How to sell your film - The basics

So you’ve completed a feature film - congratulations! You are now one of the very few who managed to get your feature or short produced. This article will focus on full-length features but you should use this mindset on all productions and projects you are working on. So while my thoughts here is based on film, your project might be different.

Let’s say you have just started writing on your script and a wrap party is far away in the future, then don’t worry. This article is for you as well but can actually be more important early on than you might think. The sooner you start planning, the better.

Introduction

Selling your film sounds like a hard thing to do, scary and the place where you really have to step it up? Right? That is simply not true. If you actually get a film made, then the quality should be your main concern. The market is over-saturated, that is true. However, the market is over-saturated with bad films with amateur scripts, low quality productions and many near misses. See this as your advantage and use this very advantage before you go into production.

Don’t look at comparables

Do yourself a favor and don’t look at comparables when deciding on what movie or genre to produce. Unless the distribution companies you are approaching already have similar movies they are about to market, that should not be a concern. You should be fine with releasing a similar movie, it is up to the distribution company to decide, don’t argue with them if they want to pass on your film. They have their reasons.

The more feedback and constructive criticism you can take to heart and actually think about, the better. That should be your comparable, is this script or idea really good or is it just me who believes that? Table reads and asking friends who are honest and can hurt your feelings is good. Do not love your script and do not let anyone else love it either. Be around positive critics.

please have a Great script

You will hear this, not only from me but from everyone. A good movie is because of a great script, don’t forget that. I’m not saying you have to work on a script for years or even months but the idea should be good, the script should be better and the script should be read by quite a few people, table reads and so on. If you need years to write a script, chances are, it is not very good. Sure, there are examples of great scripts made over many years but a good script needs to be active or alive in a way. You need to be able to tell the story for others to be interested and for other to invest time and money into the film. Be wise and finish the script as soon as you can.

Stop making pilots

A bit of a controversial thought but stop making pilots. Pilots was great for the 90’s era and should only be made with a production company behind you or the creator. Instead of making a pilot, make a feature or a series. Just put more time into planning, finishing the script and source great partners and colleagues. When you have that in place, a budget is next. however, don’t think to much about this, think easy. The goal should be to produce the film not getting someone’s approval.

Start with actually making a film

One way of selling your film is to have a film to sell, so figure out a way to produce your film in the most efficient way possible, use marketable talent in any way you can to create production value and have a great team.

Use everyday technology (for example social media) to market the production before pre and during post-production to keep the movie and story “alive” before you are about to sell it. These might seem like small tips and ideas but they can make the whole difference between a successful production and one that is not.

Understand the industry

As technology has made the production process easier with low film budgets and lowered the barrier significantly of who can enter the dream factory. It has, at the same time, also opened the gates to practically everyone and everything. Not good for everyone to be honest. So this change in the whole industry has changed the power structure in some good ways and some bad. Later on, this will be more stable but today, it is not.

While we are producing more now than ever before, distribution and release windows are constantly changing. The pandemic sure changed everything as well and might tell us how the industry will look like a few years from now.

I’m not telling you to predict the film industry and technology or to understand how investors and distribution companies will think in the future. That will come naturally and there is of course an important aspect of that as well. I want you to think just a year ahead and plan to have your film or project made in that time span, if possible. We all know film and other sources of entertainment will stay relevant for many years to come so just go with the flow. Just remember to study the industry you are active in.

When we are talking about understanding the industry, we should not forget the words, frases and terms that are frequently being used. Knowing them will help you in the long run. Read about words and terms in the film industry here.

As always, thank you for visiting! Make sure to visit my youtube channel for a more personal “experience”.

---

Selling your film - Best practices

Let's talk about how to best sell your film (or another product for that matter). Before we begin, I recommend everyone to have some idea of where your product will end up before you go into production. You can find an extensive article with the basics around how you can sell your film or why not join me on youtube for future talks about the entertainment industry, tips and ideas.

introduction

Investors, banks and film distribution companies that could potentially be investing in/or distribute your film are best approached when you have an understanding of the fundamentals around investing but also quality and may I say, longelivity of your project.

Understanding that whoever invest, buy or distribute your film makes their choice depending on IF they feel it is a good deal or IF they like you and trust you. This is fundamental in all business decisions and probably the most important fact you need to surrender to, fast.

