Directors as Well as Writers Need Market Awareness

As critical as it is for the screenwriter to “get it” and understand the criteria of the current market desire, it is equally critical for directors to “get it” and deliver genre-specific films with solid production values, good performances, and that are well-paced editorially. The unfortunate irony is that I gave many, many directors the opportunity to make films and to achieve the greatest success for their films within the realistic possibilities for smaller, independent films, which was a lucrative pay TV premiere, and most often they failed.

At my film companies, I wrote a bible for both my writers and directors to follow that outlined all of the genre-specific criteria that I expected them to deliver for action, family, and thriller scripts and films, which provided them with a foolproof roadmap. Unfortunately most were not able to truly grasp the nuances of what the specific pay TV premiere market desired and the difference between a post-video acquisition price and a world premiere price could be anywhere from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars more. Not only was this a huge loss of potential revenue for my and other companies, it was a loss of opportunity for the directors and writers personally, since at the time, writers and directors of movies acquired as HBO world premieres went onto the network approval list for potential future assignments.

The Trend Shifted and New Media Emerged

HBO and the other major channels who had previously bought numerous independent films per year began producing their own content and almost all shut down the premiere acquisition business. Broadcasters for the most part have now determined that movies don’t make as much money as television series, and getting audiences to view shows repeatedly is really the bread and butter of the broadcast television business.

The DVD business has given way to digital exploitation and as of this writing, limited DVD distribution still exists, but the robust home entertainment business of packaged media is nothing like it was. The DVD rental business has gone from approximately 5,000 Blockbuster stores to about 35,000 Redbox kiosks in the United States, which stock a very limited number of titles. Redbox and DVD by mail through Netflix is basically what the rental business has shrunken to. Also, whereas Blockbuster stores would have stocked thousands of titles on their shelves, Redbox kiosks carry 600 disks in a vending machine and nowhere near the breadth or depth of copy or choice previously available through mega-retailer Blockbuster.

In terms of the marketplace as a whole, the DVD rental business has vastly diminished. DVD sell-through, actual sales of DVDs to the consumer, is at the whim of retail giants like Walmart who control shelf space. VOD (video on demand) is the term that is largely used and understood to be what pay per view was the past fifteen years or so. VOD exploitation occurs typically before DVD distribution. Whether a cable provider or satellite provider, VOD offers consumers the ability to press a button and “on demand” watch studio movies after they’ve been in theaters, or to see independent movies that haven’t received a theatrical release in the privacy of their home or hotel room. Subscription VOD is sort of the digital side of the Netflix business where a monthly fee is paid to be able to watch an entire catalogue of programs on a demand basis. However, VOD is considered a home entertainment right, whereas SVOD or subscription video on demand such as Netflix is considered a television right.

Beyond SVOD and VOD, there’s something called electronic rental and electronic sell through, which are essentially the digital equivalent of going to your video store. Amazon, iTunes, Hulu, YouTube, and other services provide rentals for movies on an on-demand basis for various price points, depending on whether it is in standard definition or HD, or give you the option to purchase the movie for a greater amount, depending on the content in question. Purchased streamed content of a movie can reside on your hard drive or in the cloud, which you have access to on an ongoing basis.

Aside from all of the traditional windows of distribution (DVD, non-theatrical, pay television, free television), digital distribution has emerged, which the industry hopes will be the redeemer of the business and restore financial order. Today, anyone can order and instantly watch programs however, wherever, and whenever they want, whether it’s on an eighty-inch screen in your family room or on a smartphone. Even though the technology exists today, the viability of a business that is fiscally sustainable based solely on digital distribution hasn’t yet evolved to the point of making up for the loss of revenues from the demise of DVD and home entertainment as we knew it, as well as loss of big dollar pay TV sales.

The Historical Evolution of Audio-Visual Media

In the most macro sense, the entertainment industry has always evolved from new media to new media to new media. First there were solely cinematic releases of motion pictures. Then the “miracle” of television emerged and not only created new forms of audio-visual entertainment, but a new ancillary venue for the re-issue of feature films on TV. Then free television gave way to pay television, and pay television gave way to VHS home entertainment. The home entertainment business created not only another ancillary avenue of re-issue or re-use of feature films, one that collectors could buy and archive in their personal libraries, but also a new market for movies made directly for home entertainment emerged. At first independent film producers and home entertainment distributors enjoyed vast success in this new venue until the major studios realized how lucrative it was and started making films for direct to home entertainment release, edging out the independents. Then, VHS gave way to DVD.

In each iteration, the revenues from the former media would decrease and the revenues for the next, successor media would increase and so on. Almost always, in total, the pie got larger, but for the first time in the history of the movie business, with the dramatic change of new digital media and burgeoning platforms worldwide, the whole pie is smaller than it’s ever been before. All independent producers and distributors in this present environment are wrestling with the fact that there is simply not as much revenue as there once was. This further supports my assertion that screenwriters must educate themselves not only to the creative desires of the global marketplace as the market fluctuates on a continuum, but to learn the fiscal realities and the business side of the business, in order to be relevant and successful.

