So the question then arises….

CAN YOU FUND YOUR ENTIRE BUDGET WITH CROWD FUNDING ALONE?

The answer is YES…and NO.

Yes, there are definitely some producers accomplishing that (in my experience, most of them have budgets way under $1 million).

And No because in reality, MOST of the cases I hear about use Crowd Funding to supplement other traditional film funding methods. But that’s still great news! Imagine instead of having to find a gap or bridge loan from a bank, you could bridge your own gap with some crowd funding? Or how about raise finishing funds….or P&A funds….or even a Film Festival fund for your film?

And that brings us to >>>>> The HYBRID Film Financing Model whereby you should really be thinking of Crowd Funding as a way to buttress other traditional funding methods. Think about it like this… in today’s market you need to be as CREATIVE as possible when financing your film, and that means you need to be open to cobbling together financing from several different sources.

Thomas Mai & I talked about Crowd Funding and Hybrid Funding a lot last month at our Micro Major Berlin Workshop, and will be delving into it even deeper during our upcoming MICRO MAJOR LONDON 3-DAY INTENSIVE TRAINING, May 7-9 in London.

(By the way, if you would like more info on MICRO MAJOR LONDON 3-DAY INTENSIVE and to take advantage of the early bird tuition AND bring a friend or colleague for free *until March 15 only*, just CLICK HERE).

And otherwise, I’d love to hear YOUR thoughts on Crowd Funding vs. Hybrid Film Financing Models. Any success stories? Questions? Comments?

I’ll try to get some links to sample Crowd Funding videos posted up too!

WINDOWS
RIGHTS
REVENUE

Hands down, these three issues represent 90% of the feedback and questions I get when mentioning the possibilities of the Distribution 2.0 landscape.

For example, here are some sample questions I receive:

WINDOWS: “If I pursue Distribution 2.0 platforms for my film, am I going to ruin my chances of potentially bigger, traditional distribution deals down the line?”

RIGHTS: “When negotiating with a Distributor or Sales Agent, how do I effectively carve out my own rights so I can pursue Distribution 2.0 platforms for my film on my own?”

REVENUE: “How much will I actually make via Distribution 2.0 platforms and where can I find accurate revenue projections so I can communicate this in a business plan or to potential investors?”

So am I right? Do any of you have similar concerns? And more importantly, did I leave anything out?

I want to keep this conversation going and help you get all your questions answered!

For those of you interested, I’m kicking off a VIRTUAL BOOT CAMP next week (March 2) that will deal with ALL of these issues (especially the 3rd one – REVENUE). And if you register by this Friday (Feb. 26) you can save $75 off the tuition AND get a free 6 month membership to Film Specific (a $159 value).

And in the mean time, I look forward to your thoughts on this topic. Any other issues I haven’t mentioned that are of particular concern to you?

I mean, in the past when you would do a film business plan it was quite simple – project revenue from traditional distribution platforms like Broadcast, Theatrical, DVD, and Foreign Sales. But what about all the NEW revenue streams we must account for like VOD (internet & cable), direct-to-consumer DVD sales, merchandise, games, and other transmedia platforms? How do you account for that and communicate that effectively in your business plan?

Incidentally I’m going to be speaking on this very topic as part of a half day workshop I’m giving at the Berlin Film Festival in a couple of weeks called DAWN OF THE MICRO MAJOR FILM PRODUCER. I’m also thinking of teaching a virtual boot camp on this subject because it’s so crucial right now and no one else is talking about it….

So I’d love to hear your thoughts. What are your concerns with writing your film business plan in a 2.0 world? And what questions do you have?

You all have raised some really important issues and instead of just giving you cursory answers, I want to really dive in and get to the bottom of some of this stuff.

So I decided to host a free call this coming WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20 @ 10 am PST where I answer everything personally. I will record the call so that if you cannot make it live, you can listen to the replay that same day. And if you can join me on the call, you will have the opportunity to ask questions live via email and twitter.

You can go ahead and submit more questions below. Anything that’s ’stumping’ you in the budgeting, packaging, or overall distribution planning, departments please let me know. My goal is to give you some clarity so you can proceed with the making of your film keeping Distribution in mind the entire time. That way by the time you finish your film, you’ll have a plan – a revenue plan, a plan for profitability, for exposure, and for future projects.

WEDNESDAY is also the last day to save $50 off the tuition for my Group Coaching Program DISTRIBUTION IN REVERSE which kicks off in earnest on Jan. 26. If you want to work with me in a small group setting (from the comfort of your home), for 7 sessions as we dissect the entire Reverse Distribution process, then snag one of the remaining seats HERE before the Program sells out.

