How to distribute your film

How to distribute your film? Long gone are the days where engaging a distributor was the key to getting your film out into the word.  

Self-distribution has become far more common and having control over your film and where its shown can have enormous benefits to both yourself as the filmmaker and your audience.  

So what are the ways to distribute your film and what role can a distributor play in the mix? Here are a few:

Video on Demand (i.e. Netflix, Amazon Prime) 

• Cinema on Demand (Tugg or Demand Film)
• Hosted screenings 
• YouTube
• Vimeo (has great tools for selling directly to your audience)
• DVD/ Blu-ray (yes there are still some uses for DVD)
• Broadcast Television
• Theatrical release (Cinema) 
• Social media (Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn)

Many of these, particularly Cinema on Demand, Hosted Screenings, YouTube and Social Media you can easily be set up by you aka self-distribution.  You can go direct to broadcasters but this is where a distributor can be really beneficial.  They go to all the markets and have contacts for all the broadcasters around the world.  They’re going to be much better at getting your film in front of the right folks and negotiating deals- this is their specialist area.  Of course, you can do it yourself but it’s extremely time-consuming.  A theatrical release can also be much better handled by a distributor unless you have good contacts to set it up yourself.

It really comes down to you and your hopes for your film.  Where are your audience and what are your goals?  Are you planning a broad release to get it in front of as many eyeballs as possible or is it niche and you want a very specific group of people to see it?

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Transcript

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SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to the Moonshine Moonshot series. Today we have a topic that we've actually had a lot of experience in and that is distribution.

SPEAKER_00 0:09

So hello and welcome to Moonshine Moonshot, all about making your impossible dreams a reality and making an impact with your communications.

SPEAKER_01 0:18

I'm Sue Collins.

SPEAKER_00 0:19

And I'm Mike Hill.

SPEAKER_01 0:20

So the reason we thought we'd talk to you today about distribution is because there's just so many options for distributing your films, videos and content on so many different platforms at the moment. So it's something that we've done a lot and it's changed enormously in the last 10 years from the way we released one of our first impact documentaries through to the way we're looking at releasing our latest impact documentaries.

SPEAKER_00 0:45

Yeah, I mean the landscape's changed so much. Like if I go back 20 years when I started, the way you would release film and video content of uh any duration above you know 26 minutes was either through theatrical release for feature length, TV broadcast for things that were made to a TV format, usually a 48 or 52 minutes for one hour, and similar ratios for a half hour of TV. And releasing online was very, very uncommon at that point. So you really had those two options, and then for anything that didn't quite fit into that, it was the realm of film festivals. So all three of those have changed so much in terms of releasing theatrically, uh making things for television and also film festivals and how relevant they are now as part of a distribution plan. I mean, it's moved so far, and we're in such a diversified marketplace now in terms of media durations, where they fit, and how they can sort of work across platforms. We wanted to unpack that today a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 1:56

And I think what really drove us to explore the different options initially was when we were trying to pursue our very first impact film, which was a film called Life Before Death, and we initially started from wanting to get a broadcaster and create a traditional broadcast documentary, which would mean it was a commission, and then they broadcasted on their platform, and that's you know, sort of the way it would go, which was much more your experience in the past. But because the topic was quite um quite challenging, I guess, being about palliative care and pain relief, um, and that it was an impact film project, so it was very much designed around um informing audiences, educating audiences, and getting them to do something. Um so we went, okay, well, it's not going to go down that path, so how can we still make this and get people to see it? And that was back in the days, believe it or not, only 10, not even 10 years ago, nine years ago, DVDs. So we actually produced a couple of thousand DVDs and we released it through hosted screenings.

SPEAKER_00 3:08

Yeah, so just going back to those days, in my memory, we had a feature film, a feature-length film, and we had a one hour for TV, and we really wanted to get that out there to the world. So we shopped it around to broadcasters and to distributors. Um, I vividly remember one distributor we pitched to was called the Dude and claimed to be that real-life dude from the big Lebowski. So uh there were a lot of gatekeepers back then, and I think that's one of the big changes. You know, you had these executive producers uh or commissioning editors, I think they call them, at the TV networks who say yay or no. And I mean, we've worked with a number of commissioning editors over the years, but they kind of hold a lot of power over your project. Um, and then distributors come in all shapes and sizes, including wolves, that uh you need to watch out for, like uh lot of you know, disreputable operators and some good operators in that area as well. It's another gatekeeper. And I think that as my memory of it as we went down that journey was that this particular film was not going to be well suited to being locked into that broadcast or distributor model, even though ironically it ended up being picked up by a number of different distributors and broadcasters over time.

SPEAKER_01 4:25

Oh, it did, it did. In it it see, this is where the mixed distribution came in, and we were quite careful not to get an exclusive deal. We made sure that we had um a lot of flexibility in the deals that we struck with distributors and broadcasters around territories and where it could be shown so that we had the ability to exploit the film in the way that we wanted to to get to the broadest possible audience.

