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.

You need a website to promote your movie. The problem is, most movie website designs are not optimized to help you get your movie seen and selling. This is a big problem.

Over the past year, I have worked with some of the worlds most awesome internet marketers and software developers to create a solution.

I am pleased to announce the launch of the “Filmmaker Theme” for WordPress. Check it out by going here: www.FilmmakerTheme.com

This theme is designed for filmmakers who are looking to market and sell their movies. Called the “Filmmaker Theme,” it is optimized to drive audience traffic to a VOD or DVD marketplace such as Amazon, Hulu or iTunes or anywhere else.

The following video shows you how quickly you can create websites optimized for your movie.

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If you would like to become an affiliate, this product is managed through clickbank and pays 50%.

1. Sign Up to become a clickbank affiliate by going here: http://www.clickbank.com/promote_products.html

2. Once you have you account “nickname” replace the word affiliate in the link structure below.

Here is the link structure: http://affiliate.FILMTHEME.hop.clickbank.net/
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This literally took me over a year of development. My goal was to find a way to help filmmakers create movie websites optimized to funnel traffic to the popular points of sale.

I would be honored if you would take a look at the Filmmaker Theme site and perhaps tweet about it, or share it with your list.

Posted under DISTRIBUTION

Distribber Screenshot Image via CrunchBase

If you are looking for film distribution, there are a lot of ways to enter the marketplace. If you have been reading Filmmaking Stuff for any length of time, you know that my my film distribution strategy emphasizes three factors:

1. Video on demand distribution is the future.
2. Internet marketing is now essential.
3. You do not need a Middle-Man.

If you are looking for an easy way to access the marketplaces, check out my friends at Distribber. My affiliate link is www.MovieSalesTool.com (Yes, I get paid to promote. And I like the company.)

For a one time, up-front investment, Distribber will help you to get your movie into iTunes. As part of the iTunes deal, Distribber will also handle your Amazon VOD submission for free.

Check out the Distribber FAQs – There is a lot of useful information on how modern VOD film distribution works.

Distribber also holds a weekly Q&A conference call. I am usually (but not always) on the call. And if you’re interested, it is held on Wednesdays at noon Pacific time.

The conference call is hosted by the Distribber CEO Adam Chapnick. Adam will be happy to answer any questions you may have. You may find some of the questions asked by the other filmmakers useful as well.

Here is the film distribution conference call info:

Distribber dedicated dial-in number
1 (605) 475-4333

Access code
785208

After you get your movie into the marketplace, you will also want information on how to market and sell your movie. For that, I reccomend checking out the indie producer’s guide to Film Distribution. In it, you will get a no-fluff strategy on how to get your movie seen and selling.

Posted under DISTRIBUTION

Filmmakers need to source their target audience. Image via Wikipedia

Given the erosion of traditional movie distribution sales channels, as a filmmaker you must now find your target audience wherever they hang out and then get them to know you, know your work, and hopefully pay money to watch your movie.

In the past, filmmakers never had to worry about sourcing an audience because the entire movie industry operated like a big factory. Filmmakers made the product and the distributors sold the product through theatrical and DVD distribution. But as a result of the internet and enhancements to video on demand technology, distribution has been disrupted and the old model has been forever screwed up.

So now, if you want to succeed as a filmmaker, it is not enough to simply get you movie into iTunes. I mean, anybody can do that. What you also need to do is have a killer website, attract your target audience, and then get them to take action.

While it’s nice to believe that all website visitors will automatically buy your movie, the truth is, most visitors will not buy your movie on the first visit. For starters, they don’t know you. And they probably don’t know anything about your movie. So your job is not necessary to focus on the sale, but rather, focus on opting them into your audience list.

There are many ways to create an audience list. But unfortunately, most of the methods are crap. In my career, to save money, I have tried forgoing using a reputable email marketing company, and opted instead for one of the popular social networks. For awhile, this was awesome – even thought it took years, I had 8000 “friends” and one one of the sites… But then that site went out of vogue. As a result, my sourced audience was useless.

