Step by Step process on how to use Create Space to make DVDs of your film...

Now and then we like to share info to the Do It Yourself filmmaker about how to market and sell your film, after you've won all the awards and accolades of course!

Celebrate every step of the way!

So let's say you've finished your epic, and you'd like to offer it online as a streaming video. Or you just want to be able to send everyone you ever met a copy.  Here's how!

Well, first things first, you contact our sponsor KinoNation.com and ask them to rep your film.. and they'll get it onto all the major platforms and start sending you checks.

But let's say you'd like to make physical shrink wrapped DVDs of your film, and you're busy tracking everyone's address that you've ever met....

Consoling a filmmaker for forgetting to get addresses of everyone they ever met.

Well, recently we saw this advice from someone who's used CreateSpace to successfully market and sell their film.  We asked them "what's the step by step process?"  In the interests of helping people to figure out a way to make some money on the side streaming or selling their film (it's up to you how well you can market, publicize or otherwise get your film into people's view), here's one person's advice:



(We have no connection to Amazon or CreateSpace - we just love to pass along good information for independent filmmakers.)

Winning!

How to Create a DVD via Create Space

1. Create an account at Create Space (now owned by Amazon.com).  

2. Click on “Add a New Title.”

3. Let them know if it’s a book or DVD.

4. Follow their instructions on how to submit materials.

5. Design a cover for the DVD using their template (or have someone design a DVD cover and submit it as per their formats).  Make sure you follow their instructions as to the size of the JPEG for the DVD, they have a few different sizes required; they can all be the same photograph if necessary.

6. Add copy to the front and back covers of the Template so people can easily identify what it is from the cover alone.

7. Fill out the various places where they ask about the DVD – these are going to be listed on Amazon, so make sure they let the audience know what it is, and why they should have it.

8. Upload the JPEGs to the website and approve the making of the cover.  They’ll ask if you have a UPC code for your DVD – I’m pretty sure they’ll either sell you one, or it’s easy to obtain one.  (Same goes for the books, they’ll supply you with one, or you can supply them with your own, an ISBN is required for books.  The downside to using theirs is that you can’t resell that same title to another entity, the upside is that it doesn’t cost anything.  I’ve used both, no real complaints.)

9. Price the DVD accordingly – they’ll suggest a price, you can put whatever you like, there is a minimum amount – but check into other titles that are like your DVD and see what they’re selling for.

10. Follow their instructions where to send a copy of your film to their offices so they can upload it.  You need to follow their instructions clearly as to what the format is – HD or DV, or what the size of the MPEG might be.  Generally, if you can fit all the media onto one standard 4.7 MB DVD, they can as well. 

11. When the DVD is ready, they’ll send you an email asking you to proof the finished product.  I think the first one is free, the ensuing copies cost wholesale.

12. Once you’ve looked at and approved the DVD it goes onto the Amazon site, and they price it according to their other titles.  There are 3 options, streaming it, downloading it, and purchase of a DVD. You must own all rights to the material depicted, the music, permission from all who appear on it, etc.

13. You can order as many DVDs as you want wholesale – you just return to the main page of Create Space and next to your title, click on “order copies.”  There’s credit card and shipping info to fill out, but it’s relatively simple.  Once you’ve got the title listed, you can also sign up for their “extended sales” options, which allows them to sell your product with a markup, so wholesalers can purchase it directly with a link you give to them.

14. You can also purchase DVDs and have them shipped elsewhere – a book wholesaler for example, or some other venue – in order to do that, you click on “Order copies” and put in new shipping information.

15. When you’re done your film is available for sale online everywhere amazon exists. People without American credit cards can’t watch the film overseas, as Amazon requires US bank info. But copy the “store link” and put it on your website, and when the listing appears on Amazon a few days or weeks later, make sure everyone you know has a link.  You can offer an option to contact you for international sales. 

That's it! And then "Bob's your uncle" you'll be selling them like hotcakes, or holding them like hotcakes and tossing them out to your friends and fans.

DIY Wishing You Happy Holidaze

This post is like the old holiday ornaments that are stuffed in the closet... it's that time of the year to dust them off and hang them on the tree, put them in the window, light the candles, do whatever it is that puts you in a better mood.  The world is a complicated place, and your camera is something you can pick up and use to change the world... so don't hesitate to do so...  meanwhile, here's some sound advice from a previous post.. reposted like an old ornament.........



