Indie film financing and movie distribution reminds of actually would feel like dancing nude on stage (much regard for exotic dancers at Larry Flynt's Hustler Golf club! ). You show up to pitch your movie task and need to be able to dance to a film investor's music. Is actually their stage and not yours as an indie filmmaker looking for film funding. They want you to make a sellable movie that appeals to movie distributors so the production can make money.
Many investors I've met with are not interested in putting difficult money into indie art house films because all those are tough sells to movie distributors and international film buyers aren't usually interested in seeing them. The particular dialogue and scenes of certain art house kind films don't translate well to foreign buyers and also movie viewers. Action, horror and skin does not need subtitles for people to follow the story is what I've been told by vendors. Talking head movies can make no sense to audiences that don't understand subtle lines spoken in a foreign language.
Self-employed film financing continues to change as indie movie syndication gets more financially shaky. The place it's hitting indie movie producers hardest is right at the source - video financing. Film investors right now aren't feeling excited about placing money into movies that do not have bankable name famous actors. This is not like so-called indie movies that have A-list actors and/or produced for millions of dollars. Those type of indie film interest projects you can make once you've made it in the entertainment business in the studio level.
Indie film investors and movie sellers won't expect you to have an A-list actor, but they do would like producers to have actors (B-list or C-list or D-list) with some name recognition or celebrity. The first question film traders and movie distributors ask is who the throw is. This is where most indie movie producers are taken out of the water because they have an unknown cast of celebrities. Plus there is a glut of indie movies being made because technologies has made it more affordable to make movies.
The bright side is the fact entertaining indie movies are being made that might not otherwise actually have seen light of day before. The downside is significant papystreaming (getting paid) for indie produced videos continues to shrink as indie films being made rises (supply and demand 101). I talked to one movie supplier that caters to releasing independent films and they told me they will receive new film submissions daily.
They were honest stating they get very sellable movies and ones which are less than appealing, but with so many movies out there they no more offer a majority of producers advance money against film royalties or pay a lump cash "buy-out" to safe distribution rights. Their business viewpoint is most indie filmmakers are just happy seeing their movie released. The term that they used was "glorified showreel" for an indie filmmaker to show they can make a feature film. So , they acquire a lot of their movie releases without paying an advance or providing a "buy-out" agreement.
Not making a profit from a movie will not make financial sense for film investors that be prepared to see money made. When people put up money to produce a dvd they want a return on their investment. Otherwise it's no longer a show investment. It becomes a film donation of money they're giving away without expectations. I've been on the "dog and pony show" signal meeting with potential film investors and learning invaluable training.
I'm in the habit now of talking to indie flick distributors before writing a screenplay to see what types of shows are selling and what actors or celebrity names attached to any project appeal to them. This is not like chasing trends, however it gives producers a sharper picture of the sales environment for indie films. Sometimes distributors will give me a narrow your search of actors or celebrities to consider that fit persistent movie budget. Movie sales outside of the U. S. tend to be where a bulk of the money is made for indie filmmakers.
Movie providers and film sales agents can tell you what actors along with celebrity talent is translating to movie sales foreign at the indie level. These won't be A-list names, however having someone with some kind of name is a great selling point to assist your movie standout from others. Brief cameos regarding known actors or celebrities used to be a good way to keep ability cost down and add a bankable name to your forged.
That has changed lately from my conversations with circulation companies. Movie distributors now expect any name expertise attached to have a meaningful part in the movie instead of a couple of minutes in a cameo role. Cameo scenes can still work when there is a visual hook that grabs the attention of viewers in some manner. But having name talent say a couple of lines without having special hook won't fly anymore.
Another way to make an indie film in need of funding more attractive to investors is to connect talent that has been in a movie or TV show of notice. Their name as an actor might not be that well-known however, but rising stars that have appeared in a popular video clip or TV show can give your movie broader appeal. In case you cast them in a supporting role keep working days on the arranged down to a minimum to save your budget. Try to write their moments so they can be shot in one or two days.
When you're harrassing to serious film investors they will want to be given an in depth movie budget and distribution plan on how you plan on earning money from the film's release. The Catch-22 that happens a lot is most movie distributors that cater to releasing indie pictures won't commit to any deal until they've screened film production company.
There is not built-in distribution like with studio budget films. Movie investors that are not traditionally part of the entertainment business can get switched off when a producer does not have a distribution deal already in place. They will not understand the Catch-22 of indie filmmaking and distribution. This is when a movie producer really needs to have a solid pitch that describes the financial dynamics of indie film distribution.
Almost all film investors will pass on an indie movie producer's financing pitch that mentions self-distribution in it. From a picture investor's business perspective it takes entirely too long for an indie movie to generate money going the self-distribution route. Really like the old school way of selling your movie out of the trunk area of your car at places, but now it's done on the internet using digital distribution and direct sales via a blog. This is a long grind that most investors will not be interested in waiting around with regard to. Moving one unit of a movie at a time is too slower of trickle for investors.
A possible way around the Catch-22 is to reach out to movie distributors while you are pitching to picture investors. With a firm budget number and possible team attached you can gauge to see if there is any meaningful submitting interest in the movie. It's always possible a distributor will tell you which they would offer an advance or "buy-out" deal. They often won't give you a hard number, but even a ballpark number of what they might offer can let you know if your spending budget makes financial sense to approach movie investors along with.
I know one savvy indie movie producer that makes 4-6 movies a year on very reasonable budgets and knows they may already making a profit from the advance money alone. Typically the film royalty payments are a bonus. The producer maintains budgets extremely affordable and streamlined at every phase involving production. Once you have a track record with a distribution company do you know what you can expect to be paid. Then you can offer film investors any percent on their money invested into the production that makes feeling.
Social networking with other indie filmmakers lets you hear what's occurring with movie distribution from other people's real life experiences. A terrific thing I've been hearing about is that there are film investors that will not put up money to make movie that is going to be self-distributed, however they will roll the dice on a feature that is going to particular film festivals. Not the art house film celebrations. The ones that are very genre specific like for horror or perhaps action films. Like Screamfest Horror Film Festival or maybe Action on Film (AOF). Film buyers attend these types of events and meaningful distribution deals are made.
Independent flick financing and movie distribution are areas of the amusement business all filmmakers will have to deal with and learn from every experience. I was in the hot seat today pitching to some film investor. I've streamlined the budget as much as I can without having making the plot lose steam.
The jam I'm within as a producer is there are hard costs that can not be avoided that include lots of gun play including two rigging shots where baddies get shot and are blown in reverse off their feet. Badass action films need skilled and seasoned film crews to pull-off hardcore activity shots off clean and safe. The cast I wish to hire has the perfect appeal and name recognition with this indie action movie to rock viewers. There is nothing that may get lost in the translation in this film for overseas film buyers and movie viewers.
What I think got dropped in the translation with the potential film investor today purchase I keep taking out below-the-line crew to save money I'm going to need to do rewrites to the screenplay to take out action scenes. These are marketing points that will hurt sales if they are written out. But it can my job as an indie filmmaker to balance some sort of budget that appeals to film investors. We'll see how this particular goes. This is indie filmmaker Sid Kali typing diminish out.