6 Questions to Ask yourself BEFORE Self Distributing your Film

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

1.  Do you have money for promotion and aggregation?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3. What was the Budget of your film?

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

4. Do you have press contacts?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Why Genre is VITAL to Independent Film Marketing & Distribution

This is a topic that’s a little basic, but it’s a fundamental building block of understanding how to market your film. So I thought I would do a breakdown of why genre is so important to independent filmmakers in terms of marketing and distribution.  I do touch on in my book The Guerrilla Rep: American Film Market Distribution Success on No Budget, but even there I only cover it in a sense as it pertains to the market.  Let’s get started. 
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Before we begin, we should talk about what a genre actually is.  At its core, the genre of your film is primarily a simple tool for categorizing how your film compares to other films.  It’s a broad bucket of similar elements that lump films together in a way that makes it easier to sell them and easier to convey the general experience of a film succinctly.  Knowing this will inform everything else on this list. 
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Generally, there are both genres and sub-genres.  Sub-genres can generally pair with any genre, but some pairings work better than others.  Here’s a somewhat complete list of genres and sub genres.  Genres tend to focus on plot elements and overall feel whereas Sub Genres also have more to do with themes or settings.

Genres

• Action

• Horror

• Thriller

• Family

• Comedy

• Drama

• Documentary

Sub-Genres

• Adventure

• Sci-Fi

• Fantasy

• Crime

• Sports

• Faith Based

• LGBT

• Romance

• Biographical

• Music/Musicals

• Animated

So Why is Genre So Effing Important?

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

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

Genre categorizes it for potential customers

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

Genre helps to find an audience for the film

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

Genre categorizes your film for Distributors and sales agents

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

What happens if I cross-Genres?

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

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

It doesn’t add to the audience it limits it

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

If done poorly, it confuses the message.

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

If you'd like to learn more about film marketing and distribution, you should join my mailing list.  You'll get access to a FREE set of film market resources, as well as several digests over a few months of articles just like this one, organized by topic, delivered directly to your inbox.  

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The 7 Essential Elements of A Strong Indie Film Package

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

1.Director

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

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

2. Name Talent

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

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

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

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

4. Sales Agent/Distributor

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

5. Deck/Business Plan

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

6. Pro-Forma Financial Statements

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

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

7. Some Money already in place

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

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

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

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What platforms should I release my movie on?

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

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

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

Vimeo on your Website

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

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

Cable TVOD

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

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

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

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

iTunes / AppleTV (no +)

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

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

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

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

Google Play

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

​YouTube TVOD (YouTube Movies)

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

Fandango Now

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

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

Gaming Systems

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

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

Amazon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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6 Rules for Contacting Press

I’ve had to reach out to a lot of press recently for the theatrical release of Goodland.  It’s not the first time I’ve had to try to get some press for a movie, but it is the first time I’ve had to do it recently.  So I had to brush up on a couple of tactics, and thought I would turn those tactics into a useful blog for all the people who follow me.  So without further ado, here are 6 rules for contacting press about your movie

1. Think about what they get out of covering you.

Reporters receive A LOT of press releases and requests for coverage on any given day.  If you want to rise above the pack, a good way to start is by thinking about why they should cover you.  

Try asking yourself these questions. 

• Are you local?  

• Is there some reason your film being there is significant to your community?  

• Is there any reason the arts editor should review your movie instead of the major studio ones on their desk?  

These aren’t the only things you should ask yourself, but they are the bare minimum you should consider before contacting a reporter.

2. Start Small

Don’t go straight to Variety and Deadline.  (unless you have contacts there) instead, try to get some reviews from some blogs with moderate following.  If you can, get some ratings on IMDb.  As you build notoriety and visibility, start reaching out to bigger and bigger outlets. 

Note From the Future: Trades require Exclusivity, so try not to blow that exclusive on low-stakes public coverage. when you have a chance at bigger international drops.

3. Local Press Coverage is Easier than National Coverage.

If you’re from a small town, it’s much easier to get local coverage.  If you’re from a small town and you made a movie, that’s probably news.  Sometimes, it’s either local coverage for your film or pictures of an empty playground for art’s sake.  If you’re from San Francisco and you made a movie that’s going to be in theaters, that might be news for the smaller papers, but not the major outlets like the San Francisco Chronicle. 

Consider that it might be it’s easier to reach out about local films to a neighboring community as well.  If you’re in San Francisco, but have some connection to Oakland, Richmond, San Mateo, or Berkeley.  In any case, it’s probably worth trying to get some play in these places. 

4. Develop your list of press contacts.

Not everyone has a press contact list, but if you do, it’s probably worth reaching out to them as soon as you have something relevant to announce.  If you don’t, you should see how you can develop a list of press contacts.  That’s easier said than done, but it can be helpful to volunteer at events or organizations that already have the contacts, then see about networking with them wherever you can. 

5. If you have press contacts, don't bombard them with irrelevant releases.  

Don’t send our a press release just because your movie got accepted to one small festival.  It’s unlikely to do you much good.  However, if you get into Sundance, or are heading to local theaters, that’s probably something the press would want to know about.

The biggest thing here is to not waste the time of busy people.  it’s a good way to ensure you get ignored.

