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.

If you’re already a seasoned feature filmmaker, take a moment and think back: Do you remember when the idea of making movies seemed like a far away dream?

Do you remember when you first got the idea for your movie? Do you remember Your first day of production? Do you remember your first screening and how well everyone loved your work?

That happened to me with my first feature. Like you, I thought our movie would get into Sundance, play well, build buzz and if we were really lucky, we had hoped the movie would garner us a 3 picture deal. But that didn’t happen.

Sure, we got some offers, but they were not “deals.” (A deal actually pays money!)

So instead of exchanging our movie for an empty promise, we decided to try selling our movie on the internet. Little did I know, this one decision has changed the course of my movie making life. That was five years ago…

And since that time, the internet as evolved. If you’re a filmmaker with a movie, you need to get it selling in all the popular internet marketplaces, including Amazon and iTunes.

You don’t need a middle-man to make this profitable. I am going to show you my internet marketing secrets…

You can check out my “How To Sell Your Movie” system by visiting the website here.

Posted under DISTRIBUTION

Since my last filmmaking podcast, I have been contacted by many of you. Some of you like my filmmaking ideas. Some of you think I’m crazy. But regardless of what you think, the world of independent filmmaking is changing. This is mostly because distribution is changing, which affects financing, which affects your ability to pay your cast and crew.

As a result of these changes, filmmakers who want to make a living making independent movies need to start thinking about their target audience from day one. While I would never suggest that you completely forgo your artistic integrity, I would suggest you answer the following questions:

1. Who is going to buy and watch your movie? (Hint, if you answer everybody, you answered nobody.)
2. How will you reach your intended niche, target audience?
3. How many VOD downloads will it take to recoup your initial investment?

Since those of you who make movies are mostly filmmakers, not marketers, it becomes increasingly challenging to market your movie and your work. But some aspects of marketing are easier than you think. How do you get started?

One easy thing you can do is set up your own email marketing system. Email marketing works like this, the bigger your list of targeted subscribers, the more sales you can potentially make.  I use email marketing for both my filmmaking and my filmmaking stuff, for an example of how this works, grab your free filmmaking book by clicking here.

When you arrive on the page, you’ll see that I ask for your name and email address. The reason I ask is because I want to build a long term relationship with you. And if I don’t ask, I won’t get.

In the context of movie promotion, Kenton Hoppas (who once participated in one of my workshops – and we are now working together) provides a great example of how this works for his movie Career Courier. [Example is found here]

As you can see, Kenton’s initial movie website is very streamlined. It involves both a YouTube trailer as well as an opt-in form. This is intentional. The goal of his initial site is to collect names and email addresses of prospective audience members (AKA potential customers) and he’s starting early.

Through both online and offline marketing efforts, his objective is to grow community around his movie – which could spread positive word of mouth… Which could eventually lead to DVD sales. After the movie, Kenton would have the ability to promote related products or other movies of a similar genre.

If you’re wondering when you should start promoting your own project and company, I’d say the sooner the better. But there is a science to this – know your audience. And make sure all of your communication is on point. For example, if you are making a movie about vegetarians, it would not be a good idea to send out coupons for hamburgers. (Unless you were being ironic.)

As a rule of thumb, never email blast from your own servers. Always use a 3rd party email marketing company that insists on something called a double opt-in. A double opt-in means that after people submit their name and email to your list, they will still need to check their email for a confirmation link. Then in each subsequent email you send them, you will always provide an easy way to opt out.

In my business, I prefer Audience List (which aside from being awesome pays me a commission to say this) www.AudienceList.com – Once you sign up and put an opt in form on your website, you can being growing your list. Then as your list grows, you will want to always find ways to reward your loyal fans. Usually this comes in the form of offering free stuff. Two simple examples would involve giving away poster art as well as your movie soundtrack.

Sometime down the road, long after your movie has played the festivals and sold out on iTunes, you may find there is value in promoting other movies of a similar genre – or better yet, selling your next movie. This is when having a list really pays off, literally. Or as they say, the money is in your list.

To join the filmmaking stuff community and get over $100 dollars in free filmmaking tools, visit www.FreeFilmmakingBook.com[podcast]http://filmmakingstuff.podbean.com/mf/web/3tg63c/FilmmakingforMultipleStreamsOfMovieIncome.mp3[/podcast][podcast]http://filmmakingstuff.podbean.com/mf/web/3tg63c/FilmmakingforMultipleStreamsOfMovieIncome.mp3[/podcast]

Posted under DISTRIBUTION, FILMMAKING

As a filmmaker with a finished feature film, it’s important to maintain positive thinking and keep your fingers crossed for a great distribution deal. But after months and months of hustle, the reality of how you’ll garner ROI might be slightly different than the idealized imaginings of the 3 picture deals you once had.

Let’s face it, the old way of  indie filmmaking is over. No longer can you make a movie on spec and cross your fingers for theatrical distribution or even straight to video distribution. These old school distribution outlets are more like pipe dreams than a viable marketplace.

So what now?

Well – how about the future of filmmaking? But this time around, instead of being limited by a few territorial deals, you can (from your bedroom), market your movie to a global audience. In the following Filmmaking video, you will gain some insight how to market and sell your movie on the internet.

This is just the tip of the iceburg. For those of you who have a feature film on a book-shelve, it’s time to get it selling. In future videos, I will work to address all the new methods in digital self distribution of your movie.

Posted under DISTRIBUTION

Over the past year, I have been invited to various filmmaking workshops and panel discussions to share my internet movie distribution system. My goal in doing these events is to show indie filmmakers how to leverage the internet, build an audience and get paid for their work. My other purpose is to help you (and other filmmakers) avoid my marketing mistakes.

Let me explain. . .

A few years back, my first feature failed to garner a tradition distribution deal. Admittedly the movie was a silly zombie flick with a very controversial story and a totally rough production value (understatement!). Upon completion, (like you), we cut the movie, rented a theater, held a premiere, got the feedback, refined the movie and then entered the festival circuit.

How our marketing mistakes cost us $100K in lost profits. . .

Movie Maker Marketing Mistake #1 – Our Movie Website
On our last day of production, a photographer for (the now defunct) Premier Magazine came to set and snapped a few pictures. One of the photos appeared in the magazine – And on the day of publication, we had about 10,000 unique visitors to our website. We were not ready. The traffic crashed the servers. Oops.

What we learned about movie websites:
We should have spent the money and got a Hosting Company with a solid track record. These days I prefer www.bluehost.com because for very little money, you can get a domain name and year’s worth of hosting. Since utilizing Bluehost, I have experienced very little downtime – And they have great indie film friendly customer service.

Movie Maker Marketing Mistake #2 – Our Initial Trailer
Once we fixed the website, we added a trailer that we self hosted. This was a mistake. Firstly, the load time sucked. Secondly, the trailer burnt bandwidth. And third, there was no option for zombie movie enthusiasts to re-embed the trailer on their fan sites (which is very inexpensive advertising). Oops.

What we learned about hosting a movie trailer:
Don’t host your movie trailer yourself. Upload it to one of the many video sites, like YouTube. Aside from saving you the bandwidth and providing re-embedding opportunities, each video hosting site allows your fanbase to build community around your movie. This in-turn spreads word of mouth and offers you the opportunity to keep your finger on the pulse of your marketing. The more views, the more your movie gains popularity.

Movie Maker Marketing Mistake #3 – Capture Visitor Information:
Despite our mistakes, the one thing we had going for us was a very controversial hook. Word of mouth spread quickly. And our website had thousands of visitors each week. This was great right? Sort of. . .

Why we should have captured visitor information:
Garnering high organic (unpaid) traffic on your movie website is euphoric. However if you allow people to visit and leave your website without attempting to build a long term relationship, then you just lost a fan. To prevent this, set up an automatic newsletter opt in on your website. For this job, I prefer www.aweber.com. For a minimal amount of money, the service provides you with a opt-in form and also manages your email list.

This goes almost without saying, but you should immediatly set up a facebook fan page. You can find ours by clicking here:

The Filmmaking Stuff Fan Page

Movie Maker Marketing Mistake #4 – Marketing VS Sales:
Your initial website will allow you to spread word about your movie and provide contact information for anybody who wants it. Additionally, your initial website will probably include production photos, silly stuff and a press kit. All of this is fine if you are seeking a traditional distribution deal. BUT. . .

The difference between Movie Marketing and Movie Sales:
When you’re marketing your movie, it is OK to have all the extra web pages. But when you make the shift from movie marketer to movie seller, you will need to change a few things. Firstly, you need to remove anything that doesn’t progress the sale of your movie. For example, if your intention is to sell a DVD, and your prospective fan gets distracted by your behind the scenes photos – and leaves your site – you have accomplished nothing.

Movie Maker Marketing Mistake #5 – Getting Bootlegged:
When it happens, it is both disheartening and validating at the same time. At first we went all over the internet and found a bunch of weird, cryptic streaming websites. We sent threatening, attorney drafted emails to the violators. Surprisingly, many complied and our movie was removed. . .

What we learned:
Within a week of removing the bootleggers both our web traffic and subsequent movie sales flat-lined. While I don’t have the evidence to prove correlation between bootlegs and sales – I have since come to the conclusion that people will buy your movie or not. Those that want to steal, will.

As a result, I have stopped policing the internet for bootleg providers. Let’s face it, paid advertising is expensive. Independent movie bootlegging is just another form of advertising.
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If you are already a member of my newsletter, you know how passionate I am about helping you make movies without asking permission. You also know that I’m passionate about sharing the “how to aspects” of making movies and making money. In no other area can this be achieved than the distribution of your movie.

As a result of my digital self distribution experience, I was hired to coach a rather well known indie filmmaker through his own digital self distribution campaign. Additionally, I have put all of this knowledge into a product called The Indie Producer’s Guide To Digital Self Distribution.

Comments and questions related to digital self movie distribution are welcome below:

Posted under DISTRIBUTION