After several years of attending film markets and studying the dynamics, learning the “business” of filmmaking and distribution, and meeting the buyers face-to-face, filmmaker Christian Viel started selling his films (and those from other filmmakers) at international film markets.

After a couple years learning ropes and establishing relationships, Christian began making deals directly with buyers from around the world, and even securing pre-sales on his own.

Take a listen and see if you aren’t inspired to tackle the next major Film Market (AFM) on your own. Or would you rather spend your energies elsewhere and stick with a sales agent (at least at first)? This Case Study will help you decide…. Enjoy!

His goal?

To find a Producer with a track record to help him get his film financed and off the ground.

How many of you have projects at the script stage and are considering using the next upcoming Film Market (AFM) as a place to make new contacts and otherwise get your project off the ground?

Take a listen to this interview with Rahul and see how a little preparation can go a LONG way!

And don’t forget to leave your comments below after listening! What are some of your concerns about Film Markets in general whether you have a project at the script stage or one that is completed?

]]> http://independentfilmblog.com/archives/first-time-to-film-market/feed/ 1 http://independentfilmblog.com/archives/financing-your-film-for-distribution/ http://independentfilmblog.com/archives/financing-your-film-for-distribution/#comments Wed, 26 May 2010 15:04:34 +0000 Stacey Parks http://independentfilmblog.com/?p=210 I’m working with a client right now who is getting his business plan ready to start approaching investors for his million dollar budgeted film. Problem is, he decided he wanted to do a film for $1 million without WORKING BACKWARDS to see if his film can even support that budget. Not good!

Backing into your films budget and hence financing for your film for distribution is a methodical process that NO filmmaker should ignore. In fact, it’s so important I spend all 6 sessions in my DISTRIBUTION IN REVERSE 2.0 GROUP COACHING INTENSIVE on walking you through the very detailed process of financing your film for distribution — and how to actually plan for distribution from the very beginning stages of production.

What have been your experiences in budgeting and financing for distribution? For those of you who have made films that never recouped their budgets, how would you do things differently next time?

1. Content is king! While having ‘names’ attached to your project still matters (a lot), buyers care more about the actual story and content of the film.

2. In terms of Genres: Good FAMILY & ACTION films are in high demand. Dramas are out. Art-house needs to have cross-over potential.

3. 3D is EVERYWHERE. But make sure it’s a natural for your genre — Action, Horror, Sci-Fi, and Animation are the most in-demand 3D genres.

4. Internet VOD revenue is even more in its infancy in Europe as it is in the U.S. Cable VOD revenue is big everywhere right now.

5. Sales agents say one of the biggest mistakes filmmakers are still making is not getting their deliverables right and ready to sell in foreign territories. Don’t skimp on deliverables!

6. Buyers say one of the biggest mistakes filmmakers are still making is not having a distinct marketing hook for their films — remember, you need a clear demo and hook for distributors to take notice since they have to be able to sell your film on to the end user. So you need to be thinking about who is the distributors’ end users and how can they market your film to them. Make their job easy and make it a no-brainer for them to say YES to your film.

7. If you’re wavering on whether to attend a film market like Cannes or not, just DO IT. There is so much value in being there even for a few days to meet people face-to-face and start (and preserve) the relationship building process. Relationships still rule the day in the film business!

8. Once you do decide to attend a film market like Cannes, preparation is KEY. Don’t wait till you get there to try and set up meetings with people because you’ll quickly get very frustrated. Start your targeted outreach at least 3 weeks before for best results.

9. Think about HYBRID PRODUCTION as a way to add future revenue streams to your film –edit a feature version & a broadcast version that you can sell as separate entities.

10. Presentation is everything. Remember when you are pitching your film you need to sell a VISUAL experience….so use as many visual aids as possible like teaser videos, one sheets, and beautifully designed presentation materials. Of course you won’t fool a savvy buyer with just pretty pictures, and your offering needs to stand on it’s own two feet, BUT I have found that having professional looking presentation materials goes a long way to making a great impression and getting the initial results you want.

While at Cannes, many people asked me why I was there and why I continue to go every year even though I’m not a sales agent any more. The truth is, once you catch the ‘bug’ of going to Cannes, you can never stop going! I see it as an investment in my business and in the advancement of my career as a Producer. If you want to be constantly moving forward in your careers, lets face it – you need to be where all the action is at (and it doesn’t necessarily have to be Cannes… AFM & Berlin markets are great for this too).

I’m going to be incorporating much of what I personally learned at Cannes into my upcoming DISTRIBUTION IN REVERSE 2.0 Group Coaching Intensive. Why? Because I’m passionate about helping filmmakers make more ‘distributable’ films and advance in their own careers.

If you went to Cannes, what were YOUR own personal take-away’s? I’d love to hear them!

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!