The thing I find most interesting after having gone through the first couple windows of release is how broken the system is. Now I know you’re probably saying no shit but I think we’re at a very interesting crossroads. When something is damaged it provides new opportunities but the difficult part is identifying them. Often it seems that going in a totally different direction is an answer OR you can work the current system to your advantage. For example a theatrical release with no cash, no distributor, no booker and no publicist seems insane – and it is in the sense that it’s an insane amount of work BUT it is possible.

I took on a hybrid model with the release of my newest film HEAD TRAUMA. Had a world premiere at the LA Film Fest and used it as a springboard to a platform release for HT. In other words used it to announce the project and a few weeks after was in theaters across the country. The biggest driving force for a compressed release was to maximize my limited resources and push all the press and word of mouth towards monetizing the movie. I hit 17 screens across the country by doing a bootstrapped release.

I called a number of bookers / service companies to help me with my theatrical release. I quickly discovered that there was NO way that I could afford it. So I decided to create my own model that would require little to no seed money. Here’s how I released my newest feature HEAD TRAUMA http://headtraumamovie.com on 17 screens across the country.

Here’s the breakdown:

Travel, lodging and some food was offset with speaking engagements at various universities and film societies. This also provided free transportation and free meals. I ended up making about $4,500 in speaking fees.

I took $1,200 from a pre-theatrical speaking engagement and applied it towards making 27 x 40 posters. I knew from past experience that posters provide a great profit margin. I got them made for a $1.40 each and then sold them for 10 to 15 dollars. To date I’ve sold about 300 posters and pulled in about $3,500

When it came to the screenings I found sponsors for a number of weekly city paper ads for the cities that I felt need some extra promotion. And the rest of the promotion was done via social networking sites and my mailing list / fan base from my first film. I targeted independent theaters and cold called BUT I had a pitch ready – one that explained who my audience was and how I intended to reach them. I struck a favored nations deal with all the theaters – a 50/50 split because I didn’t have the cash to four wall. And I did all my own press for the release.

The main goal for the theatrical was to help with DVD sales into retail and rental outlets. My hope was to use the theatrical release as hook for a national story, to get reviews and to prevent HT from being ghettoized as a straight to video release.

Well I got a ton of press, a lot of reviews and I ended up grossing close to 15,000 dollars. I took about half of my cut of the box office and put it into online advertising for the DVD release. I also worked out deals for a number of print ads in horror publications like Rue Morgue and Fangoria.

And so far so good – the DVD just hit retail and rental outlets nationwide. In fact this coming weekend Best Buy will be doing a special national promotion.

The movie can also be found at Barns & Noble, Borders, Circuit City in addition to other retail outlets. Its on Netfilx and in certain Hollywood Video and Blockbuster locations. It is also in independent video stores and can be found on various online outlets such as Amazon etc.

To be continued

TRADTIONAL WINDOWS OF RELEASE
Know the windows, even though windows of release are changing and people are challenging them everyday, it’s important to determine the path that’s best for your work.

So what can a filmmaker expect to yield by going through the normal windows of release? The following assumes a self-distribution path – there are a few mentions of a distributor but for the most part it’s a take on DIY within the traditional model.

First off, some of the windows require E&O (errors and omissions) insurance and proper clearance and delivery prep – all your location, talent and deal memos etc. E&O can run you anywhere from 12k and up depending on the terms you need. You might be able to roll it into your deal but it’s something that always comes out of your cut of the profits.

THEATRICAL
Theatrical really depends on the size and scope – from DIY to service deals to small distributors, theatrical is expensive when you take your movie out in multiple theaters at the same time. Of course one can do DIY shows as one offs or as a tour. But theatrical always boils down to a split with the venue or a total rental of the space (four walling). In the past when I’ve done theatrical runs, I always made more off the merch that I sold. On some nights I’d make up to $800 bucks! You have to be prepared to market like crazy. What good is a theatrical run if no one knows it’s happening? We targeted 2nd and 3rd tiers to get more of a bang out of our release. Targeting the weekly papers for ad placement worked well and was much cheaper than the dailies. I also always tried to find sponsors to help offset costs.

HOME VIDEO / DVD
Home Video / DVD – most labels don’t give advances but promise splits. 60/40 in the producers favor is a good starting point. If you do get an advance it could be anywhere from a couple grand up to 100k or so BUT IT REALLY depends on the film and its audience. And if you’re lucky they’ll ship a couple thousand units. But your return will depend on the terms of your contract. Contracts are always negotiable! Also labels will most likely require E&O.

You can also form your own label. I ran a label called Wavelength Releasing for example and just used it to release one movie. When you are the label, fulfilling to retail and rental outlets you have to be prepared for returns. About 20% should be earmarked for returns, and most retailers will have about 180 days or more in which they can return your DVD. We sold units for 8.95 retail and 19.98 for rental. There was no middle man. It’s important to note that running a label is a huge suck of time. I spent 5 years running it. Made a good amount of money and learned a ton BUT it pulled me from filmmaking. The label allowed us to also sell the DVDs over our site, other sites or after screenings.

PAY PER VIEW / VOD
PPV / VOD is a window that requires clearance in other words E&O. These deals vary depending on the outlet. They are always splits could be 50/50 could be 60/40 or 70/30 in your favor. It really depends on the heat of your title. A friend of mine just had a successful run on PPV/VOD and ended up yielding a high five figure amount. He was clever with the contract and in his case didn’t allow the distributor to cross collateralize the title with the other elements of the release. I could write a whole section just on contracts, but I’ve got to stay on course. So there are a few companies that handle PPV/VOD and it really depends on the region, the carrier satellite, cable, or teleco. Make sure to place a holdback on PPV / VOD so that you can get a full run out of your DVDs. These windows have been shrinking over time BUT you could ask for a couple months.

PAY CABLE / VOD
If you’re lucky enough to be in the position to sell to pay cable you’re looking at a deal that could start at 35k and go to about 60k maybe higher. Again an area that requires E&O and also has a large delivery list of material needs – from certain types of transfers to a wide variety of press materials etc. Pay cable can eat up some cash to get the deal. The terms are usually 18 to 24 months with a certain number of play dates. They will also lock up your VOD rights it’s important to note that you can NOT cross windows meaning for example you couldn’t have your movie available for digital download online while a pay cable outlet was showing the movie. Most TV deals will attempt to lockdown all the digital elements so that they can fully exploit their window. AND if they find you breaking those terms will take legal action.

BASIC CABLE / VOD
This is very similar to pay cable but the licensing fees are lower, anywhere from 5k to 25k. Again an area that requires E&O and also has a large delivery list of material needs BUT in most cases if you’ve done it for pay cable you’re ready to handle basic cable. The terms are usually 18 to 24 months with a certain number of play dates. They will also lock up your VOD rights so you can NOT cross windows meaning that you can’t have your movie available for digital download online – most TV deals will attempt to lockdown all the digital elements so that they can fully exploit their window. AND if they find you breaking those terms will take legal action.

NETWORK TV
I don’t know of any self-distributed work that’s made it onto network TV outside of PBS or regional airings. So I think for the time being this is an area that isn’t likely to change. But you never know? I mean look at what DVRs are doing to the TV industry.

To be continued

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