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Filmmaking resources for indie filmmakers, including, screenwriting, financing, producing and film distribution

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Three Steps For Netflix Distribution (For Indie Filmmakers)

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Attend any film festival and you’ll hear filmmakers waxing poetically about the possibilities of landing a Netflix distribution deal. And having spent the greater part of my career working in film distribution, I can tell you that most filmmakers approach me asking how to contact Netflix directly.

In truth, unless your film project has major notoriety (because it played at a top tier film festival or has ginormous buzz) Netflix prefers that you utilize an established distributor or aggregator. But there is hope…

Netflix distribution

Three Steps For Netflix Distribution

Netflix is as a premium subscription channel similar HBO or Showtime. They pay a licensing fee for content they are interested in. And for these reasons, most Netflix distribution deals are negotiated by a distributor or aggregator. With all of this said, here are some steps to get you started.

Step 1 – Refine Your Pitch For Netflix

Because nearly every filmmaker dreams of getting a Netflix deal, there is an abundant supply of content. This means you will have to find some creative ways to make your film rise above the noise and get noticed. So before you reach out to a distributor or an aggregator, you need to clearly demonstrate “what’s in it for Netflix.”

Here are some questions to help refine your pitch:

  1. Do you have any “names” or “influencers” in your film?
  2. Does your film focus on a popular subject?
  3. Does your film have a strong social media following or press?

DistribberStep 2 – Find An Aggregator or Distributor

Once you have a strong pitch that showcases the value of your film, your next step is to partner with a distributor or aggregator capable of making the pitch. These entities will first evaluate your film to determine if your film (and your pitch) has a good shot at getting picked up.

Step 3 – Get A Response

If your film gets pitched to Netflix, it will take a few weeks to get a response. If Netflix is interested, they will negotiate directly with your distributor or aggregator. If accepted, your distributor will work with various vendors and encoding houses to deliver your film. You will need to provide your distributor or aggregator with all the necessary video files and artwork.

(Note: If Netflix chooses to license worldwide rights, you will need to deliver subtitles and localized artwork for each territory.)

If Netflix is passes on your film, you usually won’t get a lot of feedback. Do not take this personally. Perhaps Netflix picked up a similar film last week. Or perhaps the acquisition team is focused on other genres.

While we are on the subject of subscription video on demand (SVOD), it may behoove you to check out Amazon Prime. The service is similar to Netflix in the sense that subscribers can view anything in the Prime ecosystem. But unlike Netflix, Prime does not pay licensing fee. You are actually paid based on hours viewed.

If you would like to learn more about film distribution, check out my guide to VOD distribution. It just might help.

What is Your Filmmaking Niche?

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In movie marketing, there is this phrase I really like: “Marketing to everybody is marketing to nobody and niches will make you riches.” And while not every movie is guaranteed success, it is much easier to find your audience when you choose a filmmaking niche.

What is a filmmaking niche? It’s making a movie for a small slice of a larger audience. For example, let’s say you were making a horror movie. Horror is a very broad genre. But a subset of the horror genre is zombie movies. So in this example, making a zombie movie for a zombie loving audience would be your filmmaking niche.

So this is where you start. Will you make a horror movie, romantic comedy, action movie or a girl with a horse movie? (By the way, a girl with a horse movie really does well internationally.)

filmmaking niche

What is Your Filmmaking Niche?

Knowing your filmmaking niche is important because in order to make non-discriminatory distribution channels, such as iTunes and Amazon profitable – It is required that YOU market your movie on the internet. This means that you must work on sourcing your target audience and then drive those folks to your point of sale.

Having spent the last few years working in distribution, I can tell you that most filmmakers screw this up. They make a movie for everybody. And it is frankly too expensive to market to everybody! So before you even think about making your movie, answer these filmmaking questions:

  1. Who Is Your Target Audience?
  2. How Large Is Your Target Audience?
  3. How Will You Reach Your Audience?
  4. What Is Your Marketing Strategy?
  5. How Many VOD Sales To Break Even?

Since both iTunes and Amazon are internet, transactional marketplaces, it makes sense that most of your sales will come via the internet. And as a result, you must create a web presence that speaks to your audience. In other words, you need to make sure the right people know your movie exists.

Who are the right people? People who love your type of movie.

Your Movie Website

When it comes to designing a movie website, most filmmakers never think about their filmmaking niche. They know they need a website for their movies. The problem is, most filmmakers put way too much crap on their site. And none of it speaks to their audience.

Goals

It’s essential to have goals for your movie website. When people come to your website, what action do you want your visitors to take? Do you want them to Tweet about the site? Join you on Facebook? Get into your audience list? Or buy your movie?

Distractions

Once you know your website goals, you need to determine if your website architecture and design is inline with your goals. To do this, install Google Analytics and monitor your traffic. If you find people are getting lost in a bunch of silly pages, remove those pages. Keep what matters.

