Alternative film distribution: going online Cheryl Binning
Industry Centre > Blogs > Alternative film distribution: going online | Cheryl Binning
Posted by Cheryl Binning
on Wednesday, September 30, 2009.
Categories: Social media, Marketing, Distribution
So your first film is in the can. Congratulations.
Fingers crossed that you didn’t rack up the credit cards too high, and still managed to somehow afford that new song for your soundtrack that’s going to be a hit and get you lots of attention.
And you’ll need all the buzz you can get, given how many films are made each year, how relatively few of them make it into festivals, and how many less than that actually get picked up by distributors.
Don’t get me started on how many actually make profit.
I may sound cynical, but that’s the reality - making independent feature films is not easy and is seldom profitable.
And these days getting your film onto a screen where audiences will see it can be a seemingly impossible feat of marketing.
That’s nothing new, of course. It’s never been easy. It’s just not getting any easier.
After all, this year saw a glut of independent films circling around TIFF and a shortage of deals with skittish distributors nervous to plunk down money in ‘these uncertain times’.
So, unless you’re Neill Blomkamp with a Peter Jackson sugar daddy up your sleeve, odds are you’re not going to be playing ‘count the transit ads’ for your film any time soon.
In fact, after talking to distributors and seeing what they can – or can’t – offer, you might just be wrapping your head around the idea of taking out the film yourself.
Self-distribution is becoming an increasingly enticing option for indie filmmakers.
After all, you likely wrote, directed and edited your film. Perhaps you should get it in front of audiences too?
The Internet is making this feat easier to do. It’s given us the ability to connect directly with pretty much anyone in the world who has a credit card and a desire to spend some cash to amuse themselves with interesting things.
If you can figure out a way to get their attention, and get them to come look at what you’re selling, then there’s a good chance that a certain percentage of them will give you their credit card number.
The Internet has also created the ability for individuals the world over to share their likes and dislikes with each other. If they like what you are offering, they’ll tell their friends and all of a sudden you’re an Internet star.
Self-distribution has worked well for books – there’s the classic story of Joe Simpson’s Touching the Void, which nobody read and was about to get pulped. Then somebody put it up on Amazon, some schmuck read it – and recommended it. Then some one else bought it off that recommendation. And guess what? Boom, suddenly there’s a re-print and Simpson negotiated a movie deal for his book.
None of this would have happened without Amazon and its built in power of recommendation. This model is also starting to work for TV series and studio pictures.
But how do you do that with your film?
First, find out if you actually have the right to put your film up on the Internet.
Let’s assume that you somehow got your film made without any broadcast pre-licences or Telefilm money or other "comes-with-strings-attached dollars" that prevents you from taking matters into your own hands.
Or maybe you made a film a few years ago that made the rounds of the festivals, did a little limited release at a few Canadian-film-friendly theatres and is now collecting dust on a shelf. If the rights are yours, it wouldn’t hurt to see if you can cast the net wider and get the film in front of a few more people.
If you are mulling online distribution, keep in mind that it’s anyone’s guess right now if you will make any money. But right now the Internet can help you create buzz around your film.
And buzz is the key – because that’s what attracts potential buyers, whether that’s consumers willing to spend a few bucks to watch your current movie or someone with deep pockets who discovers you online and decides to help you get your next film made.
One option: IndieGogo is a platform that allows filmmakers to fundraise, promote and showcase their films to an online audience. Fans get to follow and comment on your project and discuss it with others. It is free to sign up and it allows you to create a project profile page for your film with clips and info. You can post images and announcements, and Twitter mentions and place GoGo widgets on blogs, websites and emails to link to your project page.
Online film festivals are also a great way to create Internet chatter about your film.
There are numerous online short and feature-length festivals that allow audiences to view films online in a curated environment. Another plus – many offer cash prizes.
You don’t have to look further than this site. The National Screen Institute runs its own year-round short film showcase. There’s a call for films four times a year and new films are posted every week. It’s free to submit and a $2,500 award is presented four times a year to the best film selected by a jury.
Some online festivals, such as the American online Haydenfilms Film Festival, post films online but also show them on real screens in real theatres, to bridge the online and offline worlds.
