Category Archives: Monetize Video

Mid-2014 trends in the indie film marketplace

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Marc Schiller of BOND/360 has just released ‘An Analysis of Internet Trends in 2014 for Independent Films’ on Medium.

Main chapters comprise Commerce and Marketing while headings include:

  • Digital Revenue For Individual Films In Traditional Marketplaces Is Falling Rapidly
  • Niche Content Is The New “Mainstream”
  • Methods Currently Used By International Sales Agents Are Creating A Steep Decline In Revenue and A Steep Increase In Piracy
  • The Days Of “Free” Marketing On Facebook For Independent Films Are Over
  • Today, The Best Social Media Marketers Are Designers, Not Curators
  • Smart Filmmakers Are Realizing That The Key Value Of Crowdfunding Sites Is To Build Community, Not Raise Money
  • Publicity Alone No Longer Sells Movie Tickets

The insights are many, including:

“Today, the reality is that most independent films, even highly successful ones in the United States, have very little to no distribution in the majority of countries around the world…. Up to 40% of the audience that is following an independent film on Facebook is most likely living in a country where the film will never be released…. This has led to an increase in piracy that is not based on a desire to steal the film and watch it for free, but rather based on a the lack of availability when the global word-of-mouth is at its peak.”

And:

“More than any other platform that have preceded them (including behemoths like Facebook and Twitter), Kickstarter and Indiegogo create the most important and impactful communities for creators on the internet…. Those that have skin in the game (i.e. are “invested”) are the most important and loyal fans a filmmaker will ever have in their career.”

My take: this makes fascinating reading. Required reading. More by Marc to come.

Top VOD Platforms for 2014

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Short films have always been a tough sell.

In the past, specialized distributors might take them on for institutional or foreign markets. Perhaps they might get bundled into feature-length anthologies. But the money never seemed to flow back to the filmmakers.

In short, short films were destined to remain in the art realm. Starving artists practiced their craft, never expecting to be compensated for creating their art.

Now, however, we are witnessing the emergence of a new model. iTunes has paved the way, proving that the public will pay for music, track by track. Video On Demand may be the equivalent mechanism for the independent filmmaker.

VOD lets filmmakers exhibit their films directly to their audience, at a price they choose. It promises to be the means of monetization for indie films of all lengths and genres.

Douglas Horn has researched the top five VOD platforms. He scopes out the problem, charts the top five and reviews their services.

My take: well worth the read! I’ll be following his real-world tests. Good luck, Douglas!

VHX Out of Beta

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VHX is out of beta, and has lowered their fees to 10% plus 50 cents per transaction.

“Anything that used to be sold on DVD can be sold on VHX. Our platform works for a lot more than just film and TV. Faith, fitness, lifestyle, education… the list goes on. VHX also works for organizations both big and small: individuals, distributors, studios, networks, and more. Make a site, sell your work, and own the relationship with your audience. VHX is the technology platform that lets you run your own iTunes or Netflix. Your digital copies replace the old physical, anywhere in the world.”

Of particular note to international filmmakers, VHX will pay out through PayPal.

Nofilmschool has a very nice summary of all the direct distribution players here.

My take: I applaud any service that helps filmmakers interact with their audience. VHX keeps the costs down, which is appreciated. Nevertheless, we can’t ignore the law of supply and demand: supply is way up, diluting demand. Therefore, increasing demand remains filmmakers main task, one that traditional distributors and exhibitors once fulfilled. Unfortunately, the market is still fragmented with no clear winner. Selling on your own website is like creating your own market: be prepared to create your own demand too.

Yet another reason to choose Indiegogo

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Crowd-funding is a lot of work.

First of all, it’s a full-time job creating and maintaining your campaign. (Forget for a moment the all the work of putting your project together and then actually making it.) Now you’ve got to fulfill all those perks you promised your backers.

Indiegogo wants to help you.

“Today we’re launching our Film Fulfillment Program, which will provide Indiegogo campaigners streamlined access to free or discounted rates on film distribution and fulfillment services with our program partners, VHX and Yekra.”

Check out VHX and Yekra to learn more.

Then see the special deals Indiegogo has brokered for you. Sign up through the links at the bottom of the page.

My take: kudos to Indiegogo for smoothing things out for indie filmmakers!

Indie Koala shows the way

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From Canada’s capital comes a bold adventure in indie self-distribution.

It’s called Indie Koala.

“We are three Ottawa independent filmmakers who are passionate about making, watching and promoting indie films and indie filmmaking and we started this service in April 2013 because we couldn’t find a site that was artist-run and was a one-stop-shop for local independent content.”

Taking their cue from the belief ‘Think Global, Act Local,’ three Ottawa filmmakers have created an online exhibition space for independent films, boot-strapping VimeoPro‘s pay-to-rent capability.

