Considering what distributors and festival organizers are looking for before making a film may appear to run counter to the premise that an independent filmmaker should only be concerned with fulfilling his or her "vision" regardless of what audiences are being fed by the "gatekeepers." I believe the resolution of this conflict is inherent in the matter of sequence, that is, a filmmaker should follow his or her passion in writing the script, or finding the script that he or she wants to make as a first feature film, and then, once that decision is made to review what distributors are distributing and film festivals are screening. I believe it is more important to understand what distributors are distributing because I have never met a filmmaker who didn't want an audience for his or her film, and the largest one possible. Further, there doesn't seem to be any particular pattern as to what film festivals will screen from year to year, whereas with distributors there is. Distributors are in the business of making money so they will generally pursue films they are reasonably confident can be sold. So, what is being recommended is that a first-time feature filmmaker research and find the distribution companies who have distributed films in the past two to three years that are similar to the type of film that he or she plans to make. Then he or she should contact the filmmakers who made those films and ask them about their experiences with the distributor, and specifically what the budget was for their film. It will be relatively easy to get information from the filmmaker regarding his or her experience with the distributor (the key question is "would you distribute another film through this distributor?" Why or why not?).
However, it is not going to be easy to get accurate information from the filmmakers regarding the budget because most seem very reluctant to share what their actual budget was. If you already know what things will cost you then you can begin to piece together whatever information you receive (as well as viewing the film) to estimate what their budget was. For example, the following questions should be asked: Did they film on 35 millimeter film or digital video?; If it was digital video, was it a consumer camera or a high end camera such as the Sony CineAlta, Thompson Viper or Red Digital Camera?; Was it a SAG film?; Was there any "name" talent in the film?; If so, how much per day did they charge?; How many days of production?; How was postproduction completed?; How many crew members did they have?; etc.
A review of a company such as Image Entertainment, Inc. is a good example. This distribution company is a public company so its annual report is subject to certain public disclosures. For the fiscal year 2009, the company reported approximately $95.8 million dollars in accumulated revenue, $91.8 million of which was primarily from DVD. Image Entertainment, Inc. estimates that more than one hundred thousand DVD titles are available in the domestic market, of which three thousand two hundred titles are Image Entertainment releases, and to which Image adds an average of 25 new DVD titles per month. The company further states in its 2009 Form 10-K report:
We are a leading independent supplier of DVD content in the music, comedy, special interest, episodic television, urban and lifestyle genres….Prior to 2008, Image's core business was generated primarily from the Criterion Collection, Discovery Channel programming, live stand up comedy shows, music, TV and other special interest video. In January we began to focus on the release of new full-length cast driven feature films. This business concentrates primarily on the acquisition of finished feature films via festivals, agency screenings, and producer relationships. Most of these films are what we call 'direct to video.' They will skip the traditional theatrical release of most bigger-budgeted studio films. We are careful to avoid the risky business of funding the prints and advertising that is needed to release films theatrically, with the exception of some smaller releases.
This information tells you what is most important from this distributor's perspective. It is also interesting for filmmakers to note that during the second quarter of 2009 Image Entertainment's new chief acquisitions officer Bill Bromiley is reported to have stated that Image plans to accomplish these latter goals by acquiring finished films for fees that are a fraction of the movies' production budgets – not good news for independent filmmakers approaching Image Entertainment seeking healthy minimum guarantees or advances. ("New Execs Lay Out Image Turnaround Plan," Video Business, April 9, 2009, by Susanne Ault)
Image Entertainment's 2007 Form 10-K also provides valuable information by citing the actual budgets for certain feature films it produced. These films should be viewed and evaluated to determine what industry professionals will expect production-wise at those budget levels. Unfortunately, since most distributors are private companies, and are not required to reveal their financial information to the public, it is more difficult to get an entire industry-wide perspective. Nevertheless, much valuable information can be gathered by reviewing the websites of private distribution companies and speaking with the individual filmmakers who have had their films released by such companies.
A review of the films a distribution company distributes usually reveals a pattern as to the type of films that a particular company would be interested in acquiring/licensing, i.e., the genre, the story, the level of name talent, the budget level, the "quality" of the finished film, whether the films have screened at film festivals (and if so, which festivals), etc. This information will guide the filmmaker in identifying which companies may be interested in distributing the film the filmmaker intends to make.
Here are Some Examples of Four Distribution Companies:
- Allumination Filmworks: Redefining Love (2009); Border Lost (2008); 305 (2008); Carver (2008); The Attic (2008); Greener Mountains (2008); Lost Stallions (2008); The Journey Home (2008); The Unknown Trilogy (2008); Fast Girl (2008); Call of the Wild (2008); Pray for Morning (2008).
- Echo Bridge Home Entertainment: Live Animals (2009); The Woods Have Eyes (2008); Frame of Mind (2009); Saving God (2008); American Military Intelligence and You! (2008); Telling Lies (2008); Big Dreams, Little Tokyo (2008).
- Image Entertainment: Everybody Dies (2009); I Do…I Did (2009); Are There Any Questions? (2008); Love For Sale (2008); Six Reasons Why (2008); Comedy Jump Off: The Latino Explosion (2008); Dark World (2008); All Lies On Me (2007).
- Magnolia Pictures: Diary Of A Tired Black Man (2009); A Good Day To Be Black & Sexy (2008); Yonkers Joe (2008); Julia (2008); Donkey Punch (2008); Hank & Mike (2008); Closing Escrow (2007); The Signal (2007); Great Wall of Sound (2007); The Life Before Her Eyes (2008).
For more examples and additional information, check out Paul's book at www.paulbattista.biz, which has a special 25% Holiday discount throughout the month of December with the code: MFMReader12.
[Editorial Note: Paul's book, Independent Film Producing: The Outsider's Guide to Producing A First Low Budget Film, was reviewed with an outstanding 9.2 out of 10 in our May Issue.]
