What can I do for my independent film?

[Nice Guy]

Hi, I'm shooting an independent film next summer...but I may need some funding...do you know where I can get some funding for the movie? Also do you know where I can get it distributed like onto DVD or into theaters or maybe into both? All answers are appreciated! Thanks!

[Mitch]

Hey there, idk do something different but kinda common. don't go too overboard. do something scary or weird....people like that. good luck!

[Vaughn]

To get funding, a film distributed to theaters or DVD is very hard. So many people are into this business and the companies that do this kind of stuff are very swamped with scripts and finished movies all wanting the same thing. You can submit you ideas to these companies or put out ads asking for these things and see if they will fund it or distribute it and such. But don't for get it's that hard with so many others doing the same thing.

A lot of people fund their projects themselves because of this reason, and since films can get very expensive a lot people script lesser, cheaper things so they can afford it. Sometimes entering your work into film festival can get seen by many others in hope someone will want to pick it up. Sundance and Cannes are some famous ones.

[sheri C]

hey Nice Guy, I'm a pretty nice person too, so here's some advice. I am glad to hear you are planning WELL in advance, it is going to take a while to get this going.

First, you need to build up a network of people who are going to like the kind of film you are making. That means you have to know your audience, preferably personally, like they are people you hang out with. These people are going to be your foundation of support. They may help fund your film but they definitely are going to help spread the word of your film and get others to see it too.

Barring the fact that you do not already have an in with funders, you may want to look at crowdfunding. If this is a fairly low budget film (and if this is your first one, it should be), you could use Kickstarter or IndieGoGo to raise some funding donations. This method does not work well if you don't already have a large network of friends and supporters, especially online. I personally know many people who have done this and raised up to $30K for their films. Check the blogs of Gary King, Gregory Bayne, Lucas McNelly, KingisaFink, Angelo Bell and John Trigonis. All of these people can also be found on Twitter. If you aren't using Twitter now to get connected to the indie film community, I suggest you start right now.

If you make a fairly great film, you can look at a festival strategy. Since you will have a low budget film, this is going to serve as your theatrical launch because you won't be able to 4 wall it in theaters yourself, most likely, fests are a great low cost alternative to take your film into theaters. If you have no stars and no clear marketing hook, you are not likely to get a theatrical distributor interested in acquiring your film.

If DVDs are still around by the time you launch, you will sell them from your site or if you have a really hot title and have won some awards, you may get a distributor on board. You will not give them all rights to your film. You will also have it available as a digital download/stream from various sites, all non exclusive. All of this means you had better be marketing your film all along so that when it is available, people already know about it. If you waste time in preprod, prod and post and do not market all along, you will be spending an additional year getting attention for your film, building an audience and not making many sales while you do this. START EARLY.

For more info on this, read the book Think Outside the Box Office by Jon Reiss and check his website (same title) for marketing and distro advice. Join Film Specific.com and read the blogs of Peter Broderick, Chris Jones and The Film Collaborative. Making the film is about 1/2 the battle and to depend on finding a distributor for your film is just suicide in today's indie industry.

You can also find me on Facebook (Sheri Candler Marketing and Publicity) and on Twitter @shericandler. I know some filmmakers