To avoid the same fate, I HIGHLY recommend that you use a reputable 3rd party email marketing company to manage your audience list. While there are some great companies out there, over the past three years, I have utilized a service called Aweber. This is a reputable email marketing company… [and yes, they DO pay me to promote - so conduct your own due-diligence.]

But the reason I promote this service over other services is this: Aweber adheres to Spam Laws and requires “double-opt-in.”  This means, after your visitor opts-in, they get an email asking if they’re sure they really want to hear from you.  And because of their business practices, Aweber is respected by email service provides – like Hotmail, Gmail and Yahoo Mail- which helps avoid spam filters. Additionally, as part of the service, you are able to set up something called a sequential email auto-responder. An auto-responder allows you to pre-write and create multiple emails for your audience.

So let’s say you were trying to sell your Zombie movie. After the opt-in, your first email could tell your audience more about your movie. And over the following weeks, your subsequent emails could then provide more and more value to your prospective customer – the result of which compels your fan to BUY NOW.

Once your prospect makes a purchase, you could automatically migrate this person to your customer list. And once this fan is in your customer list, you could then promote another zombie movie (from another friendly filmmaker). And because you “sourced a zombie audience member,” the odds of getting a second sale are greater.

Most filmmakers don’t get excited about the wonders of sourcing an audience. But again, most filmmakers do not realize we are in a new era of independent filmmaking. The good news is for you is, with a website, some creativity and an email marketing mechanism, you can start sourcing your audience TODAY.

If you would like to find out more about email marketing and how this can help you with your own independent movie business, you can get some FREE information below:

Happy Filmmaking!

Posted under DISTRIBUTION

Image via Wikipedia

I love Kevin Smith’s attitude towards modern movie distribution. If you’re like most independent filmmakers, what Kevin was able to accomplish from his days of Clerks has been amazing. Back then, he not only dreamed the Sundance Dream, but he realized the dream.

The Sundance dream is the idea that you will make your movie, get into Sundance, sell your movie and live happily ever after. As I have been telling you all along, the demise of DVD sales channels, replaced by ever evolving VOD marketplaces are impacting Filmmakers everywhere.

These days, if you are going to make movies and profit, you must now view your independent movie business in ways akin to how any business owner handles their business. You must source and grow your own audience list.

In the following video Kevin Smith shares his perspective on modern movie distribution and how the brave new world is impacting indie filmmakers.

Please feel free to comment.

Posted under INTERVIEWS

DVDs are going the way of the 8-Track Image via Wikipedia

With video on demand distribution and the emergence of several new VOD aggregators, independent movie distribution has become non-discriminatory. This means ALL filmmakers can access the marketplace without asking permission.

While this is exciting, it now means the market is flooded with content. Couple this paradigm shift with the demise of DVD sales channels, and you’ll find many traditional distributors are now offering VOD deals to unsuspecting filmmakers, in the hopes something sticks. While these deals hardly every include any upfront cash advances, filmmakers are usually attracted to the silly promise that these distributors will get their titles into iTunes.

But you don’t need those people. With companies like distribber YOU can get your movie onto iTunes without the middel-man.

And as my friend Jared says, anybody with a HDSRL camera can make a back yard barbeque look cinematic. Granted, this technology doesn’t automatically create good cinema – but it does flood the market with competing product.

What this shift represents to filmmakers is in ways akin to what happens when widget factory owners suddenly find themselves in the market, competing with sweat shop labor and cheaply produced goods of a comparable quality.

As a result, the widget that once sold for $100 dollars can no longer compete. And taking this a step further, if your widget company cannot make enough sales to be profitable – my question is:

What happens to the widget factory workers? Do they get pay raises or do they get laid off?

The good news is competition, technological innovations and change has impacted most every other industry since the beginning of capitalism. And despite these challenges, history is full of entrepreneurial innovation – stories of people who have rode the waves of change and prospered.

I believe independent filmmakers can do the same.

What we are facing as filmmakers is no different than any other business. In fact, I would say that we have just stepped into the era of the mini-studio. Filmmaking has become the next small business.

So how do we compete?

