Filmmaking Stuff Filmmaking Stuff provides resources for independent filmmakers. The website includes articles on how to take a story idea from script to screen, including articles on scriptwriting, producing, finance, shooting, editing, directing, marketing, distribution and how to build an audience. Filmmaking Stuff also has articles detailing how to make money making movies – including interviews with Hollywood Producers, Directors, writers and other filmmaking professionals.

Dear Jason,

This is my third and final eMail to you. I think it’s silly that you have a filmmaking website, but when it comes time to actually help people make movies, you just ignore them… So here it goes – again!

My name is Idiot Filmmaker from another planet. I think you should invest in my movie because it is totally awesome. My friends and I are going to do everything – so all we need from you is the money…

I am thinking our budget is going to be eighty-thousand dollars, but I am really not sure. But we think you should help us because you know all that stuff about film distribution. ( We don’t care much about that stuff, ha-ha.)

Assuming that you do invest in our movie project (you don’t want to miss out, right?) – We are prepared to give you all international rights. So again, just 80K will make you as a producer. Sound good?

You can send the check to my return address.

Sincerely,

Mr. Idiot Filmmaker

P.S. If you pass at this opportunity, it’s your loss. But if you find other film financier for our project, we will still give you an associate producer credit.

P.P.S. What is your personal phone number? I’d like to call you with more details.

- – -

This note was modified and slightly embellished to protect this idiot. However, I get at least three emails like this per week. Please don’t send this kind of stuff to me. I’m busy with my own projects… Besides, this sort of thing will never get you anywhere in business, because you aren’t focused on the most important aspect of any deal: “What’s In It For Me?”

Posted under FILM FINANCING

If you are planning to attend the Showbiz Expo, make sure you check out my talk on “How To Sell Your Movie Without The Middle Man.” I go on at 11AM and will provide some valuable tips on how to get your movie seen and selling.

Some of the film distribution topics I cover are:

1. How to drive traffic to your movie website.
2. What all filmmakers must know about trailer promotion.
3. How to optimize your movie website for conversions.
4. Where to market movies both online and offline.
5. Why a marketing plan is essential for all business plans.

If you can attend the Showbiz Expo, awesome. If you can’t, then you may want to check out The Indie Producer’s Guide To Digital Self-Distribution.

Posted under Filmmaking News

If you are looking for film distribution,  CreateSpace offers a great way to access the Amazon marketplace.

But if you have gone through the process, you probably also know that finding the CreateSpace Phone number and reaching someone in the customer service department can be frustrating…

Not anymore. CreateSpace has established a Member Support to help you with you film distribution needs. They offer phone and e-mail support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

You can call CreateSpace directly at (843) 760-8199. Keep in mind that charges may apply.

Additionally, if you are in the US or Canada – you can simply log into your member area and click “Contact Support.” From there, choose “Call Me!” to speak to a representative.

For those of you outside the US, you can send a Support Request with your international phone number. From there, CreateSpace will phone you.

Nice work CreateSpace! This was necessary and useful to the filmmaking community!

Posted under DISTRIBUTION

The other week, I began working on a project with some very successful people. And here is what I realized: Successful people don’t wait for everything to be perfect. They get an idea and test and idea – then they implement fast and adjust as they go.

So in the spirit of your own filmmaking success, I am going to offer you a Movie Maker Challenge for 2012 – Yeah, it might seem too early to set goals, but I think you’ll be OK. And my challenge is this – over the next 12 months, put together a movie project.

How? Plan the following commitments:

1. Get a movie script.
2. Break your movie script down.
3. Budget your movie, including marketing.
4. Put together a business plan.
5. Create a marketing plan.

If you go through this process, you will know how many units you will need to sell to recoup your budget. Additionally, you will know how much this will cost in terms of time, effort and marketing.

And… If you complete this exercise, you will be ahead of 95% of the other people who call themselves filmmakers. You might actually learn something in the process…

Time is ticking. Take Action: Make Your Movie NOW!

Posted under Filmmaking News

When planning your movie, it’s good to also figure out how you’re actually going to market and distribute your title. For this, I have created a brief Film Distribution Tip Sheet. Download it and print it out.

The tip sheet contains questions you need to answer when planning your movie. And if you cannot answer the Film Distribution questions, you need to evaluate your movie – are you making a movie “for the love?” Or do you hope to create a movie with some potential for profitability?

You can download your free Film Distribution Tip Sheet HERE.

Happy Filmmaking!

Posted under DISTRIBUTION

The world of film distribution is changing fast. Over the weekend I shared a panel at the New Hampshire Film Festival with movie marketing and distribution professionals.

Many of the participants represent well known movie companies. As a result, the  panel was valuable because many of the thoughts shared on movie marketing and distribution were based on traditional, best practices.

