Top Tips: Profiting From A Feature Film

Leister said:

Why is a comedy harder to make with zero/no budget? Yeah, you can't pay big talents but why is this a problem?

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DeJager said:

Because most people aren't as funny as they think and when it comes to writing screenplays comedies are very hard to pull off. Additionally, comedic timing is hard for amateur actors, which is why certain actors are very successful and others sink.

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NickSoares said:

Budget = Money - And if you dont have the $$ then it is hard to accomplish the "Comedy" aspect of a comedy. Plus, Budget = Better sound, camera, editing etc...



This thread is specific to "profiting" - As a filmmaker, you should make what ever you want.

When tips like this come around, for some reason people get offended because they are making a comedy or drama as they are reading this, but that is not how these tips should be looked at (FindersKeepers, im talking in general here, just FYI). I personally have wanted to make a Drama since I have started in this industry but I have held off so I can continue to make money and do filmmaking rather then say "My passion is a drama, so with $40,000 im going to do a drama" - Instead I went were the money (horror-action-thriller) was so I can support my family and live off the profits from my films. So to answer your question, you should do what you want to do so long as your happy. For me it was making films and making money so some day achieve my goal of doing the drama film I wanted. Now I have royalties coming in, I own a distribution company, and I am almost ready to do my Drama I have been waiting for 10 years later..

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Kholi said:

A movie should definitely be as long as it needs to be, especially in this day and age. Trying to fit a movie that only has sixty minutes of worthwhile content into an eighty plus format is a quick way to not get a good distribution deal. Despite what's preferred by distributors (Who aren't going to give you much, anyway).

And, like 2001 said, if you are looking for a distribution deal and your feature's only sixty minutes then you probably should've chosen a different project to begin with.

Even then, it's possible that a really good feature film in the sixty to seventy minute range will still get you to a lot of great places. Hate to reach for a very top shelf example here but Christopher Nolan's FOLLOWING (his first feature, before he got to Memento) was only sixty six minutes I believe. It wasn't a major financial success, but it was something that got him far along.

And, a more extreme example, Winnie the Pooh's last feature was a total of 63 minutes in running length. Yes, a kids movie, but still, a major motion picture release. Or animated feature release.

On the topic of utilizing today's benefits to distribute your own feature, it isn't as cut and dry. IF you don't have a SERIOUSLY GOOD MOVIE (not one that you, your family, and your friends think is good), then you HAVE to have either a hyper-niche, still have a name, you're marketing a feature film that has a fair amount of solid production value, or a ton of money to market because you won't have word of mouth from releasing a "good" movie.

One or some of those.

It's easy to say "let's just do it ourselves!", well, cool. There are some great ways to do that and profitable, as long as you're okay with profit meaning a few thousand dollars over the span of three years (If you don't have one or more of those things mentioned above.)

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