Posted under FILM FINANCING

I often promote the movie distribution solution called distribber. For those of you who are not familiar with distribber, it’s a company that allows you to access the popular video on demand marketplaces, like iTunes and Amazon without the middle-man.

And if you have submitted your movie to the company, odds are good you got a phone call from me. And the question you may have asked during the call is, why does distribber charge money up front?

The reason for this charge is because the folks at distribber have to go through all sorts of technical stuff to get your movie into the various marketplaces. Additionally, unlike other companies, distribber does not lock you into an exclusive distribution deal. And with the exception of an inexpensive yearly maintenance fee, distribber does not take ownership on the back end.

The thing to keep in mind is, in the world of modern VOD distribution, YOU must become your own distributor. And this means YOU will be in charge of sourcing the audience. But if you think about it, even with a traditional dvd distributor – when those folks lock you into a traditional deal, and then take your rights for VOD, you need to be careful.

A traditional DVD distributor may not do anything to help you source an audience. So you need to ask yourself, what is the value in the deal? I mean if you can get into iTunes yourself, why give your rights to someone else?

Distribber is owned by IndieGoGo.com – If the upfront distribber fee is an obstacle for your, I highly recommend creating a crowd funding campaign on Indie GoGo and raising your distribution money there. Then take the money and get your movie into distribber.

Come on. The world is waiting!

Also, most people ask me how to market and sell movies. I recommend checking out the independent producer’s guide to digital distribution.

Posted under DISTRIBUTION

Image via Wikipedia

A few weeks back I gave a talk and was surprised that many filmmakers in attendance had never heard of crowdfunding.

If you are one of those filmmakers, crowdfunding provides you with the ability to reach out to your social networks and solicit your contacts for financial sponsorship.

In this “many to one” funding model, in exchange for donations, you provide various incentives. $5 dollars might get your sponsor a DVD. $500 dollars might get your sponsor an all expenses paid trip to the premier.

The other reason why I like crowdfunding is, it allows you to test a concept and source an audience from day one. In this regard, if your movie has a really sharp hook, you have the possibility of building buzz before you make your movie.

I have provided the following resources to help speed up your crowdfunding research:

Popular Crowdfunding Sites

www.indiegogo.com – Indie GoGo allows filmmakers to raise money and take whatever they get. Indie GoGo also owns a movie distribution arm called distribber.

www.kickstarter.com – This an all or nothing deal. Filmmakers either hit their goal, or they get nothing.

Distribution Tools

Assuming you are successful in your funding campaign, you will want to start thinking about your distribution strategy. To help with this, check out the following, popular distribution solutions:

www.distribber.com (my affiliate) – Owned by Indie GoGo, with a one-time upfront fee, this company allows filmmakers to access the popular VOD marketplaces, in a non-exclusive deal. In other-words, with this company you can avoid locking yourself into some sort of crappy distribution deal. And since the company is owned by Indie GoGo, many filmmakers utilize crowdfunding to cover their distribber distribution costs. Pretty smart, right?

www.DynamoPlayer.com – in ways akin to YouTube, this company allows filmmakers to upload their movies and then embed anywhere on the net. The video is then linked to PayPal or Amazon payments, which enables filmmakers to easily receive payment. The challenge with Dynamo is sourcing an audience. Unless you have significant web traffic, making money can be a challenge.

Also, read this article from the Wall Street Journal – The SEC is considering lifting regulations on private offerings. In the very near future, filmmakers may be able to sell shares of ownership through crowdfunding. It’s still a long way away, but worth thinking about.

Hope these filmmaking resources help. While you’re here, sign up for my newsletter >>

Posted under FILM FINANCING

If you’re like most filmmakers, you have a website for your movie. And odds are good you are trying to fit too much into it. So the first thing you need to do is remove all the distracting crap. Whenever I mention this at a talk, invariably someone asks me how to determine what’s distracting? It depends on your website objective.

