101 Ways to Market and Distribute Your Film

Introduction

You have gone down the long and winding road of raising money for your film. Congratulations! You have made it through the intricate maze of production. Kudos! Have you had your ego dented and your patience worn out, and maybe wanted to quit altogether? Well, many of us have been there. Welcome to the club. Now get up, dust yourself off and pat yourself on the back, because producing a film is a big achievement.

Perhaps you have already looked for distribution, but without result. Does that mean that your film is bad or unmarketable? Not at all. Many distributors have passed on films that have done very well later on. Some of you may have gotten lousy offers and decided that you would do better without any distributor. Distribution contracts can be scary when you take a closer look at the terms, and the notion of giving up control of your film and trusting a distributor can be even scarier.

Things are changing so fast in the world of film distribution that it’s challenging to keep up, but as a player in the game, you need to stay one step ahead. Although independent distributors can adapt a lot faster than big studios, it’s still frustrating to sit on the sidelines and watch the movers and shakers duke it out over issues like video on demand (VOD) pricing and distribution models.

If you haven’t found traditional distribution, or have decided not to take it, there are two options: either your film lands on the shelf, or you have to tackle your own distribution—DIY. Self-distribution has become an increasingly popular approach, and many filmmakers have DIYed successfully in the past. Most of the filmmakers who have embarked on this adventure say that the process had a steep learning curve and took a lot of work, but was one of the most rewarding experiences of their lives.

So congratulations: you are now on the road to being an entrepreneur. Take a map of the world and look at it. There are six billion people, and every one of them is a potential customer for your film. You just need to find a way to reach them.

How to Use this Book

This book outlines many different methods for selling your film. It will be informative for any filmmaker, no matter what the stage of production. You will benefit most if your film is already finished, as you have something ready to market, but even if you are in the development stage you will find great tips and methods that you can implement from the start.

Marketing techniques and tools change at warp speed; it is hard to be on top of everything and not miss the next step. This book will give you an overview of traditional as well as cutting-edge strategies that you can put into action right now, saving yourself the time, energy and money of figuring it all out on your own.

Everything in this book is kept short, simple and easy, with hundreds of links, addresses and roadmaps you can follow. Feel free to jump around the chapters to find selected information, or read step by step.

Stay flexible, go with the flow and embrace the process. Welcome to a new world.

1.

Movies, Movies, Movies

These days we hear many cries of The sky is falling! in the movie industry, and doom-and-gloom pronouncements that the glut of movies is making it impossible to find distribution. While for some this outlook is depressing, for others it is empowering, because it means one thing: change is in motion. The way people consume films is indeed changing, and therefore, so are the ways we can bring our movies to audiences.

The World Wide Web has become a crucial part of our lives. The younger generations don’t even know the world any other way. They have grown up with a sense of empowerment when it comes to creativity and information flow, and their perception of moviemaking and storytelling has changed. User-generated video, YouTube, flip-cams and mobile phones are part of a wide variety of tools and applications that make it possible for anyone to film, share and distribute art on the go.

Our youth have no use for ‘linear’ anymore: ‘random’ is the new word. Kids are multi-taskers. They jump between chatting, texting, Skyping and Facebooking, all while watching a movie. And it’s not only the youth audience that can show us the future of media consumption. Moms make dates with their friends around the country to watch re-runs of popular shows at the same time. Together, each using her own laptop, they chat and talk while the show is on. The days when the TV was the only viewing device and had the power to tie people down at a certain time to watch their favorite shows are over. The new keywords are participation, engagement and flexibility; these factors will ultimately affect what we want to see, when we want to see it, and how. Most importantly, we want to share and comment on our experience, be it through Twitter, Skype, or Facebook. One tweet can propel a film towards stardom or ruin it.

We do live in an ‘I want it now’ generation, and distributors are forced to get films out there more quickly and in many different formats. New platforms are evolving, old ones vanishing. The world is changing; so should our approach to how we make, market and distribute films as filmmakers.

2.

Be a Leader!

As Seth Godin puts it, Heretics are the new leaders. The ones who challenge the status quo, who get out in front of their tribes, who create movements.

If you commit to self-distribution, you will walk a path that has barely been paved yet. You need to know how to be a leader and entrepreneur. Line up with other entrepreneurs who are successful in what they do and who understand the new ways of doing business, no matter what area they are in.

People are afraid of change, and you will probably encounter a lot of criticism about the ‘new ways’, so you need not only a strategic plan for your business but also an emotional plan. Of course having a great distributor attached to your film would have been the ultimate success, but you have to befriend yourself with the thought that self-distribution is just as valid, and not a last-resort strategy after you failed to do it the ‘real way’. If you don’t believe in self-distribution, and do it half-heartedly, you will have a harder time succeeding.

You also need to prepare for some things being beyond your control. You will have setbacks as well as successes. These ups and downs are inevitable, and you must reconcile yourself to them, or they will play havoc with your emotions, drain you, and make you more likely to give up.

You may never have sold or distributed anything before in your life, but you will learn on the go. Often admitting that you are new to this business will open doors, as will your humbleness. Never fake being an expert: the target market will see right through you. Be who you are. Never copy another brand or another strategy. Be innovative, be different! Remember that everything you do, if done successfully, will affect every filmmaker in the world and even the whole movie industry.

