Distribution

Ewan Dunbar thanks for sharing this with us, Ewan.

Stephen Folker and thank you Stephen. Thank you for that advice. It’s good to know!

I found what Ewan wrote to be the case, too. Most Sales Agents and Distributors do not want to talk to you until the second week of Cannes - Tuesday or Wednesday. But most had also left by then. There were, maybe, 10% left on the Tuesday.

Incidentally nice to meet you there, Ewan Dunbar .

Cannes was great thanks Sam Sokolow ! Now the festival starts earlier (it used to start on Wednesday or Thursday) its become more common for sales compaines to start packing up earlier too. If you tried to meet up with them but didn't get a chance to you can say this in an email following the festival. I'd suggest a week after so they can unpack and get over the jet-lag a little.

Nice meeting you out there too Guy Mannerings ! Hope you had a great festival.

Could not agree with this more. This is a commercial business, even with "art house" entertainment and having a plan and assets to promote is a huge part of the game. A unit publicist can make all the difference and many will make a friendly deal to promote a film. Every UP I've ever worked with was generous, creative and excited. Who doesn't want that energy on your project?

Maurice Vaughan with Seeing Rachel, we are in the development phase and We have come across a Publicist who can help promote the film. She is also helping us to connect with people who are survivors of human trafficking and are now working to bring justice for the survivors and to deliver prosecutions to the perpetrators. Once we have development funding I’m hoping to employ her services, as she will help us to also reach our audience demographics.

Sam Sokolow agreed, Sam. Bringing energy to the project, will help those employed to make the film feel energised and valued.

That's great that the Publicist is helping out, Geoff Hall! You're thinking about a Publicist early in the production process. I keep hearing that filmmakers should do that. "Seeing Rachel" deals with a crucial issue. Hope you and your team get the development funding!

Congratulations on "Daddy" getting picked up by two streamers, Fran Harris!

Congrats on your distribution. The landscape today is very different than it was 5-10 years ago. My current film, is on Tubi, and several platforms I've never heard of and some YouTube mega channels. We'll see if it's profitable.

Regarding distribution options, there are Sales Reps, who charge to. pitch to distributors. I'm not for this option. You should only get paid if you make a sale. No different than selling a house. Then there are Sales Agents. Most have predatory agreements in place, that do not benefit filmmaker, so be careful. And there are the new wannabe distributors who are just dropping your film on their film hub account. This is a total waste of money. You can do this yourself and get the exact same results. These folks are not distributors. Now, if someone was unfamiliar with how to use FH, and wanted to pay someone to list it on there, go for it.

As for getting work seen, options are dwindling for small projects. You either have to find an honest sales agent and see how far they can get it, or work with a company like FH, which is now charge filmmakers monthly fees for customer service. So, we'll see how long that lasts.

What have you tried in the past?

Hell yeah, Fran Harris! Congratulations!!!

Please consider Indie Rights as well for indie film distribution. They are transparent and do an excellent job of placing feature films onto platforms and co-marketing them w/ the filmmaker. They charge 20% distro fee, but no other added costs.

Fran Harris thanks for sharing your experience with us, Fran. You might start a distribution company? For real?

Check the box office totals for the latest.

Stephen Folker Roger that! Thank you

Ahi Black You're welcome! Best wishes to you and your projects!!

Ahi Black, there's a great FREE Ask Me Anything today in the Financing Lounge with Michelle Alexandria, PGA Member, Executive Producer at Light Year Pictures, Head of Int. Sales & Acquisitions at 123 Go Films, & Stage 32 Thought Leader. Michelle is sharing her time with us to answer questions about "How to Pursue Development and Production Funds"

She would be a great person to pose this question to and any others that you may have regarding the current market landscape for sales and investment!

The post is live for you to comment with your questions NOW!

https://www.stage32.com/lounge/fundraising/Ask-Me-Anything-AMA-Tuesday-5...

I second Stephen Folker's response. First and foremost, pull an idea from your soul that you CARE about. Try to find a genre that has the potential to do well worldwide (horror, thriller, sci-fi, action). Then write to your strengths and try to contain the scope of the movie. If you spend $25k making your movie, you will likely make that money back w/in 18 mos if you market it well (poster, trailer, social media). Keeping costs in check, smaller crew, more limited locations, is the key IMO.

Can anyone explain what a “pay one” deal is?

Well, that’s a great question. The article tells us that box-office is dragging its feet after Covid and still hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Another reason given was this:

“But it’s clear that projects that would previously have flown off the shelves domestically just don’t have the same immediate pulling power. And according to one source, it’s the lack of post-theatrical window deals with broadcasters and streamers that’s slowing things down.”