When building a movie website, most filmmakers have two objectives:

1. Stage 1 – Raise awareness for your movie.
2. Stage 2 – Sell your movie directly.

If you’re still in Stage 1, chances are good you have press kits, actor bios, reviews of your movie, anecdotes from production and about a gazillion other items, including behind the scenes photo galleries. But once you finish the festival circuit, you may choose to enter Stage 2 and start funneling web traffic towards your DVDs and VOD in various marketplaces.

To do this, I suggest you install Google analytics and monitor your traffic. Here is an example from the first feature I worked on:

If you look closely, you’ll notice that many visitors ended up visiting pages that did not lead to a sale. This is like keeping money on the table. So to counter the confusion, I suggest simply removing the pages altogether.

When promoting your movie, the goal is to remove all the extra crap and keep what matters.

The end result is a very simple website that “funnels” people to your desired destination.

When visitors click on “Buy NOW” they are redirected to the point of sale.

Marketing a movie is initially a creative art – but unlike other arts,  the beauty of movie marketing is, with the right tracking tools, you can test and retest your ideas to determine effectiveness.

If you like this filmmaking stuff, sign up for our newsletter.

Posted under DISTRIBUTION

The other week I went on a minor rant about filmmakers hellbent on streaming movies from their movie website. And after some very thoughtful feedback, the truth is (as much as I hate admitting this) I realized I may have made an error.

In my article, I mentioned that most customers will feel more comfortable watching movies on established platforms, such as Hulu, iTunes, Amazon and NetFlix. At the same time, I totally discounted filmmakers presently testing ways to stream from their sites. And as any great marketer knows, ALL marketing decisions (assuming they make financial sense) have to be tested.

What works with one movie, may not work with every movie.

With that said, a lot of filmmakers (who do not have website traffic) are being fed the idea that “content enablers” will magically source an audience. They will not. So if your website does not have a lot of visitors, before you worry about where to stream your movie, I suggest you work on increasing your traffic as well as building your audience list. Then later, when you reach mass, you can focus on directing folks into your sales funnel.

The other tip is this: DO NOT stream a movie from your own hosting company server. That is silly. Let someone else handle the bandwidth and content delivery issues. Here are two resources for selling your movie (both of which are affiliates and pay me to promote – so research each before you make any purchase):

1. Movie Sales Tool – www.MovieSalesTool.com it’s my special link for distribber. They help you get your movie onto iTunes and other popular marketplaces.
2. Dynamoplayer -  www.dynamoplayer.com – OK. This is not actually an affiliate of Filmmaking Stuff (yet), but maybe by the time you read this, the CEO Rob Millis will finally return my call and I will be promoting this one a lot more. UPDATE: Rob just got back to me and we will chat next week. (Looking forward to it Rob.)

Again – while both of these companies provide great services for filmmakers, it is important that you remember the major, key aspect of the brave new world of modern moviemaking – Regardless of platform – YOU are responsible for sourcing your own audience. Don’t forget that!

To help you out, I have created a step-by-step guide called the independent producer’s guide to digital distribution. If you need help driving targeted traffic to your website and selling your movie through VOD marketplaces, the guide offers some tips.

Posted under DISTRIBUTION

If you’re an independent filmmaker focused on finding a great distribution deal, you know it’s a tricky world. As a result of VOD as well as declining retail options, many traditional DVD distributors are offering some really bad deals.

This week’s guest post comes from  Sheri Candler. Sheri is an inbound marketing strategist who helps independent filmmakers build identities for themselves and their films. Sheri stopped by Filmmaking Stuff to tell us about a new service for filmmakers called the Distributor ReportCard™.

The Key to Choosing the Best Distributor? Research

We’ve all heard many horror stories from filmmakers who were thrilled to find a distributor for their film only to find the film was mishandled, shelved or the company went under with no recourse for the filmmaker to claim their rights back. There are also distributors so coveted for their professionalism and skill at finding the right audiences for their titles that everyone wants to work with them.

How to separate the wheat from the chaff?

There is a new tool being developed to help independent filmmakers research backgrounds, complaints and recommendations before choosing a distribution partner. The Film Collaborative (TFC) has aggregated all of the information you will need to inform your decisions before you sign agreements and they have called this free resource the Distributor ReportCard™ (DRC). It is an open source wiki anyone can use to voice opinions, experiences, questions and recommendations for both filmmakers and distributors.

