to grow your email list and expand engagement with your burgeoning community.  That being said, this is generally only advisable if you’ve already got some work and a brand under your belt. 

6. Put it on Youtube and put considerable effort into promoting it.

Starting a youtube channel is quite a lot of work. (I have no reason to know that mind, you) So doing it for a single short film isn’t going to give you a lot of traffic other than the traffic you specifically drive to it.  However, while you’re building a brand, it’s an absolute must to have it easy to find.  Vimeo has a much higher quality player, but the social features on YouTube are better.  That said, there’s not a lot of reason not to do both of them, as well as putting the film on Amazon Prime.  You probably won’t make much, but having it available in multiple places can help you build your brand more than you may think it would. 

7. Get your friends together, license their shorts, and sell your shorts as a package.

A huge drawback to marketing a single shot is the low return for the amount of effort it takes to capture the attention of people considering watching your project. So, it might make more sense to try to package your shorts with others to make the effort more worth your time. That being said, buyers at film markets have less than no interest in anthologies. As a result, neither do Sales agents. So if you do this, you’re likely in it on your own.

Thanks so much for reading!  If you enjoyed this blog, you should consider joining my email list for lots of free goodies including templates, an ebook, a whitepaper, and more. If you’re looking for direct guidance to take your project to the next level, Check out the Guerrilla Rep Media Services page. Links for both of those in the buttons below.

If you want more related content, check out the tags below!

One HUGE Don't When Dealing with Film Distributors

As with nearly anything in life, there are dos and don’ts when you; ’re dealing with your independent film distributor.  Also as with most things in life, there is (at least) one thing you can do that will irreparably harm your relationship with that distributor and might even result in legal action taken against you.  What is it? Read on to find out.

DON’T GO AROUND YOUR DISTRIBUTOR OR SALES AGENT TO SELL YOUR FILM

Once you sign with a producer’s rep, sales agent, or Distributor for your project, they have the right to negotiate on your behalf.  Many buyers won’t deal with filmmakers directly, so the point of contact will either be your producer’s rep or Sales agent. 

While most buyers will appreciate the filmmakers helping to push the film, they will not be so grateful for reaching out to the buyer directly about reports, or any other form of unapproved contact. 

This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t help promote your film in ways that it makes sense to do so.  See the blogs below for reasons why. 

Related: WHY you should help your distributor MARKET your MOVIE

Related: HOW to Best COLLABORATE your Distributor MARKET your Movie

The biggest takeaway for how to market your movie that you can take from the blog above is to only post approved links.  If you’re smart, you’ll also include Vimeo on Demand and Vimeo OTT as a holdback for you to sell the film through your own website.  Distributors tend not to utilize that right, so it’s generally something that you’ll be able to negotiate.  It’s included as a holdback in my standard template contracts for the filmmaker’s country of origin.  I do stipulate that it’s generally subject to advisement regarding the timing of the release.  

Another thing that you should be fine “selling” is whatever you need to fulfill any crowdfunding obligations like DVDs, Blu-Rays, and TVOD Screeners.  Although again, you should make sure to negotiate this into your distribution agreement.  That said, it’s never been an issue, although it might be subject to the same sort of advisement on timing as the Vimeo on Demand example above.

If you distributor does not agree to either of the stipulations above, you should consider walking.  Here are some tips on vetting your distributor/Sales agent, and producer’s rep.

Related: How to vet your distributor/Sales Agent

Related: How to Vet Your Producer’s Rep

The biggest thing you need to keep in mind is that no matter how much you disagree with the choices on artwork and marketing made by the distributor, you should not post any unauthorized sales links.  If you do, you could be putting yourself in a pretty massive legal liability. 
​
This one came out a little short, but thanks for reading anyway.  If you like it and want to see more content like this, you should join my mailing list.  You’ll get monthly blog digests segmented by topic, it’s like a short e-book in your inbox every month FOR FREE! You’ll also get access to my resources packet, which includes an actual e-book, whitepaper, several templates, and more!

Finally, if you’ve got a project you’d like a guiding hand through this process, I offer individual consultation, as well as consideration for my distribution, marketing, business planning, and financial services packets, use the submit your film button.  Thanks, and see you next week.

How best to COLLABORATE with your Distributor to Market your Movie

The Distributor’s job is largely to make your film available for sale and set it up in such a way that people are likely to buy it. Some will work to market your film, but most won’t.  Even when they do market your film, you helping market your work will make the marketing your distributor does much more effective.  However, there are some basic rules that you should follow to make sure everything goes as well.  

Quick disclaimer: This assumes that they'll work with you on it.  that's not always a safe assumption, although it should be something you talk about when you're in negotiations with your sales agent and distributor. 

1. COMMUNICATE with your distributor.

If you want your relationship with your distributor to be effective, then you need to lay out what you would define as success.  You should listen to when they need something from you, and work towards making it happen as quickly as possible.  Do what you can to help them promote your film. 

A lot of the communication with your distributor will likely be at the beginning of your relationship in closing the contract.  You can learn a lot about them through this process, but the most important thing to do before you sign is call 3 of their previous clients.  Here’s a link for more information about doing your due diligence. ​

Related: 5 Rules for vetting your Distributor/Sales Agent

Also, you might want to understand what a film distribution contract looks like to better facilitate that communication.  The blog below may help.

Related: The 7 Main Indiefilm Distribution Deal points

2. Make sure you ONLY sell the OFFICIAL links

Unless you redline the ability to sell your film through Vimeo through your own website, you should ONLY post the official sales links for your film that your distributor will set up.   Even if you have the right to sell the film through your own website, you should still at least occasionally post the distributor’s sales links.  Not only does it help keep your distributor happy, it also makes your film look bigger since its available in more places. 

3. Take as many interviews as you can, and seek them out where appropriate.

If you want to build a career in film, you will need to build a brand for yourself as a filmmaker.  A brand will help you engage with your community, find work, get more sales for the work you produce yourself, and can even help you finance your next project.  Getting Press will help you expand that brand.  It also helps raise awareness of your film, which in turn will help move more units or get more views and can create a positive feedback loop to help you build your career.  In essence, it’s the very definition of a win-win.

4. Keep your social media up to date!

If you’re building your social media right, then you’re going to have an engaged following interested to hear about progress and release updates for the film.  As such, whenever you have reason to update your community you should.  Not only does it help you move units, but it can also help you deepen the relationship with your community and customer base which can in turn help you make future projects more easily. 

5. Use Affiliate programs for better tracking and analytics

As something of a workaround, I use Amazon Affiliates with every film that I have on Amazon, primarily so that I can get more analytics more quickly. If you see Amazon banners on my sites or links from Amazon on my social media, it’s likely an affiliate link. While I don’t see who bought the film, I do get an idea of through which channel the film was purchased. This lets me hone the message for each platform as I can see what works and what doesn’t. I might write a blog specifically about this if someone requests it in the comments or on my Patreon.

Thanks so much for reading! If you want to know more, you should join my mailing list for blog digests of blogs just like this one as well as a great resource package that includes a free ebook, whitepaper, templates, and tons of other resources. That button is right below

I don’t just write about film distribution, I also do it. If you still need distribution, guidance, or sales estimates, documentation, or even just help to make a more marketable movie, for making your film. for your film, you should consider submitting it. That link is below the other button.

Check the tags below for free related content

Why you NEED to HELP your Distributor Market your Movie (If They'll Let You.)

If you think your work is over when you finish making your film, and someone will just give you a few hundred grand more than it cost to make it so you can make your next one then you’re in for a real wake-up call.  Sadly, there’s no money in making films, only in selling them, and the work of selling them is no longer solely on your distributor.  Or, at least you shouldn’t count on it being that way.  Here’s why.

But before we get started on that, it’s worth a few sentences analyzing the distribution and marketing are related, but NOT the same thing.  So what is the difference between film marketing, film sales, and film distribution?  The simplest way to put it is that Distribution is making your product available for sale, and marketing is convincing end consumers to buy it.  Sales is the process of getting it to the various distributors.  Now that that’s done, on to the topic at hand. 

Also, before we get started it’s important to note that not all distributors will accept your help.  Some control and participation in your home market should be part of your negotiation with your distributor if you’re dealing with them directly or your international sales agent if you’re not. 

1.More sales and more money for everyone!

If you want to make money from your film and have the distributor keep the marketing for the film intact, you’re going to have to give them a reason WHY they should listen to you.  As such, you’ll have to help push the film out there.  Also, after they recoup the money they put in, you will be taking the lion’s share of future sales, so it does have a dramatic impact on not only how much you get paid, but also how soon you get paid. 

Also: most distributors don’t do a lot beyond the initial publicity push.  If you want to continue sales and generate awareness of your movie, you’ll need to keep talking about it.