We at the DIY Film Festival wish y'all a wonderful holiday season.

DIY Santa

We're getting closer to the deadline for submissions - and we will be announcing the finalists in February for the awards ceremony in March.

First, sit back and congratulate yourself for having finished your film!  Not everyone does that.  Many folks want to start a film and never get around to it.  So you've won that battle.  And now that you've done all that work and have started to submit it to festivals worldwide, also consider the most logical and best ways to market your film, as well as to consider how to distribute your film.

We here at the DIY Film Festival are fans of do it yourself distribution as well.  If you've entered it into festivals and gotten great feedback from friends and the viewing public, all the better. But if you want to find your audience online, there's no better way to do that than doing it yourself.

One method we've seen work is to:

1. Consider creating a method for distribution through Amazon.com - they're the largest online retailer, and posting your film on their website is a logical way to do reach people you never considered reaching.  How to do that? Easy.  Use Createspace.com - they're the aggregator for Amazon, don't charge you anything to create and build your own catalog.  You follow their easy instructions, submit your film in the way required, submit your artwork to their easy to design covers, and within a few days you could be looking at a sample copy of your film.

Once the film is on their site, it automatically becomes linked to Amazon.  Then make sure all your friends check out your film, and if possible get them to write a review of what they thought of the film. It's a way of building interest.

Also, the film automatically is offered as a DVD, as a streaming video and a download on demand. Amazon keeps a percentage of the money collected, but it's worth checking into.

2. Consider putting your film onto itunes.com - another giant retailer.  However, it's a bit harder to do so, as you must go through an aggregator to get them interested in your film.  And the aggregator has to be able to format the film in the way that apple will accept it - and sometimes they will charge money to do so.  However, KinoNation.com offers a simple and easy alternative - they will format and put your film onto all the major outlets, and retain a percentage of what the film earns.

3. Then its up to you to consider how to create public awareness and interest.  That would be offering your film to colleges and universities to review, getting yourself onto radio shows or television outlets, or having public screenings at your local library - which usually cost very little to do.  The only thing preventing the filmmaker from creating their own tsunami of publicity is themselves.  So get to work!

And good luck with all your festival entries, including ours!

Monty Python wants you to have Holiday Fun

Call for Entries!

"Film will only become an art when its materials are as inexpensive as pencil and paper." 

Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) French poet, novelist, painter, and filmmaker.

The DIY Film Festival is now in its twelfth year.  Hooray!

A festival that's dedicated to highlighting "do it yourself" filmmaking, we've been honored to be part of this totally independent movement.  Some of the films we've seen have been part of Kickstarter campaigns, some have been financed by friends and family, and many have been created under the auspices of a film school.

We've also seen films from across the globe; this past year's winners included films from Uganda and Ukraine - and their films tell fresh new stories from the point of view of people living in far flung places across the globe.  Film is a universal language, and whether it's shot in the streets of India, or the streets of Manhattan, the one thing these filmmakers have is a burning desire to tell a story.

We've had the great opportunity to honor documentaries from around the globe - this past year's winning documentary was shot in Antarctica over the course of an entire year.

Here are some notes on the winning films and the finalists from this past year's festival:

DOCUMENTARY

NO HORIZON ANYMORE; A YEAR LONG JOURNEY AT THE BOTTOM OF THEWORLD

Director Keith Reimink
Keith Reimink decided to head down to Antarctica with his Canon Vixia to see what he might be able to discover "down under."  His film is haunting and amazing.

DOCUMENTARY SHORT

NOT ANYMORE: A STORY OF REVOLUTION

Directed by Matthew VanDyke
Festival winner Matthew VanDyke's haunting portrait of the war in Syria told by two people who are in the midst of it.  The idea of being able to film under such circumstances is pretty astounding, but the heartbreaking visuals of what's happening now in their country is hard to turn away from.  

DRAMATIC FILM FEATURE

KNUCKLE JACK

RUMBLESTRIPS

Directed by John Adams and Toby Poser
John Adams and Toby Poser have taken DIY Filmmaking to a different level - they enlist the acting talents of their kids while making these moving portraits and telling compelling stories.  The images are beautiful, the characters rich and full of development, and the stories are worth checking out.

