“Making films and getting them to this world is a tricky process, and if it’s an indie film, it can be knotty, gritty, cumbersome, and gruesome!”
That’s why we have come to you with this “Chronicle of GUDSHO”, to help indie filmmakers host their content on streaming platforms and gain a huge fanbase.
Believe it or not, this 21st century has been an arena of independent film distribution because people like us got sick of all the Hollywood paparazzi and wanted fresh talents to unveil stories that are heart-touchy and knowledgeable. An example of it is Moonlight taking its place in the canon of the best indie films which rose to the ranks for winning Oscars.
And yet another Indie Movie that’s going to see its shine very soon is “Jingle Vingle”, India’s 1st Christmas Themed Film that is to be streamed on GUDSHO from Dec 23, 2022. Hopefully, for all movie buffs and screenwriters out there, this holiday season is going to be fun-filled and heart-warming.
Ain’t it dear lucky filmmakers? With a multitude of streaming platforms available these days, the knacky aggregators had to see their demise. But, there’s one question in every creator’s mind.
Does the streaming service ‘own’ digital content?
It’s a strict No! It doesn’t mean selling your content online to someone else or broadcasting en masse. Rather, making it available for people to watch your content anytime they want by buying subscriptions or memberships.
Something which says like this,
“Any user who pays or orders to view the legal maker’s content will be granted a non-exclusive, non-transferable, and limited license access for that particular video. The content streamed on any portal is protected by copyright matters and trading any kind of information to and from the platform will be considered illegal and subjected to serve offense.”
Pretty authentic right? So, the hosting platform you subscribe to, will allow your viewers to watch the videos as long as you wish to display but won’t be able to sell, rent, lease, distribute, license, or assign to any third-party vendors.
Your heart-ache thinking about this juncture can be put to ease. Now that we have told you we do not retain any of your ‘own’ content, let us see the strategies you must adopt to self-distribute.
What strategies should I adopt for self-distributing Indie Films? 2 Main Steps For Indie Film Distribution?
This topic is for those who wish for the possible options for self-distributing their films across the masses.
So before digging into that, firstly, congratulations! You must have written a screenplay or even completed the project and waited for your en-route to sign a million-dollar deal. Or, simply waiting to get the attention your film requires.
Hence, below are the two prime sectors where you can have an eye to plan your film distribution.
(1) Winning hearts at Film Festivals
Film festivals like Cannes, Berlin, Sundance, Toronto, and Venice still remain the main distribution route for indie filmmakers. Traditionally, they have been picking up the best talent to date and giving it as leads to distribution companies or well-known production houses.
But not all films win trophies here, only the notable ones get selected. Still, getting your film showcased at such events can be beneficial. One such film that was displayed at Cannes and won the hearts of millions was, ‘The Treasure‘ by Corneliu Primboiu.
(2) Showcasing movies on Streaming Platforms
When it comes to streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon, they are two massive giants. Though you may not directly post your content here, you just need to contact aggregators like FilmHub. And if they like your film, they would take 20% of your profit, but do not have any upfront fee.
This cannot be welcoming for many. In such cases, you can try your luck and profit from self-streaming platforms like GUDSHO, iTunes, Patreon, YouTube, and many VOD distributors.
But, if you are still less satisfied with the audience numbers and your ROI, and if you feel you need the boost to knock your pitch, the next section can help you.
Prime Steps A Creator Must Follow To Self-Distribute
Did you know that once Mark Duplass, the famous American filmmaker, and producer stopped by Google to enlighten the audience on his career hardships and how he said not to wait for the cavalry? So, if you wish to turn the tide with yourself-work and not wait for just any distributor, these steps can come in handy to you.
1) Use Crowdfunding Platforms to Run your Distribution Campaign
Most indie filmmakers look to crowdfunding sites like Indiegogo and Kickstarter when they have completed the shots. Some platforms charge a fee in addition to profit whereas others, quickly leave up the hard-earned revenue.
Now, when you plan to use such platforms, make sure to give your movie links on your YouTube profile inorder to increase visitors for tuning your work.
But be sure to note that you have already made an indie film and are quite experienced in this field while writing a synopsis of the film you wish to crowdfund. With these, add subtitles to your clip for leveraging SEO tasks and making it easy for fans to share your content.
Once you have got hold of a cult fan base, you are likely to be in the most enviable position. This step can be in every creator’s pocket.
2) Determine whether you want a Theatrical or OTT Release
Films released in theaters are not this age’s phenomenon. It dates back to the era of Charlie Chaplin when stage shows were quite common. But today, when the world is shifting to remote work, e-learning, and online purchase because of the deadly pandemic that hit us hard, it is advisable to put your foot into the best OTT platforms. All for a safe, sound, and quick revenue generation strategy! But,
(I) In case you opt for Theatrical Release
There are no hard feelings to learn that people still love coming to theaters to watch movies. And if you are one of the theater-lovers, you can either rent a movie theater for $250 or commit your movies to film festivals and attract buzzing audiences.
Or simply reach out to theatrical servicing companies for that WOW feeling that you finally made a movie. These organizations specialize in booking, advertising, collecting tickets, and can bring a lot of professionalism and reach for your work.
Here are some of the must-does when you plan to release your movies on theaters:
– Your digital files must be in .mp4 or .mov format.
– 1920*1080 is the ideal screen resolution rate for cinema screenings.
