More SXSW tid-bits....

OK, so on the last day of the SXSW film fest I went to panel on Music Docs....sitting there minding my own business, wondering why there were so many cameras in the room....until the panel speakers arrived and they went down the line introducing themselves and suddenly I hear "Hi, I'm Charlize Theron". I looked up and by golly, it was HER. Very funny indeed! Apparantly she just produced a doc called EAST OF HAVANA, and it was premiering in the festival. She was the only speaker on the panel that had distribution for her film. Surprise, surprise!

Anyway, here's some other tid-bits I gathered from attending panels that day:

1. Regarding DVD distribution, any film that has had a TV broadcast is more appealing from an acquisitions perspective.

2. If you want to research sales numbers for straight-to-dvd titles IMDB pro gives retail numbers; Video Scan will also give those results. What is considered a good range in sales numbers? Anywhere from 30K to 100K units is considered decent. 30K units sold translates to approx. $1million in revenue for the DVD distributor, and 100K units sold translates to approx. $1.5million in revenue.

3. 2006 will be the year when we figure out if internet distribution is a viable economic model.

4. What is an approx. license fee for a cable buy like HBO/Cinemax/Sundance Channel? Anywhere from $20K to $50K depending on several factors.

5. Network buyers agreed that they are happy to receive submissions directly from the filmmakers themselves - so don't be discouraged if you don't have a producers rep to make that call for you.

6. Definitely do your market research before signing any deal with a network - you don't want to sign away more of your rights than necessary.

7. When shooting in HD, go for the highest resolution of 1920 x 1080. If you wanted to get a broadcast deal with HD net for example, they will ONLY accept the 1920 x 1080 format.

There you have it again!

Hopefully these two 'downloads' from SXSW are helpful...let me know what you think!

Live Blogging at SXSW Film Fest!

So I got the low-down to give you...the word on the street at SXSW on film distribution....straight from the mouths of the acquisition execs themselves!

Here's some excerpts from the panels went to today:

1. When making a short film, really focus on Production Value, and make it the best you can since it's going to hopefully be your calling card to making a feature. Two ways you can focus on Production Value are: 1) CAST (hire professional SAG actors), and 2) LOCATION (get a real location to shoot in, not just somebody's apartment for example)

2 Ways to make money on your film without having a distributor:
a. iTunes downloads (at $1.99 a pop indie films are flying off the iTunes shelves!)
b. Custom Flix: your own on-demand DVD distribution at www.customflix.com
c. D.I.Y Platform theatrical release (put the movie in the theaters yourself!)

3. When screening your film at a film festival, try to get as many journalists to attend your screening as possible. The acquisitions execs reported that they definitely look at press clippings on a film, and what critics have to say before deciding to acquire a film or not. So hiring a publicist for your movie is money well spent. Get as much press as possible on your film.

4. Theatrical releases are very expensive! It could cost a distributor at least $400K to $500K in advertising and marketing costs. Therefore, distributors think hard before deciding to take something out theatrically, or whether they'll just go striaght to DVD or Cable.

5. When strategizing distribution for your movie, have plans A, B, C, etc. in place. If your plan A doesn't pan out (like getting that big distribution deal), be prepared to put plan B or C or D into action - even if it means a do-it-yourself strategy.

6. When trying to get your film screened by an acquisition exec at a distribution company, you can't just send an 'unsolicited' DVD screener and expect them to watch it. You have to really find someone within the company to champion your film, whether that means getting an inside referral, or at the very least emailing the acquisitions exec and introduce yourself before you just send a screener. They want to hear from you, have some kind of connection to you before watching your film.

7. So how do you go about meeting these people and making 'connections' at distribution companies? Film Festivals are a great place to meet them in an informal setting, since most of the execs sit on panels and are regularly approached by filmmakers after the panels, as well as at the various parties, screenings, etc.

8. Producers reps can help you in finding a U.S distribution deal, and strategizing your distribution plan, but aren't always necessary in getting to the distributors themselves. Acquisition execs say that they are quite happy to be approached and deal with filmmakers directly, but that when it comes to negotiating the distribution deal, it helps to have a producers rep or lawyer who are experienced in negotiating distribution contracts.

9. Making a trailer to send out on DVD is a waste of time and money. Acquisition execs say they would rather watch a short trailer of your film on the web, rather than have it on DVD. Furthermore, they will probably make their own trailer anyway once they acquire your film, so do NOT waste too much money on this now.

