Ways to Market and Distribute Your Independent Film

One of the many ways to distribute your film is to get it into an independent theatre. In order to do so, you will have to do some research work. First, find out more on the types of films each theatre shows. Check out their titles and the types of budgets these films have. It will give you a much better idea to see if your film has a chance to be shown here.

Make a list of what theatres are in your area, most of these will be much smaller than the large cinemas we are used to. Contact them and ask questions on what their submission guidelines are. Do they only take films via a distributor? Will they take films from an independent filmmaker themselves? Do you need to fill out an application form of some kind?

It would help if you have been to a festival and had your film shown here. It gives you credibility and a portfolio to show theatre managers.

Uploading Your Video Online

Using online sources for your film is another obvious and easy way to get your film shown. Most sites are free and easy to use. You can’t charge for entrance like with a theatre, but it also doesn’t cost you money to promote the film and get people in the seats. Some theatres will also charge you to rent their space, so uploading to an online site might be the answer for you to get your film noticed.

Some online sites have a limit to how large their files can be, depending on the quality that you are showing; you will have to cut your film into sections. Make sure that you edit your film accordingly in a meaningful way.

Some sites you could upload to are: YouTube, Google Film, Yahoo Video, Guba and of course your own website. There are others, so do some research to which is the best fit for you.

If your film is really interesting and gets many hits, you could get some interest from studios or distributors, especially if you send them a link to your film.

Selling Your Film Online

If you are an enterprising type of person you can always sell your own films online. Of course you have the option of selling them in local stores and flea markets too, but you will reach a wider and larger audience online.

Selling on sites like eBay, iOffer, Amazon and Cafepress will get you hundreds if not thousands of views and possibly some sales. It takes good marketing and advertising to make good sales on these sites, since there is a lot of competition. The fact that it’s an original film may or may not help you to sell it, but again if you are a good promoter, you just might make good money.

Using Cafepress has an added benefit. Not only can they burn your DVD from a file you upload, you can design your cover and promotional materials like t-shirts, hats and buttons. You can give them out to locals and friends to promote your film. Plus you can sell your movie on Cafepress too. You can also order copies of your film at cost and sell them yourself or distribute them to local businesses.

Distributors

Finding a distributor can be a challenge too. You can find some online and in your yellow pages, make sure they are legitimate by checking with the Better Business Bureau in your area.

Some online sites you can try are: Independent Film Distribution, Avatar Films, IFC (Independent Film Channel), yes they do accept submission for independent films, check out their submission guidelines. Underground Films, Indie Films and Atom Films. There are plenty more, just do a search for them and you can find the right one for you.

Bear in mind to read any contract completely and carefully. Make sure you are only giving the distributor the rights to distribute the film and nothing else. Make sure you aren’t giving them too much money for doing so, they do get a cut of the sales, but make sure they are only getting what’s fair to them. Having a lawyer look over any contracts is always a good idea if you can afford one.

Question by MindBlownFilms: Can the director of a film you worked on refuse to let you use the film in your demo reel?
I recently worked as a cinematographer on a film, when I asked if it was alright to use some shots in my demo reel, the director refused… Can he legally not allow me to use the footage? Keep in mind this is a independent film where no contracts were signed.
This is an independent film made when I was a student where no money was used to finance it and no money was made because of it, no one got paid, there was no paperwork, and the film is not copyrighted

Best answer:

Answer by nosdda
The film is the property of the Director. so in a way he has a copyright on it. He can refuse you if he wants to do so.

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

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Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) June 21, 2012

Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival 2012, the largest summer theater event in the City of Los Angeles, begins its performances June 28. This year ISC is offering over 40 nights of programming. In addition to the productions, there are nine PLAYERS IN THE PARK/JUGAMOS EN EL PARQUE pre-show workshops on select evenings. These workshops are an interactive, entertaining way for families to learn about the evenings performance. There are also these are lectures on topics related to Shakespeare as well as curtain-raising performances by local musicians and dancers.

The festival will open Thursday night, June 28 with Shakespeares rarely-produced romance, The Winters Tale, directed by Sanford Robbins. Alongside that are two of his most popular comedies, A Midsummer Nights Dream (opening Thursday, July 5) and The Comedy of Errors (opening Thursday, August 2), both directed by ISC Artistic Director, Melissa Chalsma who will also take the stage as Titania in A Midsummer Nights Dream.

This season an audience can expect to be involved in the action in a really direct way. We strive

to make connections with our audience that are unexpected and engaging. With every production, we are working to connect not only the actors to the audience, but the audience to each other, Artistic Director Melissa Chalsma notes, The Festival in the park is a great fit for LA. Its a theater, yes, but its also a place you can stretch out on a blanket, eat, talk to your neighbor, play Frisbee before the show, tweet about what you thought about Act Three, bring your kids…its this great combination: professional theater in an absolutely informal setting.

The 2011 season boasted record attendance of more than 25,000, making it the largest summer

theater event in the City of Los Angeles and the largest Shakespeare Festival in Los Angeles. ISC builds its festival stage at the site of the Old Zoo (near the Carousel), a natural amphitheater conveniently located next to ample parking.

