Testament VOD plan

Video-on-demand will be a huge part of my release and distribution plan, as it is the path of the future for filmmakers to connect to potential audiences. My primary goal is to gain viewers, not to mention hopefully longtime fans for future work. A second goal would be to hopefully make a little money off of it, maybe enough to cover my budget. Here are a few VOD option, though at the rate things are changing in this sphere, this list may be entirely different in 2015 when I’m getting ready to release Testament upon an unsuspecting world.

 

Amazon

Amazon allows filmmakers to rent or sell digital downloads, as well as hardcopy DVDs. There is no fee for selling DVD or streaming video through Amazon, but the site takes a higher share of the revenue with a 50/50 split. Also, Amazon determines rental and purchase prices. There is no exclusivity agreement, and Amazon produces DVDs by the order. Your video is then on the Amazon site and available to anyone who visits the site for a rental or sale price. The rentals are for 48 hours, with renters or buyers able to either download the content (if you have a PC) or watch it as streaming video through the website.

Filmmakers are asked to provide artwork for the site, and pay is slow to come to the filmmaker - 60 days after the end of the month of the purchase. Amazon handles encoding, with filmmakers submitting content by DVD.

https://www.createspace.com/Products/VideoDownload/

Amazon’s service offers a lot - first of all, the website is the world’s large online marketplace, attracting customers of all stripes. It appears easy to use, and there’s more chance of people stumbling onto your film there as well as a stamp of legitimacy. However, as there is a plethora of content already on Amazon, much of the marketing push will again fall on the filmmaker. For Testament, this will offer a way for an already grown audience to be able to access the film, as well as attracting the occasional person wandering in. But the take is lower than some of the other services, and the inability to determine the price myself is a drawback. Exposure would be better here maybe than on Distrify, but still not significant.

Reviews are mostly positive:

http://www.lavideofilmmaker.com/filmmaking/independent-film-distribution-tips-a-guide-for-indie-filmmakers.html

http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/selling-your-dvds-video-on-amazon

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/archive/index.php/t-167483.html

Netflix

Netflix is pretty much the gold standard most people think of with regards to digital VOD services. The site's streaming service is in more homes than any other, giving the films on the service far more reach than the other services. However, there are a number of difficulties and disadvantages to the service. The first is that there's no guarantee Netflix will want your film. According to at least one online story - http://filmmakerslife.blogspot.com/2011/02/netflix-distribution-for-indies.html - Netflix is looking for a number of factors when evaluating which films to add to its library: queue demand, critical appeal, sizeable audience appeal, buzz, and film festival premieres. In that article, the VP of Corporate Communications says filmmakers need to attack the submission process like any business presentation, ie in a well-thought-out and prepared manner.

 And, while according to at least one article (
http://www.desktop-documentaries.com/how-does-an-independent-filmmaker-get-their-movie-on-netflix.html), the only way to get into that submission process is through a distributor with a pre-existing relationship with Netflix, others say it is possible without. This, according to
http://www.desktop-documentaries.com/how-does-an-independent-filmmaker-get-their-movie-on-netflix.html:
"Contact Netflix directly via email. Though Netflix prefers that independent films are submitted by third-party distributors, submissions by individual filmmakers who have favorable credentials are also welcome. Prepare a letter of interest and attach the file along with your press kit and marketing plan to an email. Briefly state your name and business in the body of the email and include any applicable links to trailers, electronic press kits and websites directly related to the film or your film distribution company. Address the package to Alliances@Netflix.com for review and wait for a letter of acceptance or denial."

Once Netflix decides it does want your film, it offers a one-time licensing fee that varies on how much the company wants your film. So lost are the per-click/per-watch cuts for the filmmaker, and the response to the kinds of fees has been mixed (http://douglashorn.com/wordpress/distribution/vod-options-for-independant-film-and-video/, https://plus.google.com/u/0/110929639249808662630/posts/GZMBjoh1oYa). But regardless of the money limitations, the exposure offered makes Netflix worth considering. The ideal approach would likely be to hold off on Netflix until you've soaked in any fees through alternate sites, including your own. Then, after you've satisfied your core audience and made top dollar off of them, you can take it to Netflix to try to attract a whole new, wider audience.

Distrify

Services/fees/subscriptions/regulations: Distrify offers a wide array of services, including marketing for theatrical screenings, direct DVD sales and a ton of other stuff, but the most relevant and fascinating service is the VOD service. Filmmakers can use the site to embed the trailer on social media as well as websites, with a buy button attached for interested potential viewers to click and view the film through the website’s player. Then whoever the filmmaker can convince to host their trailer will get a percentage of every click-through sale of someone who uses their site to watch the film. The site does not function as a destination for your film, but rather a middleman - the filmmaker does the marketing; Distrify makes it easy to follow all marketing attempts with an easy online rental option. Also, the revenue percentage for third-party host sites adds incentives for other websites with their own followings to promote your film and drive them to watch it.

Distrify has a free plan for your first film in which you use the service, and that plan covers rental service and analytics. The revenue share is 70 percent of every view to the filmmaker, 30 percent to the service. When a third party agrees to embed the trailer on their site, they get 10 percent of every view, and the filmmaker/service split goes to 65/30.The fee jumps to $20 for pro, with unlimited films and other perks such as download-to-owns (as opposed to the online rentals of the free plan), merchandise and marketing options and deluxe options that include behind-the-scenes materials and extra merch. As I may be using this service for two features, this plan may be the one I have to consider. There are also much more expensive plans at $99 and $501 per month, but those aren’t realistic for microbudgeteers such as myself. Distrify asks filmmakers to submit their film for specialized encoding for the site’s player, with some specific tips for maximizing your export before you hand it over.

Sign-up is easy and free - you can use your e-mail address or facebook account to do it. The main advantage for filmmakers is that the site creates an easy sell-through method that can be used directly on your website, your film’s Facebook page and anywhere else you want to stick it. And by allowing other people to embed it, you can increase the places the film is available and create a marketing team of other people hocking it. This allows for more payment opportunities and some exposure.

I really like the idea of the service- every time I embed the trailer on a website, people have the option to pay to watch the film immediately. In this ADD-infected, oversaturated media market, it’s a big deal to allow viewers to watch your product the moment they become interested in it and before they can move on to the next thing. And allowing everyone from church websites to my facebook profile to the film’s site and Facebook page to the websites of the film’s composer and other people involved, can really give a lot of ways for people to find and watch the film (and pay for the privilege).

Reviews were extraordinarily scarce. After several Google searches, I found .. nada. But I found lots of films being hocked through the site, including the new one from Terry Gilliam, so that’s encouraging at least.