Raindance - The Home of Independent Film / Photo Credit: Raindance - Elliot Grove
WHAT ARE SOME FILM DISTRIBUTION
BASICS? (In the Entertainment industry.)
Bruce Bisbey…please follow me at: https://dumbdogproductions.com/
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10 Film Distribution Basics?
by Elliot Grove
Raindance
Filmmakers need to get a good, rock-solid understanding of
how film distribution works. Successful filmmakers – and by that, I mean
filmmakers who successfully recoup their budget and repay investors, are the
ones who develop a distribution strategy before they embark on the filmmaking
process, and sometimes before they write the script.
I have been meeting filmmakers, sales agents and
distributors since 1993 at the Raindance Film Festival. In 2011, nearly 30% of
the features or feature documentaries screened found a distribution deal
following their festival screening. Although I am not privy to the fine details
of their specific deals, I do have a pretty good idea how things are shaping up
in a very competitive marketplace.
And though I am not a lawyer, I have grasped enough over
time to know how distribution deals are structured.
Consider these 10 essential points filmmakers need to be
aware of:
1. Forget the global deal. Split rights is where deals are
at
Gone are the days when a major distributor would swoop
down on your movie post Sundance, Toronto or Cannes and offer you a universal
all-media buyout.
Sure, there are exceptions like Fox Searchlight’s
acquiring Another Earth at Sundance 2011, but it would be a foolish person to
make a film on the hope that a global deal will happen.
Commonplace are split rights deals, where distributors
cherry pick territories and then decide which national rights they want. It
could be they are interested only in TV, or DVD for example, leaving the other
pieces of the distribution window to the producer to try to max out money-wise.
2. Getting your film into cinemas costs a fortune
Booking ad space in newspapers and magazines has become
very costly. Add to that the cost of PR and social media assets the cost of a
theatrical release starts to look like the budget of a small nation. Remember
that the exhibitor (theatre owner) takes a fair whack, and the distribution
company will take a third off the top, and the amount left in the pot from all
those cinema admissions starts to shrivel. From the ‘profit’, the distributor
then deducts the costs associated with the release.
Distributors aren’t in business to make a loss, so they
commonly write in a cross-collateralization clause meaning they can offset
theatrical losses against profits from other windows.
Why do a theatrical release for your film? The biggest
asset is that a theatrical release guarantees critical notices in all the main
newspapers in the country it has been released. This brings the film to the
public’s attention, and creates an increased perceived value for the film when
it is available in other formats, such as DVD or online streaming through a
portal like Netflix, Lovefilm, or the excellent British service, Blinkbox.com.
3. Service deals can work
In a service deal, the filmmaker hires a specialist who
takes over the distribution process for a fee. Preview screenings are set up
for cinema booking agents and then specialists are booked. Advertising and
publicity campaigns are designed and launched, and the money is returned to the
filmmaker less the money spent.
Service deals can offer a greater amount of flexibility
and control to the filmmaker. Essentially, the distributor is working for you.
Generally, the more engaged and involved the filmmaker is in the campaign, the
greater the rewards.
Remember that regardless of the film distribution deal you
do, you will need to provide film Distribution Deliverable Essentials.
4. The Bigger the deal the less control you have
Dah. Of course. The bigger the company, the bigger the
stakes.
If fortune places your darling, cute, sweetheart film into
the arms of a big distribution company you will have to learn quickly how to
dance to their tune. And if you don’t like how they are playing, you can pretty
much forget about your voice, and very likely you will be totally ignored while
the big boys decide how to best maximize the return on their investment. And if
they don’t get it right by your books, and screw it all up, you can pretty much
kiss your movie goodbye. They can re-cut, re-do the artwork, and basically do
whatever they want without consulting you. Make sure your contract is very
clear on what the approval process is for key marketing decisions.
Then cash the cheque and move on.
5. Cap Film Distribution Expenses
Any marketing campaign is expensive. If your deal calls
for a split of profits after expenses, make very sure you have capped the
expenses, or any profit will simply melt away.
6. The Cheque is in the post
Money from your film can take an infuriatingly long time
to arrive. For your much-lauded theatrical release, don’t forget that the
distributor has to wait to get the money from the exhibitor (theatre owner).