Filmmaking and Emerging Media

One really encouraging thing is that there used to be huge barriers to entry for someone to go make a feature film. Those barriers have been lowered to the point where anyone with a high-quality, inexpensive camera and very affordable editorial and post-production software on a laptop, can go out and make a movie. Unfortunately, the ability to physically make a movie is different than the ability to make a movie that is compelling and worthy of an audience really wanting to see it, or a buyer or distributor wanting to invest publicity, marketing, and distribution dollars in a movie that is unlikely to attract an audience. The eradication of those barriers to entry is a wonderful thing, but more than ever, making the right film for the right price is essential.

New Media and Distribution Platforms

There was a sequential order of distribution that existed for a long time. A theatrical motion picture would first appear in theaters, followed by what is considered non-theatrical or ancillary exhibition on airlines, oil rigs, hotels, and ships at sea. Then traditionally, a film would appear on home entertainment, (formerly VHS cassette and now DVD), followed by pay television, then free television, and then recycled free television. The traditional order of film distribution is now being juggled to a greater extent than ever before in the businesses.

We established earlier that most movies do not get theatrical releases, and of those that do, more movies fail theatrically than succeed. By that I mean that they either do not procure or are not worthy of a theatrical release, or they lose huge amounts of money, due to the high costs of P&A (prints, advertising, and media buy), which is recouped in first position ahead of the cost of production. That doesn’t dissuade some people from jeopardizing their film’s profit by doing it either out of ego or thinking in their minds that it somehow legitimizes the picture, but a theatrical release, which all filmmakers aspire to, is a costly and often money-losing venture.

Marketing Challenges in New Media

The real challenge is that thus far, the ability to effectively replicate what existed in a world of the retail video store has not yet been able to be reproduced in the merchandising of movies in today’s current digital environment. In the old home entertainment video/DVD environment, when video stores and huge video chains existed, there was a unique experience for people to go into one of these huge stores like Blockbuster stores, and walk around the new release wall and genre aisles and be exposed to literally hundreds if not thousands of movies, as well as to be able to see DVD boxes, pick them up, examine the cast and artwork, read the synopsis, and determine what they might want to rent on their Saturday night.

The current conundrum for the industry is figuring out a way to provide customers with an understanding of all the breadth of titles that are available. Many of the digital services and on demand services present their offerings in alphabetical order. If your movie starts with a letter at the bottom end of the alphabet, it’s a huge strike against your film and the likelihood that anyone’s ever going to scroll through the entirety of offerings to ever discover it is low. This is a sad but true commentary. I recently wrote a story about an invisible dog, which was the basis of the screenplay for a family film I also produced, and instead of calling the film The Invisible Dog, I quite calculatedly titled it Abner the Invisible Dog.

The real requirement for the world of new media and digital providers is to figure a way to rise above the clutter and effectively merchandise and monetize the many movies that are now being made that are not being communicated as well as they could be and should be to customers.

Attracting Distribution

One thing I always advise aspiring writers and filmmakers to do is to create a strategic alliance with either a sales agent, producer’s rep, or even a savvy producer who understands the business and who can give them feedback on the constant and ever changing international marketplace. Staying close to the marketplace is the best thing any aspiring writer or filmmaker can do.

There are countless writers and others who have what they think are interesting stories that they hope to put up on the screen. Not to diminish or disparage some of those stories, but if you want to be successful and make movies that have an audience and a chance of being successful, it’s important to pay attention to where the current trends in the marketplace are. Again, see what titles Redbox is carrying and see the movies that are actually available for sale in stores like Walmart. The titles you see are almost always the types of movies, the genres, and the elements that are currently selling.

I reiterate that buyers and distributors are in business to make money with their product, and their product is film. There are many movies that buyers and distributors really love that they simply cannot buy because there is no market or audience for them and to spend acquisition, publicity, marketing, and distribution dollars on them would result in a loss. Conversely, there are many movies buyers and distributors absolutely loathe that they end up paying good money for because they can sell them. The marketplace is ever changing, and if aspiring writers and filmmakers hope to give themselves a chance to succeed on an ongoing basis, understanding that the worldwide opportunities that are out there to generate employment opportunities for themselves, which in turn creates revenue opportunities for financiers, buyers, and distributors, whether studios or independents, is truly what their continuing success depends on. Don’t live in denial as a screenwriter, and embrace the knowledge that is available to you.

Star Name Recognition Helps

It’s a lot easier to sell a film with star name cast members than without them. As mentioned above, one of the biggest difficulties we face with digital distribution is rising above the clutter and making sure your script and film have as many elements as possible that can be effectively communicated to buyers and distributors and, in turn, elements that distributors can effectively communicate to the consumer. The buyers at home entertainment companies, the buyers at digital and new media companies, and the buyers at pay and free television broadcasting companies all agree that a film having at least some star cast with name recognition is one of the things that matters significantly to them.