6. Consider hiring a publicist

Like so many things in the film industry, (or any industry for that matter,) publicity is a game of relationships.  If you don’t have those relationships, it’s probably worth hiring a publicist.  Press coverage is still one of the highest ROI promotional channels you can do for your business, even if you decide to go through a publicist since you’re likely to get a lot more coverage than you would on your own. If you hire the right publicist, they’ll more than pay for themselves. ​
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If that was helpful, you should join my mailing list and get my free indie film resource package. The package includes templates to track contacts with distributors, sales agents, and press, plus you’ll also get a monthly blog digest separated by topic to get help you get your film out there. Get it below.

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Filmmakers! - 5 Steps to Successful Grantwriting

A few months ago I worked with the absolutely lovely Joanne Butcher of Filmmaker Success to put on an educational event about grant writing here in San Francisco.  Joanne has raised millions in grant funding for several non-profits over the course of her life.  While I can’t distill everything from her talk into a single blog, I can give the people who weren’t able to make it some of the key takeaways.  So without further ado, here are the 5 rules for applying for grants.

1. Research

This might just be a Guerrilla Rep Media Rule of life at this point.  If you understand the field you’re playing on, you’re going to be much better at whatever game you’re going to play there.  The only way you understand that field is by researching it. But I digress. 

When applying for grants, the first step is to research and find grants to apply to.  (Duh) Focus on grants that match the subject matter of your film. It’s best to only apply for grants you’re perfect for, even if they are not directly related to filmmaking.  

The fact is that no one can apply to the thousands of grants they are eligible for is why limiting to the perfect matches is going to greatly increase your success.  It’s almost always a bad idea to bend something to fit a grant application. The key here is to remove the mindset of scarcity, and instead focus on finding the right fit.

As an example, if we were looking for funding for a reboot of The Little Mermaid, Joanne would recommend looking into marine science foundations, climate change foundations, and local artist grants, local filmmaking grants, or since it’s based on a Hans Christian Andersen book, even Denmark’s Cultural heritage foundations might be worth applying to.  

This article is a good place to start for your research.

FILMDAILY.TV'S GRANT LIST

2.   Set a goal for applications

Set an achievable goal for grants you want to apply for.  A safe bet is one per month. This would put applying for grants as a heavy part-time job for you though.

It can be hard to find relevant grants to apply to get up to 1 per week, so you should consider applying to grants that are thematically related to your content, as opposed to strictly applying for film grants.  What I mean by this is if your film is about homelessness, then maybe apply for grants from organizations helping the homeless, stating how you can help increase the awareness and impact of their foundation through the power of motion pictures.  ​

3.   Answer the Questions

Now that you’ve researched to find relevant grants, and you’ve set your goals, it’s time to start grant writing!  I know that sounds super intimidating, but really it’s just answering a very long series of questions. 

Although when you’re answering your questions, you should remember that it’s more than just providing information.  Your goal here is to sell the grantor on why your project is the one that will get the most bang for their funders buck.  

Every funder’s primary responsibility is to fund the projects that provide the most value to the foundation.  Generally, this means the projects that get the most eyeballs on them, and offer the most benefits to the communities that particular funder serves.  Your job is to convince that funder that your project is the one that will do that. 

4.   Hit Send

I know this sounds rather obvious, but once you’ve written your grant you need to press send.  However, a lot of filmmakers get stuck at this step, and spend so much time perfecting their application that they either miss the deadline, or could have applied to a whole different grant in the time they spent making one of them about 2% better.  Hit send, and start applying for the next one. 
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5.  Apply Again Next Year

Finally, the first time that you apply for a grant, don’t be put off if you don’t get it..  Most funders get far more applications than they have money to fund, and competition is fierce..  That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t apply, it just means that you need to keep applying, and, over time, improve both your proposals, your projects and your relationships with the funders.  “After all, says Joanne, “you can’t apply a second time until you’ve applied for a first.”

IF you’re a filmmaker, you’re always likely to have some project that will require funding.  Thus, relationships with funders will be very important to your long term career. By applying for film grants, you start to develop a relationship with the grantor, even if your grant applications are unsuccessful.

Also, if you’re declined, you can actually call up the funder, and ask why.  Most times, grantors will share some insight as to why your application was declined.  Doing this can put you in a much better position to get the grant next year. Just don’t be rude when you do; the point is to build a positive relationship

Thanks so much for reading!  I’d heavily encourage you to check out Joanne Butcher’s website below.  Also, check out the free indiefilm resource pack for EXCLUSIVE templates and tools to help you finance your film, as well as a monthly blog digest to help answer any questions that you may end up needing to fill out your grant proposal.

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9 Things I Learned from my First Theatrical Release

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

1. Booking theaters is both expensive and time-consuming

I tried booking a theater here in San Francisco, but in the end, I was unsuccessful.  The only theater that really got back to us would only show the film on a rental, not a revenue share.  We didn’t pay any of the other theaters, and we weren’t going to start in San Francisco. 

If we had paid them, it would have been a bit over 2,000 for 9 showings in a week.  It is possible to get some films in there on revenue share alone, but if you do you often must give up the first 2-3,000 in sales directly to the theater, and generally, that’s about all you’ll make from a screen unless you can really pound the pavement and get press coverage. 

2. Book local theaters, New York, and Los Angeles first. 

This contradicts some of what I just said, but when you’re getting started, the first theaters you need to book are New York, Los Angeles, and perhaps the screen most local to the filmmakers.   New York and LA get you more press coverage and give legitimacy to your theatrical run.  The local screen is generally the easiest to book.

