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Filmmaking, Self-Development

10 Educational Resources Filmmakers Need to Know About

By on

August 11, 2018

- Filmmaking, Self-Development

Become a life-long learner & stay on top of your game

You should be constantly educating yourself, then applying that knowledge. This is important if you want to stay on top of your game and remain competitive, or reach the heights of professionals you admire.

I thought I’d put together a few resources I’ve personally found helpful. Some of these are paid or offer paid options, but most offer free material or are completely free.

General Education

EdX. This site provides university-quality course content, completely free of charge. There are options, depending on the course, to pay for an official certificate, and some of the classes can be paid for and contribute to a professional certification. However, you are never required to pay in order to have access to the course and work through the material for your personal growth.

I think the trend of making educational resources more readily available for the public is a great one.

Personally, I took a course called “Contract Law: From Trust to Promise to Contract” by a professor at Harvard Law School. It was an incredibly interesting course. Each section consisted of video lectures that were quite well put together.


Skillshare. This site offers a handful of select free courses but is mostly a paid, subscription-based site, priced at a reasonable $15.00 month-to-month for unlimited course access.

While I haven’t yet made time to make use of it myself, I have browsed courses related to business, marketing, and video production and there seems to be a solid selection of quality, highly rated material.

There are also less-viewed and lower rated courses on the site, but that could simply be due to lack of views or low-quality material. While such a large site is bound to have some poor quality material, there is plenty of good material to balance it out.


Navigating the Industry

Rob Hardy – Filmmaker Freedom. As a filmmaker, Rob has struggled with the dichotomy between doing your art and supporting yourself. He understands the challenge of trying to be a filmmaker in our changing times, as do we all.

His personal experience with this struggle and the mindsets needed to find financial freedom as a filmmaker culminated in his site Filmmaker Freedom, where he shares helpful content on improving craft, but even more useful information on the mindsets you need to apply in order to tackle this industry successfully – by creating your own definition of success and paving a realistic path to it. I highly recommend it.


Noam Kroll – Show Don’t Tell. Noam is a commercial and film director based in California who publishes the podcast Show Don’t Tell, where he mostly shares information on being a successful producer and director of feature films (not unlike myself).

Though he does focus more on technical craft (such as color grading, which seems to be a passion of his) than I care for, his weekly articles share useful insights exclusive to his subscribers, while his newsletters and podcast and informing for those interested in creating commercially viable feature films.


Technical Tutorials

Moviola. This comprehensive filmmaking education resource was created by the folks who created one of the old school, original film editing systems. Now, they own and operate companies like FilmTools.com, a popular site for filmmaking equipment of all sorts.

This site is, in my opinion, one of the most unknown but helpful resources out there, especially if you are lacking in technical knowledge.

It covers every topic, from ‘Gripology’ to introductory and advanced visual effects techniques. It’s a treasure-trove of learning and I urge you to check it out. The crazy thing is that this use to be a subscription site offering 90 day free trials, but is now completely free.

I’ve used it to learn about topics I was ignorant about as well as brush up on some skills I hadn’t used in quite a long time. Go check it out and share it with anyone you know looking to get started in filmmaking.


Film Riot. Widely known, loved, and one of the first popular DIY/Indie filmmaking YouTube channels, Film Riot has grown with its creators, Ryan and Josh Connolly. For beginner-level filmmakers, their first few years of online content will provide many hours of educational material, while more advanced filmmakers will enjoy their newer material.

As they’ve learned, the techniques they try out and share with the world lean more advanced.

They also make some great assets for filmmakers which I have personally purchased and used often (including on my first feature film), such as their gun Foley sound pack, fighting sound effects pack, and gunshots sound pack.


Filmmaker IQ. This website and YouTube channel has a variety of thoroughly researched, in-depth material on a variety of topics, from the science of lenses, to the history of Hollywood, to the practice of blocking actors.

This resource provides a great overview for filmmakers, especially beginners. However, it goes in-depth enough that moderately experienced filmmakers can find real value in the content that Filmmaker IQ’s host, John Hess, presents for your pleasure and education.


Shane’s Inner Circle. I met Shane Hurlbut at NAB once, and I thought he was a pretty nice dude. He’s also a family man and dedicated, talented professional who works on Hollywood-level projects such as Into the Badlands and Terminator Salvation as a cinematographer. His work is wonderful and he is constantly innovating with his crews.

Though his Inner Circle site is a paid membership resource, if you can’t afford it, his blog is also a wealth of knowledge, for those willing to take the time to browse. I also recommend following him on social media, particularly his Facebook page, where he frequently shares behind-the-scenes snippets of his sets, providing a quick explanation of what they are doing and how they’ve set up for the scene. It’s a nice glimpse into his work that can be enlightening.


Video Essays & Analysis

Every Frame a Painting. Now (unfortunately) no longer producing content, despite having almost 1.5 million subscribers, Tony Zhou and his partner used their editing experience to delve deep into a variety of topics, mostly pertaining to visual storytelling and the arrangement of images. Their insights were cutting and the presentation flowed smoothly.

Though I personally found videos such as Editing Space and Time helpful, prompting me to question how I craft my own stories, at the very least, this content will get you fired up to go out and tell more stories and to grow as a filmmaker.


Nerdwriter. This gentleman analyzes films from a variety of perspectives, sometimes looking at the visuals of a film, sometimes story structure, sometimes why the performance of an actor works so well.

He presents the material very well and clearly does his homework. A couple of my favorite videos include ‘how to film a battle scene’ and ‘how to film thoughts’. As someone who greatly enjoys and plans to shoot both battles and get inside my characters’ heads visually in future projects, I found them particularly helpful.


Learn, but don’t learn too much?

So, here’s a disclaimer. I am advocating you go out and watch and read things on the internet. Soak it all in. Take notes if you have to.

For example, I love to read and think there’s a lot to be gained from doing so. There are bundles of fantastic books that directors should read. There are also many other online resources that I didn’t name.

That said, don’t be that guy sitting and watching video essays all the time and lie to yourself that you are getting a lot done. Remember that at some point, you need to suck it up, go out there, and actually make some films. Don’t substitute book learning for hands-on practice.


Best of luck to you – now get learning!

