So You Want to Make a Movie - Making It Right

You’ve caught the bug, and you’ve decided to make a movie. But where do you start? The good news is today there are fewer barriers to overcome in order to produce a film. Thanks to digital filmmaking, the costs have dropped dramatically. In reality, practically anybody can become a filmmaker. There is no shortage of books, videos, and online resources to help get you started. No one article can answer all of your questions or take you through the entire process; however, I want to offer you 21 key steps that will at least steer you in the right direction. Think of these steps as the big picture or the 30,000 foot view.

21. Making It Right

The job of being a producer is never over. Depending upon what kind of distribution deal that you are successful in securing, the money that your film generates through the various windows and markets could take years to come in. That means you have to stay on top of things and be diligent to be sure you get every cent coming to you. Don’t count on your distributor to do your job. Bottom Line—make sure you’re getting paid.

Whether or not you get a distribution deal or pay check, your responsibility is to “make it right” for the people who helped you make your movie. The first place to start is with your investors. Remember, you didn’t promise or guarantee them that your film will be successful. At least I hope you didn’t. Filmmaking is a high risk business, and there is no guarantee of a return. But, to the best of your abilities and with the money you have made, you need to pay back your investors, hopefully, with interest and profit. They are first in line.

Second, what about your crew and cast? In the world of low-budget filmmaking, it’s easy to take advantage of people. Your crew and cast have put in countless hours and have endured a significant amount of hardship. Some may have been paid very little while others have received nothing. If you have an opportunity to make it right, then it’s your obligation to do so. You’ll be surprised how appreciative your crew and cast will be if you can put a little extra cash in their pockets. This is a rarity in this business. But it’s the right thing to do. And the next time you make a movie, who do you think will be your biggest fans and will want to work with you again? In the film production business, there’s nothing more important than having loyal friends who will stand with you.

And, if you also do right with your investors, they will more than likely want to hear about your next film project. After all, if you made money for them, why wouldn’t they want to talk to you? As a producer and filmmaker, your word must be everything. Integrity, honesty, and not making promises that you cannot deliver are all part of making it right. And, if you are a Christian in the filmmaking business, believe me; people will be watching your behavior and actions. You have an opportunity to be a witness for Christ in how you conduct your business deals. So, by all means, you have a moral obligation to make it right with all persons concerned. 

So You Want to Make a Movie - Distribution

You’ve caught the bug, and you’ve decided to make a movie. But where do you start? The good news is today there are fewer barriers to overcome in order to produce a film. Thanks to digital filmmaking, the costs have dropped dramatically. In reality, practically anybody can become a filmmaker. There is no shortage of books, videos, and online resources to help get you started. No one article can answer all of your questions or take you through the entire process; however, I want to offer you 20 key steps that will at least steer you in the right direction. Think of these steps as the big picture or the 30,000 foot view.

20. Distribution

I’m sure you didn’t make your film for just you, your friends, and family to watch. You want an audience. The entire reason that you spent the time and money to enter your movie into film festivals was to find a distributor. Let’s face it. You don’t have the money or the ability to get your film into theaters. And do you think you could collect the money from the theater owners anyway? What a distributor does is to help you find an audience. They finance the P and A, which is an industry term for prints and advertising. You don’t have a movie until somebody is willing to pay $10 to see it in a theater. Distributors have the means to market and promote your film. In other works, they convince the public that your film is a “movie”.

For every dollar Hollywood spends to produce a movie, they spend an additional 51 to 57 cents to promote and market the film. And you thought making the movie was hard. The truth is the real battle is finding a distributor and, hopefully, an audience. In some cases, the process could take up to five years. You really have to be committed and believe in your movie if you have any chance of finding a distributor.

You’d be surprised how many movies, and I mean good movies, NEVER get a distribution deal. There’s no logic, rhyme or reason for why certain films get or don’t get distribution. It’s going to come down to a lot of hard work and determination on your part. And sometimes it’s just dumb luck.

So what happens if you don’t get a distribution deal at the film festivals? What do you do next? The first thing you must absolutely do before talking to any distributor is get expert advice from an entertainment lawyer. If somebody offered you a deal, how would you know if it was a good deal for you? The entertainment industry is notorious for distributors who have taken advantage of filmmakers, promised them the moon and delivered absolutely nothing. In some cases, they stole their film and left them at the altar, never seeing one red cent.