If you were unable to attend the festival – no worries. The innovative folks at the New Hampshire Film Festival videotaped the panel discussion. I have posted it below. In the video, you will see how my thoughts on film distribution and movie marketing are geared towards filmmakers who do not have a budget for a traditional movie marketing campaign.

Hopefully sharing some of the latest trends in film distribution and movie marketing will provide you with at least one or two tips you can add to your own filmmaking projects.

Shout-out to moderator Amy Greenlaw of FilmPop! -  As well as Dan Hannon and Brett Carneiro and the other folks at the New Hampshire Film Festival for hosting the panel.

If YOU would like more information on how to sell your movie, check out the Indie Producer’s Guide To Digital Self-Distribution

Posted under DISTRIBUTION

One of the toughest parts of getting business minded prospective investors to take you seriously is distribution. Like it or not, your film distribution strategy has a ripple effect on all other aspects of your movie production, including film finance.

If you can not create a marketing, sales and distribution plan for your movie (that you control), your project becomes very risky.

Fortunately there are two developments that have helped in this arena.

Firstly, through companies like distribber (Disclosure: They pay me to promote) you now have the ability to get your movie into the marketplace. This allows you to create a business plan and marketing strategy with a fully accessible sales channel. (This is huge!)

Secondly, sites like Kickstarter and Indie GoGo allow you to crowdfund. With crowdfunding, you can test your concept long before you get into the marketplace. This will help you determine if your movie has a market – long before you dive into your project both feet first.

When you have a sales channel and a proven concept, having conversations with prospective investors will be much easier.

If you would like more information on movie marketing, check out these filmmaking tools.

Posted under FILM FINANCING

If you are looking for distribution for your film – STOP IT!

OK. I’m kidding.

You don’t have to stop looking for a dream deal.

But you also don’t have to sit around waiting for the phone to ring. That’s outdated film distribution behavior and it’s lazy.

What are you waiting for?

Maybe you are afraid to start selling your movie on iTunes and Amazon and Hulu because this will somehow deter traditional distributors turned aggregators from acquiring your movie… So that they can get your movie onto Amazon, iTunes and Hulu? Please explain this to me.

I created a product to help you. It’s called the Indie Producer’s Guide To Digital Self Distribution. It provides you with a very robust strategy for getting your movie seen and selling.

Anyway, if you’re sick of waiting around and you’re ready to start selling your movie, grab a copy of The Indie Producer’s Guide To Digital Self-Distribution. You’ll be happy you did.

Posted under STUFF

Hulu Image via CrunchBase

The other day on the Film Distribution Group on LinkedIn, I got into a discussion about the wonders of distribber.

I thought some of the points may be useful for your own movie distribution strategy. I have edited and altered the original conversation to keep it anonymous.

Also, in full disclosure, I am sponsored by distribber. This means that I get paid to promote. So do your own due diligence prior to utilizing any services mentioned here.

Here is the film distribution discussion:

Q:  How is MovieSalesTool different than a traditional distribution “middle-man”?

A:  Most traditional “middle-men” lock you into an exclusive deal. So even if the deal turns out to be less than promised, as a filmmaker, you’re stuck. Distribber is non-exclusive. You can leave any time.

Q:  A sales agent only makes money on the back end. With distribber, you pay money upfront?

A:  Correct, each digital marketplace has various fees. Without looking at the FAQ page, I believe iTunes is $1295 for standard def and you get that money back minus $39 dollars if your movie is not accepted. You can also access Hulu for less than $800, which is a great deal for filmmakers. Past that, each outlet, like cable VOD has a separate charge.

Q:  It seems like a lot of services are focused on making money based on a Filmmaker’s desire for distribution.

A:  This is why the distribber model does not take revenue off the backend. It’s a one time, upfront, done deal.

In regards to your comment about services making money – There is a whole independent film history of filmmakers getting royally screwed by traditional DVD distributors who held the keys to the kingdom. Now that distribution sales channels are less discriminatory, I would say that we have entered an era of transparency.

Q:  Many aggregators keep the gatekeeping model alive and well. And because of this, many indies are still shut out from access to popular marketplaces.

A:  Yes. Many traditional distributors are playing aggregators – but it is not the same game. The internet has fragmented traditional, physical retail sales channels. And with companies like distribber, filmmakers now have easy access to the popular marketplaces.

Q:  Amazon allows filmmakers to get into the market, without scraping up the money required by distribber.

A:  In terms of paying money upfront, if that is the only issue – then I have 2 questions:

1. Do you think your movie will make less than the required $1295 on iTunes? If so, then distribber may not be a good fit for the project.
2. Since distribber is owned by IndieGoGo, you could always do a crowdfunding campaign to cover the distribution gap.

Special thanks to my LinkedIn friend Elizabeth for the questions.

Yes filmmakers. The world of distribution has changed. This is an awesome time to make, market and sell movies. If you are looking for a system to help you get into the action, check out The Independent Producer’s Guide To Digital Distribution.