3
Directing, Filmmaking

[Free Film Questionnaire Form] 3 Foolproof Steps to Apply Feedback to Your Film

By on

July 14, 2018

- Directing, Filmmaking

Clear feedback is key to pulling together an effective final cut of your film.

You just finished the cut of your recent film and are feeling oh-so-competent. Who among your peers have done what you have? You had gone with your genius instincts and can do no wrong. You declare, “it is complete!”. Cackling madly, you hit ‘export’ like the Dr. Frankenstein of auteur directors. You’ve just pieced together a monster.

Deep down in your soul, you shiver slightly. You know what you did is wrong.

A couple of days later, your inner fears are validated when someone comments on the film, which you posted on YouTube.

(Why did you put your feature film on YouTube? …Oh, it was a short? Okay. Well, this information still works for you, too.)

SpinKick74:

“Just really not worth watching. A strange and bad movie all around. 3/10.”


Brutal.

A visual representation of your hopes and dreams after reading the comment on your film.


If only you would have sought out honest, thorough feedback from filmmakers, friends, and strangers! Alas, you did not.

But since you’re reading this, you’ve either learned the error of your ways or know better and want some ideas on how to get great feedback.

Show off the most complete project possible

Before you get started on refining your project, it’s important that you bring it as close to something resembling the final product as possible. Why? Your filmmaking friends may largely understand your intention with the film, already have a general idea of the story, and distinguish from what will be improved and what is being presented in its final form.

These are people you can get feedback from while the film is still under construction or in early stages, and you should seek out their feedback if you can.

However, more ordinary viewers will not necessarily understand or react properly to a film that is not complete in its most important aspects.

Therefore, the closer your project is to being view-ready, the more accurate audience feedback will be.

Some things you can do to make sure feedback will be neutral include:

1. Add basic sound design.

2. Add a simple color grade and some atmospheric sound.

3. Add titles explaining absent visual effects

4. Ensure there are no black frames, missing shots, non-uniform scaling issues, or other distractions.

5. Add anything that is crucial to the viewer to understand the story.

Know your viewer and how to interpret feedback

Depending on the kind of person you get feedback from, you are going to receive different kinds of feedback. Some of it can sometimes be… less than helpful, let’s say.

Your grandma will probably just pat you on the back. “You did such a great job. You are amazing, dear.” You appreciate the affirmation, but it isn’t particularly useful for improving your project.


That’s okay. You love her anyway.

At different points in your film’s creation, you’ll need to reach out to different people depending on what you are looking for.

Audience types and the type of feedback

General viewer:

These are people that aren’t really huge movie-lovers and aren’t necessarily in your target audience. In other words, these might be people you don’t know all that well; maybe that friend on Facebook you don’t know. 34, female, legal clerk. Your film is a thriller. It may not be in her wheelhouse based on demographic trends, but she’s willing to provide feedback.

Target audience:

These viewers are almost identical to the general viewer. The difference is that their feedback will lack any strange reactions or anomalous feedback. They will understand the genre conventions of your film and appreciate the staples of it (ex. action sequences).

What kind of feedback. General feelings, like or dislike, whether it feels professional, what characters they like, whether the acting is good or not, and other general feedback.

What to look out for. For the general viewer, there can be bias in their feedback, such as dislike of genre conventions or an unusual response to scenes meant to elicit specific responses. Their feedback can have abnormalities because they don’t react the same way as the fan of your film’s genre. Your target audience will not have this problem. Always remember that this is ultimately the group of people for which your film is intended.

When to ask for feedback. When trying to work on project pacing, flow, and the arrangement of scenes. Whether plot points make sense and are logical.


Cinephile:

These viewers are frequent moviegoers and have more discerning tastes. They know what they like, know what they dislike, and are usually not afraid of saying so. They are more likely to like a variety of films and genres, so they may be quite similar to your target audience.

What kind of feedback. This will vary greatly by how avid a moviegoer they are and how picky they are, but the cinephile will likely be able to provide more critical, specific feedback to you than the standard viewer, while also providing their general reaction to your film. Some of this feedback might include:

Moments of the film or elements that seem ‘off’ but they aren’t sure why, plot holes, inconsistencies, or character issues, basic structural problems, and critical evaluation of the quality of your special effects, action, or other elements requiring the audience to suspend disbelief.

What to look out for. While they can provide great feedback that is more detailed than the average viewer, they have the potential to be more critical than the average viewer and may not be a completely accurate representation of how your target audience will react.


When to ask for feedback. When trying to work on project pacing, flow, and the arrangement of scenes. Whether plot points make sense and are logical. Quality of music and sound design’s ability to enhance the story. Identifying plot holes and character issues.

Casual filmmaker:

These are those people you’ve met who’ve done some film work but aren’t rabid filmmakers. It’s not that they don’t know anything or have no ability, but they take more of a casual interest, making a little film here and there when they have some time.

What kind of feedback. They are more likely to provide feedback that’s a mix between a layman’s perspective and someone who knows what they are looking at. They aren’t so specialized that they can’t look past issues your film has or the technical aspect. They can provide some technical insight paired with the thoughts of a normal viewer.

What to look out for. They can focus on the technical achievements of your film, slick shots, and other aesthetic elements instead of providing substantive feedback on the crucial parts of your film. This likely won’t always be the case, but it is something worth keeping in mind.

When to ask for feedback. When you need a more discerning eye to take a look at your film, or need a set of fresh eyes to look at a certain shot or cut that hasn’t been tainted by viewing the material too much.

Family and friends:

Friends and family can give decent general feedback on your film, but there is a strong chance that they will not give you detailed or challenging feedback, but rather give you a nice pat on the back and a ‘good job, buddy’.

Their feedback will most likely be broad notes on what they thought was good about it while leaving out the negative. They aren’t looking to cause any trouble and don’t understand that you may be okay with them being brutally honest. This isn’t always the case, but it’s a good rule of thumb.

Professional filmmakers:

If you have any mentors within the industry, or people a couple steps ahead of you in different industry roles, especially writers, they can provide incredibly useful feedback.

What kind of feedback. If they are willing to take the time to give you detailed feedback, they will tell you exactly what they thought worked well and what has issues, and perhaps even offer potential solutions.

