Indie Film Hustle® Podcast Archives: Film Distribution & Marketing

How to Build an Audience w/ Social Media & Hustle - Hollyshorts! Film Festival ConferenceIn today's episode, I wanted to share the talk I did with RB Botto (Stage 32) at the Hollyshorts! Film Festival Conference 2017. RB and I spoke about a lot of different topics covering, crowdfunding, crowdsourcing, building an audience, self-distribution, and much more. There's truly one knowledge bomb dropped after another. I thought the IFH Tribe could get a lot out of it.Also, if you are in the LA area This is Meg is LA Priemering at the TCL Chinese Theater, I know crazy! We are the closing night feature film of the Hollyshorts! Film Festival. The screening is August 19th, 8pm. For discount tickets read below. The entire cast will be there and it'll be a fun time! Hope to see you there.Enjoy!Right click here to download the MP3Download on iTunes DirectWatch on IFH YouTube ChannelLINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODEBuy This is Meg on iTunesHollyshorts! LA Premiere of This is Meg - Aug 19th - 8pm - Tickets Discount Code: FILMHUSTLEVIPIndie Film Syndicate Membership - First Month FREEHollyshorts! Film FestivalRange 15DistribberStage 32SPONSORSDirecting Actors Master Course – (30% OFF – CODE: HUSTLE)Get Your Film on Netflix, Hulu & Amazon & Keep 100% off the Revenue - DistribberHollywood Camera Work: Mastering High-End Blocking and Staging (30% OFF – CODE: HUSTLE)Werner Herzog's Filmmaking MasterClassAaron Sorkin Screenwriting Master ClassFreeFilmBook.com (Download Your FREE Filmmaking Audio Book)KILLER RESOURCES!!!INDIE FILM SYNDICATE Filmmaking CommunityIFH's Online Film SchoolSix Secrets to get into Film Festivals for FREE!To share your thoughts:Leave a note in the comment section below.Share this show on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest.To help the show:Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one.Subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes,

How to Make $3 Million Selling Your Indie Film on iTunes & Amazon w/ with Nick Palmisciano of Range 15We all hear that self-distribution is the future for indie filmmakers. Build an audience and make a film for that audience but finding real world examples of a "true" indie film breaking $1,000,000+ using that model is tough. Well, I'm happy to introduce you to Range 15, the indie film that not only made $1 million selling on iTunes and Amazon but they have made $3 million+ to date, and growing.Today's guest is Nick Palmisciano, one of the writers, producers, and actors in Range 15. His story of how this film came into the world is truly inspiring.Nick and Mat Best, his co-producer/writer/lead of Range 15, had a crazy idea to create a feature film for the communities they had built up over the years. They are both military veterans and own military themed apparel companies Ranger up Article 15, respectively.They wanted to make a film that the military community would enjoy and they did just that. Check out the fun trailer below. They crowdfunded $1.2 million to make the film. Their goal was $350,000 but they made that in the first 30 hours of the campaign. With the extra cash, they were able to get William Shatner, Keith David, Sean Astin and Danny Trejo in the film. Check out the crowdfunding video below. As you can tell from the videos above Nick and the gang don't take themselves too seriously but what is serious is how much dinero Range 15 has pulled in. For an indie film with no studio and no distributer to break $3 million bucks is a miracle. My hats off to Range 15.Enjoy my inspirational conversation with Nick Palmisciano.

This is Meg is LIVE on iTunes & Some Other SurprisesToday is the day. This is Meg is FINALLY been released to the world on iTunes. It's pretty incredible that an idea I had over a year ago is now a feature film that has been released on mutha f'in iTunes. It's humbling. I'm so grateful to you, the IFH Tribe for your support, love and well wishes. I know that I wouldn't have been able to do this with you guys. The power of community is pretty powerful and from the bottom of my heart thank you all so much for the support!So today is a big day. The more transactions we get on iTunes the higher we get ranked on their algorithm. This means sales and rentals (it's available for rental too today) count towards that goal. So if you are going to buy or rent This is Meg do it TODAY!Let's see how this experiment does and I'll report back the results. Here's the link to buy or rent the film today ---> This is Megon iTunesBy the way, I have a few surprises for you in this episodes so listen all the way through = ) Enjoy and thank you again!

