Producing : Ask Me Anything (AMA) 10/28 to 10/29 – How to Produce an Indie Feature with a Theatrical & VOD Release! by Christian Sosa

Hi, Christian Sosa. Hope you're doing great. Congratulations on After All playing in theaters nationwide and releasing on VOD soon! Congratulations on all your success! I'm looking forward to watching your films!

Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions! What's one of the major things you look for in a script?

Hi Christian Sosa, thank you for your time doing this AMA.

Huge congratulations on Osiris and After Hall. What a powerful duo of projects. The vision and execution are stunning, and it’s inspiring to see how you both elevate storytelling with such precision and heart.

I’d love your perspective on packaging strategy. I wrote and directed The Misstep, which is now entering the festival circuit. The short was always intended as a proof of concept, and I’m currently packaging the feature version to attract financing and talent.

Given your producing experience, what advice would you offer at this stage? Thank you one more time.

Hi Christian Sosa - thanks so much for this AMA and for spending your time with us. QUESTION: At what point did you seek out a sales agent and what was your process for landing one? 2) What was your distribution strategy through XYZ? Thanks in advance!

Maurice, Thank you!

Something I look for in a script is originality and feasibility for a script. Are the characters castable for talent or is it something that you don’t need known cast and the story is much more centered in “world” that is being told. Also depends if the script is indie or studio, as studio bent scripts will need larger budget, cast, and filmmakers usually to board but a indie script that is self contained and very original can have more options for itself to Greenlight.

You're welcome, Christian Sosa. Thanks for the answer.

Hi Christian, would you say a distributor needs to have a large social media presence across multiple platforms (large following) to have more leverage in the film's sale, or is it just the quality of the film in the end?

Hi Christian, what are your thoughts on paying an EP-type consulting company like Buffalo 8 to get your script going?

Sandra Isabel Correia

Congrats on the short! You’re on a good path here. Assuming your writer/director for the feature, the short is a good source material for cast, or agents to look at and for financing. First time filmmakers don’t usually get large budgets so the package ie budget should be modest but doable and focus on 1-2 main actors could help overall with any finance convo. Submitting the short and script to casting directors could help or to managers could be a good route. Some managers would sign off a good short and a feature they can help package with you. Keep submitting the short festivals and gain accolades too. Going after talent, try the managers first or both with the agents, and see how the response is. Put a clear production plan together for financing that shows what you need to Greenlight this or get the main talent on that will then help you continue the finance process with others. You’re pitching your story and plan but also yourself as someone they should invest in.

Hey Christian, appreciate you taking the time to share your insights. I’m just starting out as a producer, I don’t come from a traditional film background, but I’m determined to build my own projects and learn the craft properly. If you were starting again from zero experience, what concrete steps would you take to start producing work and gaining real experience?

HI Christian Sosa thank you for taking the time to do this Ask Me Anything. I will ask one of the questions you suggested: what does a realistic indie film budget look like in today's market?

@leonardoramirez2

It depends for each project, for AFTER ALL we waited until the film was completed to share with sales companies and start conversations with domestic buyers. For the OSIRIS project with XYZ, that was at the start of casting before production, XYZ came on for sales and guided all the way through Distro. For that genre movie, action / sci-fi, the strategy had some pre-sales but selling a finished film was helpful for buyers as VFX was such a big part of the process.

@randall Scott white

Distributors themselves having its own social media following is not a factor in my experience. They hire 3rd party companies anyway to market to large social audiences so relying on its own I don’t think is a factor. Also the breadth of a distributor is based on its relationships with streamers and b2b platforms where transactions can be made. Quality of the film and how targeted the audience is for the movie helps. Your movie just needs to have “an” audience that shows up and pr, marketing and distribution company should be able to connect to that audience.

@Casey Costello

Good question, I’m not too familiar with that particular EP service offer with B8, but there are many ways to engage companies to help package a script. Agencies and managements companies are options as well though that might be more of a screening process. Not everyone has money to pay for EP services so sending off to agencies is one route or other productions companies with producers who can further develop. Also networking is a good way as just getting with other producers and filmmakers at events could help find partners to advance your project.

Ben Easterbrook

Very good question here. I’ve been thinking about this as it relates to what is available today for filmmakers vs when I started. Production quality seems to be a level playing field so it’s very possible to make something look high quality so the focus would be on content this is original and has an audience. Networking today is possible for about anyone so try finding some partners with a similar passion and drive towards the same goals. I learned by doing and it’s a good way to learn from mistakes too. Make a short film even on a zero budget if needed to just go through the process and learn. Find filmmakers you want to support, figure out what you can bring to the production. First step might be to go assist a producer on a film or short. Other options would be finding production companies that have a need and find a way to support or work on something. For some practical learning tools, you can also learn some skills below that would helpful:

- learn how to budget (movie Magic) / breakdown a script

- be current on industry news

- learn about different state film incentive programs

- find writer / and/or directors and connect

- read scripts (weekly)

- go to film festivals to network

Just to name a few.

@Suzanne Bronson

Indie budget vary and what the genre is. Horror or action or drama. For simplicity, a modern day drama without stunts or animals and minimal locations could be under $300K or larger ie $1m-$2m if the story or cast adds to it. Similarly a thriller could be the same or more as well. Under $650k seems today to be an avg indie low budget but it all depends what the story needs. Also I’ve seen filmmakers make great well told stories for $100k or less. The larger question here might be, what is the market potential of your indie film based on VOD / Avod values and work backwards from that number.

Thanks so much Christian Sosa. Great AMA!

Distribution is the problem. Hard to get, hard to get paid from it, too much content, they want A listers, etc.

Christian Sosa, your advice is gold. Thank you, and I will follow your advice. I am cheering for you :)

“I’ve worked in the entertainment world for years, and my new comedy series was inspired by what I went through during that time — the chaos, the burnout, and the weird beauty in it all. It’s got humor, honesty, and a lot of heart. Curious how you know when a project’s ready to take that next step from development to pitching.”