5 Rules to Make Money Selling Indie Films
I feel that one of the reasons I was put on this earth was to help filmmakers and artist make money selling their films and art. There's no reason why filmmakers shouldn't be able to make a steady income from their films. You can here my inspiration rant on this topic here: Why Filmmakers are Always So Damn Broke & What They Can Do to Change It.
So I came up with these 5 rules on how to make money selling indie films. I outline what I discuss in the podcast below. If you are going to listen to an episode of the IFH Podcast then this one and #88 (Why Filmmakers are Always So Damn Broke) are two episode you should listen too. Check out the outline below and then listen to the episode. I also go into other areas and core concepts that are not in the list below.
1. Understand the initial cost of creating the factory that will build your product
Buying gear
Building a team
Post Production infrastructure
Deliverables
2. Understand the cost of creating your product vs the return
Keep the budget low enough where you feel you can make a healthy return on investment
Joe Swanberg (watch his SXSW talk here)
3. Understand your customer and how to engage with them
Provide Value to your customer
Social Media
Email List
Where does your customer hang out, go there and engage with them
4. Understand how you will be getting your product to the customer
Distribution Options
Cost of distribution
5. Understand revenue streams
DVD/Blu-Ray
TVOD
SVOD
Workshops
Merch
Now get to listening and make your film!
Right click here to download the MP3Download on iTunes Direct
Slamdance Workshop Discussed on the Show
Join Blackmagic Design, Slamdance Grand Jury Award winner Andrew McPhillips, and filmmaker and host of Indie Film Hustle Alex Ferrari on Saturday, January 21 from 2:30pm to 4:30pm at the Filmmaker Lounge in the Treasure Mountain Inn for an in-depth workshop on the tools and techniques essential to the independent filmmaker.
Andrew McPhillips will discuss lessons learned from shooting his upcoming film “The Doll,” including how to seamlessly switch from production to post. Andrew used an URSA Mini 4.6K to shoot the film, DaVinci Resolve for editing and grading, and Fusion for the VFX. Along with serving as CG Supervisor at SPINVFX, Andrew’s work includes his animated short film “Blood Will Tell” which previously premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and took home top awards at Slamdance.
Alex Ferrari will discuss how filmmakers can make the most of DaVinci Resolve as a professional editing solution. Alex recently shot, edited and graded his new film “This Is Meg” using Blackmagic Design. He will dive into the ins-and-outs of what filmmakers need to know when editing with Resolve and how it can best fit into their workflows.
A brief Q&A will follow the presentations along with raffles for prizes, including a Micro Cinema Camera, DaVinci Resolve Studio and Fusion Studio!
Join Blackmagic Design afterward from 5:00pm to 7:00pm for a happy hour in the Filmmaker Lounge during which attendees can ask questions, demo gear and learn more about Blackmagic Design products for independent filmmakers.
LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE