So You've Finished
your Film -
Congratulations!
So now ... how do
you:
Get it
Seen?
Make it Pay?
Completing your film is a huge achievement, it takes a great deal
of strength and tenacity to stick with it all the way til it's done. In
the old days, if you were lucky, you'd get a distribution deal, and
they'd take care of getting it in front of audiences. Either by
theatrical distribution, or via DVDs, they'd look after everything,
and send you a cheque. Well, that was the theory.
Today, with the collapse of independent film marketing, this hardly
happens
any more. So what do you do? Luckily, via the Internet, there are many
options available. But you have to distribute it yourself: DIY.
Even better is DIWO: Do It With Others. By working with others to
market your film after you've produced it, you can still get it seen,
and make money from it.
In fact, in many ways, there's never been a better time to make films.
As well as the huge drop in cost with cameras and other hardware, the
Internet allows you to retain almost total control over your film,
allowing you to market it in a way that suits you instead of the
system. Distribution costs have plummeted, and you can reach audiences
very cheaply these days.
The situation can be summed up like this:
CwF + RtB = profits
By Connecting with Fans, and giving them a Reason to Buy, you can make
consistent
profits from your film. Using such online resources as Youtube,
Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, BitTorrent and others, as well as offline
resources, you can build a
community of fans around your films, and create a successful career
without ever having a traditional distribution deal.
If you'd like to find out how to do this, contact me.
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Ed Love
Hybrid Distro Consultant
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p.s. if you've got a new project in pre production, do NOT
wait until it's finished before you explore how to market it. The
sooner you start, the better. Imagine the unpleasant surprise you'll
have if you spend a fortune to make your film, and then discover that
absolutely nobody has any interest in watching it! Better to look into
marketing before you even start your film.
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