INDIE FILM DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY

Image from the suspense movie Cam-Girl.

Navigating the waters of film distribution can be overwhelming at first, but once you dive in things get easier.

We have learned a great deal releasing our first feature Cam-Girl to the masses and I am happy to share these things with you here.  (NOTE: None of this is described as or intended to be legal advise, you should seek help form an attorney before starting any business venture.)  

The first thing you should know is that you should have a distribution/marketing strategy in place before the movie is even produced.  I know, I know, that is not the fun part, you want to get the budget together and see your movie up on the big screen as soon as possible.  The problem is that the indie film market, (especially for low budget films) is extremely saturated so if you want it to sell, you need to start ahead of time and see it through past the release.

Our Cam-Girl movie web site, social media pages (FaceBook, Twitter) and early promotional stills were up and ready before we had any of the budget in place.  These things also help as you try to get people interested in your movie.  You can get your props together and have concept art made at this stage, which you will need as part of pre-production anyway.

The hope is you build a following of people waiting for the movie to be released by the time you have your launch date.  Then you can just post sales links and let the fans pass the word onto their friends.  If you can find someone to do it, post live video, photos and news from the set during production online.  People love this look behind the scenes and it is a great way to get some buzz around your movie.  All of the studio movies do this, big companies have employees and whole departments dedicated to social media for a reason.

Now the movie is in the can.  First I would have a private test screening to get some honest outside opinions from people who don't have their name in the credits.  We did this for Cam-Girl and ended up cutting about 13 minutes from that cut which only made it better, faster paced.  You simply do not know how your movie will play in a dark room full of strangers until it does.  Trust me, you do not want to realize problems with pacing or story during your world premier.

Distribution:

- It starts with FESTIVAL/THEATRICAL.
This part is how you can get press and help promote the movie to film goers and potential distributors alike.
This can go on for as long as 12 months but should not take much longer.  Distributors want movies that are fresh, original.

- DVD/Blu-Ray release.
This is usually the next phase because physical media is more expensive for the consumer to buy.  Also with Digital sales and subscription services taking over the market, people are buying less DVDs.  If it is only available that way at first, you maximize the sales for that format.  Create bonus features for the DVD, this gives the major fans a reason to buy the DVD.  (RedBox could also be a good option at this point since it is rental of DVDs.)

Cam-Girl was released on DVD first and we are glad it worked out that way.
We made sure to have a bunch of fun features on the DVD.
The Cam-Girl DVD bonus features include: Filmmaker Commentary, 30 Minute behind the scenes and a deleted scene.

- VOD and TV Platforms.  
Commonly this part of distribution comes next.  There are many forms of VOD (Video on Demand) out there.  If you know the differences between TVOD, SVOD and AVOD then good, you can skip ahead... or grab a snack first (you earned it.)

TVOD Transactional: This is when they pay a one-time price to rent or buy the movie in digital form.  Examples: Amazon Video on Demand, Cable On Demand (TV/Hotel Rooms) VUDU, I-Tunes, X-box, Playstation.

SVOD Subscribtion: You probably know these guys all too well.  Customers pay a regularly billed fee to get to watch a catalog of content.
Examples: NetFlix, Hulu Plus, YouTubeRED, IndieFlix and Amazon Prime.
I have heard from people who run Aggregation services, (distributors that make bulk deals with these companies to acquire many movies at once), that Subscription outlets are good but should be the last place where film producers want the movie to be released.  Meaning it is best to release it other ways first, because YES MANY PEOPLE WILL SEE YOUR MOVIE this way, but now those people will not pay for it.  They feel like they are already paying for the service, so they are less inclined to spend more money to own your content.

AVOD Ad based:  In this case, the consumer feels like they are watching the movie free and clear.  But they are paying for it with each view of Advertising that pops up before or during the movie.  The film producers are paid based on the views and actions taken for the ads packaged with their content.
Examples: YouTube, Adsense and Website partnerships.

Cam-Girl is now available on Amazon Video On Demand and we are thrilled to be at this stage of the release.  Feel free to Buy or Rent it here, any reviews are appreciated.