2. Marketing your work builds your brand

In the words of Alex Ferrari of Indie Film Hustle, "if you don't think you need a brand as a filmmaker, you're wrong.

​Generally, a brand is defined as every interaction you have with customers or potential customers.  So the first step in building your brand is building awareness of your work.  That means marketing your movies. 

Do make sure not to be spammy or a jerk about it though.  No one likes a jerk.  Unless you’re a wholesaler to the jerk store.  #DatedReferences

Related: 5 DOs and DON’Ts for selling your film online.

3. You’ll get a much deeper understanding of the process

If you want to make a career in film, you’ll need at least a cursory understanding of what it takes to sell a film, unfortunately, there’s no money in making films, only in selling them.  Getting a much better idea of how this process works will make it easier for you to make a salable film in the future. 

4. Helping Gives you a better idea of what’s going on with your movie

One of the biggest frustrations faced by many filmmakers is not understanding what’s going on with their films.  One of the best ways to stay in the loop is to help your distributor with marketing.  This can give you a lot more up-to-the-minute data that you can act on to make better marketing decisions and with luck get closer to creating a positive feedback loop of sales.  Admittedly, in the current system that’s A LOT of luck. 

5.  If you’re putting the work in, your distributor will be more likely to take your requests.

If you’ve got more face time, and your film is performing well, your distributor is more likely to make pitches they might not otherwise make. Part of that comes down to perspicacity, and part of it just comes down to numbers.

Thanks for reading! If you liked this post, please share it with your filmmaking community on your social media, or drop a comment down below with your thoughts about what you’d like to know about film distribution, grab my free Indiefilm business resources packet for an e-book, a whitepaper, a bunch of templates, and more.

As you may know, I don’t just talk about distribution, I’ve run companies that do it, and still connect filmmakers to the better players in the game.  If you’d like your film to be considered, use the services button below.  That’s my primary business, in fact.

Check out the tags below for related content.

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

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

Consumer Reviews

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

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

Genre

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

Related: How distributors think of Genre

Related: How distributors think of Sub-Genre​

Professional Reviews

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

Traditional Press

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

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

Related: 6 rules for contacting press

​Poster

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

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

Trailer

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

Synopsis

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

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

Get related content through the tags below!

How Did Film Distribution Get So Broken?

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

First, some history.

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

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

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

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

A similar expansion was expected with Blu-Ray, but at around the same time, alternative services like iTunes were starting to become viable as broadband internet was becoming commonplace.  As such, the demand for physical media started to dwindle, and as a result, the revenue being made dropped.
​

At the same time, Full HD cameras were now very affordable, and some even rivaled 35mm film.  So the amount of money being made in the industry went down, and more films were being made than ever before. 

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

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

Access USED to be enough

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

Sell it on the box art

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

Sell it on the trailer

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

Let’s contrast that with how things work Now:

Access is easy

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

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

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

The trailer might still be the deciding factor

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

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

If it’s bad, it will become known.

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

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

Check the tags below for free related content!

The Problem with the IndieFilm Distribution Payment System

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

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

Related: Indiefilm Waterfalls 101

How long it takes for the platform to pay the aggregator

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

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

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

RELATED: What platforms should I release on?

How long it takes for the aggregator to pay the distributor

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Check out the tags below for more related content!

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.

Check the tags below for more related content

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

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

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

Redbox pays up front, most others pay on consignment

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

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

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

Redbox might well be your highest-value single deal

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

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

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

MOD is almost certainly worth doing

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

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

Check out the tags below for related content

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.

Check out the tags below for related content

How to Make LookBook for an Independent Film

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

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

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

Basic Project Information

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

• Title

• Logline

• Synopsis

• Character Descriptions

• Filmmaker/Team bios

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

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

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

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

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

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

Creative Swatches

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

• Inspiration

• Creatively Similar Films

• Images Denoting the General Feel of the Film

• Color Palette

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

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

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

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

Technical/ Practical swatches

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

• Locations You’d like to shoot at

• Cities You’d Like to shoot in

• Equipment you plan on using

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

Light Business Information

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

Here’s what you should include

• Ideal Cast list & Photos

• Ideal Director List

• Ideal Distributors

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

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

What Filmmakers NEED to Know BEFORE Submitting to Distributors

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

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

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

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

2. Get a Vimeo Subscription

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Films Brought to Market by Guerrilla Rep Media

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What Film Distributors Mean by Sub-Genre

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

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

Crime

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

Faith Based

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

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

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

LGBTQ+

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

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

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

Animated

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

Sci-Fi

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

via GIPHY

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

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

Fantasy

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

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

Romance

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

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

Historical/Biographical​

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

Music/Musicals

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

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

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

What Film Distributors Mean by Genre

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

Horror

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

Thriller

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

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

Action

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

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

Family

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

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

Comedy

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

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

Drama

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

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

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

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

Documentary

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

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

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

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

Check the Tags below for related content!