What to look out for. Similar to the casual filmmaker, not all professionals understand the essentials of story structure or other storytelling necessities. Instead, each professional tends to have a specific specialty and so they are likely to hone in on that area more than others.

When to ask for feedback. If you are trying to dial in your film and really get it fine-tuned for a competition or for distribution, that’s a good time to ask the opinion of any connections you might have.

Identify patterns of feedback and adjust accordingly

Two times is a coincidence, but three times is a pattern, as they say.

This is a decent standard by which to apply feedback to your film. A professional screenwriter once told me that if he hears the same feedback from three separate people, he almost always will make changes based on their feedback. It’s the smallest sample size from which you can predict what needs to change for the better, in most circumstances.


This standard has held well for me in all kind of projects, both creative and otherwise.


That said, there will be times when someone points something out that you didn’t see before, or their perspective allows you to see a glaring issue that clearly needs improvement. Give it a shot and change it up. No rule is absolute when it comes to implementing feedback to your project.

Free resource – film screening questionnaire

I’m including a link to download a questionnaire to help you collect feedback for your films.

Originally I designed it for viewers to fill out after our preliminary screenings, but I’ve repurposed and improved it for your purposes. I do hope you find it helpful as you work to make your project the best it can possibly be.

Click here to get the questionnaire. The link will take you to a signup form. After filling it, you will be able to download the questionnaire.

Page 1 of the questionnaire (with question 5 filled in completely as an example)

Recap: this is how you apply feedback to your film

1. Show off the most complete product realistically possible. Include non-visual elements that are important to getting the story across, such as particular sound design or sound effects, or a title card explaining a missing visual effect. Doing this will help you get the most neutral feedback possible.

2. Know your viewer and how to interpret their feedback. Understand what kind of feedback you are likely to receive based on who is viewing. From there, figure out how to implement that feedback appropriately without giving too little or too much weight to it.

3. Identify patterns of feedback and adjust accordingly. Remember this rule of thumb: two times might be a coincidence, but three is a pattern.

Just like prep and production, the process of collecting feedback and implementing it effectively is an important step in the filmmaking process.

Now get out there, and make your work the best it can be!

2
Filmmaking, Leadership, Self-Development

10 Vital Life-Skills Filmmaking Will Teach You (Intro)

By on

June 30, 2018

- Filmmaking, Leadership, Self-Development

Making your very own movie: the holy grail of filmmakers.

Or at least, that’s how I felt (and do still, to an extent) about making a feature film. I saw it as this grand idea, a distant and unreachable star on the horizon. Producing a feature seemed somewhat unattainable, and getting it distributed even more so (that was a mystery of its own – one I covered in this article).

What I will not be covering in this series are the technical or filmmaking skills I learned during this process. Explaining that could take many thousands of additional words to explain, as the lessons were many.


I will be outlining, generally, how creating a feature film improved me as a person, including weaknesses I strengthened and life-skills (‘soft skills’) I learned. I will explain why these things are important generally, but also how they specifically apply to filmmakers.


I hope you will consider applying the lessons I learned in your own life. If nothing else, they will make you a better filmmaker. However, some of these lessons cannot be learned through any amount of reading, reflection, or video-watching.


I will be tackling many of the lessons learned during feature filmmaking, though not necessarily on any particular schedule.

Here are the topics, broken down by category:

Doing the stuff you don’t feel like doing

1. Don’t ask? Don’t expect anything to happen. When I started out as a filmmaker, sometimes I’d rather avoid confrontation and feared being denied, turned down, and rejected. However, I learned that the payoff for facing that discomfort can be great for your film and your personal development. You must learn to ask for things and not be afraid of the answer. As the saying goes, ‘the worst that can happen is they say no’.

2. Throw your hands up – if you want to fail. As anyone who’s made a film understands, you will face obstacle after obstacle. What can go wrong, will, and if you want your film to succeed, you must learn to persevere and push through those circumstances. The moment you give up is the moment you truly fail.

3. Sloths don’t shoot feature films. Learn to combat the lazy instinct we all have. Laziness is the root of many excuses to not do things we need to do. It gives us reasons to evade almost anything. Don’t be tricked by this instinct. We all have it, and there’s no shame in admitting as much, but you should learn to counter it.

Don’t be like this guy.

Walking tall while herding cats

1. Confidence is the pathway to results. The concept is pretty basic. Most people understand that a healthy amount of confidence is a good thing, and this applies equally for filmmakers. However, there are some specific elements to confidence that I’d like to cover – things that filmmaking has taught me.

2. Not being overwhelmed by the mob. Learning to effectively handle and be more comfortable working with large groups of people is a key element to success as a filmmaker and any team-oriented enterprise. In filmmaking, these skills are most often used for communication to groups, such as meetings and blocking extras, for example.


3. One-on-one communication. You will naturally improve at communicating with others the more you practice, but the more of a conscious effort you take to self-analyze your effectiveness and adjust, the better a filmmaker you will become.


4. Stubborn people, stubborn people everywhere! Dealing with difficult people is part of life. You know this, of course. So, logically, filmmaking is no exception. I’d argue that you are actually more likely to encounter many… interesting folks that you’ll have to work with, for one reason or another. This is something that we can all work at, and if we do, will make us better managers of people.

Reconciling blunders and avoiding perfectionism

1. Embrace mistakes and move forward. When something screws up and does not go according to plan, it’s frustrating, at least, and at most forces us to take another path altogether. Learn to think on your feet, and your circumstances won’t dictate your reaction. You can use the mistake to your advantage.

2. Expectations, meet real life. Okay, something went wrong, inevitably. How do you deal with that on set? You must learn to not become so attached to a particular outcome that you become bitter when things don’t turn out quite right. This is absolutely key for any artist. For filmmakers, the issue is compounded by the complexity of what we do and the potential for so many things to go wrong.

3. Perfect is the enemy of good. The old adage holds true: artists are their own harshest critics. We all desire to meet a standard of perfection. It’s one that is unattainable, and we know it. As a filmmaker, you must learn to move forward with an imperfect result when faced with real-world limitations. This will allow you to get things done and make concrete progress when your expectations and the reality go head-to-head.