​3. You don’t always need a full week’s run.

We only did 3 screenings in Buffalo, NY, but we still got a decent amount of press and a good amount of social media attention.  Doing 1-3 screenings in a market makes it feel more like an event, and is a great way to build word of mouth about your film.  Even if you can’t book a full week, consider booking a few one-night-only engagements to boost your presence in markets across the country. 

4. ​Often, 1-2 shows a day is easier to sell.

We had 3-5 screenings a day in Kansas City, and it was difficult to drive traffic to any one particular screening.  That includes the screenings we had with Q&As after them.  If you focus on one individual showing a day, it’s easier to focus your marketing efforts, and get those butts in seats for an indie movie.

5. Fewer theaters are independently owned than you think

In attempting to book theaters in San Francisco, I found that only a few local theaters were independently owned.  More theaters than you think are owned by mega chains like AMC, Cinemark, United Artists, and Landmark.  If you’re dealing with these mega-chains, you’re likely going to have to deal with their buyers.  Generally, those buyers will only want to deal with distributors. 
​

6. Once a theater is booked you can still get bumped unless you paid the rental fee.  

We booked a screen in New York for the same day we opened in LA.  Unfortunately, we were bumped because Avengers, Infinity War outperformed expectations.  If possible, don’t try to book your indie in May, June, July, August, November, or December.  That’s when Hollywood will be very likely to bump you.

7. Keep Making Noise to fill seats

Once you get your theaters booked, you’re still going to have to drive local people to theaters.  The most cost-effective ways to do this are via local press coverage and social media.  The two work very well together.  Keep your audience engaged by sharing news on your facebook page, twitter, and Instagram whenever there’s news to be had. ​
​

Related: 5 Dos and Don'ts for Marketing your Movie on Social Media

8. Press coverage is key: Local Press can be very cliquey.  

Local Press coverage is among the best ways to drive traffic to your movie.  However, it can be difficult to get. 

It should surprise precisely no-one reading this list that some film scenes are very cliquey, and some of those people from the film scenes end up in positions of power at general press outlets.  They may not cover your movie just because you’re not one of the cool kids.  It sucks, but it is what it is.  It would be difficult to change their mind, so just move on to other outlets if that’s what you’re running up against. 

9. In the end, if you've made ANY money you've done well. 

Finally, there’s not really a lot of money in theatrical runs themselves.  There is a lot of additional money to be had in having had a theatrical release.  If you end up getting beyond your distributor’s recoupable expenses, you’ve done VERY well.  The additional money you’ve gotten from these outlets is likely to have a marked impact on your TVOD sales and your SVOD sales price.  I might be making some announcements about how that worked for Goodland on our Facebook page, soon.

I hope this was helpful to building your indie film career. If you’re embarking on your own journey through distribution, you should make sure to grab my FREE indie film resource package. It’s got lots of templates to help you talk to distributors, tools to help you raise funding and even exclusive money-saving resources.

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7 Reasons Courting an Investor is Like Dating

There’s an old adage that Investing is like Dating.  In fact, I’ve talked about the similarities both on meetings with investors, and dates with people who are qualified to be investors.  So as something of a tongue-in-cheek yet still (Mostly) safe-for-work post, here are 7 ways courting an investor is like dating. ​

​1. Your goal is to see how compatible you are with the other person.

Most of the time, if you want to get into bed with someone, you want to be compatible with them first.  Getting money from an investor isn’t like a one-night stand.  You don’t just get the check and then never hear from them again.  Getting into bed with an investor is a long-term deal, so making sure you two work well together is simply a must.  Otherwise, the break-up may not be pretty. 

2. If you come off as Asking for too much the first time out, you probably won't get a second.  

The first time you go out with an investor is kind of like that first coffee date.  you’re both sizing each other up, and you want to see how you click.  If you went on a first date trying to make out and take the partner back to your place, it’s probably not going to end well for you.  Similarly, if you start asking an investor to whip out their checkbook on the first meeting, then you’re not likely to get a call back for a second. 

In summation, the goal of your first date should always be to get a second.  If you’re out with an investor, then the second meeting is the sole goal of the first meeting. 

3. It Generally takes at least 3-5 meetings to jump into bed together.  

As with dating, it generally takes 3-5 meetings to decide to get into bed together.  Often, the longer it takes the more likely it is that the relationship will be fruitful down the line.  At least to a point.  If it takes more than 7 meetings to get a check, the investor (or your romantic partner) might just want to be friends. 

4. Both Parties have something to gain, but generally speaking one has significantly more options than the other.  

Just like women are generally more sought after than men in the dating scene, Investors are generally more sought after than entrepreneurs. This may sound crass, but the only pretty girl in the room is going to get a lot more offers than the 10 guys pursuing her.  The ratio is similar for investors. 

So sure, while everybody is looking for a mate, and every investor needs deal flow, generally one side has more options than the other.  It’s important to remember that when attempting to court an investor.

5. They're Probably going to Google You.

Everybody does diligence in this day and age.  If you didn’t think your date was going to check out your online presence, you should probably think again.  Investors are going to look into your past history, and maybe even check your credit before they invest in you.  Dates will do as much as they can on a similar level, but probably not check your credit.

