Distribution : Self promotion? by Noel Sargeant

When it comes to promotion and creating a buzz I am big on creating events. I think we are all to immune to the typical channels of promotion so I tend to opt for more direct marketing solutions. I am not entirely sure what your horror movie is about but the first thing I would consider is the timed release of your film - can you tie it in with halloween or other event etc? Also, digital downloads can be a problem, but the trick is to using it to your advantage. Perhaps you could set up a series of teasers that show up over the internet for people to download over time. This could set up the buzz essentially creating hunger from people for the full feature. I could share more thoughts on this and creative marketing strategies but its kind of hard to explain it here.

Thanks Nick. I think that with this movie we might be to late to do much. I'm thinking next time we'll know to start to create buzz earlier on our own. Perhaps some teasers starting during filming and post. Now that we see what distributors are willing to do for their piece of the pie. It's apparent that we need to give distributors absolutely as much material as possible so they don't have to spend. I'm sure it's a case of distributors just wanting to make as much as possible for little investment.

maybe sneak out a copy for free download? I know it may seem counter productive but many established artists wouldn't be established today if not for illegal downloading.

as soon as it was released copies of it popped up on line. You can download it free now. I watched it for the first time all the way through on Youtube. I like the reviews of those who never paid. Some of the stuff i really like is the gifs people make up from scenes. There are a bunch of goth blogs with biting scene gifs. I think next time leaking some gifs or some behind the scenes stuff might make sense.

Since you may have gone for an all rights deal on this, it is disappointing you may only be getting royalties after your distribution company recoups it's marketing spend.... What this translates to is the distributor wasted your money on marketing and now you have to spend more and do the job you already paid for. Consider a stronger contact of what the distributor is supposed to do in promotions or retain control and responsibility to do all marketing - which you then go to a company outside the film industry that directly fulfills that role.

Thanks Brian. It's fortunate that though many of us did a lot of work. There really wasn't much money invested in the production. So this is our opportunity to learn. It was more a demonstration to future investors that we could create a project and investors would see a return. This process is revealing many things that will have to be handled differently on future projects.

And Noel that is exactly the right attitude! Positive and progressive! You may find in your learning the dove tailing when it comes to producing. When our company deals with vendors or sub-contractors to perform SEO, Web Design or Social Media for a client producer we have to really draw lines in the sand. Some can do some tasks and prefer not to do others or don't do other well. Balancing the statements of work for each complementary vendor is a nightmarish ordeal and you may want to assign a specific producer to that task (call them a PMD if you want ;).

Unless it is a Studio Pic, You the Producer and/or Director NEED to do the PR. Otherwise it won't probably get done. I'm sure that your pic was one of hundreds or maybe thousands, and you weren't probably paid much for it upfront. I could be wrong.

we create low budget films and recoup our costs and show a profit off initial sales to distributors. Distributors have based purchase price primarily on production costs/ quality of product. But as you may or may not know. In order to have any sort of advertising it has to be negotiated into distribution contracts or you have to do it yourself. If you do it yourself you need to have money earmarked for advertising this becomes part of your production costs since the likely hood of seeing any money from distributors before your movie has fizzled and waned is somewhat unlikely. Most distributors pay on a quarterly basis and distributors like to have money coming in before sending anything out. So more than likely your film will have been on the market several months before you see any actual return on investment.

Hi Noel, Kaleigh Group Entertainment is now accepting films for distribution. We have traditional and Out of the Box distribution channels. We get paid commission, so there are NO up front fees. I would like to discuss this with you. Contact me if you are interested.