Think of relationships, not transactions

This is very important. As an indie filmmaker, you will often be faced with the need to ‘beg, borrow, and steal’, by calling favors, asking for help, borrowing equipment, and so on. You don’t have to burn out your connections. In fact, you can ask for help while also building up your relationships by focusing on building and maintaining relationships.


Here’s my challenge to you: go out there and force yourself to do difficult things, make mistakes, and overcome challenges. Identify these weaknesses in your own life and tackle them. You will be better for it, and your films and sets will benefit greatly as well.

Good luck!


2
Business, Filmmaking, Fundraising

4 Facts You Need to Know about Profits for Your 1st Feature Film

By on

June 23, 2018

- Business, Filmmaking, Fundraising

Money matters can be quite complicated…
…and I aim to sort them out in a comprehensible manner to help you get ready to launch a bigger project (such as your first feature film).  

Just like with securing film distribution, I’d never handled any of these matters prior to producing my first feature film. The university of life taught me how this stuff works – plus some input from mentors.

I must mention that while I have learned a lot from my experiences thus far, there are many things in regard to investing that I do not understand and have not encountered.

This is only a basic breakdown of how your film’s profits will break up if seeking some investment or when sharing profits with your team.

It’s important to understand what people expect, what they are talking about, and what your obligations are once you’ve made promises of giving any amount of ‘profit’ or ‘ownership’ of your film to anyone, and what you’ve really promised to share with them.

Since there are a handful of terms in this article that not everyone may be familiar with, I’m going to define a few things before we get started.

Super-exciting definitions you can (but shouldn’t) skip
‘Points’. This is the common term for profit participation percentage points.

Profit participation (how much of the profit a particular person or party receives when the film makes money) can only be out of 100 percentage points, which is where the shorthand ‘points’ comes from.

Gross profits. Gross profits, according to Investopedia, is “the profit a [film] makes after deducting the costs associated with making and selling [it].

Gross profit will appear on a company’s income statement, and can be calculated with this formula:

Gross profit = Revenue – Cost of Goods Sold

This is a generic business definition of gross profits, commonly referred to simply as ‘gross’.

Within the film industry, gross is commonly understood to include all costs of producing a feature film, including prep, production, and post, but not usually including other expenses such as marketing, also known as print and advertising (‘P&A’), production company overhead, miscellaneous company expenses, or other costs not directly attributable to the production of the film.


I know. This stuff is boring, but it’s important, so keep reading!

Net profits. Commonly referred to as ‘net’, Investopedia defines this as, “Net income (NI) is a company’s total earnings (or profit); net income is calculated by taking revenues and subtracting the costs of doing business such as depreciation, interest, taxes and other expenses…”

An important element to note is the part of the definition that says, “…and other expenses… “

Oh… What could that mean? The truth is, ‘other expenses’ can be anything a company decides is part of their operating expenses of one sort or another. This is something you have to watch out for when dealing with people.

You need to make sure the definition of net profits is clear.

Generally, the definitions of gross and net profits can change depending on with whom you make deals. Whatever the case, it’s important that everyone is totally clear on their expectations and define things clearly.

Fixed and contingent compensation. “Fixed compensation is the upfront money that is paid [to cast or crew] when the film goes into production, regardless of what happens to the movie in the distribution phase. The contingent compensation is the percentage of a pool called the ‘producer’s adjusted gross.’ Today, virtually all films produced include some form of contingent compensation.”
(by producer Kathryn Arnold on HG.org)

When it comes to your first feature film, you will, in all likelihood, use a lot of contingent compensation, since you don’t have much (if any) up-front payment you can provide.

These terms are relevant because any ‘points’ you give to key cast and crew for their help are a form of contingent compensation. While there are ways to use this method of compensation in a professional manner as well as ways to do this in a manipulative manner, there is nothing inherently wrong with contingent compensation.

Tricky terms. Sometimes, there will be some tricky terms out there that look like something they are not.

This is where having good mentors or a good entertainment attorney can really come in handy. For example, ‘adjusted gross proceeds’, or ‘modified gross proceeds’ are other ways to basically say net profits, in my opinion.

My knowledge and understanding of accounting/economic terms and concepts are limited and imperfect, so I recommend you do some research on your own to learn more. If you want to look at some more definitions, I found this interesting sheet of info.

Ownership versus profit participation
Big difference!

While I am not a lawyer, I know that there’s a difference between signing an agreement that says you are giving someone ‘5% of the film’ or ‘5% ownership of the film’, and an agreement that says you are giving someone ‘5% of the film’s net profits’ for their help, and then defining net profits.

Always be careful what you sign.

I almost made this mistake, since I didn’t make that distinction.

The difference is this: owning your film is owning the intellectual property (the script, the ideas, the creative input) and rights of the physical images, voice recordings, and images of the actors.  Basically, everything that makes up what the film actually is.

If you give someone some of the film’s profits, all you owe them is a certain amount of money based on what the film makes.


What you want to do with their money to spite them is another issue entirely. You still have all the rights to the film and they don’t get any say in what you do with it.

I almost signed away some of my film’s actual ownership to some people who worked on my film. Oops. Don’t be like me – pay attention and make a distinction between these two things.

Structuring your project – who gets what
So, let’s say you’ve found a partner with whom to make your film. You’ve also found someone who is going to contribute a bit of funding to your film, in addition to whatever you and your partner contribute.

This is a sample scenario for someone making their first film. You couldn’t find someone willing to give you a ton of cash, but between yours and theirs, it’s enough to get something off the ground.

Before you get to that point, you’re going to have to decide how you’d like to allocate the net profits of your film – the ‘points’. Having a plan will allow you to negotiate with people properly when it comes to their contingent compensation.

You’ll know where you intend to allocate things, how much you’ll have if you offer someone ‘x’ amount, what number of points you want to reserve for yourself and investors, and how much you can realistically give away.


Above, I’ve included a sample breakdown of your film’s points. Assuming a lot of people involved in your film are working for very little up-front cash, it is common to offer them a reasonable amount of points in exchange for their work.

What ‘reasonable’ means will vary and be based upon that person’s apparent worth given their skill and how valuable their time is. Okay, from the top-down, let’s break these numbers down.

The executive producer (EP). The big cheese. Whatever the case, they are offering something so valuable to your production (whether money or resources) that they earn this title along with a substantial chunk of your points.