SPEAKER_00 4:52

We wanted to see it in cinemas, and we could see that that was going to be hard to find a distributor who believed in the film as much as we did. So I remember that we took it out to a big international community, a member, a member-based organization that was interested in this issue that had about a thousand members around the world and invited them to screen it at theatres but also at other venues as well, where they could do large-scale screenings. And around 300 different organizations and groups took us up on that invitation, which meant it got a really broad uh distribution. We ended up subtitling it into 15 languages. I remember it went out to about 40 countries through about 300 screenings, we're able to do a meaningful day and date type release that would have been completely impossible under the traditional model that existed back then. I think that's really informed the way we like to distribute and release content to this day.

SPEAKER_01 5:48

And it also meant we could do some really great things too, uh, being an impact film project. We, because it was back in the days where DVDs were useful, and believe it or not, DVDs are still incredibly useful in a lot of other countries, they're just not very useful in Australia and America and the UK, but a lot of parts of um Africa, etc., um still use DVDs. And so we could do um a buy one, give one offer on the DVDs, which meant that if um someone was buying a DVD from us, they could, I think it was like $10 to cover the cost of postage, and then we'd send that DVD to a um under-resourced um group in you know wherever they'd registered from. Um so it made a really good kind of way to sort of give back on it as well. Which you can't do if you do it through a distributor as such because of the way the deals are set up, you don't have that flexibility to be able to set that up in in your own way and do it the way you want it done.

SPEAKER_00 6:47

I remember we also utilized uh like a video on demand platform that were able to control sort of the pricing and territories quite well, which is Vimeo on Demand, and we've used that a lot over the years. And the reason is that you can really control self-distribution, people can buy a title and then stream it. Um, and then over time um we've also got involved with um bigger subscription-based video on demand platforms like Amazon Prime Video, who picked up our last three titles, and that's you know quite a matrix of different options you've got, you know, in terms of video on demand, uh, paid video on demand, subscriber-based video on demand. And I think my key outtake would be to maintain as much flexibility as possible until you find a platform that reaches your audience and also returns back to you. So some platforms are better than others at reaching your audience. Some return better than others, depending on how they're set up and particularly if there's a distributor involved in that.

SPEAKER_01 7:50

Yeah, and if you can do non-exclusive um deals through your distributor, I think there's a huge advantage because they're going to all the different film markets and TV markets, and they're in front of all the different international sales agents, and they can actually get your film sold into territories that you don't necessarily like for for you as a filmmaker to go and and approach every single network and do that legwork yourself is an incredibly huge amount of work. So distributors can really take all that work off your hands, but then it's the downside of that obviously there's a lot more fees and there's a lot more, you know, you have a lot less control over the financial side of it.

SPEAKER_00 8:30

Yeah, it's more work to do your own distribution, but um the thing you've got to realize, and it's a cautionary note for filmmakers, is when you're using distributors, they are essentially a middleman, and you really need to find a good one that you trust because the way it works is they'll go out and sell a title for you. So let's say they go and sell a title for you for say $2,000 would be you know um a pretty average kind of sale price to a TV broadcaster or something like that. Uh, regrettably, yeah, of that you know, income, they're gonna keep a commission as you'd expect. They're also gonna take away a lot of their you know transactional costs in terms of technical costs in preparing um that title for market and also their travel and marketing expenses. It can mean with a $2,000 sale, you end up with nothing. It can happen. So you really want to be um pretty careful that you know you're finding someone who has um able to live up to the expectations that they set out at the start and is able to return some income to you.

SPEAKER_01 9:36

Or you've got to have different expectations. So, for example, um, if maybe you're not necessarily looking to make a lot of money out of the title because the value is actually in getting that distribution and being able to say my film's been screened on X amount of you know, broadcasters in X amount of countries, and that's going to really help you leverage your next project. So there could be other benefits to having that kind of distribution that you couldn't necessarily create off your own bat.

SPEAKER_00 10:07

Sometimes it's necessary to get finance into your project, have distribution deals like that in place as well. So that's how it can serve your project. Another alternative, another type of model is if you have a title available, you were talking about DVD, we're talking about VIMI on demand, there's many other options. Uh you know, there's less middlemen in that. Um, also, there's some great educational distributors where you know they take a commission, but more is returned to you. There's less of those technical and marketing fees, so you do see good return based on the sales that are happening. Um, and that way I think is a bit more entrepreneurial because you can promote and market your own title to your audience, and you're much more likely to know where your audience are than a distributor, I found from my experience. You're likely to know you know where they're consuming content, how they're consuming content, how you can communicate with them and let them know that you've got something new to share with them that would have a real value to them.

SPEAKER_01 11:05

Yeah, and you can you can build your own audiences too if you can retain the control over your content because you can um do all kinds of things now. You know, you can do Facebook live events, you could um stream it through YouTube, you can do all kinds of um ways to, you know, if you build a really strong audience and you build them in the lead up to the release, and then you can have a huge impact on the day of release, and then that could actually generate um a broadcaster picking it up or a film festival picking it up or whatever it is. So it's kind of your backing into the distribution as opposed to um having it all set up up front. Um, so there's so many different models you can use, and I would just recommend that people really do their homework on what the different options are and what are the things that you're trying to get out of the release of your film? Are you trying to get um as many eyeballs as you can on it? Are you trying to recoup the cost of producing it? Are you um trying to leverage it to get your next project produced? So you need to be really clear on what your goals are and what you're actually wanting to achieve.

