Well, AFM just wrapped up and what a great market it was! For me personally I had a few extremely productive and ‘quality’ meetings (my theme this year was quality over quantity) that lead to almost all of the projects on my slate moving forward in one way or another. Good times!
But you may be wondering what my overall insights are from the market right? Like what were some of my major take-away’s and A-Ha moments. Well I’ll be going through my full analysis next week in a Virtual Seminar for Film Specific members, but in the mean time I’d like to share with you the following notes below… (taken directly from my notebook by the way that I carried around everywhere with me!) 
Stacey’s AFM Insights…
• If you’ve got the goods, you’re not going to have a problem getting financing! There’s plenty of money out there circulating right now…
• If you run into financing road blocks, lower your budget…
• If you’re going for the bigger budget indie with name talent, then start with Pre-Sales – all other financing will be easier to come by after that…
• No matter what budget you’re making your film for, who the target audience is still needs to be made abundantly clear…
• Don’t make things more complicated than they are! Get some private equity, add a few pre-sales, get some gap… and lower your budget if necessary to make it all work!
• When trying to package your film, focus on creating a network of relationships you can leverage since gaining access to managers and agents is all about relationships…
• If you’re pitching a ‘branded’ project or one based on source material (like a book or graphic novel) – what is the level of awareness that is already in place?
• Before approaching a packaging agent at one of the major agencies, be sure you have at least 1 element in place in order to get their attention (that element could be name cast, director, or producer)
• Remember that when going the packaging route it can take years before your project gets off the ground – so be patient…
• A Producer who knows how to package their own projects is in very high demand right now!
• If you’re a new Producer and can’t make headway or are facing road blocks and catch 22′s, then go get an experienced Producer or EP on board that has the relationships in place that you need. Don’t be afraid to partner and collaborate with someone else until you make a name for yourself…
• Add value to your project by shooting a sizzle reel or have previous work to show your talent – this will help get potential partners interested in working with you…
• Relationships, relationships, relationships! It’s the most important thing to getting your film off the ground – work on building key relationships and you’ll fast track moving your project forward…
• As a new Producer optioning source material is a great way help get your foot in the door when you’re first starting out – everyone’s looking for a ‘brand’ to go on…
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So what about you? For any of you that attended AFM, what were your major take-away’s? And what was your experience at AFM like in general? Please share below!
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My overall impression was that the sales agencies in the suites were promoting “horror/thrillers” or “art house” films.I am in the process of packaging an “urban drama” that I was told in so many words that it should be skewed into an “action/thriller” with a “name” actor in order to get a decent foreign distribution deal.It was my first time at AFM and it was a real eye opener.Met a lot of great folks in LA and realize that this is where it’s at as far as where the real players are.Stacy you have been a great help to me along the way and I will continue to take your advice.
Yeah, AFM for the first time is usually a big eye-opener! But sounds like it was in a good way for you. Glad I could be of assistance along the way and best of luck with your film!
I hope we can get a clearer line on what was selling at AFM (especially on the lower budget scale) and what was not. On two accounts I heard that horror wasn’t selling at all, but now I’m reading that it is?
Hope the wrap-up/seminar will detail it more.
Thanks for posting, Stacey. Some nice reading material indeed.
Hi Kholi, yep Horror is still selling! I don’t know if it ever ‘won’t’ sell to tell you the truth. What’s getting harder in that genre is to compete against the sea of low budget horror flicks out there….so you have to raise your game and hopefully put some ‘names’ in it so your horror stands out from all the rest. Hope this helps and I’ll see you on the call on Wednesday!
Thanks Stace,
With what I learned basically from FilmSpecific, I was able to navigate the AFM and converse on a much more professional level. I met over 10 people (2 sales agents and 4 distribs) – and never had a scheduled meeting; follow up calls to come.
Very excited about this coming week. Thanks Again.