The amount they receive will be entirely between you and them, but based on my limited experience, it seems likely for this number to be anywhere between 20-50% and depends greatly on how much they are contributing compared to you.

You and your producing partner. This is, of course, assuming that you do have a partner. In a prior article, I suggested that you should find someone with whom to co-produce your first film and how to find a great partner.

If you don’t, this is easy. Give yourself as many points as you realistically can, while treating your cast, crew, and backers fairly. If you do have a partner, on the other hand…

You and your partner are going to have to have a candid and transparent discussion about who will be doing what, how much work each person will be doing, and what they are bringing to the table. Basically, you have to come to what you feel will be a fair arrangement for both of you.

Whatever you decide, make sure you are satisfied with the agreement. If you feel troubled about what you’ve agreed to, bring it up. The last thing you need is to be harboring any feelings of bitterness or resentment toward your partner several months into making the film.

For my first feature film, my partner and I decided on even responsibilities and an equal split.

From left to right: Michael Alvarez (one of our actors), Joseph Mbah, and Nick LaRovere

The stars of the show. For my first feature film, we offered those that were committing a significant amount of the time to the film, the lead actors, a few points. We based the amounts on what we gave others for the same level of commitment. I believe this is only fair, especially if your actors are working for no upfront cash payment.

Your crew, your team. Like your lead actors, the crew that is dedicated to seeing your film through is deserving of at least a reasonable offer of points for their assistance.

If the crew is being paid normal rates, then you probably don’t have to be concerned about offering points. However, on your first feature, chances are you will not be able to offer full rates for anyone.

Composer, Writer, and more. There may be others that are willing to assist you with your first feature that are seeking experience and are therefore willing to work for points alone. It is up to you and that person to negotiate a number of points that seems appropriate for the level of work they are contributing.

An example of points structure: The EP contributes $5,000. You and your partner contribute $2,500 each.

Perhaps your EP gets 25 points, and you and your partner get 12.5 each. However, you realize that since you and your partner not only helped fund the film, but also will spend countless hours prepping, shooting, and in post, you increase your allotments to 20 each. The remaining 35 points are split up to everyone else as you choose.

Hold some back. I recommend not giving away all your points up-front. You may encounter a situation where it’d be helpful to offer points to someone.

This might be in exchange for an otherwise un-securable location, expensive equipment lent to you, or any other unforeseen assistance that may need a bit of grease on the wheels to get things moving.

What money goes to who, and when?
Great question. This will depend on what kind of deals you have arranged with all participants in your film, especially the distributor and financier(s).

There are, in reality, many different types of deals and each will have its own peculiarities. Who receives what payments, and when, will vary, as all these sorts of things can be written into a contract. However, for the most part, it will probably go something like this. In terms of priority…


You may be wondering why the distributor gets first priority in this scenario. Didn’t the outside investor take on the most risk by investing in someone’s film (that isn’t their own like it is yours)?

Most likely. However, from what I’ve learned, it is quite normal for a distributor to require they recoup any marketing or direct costs of distributing the film before any funds are disbursed to other parties.

Here’s where your profits go when there’s a typical distribution deal:


What is the distributor recouping?


In reality, the definitions of ‘marketing and sales costs’, or ‘costs of distribution’ can mean almost anything at all. This is an unfortunate problem with this distribution process.

Your best bet, in my current view, is to get an honest distributor. Unfortunately, you don’t control that, but you can do your best to work with someone who seems to work honestly if you get multiple distribution offers.

Marketing caps. Since a distributor will be pushing your film, they will incur expenses, perhaps every year, as long as they have the contract. So, they may include a marketing cap which encompasses all expenses, such as traveling to Cannes Film Festival, the American Film Market (AFM), and other popular sales locations.

It’s important that there is a marketing cap in your distribution deal. Otherwise, if the distributor gets ‘marketing and sales costs’ taken off the top of the profits before anyone else gets anything, they have no limit or accountability as to how much they spend in that category.

An arrangement without artificial limitations may lend itself to some creative accounting. What is ‘priority’ or ‘first-money return’ of investment? This concept simply means that your EP wants to get their investor paid back to them first before anyone else (aside from the distributor) gets anything. Since ordinarily, they are the primary 3rd party risk-taker on a film, this seems like a fair arrangement.

The EP should be reimbursed monetarily for his or her initial investment before anyone else is paid since they have nothing but a monetary stake in the project – unlike you.

When do you get paid anything? Well, unless you arranged something different with everyone else that received points, after the distributor has recouped their marketing costs (reached their cap) and after the investor has been paid back their initial investment, the percentages of net profits will be split evenly and without priority to all parties.

Reporting what the film makes. In your deal with a distributor, you should be promised by them that they will report what the film is pulling in, at least every year (for a limited time) if not every 6 months.

After that, if it isn’t already in your contract, it’s a good idea to share those reports with your EP (at the least) for the sake of transparency and good business, as well as any other major points-holders.

If those holding few points on your film trust you, chances are they won’t mind not having those numbers shared with them, as long as they are getting checks in the mail.

Otherwise, you should let them know that the film simply isn’t making money (which is an unfortunate possibility) so they don’t have any unrealistic expectations.

Movie profits in a nutshell
1. Definitions:

‘Points’. A common term for profit participation percentage points.

Gross profits. The money the film makes, aside from the costs of making it and getting it to a distributor.

Net profits. The money the film makes after marketing and sales costs of the distributor are subtracted.

Fixed and contingent compensation. Fixed is the up-front cash you pay people. Contingent is money they are promised on the back-end, including points.

2. Ownership versus profit. Remember that these two things are not the same. Ownership implies having rights to the film itself in some way. Profit is just money.

3. Structuring your project. Have an understanding of where all your points are going, who is contributing what, and divvy the points out carefully.

4. What money goes to who and when. Every deal structure will be different, but remember that the money being made on the film most likely won’t be for you, at least not at first. Make sure you handle the funds appropriately and pay the right people.

5. Additional resources: A wonderful, but more complicated breakdown of where the money goes in a film deal: read the breakdown HERE.

More definitions, including many terms I don’t understand, HERE.

So, feel ready to make a feature film yet? No? That’s understandable.

