Roundtable Discussion on Indie Film Distribution

There was a great discussion about the new digital age, independent film, and self-distribution on Twitter and a bunch of participants (including myself) put together an online roundtable on the subject. The essay that I wrote for the roundtable is below and the full roundtable is here.  

Reid’s Completely Correct Vision of the New Age of Digital Distribution

Pretty much every indie filmmaker submits their films to film festivals with the hope of garnering critical acclaim and securing distribution. What happens when your film, like the vast majority of all films submitted, doesn’t get distribution, acclaim, or entry into any of the festivals it’s been submitted to?

The answer: Embrace the New Age of Digital Distribution.

In yesteryear, distribution was all about getting a film into a choked channel such as a theater or video store and having people pay up front to see it. Today, distribution is all about making it easy for people view it using a digital channel and having them pay for it if they like it. Indie filmmakers are suffocating their films by making it hard for people to see them (ie: buy a DVD online for $15 sight unseen) and because they think that the only way people will find out about their film is through a New York Times film review.

What do you want to get out of distribution? Here are the most important things to me (most important to least important):

1) Get as many people to see my movies as possible.
2) Have people talking about my movies and the ideas with me & others.
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10) Recoup the films’ costs & pay people who worked on them.
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1000) Make enough money to be able to make my own films full-time.

Even if these priorities are reversed for you, you should read on because if you never get 1) or 2), you’ll never get 10) or 1000).

Put down your cane and start dancing, here’s the new model for indie film distribution:

I. Remove Barriers Preventing People From Seeing Your Film

Put up digital versions of your film online (streaming, downloadable, etc.) for a pay-what-you-like price, put it up on as many streaming sites as possible, and tell people to pay-what-they-like back at your site if they like it. Sell DVDs/Blu-Ray versions online at cost and give people the option to donate even more if they really like your film. I would rather have 1000 people see my film for free than have 2 people pay me $15 for a DVD. If 1000 people see your movie, then maybe a few will really like it and want to pay something for the experience; what they give you far surpasses selling fixed-cost versions.

II. Give People Freedom To Pass Your Film Along

Release your film under the Creative Commons license so that people can make copies and give them to others who might like it. Put something in the video that directs them back to your site where they can make a donation. The more people that see it, the more likely it is that someone really likes it and wants to support your artistic endeavors.

III. Ask Everyone To Help Spread The Word

I love independent films and would love to spread the word about your film along my network, my site, etc. My experience is that many of your friends, family, and co-workers feel the same way. The same goes for all of the filmmakers, critics, and bloggers that love independent film. You never know where a spark can come from and it can come at any time. A single blog post about one of my short films drove 30,000 viewers to it. To put this in perspective, if 30,000 people see your independent feature then more people have seen your film than 99.9% of all independent features ever made.

IV. Hope For The Best And Move On

Once you’ve done all of the above, then it’s out of your control and you should move on to your next project. Your film is out there and available to be found. At any time in the future someone could find it, love it, spread the word, and then a whole new audience could discover your film. If you make more films then put them out there and build a body of available work. If people find one of your films then they might see others, and a cycle of momentum can continue for all of your films.

If you embrace digital distribution it just might hug you back.

Comments

[Nicole/MadlabPost]

I read that roundtable not too long ago and just came across this essay on the discussion. While I believe that your new model of distribution is great, it does not and should not apply to all filmmakers. For example, if I myself were to take these tips and adapt them as a new model to distribute all of my film and video projects, I would be living on the streets with no money, no food, and limited internet access which would hinder any filmmaking endeavors that I had. There are many filmmakers who make projects for the mere satisfaction of gaining an audience who will watch their film and others who want to make money, but both types of filmmakers are not always mutually exclusive.

The whole "pay what you may" or "donate what you want" can work in a lot of circumstances, but why does that have to be the only option for filmmakers to make money? Referring to set prices for films as "barriers" places restrictions on the potential returns that filmmakers can receive from their work.

Considering that factor as a movie fan as well, how am I going to be able to watch my favorite films and find new films, like your recent film "Here. My Explosion..." if I have no money and limited internet access. Libraries are one option but let's face it.....everyone does not have access to libraries, even public ones. Many in or near my town are set to be closed by the local government, removing yet, another way to access independent films. This is America. The term "No Free Lunch" has not gone away and it costs money. I live in the Ghetto and watch too many people spend money on frivolous products and services. Any person who is content with spending their money on useless crap do NOT need to be consuming my films or videos for FREE. If a man or woman can buy cigarrettes, Starbucks coffee, fake hair, unhealthy Chinese Food or subscribe to cable services with inflated fees, then he or she can afford to buy an independent film on DVD, itunes or any other VOD avenue. We can even consider necessities and items that would be deemed useful.....are the makers of Tide Detergent giving away their products and requesting donations?

