A business model for today's filmmaker
Somewhere along the line you find yourself asking the question, "Can I make a living as a filmmaker?". The honest answer is, "probably not". The majority of the people who work towards this goal will ultimately fail. Only a very few will have the wherewithal to become successful enough to actually make a living making films. The biggest mistake I think most people make is in thinking that filmmaking means making theatrical motion pictures. Face it. There can be only one Roger Corman, one Steven Spielberg and only one M. Night Shyamalan in this world. That said, life can still be worth living. You just have to find other ways to make films that will give you an income. After all, money is money, right? Does this sound crass? Well, it shouldn't. Filmmaking is a business just like any other and if you expect to make a go of it you will need to approach it that way. Even if your desire is to make films about saving the yellow speckled harbor twitcher someone besides dad is going to have to pay for your ventures. Why not have that someone be the buying public?
I'm going to give you two examples I know from personal experience.... that is, I know the folks who are actually doing what I am going to describe to you. The first is a fellow I met probably 12 years ago. He came to us for film transfers and video tape editing. What he had was 16mm footage he shot of a gathering of nudists. In fact, he was one himself. Apparently these folks get together at various places to meet, exchange ideas, sell their hand made goods and just have a good time. All very harmless stuff, really. They just happened to be naked. Anyway, we completed the transfers and edited the project and he ordered a hundred VHS dupes. A few months later he called and ordered a few hundred more. He came back to us with two or three more similar film projects, all shot on 16mm because he liked the look of film. He told me once he sold the tapes for $35 each by advertising in the back of nudist magazines. At the time, you see, this was before the internet even existed. He eventually moved to Australia (where nudism is big, I guess) and lives very well, thank you. He's still going strong and he now has a web site offering at least a dozen titles for sale the last time I checked. Not a bad way to live, right Charles?
My second story is about a guy who had a regular job for years shooting video for a local corporation. He wanted to do something else with his talents and came up with the idea for a documentary about a race track. It took him about two years to complete but he took his time to get it just right. He was able to persuade the local PBS station to agree to run the program but they also wanted the rights to the VHS and DVD sales. He said no. He would agree to let them show the program a set number of times but he would retain all rights to the copy sales. Further, they would have to include a tag at the end of the program telling viewers where they could order the tapes from. This just happen to be his own 800# and web site address. This was the smartest thing he could have done. In the end, the minuscule payment he received from the station barely covered his DigiBeta mastering costs. It was the orders for tapes and DVDs he received each and every time the show ran that provided him a return on his investment. He even did all the fulfillment himself taking the orders and mailing out the copies. That also means, being a staff of one, he got to keep all the profits. Since that initial local broadcast a few years ago he has been able to secure the same deal with PBS stations around the country. They pay him a fee up front to run his program and he gets all the income from the copy sales that flood in soon afterword, to boot. He also sells them by placing ads in racing magazines and has had several flattering right ups about his program (all for free) where they have given him a link to his web site or 800#. Did I also say he has a web site?
The first method is what I call the direct marketing approach. The tapes were made specifically for sale directly to the buyer via ads placed in magazines or through a web site. The second approach is what I call indirect or soft marketing. The program was made available free to the viewing public via the PBS channel with an offer that allowed the viewer to purchase a copy later, if so desired. Obviously, he also used the direct method to take advantage of the sales potential that was out there for his show site unseen. Each knew he wanted to make films and hopefully make some money in the process. Both succeeded beyond their wildest dreams by simply exploiting a nitch market that was always there.
So you see, it is possible to make money making films. To do so, you'll need to channel your efforts into projects that someone else is interested in paying their hard earned money for. Dramatic material aside, it's more likely a film dealing with conventional subject matter will sooner find a buyer. To be sure, what opens this whole theory up is the internet. Not only does the web provide you an unlimited source of potential customers it also provides you an immense source of subject matter and ideas. You can instantly research a given theme to see what may be out there already and find out where and how you might approach the marketing of a particular subject. All at no cost to you. In fact, because of the internet, it's easier today to make it in filmmaking than it has ever been yet so few are taking advantage of it. So, what about you?