You may never feel ‘ready’.

Keep that in mind, keep learning, and working hard… Good luck!
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Business, Filmmaking

Film Distribution: 5 Things You Need to Find a Great Deal

By on

June 16, 2018

- Business, Filmmaking

When I made my first movie, I was clueless about film distribution.

I wondered how we would figure it out. How does film distribution work? What is a film distributor, exactly? Does anyone have these answers? No one I spoke to seemed to know or were willing to share.

As I learned, sometimes you just have to figure things out yourself.

What I learned when securing film distribution for my first movie was that when it comes down to it, securing your first distribution deal consists of the following:

1. Make your film the best it can be.


2. Contact as many distributors as you can.

I’ll get into more detail, but that’s the essence of it.


If you want to get film distribution, you have to grind and email a ton of people, then wait. That may not be what you want to hear, but for you first-time feature filmmakers out there, trust me when I say that one way or another, there is a path forward.

A caveat: you should be considering distribution as you pick a script or concept to write and produce. Even if you are  set on a particular idea, you should have a plan on how you will approach the second half of your film’s life – distribution.

Let’s get to it!

What is a distributor?

What the heck is a distributor, really? What’s a sales agent? A producer rep? An aggregator? (Ugh, too many titles…)


There are a lot of terms flying around out there. It’s hard to know, really, what someone’s definition of a particular title might be. Your best bet is this: ask anyone who inquires about your film whether they sell directly to different territories, handle all rights, and market your film, or handle a specific right or territory. Understand what kind of deals they typically make and what services they provide.


This subject can be quite complicated, but if you understand the kind of deals the person/distribution company you are speaking to usually makes, and what services they provide, you will be in good shape.


I recommend that when you seek film distribution, you look for a distributor who will make the following deal with you:


To license all rights to your film, including VOD, TV, theatrical, DVD, and any other medium, in every territory in the world (including US and all international territories), have all rights to market and sell your film in any medium through the whole world, for a limited period of time (say, 3-5 years), after which the rights revert back to you, and their services end.


You will only have to deal with one company that will market and sell your film in all aspects. Only one middle-man will be taking a slice of the pie. And they don’t keep your film forever, only a limited period of time.


Let’s move on to an obvious, but important point.

Make the best film possible

This pretty much goes without saying. Of course, as a filmmaker, you want your film to be as good as you can possibly make it! This is the goal. Keep in mind though that ‘perfect is the enemy of good’. At some point, you have wrap up your film and push it out into the world. 

Why is it important to understand that you need to wrap up your movie and not try to make it perfect?

It’s better to have an asset (your movie) in hand that you can sell than something that is incomplete. An incomplete movie is not a complete product that you can sell and will not do you any good. I’ll take this even further and say that it is better to have produced a competent but otherwise unremarkable film than to have a dream of a perfect movie that will never exist.

Your first attempt won’t necessarily be great, and that’s okay. You will improve.

You can take your mistakes as lessons learned and make a better movie next time.


Okay, so you’ve made the best film you could make, given your skill, talent, and resources available. Congratulations. This is a great achievement, and you pride yourself on pushing through and finishing.


Most people never get to this step.


Here’s the reason why it is important that you make the best film you can:

More distributors will offer you film distribution deals–and more lucrative deals–the better your film is. There’s no guarantee a film distributor will take on your movie and market it. It is going to depend on what the market (buyers) are looking for, what’s more or less popular, and what distributors are looking for based on those variables.


However, the better your film, the more likely someone will be willing to pick it up, and the better deal they may be willing to give you.

Okay, now I’ll actually share the steps you need to take to secure film distribution for your movie. (Finally, right? Sheesh.)

Step 1 – prep your project

The key to getting film distributors interested in your project is proper preparation. You want to make your project as attractive as possible so that you hook them with your first email.


Make an explosive trailer. Your trailer is your film’s calling card. It’s all they will see and it will create the first, and possibly the only impression of the quality and content of your film.


Your trailer should hook the viewer right away – in the first few seconds, if possible. If you have any special effects, visual effects, stunts, intense drama, or exciting moments, include those in the trailer.


“But I don’t want to spoil the movie!”


Trust me, I understand. I dislike a trailer that gives away too much as much as the next guy.

However, It’s okay to ‘spoil’ your movie in this trailer. This trailer isn’t intended for a regular audience. This trailer is intended for the film distributor. When it comes to marketing and selling your film to ordinary audiences, your distributor will most likely cut a new trailer for your film, since they know what the target audience is looking for.


That said, craft your trailer understanding that the distributors are your audience, for now. You should cram your trailer full of interesting and high production-value material. This will indicate the quality of your film as well as tell the distributor that there’s enough interesting content to make a great trailer.


(Of course, you should try to make your trailer as objectively ‘good’ as possible. Don’t try so hard to shove everything interesting into it that it makes your trailer cringe-worthy.)


Here’s why it’s important for film distributors to see that you have enough material to make a ‘hooky’ trailer: Independent feature films live or die by their trailers and cover art – especially indie films with no name talent involved. 

If someone is browsing online or at a store looking for a movie, they are going to be pulled in by an eye-catching poster or an exciting trailer.

They aren’t looking at it because Brad Pitt’s face is on the cover of your movie, or because the name ‘Ridley Scott’ is at the top of the DVD art in bold lettering. Indie films don’t have that advantage.

Step 2 – contacting distributors

Okay, you’ve got your trailer ready. You or your editor did a cut, reworked it, got feedback from filmmakers, reworked it again, then got feedback from ordinary people and adjusted the movie a final time. (Read here to find out more on how to get great feedback for your feature film.)

Great. Chances are you’ve got something that’s ready to share.

Warning: be sure your film is ready since you only get one shot at a first impression with a film distributor! Like I mentioned before though, you eventually have to pull the trigger and push the film out to the world.

Where to find film distributors. You need to do online research to find these companies. A few good places to find these companies include IMDb Pro, websites in a cursory Google search, and (believe it or not) Wikipedia. Wikipedia has a list of film distributors. Not all of them will be in existence any longer, but it’s up to you to scour that list and try to find current companies.