- CABLE/AIRPLANES/FOREIGN SALES.
 This is often the last leg of a release.  Because these platforms (Cable/Airplanes) are thought to be less popular and the changes for revenue are lower.  Many Independent producers use the performance of their North American release to leverage a good deal with foreign Distributors.

I hope this helps.  We filmmakers need to educate ourselves and realize we are all on the same team.  I wish you the best on your film making goals.

- Curt Wiser is the Writer/Director of Cam-Girl, an artist and a published author.

      

    

OUTTAKES from FORCED TO WATCH | Ep. 1-00

Good news world, there is a new Forced to Watch video.  It features outtakes by Curt and Curtis while they were on set making a promotional episode of the show.  Watch us flub our lines and harass each other, enjoy.  And what is it with the straight Jacket?!



For more videos feel free to go to our youtube channel here:

 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRuaxmDCASNjFpIHjtT-czg/feed?view_as=public?&ab_channel=ForcedtoWatch



PLEASE DON"T UNSUBSCRIBE.

Donald Trump Vs. Hillary Clinton - Election Winner picked by a peg board

Who will win the 2016 Election?  Look no further, watch this video for the answers you seek.

Our Board of Choice will predict the winner of the 2016 Presidential election. Will it be Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, or third party hopefuls Jill Stein or Gary Johnson? Good luck America.

We hope you enjoyed this, it is the first video to promote our new Web Series Forced To Watch COMING SOON.  Feel free to subscribe, share and comment:

The Forced To Watch YouTube Channel.

                                    Curtis Norton (left) and Curt Wiser on set.

                                 

MOVIE REVIEW: THE LOBSTER

The Lobster (2015) 

Now on DVD, Blu-Ray and VOD

Distributor: A24  

Cast includes: Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, John C. Reilly, Ben Whishaw, Jessica Barden

     The science of storytelling involves taking people on a journey that is relatable in their own lives but is also unique, unlike anything we have seen before.  The Lobster is a perfect example of that.  We all know what it is like to be single at some point, but we do not live in a world where by law newly single adults are grouped together and have 45 days to find a new mate or else you will be turned into an animal of your choice.  That would be crazy right?

     This is the imaginative premise of the Dark Comedy The Lobster.  Colin Farrell as David is traded in for a new man by his wife and is bused out to a luxury resort full of other singles.  This is no ordinary hotel however, it had the rules and regularity of a prison.  They cannot leave, no masturbation is allowed, you cannot smoke because that will make you less favorable to kiss and it will keep you in shape for the hunt. Now I – Oh right, the hunt.  Every so often they send the singles out into the woods armed with tranquilizer guns to hunt people they call the loners.  If they capture a loner the authorities give the hunter a few extra days to find a mate.  Who are these loners?  They are a group of people who escaped from the hotel and are committed to staying single.  This clan has a leader and their own set of rules, any sexual interaction is brutally punished.  For recreation the loners are allowed to listen to electronic/techno music.  We see them spread out in a field wearing headphones and dancing to the beat of their own music.  The irony here is too brilliant to ignore, these people are banding together to protect their right to be alone.

     As crazy as it seams the rules of the fictitious culture portrayed in The Lobster makes sense, due mostly to the realistic world the filmmakers built around this one of a kind story.  The Lobster was Directed by YorgosLanthimos and written by Yorgos and Efthimis Filippou, the same Greek filmmakers who brought us Dogtooth (2009) which was nominated for an Academy Award for best foreign language film.  This well drawn story is steeped in metaphor about what it is like to be single and thrown into the dating pool.  I will not spoil it for you with details but some of the most surprising elements from the film show the lengths these men go through to start a relationship and what the women do while they are being courted.

     When you stop to think about it, society does look at single people differently.  At ladies' night at dance clubs, women drink free for a reason.  We are put in a different tax bracket if you are married, and rings are worn as a symbol to everyone that you are not alone in the world.  There are couples' retreats and singles' retreats, but never both at the same time.  I have noticed that times I been out in public with a girlfriend or even a woman I am friends with, people often start up conversations with us.  When I am out there alone people rarely strike up a conversation with me, as if it was contagious.  The hook of The Lobster instantly caught my attention because for years a question I like to ask when I'm getting to know people is if reincarnation is real, what animal would you be?  I would be a Flying Squirrel, because I want the ability to fly (I know they don't really fly but glide, but still) and I have always been fascinated watching squirrels scurry up a tree.