Posted under DISTRIBUTION

If you have been reading Filmmaking Stuff for any length of time, you know that this site heavily emphasizes ways to help filmmakers market, sell and distribute their movies, without asking permission.

For those of you interested in more ideas on modern movie distribution, my friends Jon Reiss, Sheri Candler and Orly Ravid have put together a wonderful resource, titled: Selling Your Film Without Selling Your Soul.

The book provides valuable guidance for those of you interested in understanding the new model of film distribution.

Orly Ravid stopped by Filmmaking Stuff to share her experience publishing the book, and how it compares to her experience in movie distribution.

Selling Your Film Without Selling Your Soul as a model for looking at film distribution

By Orly Ravid

The traditional model of book publishing is to find a book agent and get a deal with a publisher. There’s usually a lot of rejection and if or when you get a deal, the publisher normally gets the better end of it, especially if you don’t have a name as an author. And often one is frustrated that a publisher has not done this or that and usually the author does a better job marketing the work anyway.

It’s the author’s name and creativity that is selling the book, not the publishing house. The fact of how many publishing houses passed on Harry Potter is a great lesson about how the fat cat corporate gatekeepers don’t always know what time it is.

We did for about 5 seconds consider seeing if we could publish Selling Your Film Without Selling Your Soul in a traditional way, through a publishing house. Then we thought we would either be turned down since the book is for a very niche interest audience or receive a small advance (most first time authors receive less than $5,000 in advance money. There are 4 authors of this book.) and never see another penny. Sound familiar?

Also, if we are going to champion filmmakers who are using some form of self-distribution for their work, it would be pretty hypocritical to go the traditional route with a publisher.

Here is what we did do and why:

We created a production budget that made sense for the scope of the book and the audience it was made for. We could have budgeted more money for it and waited until we scraped that budget together. It could have taken more than a year to do that. We decided to spend a reasonable amount that would ensure the book was available on all key digital platforms and now even in print. BUT, we decided not to do an iPhone App because that would have cost more and put strain on the budget given that this book is very specific and for a very specific audience.

We clearly defined our audience: filmmakers who are interested in DIY or Hybrid or P2P distribution methods. Not everyone and not even every filmmaker.

We set out to find sponsors to help pay for it. With this reasonable budget in mind, a clearly defined audience and a way to reach them ourselves, we knew what kind of sponsors would appreciate this. We also decided that the way to make it worth their while was to make the book FREE at least for a time and at least in one format always. It ensures the likelihood that the book will be shared widely. We also decided the sales price would be low cost in any case so that price was never a barrier to the book finding its audience and its readers seeking it out.

We did not pursue random sponsors, but rather carefully considered the ones that made sense given the defined audience target. This made sponsorship success much smoother and easier.  We could persuasively communicate that our audience was their target audience and how we would reach them (through our many media and personal contacts) and when (launch during IFP Week) and where (New York and all over the world via the internet). We gave them clear information that they could feel good about and see as a perfect fit for their brand.

We published the book ourselves and it’s available today on all key digital platforms where eBooks are sold. It is about one year to the day from when I first conceived the idea to having it out for all to read. The print edition will also soon be in retail stores via an aggregator, much like going through an aggregator to get onto Netflix, Hulu and iTunes (though we managed our own iBookstore inclusion).
So if you are making a film, there is a strong likelihood you can follow this model but you need to prepare for it well:

1. Who is your audience?
2. How will you reach them? Specifically as we did, targeting certain press, certain blogs, certain podcasts whose readers and listeners match those for the book.
3. What is a reasonable budget for your film that is fundable, recoupable and profitable via these methods of self-financing and self-distribution and/or financing via sponsorship?
4. If you want to try the sponsorship route, you will need to create a presentation deck and go out to companies a minimum of 6 months in advance of your release, but more likely more. Big companies make decisions a year in advance often.
5. For sponsorship to be attractive to a brand, they will need to know a specific distribution plan in order to see how being involved with your film achieves their marketing objectives. It takes planning and advanced thinking that doesn’t rely on hoping a gatekeeper “buys” your film.

This is how we did it for a book and some films can be done this way too, even if they cost 5 or 6 figures or even 7. It’s really just a question of the right pairing between content and audience and brands and above all things, advance planning and TIME and EFFORT that can and will pay off.

I am proud that we did not have to adjust our content for anyone, that we did not have to rely on anyone to give us access to our readers, that we have full control of the book we wrote and above all, that we are in the black before we have even released the book. How many artists can say that?

I would not have done it any other way.

The book Selling Your Film Without Selling Your Soul is available starting today. Please visit www.sellingyourfilm.com and pick up your free digital copy or preorder a print edition coming soon. Find us on Facebook and follow our hashtag #syfnotsys on Twitter.

Posted under DISTRIBUTION