by Andrew Einspruch
Filmmaker Andrew Einspruch recently attended the Australian International Documentary Conference and wrote a series of articles for the event, which he’s graciously allowed us to reprint here. These articles originally appeared in Screen Hub, the daily online newspaper for Australian film and television professionals.
Tim Sparke, CEO of Mercury Media International, subtitled his talk Digital Distribution in a Traditional Market at this year’s AIDC with “Only for the Brave?” It is certainly a brave new world for filmmakers, with distribution possibilities popping up like mushrooms, and with a few dominant players emerging in certain markets. This is the context within in which your distribution decisions must now be made.
“The digital market can no longer be ignored,” said Sparke. “Over the past two years, those distributors who have schooled themselves on the complexities of the market, balancing digital against traditional and experimenting with creative windowing, have seen good returns.”
So how do you come to grips with that complexity?
You start by recognising there is no single entity called video on demand. VOD takes numerous forms, including:
- Cable VOD
such as offerings in the USA from Comcast.
- Transactional VOD
, which is what happens with movies on iTunes.
- Subscription VOD
– think Netflix.
- Ad-supported Free VOD
, such as Hulu.
Each of these is, potentially, a digital window that producers and distributors can take advantage of.
Sparke also suggested clearly understanding what it is that you have (and note that the following categories are broad generalisations. Odds are good that most documentaries fall somewhere in between).
Is the film a theatrical documentary? Not just does it have a 90 minute length, but does it have high production values and a good three-act structure? Sparke said true theatrical documentaries are “rare beasts”. But if you do have one of those rare beasts, then its digital value in license fees, up fronts, or exclusivity is highest. But its digital windows need careful managing. There is the potential for day-and-date release, or to bid key broadcasters up against VOD platforms who want premieres.
Maybe you have a TV documentary (call it 52 to 58 minutes). Sparke said good TV docs are international in scope, and either topical or highly commercial in content and style. Compared to a feature doc, the digital value is ancillary. But that value varies wildly, depending on its content and how well it connects with interest groups.
Sparke’s third category is the viral documentary – low budget, niche, and/or cult. If you can tap into interest groups, your doc can flourish online. And if it garners enough buzz, it can sometimes make the difficult leap over to broadcast.
No matter what kind of film you have, Sparke said to be open minded with your strategy. “A long festival and theatrical release for a topical documentary will only damage the value for broadcast and digital buyers who will begin to see the film as aged,” he said. “While a previous DVD or theatrical release used to be important for digital buyers, it is increasingly less significant and can even be a turn-off for platforms seeking premieres or day- and-date releases. Think about the best route for your particular film, and understand that distribution windowing has drastically changed.”
Sparke brought two case studies with him. First was a micro budget doco, The Crisis of Civilisation. Made on $1000, it was originally targeted the digital market. They released it for free, and it got enough notice to get picked up for broadcast. Sparke described it’s distribution path, and for those used to a traditional model, it seemed almost backwards.
1. Digital Release – a short-window advertising-based VOD release on Youtube and Hulu.
2. Continued digital sales – digital windows managed carefully starting on transactional VOD, then subscription. Platforms included iTunes, BlinkBox (UK), Amazon Instant (US), Fairfax (Australia).
3. DVD release – via Amazon. Sparke said there were “good sales due to ‘cult’ value of the film.”
4. Successful DVD and digital release led to positive write-ups for the film and invitations from film festivals.
5. International TV sales – RTV Slovenia, Ayat Media Iran, Planete Poland, AlHurra Middle East, NKS Media CIS & Baltics, Press TV, UR Sweden.
6. Continued broadcast and digital interest.
The second example was QPR: The Four Year Plan. QPR stands for Queens Park Rangers, and it is a football (that is, soccer) documentary about a horrible team making it into the premier league. Made more traditionally for $750,000, it was a feature length documentary that was picked up during post-production, and became a hit. Sparke said it did “six figures in traditional sales worldwide, with 20% of total revenue earned through digital sales.” Here’s is the distribution path he described, which is more tradition, but not completely so:
1. Limited UK theatrical and UK DVD release via the QPR store. This helped them raise finishing funds and develop word-of-mouth.
2. Domestic TV sale to BBC2. On a network that typcially gets a 5% share, the doco got an 11% audience share and critical acclaim.
3. International TV sales, incluidng TV2 Norway, Viasat Sweden, MTV Finland, EBS Hong Kong, Canal Plus Poland, Viewcom Belgium, Sky Italia, TV2 Denmark, Globosat Brazil, Al Jazeera Middle East along with multiple inflight sales.
4. Simultaneous festival release in key territories – Sheffield Doc Fest and IDFA.
5. Digital release – transactional VOD (Ttunes), then zubscription VOD (Netflix US, UK and Nordic), followed by advertising VOD (Hulu and Guardian Film Club).
6. Continued broadcast interest worldwide.
Sharpe’s point ultimately, is there is is no one right answer to the question of distribution. “There are many different paths to digital distribution. Each film you make will have its own path, and its own audience. And it is your way of achieving whatever you went into filmmaking for,” said Sharpe. “The future is yours. This is the most exciting time ever in my time in the industry. Ten years ago we were at the propeller plane stage of television. Now we are at the jet plane, or even the drone, part of this industry.
“Go out there. Go make your films. Think clearly about how you are going to distribute your film. You will almost certainly, if you want to work with the Netflix’s and the Hulus and various people like that, have to work through a distributor, because they are technology companies. They are not in the business of making films. They’ll provide you information about who is watching your film. But ultimately, they need help from you and the distributors what might work and what might not work.”
Andrew Einspruch is a producer with Wild Pure Heart Productions . His current project is the low budget feature film The Farmer.