DRAMATIC FILM SHORT

FOR ANABELA

Directed by Tyler Bodamer
Tyler Bodamer's haunting portrait of a love affair - with a boy who is trying to find roots in a rootless world, and a girl trying to find her own way on the planet - he creates a haunting portrait of a time and place where two young lovers can find each other.

WORLD CINEMA FEATURE

MY STREET – MY LIFE

Directed by Jeremy Etienne and Julienne Rathore (India/Norway)
This film was shot on the streets of India using local kids telling their own compelling story.  A film that looks like it must be a documentary, but is actually great story telling, is reminscent of the films of Satijat Ray, the great Indian filmmaker who also filmed on these same streets.

JURY PRIZE

WHERE WE BELONG

Directed by Krista Imbesi (Uganda)
Moving and compelling portrait of people working in Uganda to help those that have been neglected by society.  This documentary takes the viewer into the huts and homes of these people, and leaves an indelible impression not easily forgotten.

WORLD CINEMA SHORT

ICE CREAM

Directed by Mariia Ponomarova (Ukraine)
Mariia Ponomarova is a filmmaker working in Ukraine, telling unusual and fun stories of everyday people.  Her directing style and artistic sense is evidenced in this unusual tale about a train stopping on a snowy afternoon.

COMEDY FILM

MASQUE ROUGE

Directed by Godefroy Ryckewaert
This is just a really fun comic take on the idea of a local man who decides to become a super hero.  Last glance, Godefroy had taken down the link to the full film, but hopefully the trailer is still available.  Short but very funny.

MOCUMENTARY

THRONG

Directed by Chris R. Wilson and Zacharia Persson
Former DIY Fest winner Chris Wilson is at it again.  He brings a decidedly surrealistic sense of humor to his filmmaking, and this mocumentary, pretending to be a documentary about some guys trying to think up of a plot for a film, but filming the actors who come in for an audition when there is no script, is firmly out of left field.  

STUDENT FILM

IN THE GRIP

Directed by Eric Hayes
A stylish look at an unusual hit man.

ANIMATION

THERE’S AN OCTOPUS IN YOUR HEAD

Directed by Ari Grabb

A fun romp into the mind of an offbeat filmmaker with an eye towards cutting edge animation.

Congratulations to all of you filmmakers for finishing your film. 

Here are some novel ways to find DIY Distribution: 

KinoNation (which puts it onto Itunes) there are many creative ways to get your work in front of an audience, and to also get your money back from making your film.

CreateSpace (which then puts it onto Amazon) 

However, it's important to remember, we don't always pick up the paint brush to pay the rent; sometimes we're compelled to pick up the brush, to approach a blank canvas with our heart in our hand, to try and express ourselves in a way that only we can accomplish.  It takes courage to dip the brush and face the canvas; there's no time like the present to make that effort!

Toronto, Sundance, Cannes, DIY Film Distribution

Hello DIY Filmmakers,

Just a few words about Toronto's film festival, upcoming deadlines for Sundance and the Cannes Film Festival. (further details check: withoutabox.com) and a few words about DIY distribution in general.

Aim high!

Shoot the moon. Why not?

You don't really know who's going to respond to your work and in what fashion.  So if you can afford to, get it out there, see if you can get into these premiere film fests.  Toronto is a wonderful venue for international attention, Sundance is the premiere festival in the US (along with Slamdance, South by Southwest, Santa Barbara, Palm Springs short, NY Film Fest, Indie Spirit Awars etc), and Cannes of course, is Cannes.  Look at your film with the jaded eyes of a festival programmer - and then find the right fit for your story.

This cat wants to eat your film.
Just leave it lying around
undistributed.

And then after you've been the festival route and due to myopia of festival programmers, still don't have a place for your film, think about self distribution.  It's the way of the future for filmmaking - and as filmmakers get frustrated trying to get films into the studio pipeline, or the indie pipeline, or any pipeline other than a pipeline to the ocean - they'll see how DIY distribution can make you the filmmaker happy, make your audience happy, and make a name for yourself, as well as at least a modicum of income.

Here's one way to do it, it's not for everyone, but if you're tired of waiting for Godot to show up and anoint your film worthy of studio attention, here's one way to do it.  We at the DIY Film Fest have seen a number of folks pursue this avenue, and while it's no guarantee of profitability for your film, it does grant a certain amount of satisfaction in a world where there's little of it in artistic pursuits.

an indie filmmaker's dream actor

We at the DIY Film Fest believe in do it yourself filmmaking, do it yourself publishing, do it yourself music - doing what you feel comes natural and then getting it out there for others to appreciate.  Your audience will find you if you let them.