Related: 5 Steps for Vetting Your Investors

6. If you jump into bed on the first date, you're in for a wild ride.  a

One-night stands can be fun and all, but if you jump into bed with the wrong person right after meeting them it can be a real nightmare.  (Or so I’ve been told…) If you don’t take the time to get to know somebody before you get into a serious relationship with the, you’re going to be in for a nasty surprise.  All investment deals are serious relationships.  Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. 

7. When you seal the deal, you might be stuck with that person for YEARS.

If you take money from someone you’ll be dealing with them until all investors somehow exit the company.  This can be many years.  The Series A Investors at Twitter didn’t exit until their IPO Years later, and a film generally takes 3-5 years to pay back their investors, if they ever do.

If you do get into bed with an angel investor to finance your feature film or web series, they’re going to be a part of your business for a long time.  It’s not just about finding independent film angel investors, it’s also about courting them and making sure you’ve found the right investor, not just the first investor who makes you an offer.

If you want some help with this courting process, my free resource package is a great place to start. It’s got a free e-book that might answer some questions your investor may have. It’s also got a deck template you can use in your first meeting. Get it for FREE below.

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

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

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

1. HDcamSR Masters

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

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

2. DCP

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

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

3. Digibeta Masters

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

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

4. Clip/Footage/Stills/Bonus Material Licenses

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

5. US Distribution Deliverables

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

5A. Closed Caption File

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

5B. Copyright Search and Title Reports

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

5C. E&O Insurance Certificate

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

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

5D. MPAA Rating

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

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

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

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

Distribution deliverables are far more than simply technical requirements.  As we saw last week, there are also substantial marketing materials that you’ll have to provide to the distributor and more that they may have to generate themselves.  This week we’re covering the basics of legal distribution deliverables.

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

1. Key Production Agreements

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

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

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

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

2. Certificate of Origin

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

3. Chain of Title Summary

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

4. Rights Agreements

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

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

5. Copyright Registration Certificate

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

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

6. Additional Agreements/Statements/Letters

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

6A, If the Film is Not Originally in English

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

6B, If you worked with Children

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

6C, If the film contains nudity or sexual content

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

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

6D, If it was a union picture

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

6E​, Other Contractual Obligations.  

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

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

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

Last week, I covered the basics that are required as deliverables for almost every U.S. Distribution or International Sales Contract.  This week, I’m going through the servicing lists.  Most of these servicing requirements are for the internationalization of the film, be they subs or dubs.  Some are more for marketing purposes, but in the end, it’s what the sales agent needs to effectively put together a package and the film to where it needs to go.

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

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

1. ​Final Timecoded Continuity Script/Spotting List:

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

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

2. Final Shooting Script

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

3. Music Cue Sheet

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

4. Music & Effects (M&E) Tracks

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

5. Final Main Credits

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

6. Final End Credits

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

7. Press Kit

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

8. Logos

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

9. Bonus Material

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

10. Electronic Press Kit (EPK)

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

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

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

So there are a lot of questions about what’s involved in Distribution Deliverables for an Independent Film.  So I’ve scoured a few contracts to find a very thorough list of what you might need to provide for a distributor or Sales Agent if they take your film.  Since this list is quite expansive, there may be some stuff on here that most distributors do not ask for, but I figured it best to know what you might have to be able to provide

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

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

Let’s Dive right in.

​1. Color Stills and Photographs (50):

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

2. Screeners (50)

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

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

3. Digital Promotional Trailer

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

4. Credit/Billing Block

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

5. Certified Statement with Contractual Obligations.

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

6. Tax Payer Information: W8/W9

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

7. Layered Keyart

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

8. 4k Technical Sample.

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

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

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

10. Bluray Market/Festival Screening Masters

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

11. Master Audio Files

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

12. Copy of Music Score: Digital Files

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

13. Certificate of Full QC Pass

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

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

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Why Exclusivity is GOOD for Filmmakers

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

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

I can guarantee you that any sales agent you would actually want to work with will require exclusivity at least for international.  If you try to negotiate their exclusivity out of a contract, I can guarantee you will not be successful.  It's the nature of the business. In fact, if you try to negotiate too much to be non-exclusive, then you’ll likely just end up scaring off the sales agent. 
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Buyers want exclusivity, and if the sales agency doesn't have exclusivity, then they can't sell it to the buyer.  Producer's reps have less necessity for this normally, but if they work directly with domestic buyers, then they will generally need exclusive rights for similar reasons to why a sales agent needs exclusivity to sell international rights. ​

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

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

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

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

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

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6 Reasons Filmmakers Are Entrepreneurs

Filmmakers often don’t like to think of themselves as business people.  Often, they’d rather be creative, and focus solely on the art of cinema.  Unfortunately, this is not the way to create a career crafting moving images.  In order to make a career, you must understand how to make money.  The easiest way to do that is to think like an entrepreneur.  here are 6 reasons why.

1. Filmmakers and Entrepreneurs both Must Turn an Idea into a Product.

At its core, the goal of both being a filmmaker and an entrepreneur is the same.  To take an idea, and turn it into a market-ready product.  For an entrepreneur, this product can be anything from software to food products, and everything in between.  For a filmmaker, the product is content.  Generally speaking, that content is a completed film, web series, or Television series.