If you like these tips, you’ll love the Independent Producer’s Guide To Digitial Distribution

Warning: DVD Distribution Is Dead

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Do you remember retail DVD distribution? Do you remember walking into a video store and renting a video? Newsflash. Those days are gone. And the demise of retail DVD distribution means that you can no longer depend on some video rental chain to buy 5,000 copies of your DVD.

The rise of streaming film distribution means that your movie is no longer a physical product. It is data. Yet despite these changes, filmmakers still talk about the difference between traditional film distribution and self-distribution. And that is just silly…

dvd-distribution

Warning: DVD Distribution Is Dead

I have news for you.

If you mention the words self-distribution around me, I will whip you with a wet noodle. (Actually, I won’t really do that. I just used “wet noodle” to get your attention.) But the reason I am adamant about removing “self-distribution” from our filmmaking vernacular is because there is no such thing.

Most filmmakers don’t get it.

Whenever I give talks about film distribution, someone invariably shares a story about some traditional distributor (previously focused on DVD distribution) who pivoted into a VOD aggregator, promising to get their title into iTunes and Amazon and Hulu. And I’m like:

“So what? Any filmmaker can access those platforms. Why do you need a middle-man?”

Blank stares.

Aside from getting your film on iTunes, Hulu and Amazon, unless your “traditional distributor” is conducting verifiable and measurable marketing, there is no additional value.

Just because you can access the popular film marketplaces does not guarantee success. Think about it. There is a reason big movie studios spend millions marketing studio produced features. But most film distributors do not have millions to spend on marketing.

Here are THREE essential filmmaking skills you need to master:

1. Become an Internet marketer: Or team up with someone who is. Why? Because there will come a time when there is NO delineation between the Internet and your television. Or your mobile device. As a result of these changes, you will need to drive targeted Internet traffic to your desired point of sale (AKA buy now button) and convert these visitors into customers.

2. Find Out How To Crowdfund: Running a successful crowdfunding campaign requires social networking, real-world networking and Internet marketing. Aside from raising money, your goal is to test all your movie concepts before you dive in both feet first. And if successful, your goal is to snowball your supporters into one giant mailing list so you can gain their support for your next projects.

3. Your Audience Is Your Business: Marketing nerds have a saying, “The money is in your list.” It is now no different to filmmakers. Your ongoing goal is to create work that encourages people to sign up for your mailing list and become a fan of you and your films, for life. Then with each project, your ongoing goal is to continually grow your list.

For some filmmakers, mastering film distribution is easier said than done. I get that.

If you are like most filmmakers, you have probably spent your whole filmmaking career imagining that your movie would get “discovered” and you would be propelled into instant fame and fortune. And while I would never discourage you from thinking BIG…

It is equally important to have a pragmatic approach to your work, complete with manageable expectations. But do me a favor… despite any emotion you have towards distribution, please stop using the words “self-distribution.”

It makes you sound old. Instead, repeat this mantra: “If my filmmaking success is meant to be, it’s up to me.” And if you like this stuff, you can always grab your copy of the indie producer’s guide to digital distribution.

Is Traditional Movie Distribution Dead?

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When we produced our first feature film, our goal was to get an awesome movie distribution deal and fund our future productions. In our case, the movie was rough, but it was good enough to get a few offers. But upon reading the contract fine-print, none of the offers seemed like good deals.

At the same time, Amazon was gaining prominence as a popular movie marketplace. The opportunity at Amazon, combined with lots of traffic coming to our movie website motivated us to forgo traditional deals in favor of self-distribution. And the rest, as they say, is history.

In the years since, many end consumers have cut their traditional cable cords in favor of popular on-demand channels. Soon there will be no delineation between your TV and the internet. And these trends have forever altered traditional movie distribution.

movie distribution

Is Traditional Movie Distribution Dead?

In the old days, it was impossible to enter the marketplace without a distributor. You needed to work with someone who could navigate the complicated landscape of physical product and splinter your movie rights across the globe. But this model of traditional movie distribution is eroding.

Behemoths like iTunes, Amazon Prime, Netflix and other digital platforms are going global. And while many legacy distributors (and some foreign governments) are trying to preserve territories, the internet doesn’t have boundaries. Add self distribution tactics to the paradigm shift, and you start to see why filmmakers may value the middle-man less.

To counter the traditional “middle-man” perception, distributors now focus on movie promotion as a selling point. The problem is, marketing is expensive. And even the most ethical and enthusiastic distribution companies lack the resources to commit to a campaign past the initial release.

After producing my own films and actually working in distribution, I can tell you that (ironically) the best distribution deals are reserved for filmmakers who don’t actually need a deal. These entrepreneurial filmmakers go into the process with a promotional, sales and film distribution plan.

And all of this begs the question: Is traditional movie distribution dead?

