Using the Distributor ReportCard
Since this is the start of festival season 2011 and many of you will be evaluating the best distributors to handle your film, we want to reintroduce our Distributor ReportCard site. The idea behind it is to give filmmakers a place to share their experiences with others, both good and bad. We would also like it to be a site where distributors visit to see how they are being perceived and where they might improve.
In order to contribute a report on a listed distributor, you will need to sign in or create an account. This is a free service. The site utilizes wikispaces so you should use a unique username and password. If you are already a member of The Collaborators site, you’ll need a different username and password than your Collaborators membership. If you want to add a distributor not included on the list, please send the name and website of the distributor to danielle [at] thefilmcollaborative [dot] org. Once cataloged, the distributor name and info will be added to the DRC menu.
POSTING:
1. Log into/create a wikispacesaccount using the special username and password. If you are creating an account, a Wikispaces MY ACCOUNT page will appear. Go to MY WIKI (near upper right-hand corner) and type in FILM DISTRIBUTOR GUIDE. A small window will pop-up underneath with FILM DISTRIBUTION GUIDE. (You can later add this to your favorite wikis and not have to type in the name each time you log in. You will still need to go to MY WIKI link to select it. Click on FILM DISTRIBUTION GUIDE. The DRC front page will come up.
2. On the far LEFT-HAND SIDE column, select the DISTRIBUTOR you wish to comment on.
3. Once you are on the chosen distributor’s page, click on the DISCUSSION tab.
4. Click the NEW POST button (located just under the distributor’s name, upper left side).
5. A NEW POST window will pop-up.
6. Fill-in your SUBJECT and type your MESSAGE in the pop-up window.
7. If you want to receive an email when others respond to your post, click the box “MONITOR THIS TOPIC”. If not, proceed to #8.
8. When you are finished entering your missive, click POST.
9. Your post is complete!
We want to encourage factual and constructive comments attributed to named individuals, however we realize that sometimes people have information to share, but cannot do it under their own names. If you have information to share, but are just too uncomfortable to use your name, it is possible to send those comments to us and we will enter the information. Please address these to Danielle at the email above and she will enter in the information with the disclaimer that the information is from an individual who refuses to be named. That way those doing research will be able to better evaluate the information.
Orly Ravid January 13th, 2011
Posted In: Distribution, Distribution Platforms, Distributor ReportCard, International Sales, Uncategorized
Tags: distribution companies, Distributor ReportCard, DRC, film distribution, independent film
NETFLIX vs. Cable VOD & TV – It’s a question of timing
I recently posted on our Facebook page a note about the fact that one has to be mindful about when to initiate a NETFLIX VOD window. Sheri Candler asked to me blog about it. I do everything she says.
We have heard consistently from Cable VOD operators and aggregators and Broadcasters such as Showtime that the Netflix VOD window is considered a cannibalizer of revenue for Cable VOD and TV so know that before licensing rights and resolving windows. When it comes to Netflix they have gotten so successful that they are a more selective platform than Amazon. Amazon wants has recently passed the 80,000 titles mark and is racing to aggregate as many as possible. Netflix has over 100,000 titles on DVD and over 17,000 titles on its streaming service but is now getting more and more selective. Netflix SVOD rights are sold for a flat fee, at least for now. To get onto Netflix, first one has to get on their radar and into their system, and then get that demand up in their queue system to get a good fee offer. One has to then resolve everything else before risking inadvertently killing any chances of a Broadcast sale or Cable VOD distribution. However, depending on the film, you may make more money from Netflix than by selling to let’s say EPIX which will want your Netflix SVOD rights anyway. And you may make more money distributing directly then doing a small Broadcast deal or going with a distributor or aggregator that will take all your digital rights anyway. Though it should be noted most filmmakers cannot get to Netflix directly.
As with anything in film distribution, there is no one rule that applies to all films. This is a case-by-case business. Some films are big enough that one can stagger windows and monetize them all. Some films are better served by being available on all platforms at once or close to it. Some films lend themselves more to rental or ad-supported free-on-demand and others can really generate the transactional (pay per download) business.
The point of this little missive though is just to note the conflation of TV and the Internet is happening. Google TV is here and retailers, Television and device manufacturers, cable operators and telcos are all competing to aggregate and offer as much content as possible. Even print media companies are following suit wanting channels of content on their websites. And soon enough it will be less a discussion of rights and more a discussion of PAYMENT METHODS or MONETIZING METHODS and I think that will always depend on the film and its demographic targets. The options will always be: 1. Ad-Supported / Free on Demand, 2. Subscription 3. Pay Per View 4. Download to Rent, and / or 5. Download to Own. And now instead of focusing on packaged media the focus is is on whether one can play content back on as many devices as one wants and that aspect related to all the various payment methods options. The content providing industries are all racing to aggregate as much content as they can and for it to be playable across as many devices as possible and payment methods vary so far depending on service and distributor choices. Hulu (a platform backed by studios and that was once only ad-supported is now beta testing its Netflix imitation subscription model).
Brands will attract customers just like they always did when video stores were king and just like when you choose which cell phone provider to use or whom to get your Internet connection through, assuming you live in an area with choice.
The other day on a Digital Hollywood Conference panel, I learned a stat from Erik Opeka of New Video: iTunes has 130,000,000 credit cards on file. Some of you are thinking right now, “I’m in the wrong business”.