And for those who want the chance to win a scholarship to the Distribution In Reverse program, submit your Video Case study HERE for your chance at a free spot!

I’m looking forward to connecting with you all in *person* on Wednesday!

Call in details just announced! You can get the call-in details right HERE

It used to be that you needed A-list stars and an A-list director and that’s all that anyone ever cared about when deciding whether to give your project the time of day or not. Don’t get me wrong, Cast + Director are still the most important elements of your package. BUT, nowadays, potential financiers and partners also look at other things when considering whether or not to come on board. Things like:

• How big is your target audience

• Have you clearly identified your niche and how you are going to reach them

• Ancillary opportunities

• Social Media assets (like number of Facebook and Twitter followers). These are NOT to be underestimated in today’s market!

• Committed marketing partners

• P&A + Marketing commitment

• And probably a few other things I’m forgetting!

I have a client right now who has 50% of his budget raised and is out looking for the other 50%. He doesn’t have big cast names to throw around, nor is he a big time director yet (it’s only his second feature). BUT… here’s what he DOES have:

• A very marketable concept and genre

• Killer artwork + campaign (even though he’s only in Pre-Production)

• A built-in following from an affiliated graphic novel series (ie: a rabid fan base right from the get-go)

• Marketing partners with thousands of email addresses already lined up and committed to promotion

•  A Digital distribution plan and digital partners set to go

• Over 1000 Facebook and Twiter followers before he’s even shot the film

You get the idea….

So in short, PACKAGING your film is still very important in order to raise financing for your film. But the rules have changed…and what was once considered your ‘package’ has now been expanded into much more attainable bits and pieces. And don’t forget, this is all still part of your Distribution In Reverse strategy!

What are your thoughts on a film’s PACKAGE?  What are some of the creative elements of YOUR package that are helping you put together the financing of your film? Leave your comments below…. Thanks!

So the question becomes, what budget level then IS acceptable for an independent film in today’s economic climate?

To answer this fully, again we need to work backwards…….

How much have you estimated you can make from your film? For example, have you done sales projections to support your specific distribution strategy?
Does your distribution strategy include festivals? a theatrical release? straight to DVD or direct to consumer sales?

I have a client right now who is projecting revenue for his $1.5 million budgeted indie and is including some series numbers from direct sales of DVD’s based on marketing partnerships he is ALREADY lining up based on the niche topic of his movie. And he’s only in Pre-Production. WOW. In his case, conservative projections show him in serious profit mode within 60-90 days after the launch of his film. (he’s decided to skip the festival circuit entirely and launch the film himself).

But I don’t see many clients as organized as him unfortunately….

So here’s what you can do:

1. Figure out what the earning potential of your film is FIRST (you can do this by researching sales projections and sample revenue from self-distribution and direct-to-consumer campaigns)

2. Back into your budget based on conservative estimates of your film’s earning potential

3. Hope for the best but plan for worst so you don’t end up stiffing your investors

I’d love to hear your thoughts on BUDGETING for indie films. What has your experience been like? And what distribution strategies are you employing to support your budget?

Oh, and I should mention that today is the LAST DAY to save $75 on my DISTRIBUTION IN REVERSE Group Coaching Program where we are going to delve very deeply into the whole budgeting process AND uncover realistic sales projections and earning potential for your films based on SPECIFIC distribution strategies. Here’s the link to snag one of the last remaining seats
in the program:

DISTRIBUTION IN REVERSE

Here’s how it’s gonna work:

Answer this question….
How have you used Distribution In Reverse principles with your own projects in the past, and what results have you gotten? Or how do you plan to utilize Distribution In Reverse principles in your NEXT project?

Submit your Video Case Study to me by Thursday, January 21 and let me know! Here are the specifics:

• Upload a video to You Tube of 3 min or less where you describe how you’ve successfully utilized DIR principles on past projects, or how you’re planning to use them on your next project.

• Leave a comment on this post with a link to your You Tube video no later than Thursday, January 21

• I will narrow the submissions down to the 3 that I feel have best utilized, or will utilize, DIR principles and then you (the readers) will vote on the best one

• The winner will receive a free spot in my Distribution In Reverse Group Coaching Program which kicks off on January 26 (value $350) and a private one-on-one 30 min phone consult with me.

For inspiration, you can check out the comments to a previous blog posting I did on this topic HERE , or on the Film Specific Facebook Page where there are several postings on the topic.

