More and more it seems like the route of going to a film market (i.e. a major film festival) in the hopes of selling to a distribution company is an antiquated and fruitless pursuit. Furthermore, as we’ve seen in case studies of other independent films, the “old world” model of selling a film’s rights in total to a distribution company is rarely done anymore. More often content creators are finding creative, DIY approaches to distribution that marginalize the function of a distributor, if not removing it all together.
However, part of maintaining control of your work and its distribution is understanding your legal rights to the project and the ways you can sell those rights. Anyone who has taken a film business course knows your film’s rights are a bit complex. As you can imagine, this complexity has only increased with the introduction of New Media resources for exhibition and distribution.
Traditionally, your legal rights to your film are split up between platforms for exhibition/distribution (such as theatrical, home video, television, educational), and from there into regional film markets (e.g. North America, Europe, etc.). You would sell your rights to a single distributor, who would handle all of these markets, or to several different distributors who each specialized in a particular platform/market. These distributors market your work for you and utilize channels for distribution typically off-limits (or over budget) for the average indie filmmaker. The downside to this is an obvious loss of control over your work and your marketing materials, without any guarantee of success or money. The success of your film becomes almost entirely dependent on the enthusiasm and competence of your distributor, which is not always a given (even if they bought your movie!). There is also a long history of independent films becoming financially successful for everyone but the filmmakers, due in part to their naivete during the negotiations of their distribution contract.
If it hasn’t dawned on you yet, the current independent film environment frequently compels you to wear the hat of creative content producer as well as marketing guru, Internet celebrity and legal expert (if you’ll pardon the slight exaggeration). Though many of you may not be seeking to sell off any of the rights to your projects, I am providing you with readings this week to gain a better understanding of what your film rights are and what you can do with them.
Hybrid/Split Rights Readings:
These two articles by Peter Broderick, a producer and champion of ultra-low budget feature filmmaking, are a great primer on the subject of hybrid distribution and the subsequent splitting up of a film's rights.
Broderick’s framework for discussing distribution is a (kinda lame) metaphor, comparing New Media content and its treatment to the British colonies in America, the “New World.” Hollywood and old distribution models are England in this metaphor or the “Old World.” Whether this comparison helps you understand the difference or not, I wanted to warn you before reading Broderick’s writings. :)
This first article breaks down the concepts of hybrid/split distribution rights and provides some things to think about when facing distribution deals.
In the second article by Broderick, he discusses some specific scenarios related to a few of these distribution markets. Though its publication date makes some of the nitty-gritty numbers in this article less relevant, he gives plenty of food for thought when faced with a distribution deal.
Over the next few weeks, please read those two, short articles as well as Jon Reiss’ chapters on Distribution Rights and Foreign Sales:
Think Outside the Box Office, pp. 283-341 (Chapters 29 - 36)
Next Assignment: ETD Marketing Chapter (draft)
While you are completing these readings, we will spend the last month of class focusing on the Marketing chapter of your ETDs (Electronic Thesis and Dissertation). For those of you who have already written this section of your ETD, this will be a chance for refinement and feedback. For others, this will be your first opportunity to tackle this section of the thesis document, which you must create to receive your MFA degree.
Per the 2013-2014 Film MFA Handbook, the requirements for your Marketing chapter are as follows:
1. Full page poster showing the central image and graphic treatment to be used for one-sheets, postcards and other marketing materials; and
2. Marketing report that includes research of film festival opportunities, timeline and budget for festival distribution, and proposals and targets for further distribution (i.e.: theatrical, cable, DVD, etc.)
It is my hope that the bulk of your research and strategizing for this section of the ETD has been accomplished throughout this semester (or in Guerrilla Marketing previously). Your challenges should lie predominately in the organization of a comprehensive marketing report and in the mechanics of your writing. For those of you without the materials for item #1, this is an opportunity to create a mock-up of your poster idea(s) or central marketing image.
Set aside some time to read through these formatting requirements:
You will only be required to follow the formatting specific to the body of text in your Marking chapter, with an additional page for references or figures. You DO NOT need to construct a title page, table of contents, appendix, or convert the document to a bookmarked PDF.
Some requirements:
- Must follow UCF ETD format requirements
- 1200 word minimum
- First draft due November 18th, as an emailed .PDF file to Katherine.Shults@ucf.edu
If you would like to reference previous ETDs from film MFA students (mine included), those documents are available to you through the UCF library website. Simply search a former graduate student’s name, and if they elected to have their ETDs available, you can log in and read it.
Please email me any questions you have. I will be putting up a rubric for this assignment by the end of the week.
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