How to Release and Distribute my Film

How I would Release and Self-Distribute my Film

The ways I would distribute if I had the chance would be by entering my film into a bidding war at a film festival like Sundance- but this is unlikely to succeed, so I would next try to sell my movie to a streaming platform. 150 million people around the world are subscribed to Netflix, so getting my film on their platform would be really great, if I could, however, I would try to get it distributed by an even bigger company such as Lionsgate or Warner brothers first.

However, distributing with another company as big as them, or even smaller would be hard for me to do because I don't have any connections with anyone in that industry. The most likely option would be for me to self-distribute. Legendary indie film-maker Mark Duplass spoke a famous speech called 'The Calvary is Not Coming' pretty much telling all the indie film makers to just distribute their films for themselves.

These are the steps I would take

1. Use Crowd-Funding

There are some really great sites for indie film makers to go to during pre-production that I would use like KickStarter and IndieGoGo and have useful crowd funding platform. I would provide an instant download on Vimeo or YouTube so it's easy and not a hassle for people to access. This gives my potential investors an incentive because they have seen what I can do and will then back my distribution efforts. In an attempt to widen the fan base, I would make a trailer, a scene preview, bloopers and a video of how I made the movie behind the scenes type video, and also add subtitles for English, and other languages to cater for other countries and people who are deaf.I would also ensure that my film had closed-captions. Closed captions add the atmosphere into the subtitles as opposed to just the words. For example it could say 'intense music plays.'

2. Prepare My Film For Independent Distribution

I would have it on digital screening as it's easier to distribute that way as opposed to 35mm. This is a list of things I would need to do to what the REV site has suggested.

• 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).

To distribute online this is what I would have to do (according to Rev's website):

• 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.

3. Decide on an Online Release Strategy

This would be by a third party aggregator, or I would do it myself. Aggregators are really helpful if I want to get my movie onto a VOD as they have good relationships with the likes of Netflix so it's cheaper to get onto those streaming services.  They also do much else for me like encoding, packaging and delivering my film to distributors. The one thing though, is that aggregators cost a lot of money, so if I hired one, I would have to pay for them and they are not cheap. If I did it myself it would be a lot more work but would probably pay off in the end. I would need to go to the VOD's and ask them as opposed to a third-party aggregator doing it for me, and when it gets secured, I will have all ownership of the movie and not have to share it.

4. Target The VOD Distributing Platforms

These are a few things I will need to do to target the VOD platforms. These are what I need to keep in mind before I try to get a VOD:

- Ad-Supported Video-On-Demand (AVOD)
  This is where I can get my movies preview onto the VOD because they have ads. Examples of these sites are YouTube, TVNZ On Demand, and Hulu.

- Subscription Video-On-Demand (SVOD)
  For VOD's my aim would be to get my movie on it and get part of the monthly/weekly subscriptions from the VOD. I would need to enter it in to film festivals and have a good following from YouTube or Vimeo to get into a dacent VOD like Netflix or Amazon Prime.

-Transactional Video-On-Demand(TVOD)
  This is where viewers pay per movie that they watch. There are two options:

• Electronic Sell Through (EST): With EST, the consumer downloads the film and has unlimited viewing access. 
• Download to Rent (DTR): Download to Rent is the digital equivalent of renting a movie for a very short period of time. Platforms leveraging the TVOD model include iTunes. iTunes extends filmmakers 70% of the profits, with Apple retaining 30% for every movie download or rental. Amazon Video is another TVOD player, however, at profits 50/50, the split is less generous than iTunes for the up-and-coming filmmaker. 

  

 -Cable Video-On-Demand
  This is where premium channels on TV buy the right to stream my film to their subscribers. Some examples would be Sky TV, HBO, and STARZ. This also includes distributing media through cable boxes at hotels.

- Free Video-On-Demand
  Some places I could give of free VOD's would be Vimeo and YouTube as they are really popular. Once I have one of these behind me it is more likely for a VOD like Netflix to pick up my film.

5. Determine Whether I want A Theatrical Release

  I probably wouldn't have a theatrical release because of a lack of money and a lack of connecctions to make it possible simnce my film would be on a smaller side of things.

6. Promoting My Independent Film

I would need to get a niche market of ambassadors to back up my movie with funding.

These are some of the keys of promoting my 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.