Shaking the Money Tree, 3rd Edition. Morrie Warshawski

an ‘audience.’ Forget the word ‘audience.’ The new word is ‘community’. you have to build a community around the content. In fact the content is nothing but a seed to build that community. The community interacts with content.”

DISTRIBUTION

      Once the question of need is answered, and the target audiences have been identified, the next piece of the puzzle is distribution — how the filmmaker intends to get the completed program out to the world. This has become a central concern for funders. They are well aware of one of the sad facts of life in independent filmmaking: Many films are made, but few are seen by their full intended audience.

      This is why it is smart to talk to bona fide distributors very early in the process of your thinking about and creating a project. Distributors are a great font of practical, real-world information on the potential for marketing a program and making sure it reaches viewers. Begin the process of identifying the perfect distributors of the film being made. There are lists of distributors of independent film and video programs that can be found on the Internet. Catalogs are often available in libraries and in institutions that purchase media products. Check to see who distributes the other films that you consider to be your competition. Other filmmakers are also a great source of advice about distributors.

      I recommend doing some homework on distributors that are appropriate for your current and future projects, and then picking up a phone and calling them directly for a conversation (perhaps preceded by an introductory e-mail). What questions can be asked of a distributor at this early state in a project?

      ♦ Is there a need for my project in the marketplace?

      ♦ Is the project the right length and format for the audience?

      ♦ What is the potential for sales in dollars and units over what length of time?

      ♦ Are other similar projects in the pipeline?

      ♦ Does this program have to have a study guide and/or a Web site?

      If the distributor is enthusiastic about the project, be sure to ask for a letter of support — this is the most credible evidence that can be given to a funder to help prove the eventual viability of a program. Get these letters whenever possible.

      I had a client once who was creating a three-hour series for grade school children on the environment. He called a distributor who was very excited by the idea because it had not been done before and teachers were making requests for anything he might have on the topic. The filmmaker was ecstatic, until the distributor told him the following: “I love your idea, but I can’t take your series.” The filmmaker wanted to know why. The distributor answered, “Because you’re making three one-hour films. In my market, teachers want either twenty-minute or thirty-minute films.” Now the filmmaker knew that if he could cut his work to have natural twenty or thirty-minute sections he would have a much better chance at reaching his audience. Imagine how expensive this lesson would have been had he waited until after completing his three- hour series to talk to a distributor.

      The filmmaker will have to resolve the entire landscape of the eventual distribution of the program. What markets will the program explore and in what sequence? Broadly, the markets include:

      ♦ Festivals

      ♦ Theatrical

      ♦ Cable Television (Pay-Per-View, Premium Channels, Basic

       Cable, Public Access)

      ♦ Public Television (national and local)

      ♦ Commercial Broadcast Television

      ♦ Home Video

      ♦ Educational Markets

      ♦ Organizations, Associations, and Libraries

      ♦ Catalogs

      ♦ The Internet

      ♦ Domestic and International outlets for all of the above

      Do not make the mistake of telling a funder that the sole intended distribution outlet is PBS. Funders want to see a distribution plan that is much more rich and varied than just public television. Increasingly, funders are also interested in knowing about specific marketing/public relations plans, community outreach plans, and whether or not a Web site and/or blog will be created in conjunction with the film.

      I like to ask funders about their pet peeves. One funder confided the following to me: “If a filmmaker tells me that her only method of distribution will be a PBS broadcast, then I won’t fund her. I need to hear a distribution plan that is much more varied and multifarious than just PBS, otherwise I can’t make the grant.”

      Peter Broderick, President of Paradigm Consulting, specializes in helping filmmakers and media companies develop strategies to maximize distribution, audience, and revenues. Here is a short case study where he describes that new nexus between audience/community and distribution for the documentary Note by Note:

      TARGETING CORE AUDIENCES

      Today independent filmmakers are taking a new approach to audience. While studios continue to spend vast amounts of money chasing general audiences, independents are learning to target core audiences successfully. They are implementing strategies designed to reach the specific audiences most likely to be interested in their films. Documentary filmmakers have been particularly effective connecting with viewers interested in the subject of their films.

      Note by Note is an irresistible documentary about the making of a Steinway piano. The most thoroughly handcrafted instruments in the world, Steinway pianos are as unique and full of personality as the world-class musicians who play them. Ben Niles, the film’s director, made a major effort to define and reach the film’s core audiences, which include Steinway dealers, Steinway owners, piano students and their parents, piano teachers, piano technicians, pianists, and many others.

      Ben’s priority was to first reach these core audiences, and then hopefully cross over to a wider public. He is reaching them both online and offline through his Web site, mailing list, organizational partnerships, and publications read by his audiences.

      After winning awards and acclaim on the festival circuit, Note by Note opened theatrically at the Film Forum in New York City where it was a box office and critical success. Working with Argot Pictures, the filmmaker opened the film across the country, mixing regular theatrical engagements with single-night special event screenings. At a number of these screenings, it was possible to not only watch the film but also meet the main character, Steinway #L1037, and hear it played before or after the film. These special event screenings were particularly popular, selling out in many cities and extending the semi-theatrical life of the film for over a year.

      Niles has been successfully selling DVDs at screenings and from his website, www.notebynotethemovie.com. In late 2009, the film will be broadcast nationally and be released in video stores around the country and online.