I saw this quote in an Indie Wire blog post this week and it really stood out to me….
“After reading pieces on “new distribution models” to the point of nausea over the past two years, it was nice to see that the one thing exactly no one was talking about at Sundance this year was self-distribution; everyone smelled the blood in the water and, in many cases, got a distribution deal out of the ensuing frenzy.”
Inspiring, huh?
To me it is because it feels like after a 2 year slump in indie land, where everything has been reduced to micro low-budget moviemaking, self distribution as the only choice, and spending all your time building an audience from scratch on facebook – the sun also rises!
This year at Sundance is proof that traditional distributors are back and willing to make deals that make sense even for filmmakers. In addition to decent advances, they are committing sizable P&A budgets, splitting up rights, and experimenting with windows.
It’s the best of both worlds in my eyes because we Producers can make films for a decent budget and be assured there’s at least some kind of market out there for our work… provided we make exceptional films. That part doesn’t change – no amount of Red camera work and fancy post production and audience building, and facebook followings can replace good old fashioned great work. So don’t kid yourself on that front. Do yourself a favor and watch the films that were in Sundance competition (you can see some via Sundance Selects) – that’s how high the bar is! Then look at your film honestly…. is it of the same level not just in production quality but in every other way? Be brutally honest with yourself.
Do I think that we should ignore self-distribution as an option all together? No way. It’s a great Plan B for many films, and even a Plan A for some. But we no longer have to resort to it and accept it as the only way to go. That’s the difference.
So back to focusing on making exceptional films, at the right price – none of these Sundance festival winners went to extravagant heights with their budgets. Everyone kept things modest a couple million or less.
One other thing – I still think we need to be focused on who the target audience is for our films because guess what, whether you are self distributing or not, even the traditional distributors who bought at Sundance proved to be hungry for the films with a distinct target audience. Why? Because it means cheaper marketing for them! They no longer have to market to everyone which is exceedingly expensive. They can target their advertising and marketing and get more value from less spend.
So this is the new reality… Long live Intelligent Filmmaking! The good news is that in 2011 there’s different paths to success, you don’t have to choose the same old boring one. You can make a film and sell it into the traditional system for a decent price OR you can make a film specifically to self-distribute and go that route if you want (like Kevin Smith is doing with his film “Red State”).
What are your thoughts about what happened at Sundance and anything I mentioned in this blog post?
Please comment below – would love to continue this discussion with you!
Related Posts:
|
Share the Love
|
Newsletter Sign-Up
|
...founder of 
I am Cautiously Optimistic and happy for those who got distribution for their films. I think a DIY mindset helped many film makers keep an audience in mind as they developed projects.
On the other hand and IMHO, Indie film makers should raise capital (Production and P&A) with self distribution in mind as Plan A. If they don’t succeed, then Plan B, raise equity for production and work towards an Acquisition at Sundance, Cannes, Berlin, etc. Keep in mind, 5k films made a year on average, only a couple of dozen will get real Distribution by the time it is over and done with. So, its less than .01%
To me, it makes more sense for the community to move toward becoming “Independent”. DIY. This is the biggest take away that many Indie Music Labels learned in the last decade. I’m not sure The Indie FIlm community will be an exception.
As the saying goes… “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
My2cents.
MrMoe
I think filmmakers need to put P&A as a part of the budget. This is the point of no return. You have a finished film and and you are strapped for cash. What one has to realize is, that arriving at this precipice is disaster. This is the point where other parties can EXPLOIT you and your helpless circumstances to the fullest. How many times have we seen filmmakers broke after their first feature and have to make a career change to maintain themselves. I think this is a gross misunderstanding of the business , the markets and how careers move forward. I know a guy that won a major film festival and was represented by the Vice President of WMA and was working as a bar tender. He couldn’t get his next film and lost his career. Film schools are also to blame, because they do absolutely nothing to prime their students on how to handle the film business.
On the other hand let us look at people who succeeded wisely, example Ashok Amritraj, Avi lerner. they understood what sells, what actors sell and how those talent price tags are optimized with the right budget and genre. Avi’s famous line was “if I made a film for $30 Million, I knew it would sell for $40 Million. Look at how relativity media does business, hedge funds giving nearly $2 Billion to Ryan Kavanaugh + 75% budget redeemed via pre sales. formula, use the top talent and the biggest directors.
What I am saying is, there are movies that will sell for profit if made at the right price, but are you humble enough to not make things that you love first and then get your hands into business and develop relationship where buyers will take your films before they are filmed.
Always great to have your insight on the pulse of the business Stacey, thank you. Very excited about the acquisitions at Sundance. A much needed breathe of fresh air for filmmakers worldwide to see a market remains for quality indie film. Your message rings clear as well, the only constant is change and we all better be prepared for it.
-Jack Binder, Producer & Founder Filmbudget.com (http://filmbudget.com)
I’m surprised at what seems to be a turn around for you. As MRMOE says above, .01% get a deal and suddenly we should change our thinking? That is crazy. What will these distribution deals do anyway? Put the films on VOD, into Amazon, into Blockbuster (oops they are bankrupt), sell DVDs online, and digital downloads? These are all things that, today, are no brainers. I kind of look at this like all those web sites that claim to help college applicants, for a price, apply to colleges, when the applicant can simply go directly to the college’s web site and do it themselves – for less – and the results are the same.
OK – distributors may be able to get a Cable or foreign deal; anytime you are exporting anything, it is best to have a trusted intermediary. On the other hand, once you build your audience here in the States, the foreign agents will contact you (most likely through an agent in the U.S.)
And although getting a traditional distributor makes one feel like they have some street credit for their film and can brag to other filmmakers, we must keep in mind that the audience does not care who distributes the movie. The audience only cares where and how they can watch it.
Indie filmmakers should not stop pushing their films themselves and building their own audience. Besides getting their film out there on their own terms, they’ll have the added benefit of direct access to their fans, making their next film easier to market – i.e. cutting their costs. Plus having a distributor does not necessarily mean the filmmaker is not required to promote the film.
There will come a time when true indies spending $1M or more making their film will also realize that they too do not need old school distribution. They only need to give rights in those areas that the filmmaker does not have access to (i.e. those that still require a gatekeeper). They will do their own promotion. This will become the “standard” distribution for indies.
We are in a time of great opportunity to take more control of our film’s life cycle and should not be lulled into returning to the old days simply because .01% got a “deal”.
Remember that .01% got a deal of the 1.5% of submissions that were accepted. This forces me to consider “getting a deal” along the same lines as winning the lottery.
I think filmmakers definitely shouldn’t consider it plan A. However, festivals are an amazing way to get your film seen, the audience of people interested in independent film is already there. My primary concern after I’ve finished a film is “How do I get people to see it.” and festivals help with that.
I think indie filmmakers should figure out their target audience after the fact. Hollywood makes films for target audiences, Hollywood figures out what’s “hot” and sculpts scripts to fit the mass public view. If independents do that too, where do we go to watch good movies?
STACEY WHY DID YOU LEAve the date off this article? i can’t tell when it was published. the comments are 2011 though. thanks