You don’t want that to happen to you. That’s why you need someone on your side. Don’t rely on what I’m writing or on any other book when negotiating a deal. This topic is too complex without expert opinion. For example, there is a multitude of different types of distribution deals such as the 50/50 net deal, the flat fee deal, the net deal, the gross deal, the first dollar gross deal, the first dollar split deal, the adjusted gross deal, the sliding scale deal, and the 70/30 major deal. The question is which one is the real deal. Here’s the thing you need to know. Most of them are designed for you to never see any profits.

I’m not going to go into detail for each of these deals; however, I do want to highlight the 50/50 net deal which is basically a standard distribution deal within the industry. It pretty much goes like this. You and the distributor form a partnership. They agree to distribute your movie for a standard distribution fee plus all expenses. Then they will split the profits 50/50 with you. The problem is nobody can define what the standard distribution fee is because it’s always a moving target. And the funny thing is the expenses always seem to eat up the profits. So when they get to the 50/50 split, there’s nothing to split. The expenses magically go up.

Here’s the deal you should take. If the distributor is willing to write you a check to buy the film straight out, take it. You walk away and you’re done. Let’s say you made your movie for $200,000, and they offer you a $350,000 to $400,000 check. Why in the world wouldn’t you take it? You now have the money to pay off your expenses, repay your investors with interest and profits, take care of everybody who helped you get the movie made, plus put a little money in your pocket. And the icing on the cake is your movie now has a chance to find an audience.

The only problem is this deal is rare. A few years ago, distributors were willing to take more risks. Now they want you to take all the risks. They expect you to do the work that they used to do. Distributors want you to find your audience, and market and promote your film. And, if you are successful, they collect all of the rewards. Doesn’t sound fair, does it? 

So You Want to Make a Movie - Festivals - 2

You’ve caught the bug, and you’ve decided to make a movie. But where do you start? The good news is today there are fewer barriers to overcome in order to produce a film. Thanks to digital filmmaking, the costs have dropped dramatically. In reality, practically anybody can become a filmmaker. There is no shortage of books, videos, and online resources to help get you started. No one article can answer all of your questions or take you through the entire process; however, I want to offer you 20 key steps that will at least steer you in the right direction. Think of these steps as the big picture or the 30,000 foot view.

Step 19. -  It’s your job to get an audience out to see your film.

If you have the money, you could hire a producer’s rep that has weight and pull with film festival managers, buyers and distributors. Their job is to get you noticed and get you meetings. They have the relationships. You don’t. They may be able to move you to the front of the line. But the producer’s rep does not come cheap. And remember, there’s no guarantee that the rep can get you a deal.

If you can’t hire a producer’s rep, you will have to do all of the work. One of the major goals at film festivals is to get reviewed by movie critics. Be proactive. Check to see if the local TV station or newspaper has a film critic. Call the critics directly to get them to see your film.

If your movie is not loved by one critic, move on. That’s just one person’s opinion. If you work at it, you will find a critic somewhere who is going to love your movie. Try to get your film into as many festivals as possible to generate positive word of mouth outside and inside the critics circle. It’s always better to approach a distributor with positive press and reviews. It can only help you.

Most filmmakers want to enter into as many film festivals as possible; however, you have to take the cost into consideration. I’m sure your budget is now stretched to the max. Practically every film festival requires an entry fee which is nonrefundable. And remember because you submit to a film festival doesn’t mean you are going to get in. If you enter 50 festivals say at $100 a pop, that means $5,000. If you do get accepted to a film festival, it doesn’t do you any good unless you can personally attend. That requires an airplane ticket, hotel and meals. The costs add up quickly.

You also can’t count on the festival to do your marketing. Being in a film festival does not help your cause unless you have an audience to see your movie. That means you may have to take out local ads to promote your film. You’ll have to pay for posters, promotional materials, and EPKs to help get the word out about your film. Don’t expect the film festivals to necessarily help with your press. You’ll probably have to set up your own interviews with magazines, newspapers, etc. The bottom line is you have to take responsibility for the success of your movie. You can’t count on anybody to help, and that includes the film festival director. It’s your job to get an audience out to see your film.