If you want to see a self-distribution pathway to get your film on iTunes and actually make some money meet writer/director Brad Raider. His film Kensho at the Bedfellow was released on iTunes this year and he shares his marketing and distribution strategy with us in this episode. With This is Meg being released on iTunes in the summer I was ALL EARS.Here's a bit about the film:A 30-something New Yorker feels trapped by his job, his ex and his family. When a beautiful childhood friend wanders back into his life, he begins to feel a glimmer of hope in his search for freedom and meaning.Two-time Best Feature Film winner at six festivals, KENSHO is a visionary, existential drama and the extraordinary directorial debut of actor / director Brad Raider. The truly independent, micro-budget film is at the heart of the conscious-cinema movement and a proud partner of the International Rescue Committee, donating a percentage of net profits to their humanitarian efforts around the world.Now on sale in iTunes: http://bit.ly/kenshoitunesEnjoy my conversation with Brad Raider.

How to Brand, Market and Build an Audience Using Social Media & Marketing HustleSo I had the plesure of speaking at the HollyShorts! Film Festival at a "fireside chat" with my brotha from another mutha RB Blotto from Stage32.com. We sat down and discussed How to Brand, Market and Build an Audience Using Social Media & Marketing Hustle. I had a ball and as promised I recorded the evening for those of you who couldn't make it. Check it out below:You’ve got an amazing script, now what? The first step is to identify your audience and create a brand for yourself that you can leverage when crowdfunding or selling your film. Once your film is done, the next step is marketing and promotion. Join us for a fireside chat with Writer/Director and Indie Film Hustle founder, Alex Ferrari, and RB Blotto, Stage32.com founder, as they offer best practices on building an audience, creating a brand, marketing yourself and your film, and finally, getting the word out via social media, which is crucial to your success.Sit back and enjoy this knowledge bomb filled episode.

11 Golden Rules for Filmmakers on Social MediaWith social media taking over the world it is more necessary than ever to use it to get the word out on yourself, you film project or your production company. Most indie filmmakers have no idea on how to build an audience or how to use social media to promote and engage with that audience.In this podcast I go into great detail on each of the 11 Golden Rules for Filmmakers on Social Media.

Every once in a while we all need to get a gut check. A "gut check" is when some new situation, or in this case knowledge, that tests your belief on what it takes to achieve your goal.I invited Sebastian Twardosz to give us that gut check and lay down some major knowledge bombs on the Indie Film Hustle Tribe. Now Sebastian has been playing the Hollywood game for close to two decades and has ranked up some major experience. Hollywood and the film business in general is a "relationship business". Here's what Sebastian said:"Some of you will be successful and some of you will be less successful—it’s a numbers game, but regardless of the stats, you will likely fail if you don’t help each other."Sebastian Twardosz’s first production job was from 1995-1999 for Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner’s Paramount-based company where he started as an assistant and was promoted to executive, actively participating in the making of Mission Impossible 1-2 and Without Limits.Like many hopefuls wanting to get into the film biz, Sebastian Twardosz started as an agent's assistant in the motion picture department at ICM. He graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts in 1993. His short film, Silent Rain, received a Student Academy Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as well as the Student Emmy.Sebastian co-produced the independent feature Small Town Saturday Night starring Chris Pine, and he has been an adjunct professor at both UCLA and USC Film Schools teaching about the art and business of film since 2006.He also hosted a weekly show called The Insiders which aims to shed light on the “behind-the-scenes world of Hollywood” for aspiring filmmakers. Sebastian is currently a partner in Circus Road Films, which advises and represents emerging filmmakers. Take a listen to this eye opening interview.