3.

Success Stories

Even though stories about successfully self-distributed films have filled the news in the past years, self-distribution still has a reputation for being unrealistic and unglamorous. Let’s set that straight.

Successful self-distribution is not new. In 1992 the documentary ‘Brother’s Keeper’ was screened at the Sundance Film Festival, and although distribution deals were offered, none of them included a monetary advance. Filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky decided to tackle the publicity and marketing themselves, and booked their film in more than 250 theaters across the country. They grossed almost $1.5 million.

Rhonda Byrnes’ film ‘The Secret’ had a very successful marketing campaign to build up anticipation for the web release. Viewers could watch the film a single time on the website for a price of $4.95, which could be credited toward the $19.95 purchase price of the DVD. Virtually everyone who saw the film online bought the DVD, and over 600,000 DVDs were sold this way. The producers teamed up with Amazon and sold over two million DVDs. The companion book that came out later was on the bestseller list for months, and at this point has sold over four million copies.

Lance Weiler was recognized by ‘Wired’ magazine as a pioneer who will re-invent the face of Hollywood. He successfully self-distributed his films ‘The Last Broadcast’ and ‘Head Trauma’, grossing over $5 million in the process.

The makers of ‘Food Matters’, a provocative documentary about the healing power of food, decided to self-distribute and have sold 175,000 DVDs.

Joel Viertel’s self-distributed 2008 film ‘Strictly Sexual’ was the most-watched movie of all time on Hulu.com and made more than $1 million.

Even well-known directors and producers have used self-distribution. David Lynch not only shot his 2006 film ‘Inland Empire’ himself but also self-released it in theaters.

The list of self-distributed films is longer than can be mentioned here. Below are just a few; others will be mentioned throughout this book.

Movies:

foureyedmonsters.com

www.bottleshockmovie.com

www.10mph.com

www.notebynotethemovie.com

www.helveticafilm.com

www.headtraumamovie.com

foodmatters.tv

www.thesecret.tv

www.starwreck.com

www.thecosmonaut.org

www.gooddickthefilm.com

www.singingrevolution.com

www.throwdownyourheart.com

4.

Branding & Marketing

Marketing has dramatically changed in recent years, due to the Internet and new social media platforms. It is now a two-way street. Consumers don’t want to be told to buy a product, and they are tired of feeling manipulated. Traditional marketing and advertising have become negative terms. There is a call for business to be humanized and marketing to become more real and authentic. Consumers have taken control of the communication lines, and Internet and mobile connectivity have given them a voice.

New media is new to everyone: marketers, users and businesses. Everyone is trying to figure out how it works, how it affects us, and how to cope with its ever-expanding forms. Marketers who can still recall the groundbreaking emergence of websites and banners are now tackling blogs—which others say might be already on the way out. While many businesses are building a Facebook and Twitter presence and testing how this affects their sales, others are moving on to mobile marketing, predicted to be the next big thing. These days, the new becomes old very quickly.

We live in an age where young people can develop a brand and be successful. The best-selling mobile application ‘Angry Birds’ was knocked out of its top spot by ‘Bubble Ball’, a physics puzzle game, created by a 14-year-old. Lucas Cruikshank created ‘Fred Figglehorn’, the web series about a six-year-old character, when he was just a teenager. ‘Fred’ has millions of fans on YouTube and a merchandise store others only can dream of.

There is no guarantee anymore that any given marketing strategy will work, because things change so quickly. What worked yesterday might not work today. This is a great opportunity for newcomers, because you come to it all with a fresh mind. You can be creative and playful, put different methods into action, and see where it takes you. Keep your eyes and ears open for new and innovative strategies and expand your knowledge every day.

This does not mean the old ways aren’t important. Studying products that have been successful in the market can be a great source of information and inspiration.

5.

Defining your Niche & Target Group

The first and most important question you have to ask yourself as a filmmaker is, who did you make your film for? Who will watch it, and who will buy it? To find an answer to this, you first have to know what your film is about. This seems like an easy and obvious question, but you might be surprised how few filmmakers have a clear answer.

Every film falls into an overall genre, like comedy, drama or family film. But for our purposes we need to look at the smaller and bigger pieces that make up your film as well—the ‘moments’ of your film or the details that define these moments. From location, story and subplot to actors, set dressing and camera equipment, every detail could be of value when it comes to determining your niche. In the publishing world there is a saying that every book has four niche markets besides its one obvious major market. I want you to find those smaller niche markets for your film.

If you have a feature film, think of the non-fiction elements in it. What elements and topics are you focusing on that could count as non-fiction and could be marketed that way? For example, ‘Avatar’, which is about nature and our connection to it, speaks to environmentalist and spiritual groups. John Curran’s 2004 film ‘We Don’t Live Here Anymore’ deals with infidelity and could be targeted at couples, psychologists and support groups.

‘WALL–E’ addresses themes of friendship, the environment, apocalypse, consumer capitalism, food choices, obesity, TV consumption, memories and old movies, just to mention a few. It could be a vehicle for a non-profit organization that deals with diabetes in children. The Julia Roberts feature ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ addresses the topics