The secrets of indie film release strategy

Give it to people how they want it
Increasingly, small indie films are being released in non-traditional schedules, mixing up the old standard release roadmap of festival, theatrical, DVD, on-demand, pay TV, free TV (to say nothing of the heresy of giving away the film for free online).

Repeatedly, panelists at Sundance this year echoed this theme: "Different audiences consume content different ways" (as put succinctly by Todd Sklar of RangeLife Entertainment, one of the panelists at the  Distribution panel hosted by the NY Film Office). Don't spend time and money trying to get people to change their behavior -- give it to them the way they want to see it.

For instance, it might make sense to show the film online (perhaps even for free) for an exclusive preview for the right website that targets your audience, in order to build up buzz.

Or, you might want to do a "day and date" approach where you release the film on DVD and on demand on the same day you're in theaters (or even in festivals). However, as another panelist put it dryly: "Exhibitors are not necessarily on board" for day-and-date release or VOD prior to theatrical, so be careful and cognizant of the dangers of releasing out of order. If you're going to piss off the theaters or other distribution partners along the way, be prepared to be shut out of their channels.

But the cost may be worth it. Getting to your audience at the right time, when and how they want to watch your film is crucial. And building buzz is more important than protecting a meager release window that wan't going to make you much money in the first place.

Or maybe you go off the grid completely. Buy/borrow an old VW bus and tour the country for months with the film like an indie band on tour, playing the film where-ever people will let you: libraries, schools, cafes, clubs, bars, maybe even movie theaters. Create your own film festival ("Matt's Wacky One Night Film Festival") and sell DVDs and t-shirts at the shows. That's basically what Kevin Smith is going to do with his new film Red State (which premiered at Sundance this year -- followed by a very inspiring diatribe by Kevin about self-distribution vs. the Indiewood system).

Above all, understand your target audience
Central to these plans is understanding your target audience. Who will love this film? Who will pay for it? And most importantly, who are the raving fans just waiting for a film like yours who will tell their friends about it?

Identifying a target audience is difficult and requires the counter-intuitive skill of thinking small: the best target audiences are tiny, well-defined and almost insular slices of humanity, not large general populations (bad: "college-age guys", good: "college-age guys who play professional poker"). It's a lot easier and more affordable to reach out to a tightly-connected community than a wide general audience (unless you have $100+ million to spend on advertising like Hollywood).

Once you know your target audience, figure out how they watch movies (ask them!) and then create a release plan that caters to their habits and interests.

Also, you should learn what other recent small indie films they like and reverse engineer their marketing and distribution plans. Always try to avoid having to recreate the wheel. Steal the good ideas and build on their success.

What are your ideas for releasing the film? What interesting approaches have you seen other films do successfully? Let us know in the comments.

This is part of a special report series from DIY Filmmaking Sucks: DIY Secrets of Sundance. The series covers lessons learned at this year's Sundance Film Festival from an assortment of indie distribution and funding panels, in addition to conversations with filmmakers.

Next Monday -- Week 5: The two most important things in marketing an indie film

Comments

[Eugenia]

I think you need to get in contact with io9.com. They are the no 1 scifi news site online today, and they are reporting, and sometimes embedding, short scifi indie movies. If you give them an exclusive for the first 10 or 15 minutes of the movie, the buzz will really get going there!

I don't think it's wise to give out for free viewing the whole movie though, but definitely a sizeable tease would be good.

[Filip Tegstedt]

io9.com? Is there a similar site for independent horror?

www.youtube.com/MarianneMovie
www.facebook.com/MarianneMovie

[Eugenia]

Filip,
for horror movies I'd go to http://www.bloody-disgusting.com
They've been the main horror news site in the last few years.

[Filip Tegstedt]

Yeah BD and Dread-Central have been really kind to post about Marianne for a long time. Those are great sites.

[Bad Vegan]

Eugenia: thanks for the note. I totally worship io9 and we've actually thrown a couple parties together already (at WonderCon and Comic-Con), so we're on their radar.

Filip: I defer to Eugenia on the horror question. I'm not into horror, but lordy is it a huge market and seems like you're already in the right places. Any other suggestions for other DIY horror filmmakers?

[Filip Tegstedt]

Bad Vegan: Sure. Sending you a twitter DM now.