The Secret of Pitching to Film Investors (Shhhh. Don’t tell.)

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I’m going to reveal some secrets for pitching to film investors. But before I do, I want you to know something. There is NO magic secret for pitching to film investors.

The process of finding and pitching to film investors is not nearly as complicated as many people would like you to believe. Pitching to film investors is a numbers game. The more people you talk to, the greater your chances of finding someone willing to invest.

So with that said, it’s important to note that most prospective film investors are business savvy. And they all ask the same question. What is the question?

Inevitability one of the most frequently asked questions film investors ask is:

“How do you plan to make, market and sell this movie and return my investment?”

In the old model of filmmaking, traditional distribution was a lottery. So in response, most filmmakers (especially first time filmmakers) say something like this:

“Filmmaking is risky. If we are lucky, we will get into Sundance and get a distribution deal.”

To that end, most film investors respond like this:

“What? That’s not a business – that’s gambling!”

Film Investors

Film Investors: The Secret of Pitching

Disclaimer: What I’m about to share is total FICTION and should NOT be used in any business plans you create because I am neither a lawyer or an accountant. And I express my right to free speech as I share this imaginary, yet very pragmatic scenario.

Picture this. You enter a room with a bunch of prospective film investors.

Filmmaker: In our business, we hold the rights to an outstanding screenplay that taps into a well targeted, genre specific audience. We have budgeted the movie for $100,000 dollars. And given the genre, we do not need star talent. We are keeping the budget low – most folks have agreed to work for a salary, and all have agreed to residual compensation in the back end.

Prospective Film Investors: I see…

Filmmaker: At present, our crowdfunding campaign has allowed us to test the concept. And with sixty days left in the campaign, we have already sourced several hundred donations, giving us $8,000 dollars to pay for our website, marketing and PR.

Prospective Film Investors: I see…

Filmmaker: Upon completion of our movie, the title will available in all the popular marketplaces, including Amazon and iTunes. And as we speak, in addition to crowfunding, we have already contacted our audience list of 20,000 people (from our last movie in a similar genre) who have expressed interest in this upcoming title. Combine this with several partner filmmakers which will roughly expand our audience footprint to well over 250,000 targeted viewers.

Prospective Film Investors: I see…

Filmmaker: So at the time of release, if we project sales at 2% of 250,000 people. This means that 5000 people will download the movie at 9.99… which will be close to 50K minus a 40%  marketplace fee and a 10% commission to our partners – and we should be able to immediately return $25,000.

Prospective Film Investors: Wow! You really did your homework.

Filmmaker: Each subsequent quarter, we would like to continually re-invest 10% of the revenue into further list building efforts. And we would like to keep 30% for the producer and crew compensation. Which should leave you with a 60% cash dividend, to be paid quarterly. Assuming we can bring in $30,000 per year, in 7 years we will have more than $200,000 in revenue for this title. At that time, $20,000 would have been paid to marketing, $60,000 would have been paid to cast and producers and $120,000 would have been paid to investors.

Prospective Investor: Then what?

Filmmaker: As soon as we pay back the initial investment, we would like to split our revenue 60/40. In other words, the producers and crew would get 60% and you would continue to get 40%.

Prospective Investor: I understand what you’re saying here.

Filmmaker: Of course, there is always the small chance that we could get lucky – if we got a 5% return on our initial campaign, and 12,500 people immediately downloaded the movie at $9.99, our revenue will be close to $125,000 – minus expenses. But I need to remind you that this is not likely. And we would still have to pay a commission.

Prospective Investor: Oh. This makes sense.

Fimmaker: Great. Would you like to invest?
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While I have provided a FICTIONAL example  (talk to an attorney and accountant before you ever pitch an idea) of how some filmmakers may decide to navigate this new movie business, my whole point here is this:

It is important to realize that success of a movie is no longer based solely on handing off the movie to some 3rd party distribution company. If you want to make it in this new world of filmmaking, you need to stop waiting for someone else to manage the business aspects of your movie and your career. Instead you now need to take a vested interest in the success of your project.

If you’re helming your movie project, nobody cares about it more than you. But if you aren’t afraid to provide everybody on your team with a bit of ownership too – you’ll soon be surprised to learn that word of mouth spreads a lot quicker when your entire cast and crew has a vested financial interest in the project.

In this regard, when you win, everybody wins!

Getting movie money begins first with making the call and building relationships with good prospective investors. So if you liked this article, you will love this professional film funding resource I created. Check it out by clicking here.

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DISCLAIMER (again) – I’m a filmmaker – not a lawyer or accountant. I’m expressing my freedom of speech for your entertainment. If you’re still reading this, I want to make it very clear that I made most of those figures up as a fictional EXAMPLE. You’ll have to figure out your own numbers and crunch your own data and make your own relationships with prospective investors. And always speak with a qualified professional before you do anything.