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

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

You generally only get distribution from top tier festivals

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Check out the tags below for related content

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.

Check the tags below for related content

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

The HOT and NOT Film Genres of 2019

If you’re a filmmaker, you’ve probably heard that making genre pictures is generally the best way to get your start.  They can be a good way for you to start developing a community, and building a brand around yourself, your company, and your work.  But the popular genres change on something of a regular basis.  So to start the new year off right, I’m writing this blog to share the hot genres of 2019.

Oh, if you’re not convinced as to why Genre is so important, I encourage you to read the blog below.

Related: Why Genre is VITAL to Indiefilm Marketing Success

1. - Hot - Family

I know, you were probably expecting me to say horror or action.  Well, while some of those might be on the list, Family is at the top of it.  There’s a huge demand for family films right now, and it’s not being adequately filled.  That said, it’s kind of hard to make a family film well on the cheap due to child labor laws and safety concerns.  If you can, great, it will be easy to find distribution.  If not, then you might want to move on down to #3 on the hot list. 

Generally, family adventure content is also something you can pre-sell if you get the right package.  Animated sells the best, but live-action works as well.  Mixing it with animals or international holidays is also good for trying to attach a presale.  All of that being said, you’re going to need a really strong script and a strong package to get that presale. ​

2. - Hot - Action

Surprise surprise.  If you want to make a film that’s easy to sell, make an action movie.  As we all know the problem with that is that action movies tend to be expensive.  Even with that, you’ll probably need a name in it to really get the sales price up where you need it to be.

If you’ve already made a few projects, Action films can get some level of resale financing.  However, you’ll be much better off if you focus on a popular subgenre as well.  As of right now adventure or sci-fi looks like the best bet. 

3. - Hot - Thriller

Psychological thrillers tend to be one of the best options for first time filmmakers as the film is easy to sell, there’s a built in audience, and they can be shot on the cheap.  Just keep in mind to make sure that the film is suspenseful, otherwise, you’re just rebranding a genre.

Note from the future - This was and remains more warm than hot (as of mid 2023)

Now for the Not so Hot Genres.

1. - Not - Drama

But Ben!  I read that dramas have the most breakout potential!  All the Oscars winners are dramas!  Yeah, but from those articles written by Bruce Nash and Stephen Follows also go into great detail to say that most of these films were budgeted between 1 and 3.5 million dollars, generally went through something like Sundance Labs on the Nichols Fellowships, and had some REALLY strong cast involved.  If that sounds like your project, great.  Make a drama.  If it doesn’t, make a thriller.

The sad fact of the matter is that in order to make any real money, a drama has to be EXCEEDINGLY good.  As in, 9 or above on IMDb.  Also, dramas tend not to export well unless they have A-list talent in all the major roles.  I believe for most of my readers that’s not really in the cards.  However, if this does sound like you, an extra big thanks for reading, I’d like to remind you I have a submissions portal.

2. - Not - Comedy

Unfortunately, comedy is very difficult to sell internationally due to the cultural intricacies involved in making any situation funny.  As with drama, you’ll need to make something with strong, recognizable name talent at the helm to be able to make any significant amount of money from it. 

The Mixed: Horror

The future of horror is somewhat uncertain. It made a strong showing at AFM 2018, but in 2017 it was dead. If you can make a horror film better than you could make anything else, then you should consider it. If you can’t, I’d say focus on making a well-made horror film.

Note From the Future: Horror bounced back more than I expected, but the rest was right.

Also, you should join my email list for blog digests segmented by topic, and A FREE Film Market Resource package, plus everything on the button below.

Check out the tags below for related content

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.
​
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.

Check out the tags below for related content

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.
​
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. 
​
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. 
​
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. 
​

Executive Summary
The Company
The Projects
Marketing (This post)
Risk Statement/SWOT Analysis
Financials Section (Text)
Pro-forma Financial Statements.

Check the tags for more content!