I don't know how many times I've had to explain why I'm not interested in a project. Every time this happens I shut it down completely, it is extremely annoying. I will come back to this a few times in this post; You will get rejected but you can choose how and if you will have a second shot or not.

Another very important thing to understand is to keep quality in everything official you send out to a third party. Make sure you present a high quality proposal to the intended viewer. By making sure you present something you're proud of, you don't have to go back and rework the material or explain yourself. If something needs rework after you’re proud and sure of what you send out, I'm sure it’s not going to be anything time consuming.

Have a strategy

Have a plan. Do everything well and seriously, have a long term strategy.

One of the most common things I see when receiving a proposal or treatment is that there is not much done in terms of planning. It happens that I see strategic partnerships and other great things in the proposal, however those proposals are far and few between. The number of quality proposals are few and if you do the extra work, it will be valuable and maybe even a nice surprise for anyone reading it.

Most films are not being made and the reason is quite simple. There is probably no strategy in place and no plan and definitely no quality behind the script or idea. Usually, the team expects everyone to love the project and that is mostly not the case. Always go in open-minded and never love your project to much. I’m going to touch on that a few times in this post.

Another reason films are not being made is when someone comes with an idea or a script with no substance like LOI's or again, a plan. That makes it so much more time-consuming for anyone involved and that means, most of the time, no film or series will be made. You see, if you put some effort into a project you’ll be able to show that to potential investors or partners, that’s when magic happens.

As with all businesses, you have to get out and get your hands dirty. Show how you work and get people interested by actually doing yourself. By doing, people will have a clear picture and goal of where you want to go or at least feel confident you actually believe in the project. Assure your potential investors or partners that you are experienced and have done more than they expect. Get out and make something with your project before you ask someone for help or interest. If this is hard, because it can be, ask a colleague or friend in the industry to help you out.

Do your homework and plan ahead

Do some research, get your hands on information, most of it is public and free for everyone so it shouldn’t be too hard. Or use Google, you’ve heard that enough times to know what it is, especially if you read this.

By homework, I mean, understand the industry and get some knowledge of the different areas, you don’t want to give people the wrong impression. Start by finding out who you have in your circle that could potentially introduce you or to be frank, partner up with you. If you can find people working with distribution, purchasing or licensing you’ll have a head start. You can ask them if they know someone looking for the kind of content you are attempting to produce but please do not sell before you actually have something.

Let’s say you want to work with a studio, a well known one of course but you’re making a $250k feature - chances are quite high, they aren’t the right fit for you. Going to the bigger ones would be a mistake. However, it’s important to get in front of the gate keepers and early on without asking for their interest but instead interest from someone in their connections or company. It is not necessary to get a green light, the value is in getting a professional opinion on your project or early work. Do not ask for a favour before you’ve actually done something or have something tangible, source future contacts.

What you really should be doing is planning for the future. Find out who is the players and who has the ability to green light projects or make major decisions. Know who they are and talk to them before you ask for a favour or want to partner up with them. This can also be smaller production companies and distributors that are on the rise or are about to release several films during a year. These people and companies can be extremely valuble, not only do they have answers to most of your questions but they can also be easier to run down ideas with. The same goes with sales agents, talk to them don’t be lazy.

Do not wait

All to often filmmakers stand by until a film is wrapped before talking with buyers and distribution companies, while this can work in rare or some cases, this is usually a big mistake for a few reasons. When a film is done shooting it’s “best before date” is starting to count down. Sure, not every movie has a best before date but for a distribution company or sales agent, this makes their job much more difficult. They want to be involved in the process and production as early as possible to be able to market and plan for the release of the movie. This is not the case for the $250k feature we took as an example above.

A way of getting around this little obstacle with finshed films is to bundle them up with new productions or movies not yet produced in order to get a reasonable price for the “old“ one and be able to finance the new ones. This is not always possible but can be a viable option if you don’t have any other ways to go about selling the film.

Another important part of selling your movie is to start early with the key players. Make sure to have a solid PR strategy ready and put effort and resources into this. Don’t be cheap, this will prove to be your greatest asset in the end.

