Distribution

I haven't worked with them, but I can add that I've watched a lot of Gravitas movies. Red Arrow is the content arm of Munich-based ProSiebenSat.1. They bought Gravitas back in 2017. BayView Monterey is another merger that happened a few years ago. They have a decent number of independent films, but I don't believe I've seen any of them.

thank you!

Try to catch Vince D'Amato, Darkside Releasing.

thank you!

High octane pictures may be your alley for the genre. If you want to see quick $ return check out wonderpil production.

Cybil I would be very cautious and not sign with any distributor until you have done proper due diligence. Make sure to check with their current roster of filmmakers who have been with them at least a year and contact those filmmakers to make sure they have received adequate reporting and payments.

The entire distribution business has changed dramatically in the past year or so, you might want to consider going through an aggregator instead of a traditional distributor as a regular distributor will not offer you any MG and generally terrible terms.

Also speak with Linda Nelson at Indie-Rights before you do anything, she will advise you honestly and fairly.

I would also educate yourself by listening to podcasts such as Indie Film Hustle. Remember to take ANY advice from the information sellers with a grain of salt - Information sellers make their living selling you the dream we all want to believe in but the reality is not the dream. Films are very difficult if not impossible to make money with unless you have a niche market and something people really want to buy. Genre is no longer enough, in my humble opinion, as even horror and sci fi is having a tough time right now with the streaming markets dominating everything.

Nice place to visit if you like Castles and Beer.

Thanks guys! Vasco - I've been to several film festivals, some requiring a lot of travel, that have had empty audiences and haphazard programming. And I've been to some that have been a bit like scams, requiring you to pay a lot of money to attend panels and award ceremonies, etc. The worst thing is to travel to a film festival, to find that there is no one in the audience and no industry or fellow filmmakers to connect with. But from what you're saying, this festival appears to to be well-attended, so that's great.

Jay, I can't guarantee it'll be well attended, or that it's the one I attended. I did a quick search, and it appears that two other festivals took the original's name (now that the original no longer exists.)

Is it in Newport, Swansea, Cardiff?

Generally, competitive film festivals are not worth it. Only those aimed at audiences are.

Ah, OK, you're responding about festivals in general, not this specific one. And yes, it's in Cardiff.

Jay, I thought it was the same one I went to, but when I looked it up, I found that there were two others, and neither claimed to be as old as the one I attended.

Also, a little warning on attendance. Even the best film festivals have lower attendance for short films. If you want better attendance for your film, it might be an idea to advertise it a little. create postcards, make sure the poster is outside, and so on.

There's a book called "The Complete Filmmaker's Guide To Film Festivals" that gives more ideas.

Welcome!

hi Tasha, I see you have some (3) interesting loglines, excellent have a great week Daniel

Every company is different. Here are some of the more common things I've been asked for (this only applies to low budget, non-theatrical):

1) Video: A 24P Digital file in the best available format (HD, 2K, 4K). There should be a leader at the head with a sound spike at -2 seconds for synching audio and video files. The distributor may specify a certain format. Most requests I've experienced are for ProRes 422.

2) Audio: Three separate audio files: one full mix of English (or native) language track with Music and Effects. One Music Only. One Effects only. As with the video, you should have an audio spike at -2 seconds for synching.

3) A Timecode based Dialogue transcript (for foreign dubs and subs).

4) A synched Closed Caption file (.scc).

5) Music Cue Sheet and SAG-AFTRA, DGA and WGA (if applicable) contract material.

6) Errors and Omissions insurance.

7) Chain of Title (Copyright registration for script and finished film, contract with writer, any other releases).

8) Promotional material (Production stills, Cast photos, anything that can help promote the film)

9) Letter of access to original masters and "negatives." This is a holdover from when prints had to be made, but they usually still require it.

Most distributors have pdf's with their Delivery requirements. Sometimes these include old technology that doesn't apply anymore, but hasn't been removed (like Betamax).

Thanks David Trotti and Vitaly Kozlov!

Thanks all, you rock!!!!

Minimal delivery shall be:

1. a Mac-formatted Hard Drive (USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt preferred) with 1080p 23.98 HD or better version of feature in ProRes 422 (HQ or better) format with composite stereo composite sound mix, along with separate stereo music & effects (M&E) sound mix in AIFF or WAV format (16-bit, 48k or higher),

2. Preferred audio delivery also includes 5.1 surround composite plus 5.1 surround music & effects (M&E) in CAF format, or each surround channel in AIFF or WAV format. In lieu of 5.1 surround mix, stereo stem tracks (separate dialogue, ambience, effects and music pairs) should be provided, if available,

3. Trailer of said feature in same formats as listed above (may be waived by Distributor),

4. Closed Captions,

5. Minimum of thirty (30) production stills, not behind the scenes photography, (high-resolution 300 dpi or better TIFF or JPEG format),

6. Music cue sheet (Excel format preferred),

7. E&O Insurance certificate,

8. Dialogue list with time code (Word or Excel format preferred),

9. Complete chain of title documentation including copyright certificate (or proof of filing),

10. Existing layered key art in Photoshop PSD format, and

11. Meta-data sheet.

But negotiation always happens. M&Es can be postponed. E&O can be waved. Etc.

We've recently even started a subscription based program for distribution at summerhillfilms.com that will wave marketing expenses in their entirety. Ask me about it.

Can someone post an example of what a dialogue list with time code will look like as a word or excel file?

Network with Laurie Cook on here :)

Hey, Would love to hear more about your project, contact me or go to www.SebastianTwardosz.com who is a partner with Circus Road Films and we can have a discussion about the vision for your films distribution.

Contact me here. What rights are you seeking/what compensation plan do you have? Thanks

Added you and sent you my direct email. Tell me more please.

Hi Steve, sent you an invite. I'm looking for filmmakers who are looking at a differnt options of collaboration distribution.

Steve Hays Haven't heard from you on this yet. Are you actually looking for distribution?

Hello, if you haven't found distribution shoot me an email, is love to talk to you about a new streaming service.

Doesn't look like he's been back since he posted this.

Bye. Quibi. What a weird ride. Can't wait for the docu-series on their rise adn fall.

Quibi gave people what they, Quibi, thought they wanted. And that is the worst model for business. I always felt it was doomed before go-live.

If I only had 1% of the money they raised...

Lindbergh E Hollingsworth I wish I didn't agree with you, but I still don't have Hulu or HBO - how are they gonna convince me to get ANOTHER streaming service that sounds shockingly like YouTube? LOL!

Lindbergh E Hollingsworth I said that from the moment I heard about their ideas. Quibi business model forgot that there is something called a "pause" button in video players, and people don't need things to be cut to momentary bites in order to enjoy them. Quibi's founder's ideas were almost two decades behind the curve. The idea of an ephemeral video that you watch while waiting for a bus was a momentary (and failed) idea back at the advent of online video just after YouTube began. It was, if I recall, part of the last gasp of the (proven incorrect) idea that the MTV generation had miraculously developed a genius ability to absorb information while simultaneously having the attention span of a gnat. So they needed everything in short media bites. Of course... that was never the case, though it must have sounded good to someone.

Leanne Campbell This is a common and to my knowledge never-achieved concept in the industry since the creation of bitcoin. It has a lot of practical issues which are difficult to overcome, including the fact that an audience member would likely have to have a copy of the blockchain, and run it to view your film. So it may "work" but it still may not be practical for commecial purposes - its a serious barrier to ease of sales and ease of viewing. I understand that blockchain technology has been undergoing development to track IP and data rights in various other areas, going back for several years now. I have not heard of a successful one with actual broad application.