3. Create a semi-theatrical strategy.
The next area to consider is whether you are going to do a semi-theatrical release. A semi-theatrical release is a special event screening. The screening could be on a campus, it could be in a museum, it could be in an art center, or it might even be in a movie theater. Wherever it is, the film is not playing at 7:30 and 9:30 for a week, it is playing once. It could be playing in the daytime, or it could be at night.
Semi-theatrical release is an area of growing importance, and it is often overlooked. As standard theatrical release gets harder and less effective, more and more people are doing semi-theatrical, some of them with great results. Semi-theatrical release can bring in revenue several ways. You might get rental fees for the film. You might sell DVDs at the screenings. Sometimes you can even get speakers fees and honorariums.
4. Create a cable VOD strategy.
You have to do your research and find out if there are cable VOD (video on demand) possibilities for your film. Some films have good VOD possibilities, and others do not. Cable VOD can be a source of real revenues. In a few cases, filmmakers have earned fifty to one hundred thousand dollars from cable VOD.
5. Create a regular TV strategy.
Regular TV is a complicated situation. There are not a lot of places to go, but there are still a few. Deals are often difficult to get and they are complicated.
6. Create a foreign strategy.
If you want overseas sales, you are going to have to find a foreign sales agent to work with, in terms of sales rights. Domestically you might be able to do most of the distribution yourself, but when it comes to foreign sales, you will absolutely need a foreign sales agent.
7. Create a DVD strategy.
DVD sales include all the sales of your DVDs, whether you sell them individually at screenings or over the Internet on your own website. Broderick is adamant about keeping the rights to sell DVDs at screenings and from your website.
"I think filmmakers should always retain the right to sell DVDs from their websites and from their screenings. This issue is non-negotiable; you should always keep these rights. They should also see if they could find a partner who can put their DVD into stores, into Amazon, and on Netflix. There are a number of companies that can do this."
8. Create an educational distribution strategy.
Educational distribution includes colleges, universities, high schools, libraries, and various private and public organizations. If your film is suitable for educational distribution, you might be able to sell copies to colleges and universities for two to three hundred dollars each to use in courses and to put on reserve in the library. When you go for educational distribution, you have to decide if you want to work through an educational distributor or do the educational sales yourself.
9. Create an Internet distribution strategy.
The Internet is an important and growing source of revenue for all films. Internet rights include things like iTunes, digital downloads, and digital streams from your own site. Broderick cautions filmmakers not to underestimate the potential of downloads from their own site. He says that such downloads can generate significant revenue.