SPEAKER_00 12:10

Yeah, that's right. And I think the more you can develop that relationship with an audience directly and serve that audience directly is from my observation where the best returns tend to come from. Maybe not the biggest reach, though. So if you're looking for really big reach, then broadcast television is going to be a good option, subscriber video on demand is going to be a good option. Uh, so that might be in the mix. So the key then is not to sign over all of the rights uh exclusively to one person, one group. Um, hold on to as many of those rights as you can, even if it's in a non-exclusive basis, so you can experiment and find, you know, what's the best way to both get a return and reach your audience to make the biggest impact.

SPEAKER_01 12:53

That's right. So, yeah, so I think as far as I don't think there's a right way or a wrong way to go about it. It's just about understanding the the different options and the way you can leverage all those different options. I mean, we've found hosted screenings incredibly invaluable for just um the getting our films in front of the right people to get the change that is being, you know, um that we're working on for that particular campaign. Um, but if you're making something that's a bit more commercial, you know, a a broadcaster could really be the right way to go.

SPEAKER_00 13:30

Yeah, I mean, I think there's all types of iterations as well. So if you're trying to, you know, recoup as you know, as you should be trying to do, recoup on your investment, um, but also make an impact, then you can look at things like cinema on demand, which is you know a bit of a hybrid between a hosted screening, which is you know traditionally free, or possibly, you know, the host will pay you a license fee. That's pretty common, you know, maybe a few hundred dollars in terms of return, you know, in terms of having the license to be able to screen that film. Um, and cinema on demand is another model where everyone who attends a screening, and often in a cinema or a theatre, you know, we'll pay a regular ticket price. Some of that will return to the filmmaker, some of that will return to a distributor. Um, but because it's more of a curated event, it can still be very useful in making an impact. So that's a a hybrid. So there's a lot of ways to slice and dice it.

SPEAKER_01 14:28

Yeah, there is, and um, so I think I think you've got to get creative in in how you're gonna, you know, I I've never liked the word exploit your film, but that is what you're trying to do. You're trying to um you you've made this piece of work, you've poured your heart and soul into it, and you you want it to be really successful. So I think it's really important you think about distribution from, you know, before you even roll camera, you you should really start thinking about who's gonna watch it, how are they gonna see it, what's the best way for you to monetize it, what are the key outcomes you're really trying to get out of your film. Um, and that's gonna really help steer you in the right direction. And anywhere you can get non-exclusive, I I think is you know an advantage.

SPEAKER_00 15:11

It is, unless, you know, unless there's gonna be some sort of upfront commitment like an advance, you know, which will give you a lot of confidence that that's the right person for you.

SPEAKER_01 15:20

Hard to get.

SPEAKER_00 15:21

Yeah, it is very hard to get in the current climate. So, I mean, I wonder if part of the reason you don't like this word exploit is because as content creators, as filmmakers, you're an artist, right? You are you know putting your work out there into the world, and sometimes there's you know, that's using a different part of your brain than the business side, which you know, exploit goes more with that business entrepreneurial side. Um, and I think that actually it's the artists, the content creators, who can get exploited because often you know, these people presenting as the business side of our industry come in and you know make a lot of big promises, a lot of big talk. And unfortunately, it is all too common to hear about um these artists who've produced amazing work getting nothing or next to nothing back in terms of royalties. That doesn't always happen, that is not our experience all the time. However, we have needed to be quite selective about who we've teamed up with. There's some really good operators out there, and there's a lot of sharks out there. So, you know, stand up for yourself. You should be trying to exploit that title because uh this is your livelihood we're talking about, and you deserve it. We all know how hard it is to get these projects up and out there into the world. You deserve to be uh, you know, recompensed for that.

SPEAKER_01 16:40

The word show me the money comes to mind. Yeah, show me the money. That's always a good film. Um, but yeah, so I think I think the key takeaways are really just um do your research, really think about what your options are, what you're trying to get out of the what what's the end result that's gonna really bring you satisfaction as the filmmaker.

SPEAKER_00 17:02

And talk to other producers and filmmakers to find out who they've worked with, who they think is great, and uh maybe who you might want to avoid.

SPEAKER_01 17:10

Yeah, absolutely. Talk to your screen agencies as well, see who they recommend, who they're getting, you know, good vibes from, and um yeah, and anyway, please reach out if you've got any questions and um we could tell you a lot more about distribution, but we just kind of need to know what you want to know. So leave a comment or um reach out through the website.

SPEAKER_00 17:29

Yeah, and wishing you all the best getting your films and content out there into the world for the biggest reach to make the biggest impact and also returning back to you so you can make more of this important work.

SPEAKER_01 17:40

See you next time.