                                If I had to pick: I'd be a Flying Squirrel

     The final question, is The Lobster a good movie to watch with your date?  I have to say it depends on how cool your significant other is, because The Lobster is not romantic, it is a fun, twisted Dark Comedy.  If on date night you have watched movies like Eternal Sunshine of a SpotlessMind, Her, True Romance or The One I Love, then you're good to go.  Whether you see it alone or snuggled up with a loved one, if you like bold, original movies, I highly recommend The Lobster.     

9 out of 10, because there was one tiny error of logic in the movie and nobody is perfect.  

- Curt Wiser is the Writer/Director of the Thriller Cam-Girl, now available on DVD from Amazon, BestBuy, and other major retailers.

   

SYS Podcast Episode 135: Curt Wiser Writer/Director of "Cam-Girl"

     Hello good people.  I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed by Screenwriter and Director Ashley Scott Meyers for his Selling Your Screenplay Podcast.  Leading up to the interview I had prepared a lot of things I wanted to say, this way there were no “Um's” or awkward pauses in the interview (Thank you public speaking college course.)  Many of these things were said, but time flew by and when the time came to say our goodbyes, I knew I had plenty more to say.

     As writers we get to anguish over every word until we say what exactly is intended.  That is one of the most appealing elements of being a writer, you have full control over every word, each action of your constructed reality.  The kind of circumstance we wish could be found in everyday life.  Well this is my chance to do that with this interview, to elaborate on my thoughts with annotated notes you can read below this video:

Feel free to listen to this interview while you read the notes that go along with the corresponding time code of the video.

[19:30] Before my first feature Cam-Girl was financed, I had much more than a web site, business entity and concept art prepared for it.  I also had a business plan, budget, storyboards, a shot list and I even made some of the props that were used in the final movie.  If it sounds like a ton of work, I can assure you it is, but it is necessary.  You have to stand out from the pack if you want your script produced and the way to do that is to have much more than just a great script.  Everyone has a script, so you need all of these sales tools to let potential producers see that there is a movie here and to show that you have the ambition to get it done.

[20:20] The other Executive Producer that Jay Aubrey connected me to is Odorico Mendes.  He has over a decade of filmmaking and commercial production experience behind him.  Cam-Girl would not have been possible without both of them, I cannot thank them enough for giving me this opportunity.

[21:23] This Roger Corman movie Jay Aubrey directed, Looking for Trouble is a family film about a child who runs away from home with the aid of an escaped circus elephant.  Here is the trailer, enjoy!

[25:20] The screenplay Tragic Kingdom was Co-Written by Curtis Norton and I.  Curtis went on to become our editor on Cam-Girl.  Here is a press release that lists Tragic Kingdom as a semi-finalist in the 2008 Bluecat Screenwriting Competition. 

[13:21] The book How I made 100 Moviesin Hollywood and never lost a Dime By Roger Corman is a must read for low budget filmmakers.  The strategies he used as far back as the 50's can still be applied to film production today.  Here is a list of links to many other books on writing/filmmaking that I recommend:

Essentials of screenwriting Richard Walter

Secrets of Film Writing Tom Lazarus

TalesFrom the Script Peter Hanson, Paul Robert Herman [ALSO A DOCUMENTARY]

Story: Substance, structure, style and the principles of screenwriting Robert McKee

Aristotle's Poetics forScreenwriters Michael Tierno

Writing Movies for Fun and Profit Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant

Tough Love Screenwriting John Jarrell

The Gurrilla Filmmaker's Handbook Genevieve Jolliffe, Chris Jones

Independent Ed  Edward Burns

Directing Actors Judith Weston

Clearance and Copyright Michael C. Donaldson

Filmmakers and Financing: BusinessPlans for Independents Louise Levison

Cut To the Chase: Forty-Five Yearsof Editing America's Favorite Movies Sam O'Steen, Bobby O'Steen

In the Blink of An Eye: Aperspective on Film Editing Walter Murch

Independent Film Distribution: Howto Make a Successful End Run Around the Big Guys Phil Hall

[15:40] Besides Erin Nicole Cline, our male lead actor Joe Coffey was also a Florida based actor who has moved on to a promising career.  He is widely known as Horace Dodge from the Dodge Brothers series of car commercials.

