The Steps After a Film is Made: Distribution

There's no better time than now to create a film. Whether you're a Director, Writer, Producer, Director of Photography, or Actor, there's still so much more to learn and to take on when creating a film. Distribution is a business aspect that can come into play from the very beginning of film making.

One main role of a Producer is to scout for stories. These stories can be published books, articles, real life events, remakes, the list is endless when it comes to ways a story can be discovered. Once a producer solidifies the idea they want to work with, they go through the process of acquiring the rights for that story, as well as putting contracts in place to keep those rights for a period of time. Distribution can begin this early in the process.

DISTRIBUTION CASE STUDY: MOONLIGHT

Let's use Moonlight as a case study. Moonlight was a play written by Tarell Alvin McCraney with a different title, and it was shelved until him and Barry Jenkins met during an event. They hit it off as collaborators, and immediately the play entered into development to be turned into a feature. Once they've hit it off, solidifying the rights would be an easy process, given that the original Intellectual Property owner would be contracted as a writer for the film.

Next, financing for the film would need to be sourced, just one step, but the most important one in development. There are many ways to finance a film. It can be private money from your family or people you know, or a group of people who are looking to put money into a project together. Film financing primarily comes from a group of investors, who may have massive or small portfolios, investing in films and aiming to make a return on them. Some of the biggest film investors are all of the film studios that have become household names.

MAJOR FILM STUDIOS

Some major studios with subsidiary film companies include :

• Walt Disney
  • Searchlight
  • Touchstone
  • 20th Century
  • Pixar / Marvel
  • Walt Disney Pictures
• Sony
  • Columbia Pictures
  • Tristar
  • Sony Classics
• Amazon
  • Amazon Studios
  • MGM
• Paramount
  • MTV Films
  • Paramount Pictures
  • Nickelodeon Films
• Comcast
  • Universal Pictures
  • Focus Features
• Discovery Warner Brothers
  • Warner Brothers
  • New Line

There are many pros and cons that come with working with a major film studio. On one hand they will be able to finance your film entirely, meaning you will also be paid well for your work. The downside? Once they obtain the rights, you are more likely to lose creative control of the project. Working with more independent financiers will grant you full direction of the creative vision while making sure they are able to support that vision.

A FILM PACKAGE

It is best to have some sort of a package ready when presenting to executives for financing. A film package means having essential elements already attached to the project. Moonlight's package included having the original writer of the story attached as well as a director, this made it easier to persuade others that the film would be a success, even before entering production. Barry Jenkins decided to search for independent financiers. One of the best ways to find film investors are at film festivals. He was able to pitch to Plan B executives while at Telluride Film Festival. Taking on the film as producers, the Plan B executives were able to find a partnership with A24, who fully financed the film and had the rights for worldwide distribution.

TYPES OF DISTRIBUTION

Pre - Sale

A24 decided to fully finance, and distribute the film, Moonlight, before dates were even set for production. This is called a pre-sold film or pre-sale distribution. This type of distribution deal entails having oversight from beginning to end for a film. The financier/distributors, in this case, will ensure Moonlight comes to fruition originally how it was pitched and will forever deal with the film years after its release.

Distribution Deal

When a film finds distribution after it's been made, this is simply referred to as a distribution deal. In either case, a distributor will work with exhibitors, making a deal for release. The best known type of release is a theatrical one. A theatrical release can include domestic territories as well as international territories. Exhibitors will do research into which countries, cities, and demographics will ensure a successful turnout. A film will have a window of time in theaters, before they move on to other types of distribution. Exhibitors and distributors will renew their deal on a weekly basis to determine when that window will close.

The Waterfall of Distribution

After a theatrical release window is over, next comes a waterfall of distribution deals. Distributors will then move on to make Non-Theatrical/Premium VOD (Video on Demand) deals. This is essentially early access VODs. A higher price is usually paid for this access. Disney+ is an example of this model, such as the early access of Mulan; people who paid for the "Premier Access" got to watch Mulan before regular Disney+ subscribers.

After the window of Premium VODs then comes Transactional VODS and Hard Medias. This is where you are able to rent films on platforms such as iTunes, Amazon and television services, as well as purchasing DVDs and other physical copies.

After the release of TVOD and Hard Medias, there isn't really a closing window for them. It's more like a first dibs kind of distribution deal. After a short time period for sole TVOD access, then the more long-term distribution deal lands with a SVOD or a Subscription Video on Demand. The film will be available on a certain subscription service platform.

After SVODs, there is usually the last step: Linear TV and FAST Channels (Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television) having access to the film. Linear TV is a television channel on a TV service. For example, you can watch Bridesmaids (2011) on TBS (Linear TV) or on TUBI (FAST Channels). This deal usually comes several months or years after a film's original release. Usually, depending a film's success on the streaming platform, such as drawing in more subscribers, it will solely stay on that SVOD platform until the hype has died down a bit and it now can find a home among other SVODs, Linear TV, and/or FAST Channels.

The way distribution deals works has vastly changed over the last couple of years with streaming deals replacing theatrical. A lot of films are made with the main distribution deal being SVOD, and sometimes it's a permanent one. Meaning that once a streaming platform, like Netflix gets a deal for SVOD, it can forever stay on Netflix, not going forward with any other streaming services, linear TV, or FAST channels. So your only way to watch that film would be to have a Netflix subscription. Distribution deals can also change based on social media influences. Sometimes a clip of a film, whether in context or not, can go viral and then it will draw in a crowd of people wanting to watch the film, allowing for renewed deals to take place.

There are many avenues for a film to be shared with the public. Some may skip a theatrical release, or be taken to film festivals, this is most common for films that acquire a distribution deal after a film has been made. Other films may only have a short domestic theatrical release or a small SVOD profit. Then, years later, other countries discover and love the film and it becomes a hit overseas. Most importantly, you never know what will happen for your film, be it now or in the future. The best thing you can do for your film, is make sure a proper distribution plan is in place.