CCR distribution question
Question: Read through and make some notes as to how you would distribute your short film as a real media text.
Film distribution strategies:
Bidding war at a film festival.
In some days the typical success story of a film was when a film would be premiered at a film festival and people would make their million-dollar biddings.
Bidding wars still happen but it is uncommon.
Film festivals were used in order to create buzz for their film.
Most film acquisitions happen before opening night because of video on demand platforms like netflix or amazon.
Sell movie to streaming platform
With over 150 million subscribers, Netflix is one of the most ideal streaming platforms in today's day in age.
Selling a film right to a distributor is a long shot.
Having hard numbers and evidence to ease the minds of your investors is always helpful so that investors have a piece of mind.
The 6 Steps to Self-Distribute Your Indie Film
Attract independent film distributors
Funding your indie film:
Use crowdfunding platforms to your advantage
Can be helpful when you have already produced an individual film previously (can help to prove to your audience/crowd funders)
Using free platforms/websites like youtube can be a good way of publicity even if it doesn't take off right away as long as it is there.
Offer a variety of teasers e.g. trailers, scene previews.
Prepare for distribution:
Digital Files: Most cinemas accept deliverables as digital files in .mp4 and .mov files. .mp4 is the international standard, while the .mov is Apple’s preferred format.
H.264 format does a super job of encoding high-quality video and audio for streaming online, but it won’t do your movie justice on the big screen. Apple ProRes 422 codec or the Avid DNxHD codec. Outputting either as a .mov file will yield the best results.
1920 x 1080 (“1080p” for short) is the preferred resolution for cinema screenings with an aspect ratio of flat (1.85) or scope (2.35).
Distribution online:
As with cinema, online streaming and download-for-purchase platforms accept Pro-Res 422 .mov format.
In addition, files may be submitted as AVC/H.264 in .mp4, m2t, and .ts format.
MPEG-2 formats are also accepted.
Provide subtitles with a team of dedicated subtitle translators
Atmospherics are important to include as well
Online and streaming release strategy:
Third party aggregator (aggregators also take care of everything else, including encoding, packaging, and delivering your film to digital platforms, useful but more expensive only good if you have the cash to spend).
DIY: apply to have your film on different video on demand platforms yourself this way you can still maintain ownership over the film.
Target the VOD distribution platforms
Get a theatrical booker this is someone who gets your movies in cinemas even if only showing once this can be costly but compared to the amount of ticket sales you may receive it will be worth it.
Promoting your independent film:
Promote your film with a trailer. If it’s shareable, your fans will do the legwork for you.
Put together a press kit. Your press kit should include a one-pager (synopsis of your film on one page), images, and a personal story.
Create a website for your production. Keep things personal and include authentic stories of your major above-the-line team members, factoids about your film, and news on upcoming screenings.
Be sure to cultivate an email list of your fans. You can announce to your minions when your film lands distribution and where they can view the film. Your email list can also come in handy when it comes time to promote your next film coming down the pike.
The way i would release my independent indie film would be to first find my target audience. This way I can base where I want my publicity to be, e.g. using free platforms like facebook or instagram in order to create hype for my film. I would try to generate enough buzz so that I can request crowd funding in order to help get my film on the big screen whilst also maintaining a small budget. Once I got enough money I would enter my movie into a film festival where hopefully some type of investor may choose to place a bid. Once premiered in a film festival i would try myself to enter the film into video on demand platforms and try my chances with a site such as netflix who has one of the highest amount of subscribers, but if that was not work out i would start with small streaming platforms and slowly work my way up to a bigger streaming platform.
Bidding war at a film festival.
In some days the typical success story of a film was when a film would be premiered at a film festival and people would make their million-dollar biddings.
Bidding wars still happen but it is uncommon.
Film festivals were used in order to create buzz for their film.
Most film acquisitions happen before opening night because of video on demand platforms like netflix or amazon.
Sell movie to streaming platform
With over 150 million subscribers, Netflix is one of the most ideal streaming platforms in today's day in age.
Selling a film right to a distributor is a long shot.
Having hard numbers and evidence to ease the minds of your investors is always helpful so that investors have a piece of mind.
The 6 Steps to Self-Distribute Your Indie Film
Attract independent film distributors Funding your indie film:
Use crowdfunding platforms to your advantage
Can be helpful when you have already produced an individual film previously (can help to prove to your audience/crowd funders)
Using free platforms/websites like youtube can be a good way of publicity even if it doesn't take off right away as long as it is there.
Offer a variety of teasers e.g. trailers, scene previews.
Prepare for distribution:
Digital Files: Most cinemas accept deliverables as digital files in .mp4 and .mov files. .mp4 is the international standard, while the .mov is Apple’s preferred format.
H.264 format does a super job of encoding high-quality video and audio for streaming online, but it won’t do your movie justice on the big screen. Apple ProRes 422 codec or the Avid DNxHD codec. Outputting either as a .mov file will yield the best results.
1920 x 1080 (“1080p” for short) is the preferred resolution for cinema screenings with an aspect ratio of flat (1.85) or scope (2.35).
Distribution online:
As with cinema, online streaming and download-for-purchase platforms accept Pro-Res 422 .mov format.
In addition, files may be submitted as AVC/H.264 in .mp4, m2t, and .ts format.
MPEG-2 formats are also accepted.
Provide subtitles with a team of dedicated subtitle translators
Atmospherics are important to include as well
Online and streaming release strategy:
Third party aggregator (aggregators also take care of everything else, including encoding, packaging, and delivering your film to digital platforms, useful but more expensive only good if you have the cash to spend).
DIY: apply to have your film on different video on demand platforms yourself this way you can still maintain ownership over the film.
Target the VOD distribution platforms
Get a theatrical booker this is someone who gets your movies in cinemas even if only showing once this can be costly but compared to the amount of ticket sales you may receive it will be worth it.
Promoting your independent film:
Promote your film with a trailer. If it’s shareable, your fans will do the legwork for you.
Put together a press kit. Your press kit should include a one-pager (synopsis of your film on one page), images, and a personal story.
Create a website for your production. Keep things personal and include authentic stories of your major above-the-line team members, factoids about your film, and news on upcoming screenings.
Be sure to cultivate an email list of your fans. You can announce to your minions when your film lands distribution and where they can view the film. Your email list can also come in handy when it comes time to promote your next film coming down the pike.
The way i would release my independent indie film would be to first find my target audience. This way I can base where I want my publicity to be, e.g. using free platforms like facebook or instagram in order to create hype for my film. I would try to generate enough buzz so that I can request crowd funding in order to help get my film on the big screen whilst also maintaining a small budget. Once I got enough money I would enter my movie into a film festival where hopefully some type of investor may choose to place a bid. Once premiered in a film festival i would try myself to enter the film into video on demand platforms and try my chances with a site such as netflix who has one of the highest amount of subscribers, but if that was not work out i would start with small streaming platforms and slowly work my way up to a bigger streaming platform.
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