                                            Joe Coffey as Horace Dodge

[22:32] How I met the other people in the cast and crew of Cam-Girl:

Curtis Norton (Editor) and I met years prior in a screenwriting course at the University of Central Florida.

Joe Coffey (Lead Actor) responded to an open casting call online.

Erin Nicole Cline (Lead Actress) worked in Entertainment at the same theme park I did.  Erin was the first person cast and we are grateful for that.

Tara Leia (Actress) is a friend of mine who also worked at the same theme park I did. (See a pattern forming here?)

Aurelia Riley (Actress) was referred to us by our make up artist Sarah Okun. Aurelia brought a tremendous amount of energy to the set and her role.

The rest of the cast came from general casting calls.

[18:30] 30 Night Stand is my latest Romantic Comedy script which is in development, the actresses AnnikaMarks (The Sessions) and Cerina Vincent (Cabin Fever 2002) are attached.

Click here for a press release about the project.

[29:20] Here is our official site (www.webcamthefilm.com) which features info about the movie, release info and a store with cool new merchandise including shirts designed for the movie.

Here are our official media links:

Official Twitter

Official Facebook

Cam-Girl on YouTube

Cam-Girl on Vimeo

[16:00] By taking the time to outline the script, I knew that this structure would create an entertaining story and how all the scenes would relate to each other.  That is how you can be sure that the key elements of your script are there, set ups/pay offs, subtext, foreshadowing, call backs, symbolism and metaphor.

[11:35] I mentioned writing a contained (limited location) script as a way to break in.  Many filmmakers have proved this is a possible career path.  Big names like ChristopherNolan (Following), Quentin Tarantino (Reservoir Dogs), Darren Aronofsky (Pi), Martin Scorsese (Who's ThatKnocking at my Door?) Frances Ford Coppola (Dementia 13) and screenwriter Chris Sparling who’s break through script Buried starred Mr. Deadpool himself, Ryan Reynolds as the only on screen character who is buried alive in a coffin.  His follow up script ATM, is another great example of how to tell a compelling story that takes place mostly in one location. [ATM TRAILER]

Chris Sparling was interviewed twice on the Selling Your Screenplay Podcast. I found these interviews to be helpful and inspiring, you can listen to them here:

Episode # 24

Episode # 59

[14:45] Besides the book Candy Girl by Diablo Cody, two movies in particular were a major inspirations for me.  They are Hard Candy and Phone Booth. [CLICK THE TITLES FOR TRAILERS]

A screenwriter should also read great scripts to learn what is expected of them if they want to have a chance.  I have read the scripts for Hard Candy, Network, The Usual Suspects, Alien, Taxi Driver and Inception.  Read a popular script in the genre that you are preparing to write.

[31:27] I really have been listening to the Selling Your Screenplay Podcast.  An indie filmmaker should take advantage of every valuable resource they can find.  

Here are some other great podcast on Writing/Filmmaking:

On The Page

The Movie Crypt

The Dave Bullis Podcast

Indie Film Hustle

Independent Film Academy

No Film School Podcast

The Q and A with Jeff Goldsmith

Nerdist Writer's Panel

Chicks Who Script

Blacklist Table Reads

Filmmaker's Focus

Creative Writing Career

Scripts & Scribes 

Scriptnotes

ARE DVD'S DEAD?????

     As a filmmaker and cine-file I am ever optimistic yet worried about what the future holds.  On May of 2016 all of the Movie Stop stores nationwide started their going out of business sales.  By this they mean total liquidation including their large DVD shelves, I bought two metal folding chairs and the employee behind the counter said pretty soon we won't have a place to sit.  "The remaining two chairs will be sold last", I joked but I was half serious as I felt bad for these employees and the whole sight of this place being sold piece by piece was disheartening.  The storefront was cluttered with going out of business signs that could no doubt be seen from the far side of the parking lot.  