There seems to be more cereal available than grocery store shelves, but the price points are still between $3 and $6. You mentioned that you'd rather give your film to 1000 people (in hopes that some or all of them come back to your website) than sell $15 copies to only two people. I commend you for having that perspective but it does not have to be the way things are done in DIY filmmaking....especially DIY filmmaking where every pennt counts. Those two $15 copies could cover your dinner, gas for your car or internet connection fees for a whole month while your sitting on a bench waiting and hoping that some of those 1000 freebie audience members send you a dollar.

I cannot speak for all filmmakers and definitely the DIY filmmakers, but something about that FREE distribution model just does not settle right with me.

Moving onto the second part of this "new model" for indie distribution:

II. Give People Freedom To Pass Your Film Along.....are you kidding? I loved Four Eyed Monsters and plan to add it to me DVD collection, but there are no duplicates to the filmmakers who made that movie. While FEM and many other films do well by being given away for free like Sujewa's Indie Film Blogger Documentary, these types of distribution models are NOT the rule.

Creative Commons license can be great for films, but why limit your revenue potential by giving your stuff away for FREE?
Sex is free, but Caveh Zahedi (or at least, the Character that he was playing) was still willing to pay premium rates (The hookers in that movie charged like $200 and up for it) in "I am a Sex Addict".

It's my guess that based on this section of the "new model" for indie distribution, movie piracy and intellectual property rights mean nothing to you. What about the filmmakers who do not want to give their films away but still lose money to piracy (Juno comes to mind, as it was one of the top most pirated films in 2008)? Do you believe that men and women who downloaded or sold bootleg copies of these films were in the right to do so, based on your position that all movie fans should have free will to copy and distribute movies around the globe? I like the basic concept behind this new model of distribution but still believe that some boundaries should remain. Otherwise, it makes for a dangerous market in which consumers (or independent film fans, if you will) build up a false sense of entitlement and expect to get films, music and other types of art for free and artists are still working at dead-end day jobs to barely make ends meet because they are not being compensated for their work.

Before posting this, I apologize for the lengthy comment in advance. I am in the midst of watching the remaining few minutes of "Here. My Explosion.." and hope that you are able to get everything that you want from this film, whether that be an audience, donations, press or a sense of achievement!

Take Care,

Nicole

[Jon Williams]

Hi Reid

You say you love to spread the word about indie films. Well we'd love you to spread the word about the new wave of indie filmmaking in the Northwest of England.

Our own 90min feature, the jet-black comedy, "Diary of a Bad Lad" (exposes the moral vaccum at the heart of the 'true crime' story - Steve Balshaw, programmer, Salford Film Festival) is soon available on IndieFlix. Hammer to Nail's Michael Tully really digs it.

And check out these other recent Northwest new wave productions: "25gs", "Lookin' for Lucky" and "Mancattan".

Best wishes
Jon Williams, writer/producer www.pleasedsheep.com, http://jw48.wordpress.com and regular writer for MovieScope magazine

[Reid Gershbein]

Hi Nicole..

For some reason I just saw your comment (usually I am informed via email whenever there is a comment).

I'm afraid you must have glanced over the first paragraph that put the context for the entire essay. Here is a key line:

"What happens when your film, like the vast majority of all films submitted, doesn’t get distribution, acclaim, or entry into any of the festivals it’s been submitted to?"

Yay for you if you make a film, go to a festival, sell it to a distributor and then make a ton of cash. Yippee!

If you don't, then you can try to sell DVD to people via self-distribution, then that's great too. If that works for you, then fantastic!

If those options don't work for you and don't accomplish what you want, then you can try what I suggest. Or you can just start with that. :)

I'm not opposed to anything other people do at all. I just am just telling people what I do and the motivations and ideas behind it. If it sounds like something someone else would like to do, then that is great. If not, that is great. But, for those who might be interested in this model it is a lot easier to find info about it if it exists, such as in this essay, than if it doesn't. :)

[luke mccann]

Reid - Peoria Theater in Peoria, IL wants to screen 'Broken Arrows' is this possible?