Hey Stage 32 hivemind! Curious for some opinions. I recently completed my first feature film which has now secured a sales rep, been offered a world premiere and is being shopped to a variety of NA and INTL distributors. I feel like I've finally got my hands around how the market works for independent (and in particular genre) films --- now what about episodic material?
Earlier this year I got on board an independently produced erotic thriller pilot. Very good team, great cast, and very pleased with how it's turned out --- but what the hell do you do with an independently produced pilot?!
Now that NYTF has ended, are there other festivals focused on episodic television content that people can actually vouch for?
Besides reaching out to network buyers directly, or going through our representatives to try and pitch the series to execs, what other paths forward have people been able to find for the dissemination, distribution, and commercialization of content like this?
Would love to hear what people think, know, or think they know! Thx!
Find a startup platform that needs to build a library of content. Ex
https://danotv.app/submit-your-film
If that's too small do indierights or filmhub
Web3 companies like --
https://twitter.com/StoryDAOxyz
2 people like this
Honestly, the time for produced indie pilots seems to be over. I've heard/read so many in the TV world say it's a waste of time. They say to focus on the pilot script and bible, then network to get meetings to pitch (exactly what I and my very-experienced, well-connected creative partner are doing).
You could try marketing the finished work as a feature or, depending on length, submit to festivals as a short.
Other than that, go truly indie, like David Santo suuggests, with the knowledge you'll probably never make your money back.
2 people like this
Thanks for the comments. John/David I expect you guys are correct that the opportunities for indie produced pilots has shrunk enormously over the past few years. The nature of this particular project makes it far from a waste, but does likely put it squarely in the creatively fulfilling rather than commercially lucrative category. Will keep folks posted if anything brilliant and unexpected comes of it.
You could try taking it to Banff.
If you have a manager or sales agent on board that has relationships with broadcasting/streaming partners they can help to get your work in front of decision makers. Having a pilot shot before attaching a distributor is rare nowadays, but it can be used to demonstrate your creative skills if you want to remain creatively attached to the project and can be used as a proof of concept when pitching.