Orly Ravid October 21st, 2010
Posted In: Amazon VOD & CreateSpace, Digital Distribution, iTunes, Netflix, Uncategorized
Tags: Amazon, Digital Distribution, Digital Hollywood, Epix, Erik Opeka, film distribution, GoogleTV, Hulu, iTunes, Netflix, New Video, Orly Ravid, Sheri Candler, Showtime, SVOD, VOD
The New Independent Film Distributors’ Business Model Pt 2
Guest post by Sheri Candler, courtesy of Ted Hope’s Truly Free Film.
We ran part one highlighting the problem. Today, Sheri points to how distributors will benefit financially from the new model.
It may be that while you are in audience building mode, you will be spending more than making to develop a truly exceptional experience for your community. If you start this now before your entire business collapses, you will fare better.
-Create an online experience that makes the lives of your community better, easier, richer and be the number 1 site they visit for news, information, resources and community tailored to what interests them.
-Fill the vacuum of the lack of curation. People are confused by where to find things they like and overwhelmed by the choice. In a sea of content, be their favored destination. In this way, you can take on the likes of Netflix, a company that offers a huge range that makes finding content specific to personal interests nearly impossible because they don’t intimately know who their customers are. You will know this.
-Lock in the community by maintaining a dialog that will turn their initial attention into a revenue stream for your brand. A subscription model is what you should aspire to, but you cannot rush to that without first showing what you have to offer and reeling them in. First offer the ability to sample, share and then buy.
-Innovate in the online experiences you build to keep the community engaged and interested in making the circle bigger for you and for them. Incentivize those who are the most active at enlarging the community. Take the money you would have spent on outside marketers and use it to think of interesting incentives for your tribe.
I fear the problem for all of you will be waiting to see if another business model becomes successful before you decide to reinvent your own. This is extremely detrimental because waiting only results in being that much further behind. The first ones to embrace a new model win. It is why Netflix beat out Blockbuster. By the time Blockbuster conceded the model Netflix forged was legitimate, they could never catch up. Entrenched companies usually misjudge the speed with which change happens. Now is the time.
Sheri Candler is an inbound marketing strategist who helps independent filmmakers build identities for themselves and their films. Through the use of online tools such as social networking, podcasts, blogs, online media publications and radio, she assists filmmakers in building an engaged and robust online community for their work that can be used to monetize effectively.
She can be found online at www.shericandler.com, on Twitter @shericandler and on Facebook at Sheri Candler Marketing and Publicity.
Orly Ravid October 12th, 2010
Posted In: Distribution Platforms, DIY, Uncategorized
Tags: community building, film distribution, independent film, Sheri Candler, subscription models
TFC Tidbit of the Day 47 Film Festivals via a Distributor
TFC books film festivals for filmmakers when that work is too time consuming for the filmmakers themselves to handle. Bookings can be done by yourself and you can charge fees for an in demand film. However, there is something to be said for the ability of a distributor to command more in fees and know of more fests to get the film placed more broadly.
Know your film and yourself to determine how your festival run is best handled. Especially with niche films, make sure you are working with someone who has the knowledge of all the appropriate fests and can command decent fees, or make sure that person is you. More to consider if working with an outside company: make sure they are not too glutted with so many films that cannibalize each other both attention wise and content wise and ask what they do to work the film at the festival level.
Orly Ravid August 24th, 2010
Posted In: DIY, Film Festivals, Marketing, Theatrical
Tags: film distribution, film distributor, Film Festivals, film screenings
TFC Tidbit of the Day 46 Balancing Old World Model Licensing Distribution With New Media Opportunities and DIY
The Tidbits this week will be bolstered by CASE STUDIES and real numbers to come after the initial releases have completed. These TidBits are the conclusion of our first DISTRIBUTION TIDBITS series and a bit of a general overview of how to blend traditional distribution with new DIY opportunities.
FOREIGN (OUTSIDE US DISTRIBUTION): TFC usually employs a hybrid approach when it comes to distributing films outside of the US. There is still a lot a distributor in another country can do with your film that you cannot do yourself, i.e. theatrical and non-theatrical, additional festivals per territory are harder to suss , and of course
retail DVD and often TV etc. To balance things out, TFC often combines licensing rights to distributors with some DIY. For example, we make sure filmmakers can sell off their own site (we can help facilitate that) and also have the right to get the film onto any
digital platforms that the distributors cannot and we can facilitate a worldwide iPhone App and other Apps which also allow for direct digital distribution in many countries around the world. We also aggregate directly and through our partners to key digital platforms available worldwide.
TFC helps filmmakers with foreign sales and will also soon have a booth at key sales markets. If you are going with another sales company, we will help you not get stuck in an abusive deal or one that recoups excessive costs at your expense of reasonable revenue. And many buyers will buy directly from filmmakers if they are properly motivated, thus decreasing the need for a sales agent.
Orly Ravid August 23rd, 2010
Posted In: Digital Distribution, Theatrical
Tags: Digital Distribution, DIY, film distribution, foreign sales, iPhone App, new media, nontheatrical, Theatrical
TFC Tidbit of the Day 14- Ask questions
There are a few aggregators and lots of distributors so before committing yourself, weigh your options, and ask lots of questions. Always ask for and check out references and don’t trust any one source. Different films have different potentials so compare yours to ones that match up from a marketing and demographic perspective. Get clear about expenses being recouped, layers of middle men between the consumer and the company you are contracting with, and marketing efforts that either you or your distributor or both need to undertake to have your film known in the marketplace.
Did you know that The Film Collaborative has a social networking platform for filmmakers called The Film Collaborators? Visit the site to set up your free account.
Orly Ravid July 15th, 2010
Posted In: Digital Distribution
Tags: aggregators, contract, distributors, film distribution, independent film, references