EXTREME INDIE BLOG: FILMMAKING TECH: Distribution

Some fascinating videos of two people - Peter Broderick and Ted Hope - both very passionate people all about Independent Films - right here.

A personal note before we begin:

In my experience - making movies is one of the grandest experiences I have ever been a part of. Ever. One of the reasons for that fact - making a movie is an art-form that takes an army of people - working together - from the writer - to the boom holder - to the fans - to the food caterer - to the DP - to the actor. Every single job in the realm of creating a movie is just as important as the other. It all has to gel. Let me repeat that - it all has to gel. That is a challenge - even in the team game of football - a section of the team can have an off day - a kicker can flounder - the defense can pull out an off-playing offense on and on - but in film - if the sound person is off - the movie fails. If the actor is off - the movie fails. It's an art form that relies heavily on each and every single job - being done - well. It's why a movie is simply - making magic happen - it takes a confluence of all the elements working correctly - and that's magic.

Let's say you make it all happen. Let's say you have that magic captured - on film - in a movie - all that work - passion - poured into the project - sometimes taking four to five years - and then.... nothing.

Why nothing?

Because distribution for movies - is absolute. Distribution is a component of making a movie - just like the lighting - the sound - the story - the direction - the editing - - without a path of distribution - correctly implemented - NO ONE WILL SEE IT.

Thus - your movie is dead in the water.

Dead.

I'm not theorizing - I 'm talking from absolute experience. Only after meeting with Peter Broderick did I realize how important a plan of distribution is - especially when he told me - you have a grand movie here - now - it's going to take about 14 to 18 months to get a following - because you should have started addressing distribution on day one - but now you are starting here - at the end of the movie - and distribution is a journey - a path - and not a short one.

Distribution is absolute. That's a fact. A fact that many - let me stress that - MOST #extremeindie filmmakers don't know - don't realize - don't concern themselves with - until it's too late.

With all that said - I find it so rare in this business of making movies to actually be able to learn something from someone who has actually done what they are preaching about. The odds are usually whomever is offering advice is theorizing - with the two gentlemen listed below - they can back up what they talking about - and that - in itself - is rare.

So enjoy - and learn from two of the best at what they do ;-)

1: PETER BRODERICK