This alone should be enough to see how filmmakers are entrepreneurs, but it’s not the only way the two job titles are similar

2. Filmmakers and Entrepreneurs are both creative innovators birthing something that has never been seen before.  

Every successful company does something no one else ever has.  Every successful film brings something that’s never been seen before to the market.  Some innovations are minor, others major.  Both sets of innovations are born by iterating on another idea that didn’t quite make their product in a way that the entrepreneur or filmmaker thinks is the best way. 

Innovation is at the core of both filmmaking and entrepreneurship.  Both involve intelligent and creative people who want to change the world.  Some through technology, some through storytelling.

3. Filmmakers and Entrepreneurs both must figure out who will buy their product.  

If either a filmmaker or an entrepreneur is to be successful, then they need to figure out who will buy their product when it’s ready to ship.  If they don’t know what their target market is, then it’s impossible to make enough money to keep the company going or help investors recoup so you can make another film. ​

Market research is key to this.  If you want to find out more, check out last week’s blog by clicking here. 

4. Filmmakers and Entrepreneurs both often need to raise money to create their products.

While everything else on this list is true nearly 100% of the time, this one is only true 80-90% of the time.  While some entrepreneurs and filmmakers can finance their companies out of pocket, most filmmakers need to consider how they’ll pay for the things necessary to create their chosen product. 

Both filmmakers and entrepreneurs must develop a deep understanding of fundraising if they’re going to be able to make their career in their chosen field a long-term sustainable one. 

5. Filmmakers and Entrepreneurs must both assemble a team to turn their idea into a product.  

No one can make a film or build a company all by themselves.  Both must build and manage a team of creatives and business people to create their product and take it out to the world.  Without the ability to build and lead a team to success, the film or the company will not succeed. ​

6. Filmmakers and Entrepreneurs must both figure out how to take their products to market.  

After coming up with an idea, figuring out who will buy their product, financing their vision, and assembling a team in order to create a product, filmmakers still need to get that product and figure out how to take it to market. For both, this is generally referred to as the distribution stage of the process.

For filmmakers, it’s relatively well-defined despite the information about it not being widely enough available. For entrepreneurs, their distribution plan will vary greatly by industry. But in either case, if the end user/viewer can’t access the product, they won’t buy it.

Thank you so much for reading.  If you’d like to become a better indie film entrepreneur, you should check out my FREE Indiefilm Resource package. it’s got a free e-book called The Entrepreneurial Producer, several templates to help you organize your operation including a pitch deck template, and monthly blog digests to help you expand your knowledge base.

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How Do I Figure Out Who will Buy my Movie?

There’s a difference between market research and marketing.  Market research is all about placing the target, and marketing is firing the arrow at it.  You can’t fire the arrow if you don’t place the target first.  To follow the metaphor, you can’t market your movie unless you first figure out who you’re going to market the film to.  This blog is about giving you the basics of figuring out who will want to buy your movie.  ​

There is no single, simple process to figure out who will watch your film.  Really, it’s a series of questions and educated guesses.  There are tools you can use to figure out who your film is likely to resonate with.

One of the most simple ways to get started is to figure out movies that are similar to yours, and look at the ratings by age on IMDb Pro.  This will give you an idea, and a point to start from.

Figuring out the ethnicity of people who will watch your film is also tricky.  Generally, the best way to figure this out is to go by the ethnicities of your main characters.  If your entire cast is white as a daisy’s petals, then it’s likely that your audience will appeal primarily to white people.  If it’s a diverse group, then it’s more likely that the appeal of your film will be diverse.

This method is admittedly far from foolproof, and you will definitely break out of this core demographic in terms of ethnicity, but your goal here is to figure out who you’re targeting, and plan where to start marketing your film.

There’s a lot more to figuring out who to market your film to than basic demography.  There’s also interest groups, and niche audiences.  The biggest ways to figure out what niches your film appeals to.  More than likely, it appeals to one.

If the film focuses heavily on LGBT issues, then marketing the film to the LGBT Community is a good idea.  The same can be said for faith based films.  In fact, the two niche markets behave very similarly when making purchase decisions, despite their polar opposite placement on the political spectrum.

There are lots of other niches that you can consider targeting.  Some would include bicyclists, vegans, bowling enthusiasts, single parents, families with family members with disabilities, recently divorced men, women, or other, gym rats, goths, punks, nerds, geeks, karaoke lovers, and basically any subculture you can think of.

You simply need to figure out which of these subcultures features prominently in your film, then try to make a decision on who you can market your film to

One important thing to keep in mind in deciding what sub-cultures to market to is that authenticity is key.  If your depiction of a particular subculture is inaccurate, then it’s unlikely that they’ll like your movie and tell their friends about it.

This process is really more art than science, especially given that there’s not a lot of data out there about how well any particular film did with what demographic.   But giving this thought early on will help you more than you’d expect not only in marketing your film, but even in making it.

Thanks so much for reading.  If you want help figuring out your target market, you may want to check out my resource packet for a free e-book, templates, monthly blog digests, and more.  Also, check out the content tags below the button for related content.

