The Complete Online Filmmaking Reference - Film Distribution ...

your life to make a film. Do everything you can to avoid wasting this opportunity.
As an independent filmmaker you are actually a small business owner in the business of selling entertainment. A
thing to understand about filmmaking is that there are really two customers you are trying to sell to.
Indirectly you are trying to sell to your audience. But your real customers are the people who will buy and
distribute films. These include acquisition agents, distribution selling agents, foreign selling agents, domestic and
foreign distributors. They are the gate-keepers who must be sold on your film before it can get to your audience.
Any buzz, excitement and anticipation you can create in your future audience, such as at film festivals, will help
confince those gate-keepers that your film has value. But you also need to be able to appeal to their business
sense directly. These business people are your real customers.
Someday soon there may be alternate filmmaking distribution channels, such as over the internet, but for now the
reality of film distribution is selling into these long established channels.
Marketing your new indie feature film
The first question is whether there is a market for your movie idea. A film marketing campaign has to be based
on something that can be sold. Almost all people go to movies to have a certain kind of experience. If they are
going to see a romantic comedy then the movie better be funny and romantic. If they are expecting a horror film
then it better be bloody and scary.
The first fact is that your movie needs to fit into an accepted genre or few people will go see it. A lot of indie
films are hard to classify and therefore hard to sell to an audience. A horror film that is more philosophical or
clever than scary isn't going to satisfy its audience any more than a romantic comedy that isn't very funny or
romantic.
The second fact is that the genre you pick must be a saleable genre. Many decades ago the western genre
was very popular. How many successful westerns can you name that have been made recently?
Good, scary horror films are almost always in demand which is why many indie filmmakers get their start in the
horror genre. You can study what genres are selling by looking at film box-office sites, including the Internet
Movie Database (IMDB), and seeing what genres rise to the top of the lists.
The popularity of genres changes from year to year, even month to month. If there's been a glut of Sci-fi movies
lately then people will be looking for other ways to be entertained. Keep asking yourself, "What is my movie
about? Who is this movie for?" Don't start filming until you have an answer to those questions. Know what are
the pitches you will use to sell your film.
If there are very few distributors for your kind of film it will be a hard sell. Also, if this isn't going to appeal to
foreign audiences you will miss out on a huge international audience.
Useful Sites for Filmmakers
The Independent Film & Television Alliance, formerly known as the American Film Marketing
Association, is the trade association for the independent film and television industry.
This is the organization of the sales representatives that sell American films to other countries.
By studying the member profiles you can get an excellent idea of what festivals they attend and
what kinds of films they sell.
This is not to say you shouldn't follow your passion. Never sell out your artistic sensibility just to try to copy the
latest trends. You won't have any enthusiasm for what you're doing and will do a poor job. In fact buyers are
heavily influenced by the amount of passion you show for your project. Just realize that as your film becomes
more specialized your potential for selling it also goes down.
This brings up an important point. A filmmaker is always on stage and needs to show enthusiasm every time s/he
talks to anyone about his/her film ideas. That's part of what creates movie buzz. Don't be phoney because that's
obvious. Be genuine and represent your movie accurately--but with energy. If you are a brooding artist and not
good at PR then learn how to be good at PR, or hire someone who is.
Unfortunately it is almost impossible to predict what genres will be popular a year or two from now when your
movie is finally completed. In the end you may just have to go with the story you feel passionate about and hope
you can find a way to market it.
The second question to ask yourself is if your story idea really stands out somehow. If you don't have something
new and different and worth getting excited about then how do you expect to create the movie buzz that will get
your audience excited enough to be willing to part with their hard earned money to see your film?