Distribution Traps

by John Swanson

Many people come into filmmaking unprepared. More goes into filmmaking than just making the movie, and like any job, preparation is important.

New filmmakers think they can simply make a movie and Hollywood will open its doors to them, without realizing that in doing so they have become Hollywood's competition.

Being a filmmaker is like being in the Olympics with one hurdle after the other to overcome. It's like playing a video game. There are so many unseen traps to avoid that most filmmakers never make a dime from their own work. It's all in the contract you sign.

I have received many contracts from distributors who say they are interested in my film. But none of them mentions any money "up front" - all they want is for me to sign their contract giving them my movie. But if you look at the small print of the contract it's obvious that I will never see any kind of profit.

Under the compensation clause in one contract I received was a little thing called "recoupable expenses" not limited to the following- all printed material, all shipping costs, duplication costs, trade shows, and so on.

This contract said that I would receive 50% net revenue, which is gross revenue minus any or all the expenses. But looking deeper into the contract it can be seen that they will be deducting anything they want to call an expense from money they receive. This means that I would receive nothing because the expenses are not limited. This is one of the many traps that filmmakers fall into.

Yes, you have your film in the video stores but who is now profiting from your work? Filmmakers need to operate like a business.

If you are going to be a filmmaker preparation is extremely important. Filmmaking is a specialized job. I took business law while in school and other courses that would help me. When I am not sure about wording in a contract I speak with an attorney, because knowing how to make a movie is not enough.

The contracts I have seen are legitimate contracts that we filmmakers are being offered. And filmmakers are signing away the rights to their films for up to 7 years based on these contracts which will make money for the distributor but not for the filmmaker.

I attended a film seminar in Chicago last year in which I was able to talk with other filmmakers. I spoke with the real filmmaker who sold his movie to Hollywood for $200,000 just to pay his film crew expenses. Maybe you've heard of his film "Meet the Parents". His film did not star Robert De Niro, it used unknown actors. He managed to get a sales agent and it was sold to Robert De Niro's Company who remade his film, using name stars, and released it by Universal. De Niro's company made millions.

His original film is now sitting somewhere in a salt mine where films are stored. To even get a screen credit for creating the original film he had to hire an attorney. He was given an executive producer credit. Now he wants to get his original film back, but Universal says they have no idea where it is, and if he did ever get it back he would have to change its name since Universal owns the copyright on the title.

The Blair Witch Project movie was shot for $40,000 and really took a bite out of the blockbuster Hollywood films which cost millions to make. It was great marketing that put that film over the top. Their website was brilliant, it caught your interest and was designed to lead you to believe that this was real and had actually taken place.

Blair Witch took in over 200 million dollars. The filmmakers did not see that amount as they sold it for much less than that. The distributors who bought it were the smart ones and caught Hollywood completely off guard.

Many Hollywood films didn't even make back the money it cost to create them because of the Blair Witch Project. If you remember, that film came to success by being discovered at the Sundance Film Festival.

Hollywood people with power had a meeting and got smart. They decided that this was not going to happen again. They began putting their money into certain well known Film Festivals that were in financial trouble so that they would have control and could effectively block independent films from being screened there. Instead, they wanted to use the Film Festivals to springboard their own productions.

Now at Sundance a majority of the "independent" films screened there are Independent Films made by Hollywood with name stars. This cuts out the true independent productions that are sent there as the fests only have space for a certain number of films.

Hollywood also put money into and created "independent" film companies which are in reality just branches of their own corporations. All the big studios have them now. Suddenly by their new definition an "independent film" is one made for no more then ten million dollars and probably has some name stars in the cast.

We filmmakers need to take the word "independent" back. Now our films must be called "true independent films".

Hollywood is just using the name "independent" to draw in audiences. Now they can have it both ways. They created distribution companies that would "handle" our little films as well as absorbing those films that snuck through the cracks, ensuring that they would never see release in a theatre. Releases might be limited to video where the distributor would make money and the filmmaker would most likely see nothing for his work thus ending his career. Does this sound dirty? When you play with the big boys you are going to get some dirt on you.

If you are a filmmaker then you are the competition. Hollywood is not your friend. Your little film made for a few thousand could be competing with Hollywood so don't expect to be treated well. You are their enemy...at least until they have you under their control.

Hollywood has set up many traps for the average unknowing filmmaker to fall into because they know we are inexperienced and trusting.

The one thing they have not found a way to control yet is self distribution and the internet. I created a series of videos on the Amish people and was told they would never go anywhere. I made a few calls, sent off screener copies and got 2 year contracts on PBS stations. Then I started selling them on Ebay.com and have sold thousands of copies, so there are ways to get around these hurdles and make money.

I have set up advertising for my films on other websites like google ads but found out that even this has its drawbacks as it is based on ranking. Perhaps you have seen the ads on the right hand side of the google website when searching for something. Did you know that someone offering as little as 5 cents more can suddenly take your spot on google ads and without warning your ad disappears? Every time someone clicks on your ad it costs you money even though they do not buy anything. This can become expensive very fast.

My advice is to hire someone who knows how to get your ad listed in dozens of search engines. I'm trying out an Internet advertisement company right now, who's job it is to get my film ad ranking in the top 10. Then my ad can be seen more easily and I will generate more sales. Best of all I'm not paying each time someone clicks on the ad without buying, like they do on Google.

I have set up several web sites using paypal where anyone interested in my films will be immediately taken to my web site where they can purchase my films. http://www.unearthlyharvest.com, http://www.demonharvest.com, http://www.amishvideo.com, http://www.stopbushlies.com.

So it is possible to make a living from being a filmmaker, but it won't be easy.

The average filmmaker is not aware of all the traps that exist to keep them from succeeding. Hollywood knows this and has made every effort to see that you won't succeed easily. Only those with patience, diligence and proper preparation will succeed and survive.

John
Illinois