5 Reasons Traditional Film Distribution Still Matters to Indie Filmmakers

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

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

1. Distribution and Marketing are their own Skillsets

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

4. Local Distributors Control Specialized Knowledge

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

5. Marketing is Much More Effective with Multiple Partners.

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

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

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How to Vet your Sales Agent or Distributor

Every filmmaker has heard horror stories of distribution deals gone wrong.  Sometimes this is due to something completely unpredictable like a change in the demands of buyers or distributors, or a freak occurrence that makes the movie unpalatable.   More often than not, however, this is due to a poorly negotiated deal with a less-than-reputable sales agent.  So with that in mind, it’s incredibly important that you vet your sales agent.  Here are a few ways to do just that.

1. Get Professional Help

Distribution deals are complicated things.  It’s easy for one clause that seems innocuous to strip thousands of dollars out of your pocket.   Get yourself an entertainment attorney or producer’s rep to help you through the process.  Entertainment attorneys are generally expensive but can save you money in the long term.  Producer’s reps SHOULD work on a commission for brokerage tasks, but may or may not be able to negotiate as well as they claim. ​ Often, it’s wise to have both a rep and an attorney, as reps focus on general salability whereas

Related: What does a Producer's Rep DO Anyway?

If you can’t afford an attorney and are wary of hiring a producer’s rep then take extra time on the next several steps. ​

2. Carefully Review their base distribution agreement

There’s always some room for negotiation in these agreements, but it the arrangement is too far off of what you’re hoping for from a starting point, then the deal is unlikely to be any good.  Good places to look are at the recoupable expenses and the sales agency commission.  If the sales agent’s commission is higher than 30%, proceed with extreme caution.  If it’s higher than 35%, you probably don’t want to deal with that sales agent.

Related: The 7 Main IndieFilm Distribution Deal Points

Similarly, is the recoupable are higher than about 25,000-30,000, you should be VERY careful on dealing with them if you have a lower budget film.  If they’re at this level, you’ll want them to attend at least 5-7 markets.  That segues nicely to.

3. Ask the Sales Agent Which Markets They Attend

Traditional Film Sales and Distribution still happens primarily through face-to-face meetings at markets.  Establishing good relationships with buyers takes several touchpoints a year.  In order to really trust a sales agent with your film, you need them to attend both Cannes and AFM at a minimum.  Ideally, you want them attending EFM as well, but that market is slightly more arthouse so it can be given a miss if you’ve made a genre picture. If they don’t attend EFM, they should attend Hong Kong FilmMart.
​

Read More: What is a Film Market and How Do They Work?

4. Look the Sales Agent Up on IMDb

You need to verify some of the films that the sales agent has helped distribute recently.  Looking them up on IMDb is a great way to get started.  You’ll want to look for films that are similar in genre and feel to yours, and you’ll want them to have represented quite a few films in the last 3-5 years. You should be able to find a lot of information on the company they’re working with if you have IMDb Pro, but sometimes sales companies change their names without much notice. That’s a red flag if it happens, but it’s not necessarily a dealbreaker. If it does happen, just use IMDb to look up the acquisition agent you’re dealing with.

If you have access to it, you should also look them up on Cinando. It’s worth noting that many sales companies do not keep their Cinando Profiles as up-to-date as they should.

5. Visit the Sales Agent Website

The Website of the sales agent will help you understand what they’re currently promoting.  It will also have some things that IMDb won’t.  These are things like recent press coverage, and links to their other social media profiles.  You want the sales agent to have gotten your films a good amount of press.

6. Call Filmmakers they've worked with in the past. 

If you take only one thing away from this article, let it be this.  ALWAYS call filmmakers the Sales agency has worked with in the past prior to doing a deal with them.  Filmmakers they’ve worked with in the past are the best way to get an unbiased account of whether the sales agent lives up to expectations laid out in their contract.  While other sales agents will give you opinions on that front, the sales agency game is quite competitive, so they might overstate the issues with their competition to gain a competitive edge.

Thanks for reading! If you like this, and decided you need professional help when dealing with sales agents, check out the Guerrilla rep media services page. We know the players in the game and can help you get to your goal faster. If you just want to learn more, check out the free indie film business resource pack for a free ebook, templates to help you track contact with sales agents, and even form letters to get you started on reaching out to them. These won’t substitute for professional help, but they’re a good place to start.

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Indiefilm Crowdfunding Timeline

In crowdfunding as in filmmaking, preparation is key.  If you don’t adequately prepare for your campaign, then you’re not likely to succeed.  If you’ve never crowdfunded before, this can be a daunting prospect. Don’t worry, Guerrilla Rep Media is here to help.  This post is meant to give you a timeline to prepare for your campaign, starting further out than you might think.

It’s based around what I’ve learned raising 33,000 of my own in the early days of kickstarter, as well as what I’ve learned from speakers and advising clients running their own campaigns.

6-12 Months Prior to Launch

Begin interacting with online and in-person communities relevant to your target market

If you want to have a chance at people outside of your friends and family donate to your crowdfunding campaign, then you’ll need to become a part of those communities early.  If you show up and immediately start asking for money, you’re only going to lose friends and alienate potential backers and customers.  If, on the other hand, you become part of the communities you’re targeting early on then you may well end up getting yourself some new audience members who might just back your campaign.

Related: 5 Dos and Don't for Selling your Film on Social Media

It’s a lot of work, but the benefits may surprise you.  They’re likely to reach beyond your professional life, and into your personal life. 

3 Months Prior To the Launch

Begin to be really active in groups of your target market.