If you can show people (specifically those who drive returns) and make them excited about your production before you head in to principal photography, this will help you in the long run and this can be done with good PR. Selling your film doesn’t have to be hard.

conclusion

As with most things in life, planning makes things easier, not easy but easier. Since the process of how you sell your film is so critical to your production and to be frank, your future career, I thought it might be good to write a more basic version as well. So as soon as possible, I’ll start with that one and post the link here when it is done.

I hope you learned something new and got a few ideas after reading this. If you want to know more, feel free to join me on youtube where I’ll bring you with me on meetings and talk about the entertainment industry.

Thanks for visiting!

---

How not to approach investors

Good day!

In this post I will show you some examples of how not to approach investors. I will come back to several things in this post. Please try to remember this post because it can or probably will help you and save a lot of time for the one receiving your proposal.

I receive a lot of messages and e-mails with different proposals. Some are good, few are great and many, way too many are just plain bad. Bad grammar, ideas and some just don’t put effort into the e-mail or proposal. These examples are unfortunately very common. Because of these messages I thought I’ll write about what to do and not to do when approaching an investors. It doesn’t really matter what industry or area this person is active in. These rules or pointers are universal but for now I’ll use the film industry as an example.

Skip comparables

Don't use comparables or comps as a way of showing potential earnings because they are simply not true, instead use comparables as a way of explaining how you will try to recoup the investment. Maybe a film used guerilla marketing in a successful way or maybe they had a great distribution or marketing strategy, use this instead of how other (comparable) films made in terms of money.

For anyone somewhat knowledgeable, comparables are an insecure way of luring in partners. If you use comparables, use them as a way of showing the type of movie you want to make, show or explain the demographic or number of screenings, viewers and so on. Do not try to show the potential financial upside your movie will have because of other movies that are somewhat similar, that is not right and will not interest serious entities.

Know who you talk to

It goes without saying but I’ll say it anyways, connections is everything in this industry and the next. If it isn’t everything it surely is a lot. If you talk to people you know, the changes are they want to help you. If you don’t know the people you talk to, then it is not so sure then want to help or put some time of effort into what put infront of them.

The thing is, you can do well without connections but with connections it will be much easier and this is the truth. If you don’t know who you talk to or approach, then at least do your homework. Know who the person is, when he or she likes or what the do. See if they are open to talk or if they are even interested in what you offer. If not, don’t even ask. I don’t know how many people write to me with the same questions without them looking at my first line on my LinkedIn profile: “Hi, please do not send any unsolicited material, ideas or scripts.”.

This week I’ve received three or four proposals where they assumed I wanted to read their script or pitch. Don’t do this, this is an easy way to get to a full stop with me and problably most other people in the same situation. Instead, send a quick message, explain the situation or idea and ask if I would be open to take a look. Simple, fast and with respect. I would probably take a look simply because someone took their time to explain and see if I would be interested. It doesn’t have to more complicated then that.

Deal with rejection

All too often people take things personal especially in film making or any other creative projects for that matter. Realize that I or the person you approach did not ask for you to write the script. I know it sounds harsh but that is the reality. Please understand that most people you approach get a lot of scripts and ideas in front of them. Why should they read yours or even invest? I want you to seriously think about this.

Also, if you decide to send something to someone and they reject the idea or whatever you send. I’m sure you’ll feel unrewarded or unnoticed or if you receive unwanted critics of your work, you might even get angry and upset. This is a sign to step back and to seriously consider if you are a good fit for the creative industry.

The other day I gave someone a few pointers, feedback and yes, critic on their screenplay. I could see their faces, disappointed and destroyed and that the single point where I lost interest. If you ask for my opinion, take it and understand that not everything you make is good or something everyone will like. Today, I didn’t like your screenplay, well, fix it and be happy that someone told you. Not everything people say will be good or bad for that matter but if you want to work with people, accept their opinions and go with it.

The truth is, everyone in the film industry or any other business is busy, especially is they are somewhat in the loop. The key is to establish yourself in the minds and memories is how you deal with rejection.

One big mistake people make is that they neglect to stay updated and interested in their project. I’m not saying people purposefully let their projects go down the drain but as soon as something bad happens they get uninterested in the project or dissuaded. Rejection is one of those things that usually test a project and its team.