Wow, that’s excellent news Bob! So glad you were able to get some impromptu meetings
Keep us posted on the follow up process…
Hi Stacy,
Just want to let you know that I had a very successful AFM. This would not have been possible without your help at film specific. Armed with a great action thriller script, named actors and a killer pitch I was able to meet with sales agents and distributors without any appointments. I have over twenty meetings scheduled after the Thanksgiving break. Getting ready to package for Cannes now. I will def be glued to film specific the next few months. I need to work on my business plan. Thanks
Antonio
Antonio, OMG that is such great news! So thrilled to hear you got great results. Please please keep me posted on your progress!
Stacey,
The main thing I am taking away from your recent posts is a positive tone. And I want you to know how much that means to those of us out here in the wilderness (a million miles from LA or the biz). I love how the wisdom comes through in your comments.
Your reports, optimism, and great attitude give me something to hang on to over the long haul, while trying to get projects off the ground, finished, packaged.
Thanks from all of us for all you do. We appreciate you!
Hey Layne, you’re so welcome! I’m so glad I can help
Your suggestion about hitting the bar area at 5 was right on. I was there Thurs and Fri got 4 requests for the script from production/distribution companies plus a connection to a financial entity. My pitch, as you suggested, was that I was simply looking for a producing partner. Thanks, Stacy.
LOL, that’s great news Bob! Happy Hour at the Lowe’s bar is always a great place to rub shoulders with buyers… and they are much more relaxed after having a few drinks. Nice job!
Fantastic experience! I couldn’t have done it without your help…at least to the level of professionalism that I felt. I got a great response and many asked for my script. Since it is a rather high budget film, I was advised by most to bring it down, but one animation company, that wants to follow up, said that they only look at budgets over $25M Who knows? And, yes, I met him at a party. Everyone liked the ” Animated Symph-rock-tronic opera” pitch.
Hi,
My experience was a bit different. While it was positive overall, I found that very few companies we met had ANY interest in working with a project in development — even though it had two decent names attached. So pre-sales were almost a non-starter in most meetings.
These folks were significantly more interested in my art-house drama (with no names) that was already completed. They didn’t care necessarily what is was about… just that the project was done, in-the-can, and edited. And of course I had a screener handy.
They actually seemed excited to watch it!
A year ago, when I was heavily pitching this art-house project to distributors via email, I couldn’t get anyone to bite. Yet, face-to-face at AFM was the exact opposite. Just something to consider for those folks with a low-budget project in-the-can. There’s still hope. Buy the badge and go to AFM. You won’t regret it.
Hi Steve, That’s a really good point. Most sales agents are interested in finished product FIRST as a priority since that’s how they make their livings. The higher end sales agencies (about 6-10 of them) are also interested in acquiring projects for pre-sales… so likely you were talking to the majority of sales agents who prioritize finished films. Also, since Pre-Sales are entirely cast-dependent, I find that unless you have super duper A list knock-them-off-their-feet cast, they will be luke warm. Just because YOU think it’s ‘name’ cast doesn’t mean it’s appealing to a sales agent in other words. Anyway, thanks so much for sharing your experience!
Stacey,
They echoed your sentiment exactly. Our “decent” names did not excite them for pre-sales. We need to land that A-lister, and our fingers are still crossed.
Yet, those decent names would definitely open some doors for us with a finished project.
And, for what it’s worth, I also heard horror wasn’t selling. But I think it’s market-dependent. Apparently, it will always sell in Russia. And I think it will always sell here in the States. I just happened to sit next to some buyers from Eastern Europe (Poland, Romania, and a few others) at a bar one night. They were more than happy to chat about their market. Our project, a family comedy, is not a big seller in their market. Neither is horror. Of of them said, “I wouldn’t take a Sam Raimi picture for FREE.” But give her something with “Clive Owen or Colin Farrell” and she’s in. And the kicker… they all said they do pre-sales “almost exclusively”!
Steve, that’s really funny! I hope you got those buyers’ cards for future pre-sales! LOL…