It appears that the new Streamer dynamic may have muddied the release waters a little, and so we are not talking about a like-for-like comparison. (Pre-post pandemic)

Scott Shooman, head of AMC Networks film:

[he] said that “the regularity of certain audiences’ filmgoing is still yet to return to pre-COVID levels,” and noted that one of the factors affecting the U.S. sales of prestige dramas comes down to the evolution of “how audiences connect with material on a prestige drama front.”

Note to self, whatever the films subject matter, there has to be a connection with the audience, but I think I already knew that! How about you?

Yeah, Geoff Hall. There has to be a connection with the audience. Sometimes I scroll and scroll and scroll streaming services for something to watch because I don't connect with the movies and shows. And sometimes what's available just isn't interesting. But sometimes I'll watch a movie or show that I don't connect with/that's not interesting because of the cast.

"He said movies with “difficult subject matters” are a tougher sell in the current market. 'It’s harder to get people sit through difficult stories. We’ve just been through challenging times,' Shooman said." When I'm having a rough day or there's something troubling going on in the world, I don't want to watch something difficult or heavy. I watch Comedies, Action/Adventures, cartoons, etc.

Crazy world! I was just in a discussion about “traditional” film distribution on another platform. The issue of “Day One Deals” came up and why they’re being eliminated.

In the film biz, a "pay one deal" refers to an agreement where a film's first pay television window rights are sold to a specific TV network or streaming service.

This means that after the movie’s release (theatrical, home, DVD, Blu-ray, digital purchase/rental) it will premiere on a designated pay TV channel or streaming service for its initial pay TV window.

So a "pay one deal" provides a guaranteed buyer for this window, ensuring the studio (or distributor) receives an upfront payment. This deal is often secured before the film is released, providing more financial certainty for the movie's post-theatrical life.

But there’s been cost cutting in the market to eliminate these so-called automatic "pay one deals." So, distributors must individually negotiate and secure pay TV rights for each film, making the process more complex and uncertain.

This can delay decisions and commitments, as distributors need to ensure they can secure a "pay one deal" before fully committing to a project.

Maurice Vaughan Hi Maurice, "movies with difficult subject-matter"? Yes, but as we used to say, that depends on the "cut of your cloth". We know the world's in a mess, but films like 'The Zone of Interest' did well at the box-office and the award ceremonies. Documentaries such as '20 Days in Mariupol' are snatched up by the streamers.

I believe yes, that there are some people who want pure escapism and others who want to delve more deeply into the world's problems and check out those kind of difficult subject matter films, to help them understand the current situation.

Dan MaxXx - got a link to his YT channel? Loved to see what he does. Thank you, sir!

Lindbergh E Hollingsworth StangMode YT channel. He's a Mustang car nut!

Geoff Hall YouTube Premium is only $12.99 in Canada but you don't need it to distribute your content. Like @Dan says, have smartphone will travel. :) It just takes consistency, experimentation, and perseverance. You don't even need an extension like TubeBuddy. Use relevant hashtags, maybe do a Google Keyword search to see the ones that trend the highest (Instagram search can be a good cheat sheet for this, too). The free version of Canva has YouTube templates you can manipulate and personalize. All the tools are there for $000, except the video camera and maybe the editing software.

Dan MaxXx I need to check him out if he has classic Mustangs. My favorite car before Oldsmobiles.

Debbie Elicksen thanks Debbie, that’s a lot different from $57.99 per month. It’s just a bizarre figure.

Hi Geoff.

I’m arriving in Cannes tomorrow morning. Will you be there? Let’s meet.

Hi Jack, sadly not. My Producer is there. Cannes is still on the list to go there sometime, but alas not this year. I hope you have a great and profitable time. Are you going to the Marche with a film?

Should be a hoot!

Absolutely, Debbie Elicksen!

That's great for Arthouse creatives, Geoff Hall! I love watching mainstream films, but Arthouse movies feel more personal and more impactful sometimes.

Maurice Vaughan yes it is, Maurice. It’s kinda my niche too, so it’s now on my radar.

Thanks for sharing!

Great strategy for indie filmmakers, Karen "Kay" Ross!

Awesome story. Should be noted, this was a decade ago. A lot has changed. Many no-name, no-budget filmmakers use to get foreign sales, now they don't and it's dropped on YouTube and Tubi by distributors. Nonetheless, you have to try different things to make money and be positive (and realistic)!

So cool. People need to see this. Karen "Kay" Ross thanks for sharing this.

I’m a big fan of these guys at Show & Tell — talks a lot about docs but very applicable to narrative films. https://show-tell.teachable.com/p/starterprogram