Nevertheless, the majority of their shorts are free to watch.

My take: kudos for b(r)anding together!

The new 10 commandments of low budget filmmaking

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Elliot Grove and the Raindance Film Festival have issued ten new commandments of low (no) budget filmmaking.

They are:

  1. Thou shalt have a fantastic screenplay.
  2. Thou shalt understand keywords and SEO tools.
  3. Thou shalt secure some development finance.
  4. Thou shalt spend proper time in pre-production.
  5. Thou shalt understand the shoot and exploit it to maximum advantage.
  6. Thou shalt not fix it in Post-Production.
  7. Thou shalt clear all music in your film.
  8. Thou shalt prepare professional publicity and marketing materials.
  9. Thou shalt use film festivals to launch your film.
  10. Thou shalt create a distribution strategy.

See the annotated version.

My take: I can get behind all of these except number nine. Seems to me that’s really part of number 10. Not having much, if any success, at film festivals, I’m not convinced. I guess what I really need is a paid-for-performance film festival agent. Any suggestions?

Does your film have a clean Chain of Title?

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If you’re selling your movies already, stop reading.

If you want to make money from your films, see below.

The film business is ultimately a business. Stop thinking only about actors and directors and start thinking about accountants and producers as well. Actors and directors need good scripts, whereas accountants and producers need good products.

Yes, your sellable film is a product.

Not only does it need to be a damn fine film, it must have a “clean chain of title.” Title simply means ownership. The chain are all the creative people who’ve helped you along the way. You document their agreement and the terms of their involvement in contracts.

And there are a lot of contracts:

  • Writer Option Agreement
  • Crew Agreement
  • Actor Agreement
  • Location Release
  • Composer Agreement
  • Etc., etc., etc.

You need these agreements to get Errors and Omissions insurance.

Why do you need E&O insurance?

Distributors and television outlets want to know that they’re not going to get sued when they show your film.

Want to know more? Want free resources about Chain of Title? See Jordan Clark’s Chain of Title campaign on Indiegogo.

My take: kudos to Jordan for getting this rolling. Keeping your chain of title clean is just plain smart.

Kickstarter comes to Canada!

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Leading crowd-funding platform Kickstarter is coming to Canada.

They say new projects will go live on September 9, 2013.

It’s taken three years but it looks like Canadian filmmakers and other creative folk have no more excuses. It used to be that you needed a bank account and address in the States to list on Kickstarter. Now Canada joins the US and the UK.

Need help with your campaign? See Kickstarter and crowd-funding advice from someone who work(s/ed) for one of their competitors.

My take: sure you can raise funds on Kickstarter but more valuable is the audience you’re building. In a sense, you’re pre-selling your film to hundreds, maybe thousands, of viewers. Just remember to budget enough time!

Seed&Spark: an innovative take on crowdfunding, audience building and dissemination

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Those New Yorkers continue to innovate!

Seed&Spark has put a couple of twists on crowd funding:

  1. Rather than pitching for a sum of money, they ask filmmakers to create a ‘gift registry’ of the things they need to make their movie; and then patrons can give cash OR lend the items.
  2. You get green lit at 80% of your goal.

This is a cool idea for towns that might be resource-rich but cash-poor. It also might get people more ‘invested’ in your project, helping to build your audience. They say:

“We started Seed&Spark because we want to make films but we wanted a healthier environment in which to make them. We believe that the art of storytelling is about expanding imagination, shining a light on the world inside and deepening empathy for the world outside. In the current political and economic climate where many consider the arts a luxury, we believe artists are responsible for teaching their audiences why they are essential. Films are not just art, they are business ventures. They require the seed of an idea and the sparks of human and capital investments to bring them to life.”

Seed&Spark is also an online film streaming site. Earn between 20 and 80 cents for each view of your short, three times that for features.

Between now and February 15, 2013, they’re selecting the next dozen projects to launch on the site.

See their video; read their guidelines.

My take: I love the concept and the curated aspect to this. It’s film specific which differentiates it from every other crowdfunding platform out there. The challenge will be to scale it up. The lending option seems to keep it local; can this work for projects in other cities or countries?

Monetize Vimeo with ‘Tip this video’ Button

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Vimeo has lunch a new Tip Jar feature.

When activated, it adds a ‘Tip this video‘ button below the video. Viewers so inclined can give between $1 and $500 via credit cards or PayPal.

To use this you must:

  1. Have a verified PayPal account
  2. Have a paid Vimeo account

There are some other restrictions so check out the FAQ. And recognize that Vimeo will deduct 15% off the top.

I would like Vimeo to allow users to customize the button. To me, ‘Tip this video’ sounds a little cheap. How about ‘I support this artist’, ‘Thank You $$$’ or ‘Become a Patron’?