Many filmmakers have finished their film, and are wondering “What now?� The next step is really the most important step in the entire filmmaking process. That step is distribution. For most independent films, an internet based distribution plan is the best bet for getting the film out the door and creating some buzz. Selling a DVD on the Internet can be done with very little initial investment. This allows filmmakers with smaller budgets to get distribution of their hard work underway. How does a filmmaker go about getting that distribution plan set up? There are several options available in today’s market.

 

As with every step along the way in the making of the independent film, choices between price and amount of work put in is the first choice to make. In distribution, it’s all a matter of how much work a filmmaker plans to do themselves, against the profit margin on each sale of the DVD. This is really a personal preference on the part of the filmmaker.

 

If the filmmaker has the know-how to complete the distribution on their own, they can put in the leg work to get their film up on DVD sales sites or create their own personal site to sell from. In this situation, the filmmaker will become the distribution center, and will have to be willing and able to create the DVD, label, and cover for the film. In addition, all sales and shipping will go through the filmmaker themselves. Obviously, this is a lot of work, but almost always the profit margin will wind up being quite a bit higher in this situation then when control of the distribution is handed over to a third party.

 

The busy filmmaker is going to want to simply hand over a copy of the DVD they want sold on the Internet, a rough draft of what the label and cover should look like, and let someone else do the work. A little research will find several companies willing to do this. These distribution companies usually take a fairly large percentage of the revenue from the film sales for a relatively small portion of the work. For the filmmaker, however, this may be worth the cost to be able to keep the headache of sales and shipping out of their hands.

 

There is a middle ground on this as well. Some companies are willing to sell the DVD from their Internet site and ship to the purchaser, while the filmmaker creates the DVD, label, and cover. A specific quantity of DVDs is then shipped to the third party company. Many filmmakers find that if they are going to take the time to do this much, they might as well cut out the middle man and keep the extra profit for themselves. Again, this is a choice for each filmmaker based on personal preference.

 

No matter which choice is made, the filmmaker must still remember one thing. Whether doing everything on their own or handing everything over, the responsibility to create a buzz for the DVD they are selling on the Internet still falls on the shoulders of the filmmaker. A third party company may be handling the distribution, but they do not have the personal involvement in the film to have the want to sufficiently advertise it. If a DVD is going to sell well on the Internet, a filmmaker must find a way to get the word out about the film and create sales on their own.