PLAYERS IN THE PARK/JUGAMOS EN EL PARQUE

In addition to the productions, there are nine PLAYERS IN THE PARK/JUGAMOS EN EL

PARQUE pre-show workshops on select evenings. These workshops are an interactive, entertaining way for families to learn about the evenings performance. Led by ISC Teaching

Artists, workshop participants learn about Shakespeares language, theatrical staging, and what

to look for in the play they will be seeing. They also get to speak lines of dialogue from the stage, and have a backstage tour and meet the actors.

In 2011, ISC received a substantial grant from the James Irvine Foundation in order to expand this workshop series to include bilingual families. ISC created study guide materials in Spanish and English as well as a Spanish-language web portal, and now offer the workshops in both Spanish and English. Through these measures and other significant outreach into the Latino community, ISC increased attendance to the Festival by Latinos: in 2012, 19% of the audience

identified themselves as Latino.

ISC Acting Company members are some of Los Angeless most seasoned stage professionals.

Their experience ranges from Broadway, Londons West End, major US regional theaters, and

some of LAs best venues.

ISC has historically attracted an uncharacteristically youthful and diverse theater audience. The

2011 audience was: 49% non-Caucasian, 72 under 35 years old (19% under 18), and 57% earning under $ 50,000 a year.

ISC is also one of the few theaters in Los Angeles performing under a paid contract with Actors

Equity Association. It also offers health and pension benefits to its Union performers, something

only a handful of LA theaters do, all of whom have substantially larger budgets.

The Winters Tale (June 28 July 29) by William Shakespeare

Directed by Sanford Robbins

In Sicilia, all is well. Peace reigns, and the King and Queen are happily expecting a child. But when King Leontes becomes consumed with the thought that his best friend and his wife are betraying him, one misunderstanding spirals into tragedy. Indifferent to the word of the Gods, reason, or natural sentiment, he resigns his wife, son, and unborn child to a dreadful fate.

As the years roll on, however, a very different destiny is evolving on the island of Bohemia. Rustic and wild, it is a place where love prevails and music and humor are rampant. When the two worlds intersect, miracles come to pass.

Shakespeare’s great romance challenges our expectations: folding time and genre into a unique work of art that reveals the essential, humane nature of the author.

Scenic design is by Caitlin Lainoff; costumes by Garry Lennon; and lighting by Bosco Flanagan

A Midsummer Nights Dream (July 5 September 2) by William Shakespeare

Directed by Melissa Chalsma

In a fantastical Athens surrounded by an enchanted wood, the lines between dreaming and waking are deliciously blurred. As the wedding of Duke Theseus to his captured Amazonian bride approaches, a group of tradesmen rehearse a play celebrate the nuptials. In the shadows

alongside them, the King and Queen of the fairies do battle, lovers succumb to magic and to each other, while forest spirits seek to unravel the mysteries of the human heart.

This production of Shakespeare’s most intoxicating comedy is staged with athletic abandon and dazzling costumes: perfect for the whole family.

Scenic design is by Caitlin Lainoff; costumes by Garry Lennon; and lighting by Bosco Flanagan

The Comedy of Errors (August 2 September 1) by William Shakespeare

Directed by Melissa Chalsma

Do you ever feel that something in your life is missing? The Mediterranean Island of Ephesus at the tail end of WWII is a dangerous place. Locked in a battle with neighboring Syracuse, the town is suspicious of strangers. Into this place, two men come to town seeking to find themselves, but inadvertently cut a path of chaos. During the upheaval, love is lost and found, lives are saved, and a community is restored.

A live band and period dancing complete Shakespeares most compact and fast-paced comedy.

Scenic design is by Caitlin Lainoff; costumes by Katr Bishop; and lighting by Bosco Flanagan

Sanford Sandy Robbins (Director of The Winters Tale) is the founder and Producing Artistic Director of the Resident Ensemble Players (REP), the professional theatre at the University of Delaware, as well as founder and Director of Training for the Universitys Professional Theatre Training Program (PTTP), which is ranked as one of the top ten theatre training programs in America by U.S. News and World Report. Theatres for which he has directed include the Alley Theatre, Oregon Shakespearean Festival, Utah Shakespearean Festival, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Independent Shakespeare Company, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Los Angeles Shakespeare Festival, and American Players Theatre, as well as multiple productions for the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, where he served for several years as a resident director and remains a frequent guest director. Internationally, he has directed the international premieres of Sam Shepard plays for the national theatres of several foreign countries, including Buried Child for the Moscow Art Theatre Studio and the National Theatre of Cyprus. His production of Shepards The Tooth of Crime received the Thalia Award for Best Production in Finland, an award won the previous year by Ingmar Bergman. Mr. Robbins also serves professional theatres as text and verse speaking coach for Shakespeare and other classic plays, most recently for the Alley Theatres production of Hamlet. He has taught acting, voice, verse speaking, and period style at

Carnegie-Mello