Karin Chien on Independent Film Distribution – Part 2

This is a fourth continuation of WinGateFilms’ coverage of Karin Chien’s Filmmaking Outside the Box: Smart Strategies for Independent Producing workshop, focusing on independent film distribution. This final installment deals with Karin’s comments regarding the emerging face of independent film distribution.

Although it has become increasingly more common for independent filmmakers to pursue self-distribution, in whole or in part, Karin mentioned that even a partial strategy of DIY theatrical release while selling off ancillary rights is essentially a year of full-time commitment for an indie producer. That sort of time commitment is generally less attractive to most indie directors, who would rather spend that next year (or more) preparing to shoot their next film.

The major self-distribution choices range from a complete DIY approach to entering into a distribution service deal, which essentially consists of hiring a distributor (as opposed to selling the film to a distributor). For example, paying a $50k fee to Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban’s “Truly Indie” program (www.trulyindie.com) will secure limited theatrical release for one week in at least five markets in 2929 Entertainment’s Landmark Theaters.

Karin mentioned another hybrid alternative that she has used successfully, a modified service deal with a distributor, hiring someone to book the film and hiring a publicist, while pursuing DIY advertising/marketing/print efforts. The last option for an independent filmmaker for theatrical release is the practice of “4-walling,” essentially renting out a theater covering the “house nut” (i.e., fixed costs of the exhibitor’s screen). 4-walling for a week long run on a single screen can easily run $15-20k in major markets.

For DIY DVD distribution, Amazon.com has a DVD production tool known as CreateSpace (www.createspace.com), which essentially incorporates the print-to-order model developed in the book publishing industry. The filmmaker still does marketing and advertising, but has the option of directing purchasers to buy online from CreateSpace through www.amazon.com, or ordering bulk copies for the filmmaker to sell directly from his own website, etc.

The current trend is away from the traditional distribution model where theatrical revenues are generally loss-leaders intended to drive up the value of ancillary outlet releases, with a concomitant loss of producer control. The new models of distribution, especially through the internet, have different challenges to overcome. First, the new models are not yet monetized beyond some atypical, anecdotal success stories.

Niche audiences are lower than the numbers needed to make traditional distribution release profitable, however, Chris Anderson’s “Long Tail” theory suggests that targeted marketing specifically designed to reach these niche audiences can result in positive ROI over the long haul. Some producers have found that innovative strategies such high profile partnerships with sponsors and viral marketing are needed to help drive niche audience and internet sales.

With regard to short films, Karin opined that the 2 most important shorts festivals are the Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival (www.clermont-filmfest.com) held in France in early February and the Palm Springs International ShortFest (www.psfilmfest.org) held in California in last August. She also mentioned that festival strategy (i.e., “protecting your premiere”) is much less critical for short films. Recently, shorts have become increasingly monetized on the internet through sites such as Atom Films (www.atom.com) and iTunes (www.apple.com/itunes).

Looking toward the future, Karin forecast that the theatrical market appears to be developing toward the direction of event spectacle films, as traditional theatrical release is becoming prohibitively expensive. Clearly, the spate of high-budget action tent-pole films this summer would appear to support this prognosis.

In conclusion, Karin shared the personal observation that, although deciding on what projects to get involved as a producer must always make sense from artistic and business perspectives, in retrospect the best decisions she has made on what films to produce have been made on a visceral level from a “gut check.”

Michael
WinGateFilms
www.wingatefilms

Tags: DIY theatrical release, film distribution, independent film, Karin Chien, long tail, niche audience, service deal, viral marketing