-See to it that you shoot for encodings too in formats like Pro-Res 422 .mov and MPEG-2.
– If you are planning to go ahead with the film festival option, do not miss to include subtitles and closed captioning for your films
– Include sound effects and on-screen music as it deepens the view of a narrative.
(II) Opting for OTT Release
Post the Covid-19 shutdown, many people have started to favor OTT releases. Is launching a movie on an OTT worth it?
Undoubtedly yes! Because creators get
- Complete control of your data, audience, and money
- An opportunity to create ad-free marketing
- To deliver the best video quality experience
- Access to various marketing tools to help SEO engines discover content
- An easy-to-use interface
3) Choose the Right VOD Platforms
There are several VOD platforms in the market, all promising to deliver the best. So, before you dive into this topic, make sure to plan a strategy and check on their ecosystem for varied subscription models. Let us break them into finer topics.
(I) Decide a Strategy for your VOD Platform
If you wish to distribute your films on VOD platforms, you can either use a third-party aggregator or do it yourself.
Aggregators:
Netflix is the most-sought after aggregator who wishes to distribute their indie films to huge masses but they might charge you a hefty amount for launching on the platform, and demand a share in your profit too. So, aggregators can be a little risky when your pocket is tight.
However, they look after A to Z of film distribution from encoding to packaging to delivering on online platforms. Just that it’s more than a penny!
DIY:
Whereas if you have spent all the hard earned on production and waiting for crowdfunding schemes, you can very well try for VOD platforms to distribute your videos. Some Video-on-demand platforms like GUDSHO offer freemium plans to help you get started.
With them, you can keep the profits with you and just pay for the subscription.
(II) Different Monetization Models
There are plenty of monetization platforms offering unique models for creators like you to take complete ownership of your content thereby helping you to make the money you deserve. They are
AVOD: Ad-supported video-on-demand, which means you can derive profits whenever your viewers watch ads between your videos.
SVOD: Subscription video-on-demand. This is the most familiar model which requires viewers to pay a subscription to watch your videos on a monthly or yearly basis, like Prime and Netflix.
TVOD: Transactional video-on-demand. In this model, your audiences pay you on a video basis. For every video, you can set different price tags and make your audience pay those to proceed with the content.
This model works well for filmmakers as they profit more than 70% from platforms.
FVOD: Free video-on-demand. You must be familiar with this, it is watching your content for free like YouTube. We would suggest going ahead with this model if you have a huge fan following.
4) Finally, promoting your work
Your audience number depicts the success of your tale. So, build a large customer base to create buzzing instances for your movies. For that, you may have to
- Create a teaser and promote your film, this is for a reach.
- Publish your content in a newspaper, which could be a one-page synopsis of what your movie would be and how users can benefit from it.
- Build a website for production and crowdfunding.
- Announce to a larger audience through emails. This can come of great help even for your next film production.
“Making an independent film is like building a mini Eiffel Tower with popsicle sticks- it doesn’t happen overnight, and it’s not easy.”
–Says William Fichtner.
Very True!
Now that we have seen the ways to distribute movies, let us hope you pick a unified streaming platform for your release and make the above-said quote a false opinion.
Recommended Reading
How to self-distribute indie films on GUDSHO?
GUDSHO, as with the name, can help you create mesmerizing shows for your niche audiences. With heavy expertise in this field, the hosting platform gives creators everything they need to upscale their pursuit.
From offering stutter-free delivery of videos to the best monetization models to not asking to share profits to help you market your content with different tools, GUDSHO without a doubt is at its peak. And, if you are wanting to give this medium a try, here’s how you can create a channel and distribute your movies online.
- Type in Gudsho.com and click on the “Contact Us” button at the top right corner of the webpage.
- Here, you will see an option, “Create My Channel” to create a channel of yours so that you can host videos, movies, and any content you wish on any genre.
- Sign up with your email address and mobile number or simply click on Sign in with Google.
- Give your channel a name (should be between 4 to 20 chars) and then click on Save and Continue.
- Enter the category you will be operating on, your DP, and that’s it, your channel is ready.
- Choose any of our subscription models (SVOD, TVOD, or donations) and start creating videos.
Time For Wrapping!
Distributing films is no easy feat and requires effort, determination, positive vibes, and a membership platform like GUDSHO. Having them as your companion can make the long road to film distribution, not a dead end.
Get in love with us for what we are best known for:
- Robust Security
- CDN-enabled streaming
- Stutter-free videos
- Rich feature suite
- Exemplary monetization models
- Easy channel setup
- Analytical and marketing tools
- Safe and sustainable
The comments section is always open, if you have any questions or advice to add, please let us know. Till then, happy filming!!
Wow this is so cool! There are so many ways to self-distribute short films online. The Monetization options are endless. I love how they have listed each one so elaborately. Thanks!
Very nicely written. I didn’t know there were so many ways to stream indie content. VOD platforms seem like the right choice as they have mentioned in the article. It’s definitely worth sharing this.
Streaming your own indie films is the most difficult for young filmmakers. One definitely needs to know how to distribute and stream content to reach a global audience.
Kudos to the team for shedding light on this aspect of filmmaking! The detailed steps and insights provided here offer a roadmap to navigate the path of film distribution, empowering creators to share their stories with the world. And the key point is, the blog talking about the monetization models which gives the aspiring ones a boost.