10. Distribution screenings are a waste of time and money since most acquisition execs report that they would rather watch a DVD of your movie, on their own time -- not have to schlep to a screening after work after they've been screening movies all day at their desk.

There you have it! Let me know what y'all think!

Live Blogging at SXSW Film Fest!

So I got the low-down to give you...the word on the street at SXSW on film distribution....straight from the mouths of the acquisition execs themselves!

Here's some excerpts from the panels went to today:

1. When making a short film, really focus on Production Value, and make it the best you can since it's going to hopefully be your calling card to making a feature. Two ways you can focus on Production Value are: 1) CAST (hire professional SAG actors), and 2) LOCATION (get a real location to shoot in, not just somebody's apartment for example)

2 Ways to make money on your film without having a distributor:
a. iTunes downloads (at $1.99 a pop indie films are flying off the iTunes shelves!)
b. Custom Flix: your own on-demand DVD distribution at www.customflix.com
c. D.I.Y Platform theatrical release (put the movie in the theaters yourself!)

3. When screening your film at a film festival, try to get as many journalists to attend your screening as possible. The acquisitions execs reported that they definitely look at press clippings on a film, and what critics have to say before deciding to acquire a film or not. So hiring a publicist for your movie is money well spent. Get as much press as possible on your film.

4. Theatrical releases are very expensive! It could cost a distributor at least $400K to $500K in advertising and marketing costs. Therefore, distributors think hard before deciding to take something out theatrically, or whether they'll just go striaght to DVD or Cable.

5. When strategizing distribution for your movie, have plans A, B, C, etc. in place. If your plan A doesn't pan out (like getting that big distribution deal), be prepared to put plan B or C or D into action - even if it means a do-it-yourself strategy.

6. When trying to get your film screened by an acquisition exec at a distribution company, you can't just send an 'unsolicited' DVD screener and expect them to watch it. You have to really find someone within the company to champion your film, whether that means getting an inside referral, or at the very least emailing the acquisitions exec and introduce yourself before you just send a screener. They want to hear from you, have some kind of connection to you before watching your film.

7. So how do you go about meeting these people and making 'connections' at distribution companies? Film Festivals are a great place to meet them in an informal setting, since most of the execs sit on panels and are regularly approached by filmmakers after the panels, as well as at the various parties, screenings, etc.

8. Producers reps can help you in finding a U.S distribution deal, and strategizing your distribution plan, but aren't always necessary in getting to the distributors themselves. Acquisition execs say that they are quite happy to be approached and deal with filmmakers directly, but that when it comes to negotiating the distribution deal, it helps to have a producers rep or lawyer who are experienced in negotiating distribution contracts.

9. Making a trailer to send out on DVD is a waste of time and money. Acquisition execs say they would rather watch a short trailer of your film on the web, rather than have it on DVD. Furthermore, they will probably make their own trailer anyway once they acquire your film, so do NOT waste too much money on this now.

10. Distribution screenings are a waste of time and money since most acquisition execs report that they would rather watch a DVD of your movie, on their own time -- not have to schlep to a screening after work after they've been screening movies all day at their desk.

There you have it! Let me know what y'all think!

Film Distribution and The Oscars

I'm watching The Oscars and it just donned on me - not every film nominated for an Oscar has film distribution! Take the short films for example, they don't have film distribution. But they probably will soon.

Which brings up the question, what are the distribution choices and realities for short films? Mostly, Video On Demand is the best option, but I've sold short films to DVD companies who will bundle them up, for example and create a "Horror Shorts" DVD. I've also sold short films to cable networks, who will slot them before a feature of the same genre. So yes, there is a market for feature films out there, although acquisition prices are pretty low as you can imagine.

More than anything, I think short films can be a great calling card for a filmmaker. If you have a great idea for a movie, and cannot raise enough money to make it into a feature, or do not have the patience to wait to make it into a feature, then why not make it into a short film? You can submit it to film festivals, use it to garner some press, get people interested in your idea, and then use it to raise money to make it into a feature film. I've seen this happen on many occasions.

The one thing I'll say is that just because it is a 'short' film, don't scrimp on the details! Make it look as good as you can. Hire professional actors if you are able. Remember, you want this to be your calling card - so don't be so impatient that you pull out your mini-DV camera and start shooting the film without full preparation and raising at least some money to ensure that it looks good. OK?