The DRC is meant to be an online guide much like Yelp is for restaurants and shops.  TFC founder Orly Ravid says, “For the same reason people really find YELP useful before choosing where to go to dinner, we know that feedback from filmmakers who have worked with distributors will be useful to other filmmakers. We always advise filmmakers to get and check references before signing on with a distributor and this is just an even more unbiased way to get feedback.”

At present, the DRC’s list was pulled together by TFC, but they want that to change. “We had to start somewhere so we listed distributors that we have either worked with or know about. It will take some time before it’s completely thorough and contains plenty of feedback. The more filmmakers and distributors we reach to encourage company submissions and feedback, the faster it will done,” said Ravid. Distributors representing all forms of distribution are included as well as some international sales companies and digital distribution platforms. The list is human edited and vetted regularly to provide the most up to date information on currently operating distributors.

Experiences both negative and positive are encouraged. “The more information and perspectives the better. Just as people rely on Consumer Reports and Yelp and Blue Book to make informed decisions, the DRC is meant to help filmmakers by having information all in one place and rated according to their colleagues’ experiences.” Distributors are also encouraged to participate by answering any questions, misunderstandings or concerns on their respective pages.

The instructions for using the DRC are as follows:

1. Log into/create a wikispacesaccount, The site utilizes wikispaces so you should use a unique username and password. If you are already a member of The Collaborators site (www.thefilmcollaborators.org), you’ll need a different username and password than your Collaborators membership. If you are creating an account, a Wikispaces MY ACCOUNT page will appear.

2. Go to MY WIKI (near upper right-hand corner) and type in FILM DISTRIBUTOR GUIDE. A small window will pop-up underneath with FILM DISTRIBUTION GUIDE. (You can later add this to your favorite wikis and not have to type in the name each time you log in.  You will still need to go to MY WIKI link to select it. Click on FILM DISTRIBUTION GUIDE. The DRC front page will come up.

3. On the far LEFT-HAND SIDE column, select the DISTRIBUTOR you wish look up or to comment on.

4. Once you are on the chosen distributor’s page, click on the DISCUSSION tab.

5. Click the NEW POST button (located just under the distributor’s name, upper left side) if you wish to comment.

6. A NEW POST window will pop-up.

7.  Fill-in your SUBJECT and type your MESSAGE in the pop-up window.

8.  If you want to receive an email when others respond to your post, click the box  “MONITOR THIS TOPIC”.  If not, proceed to #8.

9.  When you are finished entering your missive, click POST.

10.  Your post is complete!

TFC encourages factual and constructive information attributed to named individuals. Acknowledging that some filmmakers may not feel comfortable registering complaints or low opinions of their past or current distribution partners, Ravid said there is an option to post anonymously. “We have a user handle for anyone who wants to use the DRC anonymously and also we are happy to post the comments on anyone’s behalf. You’ll just need to contact the site administrator with your details. We will post that the person making the comment wishes to remain anonymous so those who are doing research can take this into consideration.”

To access Distributor ReportCard, please visit the site

www.distributorreportcard.com

About The Film Collaborative

The Film Collaborative (TFC) — the first non-profit devoted to distribution education and facilitation for independent film. We offer a full range of affordable educational, distribution and marketing services to independent filmmakers looking for distribution sustainability and to reach traditionally underserved audiences. Launched in early 2010 TFC has already provided its services to more than 75 independent films such as Sundance Award Winners We Live in Public, GasLand and Undertow, and SXSW Award Winners Made in China and Weekend.

About Distributor ReportCard™:

Distributor ReportCard™ gives filmmakers and producers a chance to SCHOOL THE DISTRIBUTORS. Write reviews, share your experiences and learn from other filmmakers’ successes or mistakes.

Simply click on one of the distributors and you’ll be taken to the info page for that distributor. All information is gathered from their respective website and is not based on a TFC review.

Speak your mind. Create or join a discussion about a specific distributor.

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Posted under DISTRIBUTION