Essentially, this is an extension of the list above.  As your campaign approaches, spend more time engaging with people on those online communities you joined 3-6 months ago.

2 Months Prior to the Launch

Shoot Video

List All Potential Perks

Let People Know You'll be Running a Campaign

Get set up with your Payment Processor

About 2 months before your expected launch, you should get as much of the preparation out of the way as you can.  This includes things like shooting your video, listing your potential perks, and potentially even getting set up with the payment processor of whatever platform you’re using.

Many of those things take much longer than you expect them to, so doing them early will make sure that your campaign launches smoothly. ​

1 Month Prior to Launch

Start seeing what press you can get.

Create a Facbook Event for Launch

Finalize list of Perks

Organize Launch Party

A month out from your campaign is when your pre-launch should be going into overdrive.  You’ll need to issue a press release about your campaign to try to get some local press, make a Facebook event for the launch party to try to get some early momentum, finalize all your perks, and potentially organize a launch party to help get people excited about your project.  You may want to consider making your launch party backer-only, just to get the numbers up early on. ​ Let people donate at the door from their if you need to.

Related: Top 5 Crowdfunding Techniques

1 Week Prior to Launch

Do at least one press interview (if you can)

Promote Launch Day on Social Media

Confirm a few large donations to come in on lauch day: Ideally right at launch.

With your launch date less than a week away, you’ll want to see if you can get any press.  This can be anything from a local newspaper from the town you grew up in, it could be a friend’s podcast, or it could even be some old high school alumni newsletter.  The press will give you legitimacy and legitimacy means more backers.

While you’re doing this, you’ll want to spend a lot of time talking about the impending launch on social media and talking to some big potential donors about coming in in the first few hours of the campaign.  If people see more traction early on, they’ll be more likely to jump on board. ​

Launch Day

Follow-up with AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN to get them to donate.

If you have some large confirmed donors, then you need to follow up with them and remind them on launch day.  It matters a lot to get some big fish in right as the campaign starts. ​

First Few Weeks of the Campaign

INDIVIDUALLY email EVERYONE you can to ask them to donate.

Once you get your campaign started, you’ll want to INDIVIDUALLY email EVERYONE in your address book.  I’m not talking about setting up and sending out a mail chimp email, I’m talking about individually reaching out to follow up with EVERYONE who you have an email for.  One trick I’ve learned from a friend and Former Speaker Darva C. is that you should email 2 letters of the alphabet a day, over the first 2 weeks of the campaign.  Then email them again, starting on day 16 of the campaign. ​

It’s a grind, but making a film always required sacrifice. 

Midpoint of Campaign

Host an event to keep interested high.

It would be wise to have an event to keep your social media spirit high in the lull that is the midpoint of the campaign.  You have to keep the momentum going through the campaign, so having something like a midpoint event to talk about on social media is incredibly useful.  This event is one I would HEAVILY consider making backer-only, even if they’ve only backed you for 1 dollar. ​ You could also let them back at the door from their phone.

Last Few Weeks of Campaign

Individually email everyone you can AGAIN.

​Do the same thing that you did on the first 13 days of the campaign again. Thank the people who donated, and remind the people who didn't to donate again.  ​

Closing Night-Host a celebration (or commiseration) party!

Finally, at the close of the campaign, you’ll need to have a party, whether to celebrate your success or commiserate that you didn’t hit your goal. Either way, you’ll deserve a night of fun because you WILL be tired.

If this seems like a lot, it is. Even once you’ve finished raising, you still need to make the movie. My free Film resource package includes a lot of resources to help you make it and get it out there once it’s done. It’s got a free e-book, lots of templates, and a whole lot more. Click the button below to sign up.

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Why You Still Need Name Talent in Your IndieFilm

​In the age of easily accessible self-distribution, cheap gear, and the ability to make and distribute a feature film for less than 10,000 dollars it’s understandable to wonder why you would want to spend 10,000-100,000 dollars a day on recognizable name talent.  Many proclaim that hiring recognizable name talent is simply a waste of time and money.

Speaking as someone who makes most of their living from film distribution, these people are wrong.  Here are 5 reasons why.

Recognizable Name Talent Significantly increases the Profile of the Film

In an age where anyone can make a film, the challenge becomes less one of making a film, and more one of rising above the white noise created by others also making films.  Recognizable name talent can be a great help you set yourself apart.  The notoriety brought by recognizable name talent helps raise public awareness of your project and greatly increases interest from high profiles sales agents and distributors.  Also, if they have a large social media presence and agree to help promote your film, it will have a tangible impact on the profile of your film.

Recognizable Name Talent Significantly increases the chance of meaningful press coverage.

With the higher profile that names talent brings to your project.  Press coverage will compound the impact on the awareness of your film that name talent brings.   If your film gets enough coverage, then a lot of the marketing will be done for you, and you’ll be able to attract the pieces of the puzzle that you’d otherwise need to chase.   These puzzle pieces can be anything from additional tickets sold, to in-kind product placement, and potentially even completion funding once your film is in the can.  

Several of my pre-completion press articles have been due in large part to having recognizable names attached to the project.

Recognizable Name Talent Increases the likelihood of getting into festivals

I know this isn’t going to be a popular thing to say, but film festivals don’t solely look at the quality of a film in deciding which ones should be programmed.  They also consider the fit with the festival’s brand, the current political climate, as well as the profile of the film and what showcasing the film, would bring to the festival. 