We making money selling your short film, feature film or web series just got a whole lot easier. Amazon.com has thrown it's hat into the Independent creators VOD ring with the launch of Amazon Video Direct.This move is designed to go head to head with Google's YouTube for video-ad dollars. as well as going after other juggernauts like Facebook and Vimeo.Amazon Video Direct has four distribution options for its creators.Filmmakers can make their films available to Prime Video subscribers and receive a per-hour royalty feeFilms or Series can be sold as a subscription through the Streaming Partners ProgramFilms can be made available for digital rental or purchaseFilms can be made available to ALL Amazon customers for free with ads, and filmmaker would receive a 55% share of the ad revenue (exactly as they do on YouTube).Take listen for the lowdown.

Top 5 Film Festival SCAMS Filmmakers Need to Be Aware Of!I've been at a fair share of film festivals in my life and I've submitted to many more than I've been accepts to. With that said I have seen many less than honorable film festival organizers throughout the process. Now not all film festivals are run by grifters and con men but you need to be aware of the signs that a film festival you are submitting to may just be in existence to remove you from you hard earned cash and not to celebrate amazing independent film and filmmakers. I put together a few warning signs you should look out for when submitting to film festivals. Stay safe out there everyone!

Getting into film festival is getting tougher and tougher everyday. Indie filmmakers can end up spending thousands and thousands of dollars submitting to every film festival around, and there are a ton. At last count there was over 3000 film festivals around the world. That’s a lot of submission fees.When I was doing my rounds with my films I learned a few things. A few tricks that I put into a FREE eBook: “Six Tips to Get into Film Festivals for cheap or FREE.”This eBook was such a success that the Indie Film Hustle Tribe kept reaching out to me to create some sort of “master class” on film festivals. Well I heard the call and teamed up with arguably one of the leading voices in film festivals Chris Holland from FilmFestivalsSecrets.com.We got together and create a one of a kind resource for any filmmaker even thinking of submitting to a film festival. We call it Film Festival Hacks!In this episode I give you a SNEAK PEEK at Film Festival Hacks and let you listen to a FREE lecture from the course. So get ready to take notes and have a taste of Film Festival Hacks.Oh, before I forget Chris Holland is also giving you another FREE sample of the course on his podcast so when you are done listening to this head over there for more FREE content. Click here: FilmFestivalSecrets – Podcast

Want to hear a crazy story on how one filmmaker used a hybrid distribution and marketing strategy to sell his film Bomb It. May I introduce Jon Reiss.  After hearing his story I had to have him on the show so he can tell his story to the IFH Tribe.Jon Reiss was named one of “10 Digital Directors to Watch” by Daily Variety, Jon Reiss is a critically acclaimed filmmaker whose experience releasing his documentary feature, Bomb It with a hybrid distribution and marketing strategy.This strategy inspired him writing Think Outside the Box Office: The Ultimate Guide to Film Distribution and Marketing for the Digital Era, the first step-by-step guide for filmmakers to distribute and market their films. Two years ago he co-wrote Selling Your Film Without Selling Your Soul and last year co-wrote Selling Your Film Outside the U.S.: Digital Distribution in Europe.Jon Reiss teaches in the Film Directing Program at California Institute of the Arts. He created the course "Real World Survival Skills: Everything I Wish I Had Been Taught in Film School" which covers the practical/business aspects of filmmaking from fundraising through distribution.Jon is a very interesting filmmaker. When I spoke to him he brought the heat and shared a ton of film marketing and distribution knowledge.

The one thing more difficult than actually making an indie film is marketing and selling that film. I get asked all the time the same question:"How can I make CASH, MONEY, DINERO with my film?"So I decided to put together this very dense podcast with suggestions on multiple revenue streams for independent films. This podcast is probably one of the most info packed episodes I've ever done.So get your iPad ready to take some detail notes cause this episode is worth MUCHO DINERO for the filmmaker who wants to put in the work.LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODEIFH 023: How to Crowdfund Your Film Like a Pro w/ Emily BestIFH: 025: How t Get a Theatrical Release for Your Indie FilmIFH 017: Guide to Selling Your Film to VODIFH: Filmmaking HacksTwitter Hacks: 10,000 True Fans in 10 WeeksUSC Film School's ONLY On-line Course: Directing the ActorFreeFilmBook.com (Your FREE Audio Book)Six Secrets to get into Film Festivals for FREE!Kung FuryTurbo KidVimeo ProVHX.tvSeed and SparkTuggIndie Rights