Babelgum, an Internet and mobile TV platform supported by advertising, runs the Babelgum Online Film Festival, chaired by Spike Lee. This past April Babelgum presented more than $130,000 in prizes. They also recently launched a mobile application and implemented a programming guide which organizes video into thematic channels.
And then there’s YouTube.
They’ve added a cinema section, and the HD versions of movies are very good quality relative to what else is out there. It’s easy to watch YouTube on your phone, and share videos, which is important for that word-of-mouth attention that’s critical to becoming an online hit.
You can even make money on YouTube if your video becomes a big enough sensation to take part in their advertising revenue sharing scheme.
Or another way for people to see your film for free is Vimeo which offers very good quality streaming or Joost.
You can also create your own DVDs (get them professionally made), then sell them on Amazon, your own website, or through other online retailers.
Of course, waiting for a DVD in the mail isn’t quite as enticing as an instant download.
EZTakes is a US-based online movie service with a catalogue of over 5,000 films (some are free, others have a price tag). They allow the viewer to choose how they want to watch the film. You can use their application to burn the movie onto recordable DVD that plays in standard players. This way you can watch the film in the comfort of your living room on a big screen. Or, if you prefer, you can dowload the titles to your PC or MAC, iPod or other portable player.
Some filmmakers want to stick with making movies; they don’t want to become online sales agents or Internet store owners. If that’s you, then keep in mind that there are companies out there to help you with online distribution.
For example, Cinetic Rights Management in the US offers the FilmBuff service that provides film sales representation for digital media on behalf of filmmakers. They get your movie up on everything from small niche sites through to large portals to fully exploit digital rights. They have also signed a deal to put their content up on the iTunes store.
Withoutabox is very useful, since it offers filmmakers access to major channels for promoting and distribution of their works, including streaming on the Internet via IMDB Theatres, DVD sales and Video On Demand downloads on Amazon.com and other channels via CreateSpace.
You probably already use Withoutabox, as it’s become very popular with film festivals as a way of simplifying their submission process.
When you use Withoutabox to submit a film to a film festival, it automatically invites you to create a title page on IMDB for your work.
With an IMDB Title Page, filmmakers are able to upload a trailer, a clip and even a full movie onto free channels if they like, right from their Withoutabox account. You can add and remove video from IMDB theaters at any time so you control how long the film is available free.
CreateSpace provides distribution of DVDs on Demand as well as downloads through Amazon Video On Demand. The service offers free sign up, you get to set the list price, and there is a revenue split each time a sale is made. (Filmmakers maintain complete ownership of their distribution rights).
With CreateSpace filmmakers decide which channels they want to sell in (each channel has a different royalty structure) and professional DVDs are produced only when a customer orders. Filmmakers sign up for a free account at CreateSpace where they select distribution options, track the sales of their films and receive payments.
The big challenge facing online distribution is promotion. The worldwide web is a huge arena and you are vying against vast amounts of content. That includes both heavily marketed fare coming from the big studios, and user-generated stuff that bubbles up to be the hot thing-of-the moment.
To cut through the clutter, you need great looking materials that entice viewers to learn more, to engage instantly, and to tell others to check it out, too. It doesn’t hurt to find a specific hook or something provocative or zany – anything that sets your project apart from the virtually endless array of Internet content out there.
It goes without saying that a great, evocative trailer is your greatest tool. And you’ve got to put it up everywhere, from Vimeo and YouTube to Facebook in order to create a stir and drive audiences to your film.
Remember to include little icons on your trailer so people can tweet it and Digg it and otherwise share it with their friends without the bother of having to cut-and-paste and email a link.
Of course a cool website is also critical. And lots of links on Facebook, Twitter, blogs, other social media and the online press. Don’t neglect traditional print, radio and TV media too – if your story is a good one, they’ll talk up your film, and point people in the right direction to see it.
The bottom line?
You’ll need to put a lot of legwork into getting your film online and promoted … but the more you’re written up by media that potential fans will see, the more positive reviews you’ll get, and the greater your buzz potential.
Right now online distribution is generally about getting eyeballs and not money.
A time will likely come when online film distribution offers both audience and revenue stream. That time hasn’t arrived yet, but it could arrive soon.
So, if you’re willing to put the legwork in now – the lessons you learn today could make you a lot of money tomorrow.
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Views expressed here are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI).
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The views expressed here are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI).