Self Distribution

Thunderclap

Thunderclap

I'm currently waiting to hear back from several distribution companies that have shown interest in my film. I posted this question elsewhere but only received one response so I pose it to you here.

Is it frowned upon to do a self distribution through the likes of Amazon (Customflix) and EZTake while waiting to hear back from distribution companies? Will it hurt ones chances of being picked up by them? Or is self distribution okay until such time that it is picked up?

Thoughts? Comments?
 
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DON’T DO IT. The problem is if your film is perceived as being on sale or as being released NO MATTER HOW it then looses any value to the distributor and makes the film a worthless commodity.

If you release it on Amazon (which a lot of sales companies will do) it takes away one of the biggest markets an independent film has, and then limits the sales your film will get.

Eddie – your are wrong in saying that the sales figures will trigger interest. I have worked with loads of sales agents and distributors and most will never take a product that has already been on sale. And for the most part selling 5 or 6 copies on Amazon or the like will only dent future deals.

It is your commodity but it’s a very fragile commodity and needs to be nurtured by the right person.

Take it to festivals, get it screened, win some awards but steer clear of releasing it yourself unless you are sure that’s the route you want to go down and are willing to stick to.
 
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Thanks for your comments, Phil. You're the first person to give a difinitive NO. And you make valid points. Though Eddie's comments I've heard elsewhere so I really needed to hear another side. :) If anything it will be an absolute last resort but I'm at least half a year away from making that decision.
 
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CustomFlix

Hey..

I have a movie currently out on Customflix, and it has been for a year.

We just got picked up by Sub Rosa Studios for release in the 1st quarter of 2007 by them.

They know about the Customflix release and did not care. I also asked if I should pull it from sale when we made the deal, and they said no, keep selling for now thru 2006.

Not sure if all compaines feel this way. they may get more strict on the way up (Sub Rosa is mostly small B-horror films) But they didn't seem to care that we had a self release.
 
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Major releasers dont like seeing that the movie has been presold. It takes away there investment. You may get away with it on smaller sites but places like Amazon MUST be a no go.

The issue here is that it could effect the deal and mean that bigger companies wont touch it and that could be something that will effect your bottom line. Also they could use it as a bargining chip to reduce the price of the movie whcih again will effect the money you make.

There are 100's sales agents out there, and distributors, that will look at the film. NEVER give up hope... trust me I have seen some very poor indie movies get a strong release.

If you need any help with companies to send it to drop me an email (phil@mod-life.com) and I'll happily point you towards some more honest ones!!!
 
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mr-modern-life said:
DON’T DO IT. The problem is if your film is perceived as being on sale or as being released NO MATTER HOW it then looses any value to the distributor and makes the film a worthless commodity.

Robert Greenwald self released "Outfoxed" on the internet, maximising the grassroots marketing, working with political organistions like moveon.org and sold over 100,000 copies in three weeks at $10 a go. Both despite and because of this exposure the film was picked up by a commercial distributer for theatrical and DVD release while still allowing Greenwald to retain the rights to sell his film on his own website.

If you release it on Amazon (which a lot of sales companies will do) it takes away one of the biggest markets an independent film has, and then limits the sales your film will get.

No it slightly reduces the sales for the distributer, however with theatrical, non theatical, dvd rental and sell through dvd markets, Amazon is hardly liability. A distributer does not own a film body and soul.

Eddie – your are wrong in saying that the sales figures will trigger interest. I have worked with loads of sales agents and distributors and most will never take a product that has already been on sale. And for the most part selling 5 or 6 copies on Amazon or the like will only dent future deals.

Selling only five or six copies on Amazon is hardly a big issue, however if i heard a film had triggered enormous interest on the internet (example Blair Witch) i would very certainly offer my distribution services (NFD).

It is your commodity but it’s a very fragile commodity and needs to be nurtured by the right person.

Yes its only a commodity if the "right person" attacks the marketing and really works hard.

Take it to festivals, get it screened, win some awards but steer clear of releasing it yourself unless you are sure that’s the route you want to go down and are willing to stick to.
Click to expand...

All pubicity is good publicity. Maybe arrange a few publicity stunts and have fun!
 
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I'll add a definitive don't do it.

There will always be exceptions - as Timberwolf has pointed out - but in general distributors want all the revenue. If the movie has already sold 20, 30, 150, 500 units through self distribution those are proven buyers who won't buy it again.

Timberwolf - how many units did you sell before Sub Rosa picked up your film?
 
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Thunderclap said:
Is it frowned upon to do a self distribution through the likes of Amazon (Customflix) and EZTake while waiting to hear back from distribution companies? Will it hurt ones chances of being picked up by them? Or is self distribution okay until such time that it is picked up?
Thoughts? Comments?
Click to expand...

I'm considering a strategy of collecting names of people that are interested in buying a copy "when available", and then taking that list to a potential distributor. So if potential leads are substantial, that could potentially help, and I technically haven't sold any DVD copies yet.

I'm skeptical about small distributors though. I had a friend recently screwed by an LA based distributor. They put his film in every Blockbuster in the US, which is great, but it's been six months and they have yet to send him a check! They claim large amounts of marketing expense that offset sales.. but they won't release sales figures. Meanwhile, he gets calls from cast/crew on deferrment demanding money, since they think he has $ from the video store deals..
 
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filmscheduling said:
I'm considering a strategy of collecting names of people that are interested in buying a copy "when available", and then taking that list to a potential distributor.
Click to expand...

Careful, some distributors could take that list and start spamming them with offers...or worse, sell the list for $$$.
 
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I'll add my voice to the NO camp.

This is why.

The film industry is all about perceptions -- not just what your product is, but also about how you present yourself.

With lower production costs meaning that any idiot can make a movie the market is flooded with low/no budget rubbish.

For many of these film makers self distribution is the only choice -- and a quick skim through the feature trailers on Custom Flicks will confirm this.

If you self distribute you are telling the industry that you are "that kind of film maker."

In an ideal world a distributor wants the following:

a) A core demographic appealing genre film with a name/s in it
b) that looks like it cost several million to make
c) made by a talent that's going to be huge, but isn't yet, so I can cash in now

Your job with the distributor is to sell both the film and yourself.

Self distribution sends the message "I don't believe in myself or this film" -- whether it is true or not -- that is how it will be percieved.

Personally I'd rather stick a film on the shelf unseen than self distribute, unless I knew that I could sell a million units and make the front page of Variety.
 
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clive said:
If you self distribute you are telling the industry that you are "that kind of film maker."

In an ideal world a distributor wants the following:

a) A core demographic appealing genre film with a name/s in it
b) that looks like it cost several million to make
c) made by a talent that's going to be huge, but isn't yet, so I can cash in now

Your job with the distributor is to sell both the film and yourself.
Click to expand...

That's an entirely understandable position, although in the end an audience is what matters.
Some distributors are converted DVD authoring shops or other assorted minor players that don't do a much better job than what a filmmaker could do for his or herself.
Check out: http://www.elephantsdream.org
Despite open sourcing their production (releasing everything online for free!) they've they've sold lots of DVD's.
The website and production values are top notch and they are self distributing over bit torrent.
It's great PR for their studio and they'll be finding more work I'm sure..
 
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Thanks for pointing out Elephants Dream. This is something I've always wanted to do. I have a few story ideas that would be too complicated to do live action on a limited budget. I downloaded Blender (the program they used) to play with it but unfortunately I have no art skill whatsoever. If anyone has time to kill and would like to possibly collaborate let me know. I'll have to dust off the scripts but I could probably get quite a few people involved for voice work and sound effects and everything.
 
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filmscheduling said:
That's an entirely understandable position, although in the end an audience is what matters.
Some distributors are converted DVD authoring shops or other assorted minor players that don't do a much better job than what a filmmaker could do for his or herself.
Check out: http://www.elephantsdream.org
Despite open sourcing their production (releasing everything online for free!) they've they've sold lots of DVD's.
The website and production values are top notch and they are self distributing over bit torrent.
It's great PR for their studio and they'll be finding more work I'm sure..
Click to expand...

I think the question here is what do you want to get out of it? Me... when I release a film I want someone who can market, distribute, sell, deal with the legal and get my DVD out to a network of sales and rental outlets that extend past just Amazon or Eztakes.

Using a sales agent we have recieved $000's dollars for deals in countries I never new exisited. And no work from our part went into it. That s $000's without ever selling a unit of the DVD. Let alone paying for stock, reproduction etc. Add to this that if you do self distibute the coverage you get will be small to say the least and your film will hardly ever register.

ITS JUST NOT WORTH IT... as I have said before there are companies out there that will release films no matter how bad and I'm sure most of your films are head and shoulders above some of the shite I have seen released on these labels BUT they make money and that's what we are here for is it not? To make profitable films that enable you to make more profitable films...

What makes a good company? Well for a start check that they attend at least AFM or Cannes (or both). At least then they stand less of a chance of being 'basement' people.
 
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For one thing it may take up to 6 months for these companies to get you out of their "system", meaning deal with returns and accounting. They don't want to get TWO vendors mixed up in their system with regard to one product. This is expecially true of 1-stops like AEC. So they just plain won't add the NEW vendor's same product for a while. That limits the distributor's sales numbers. You want to keep them happy with the most sales possible so they don't drop you.
 
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