Drafts of your ETD Marketing chapter are due in my inbox (Katherine.Shults@ucf.edu) by 6pm tonight. I look forward to reading your work and will be scheduling one-on-one meetings with each of you over the next two weeks.
The topic for this week is foreign sales. Foreign sales, in this case, refer to sales agents that represent your films to non-U.S. distribution companies. Much of your foreign market research should be in VOD platforms, because the "old world" model of hiring sales agents for independent films is fading away. Without a major star, director, or selection in one of the major international markets (Berlin, Venice, Cannes), most films don't have the marketability to survive this old process with a profit for the filmmakers.
Your latest reading assignment includes some info from Reiss about foreign sales representation, but I found this interview to be quite informative about the process and why it is rapidly becoming a non-option for many independent filmmakers:
"The State of International Sales for Independent Films" by Sheri Candler, with Ariel Veneziano of Recreation Media
And because we did not broach the subject of foreign digital distribution, here is a reading on digital platforms in the EU, for those interested:
"Lead Up to Cannes: Digital Distribution Beyond the Old World" by orlyravid
But aside from these two informative articles, a good resource from The Film Collaborative on this subject (which extends beyond the foreign sales topic) is its Distribution Report Card, a wiki set up to allow independent filmmaker and producers to share their experiences with a given distribution company. I wish this resource was a little more active and current (not a lot of recent entries), but it at least has basic info and websites for a long list of domestic and international distributors.
AFM 2013
For those of you keeping up with Twitter and following any larger production or distribution companies, you may have noticed that last week was the American Film Market in Santa Monica, California. This is a major event, one week, specifically for the buying and selling of new film content.
Search #afm2013 to read tweets about panels, screenings, and events. Unlike a film festival, the sole purpose of this event is for distributors and sales agents to rub elbows and buy up film properties - no pretenses of art or community. I was fascinated to read what kinds of films were creating buzz and some overall trends in what sold well this year (mostly shlocky, genre stuff, of course).
I encourage anyone who feels under-served in the domestic and foreign sales department in this course to do some social media digging and find out more about the current market and who's who. This is an area of film distribution that really necessitates being in-the-know and on top of current sales trends. I did not feel compelled to spend much time on this subject, since most of your films and ambitions don't involve playing to the market or trying to get a sales rep. Just the same, the information is out there and available to those motivated to know more!
The topic for this week is foreign sales. Foreign sales, in this case, refer to sales agents that represent your films to non-U.S. distribution companies. Much of your foreign market research should be in VOD platforms, because the "old world" model of hiring sales agents for independent films is fading away. Without a major star, director, or selection in one of the major international markets (Berlin, Venice, Cannes), most films don't have the marketability to survive this old process with a profit for the filmmakers.
Your latest reading assignment includes some info from Reiss about foreign sales representation, but I found this interview to be quite informative about the process and why it is rapidly becoming a non-option for many independent filmmakers:
"The State of International Sales for Independent Films" by Sheri Candler, with Ariel Veneziano of Recreation Media
And because we did not broach the subject of foreign digital distribution, here is a reading on digital platforms in the EU, for those interested:
"Lead Up to Cannes: Digital Distribution Beyond the Old World" by orlyravid
But aside from these two informative articles, a good resource from The Film Collaborative on this subject (which extends beyond the foreign sales topic) is its Distribution Report Card, a wiki set up to allow independent filmmaker and producers to share their experiences with a given distribution company. I wish this resource was a little more active and current (not a lot of recent entries), but it at least has basic info and websites for a long list of domestic and international distributors.
AFM 2013
For those of you keeping up with Twitter and following any larger production or distribution companies, you may have noticed that last week was the American Film Market in Santa Monica, California. This is a major event, one week, specifically for the buying and selling of new film content.
Search #afm2013 to read tweets about panels, screenings, and events. Unlike a film festival, the sole purpose of this event is for distributors and sales agents to rub elbows and buy up film properties - no pretenses of art or community. I was fascinated to read what kinds of films were creating buzz and some overall trends in what sold well this year (mostly shlocky, genre stuff, of course).
I encourage anyone who feels under-served in the domestic and foreign sales department in this course to do some social media digging and find out more about the current market and who's who. This is an area of film distribution that really necessitates being in-the-know and on top of current sales trends. I did not feel compelled to spend much time on this subject, since most of your films and ambitions don't involve playing to the market or trying to get a sales rep. Just the same, the information is out there and available to those motivated to know more!
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