Social media is a mystery to most filmmakers. It's really easy to get lost in Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Tumblr, Youtube, Snap Chat, Periscope, Meerkat, or any of the hundreds of other social media platforms available online.With so many choices and platforms to learn many of us just don't even bother but for those that take the time to educate themselves on social media and it's power the rewards can be HUGE.Marketing an indie film today without including social media is crazy. To watch how Star Wars: The Force Awakens leveraged social media in their marketing campaign was like watching Bobby Fisher play chess...masterful.In this episode I give you a few tips on how to use social media to build your brand, sell your product or promote your film.

Surviving the Hollywood Implosion with Scott McMahonIs there an implosion coming to Hollywood? Film Trooper Scott McMahon thinks so and he's not alone. Think its crazy, think again. Listen to what the king of the blockbusters Steven Spielberg had to say,“There’s going to be an implosion. Mega budget movies are going to go crashing into the ground and that’s going to change the paradigm.”If the Hollywood implosion does come to fruition, then where do aspiring filmmakers go to make a living? Step in Film Trooper Scott McMahon. Scott created a book entitled "How to Make and Sell Your Film Online and Survive the Hollywood Implosion While Doing It."There are a lot of books on how to make a movie and how to be part of the Hollywood machine; but this step-by-step guide will show you, the über independent filmmaker......how to bypass all of that and get to the heart of making and selling digital products (your film) directly to an online audience and survive the Hollywood implosion while doing it.I've known Scott McMahon for a while now and he's a wealth of information. He's truly trying to help the "über independent filmmaker" make it in the film business. His site Film Trooper is a perfect extension of his mission.

So I directed a small action short film a few years back called "BROKEN." I shot the film on MiniDV Tape (yes I'm old) on the Panasonic DVX 100a, the indie film workhorse of its day. My team and I filmed it in West Palm Beach Florida (not exactly the Mecca of the film industry) and it starred only local, non named actors. Now once the filming was over I marketed the living hell out of that little short. It went on to screen at over 250 international film festivals, win countless awards and be covered by over 300 news outlets. That little film had a life of it's own. I even got a review of legendary film critic Roger Ebert:"BROKEN is essentially a demonstration of the mastery of horror imagery and techniques. Effective and professional." - Roger EbertNow you must be asking, "But Alex how the hell did you make money with it?" Well, I knew that no one would pay real money for a 20 minute short film, shot on MiniDV, with no name actors and from a first time director to boot. So I planned to create a guerrilla indie film school with over 3 hours of footage, tutorials, commentaries and more. For the whole story take a listen.

How to Shoot & Sell Digital Series (The Bannen Way) with Mark GanttToday's guest is Mark Gantt. He's a man of many talents, actor, director, writer, and producer. He's best known for co-creating, producing and starring in the award-winning The Bannen Way for Sony Pictures Television.  Financed by Sony’s Crackle distribution arm, this unique web series/feature film had a compelling cast which included Michael Ironside, Academy Award nominees Robert Forster and Michael Lerner, and Emmy winner Vanessa Marcil.Within the first 10 weeks of release, The Bannen Way garnered over 14 million views and went on to win 4 Streamy Awards including Best Actor (Mark Gantt), Best Drama, Best Director and Best Editor; as well as being nominated for two Webby Awards and a BANFF Award.  The film is currently distributed internationally on VOD, DVD, iTunes, and Amazon as a feature film.I wanted to bring Mark on the show to discuss how he got The Bannen Way shot, how he got HUGE sponsors to come on board and how he convinced Sony Pictures to buy a web series...in 2009. Here's some more info on Mark Gantt.Mark’s onscreen credits include American Horror Story: Hotel, Ocean’s Eleven, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Dexter, Major Crimes, Bluff, Barely Famous and currently recurring on The Arrangement premiering March 2017 on E!As a director, Mark feature directorial debut, Murder In Mexico starring Colin Egglesfield premiered on Lifetime in Sept of 2015. He recently directed Intricate Vengeance for Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s New Form Digital with Wilson Cleveland. He’s also won several awards including Best Director at Philadelphia First Glance Film and Best of the Fest at the Cinema Series Festival for the short film Donor. He recently directed the branded series Seamlessly She with Monica Potter for AOL and GMC as well as two episodes of the branded series Suite 7 with Shannen Doherty, Jaime Murray, and Eddie McClintock. Suite 7 episodes were nominated for the 2011 BANFF Rockies and the 2012 Webby Awards. Shannen Doherty was awarded Best Performance by the Webbys for her work in the episode.As a producer Mark recently completed principal photography on Psychophonia, a thriller that his wife, Brianne Davis, directed. Mark starred opposite Vedette Lim (“True Blood”). He’s also completing post-production on two horror/sci-fi films, The Night Visitor and The Night Visitor 2: Heather’s Story with Blanc-Biehn Productions’ Jennifer Blanc-Biehn, Michael Biehn, Lony Ruhmann and Brianne Davis.In 2013, Mark began teaching acting at the Beverly Hills Playhouse where he studied with and assisted Milton Katselas on two dozen productions. He and his wife actress/director Brianne Davis started Give & Take Productions, a film and television production company with several projects in development. Enjoy my conversation with Mark Gantt.

