Distribution : Garnering interest for unfinished film? by Mike Smith

Hi Mike, it is a very standard practice to show a portion of a film to distributors before finishing in an effort to garner interest. Admittedly, this works better if the portion you show has some kind of hook such as name talent or particularly spectacular special effect, etc.

Thanks, Bryce! So would it be better to show a “hook” scene rather than just the beginning of the story?

Ha, good point! Thanks

If the beginning is good, go for it. Show them the best ya got. You can always discuss your hook and other elements. But you can grab them with a solid viewing.

Thanks, I’ll try to pick my most impressive sequence. There are several — at least, I think so! :)

What Mike and Bryce said, but beware that showing them ANYTHING without a very solid reason (ie. are they ALREADY interested and do they ACTUALLY have the resources to do something with your work) is really just giving them ammunition for their objections and rejections. No, no, no no....NO ONE can imagine how great the final product "will be." Show them only what you have done well. Short scenes or a well cut sizzler are good but an entire rough cut with sound & color issues, etc. is just asking for them to tell you their opinion with no expression of interest, which you really don't care about. As a HARD AND FAST RULE, I don't show anything to any producer, distributor, etc. whom I have not discussed the project with and who doesn't appear legitimately interested and capable already.

Great advice all around! As a distribution company, we love to know about a project as early as possible. But do send a query email that states 1) the stage of the project; 2) what you are looking for (e.g., interest in U.S. distribution, sales agent, Letter of Intent for investors, etc.); and ask if they would like to see a trailer or excerpt. (You can just send the excerpt, but then, if they don't answer, you'll never know why. If you limit it to a query with a short, tantalizing pitch, you can just assume they missed the email and send the same query again. If they don't respond after 2-3 times, they're probably not the right company.) And if they do show interest, definitely only send them something you think is GREAT. Good luck!

Those are both excellent pieces of advice! I was actually thinking of sending the clip/s FIRST, specifically to get their attention; it didn’t occur to me to query beforehand and determine their interest/capabilities. Thanks for the tips!

Our Advise - Never show unfinished film / clips to anyone who is not invested in the film Mentally , Emotionally or Financially.. Make a tight distribution cut and complete it with DI + supers, The idea is to excite them and want to see more of it... unfortunately a lot of people are watching a lot of unfinished material and sometimes they will not be able to judge the final product ...

Thanks, that is solid advice. I appreciate it!

Some financiers and distributors will look at a highlight reel of the best scenes.

That makes sense. Unfortunately, literally the week I was to start shooting, my state went into lockdown. Not sure what I’ll be able to put together any time soon!

If you haven't shot anything and can't because of S.D. regulations, you may be able to gain some interest by putting together a reel of work you and the people you are working with have done. Otherwise, if you are looking to shoot something as a proof of concept, think about what you may need for a trailer or choose a scene to shoot. My best sales agent offer came right after my initial edit (no music, no color and it was about two hours long). He kept the offer open even after I ran into some post issues and we negotiated a better deal once we had a final product.

That’s a good idea. But my plan was to shoot guerilla-style in public places, many of which are now either closed or deserted. So now I’m not sure how doable the whole project will be. Will things open back up? Will they look normal? I would love to shoot something to show people, but I question how much of the project will still be feasible going forward. I feel like I have to wait to see what the final product will look like before I try to get anyone interested.

Why not cut a trailer?

I’ve thought of that; but I don’t know when I’ll be able to film the rest of it. I hope it’s soon! But I don’t know if it’s worth trying to get people interested, when I don’t know how long it’ll be till I can complete the project.

I see what you are saying. Definitely go the route of choosing a compelling scene with a hook then.

i hope it works! :)