Don’t be a pest. The world of distributors is a small one (or so I’ve been told). Whether or not this is true, it does make sense. Regardless, this is a good rule of thumb as a professional. Don’t go assume word won’t get around if you are a pain.

Be professional, courteous, and reasonable at all times. Be reasonable in your follow-up with people by waiting a week or two to follow-up. Don’t send a long email. Keep your follow-up simple and straightforward. Don’t be a pest, but don’t be a pushover.


Who to contact – don’t spam people. Be mindful of who you are contacting. Do a bit of research before you send your trailer off to a distribution company. Take a look at their website. Have they distributed anything like your film or its genre in the past? Do they only handle documentaries, but you have a horror film?

In that case, it’s best to not contact that company. Don’t add to their already overflowing inbox. If you think they might be interested, since your film is sort of on the edge of what they might handle, go ahead and send it to them.

If you go to a film distributor’s website and their website is ‘laughingheartsllc.com’, it’s covered in pink and rainbows, and the last 50 films they distributed have titles such as “Romance in Paradise”, don’t send them your over-the-top, underground, experimental, slice-of-life slasher film “Bloody Murder Syndrome”.

Just… don’t.

But let’s say at ‘laughingheartsllc.com’ they have 1 slasher horror film in their catalogue. That’s weird, right? Yep. But maybe they’ve only distributed 1 horror film, and are trying to branch out into the genre. If they have a record of distributing your kind of movie, then contact them.

Keep your emails simple! Don’t go crazy and send a 5-paragraph essay in the body of your email to a film distributor. Put yourself in their shoes. They probably go through a lot of submissions, right? All those small tasks–a couple of minutes here and there–add up. Make your email short, sweet, and to the point. If the distributor can quickly and easily understand your email, your chances are better that they will respond compared to another over-eager first-time filmmaker who sent a novella-length email.

I’ll show you what my first emails to film distributors looked like:

“We recently finished post on our feature, ‘Genesis: Fall of the Crime Empire’.”

Obviously. Why else would we be contacting them? This is unnecessary information.


“We are seeking a distributor interested in taking on our film. Synopsis: To an undercover detective and his partner, events seem like typical gangland power struggle, but a feared criminal puppeteer seeks an alien powerful artifact, which according to legend, can grant god-like powers.”


A synopsis could be helpful, but hopefully, your trailer will tell them everything they need to know.

“Cast/Crew: (may be viewed at) http://www.imdb.com/title“


Unless you have name cast, do they really care? Probably not. If you do have some known person in your film, it might be better to say so earlier in your email, such as ‘our film, “Superstar Thrill Ride”, with a cameo from Brad Pitt, is available for worldwide distribution’.

“Festivals/Awards: This film has not been submitted to any festivals.”


I’m guessing someone recommended I add this to my email to indicate we hadn’t shared our movie anywhere yet. However, if the distributor is interested, they will ask you these sort of questions later.


Oh yeah, and I totally forgot to add a link to the trailer. Oops.

This is the film distributor thinking…

“Is there a link to the trailer? Is this all there is? Eh.” *DELETE*

I improved after the first couple of emails.


Here’s what I included in my subsequent emails:


Subject: Possible Acquisition – “Genesis” Feature Film


To Whom it May Concern:

We are looking for a distributor interested in acquiring our film “Genesis: Fall of the Crime Empire” for distribution.

The trailer is in the link below. Thank you for your time.


‘Link’


If the distributor watches your trailer and is interested in your film, they will follow up and ask for a screener. You must have this ready before someone asks for it. Don’t keep the distributor waiting.


What’s a screener? A screener is a complete and ready-to-view cut of your film. Usually a screener is uploaded to a service like Vimeo for distributors to easily view. You should definitely make the screener private and password-protected, but do not forget to include the password clearly in your email with the screener link.

Step 3 – sealing the deal

So, you’ve got this far. You did the legwork, and you got an offer or two, or maybe even more (you lucky devil, you) from film distributors who are interested in your film.


That’s wonderful. Now you have to understand their offer. Does it match up with your goals? Be realistic, but don’t be too eager or necessarily take the first offer you get. Get insight from mentors, if you have any who’ve been through this before. If you don’t have a mentor and haven’t reached this step yet, go and find one!


Getting a distribution deal is a Catch 22, because a film distributor can change their mind at any time and withdraw the offer if the winds change. So don’t rush, but don’t take too long to decide. Usually, a distributor will put a time-limit on their offer to encourage you to take their deal and save time in negotiation.


The content of distribution deals is a bit complicated, so for the purposes of this article, I’ll assume you have an understanding of net and gross profits, profit ‘points’ ownership models, and other similar things. If you don’t you can read all about how film profits work in an article I wrote.


A film distribution deal boils down to this:


Who gets what? After the distributor takes their cut, what percentage of the pie is left for you, your investors (whether that’s you or someone else), your key cast and crew, and anyone else who owns a slice of the film?


The smaller slice the distributor takes, the more you get. These percentages can range from 15-20% (going to the distributor) for a great deal but are often higher.


How long will they have your film? From what I’ve read, heard, and experienced, a length of 3 years
or so is a pretty normal length of time for a distributor to have rights to sell your film, with the right to request an extension.


In the event your film does quite well, you may want to try something different with it in the future. In the event you feel your distributor hasn’t done great with the film, but you think it could sell better, after the period is up, you can take your film to a new distributor or try to sell it yourself.


Arguing for a lower cut for the distributor. I understand you may want to negotiate with the distributor to get a better deal. You have to balance that against (unfortunately) the potential of pushing them away. However, if you think the deal doesn’t fit your (realistic) goals, don’t be afraid to turn deals down.

Either way, assuming you can get them to lower their cut, you have to balance this against whether the distributor will compensate for their lower cut by spending less marketing dollars and time on your film, or increasing the flat amount of money they take off the top.


Wait, what money off the top? Yes, many film distributors will skim a certain dollar amount off the top of what the film makes. As part of the deal, they may have a ‘marketing cap’ of say, $10,000 (for example). Anything the film makes goes to the distributor until they hit that cap.

The cap’s purpose is to compensate them for the money and time they spent marketing your film up-front, including travel and other items. Once they meet that dollar amount, the money splits according to the percentages of the deal. For example, 25% to the distributor, and 75% to the filmmaker.

