Aggregators -- any advice?

Cracker Funk

Cracker Funk

It's been a LONG time coming, but I'm finally ready to release my debut feature, Antihero, to the world. The reason for the delay was a simple matter of money. I didn't have full clearance for a couple of songs, and I wasn't willing to replace those songs with something else.

Anyway, I figure I'd like to get it on iTunes, with the hope of also getting it on Netflix. Does anyone here have any experience with the six North American aggregators that iTunes approves of?

For what it's worth, I actually want it on Netflix more than anything else.
 
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What the hell, APE?! You're not being informative. This is yet another instance of you pretending to know what you're talking about, when you really have no clue.

Getting a film on Netflix is not as simple as delivering required technical aspects and paying a fee to an aggregator. I am able and willing to do BOTH of those things. It's a question of whether or not Netflix is interested in paying money for my movie, and lately they've become increasingly less interested in small films like mine.

And please, save me the condescension. My film is not a precautionary tale. It is well documented that I did not plan to have it distributed. Do you understand what I'm telling you? Distribution was never the main goal! This film is far from a failure, so you can shove that bullshit up your ass.

Seriously, you should stick to discussions related to audio, where you have proven to be very helpful. In discussions like this, not so much.
 
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Cracker Funk said:
I didn't make a movie for people not to watch.
I'd love to see it on Netflix because I think that would lead to the greatest number of people seeing it...
I did not plan to have it distributed.
Do you understand what I'm telling you?
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Nope, I don't have a clue what you're trying to tell me. Either you made it to be watched by people, in which case you have to distribute it or you don't want people to watch it, in which case there is no need of a plan to distribute it. Your latest post just confirms that (by omission) you did in fact make a movie for people not to watch.

Cracker Funk said:
Getting a film on Netflix is not as simple as delivering required technical aspects and paying a fee to an aggregator.
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Thanks for this, I really did think it was that simple ... No, honestly I did, really! :D

Obviously, the original planning needs to include consideration of type and class of content distributors are buying. Your argument about Netfix changing their purchasing habits seems to me to be a very good justification for not just good research and planning from the outset but also a good backup plan. As you've said, you haven't planned for distribution or made a backup plan and now unsurprisingly you cannot find the type of distributor you're looking for. Don't take it out on me, it's your film and your f*ck up!

Cracker Funk said:
This film is far from a failure, so you can shove that bullshit up your ass.
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You're the one sitting on your film! :)

I never said your film was a failure but in terms of your stated goal of not making "a movie for people not to watch", do you consider it to be a roaring success? Maybe your film had other goals and is extremely successful as far as those goals are concerned but for the goal you've stated in this thread, not so much.

ChimpPhobiaFilms said:
APE, CF seems to know what he wants to do with the film.
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Yep ... From what I can work out from what he's stated, CF has not planned for distribution, to ensure the greatest number of people get to watch it! :)

G
 
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Wow. APE, do you not see how insensitive you're being? Or do you just not care?

Since you're not a filmmaker, I'm not surprised that you haven't a clue what is even being discussed here. Yes, I want people to see my film. But that is not the end-all goal, never has been. In fact, the film has already achieved it's purpose. I wouldn't expect you to understand what purpose it has served, nor do I care to justify myself to you, especially since that's not even slightly what this thread is about.

Do you have any actual advice to give, regarding aggregators, or are you just going to continue to go off-topic by telling people how much you think I screwed up my non-existent plans for distribution?
 
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Have you checked any Film Sales Agents? While most only handle foreign, some handle domestic. You might get some advice as to what may be necessary to help distribute and sell your film.
 
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Making a film, particularly your first film, has many benefits besides monetary gain. Very few become profitable, but the experience and lessons learned and confidence gained by doing it has great value. I think the money is better spent than going to film school.

As far as distribution channels, I was able to get my film Assisted Fishing on Amazon through their createspace site. That has resulted in the most sales. It's also on Vimeo, Distrify and Indieflix.

I tried Distribber to get it onto iTunes, but after 8 months of waiting, I requested a refund. Not sure what went wrong there, but my experience wasn't a good one. I did get a refund though.