​Given that the profile of the film is greatly raised by recognizable name talent, it’s something that festival programmers will consider when deciding whether or not to program your film

​Name Talent Increase Your Distribution Options

From my personal experience in distribution and sales, it is easier to sell a mediocre film with names than a great film without them. This is true regardless of genre, although certain genres absolutely necessitate recognizable names if you want any international distribution.

Recognizable Name Talent is a great way to make both sales agents and distributors stand up and take notice.  Getting a star in your film has a direct and tangible impact on your chances of getting a profitable distribution deal. 

Without recognizable name talent, it’s almost impossible to get a minimum guarantee.  Further, many of your international sales will be revenue share only.  With Name Talent, it’s far more likely that you’ll get a minimum guarantee from the sales agent, and the deals with international buyers will be license fees or MGs instead of revenue share deals.

Name Talent Increases Self-Distribution Sales

Finally, even if you plan on self-distributing your film, recognizable name talent will help you move units.  Raising the profile of your film by having a star in your film will help you place higher in Amazon and iTunes search results, which will have a tangible impact on your bottom line. 

Thanks so much for reading.  If you enjoy my blog and want more, you should sign up for my FREE independent film business resources package.  It’s got an e-book with a lot of articles like this one you can’t find elsewhere, as well as templates to help you grow your film career. One of the articles in the e-book includes a script for calling actors’ agents. Click the button below for more information.

5 Rules for Vetting Your Producer’s Rep

The term producer’s rep has been given a bad name.  A lot of people think that Producer’s reps are just money-grubbing middlemen (or middlewomen, or middlethems) who don’t add any value to your project.  As a producer’s rep myself, I’d like to take issue with the narrative that producer’s reps are slimy con artists who will overcharge you without adding value.  Unfortunately, I can’t.  For the most part, the rumors exist for a reason.

So with that in mind, here are 5 ways to vet your producer’s rep. If you want to sign up with me, do the same.

​Ask what their upfront fees are.

If you’re simply looking for a rep to broker your completed film, then the upfront fees should be very low, or nonexistent then they’ll take a piece of the pie for the length of the deal. There are producer’s representatives who operate on a service basis, I.E. they’ll be paid a few thousand dollars with half up front, half on success. In theory, you end up paying less this way, but the incentives are not always in line with the filmmaker’s best interest.

I’ve heard stories of other reps charging 5000 dollars to represent a film to various sales agencies.  If the Rep got you a deal, the rep would then retain 35% of all money from that deal.  This is without even negotiating for a better deal with the sales agency, essentially just making a few calls and writing a few emails.  

Not all service deals are bad, but you have to do extra diligence if that’s how your rep operates.

Also, it should be noted that if you want your rep to do anything other than basic brokering, you should expect to pay them. When I work with filmmakers at an early stage to guide investment decks, help attach talent, write business plans, or any other consulting-oriented services, you should expect to pay some not-insignificant fees. Nobody on a film shoot should be asked to work for free, including us. We still have bills, and it took a lot of investment for us to develop our skills and contacts.

Related: What Does a Producer's Rep DO Anyway?

For straight representation/brokerage services, I charge nothing upfront, and as of this writing, I don’t even charge recoupable expenses.  I charge 10% for connection to sales agents, and 18% if I sell directly to buyers.  (Generally only domestically.)  I also negotiate with sales agencies and buyers to get you/us the best possible deal. 

That being said, brokerage tasks for completed films are the only thing I don’t charge upfront for.  For other tasks, I either charge by the hour or by the job, sometimes with performance bonuses or deferments. ​

2.   Ask them if they watched your movie.

If they’re offering to represent your movie, they had better have watched it.  If they try to say that they don’t remember the film because they watched 8 last week, they’re probably lying.  I watch 5-8 a week.  If I’m making an offer I’ve probably watched it all.  If I don’t think I can sell it, I stop after 20 minutes. ​

Most sales agents and Producer's Reps have a similar system.  If they can't say some specifics about your film, they're probably lying about watching it.  

3. Look them up on imdb.

You want someone who’s not all talk.  You want to see some associate, co-, and executive producing credits on their IMDb.  I generally ask to be credited as an executive producer because it’s the most accurate credit for the job I do. 

If you want to check out what I’ve done, here’s my imdb,

VISIT MY IMDB

4.  Ask them who they have direct relationships with

Any good rep will have existing relationships with some sales agencies.  That’s why you would want to hire them in the first place.  Great reps will have direct relationships with buyers.  If they can’t list out a few sales agencies that they’ve worked with in the past off the top of their head, then they’re probably not going to do their job very well. 

While I won’t list the ones I’ve worked with here, I will tell you if you ask me when on a call or after you submit your film below.

5. Call 3 of their previous clients

This is true for both Producer’s Reps and Sales Agencies.  You’ve GOT to call the clients of your rep and ask for a reference.  If you ask for references and your rep gets upset, then it’s likely a sign you shouldn’t use their services.  Honestly, It’s better if you just look up those filmmakers on IMDb and call them yourself. You can find all the necessary info on imdbPro.

Thanks so much for reading! If you’re looking for a producer’s rep, you should check out my services page. If you’re not quite there yet, but want to more know about the film biz, you should join my mailing list and get my FREE Film market resource package. Links below in the buttons.

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