Be aware that if the marketing cap is higher than the amount of money the film is likely to make, and that is the deal the film distributor is offering you, you are essentially signing the film away to them. Your film will get marketed and sold but you won’t make any money back.

There’s more involved in a film distribution deal, but this is a good baseline.

Get a second opinion. As indie filmmakers, we can’t always afford to speak with an attorney. However, you should feel free to at least contact one or two and ask how much it’d cost to just get their opinion on the deal. A film & entertainment law attorney will have experience with distribution deals and will know what’s normal.


That said, if you can’t afford an attorney, it’s okay. This is where a good mentor comes in. If you know someone who has experience in this arena, you can show them the potential deal and get their opinion on it.

Step 4 – delivering the film

Okay. You’ve signed the dotted line and are ready to get your film out to the world!

The distributor is going to ask you to provide a long laundry list of items so that they can properly sell your film. Some of this is technical stuff, such as exports of the film, the audio, and things of that nature. Some of it is legal, such as contracts, releases, and other paperwork.

Together, the items the distributor requires from you in order to start selling your film are called deliverables, and they are very important.

Here are some of the major things your distributor will ask for from you:

Chain of title. This is just like real estate or a vehicle – a paper trail proving that you are the rightful owner of something. Your film’s chain of title will prove that you have all the rights, permissions, and licenses to legally license your film to the distributor, who can then legally go out there and sell it to people. It will contain documents such as:

Releases. Crew, cast, and location releases, music license documents, certificate of authorship or licensing for the screenplay and any material it’s based on, ownership documents for the film itself, such as partnership agreements from producers, and anything else proving you have total rights to do what you want with the film.


This chain of title protects you, the film distributor, and anyone else involved in selling the film. In the event someone claims you used their performance or creative contribution without permission, you will have their contract to show that you do have permission. 


A high-quality HD or 4k (if you have it) export of the film. The distributor will provide technical specifications as to what they want. They will send your film off to a lab which will analyze the film for issues that will need fixing in order to optimize it for different platforms and regions. You will most likely have to make some adjustments and provide a new export, after the lab provides their report.

Music and effects track (M&E track). The ‘M&E’ track, as it’s referred to, is an audio track that contains all synced, non-dialogue sound and music from your film. Scrapes, scuffles, bangs, whistles, explosions, and your epic soundtrack… everything except your characters’ dialogue, grunts, yells, and so on. The purpose of this track is to make it possible for various sellers to have your film dubbed if they want. They can simply put in the dubbed dialogue, yells, screams, and cries over your music and effects track.


Creating an M&E track can be tough if you had a low audio budget. A lot of your normal sounds will overlap with dialogue in your boom recording. Once you take out your boom audio, you lose the dialogue but also lose everything else. This is one purpose of Foley. If you can’t afford Foley, you may have to do some yourself, inserting at least major sounds in the scene, so that the lab will accept your M&E track. Pre-built foley and sound effects packs are great for this.


Music cue sheet. This sheet will contain a list of titles and timecodes for all music, including original score, that play in your film. It lists who made the music, who holds the arrangement, recording, and performance rights for the music, the title of each song, how much of each song is in the film, and where it plays.


Dialogue list. This is a word-for-word, verbatim transcript of what is said in your film. The dialogue list makes it easier for domestic and international sellers to have your film’s dialogue translated, dubbed or subtitled. There are companies out there that provide transcription services for this purpose, and it can cost anywhere from $300-500. For my first feature film, my partner and I opted to do this time-consuming task ourselves and save some money.


DVD extras. If you have any bloopers, cast and crew interviews, behind the scenes, or any other extras,
your distributor will ask for these as well.


This isn’t a comprehensive or perfect list, but these are the major items you should expect to provide to your distributor.

Step 5 – I have to pay for what, now?

You thought you were done? Ha!

Unfortunately, you are not. You are going to have to pay for a couple of things, unless your distributor works out a deal where they pay. I did not get this kind of deal for my first feature, but it is possible.

Errors and Omissions insurance. Remember the chain of title? Well, like chain of title, errors and ommissions insurance (commonly known as E&O) protects you, the film distributor, and others from liability in the event you missed some vital permission or failed to request rights to something, and someone decides to pursue your film legally (sue you/your company). Any distributor is going to require that your E&O insurance cover the duration of your film distribution deal. 

E&O insurance will likely cost you something in the range of $2,000-$3,000. This will vary based on your film and the insurance provider.

Lab costs. The lab that examines your film doesn’t do it for free. I believe our lab fees cost us in the range of $500 or so, but this likely varies from lab-to-lab.

Distribution – the final frontier!

If this is your first film and you’ve never had a film distributed, this might feel like a tough nut to crack. I felt that way. When I pursued distribution for the first time, the process seemed like a great mystery.

Securing traditional film distribution for your film is doable. There are no guarantees, but you should always give it your best shot.

Remember:

1. Make your film the best it can be. The better your film, the more (and better) offers you will receive.

2. Make an explosive trailer. Remember that your audience at this stage is the distributor, and edit accordingly.

3. Contact distributors. Research to find relevant companies. Reach out to them, but keep it professional, short, and include a link to your trailer. Have a screener ready to send for when they request one.

4. Seal the deal. Understand the substance of the offer from the distributor. Get advice. Don’t feel obligated to take the first offer, but be realistic and don’t leave them hanging.

5. Prep and provide deliverables. The sooner you get everything to your distributor, the better. If you didn’t plan for those extras expenses (E&O and lab fees, etc.), start saving now.

6. Wait patiently for release. Make sure to abide by the distributor’s rules as to what you can share and publicize, and what you can’t. You don’t want your movie floating around the web before it gets released. It can take months before you film is released.

7. Don’t be too upset when you find torrents of your film online. Yes, it will happen. Yes, it’s illegal and immoral for someone to steal your hard work. Day 1, there were Korean rips of our film online. That said, it’s an unfortunate reality of the film business. Don’t tear your hair out over things you can’t control.

Getting your first feature film distributed and out to the world is a big step. It’s a lot of work, but it’s quite exciting.

I wish you the best of luck with your pursuit of film distribution.

If there are any questions I can answer for you, please feel free to reach out and I’ll be happy to help.

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