PRODUCER OF MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTION… (Film producers’ positions and titles continue to evolve)

Bruce Bisbey…please follow us at: https://dumbdogproductionsllc.blogspot.com

PRODUCER OF MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTION

It's nearly been almost seven years since the concept of a dedicated 'producer of marketing and distribution' was introduced by Jon Reiss.

Defining What A PMD Is. I think this is of critical importance as this nascent crew position develops.   A PMD is not just a social media manager.  To be a PMD a person must be involved in all aspects of a film’s distribution and marketing, including audience identification and engagement, creating a distribution and marketing plan, budgeting that plan, creating marketing elements, creating and managing other assets to help promote the film, etc. All of this in concert with the filmmakers.

So, what is it? A Producer of Marketing and Distribution takes charge of and directs the distribution and marketing process to achieve the filmmaking team's goals. It is preferable for a PMD to start as early as possible in the process.

The PMD is an essential crew position for independent films — in my mind, as important as a director of photography. You can make a film without a DP or a PMD (I have shot some of my films and been my own PMD), but all films would be served by having both.

YOU NEED DISTRIBUTION

Upwards of 98% of independent films do not get traditional all-rights distribution deals. Even with a robust sales market, if the estimates are true that 35,000 - 50,000 films are produced every year, there is no way that traditional (and non-traditional) distributors can handle that volume.

YOU WANT TO KEEP THE CONTROL

Some filmmakers do not want to give away or sell all of the rights to their film to one company. Many companies are doing amazing jobs releasing films, but there are many filmmakers who have become unhappy with how their previous films have been released. Much more common is a split rights scenario where you run the show (and you control your film’s destiny). You can choose the best and most cost effective ways to release and market your film. But you need to do the work. Someone needs to coordinate how the rights will work together, and make sure that all rights that can be exercised are exercised in the proper way.

YOUR FILM NEEDS TO STAND OUT FROM THE PACK

There is greater competition for audiences than ever before.  You are competing against nearly every piece of entertainment, writing, or art ever created by humankind. The amount of video uploaded to YouTube every minute is increasing exponentially. Three years ago, 48 hours of video was uploaded every minute; at last report, more than 400 hours is now uploaded every minute. (That's 2,000 years of content every month!)

YOU DON'T HAVE TIME TO DO IT YOURSELF

Filmmakers either don’t have the skills to promote and distribute their films or don’t want to. Granted, there are many intrepid filmmakers who are engaging with this process. Filmmakers don’t have the time to do this work. Many filmmakers know they need to engage audiences before they have finished their films — or at least start the process — but most say they don’t have time. On tight budgets most producers are too busy to do this work. When a film is finished, many of the team either need or want to move onto other projects. Sound familiar?

Sources, References & Credits: Google, Wikipedia, Wikihow, Pinterest, IMDB, Linked In, Indie Wire, Jason Brubaker, Film Making Stuff, Jon Reiss, Film Daily, The Numbers, Film Maker Magazine, Mental Floss, Quora, Insider Monkey, Fast Company, Investopedia, Variety, No Film School, Daily Variety, The Film Agency, Sheri Candler, Film Campaign

THIS ARTICLE IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. THE INFORMATION IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND BRUCE BISBEY MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF PERFORMANCE, MERCHANTABILITY, AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, REGARDING THIS INFORMATION. BRUCE BISBEY DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE COMPLETENESS, ACCURACY OR TIMELINESS OF THIS INFORMATION. YOUR USE OF THIS INFORMATION IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. YOU ASSUME FULL RESPONSIBILITY AND RISK OF LOSS RESULTING FROM THE USE OF THIS INFORMATION. BRUCE BISBEY WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, SPECIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES OR ANY OTHER DAMAGES WHATSOEVER, WHETHER IN AN ACTION BASED UPON A STATUTE, CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION NEGLIGENCE) OR OTHERWISE, RELATING TO THE USE OF THIS INFORMATION.