Distribution is actually far more difficult a nut to crack than actually making the movie.
-Joe

http://www.AssistedFishing.net
 
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AudioPostExpert said:
So it's partly a cautionary tale to other filmmakers regarding a golden rule: Making your film and hoping a distributor turns up who is perfectly tailored to it is, as rayw would say; "bass ackwards"!! You need to do the opposite; research, plan and tailor your film for the distributor/s!
Fair enough.

Any practical, actionable suggestions or guidance for what a filmmaker in this situation should do at this point?

To some here (presumably you rayw) what I'm saying might be a case of stating the blatantly obvious but it's patently not obvious to many here on IT because time and again I see posts about not being able to find a distributor, even though there are many thousands of distributors around the world, and/or quite a few who flame new and/or aspiring distributors who post on IT because their distribution service is not perfectly tailored to the flamer's film/expectations.
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Oh, I fairly well agree with that: fly-by-night, drive by posters tout their brand spankin' new indie film distro site AND THEY WANT TO INVITE US TO SUBMIT CONTENT!
They might even waive the "standard" upload & processing fees and toss a few nickels our way - depending upon how well we drive traffic their way to watch our film. Ahem!
I really don't or wouldn't give muchuva rat's a$$ about whatever bells and whistles any of these outfits have. I don't require perfection, only fair.
I'd be looking for a distributor with some legs, some staying power, someone that's not going tits up in a few months.

Theoretically, I'd be very much inclined to just sell from my own [expletive] site and e-v-e-n-t-u-a-l-l-y try to find a hosting distributor.
But CF probably has better things to do with his time and might just wanna go straight for the hosting distributor, which appears to be the tangent he's working on.

IMHO - I think it's quite doable, even if it's ugly or less than perfect or ideal.
I gather he really doesn't have a burning need to squeeze every nickel outta this film's potential.
Close enuf is good enuf. Life's too short. Prioritize.

Maybe he's looking at this as a practice run for a better project he'd like to follow up 'Antihero' with.
Second girlfriend/wife gets a lot of benefits from the mistakes made with the first girlfriend/wife, juno?​


Cracker Funk said:
What the hell, APE?! You're not being informative. This is yet another instance of you pretending to know what you're talking about, when you really have no clue.
LMAO!
Nailed it.

Lotta style.
No actionable substance - in these posts here.
Maybe next time. :)

And please, save me the condescension. My film is not a precautionary tale. It is well documented that I did not plan to have it distributed. Do you understand what I'm telling you? Distribution was never the main goal! This film is far from a failure, so you can shove that bullshit up your ass.
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Honestly, I do, or believe I do, understand the process you went through for 'Antihero.'
And I agree with JoeC's comments about the befits of experience, lessons, and confidence gained.

That busy body Nick Hilton/Clapper just went through a similar process, maybe a step behind you, I can't tell if he went with other festivals or distro.
I wonder if he has any insight that he accumulated along the same path.
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=49748

And I know GuerrillaAngel regularly states 'Lexie Cannes' is bringing in revenue, so maybe GA can drop a tidbit or two by.

And maybe Mara could share a little about what process she's been through with 'Surviving Family.'
Eh? :yes::no:


GL!

You know I'm dying for all the gory sausage making details! :evil:​
 
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rayw said:
And I know GuerrillaAngel regularly states 'Lexie Cannes' is bringing in revenue, so maybe GA can drop a tidbit or two by.
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Not the rolling in dough kind, but rather, the cover the production cost kind. Social media. Don't try to sell your film directly, but have a link to where people can buy your DVD on every blog post, web page, your various social media home pages. It's a science and I'll have more to share after "phase 2" starts. :)
 
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Lucky Hardwood said:
I know that this is off topic but, may I ask what those goals were? I am genuinely interested in the answer.
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Yeah, no prob.

I'll admit that the original goal was rather naive. The original goal was to use Antihero to secure funding for the next movie. My thoughts were that if I could show people what I was capable of making with a near-zero budget, then I'd be able to procure a more significant budget for the next film. I had absolutely no clue where I'd magically find these investors, or how I'd approach them; I guess I had an if-you-build-it-they-will-come hopeful feelings.

I've chosen my words carefully in this thread, though. I never actually said the movie reached it's goal. What I said is that it's served its purpose, and what I mean by that is that though you sometimes don't get what you want, you just might get what you need. Though I never found my fairy godmother, the production of this film has benefited me in a great deal of ways, and has definitely set me up to make the next film financially profitable.
 
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