     If you have never been at a Movie Stop, it was a large retail chain where you could walk in and sell your used DVD's or trade them in for new ones.  A variable movie lover's trading post, where you could cycle things in and out of your prized DVD collection.  It was a beacon of hope long after movie rental stores full of thousands of titles to choose from were replaced by RedBox vending machines that spit out a DVD like a used wad of chewing gum.  In fact, after reporting declining revenue in 2014, RedBox unplugged and removed 500 of their rental kiosks (*TheVerge).

     I realize times have changed, we are an on-demand culture now.  It is great that we can stream content from anywhere on our 3 inch cellphone screens, but the dramatic drop in DVD sales and rentals has taken these valuable options away from us.  U.S. sales of DVD and Blu-Ray disks fell 12 percent in 2015 to 6.1 Billion, after an 11 percent drop in 2014. (*DigitalEntertainment Group)  So what is the worst that can happen?  If things continue this way the day may come when the only movies that are released on physical media are the blockbuster studio films like Transformers 9.  Independent films will be relegated to just the digital platforms and television, making it even harder for filmmakers to earn a living.  It is safe to say if there is no DVD release, there will be no special features either.  I enjoyed all of these audio commentaries and behind the scenes documentaries I have watched over the years.  It has been sort of a film school for me and I would surely miss this bonus content.  And the thought of only major studio films being on DVD really gives me pause.

     Okay true believers, if you are also concerned by any of these recent developments I have bought up and you want to do something about it, the answer is simple.  Buy more physical media and if it is available on the store shelves, buy it there.  Now is the time to support independent film and remember that our purchase power can make the difference between formats like DVD's becoming extinct.  

     This would be a good time to mention that Cam-Girl, the first feature I wrote and directed is now available on DVD.  The story revolves around a single mother who works as a webcam stripper who is pushed to her limit when held hostage by an unknown gunman.  I am happy to say our DVD is loaded with special features including Filmmaker Commentary, a 30 Minute look behind the scenes, a deleted scene and more.  Please continue to support physical media if you have been and remind your friends that there was a time when we never thought video rental stores would go away either.

   

The Cam-Girl DVD is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Best Buy and many other retail sites.

FILM REVIEW: THE INVITATION (2015)

                             Poster image for The Invitation (2015)

     The Invitation is a contained suspense film about a man and several other house guests who attend a party hosted by a couple who disappeared from their lives for two years and may have a sinister hidden agenda in store for their guests.  The story is told through the point of view of Will played by Logan Marshall-Green.  Will is a deeply conflicted character who is put in a difficult situation from the beginning.  He arrives at his former home that he and his ex-wife Eden used to share, a home with a history.  A tragedy that happened there a few years ago led to their separation and now, out of the blue, Eden invites Will over where he meets the new man of the house, David. From the start Will is suspicious of Eden's motives and in true Hitchcock fashion these fears escalate the more Will learns about the situation he and the other house guests are in.  We the audience tense up as Will does when David insists on keeping the doors locked while everyone is inside, or when two outsiders crash the party, Pruitt and Sadie.  Eden and David are close friends with Sadie and Pruitt, kindred spirits almost.  As these well written character dynamics are formed we get an us against them feeling between these two groups of characters.

     Sadie is first seen waiting in the seclusion of a dark bedroom while the others arrive. She springs out like a coil when she introduces herself and then never stops.  Sadie is an impulsive girl who is happy, a little too happy.  Then there is Pruitt, the perfect heavy who is thrown into the mix.  He is played by the brilliant character actor John Carroll Lynch, who has over 100 acting credits to his name.  Whether it is as a suspected serial killer in the David Fincher film Zodiac, or his brief but memorable portrayal of Eastman on The Walking Dead, John Carroll Lynch fully embodies the characters he plays and his role of Pruitt is no different.  The little we find out about Pruitt is enough to scare anyone and under the surface we get a sense that Pruitt is afraid of what he himself is capable of.

     I will hold off on saying more about the story as it may bleed into spoilers territory.  I will speak to its many strengths instead.  The Invitation is a bold and promising new work from the director Karyn Kusama who collaborated with her husband Phil Hay, who is one of the screenwriters of the film.  This movie has all the precepts of great storytelling, metaphor, subtext, tension, well developed characters and enough room for you the viewer to come to your own conclusions about what happened once the end credits start to roll.  If you are a fan of carefully crafted, psychological suspense films, then The Invitation is a must see.  If that is not your cup of tea, then don't drink this one, because The Invitation is exactly what it sets out to be.  