Writers Should Be Aware of the Fiscal Realities of Distribution

Writers have to be smarter and more educated than ever. Consider that for a non-theatrical film in today’s world, the revenues are less than half of what they were five to ten years ago. In order to make a successful film, or get any film made for that matter, you need awareness of the current global marketplace, new and emerging media, and how the fluctuation of revenues affects what films are made, bought, and sold, and it all starts with the writer.

Visual Concepts

We are in a different time in the business than during the years when home entertainment was growing by leaps and bounds and almost any film with good key art and a good trailer would sell in multiple territories for lucrative prices. Although that is not the case today, it doesn’t diminish the importance of the poster or key art and trailer, which are necessary sales tools for any film, but in today’s market, it is equally necessary that the film deliver on its promise to buyers and consumers as well and that starts with the writer. I have been pitched scripts by writers and directors who have created innovative and catchy artwork to visually illustrate the commerciality of the concept of the film and often incorporating the second level of sell. It is incumbent upon them to deliver the promised goods in the screenplay and in the movie.

Sales Campaigns

Once a script is sold and the film is made, for non-studio independent films, the initial marketing campaign for a film is to attract territorial buyers around the globe to buy your film, rather than to attract an audience. The secondary marketing for a film is generally done by the territorial distributors when they are marketing the film to the public in their respective territories, whether in a foreign territory or domestically in the U.S. and Canada.

Remember that the better and more professional a film campaign looks, the better perception the film will have in the global marketplace, and the perception of your movie in the marketplace is vitally important. Emulate classy studio campaigns rather than create a cheap and cheesy-looking independent film campaign. Key art is obviously very important and the creative campaign obviously depends on the genre, stars, and any second level of sell elements of your movie.

Again, initially you are not gearing your film to sell to the public, but rather to appeal either to a sales agent or to buyers, and presenting sales tools that are attractive to them, not necessarily to a consumer audience. A poster for a public audience may often be different from a poster geared to attract a buyer. Each buyer then decides how they will present it to the public in their respective territories, based on the elements specifically appealing to their consumers. Always be very specific about your target audience. If a screenwriter were to create a visual representation as a sales tool for his or her script, my advice would be to use a trained professional to create professional artwork, giving you the best chance to attract a buyer or sales agent or producer.

Marketing via Digital Platforms

Be cognizant of all the digital platforms that are prevalent now for building awareness of your script or film. If you are allied with a sales agent, digital platform sites such as the Business of Film, Screen International, and IFTA’s Film Catalogue are sites where sales agents can post new product in preproduction (a term that is often used for scripts fishing for financing), key art, synopses, and trailers of the films that they are currently selling, which can be accessed by any prospective buyers all over the world. Remember that having an alliance with a trained professional sales agent to guide you and your script or film as soon as possible in the process and with the sales and marketing at film markets and between markets is truly critical. Almost all industry professionals stress the necessity of cost-effectiveness in today’s world, even when it comes to the publicity and marketing of a film. Digital platforms, and new media, allow us to be much more cost-efficient today than in years past when to reach buyers at film markets, we were buying full-page advertising space in print magazines.

With the evolution of digital platforms and new media, sales markets are getting shorter. Buyers used to come to markets for an extended period of time, to do their due diligence, identify films to screen, and attend multiple screenings in cinemas adjacent to the film markets to assess the films they were targeting as potential acquisitions. In today’s world, buyers attend film markets for a shorter period of time to sustain relationships with the people they do business with and to meet with sellers for films and projects of interest, which they have previously identified before the market. Markets are becoming truncated in large part due to the ability to view film product digitally.

Niche Marketing—Identifying the Target Audience for Your Story

Niche marketing is becoming more and more prevalent. The term niche marketing applies to the specific genre of film and the selective audience that you are trying to appeal to, based on the precise subject matter that the film skews toward. Do your homework. Using digital resources, identify who the key target audience is for your story, script, or film, as well as what the currently available outlets are for the niche or genre of the script or film that you are developing. In today’s world, and due to the cost-effectiveness of being able to make a film digitally, there is an opportunity to make and market niche films to a specific audience that is pre-determined and to make money if written for cost-effective production and produced for the right price.

Building Awareness for Your Film

One of the things that is very important for independent writers, directors, and producers to remember is that no matter what the budget of the film may be, you need to start building awareness for your film and amassing materials from the inception of the project. Adhere to the “snowball effect” of building a portfolio and a perception surrounding your film or screenplay by strategically soliciting and amassing blurbs, stories, articles, press mentions, interviews, and favorable quotes about your script or film. Be diligent and persistent with the press and publications, whether print or online. Any print or online mention of your script or coverage for your film is helpful. Social media is important, but don’t underestimate the importance of making personal contact with people in the press at film markets, which can yield favorable results.