Rejection is inevitable in this business and any other business for that matter, however, because people take this extremely personal, rejection can be devastating. Rejection can also be the lack of response and most people think that a lack of response means a no and that is not always the case. People are busy and your email is probably not a priority, maybe your email is in “the interesting list” and they just wait until things are calmer to get back to you. Sit tight and wait until getting worked up.

Be ready to follow up

If you haven’t heard back from someone, then contact them. Taking things personally will only lead to unwelcome feelings and bad results. Take any rejection AND positive news with a nice calm. This is an overcrowded industry with heavy workload, deal with rejection like a professional. Do your part and the rest will follow.

If or I mean when your pitch or idea gets rejected be mature enough to ask serious questions as to why the recipient didn’t like the project or whatever you did pitch. Rejections are common and nothing bad, unless you burn the bridge by leaving angry without asking the right questions.

Sometimes people does like your work but they might feel they are not the right fit or maybe they even feel they can’t help you or offer what you need. If you do follow up a rejection or an unanswered e-mail, maybe you’ll learn something.

By being respectful, understanding and by seeing things from other peoples point of view you’ll have the tools to ask the right questions and follow up with value. I can’t believe I have to write this post to be honest but there are so many people out there not having the slightest idea how to act and just leave after a rejection or even after sending an email. Not many are actually following up, me included. It is easy to forget.

Be patient, be present and be consistent in your check-ins, this is rare and hard but people will take notice and remember your efforts. Also, you will be on top of your projects if you do follow up. Use whatever tools necessary to keep yourself in the loop and a head.

Thanks for taking your time reading this piece.

---

Tax financing in film

Today I’m going to explain how tax incentives are used in film productions. I’ll keep it short otherwise it might be too much to handle.

introduction

When you hear about film investments you probably think about someone putting in a huge sum of money into a production. What you think about is most definitely equity financing and while equity is used in film finance, something else is equally common and that is tax financing or using tax incentives, another word for it can be tax subsidies.

Above is an old picture from the production of Transformers 3, Dark of the moon

What doesn’t work

So, let’s go through the basics of using tax subsidies to help finance a film and more importantly, what you should not do. First of all, tax shelters does not work the way you think. You can sell the rights back and forth through a leaseback model but in the end that might give you about eight to ten percent of your budget and it is a lot of work getting this to work. So, this is not recommended and it will probably just take time and not much of an upside.

Another thing that is cute but does not work like you might think is section 181 in the U.S. Section 181 is a deduction that let’s film productions deduct the first fifteen million dollars of the cost of making a film if it’s produced in the U.S. This sounds great, I know but it does not work since it is only a deduction. So if someone mentions section 181 as a way to finance a film or part of a film, know it is only a deduction, not a credit.

What actually works

What works is state tax credits in the United States or tax incentives in other countries. Unfortunately, we don’t have any tax incentives in Sweden so I can’t help you there but there are many other countries who understand the value of having film productions in their respective countries.

The film industry thrives on tax credits because states and countries are competing with each other to see how much they can give a production to use their services and areas.

Two types of tax incentives

You can say there are two different models of tax credits. One is assignable where you get your tax credit based on producing in the local jurisdiction and how your budget looks like. You go and sell that credit to some buyer who's a taxpayer in that jurisdiction and you both go home happy.

The other one is the one where you get a refundable tax rebate or credit. This can be as much as 30% of your total spending in that country or state. So quite a lot for any project. This helps you borrow against the tax credit and in turn be able to raise money for your production. Today, country and or state tax credits are easily the best and most viable form of film financing. More and more countries see the value and more countries are willing and competing with each other to give the best tax incentives to productions. More now than ever before so this is highly recommended and you should use this advantage for your film.

conclusion

While tax financing can be difficult to get your head around it is actually a very viable option and not that hard once you start to understand. It is worth noting that some countries and areas have complicated structures. However, all areas have experts ready to help you.

I hope you learned something new about tax incentives and I want to thank you for visiting.

---

The DRÖM series

The series DRÖM has finally had it’s premiere on SVT and it’s really nice to see the hard work being up on screens around Scandinavia. The two part series was shot in Gotland, Sweden during the summer of 2018. Dröm is produced by SVT and Palladium Fiction.

During the filming we had some pictures taken which you can see below.

Watch DRÖM here: https://www.svtplay.se/drom

Some press about the series here: ELLE, EXPRESSEN, HELAGOTLAND, SVD, MovieZine

---