- Curt Wiser is an Author and the Writer/Director of the thriller Cam-Girl, which is due to be released this year on DVD and Video-On-Demand.

ANOMALISA MOVIE REVIEW - Charlie Kaufman

    Anomalisa poster image of character Michael Stone

ANOMALISA (2015)

Rating: 4 out of 5

Comedy, Drama

Directed by: Duke Johnson & Charlie Kaufman

Screenplay: Charlie Kaufman, (based on his Play “Anomalisa”)

Cast: David Thewlis, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom Noonan

Oscar Nomination: Best Animated Feature Film

     When I approached my car to begin my drive over to the Enzian Theater to see Anomalisa, I found that my gold Camry was speckled with the tinge of white bird poop. But I wasn't going to let this unforeseen act of nature keep me from seeing this film.  And after I saw Anomalisa and finally had time to scrape the mess off my car, I felt it seamed to fit the tone of the movie in an odd way.  This story dramatizes the bland routine of everyday life and yet it is engaging and unlike anything you have seen before.  Funny scenes like watching a character have to field a bunch of questions just to order hotel room service or having to try his key card several times because the door is faulty are made more interesting because of the animation technique used to produce the film.  The Starburns Industries team made 3-D printed heads for each puppet character, then constructed small sets to make up their world and posed them frame by frame to simulate movement.  This tedious process is called stop-motion animation.  It took the production two years to complete the animation and all of the detail in the final film is proof of their craft and dedication.  The practical lighting they created for these miniature sets created a breathtaking sense of depth and realism.  Even the fact that these characters had plastic heads went into telling the story when it takes a surprising turn.

     Anomalisa is not just eye candy, it tells the story of Michael Stone, a highly successful customer service guru who is in town for a book tour after he wrote the definitive book on the subject.  Ironically, in his personal life Michael feels isolated from the rest of humanity, he is anti-social, that is until he falls for Lisa who is a beautiful yet shy fan of his writing.  Some elements of Anomalisa are unusual, but that should come as no surprise since it was Co-Directed and Written by Charlie Kaufman, the creative mind behind Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.  Take the cast for example, David Thewlis is the voice of the lead, Jennifer Jason Leigh as Lisa, the love interest who ends up driving the story forward and of course inspires the film's title.  Then there is actor Tom Noonan who is credited as playing the voice of “Everyone else.” This is including Michael's Ex-Girlfriend, who is generous enough to visit him at the hotel bar after he left her without cause or consultation.  Yes, hearing a male voice for a female character is off putting, but it must not be misunderstood as laziness.  It reminded me of Steven Soderbergh's 1996 film Schizopolis which featured a character playing a wife in a troubled marriage who inexplicably starts arguing with her husband in totally different languages from one scene to another.  This unique choice speaks about the divide between this couple.  Having a man voice all the female characters except Lisa in Anomalisa supports the theme of the movie in a similar way.  This is bold storytelling to say the least.  I also have to mention the sex scene in this movie that is so natural and honest that it plays as comedy.  Even though it is two puppets having sex, it is nothing like the crude sex scene in Team America: World Police.

     It is interesting to know that Anomalisa was partially crowd funded.  The filmmakers launched the project on Kickstarter with a $200,000 goal, which raised $406,237 from 5,770 backers.  This becomes clear when these backers are listed in the end credits, the columns of names stretched on and on like a four lane highway.  The only thing that keeps this movie from a five star review is the ending.  For me several scenes before the ending had more of a climactic feel and relevance to the theme than the final minutes of the movie did.  That being said I still highly recommend Anomalisa for its originality and this is a movie written by Charlie Kaufman after all, so I'll have to watch it again to see if I missed something.

    Display at Enzian Theater. Photo by Curt Wiser

• Curt Wiser is a writer who thinks Bio's should be brief.

For info on the feature Cam-Girl which he wrote and directed go to: www.webcamthefilm.com