Film Distribution - Times are a Changing

http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/movie-distribution.htm 

In the film industry, the world of the free internet is causing some challenges for filmmakers. I had someone tell me an option to get our film out there was to post it for
free online and then ask for donations. They shared an example of how one film did this and had over 1 million views and raised $10,000. Now that is a lot of money, unless the film cost you much more than that! How is this success? You spend $100,000 to make a film, but it’s all right to only get a $10,000 return? In any other business, including studio-made films, that would be failure!


As consumers we want what we want, when we want it and how we want it. But, filmmaking is a business first. If filmmakers cannot get a return on their film to go back to their investors, it will be a short-lived career. High-quality films are just too expensive to make and involve the livelihood of too many people to be able to sustain doing them at a loss. If you love a product, the worst thing you can do is get it for free. You should support your favorite film, by supporting it with your purchase of a ticket, DVD or a paid
download. It’s your “vote” of confidence that you’d like to see other films like it or by this filmmaker.

The market is now flooded with free content, and most of it looks free. This muddies the water for people trying to make it as a filmmaker, even an indie one. Indie doesn’t mean free, and we should protect it from that.

I actually had a filmmaker tell me I should be willing to sleep in my car, go to the bathroom in a bag and eat what I can just to get my film out there. I have no issue with hard work and sacrifice—and our team has put in its fair share—but it has to be balanced with sanity. What other industry would encourage that as a true, viable business or career option?

But, things are changing. No longer does the filmmaker have to take a deal where they never see a dime from some unknown “distributor.” We’ve been exploring many options, and here are some of the ones we are considering that actually pass some revenue on to you:

www.ATOM.com
www.BABELGUM.com
www.CREATESPACE.com
www.FILMANNEX.com
www.JOINFILMBABY.com
www.HUNGRYFLIX.com
www.INDIEFLIX.com
www.JAMAN.com
www.NETFLIX.com/SUBMITFILM
www.SNAGFILMS.com

Before you go free, check them out. You owe it to yourself, the people who supported you financially and to the indie film industry.

Let us know what others you are aware of. And, for everyone else, get out there and support indie filmmakers!

Express Your Indie ~