Crowdfunding has always been a mystery to me. I never really understood how indie filmmakers can raise $50,000, $100,000 or $1,000,000 to make their films. I tried once with the "if I built they will come" idea but they never came. When I discovered this weeks guest, Emily Best CEO and founder of the indie film crowdfunding website Seed & Spark, I had to get her on the show. I attempted to squeeze out of her every bit of crowdfunding knowledge I could. We discuss:How to create a successful crowdfunding campaign?What are the biggest mistake indie filmmakers make when crowdfunding their film?How should indie filmmakers crowdsource (building an audience for you, your film or your company)?How do indie filmmaker determine how much to ask for when crowdfunding?How do you build a killer crowdfunding page and video?What incentives should you give when crowdfunding?How do you build momentum so your audience will follow your film's creation from beginning to end?How do you determine if your film has an audience?All of these question on crowdfunding are answered and more. Seriously this podcast is a condensed master class on crowdfunding. I was selflessly asking the questions I wanted the answers to and now you guys benefit as well. Enjoy!

The world of film distribution is filled with unknown land mines. Even more mysterious is how an indie filmmaker can get their film placed on these elusive VOD or Video on Demand platforms?That's where this episode comes in, we have video on demand expert Linda Nelson from Indie Film Rights, the film distribution arm of Nelson Madison Films. Linda walks us through the maze of VOD and film distribution options and explains what it takes to get your film placed in the potentially very lucrative platforms.

I'm never surprised anymore when I speak to filmmakers and ask them one simple but powerful question, does your film have an audience?I usually just get a blank stare. This is probably the most important question you can ask yourself as a indie filmmaker. Now if you are making film as art and have no intention or care at all about making money with your film then should stop reading this email. Now, there's nothing wrong with that but that is not what I'm discussing here today. For the rest of us that want and need to make money with our films these few little words should be your mantra in the development process. Does Your Indie Film Have a Audience?Most filmmakers get so excited by the concept of a story, the emotion or just with the idea of making a feature film that they never ask the question. They are scared to because it might stop the fun they are having. Trust me I know the feeling.Listen to this episode and find out some tips and tricks to see if your film has an audience.

I always get asked by indie filmmakers:“How do I get attention for my indie film?”This is one of the major challenges facing indie filmmakers/entrepreneurs in today’s noisy independent film landscape. One fast way is to get an “influencer” to focus a little light onto you or your project.Now this is much easier said than done. When I promote my projects I approach every online indie film influencer I can.This includes indie film sites, niche sites (around your subject matter), industry news outlets, film magazines, movie fan websites, film festivals, podcasters, conventions, and movie reviewers.In this podcast I tell the story of how the legendary film critic Roger Ebert was so amazingly kind to a young filmmaker.Get Social with Indie Film Hustle:Facebook: Indie Film HustleTwitter: @indiefilmhustle Instagram: @ifilmhustleYouTube: Indie Film Hustle TVPodcast: IFH Podcast