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Does the short festival circuit even do anything?


Max Field

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You have a much higher chance of making a crappy feature and sell it to Netflix/Amazon/Sony Classics than to make a short that will lead you to be hired as a director on a mid-high budget feature or a TV show. As a matter of fact a Sundance, SXSW, TIFF winning short still not be enough to get you to work in Hollywood. Just look at the previous winners; with a few exceptions, facts speak by themselves.

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And I agree with Miguel that if you make a movie that "looks good", you can sell it easily. The biggest misconception is that it's all about the story. Not true at all. A movie will sell, if it looks reasonably well shot; if it looks like a movie rather than an ambitious student project, you will sell it. Unless you have zero interpersonal skills and can't show up to a meeting without looking completely homeless. In that case, shave your beard and shower. If you don't, you might still sell the movie :)

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And you get that meeting how?

 

There is no organisation anywhere on the planet that will agree to even look at a film from a completely inexperienced producer, let alone set up a meeting.

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The biggest misconception is that it's all about the story. Not true at all. A movie will sell, if it looks reasonably well shot; i

 

 

Hmmmmmmmmmm.

 

R,

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There's companies like Netflix who will. If your movie looks good(mostly cinematography-wise) you will most likely get into at least a few B-level festivals and you will meet someone who will make you an offer upfront. There's not such a thing as an inexperienced producer/filmmaker who makes a good movie(still referring to the visuals).

Edited by Merland Hoxha
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There's companies like Netflix who will. If your movie looks good(mostly cinematography-wise) you will most likely get into at least a few B-level festivals and you will meet someone who will make you an offer upfront. There's not such a thing as an inexperienced producer/filmmaker who makes a good movie(still referring to the visuals).

 

 

Hmmmmmmmmmmm.

 

R,

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Hmmmmmmmmmm.

 

R,

 

Are you meditating or just too tired to write a full response? If you're meditating I would like to know which meditation you use. I heard transcendental meditation is good. Lynch is always bragging about the benefits he gets from it.

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New technique I'm using, even on set, and actor comes up to me with the script and begins to tell me their concerns, I just respond with, hmmmmmmmmm.

 

R,

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Surely there is no formula for a film being a success.. well apart from alot of young ladies wearing not much.. even then you need some sort of story I guess..

 

Haskel Wexler was sent the script of Starwars and wrote "it will never work "and sent it back.. I read the original Madmax script and advised the original DP (on deferred wages) not to shoot it as it was crap and never make a cent... no one knows.. other films with all the ducks lined up have lost huge amounts of money.. then Blair Witch makes billions.. if there was a formula we wouldn't be in this endless sequel ,pre sequel .. re make nightmare, that the industry is in now.. the only formula seems to be keep making the same film over and over again..and the sheep herd in and buy $500 pop corn.. :)

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Yes there is- three elephants and an American teenager.

Oh, and an English director if you can find one.

 

 

You are too kind of course.

 

BTW Mark I am here working with Elizabeth Hurley, who is also starring in this motion picture. It seems the task of saving the elephant has fallen once again to us British.

 

R,

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Yes there is- three elephants and an American teenager.

Oh, and an English director if you can find one.

 

 

Oh yes sorry your right.. English actor should be an old Etonian BTW.. and a cute Alien with big eyes always helps..

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You are too kind of course.

 

BTW Mark I am here working with Elizabeth Hurley, who is also starring in this motion picture. It seems the task of saving the elephant has fallen once again to us British.

 

R,

 

 

Hang on.. Liz Hurley !! OMG.. send my fondest regards !.. if only she had married me instead of all those losers !..

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Netflix certainly will not. Their website is very clear that they don't even consider unsolicited submissions.

 

I have no idea where people get these ideas.

 

There is no way to sell independent film unless you have some sort of inside access, appropriate contacts, or a preexisting relationship with the company. It is not difficult to find this out. Every distribution company I've ever come across has made it abundantly clear that they have no interest in submissions and will not review submitted films.

 

I say this only because there are a lot of microbudget, independent filmmakers in the world who already think they're going to sell their latest epic to Netflix or Amazon, and they're absolutely not. It will not happen. It cannot be done. These organisations already have access to far more content than they can possibly use, and all of it is likely to be better produced than anyone's low budget first film.

 

The likelihood of this sort of feature being sold to anyone is literally millions to one. Vanishingly rare stories of this happening are not a model for everyone - they receive far more publicity than they deserve simply because they are so incredibly rare.

 

Nobody should spend money on filmmaking with the idea that it will ever make a return. Unless you are already an established player of that particular game, it won't.

 

P

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You need a sales agent to sell a movie to a distributor, who then puts it out to Netflix or Amazon.

 

So it's a three step process:

 

- Sales Agent

- Distributor

- Retail agreement

 

Worst thing is, you won't see any real money from Netflix or Amazon unless your movie is really good and even then, it will be peanuts.

 

DVD is dead, unless you get a smokin' deal from Walmart, which is nearly impossible without a kids movie.

 

Honestly, without lots of marketing, without a tun of publicity from your stars and a pre-existing fan base prior to release, it's pretty much impossible for a feature to make good money these days. Far easier to do a web series and fund it through sponsors.

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Netflix certainly will not. Their website is very clear that they don't even consider unsolicited submissions.

 

I have no idea where people get these ideas.

 

There is no way to sell independent film unless you have some sort of inside access, appropriate contacts, or a preexisting relationship with the company. It is not difficult to find this out. Every distribution company I've ever come across has made it abundantly clear that they have no interest in submissions and will not review submitted films.

 

I say this only because there are a lot of microbudget, independent filmmakers in the world who already think they're going to sell their latest epic to Netflix or Amazon, and they're absolutely not. It will not happen. It cannot be done. These organisations already have access to far more content than they can possibly use, and all of it is likely to be better produced than anyone's low budget first film.

 

The likelihood of this sort of feature being sold to anyone is literally millions to one. Vanishingly rare stories of this happening are not a model for everyone - they receive far more publicity than they deserve simply because they are so incredibly rare.

 

Nobody should spend money on filmmaking with the idea that it will ever make a return. Unless you are already an established player of that particular game, it won't.

 

P

I was clearly referring about getting a movie distributed rather than produced. There's a huge difference between these two. And yeah Netflix prefers acquiring the rights to an existing movie rather than producing a new one; most of the time. Just look at their library. This is pretty obvious.

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This may be true.

 

What's certainly true is that whoever the first step is, they will of course be complete inundated with requests from no-hoper indie filmmakers, and therefore very highly resistant to any sort of approach.

 

The likelihood that anyone involved in this conversation could possibly come up with such an unmissably spectacular pitch that anyone would care is microscopic.

 

P

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Perhaps, but unless you make the pitch you will never find out and like anything. you have to practice in the markets. .Sales agents do have one fear and that is missing the one big thing, that does leave then open to the pitch, but you need to put the hours in getting to that stage and all the other aspects building up to it... the script, the package, being a bit of a second hand car salesman/woman.

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Every distribution company I've ever come across has made it abundantly clear that they have no interest in submissions and will not review submitted films.

 

P

I assumed the same until I started calling around. There are a handful of distributors who actually have contact info on their sites. I reached out to a few to see if anyone would look at a trailer. Everyone was willing. The trouble is actually getting a phone number or email address that is not an info@ address which is just a blackhole to nowhere.

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I would go to a suitable film market, some are more about selling the completed film, rather than the pre production putting funding in place.. Face to face is always better than sending material to a web site and it shows that you're serious.

 

However, your no budget/micro budget feature is probably more about showing that you can make a good quality, long form film, rather making any sales on it.

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