From DVD sales the wait is even longer. Delays of 12 and even 15 months are not
uncommon. This is because retailers often place a holdback on cash owing to
account for unsold items.
For digital sales to the likes of Lovefilm and Netflix –
remember that reporting to filmmakers is virtually non-existent. Once you have
piqued their interest to the point that they want your baby, it would be
prudent to expect nothing more than the initial license fee they offer you. and
that often can be very small. London filmmaker Chris Jones was offered $75.00
for each of his first 2 award winning features. Read What Your Film Is Really Worth
to Lovefilm.
7. Beware the middleman
Certain middlemen exist to represent slates of films by
newcomers on the premise that they have an excellent filtering process through
which they cherry pick the best of the new, raw, undiscovered talent to
prospective distributors.
This becomes much more formal in the digital world. These
middlemen, or aggregators, perform two functions. They prep your film for
digital distribution, encoding it into a wide variety of CODECs for everything
from PlayStation to mobile phones to web viewing. Then they do the actual
selling to large platforms like iTunes and Netflix. They charge additional fees
for this, and the filmmaker can end up with a fraction of the total revenue
once the platform and the aggregator have taken their whack.
As the large platforms only deal with a small number of
aggregators, you are pretty much stuffed. Do watch out for this: some
aggregators and platforms try to get exclusive contracts. Signing anything BUT
a non-exclusive contract would be, in my opinion, pretty dumb.
Also, be wary of aggregators who do not have direct links
with distributors – but rather submit to another larger aggregator meaning
another layer of fees.
8. Nothing can be guaranteed
All relationships in life grow and develop (or disintegrate).
A wise filmmaker will often sign a distribution deal in which the filmmaker can
leave the distributor if a certain minimal revenue stream has not been reached.
It is also common to draft into your distribution agreement a void clause should
your film not be released within a certain time frame.
9. R.O.I. and all that
All films have a revenue potential. The trick is to
understand what the revenue potential for your film is, and then make your film
for less than the amount you expect to earn. Get good at this, and potential
investors will start to trust your acumen and start investing in your next
project.
10. Network like mad
It’s a small industry, and it’s a people industry. The
more you network with fellow filmmakers, the more you will learn about the
industry and the good ‘uns and the bad ‘uns.
And, of course, the more you will learn about my next bug
bear – film Distribution Deliverable Essentials...
Fade Out
Don’t let this lengthy list overwhelm you. It’s all part
of the craft. And remember, to get really good at anything in life, sometimes
you need to do what you don’t like doing.
Happy hunting!
Elliot Grove
References
& Credits: Google, Wikipedia, Wikihow, WikiBooks, Pinterest, IMDB, Linked
In, Indie Wire, Film Making Stuff, Hiive, History Channel, Film Daily, New York
Film Academy, The Balance, Careers Hub, The Numbers, Film Maker, Film Site, TV
Guide Magazine, Blurb, Media Match, Quora, Creative Skill Set, Chron, Investopedia,
Variety, No Film School, WGA, BBC, Daily Variety, The Film Agency, Best Sample
Resume, How Stuff Works, Studio Binder, Career Trend, Producer's Code of
Credits, Truity, Production Hub, Producers Guild of America, Film Connection, Variety,
Wolf Crow, Get In Media, Production Beast, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros, UCAS, Frankenbite,
Realty 101, Careers Hub, Screen Play Scripts, Elements of Cinema, Script
Doctor, ASCAP, Film Independent, Any Possibility, CTLsites, NYFA, Future Learn,
VOM Productions, Mad Studios, Rewire, DP School, Film Reference, DGA, IATSE, ASC,
MPAA, HFPA, MPSE, CDG, AFI, Box Office Mojo, Rotten Tomatoes, Indie Film
Hustle, The Numbers, Netflix, Vimeo, Instagram, Pinterest, Metacritic, Hulu, Reddit,
NATO, Mental Floss, Slate, Locations Hub, Film Industry Statistics, Guinness World
Records, The Audiopedia, Imagination for People, Literary Devices, Start Up
Film Maker, On Post Modernism,
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Raindance - The Home of Independent Film / Photo Credit: Raindance -
Elliot Grove
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