Part EIGHT Of The New Distribution Playbook For Non-Dependent Cinema Creators.
If you picked up what I was laying down recently, I trust you are with me now. If not, you probably want to check in to parts one, two, and three before proceeding further. Those are the posts I wrote leading to this one as parts of a the way all indie and doc filmmakers should think about releasing their films in today’s chaos. In prepping this one, I reminded myself I wrote at least four others that should be part of the New Distribution Playbook. Let’s examine all those first, shall we?
Last time out, i.e. part three, back about a month and a half ago, we were discussing the questions that lead to the truth, with that truth being that we now know we need to … um… own our audience. That should be all independently-minded artist’s top priority (other than making great work that is!) whether or not you are working or even just exploring any engagement even with the corporately-controlled-and-dominated system. This is particularly true for new entrants to the field. Things here are changing fast (as usual) and owning your audience will help you navigate the shifting sands in multiple ways.
There’s much more to discuss in the realm of Direct-To-Audience, and it kind of astounds me how little discussion of this there is, particularly from the industry’s support organizations. It is also what all the talent agencies should be focused on for their clients. Is this what your agent does for you now? I don’t think so. More on this later…
And yes, I think the best tools we have for this is newsletters. I have been trying to demonstrate this by doing it myself, here on HFF. I’ve shared my learnings too, at least most of them. I guess I should put them in the playbook too. Let’s call them parts four and five: “What Sort Of Person Can Run A Successful Newsletter” and “Best Practices Before You Launch Your Newsletters”.
And you probably recall that prior to that we were all about slowing it down. That still remains my #2 recommendation. Are your other advisors doing it? No, again I didn’t this so. Sigh…. What happened when you first brought them your film? What did they tell you the plan of record was? Did they say, we will bring it to a film festival and sell it? How do you think that worked out for most films the last couple of years? Yeah, not so well. And then when you asked about that, what did they say? That they would sell it to one of the Global Streaming Platforms? Did you read my post “It Is Time For Doc & Indie Filmmakers To Abandon The Global VOD Platforms”? Yeah that one should be in the Playbook too.
The real crime is that they knew how to make it better but they didn’t tell you. They never should have let you make your film in the first place. That is, they should have told you to plan for your own marketing in the first place. I told you all about this in “Are We A Bunch Of Idiots For Ignoring The Simple Fix That Could Save Cinema?”. If I had been planning this newsletter — or event this Playbook — from the start, that would be the first step. I don’t want to go renumbering them all though, so for the time being let’s call those last two, parts six and seven. Hence, we are calling this number eight.
Now we are going to discuss what we are going to do with that time you have on your hands since you followed my advice and slowed it all down. Thank you. I think you are going to be glad you did. Time is your greatest resource and you just made more of it. That’s gold, baby, gold.
But let me digress a bit first. You know I like to do that.
Yeah, today I called this a playbook. But this is not a step by step guide. Others have done that quite well. Those folks that gifted you that, are good stewards in indie film. Yes, Emily, Christie, and Jon too. They set an example for what should be done, for what mainstream film does not really do. They care about the system they are in and care about the participants in it. They, the indie film stewards, want to build something better that works for all. Doesn’t it seem like sometimes, the mainstream, those folks away from that indie river, only cares about themselves and the money they are making? That’s where we truly lack stewards — in the mainstream. But I digress, within my digression. Forgive me.
This, what you are reading now, is something different from what they — those Indie River Keepers — did so well; this is the type of playbook is for those that don’t like to follow the rules; this is more for those that like to focus more on how they think. When you took the legos or other games out of the box, did you first read the instruction book? If so perhaps this is not for you. This is closer to “Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance” approach. I don’t think you can fix much, unless you first fix how you think, feel, and be. I want you get in the mood before you do anything. Isn’t it always best to get your head on straight first?
Back in the days before the GSPs conquered Hollywood, movies spent a good long time getting set up. The common wisdom then was you needed six months of PR & marketing set up before launch. Now instead of launching new titles, they drop them. And they spend just about six weeks before doing so. For any film that can’t afford the GSPs method of saturation marketing — aka everywhere all at once, fast, thick, and done — this sucks.
Have no fear. You know you never wanted to do what all the other kids were doing; you aren’t going to play that game now either. You are going to do the right thing instead.
Determine your goals from the start. Stay true to your principles (and if you haven’t determined those, why waste another second before you do?!). Does only this movie matter or are you planning on building a career? If you are thinking beyond this film, where does the next one fit in in the time line, and can you use what you are doing on this film’s build and release to make things better for the next one? What are the priorities around this film? Recoupment, profit, impact, awareness, craft, and knowledge? Are you building a team for the long term, or just the best you can do for this film? The more specific you can get on both your goals and principles, the more it can influence your strategy – and of course you want your goals to define your strategy.
In reading my intro posts on distribution, did you recognize how much we all need to
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