Now, to get started, I want you to whip out that Flip video camera (or web cam) of yours and get going! Remember, the deadline for submitting the link to your You Tube video is Thursday, January 21. Looking forward to seeing your videos!

What budget level is realistic if you want to recoup your film’s budget via distribution?

And a good place to start is to look at how much money independent films are making right now and back into your budget that way. But how many filmmakers actually go through this exercise?

It requires you take an HONEST look at potential sales projections for other films in the same genre as yours, with the same level of cast as yours, and having the same track record as your and your team. I find that most filmmakers overshoot and come up with unrealistic budget levels that they can’t possibly recoup via traditional or self-distribution.

Crunch numbers. Look at what films are selling for in the current marketplace. Decide what your direct sales revenue will bring in, your screening revenues,foreign sales revenue, and your VOD revenue. Add it all up. Does it equal the million dollar plus budget that you want to make your film for? If not, lower your budget. If you come out ahead, give yourself permission to scale up a bit.

I can’t tell you how many filmmakers who come to me with $4-$5 million budgeted films and want my help creating a business plan. Now there’s no way I can in good conscience take on a project like that because I know darn well NO ONE is paying those numbers right now (and actually haven’t been for a few years now!) See for yourself – follow the Sundance acquisition prices in the coming weeks.

So what is YOUR budget level? And how are you justifying it? Show me your recoupment plan… I’d love to see how all the numbers add up. And hopefully I can give you some ideas too!

Incidentally I’ll spend significant time covering budgets and sales projections and recoupment strategies during my upcoming Distribution In Reverse Group Coaching Program. I would love for you to join me!

1. reverse engineering WRITING since all you’ll get is focus group ideas/formula, and
2. following a ‘trend’ too closely because by the time the film comes out, the trend could be over

These are all interesting points and I totally agree with both of them. What I realized is that I didn’t communicate my original intent of the “Distribution Backwards” concept very clearly. So thanks to you all for making me realize that!

The whole concept of Distribution In Reverse in my opinion is not so much about just copying what’s out there and writing for focus groups, it has more to do with actually preparing for Distribution during each stage of production. For example, at the idea/script stage YES you should look at what genres and cast are selling, but it doesn’t have to be taken so literally. Just think of it as market research. And like one poster on Facebook said, it’s more about dissecting stories from a psychological POV and asking “WHY is it working?”, and then implementing that into your story. Very aptly put.

So back to my Distribution In Reverse principle…. what I want to emphasize here is that this concept is more about really preparing for distribution during every stage of production. So everything from engaging your audience early, to casting the right actors, to implementing the right campaign, to looking realistically at budget levels and recoupment schedules, to preparing deliverables, and strategizing festivals.

THAT’s what I wanted to communicate. Simply the importance of really ‘injecting’ distribution into the entire filmmaking process, NOT making the mistake of just haphazardly making a film and just starting to think about
distribution after it’s completed. No way will that go over well in today’s market.

So hopefully this clears up any confusion about what I meant when I spoke about Distribution Backwards in the previous post, and once again I’d love to hear your thoughts on how you can apply these principles to YOUR film.

What I’m talking about here is ‘backing into’ your film’s distribution. Meaning, start with the end in mind and then work backwards until you get to the script, and THEN start writing. How many screenwriters out there actually do this? My guess is not many….but I think it’s the key to actually making a film that is distributable.

So what are some things you can do to practice “Distribution In Reverse” as I call it? Here’s a short list:

• Get in touch with the market. Really take an honest look at what types of movies are getting made today, at what budget levels, and with what cast. Don’t reinvent the wheel! Take what’s working and put your own unique and creative spin on things.

• Package your film with cast and/or a director that mean something in the marketplace (it’s a good insurance policy)

• Take advantage of international pre-sales and co-production deals when you can. These are essentially distribution deals BEFORE you’ve even made your film!

• Start building buzz for your film from the wee stages of Production. This means website, blog, social media platforms, video teasers…the works! Engaging marketing partners and your audience too. By doing all these things you’re building up equity in your film that you can later leverage to get distribution deals.

• When in Post get all your deliverables together – you want to make it as easy as possible for a distributor to do business with you.

That’s just a short list I know…. but I’d love to hear your thoughts too. How can you ‘insure’ your film for distribution? What things can you be doing NOW that will make it easier for you to get distribution once your film is completed?

And if you’re interested in taking the Distribution In Reverse concept to the next level, I’m doing a 6 Week Group Coaching Program on this very topic starting January 26.

Check it out and let me know what you think! Here’s the exact URL if you’re interested:

http://www.filmspecific.com/public/1001.cfm