Finish your film in the best way that you can, screen it for friends so that you can experience what they experience when viewing it. "Kill all your darlings" meaning edit the film until its not just good but really good.  And you feel it can't be edited any longer.  Add some great music, there are many bands that will let you use their music on your film in return for credit or future compensation ("if the film is sold to a distributor, you will be paid as per BMI or ASCAP rules) or look for some great classical music that is inexpensive to license.  Music can make or break your film.  You've already paid attention to the visuals, to the sound and dialog, make sure the music moves your audience as well.

Then figure out where you want to show your film.  If its itunes, you need an aggregator.  They cost money, unless you find one like Ted Hope's new KinoNation, which if they take on your film, don't charge to sell it through to the various VOD sites.  You can save thousands using their service - otherwise you need to hire one of those listed in the link to get onto Itunes.

There's also Amazon, which is one of the most visited sites per day in the world.  The way to get your film onto Amazon is to use their createspace.com service - they have templates and easy instructions on how to send a DVD of your finished film, as well as help you to build your artwork.  You can do all of it for free if you want to. The only caveat is that if you purchase an ISBN yourself, if you resell the film to another entity, you continue to use your own title, if you use their ISBN then you have to rename the film for an alternate sale. Once they have the DVD they stream it live - all funds go monthly into your account.

What happens to those who steal films via Torrent

Yes, there's a problem if someone uploads your film to Torrent.  But if you've made a good film, and give people the option on your website to pay for it - even a paypal donut that says "if you've seen my film and not paid for it, please donate something."  But see pic to the left as to what happens to those who don't.

But that aside, you set the price, and then Amazon takes their cut.  It's around 55% to your 45% - but considerably better than a studio percentage.  Once you have the film packaged and online, then the next most important way to reach your audience is marketing and publicity.  Can you do that yourself?  Sure, if you have the time and inclination and imagination.  Many folks hire a publicist, or hire a marketing consultant - it's something you can find online.  There's also the PayPal way to go - once you have a paypal account, you can purchase a Merchant Services option which allows you to build their code onto your website.

You do have a website for your film,don't you?  If not, build one for free - get a gmail account, then use their very simple blogger software - build your site, then add HTML or links to purchase your film on your site - either via amazon, itunes, or paypal - where you can design in the paypal merchant button a link that takes your audience to another site to download your film.  You're only limited by your imagination.

Remember not to sign away any of the rights to your film without really understanding what the contract says.  There are some people who agree to represent your film, then take a huge percentage of your profit, and you'll never see a dime.  They've resold your film to another aggregator, and getting money from that sale is next to impossible.  If you can sell it yourself, then you're ahead of the game. (Can anyone say attorney?)

The most recent success story in that regard is Louis CK's wildly successful one man show.  He did a show at the Beacon in NY, paid for it himself (around $200K) and then put the film out on his website for $5.  The web protocol he used was the Amazon Cloud - with payments going direct to his PayPal account - so that once it resides in the cloud, he gets charged a nominal fee for every download.  In 30 days, he'd made a million dollars with his film - the first month alone!

Louis CD's PayPal page showing his million dollars in sales in one
month!  Can't make money with your film unless you get it out there.

Of course he's got a built in audience, he's got fans, he's got a good show that everyone wants to see - but he made it simple for them to find it, he did it himself.  At the moment, it's the DIY story of the year.  And why would filmmakers waste their time with theaters when they know full well that a theater is not going to show their off beat, particular film?  Why not bypass all that and just offer it directly to the audience?





So that's it for now from the DIY Film Fest.  We believe in Cocteau's observation that "when the cost of filmmaking is as much as a pencil and a piece of paper, then we'll find true art."  That time is now.

Never too late for schmoozing!

It's one thing to make a film.

It's another thing to get it out into the world.  What's the answer?

Schmoozing is good.  Sometimes it's getting your film into festivals that have high schmoozing factor.  Like Cannes and Toronto - or Sundance - but that requires plane trips and hotels (although Park City is more DIY than the others).

There's another way to schmooze - and that's online.  Build a website at Facebook for your film, get your film a twitter account, and very important to build a blog so anyone who searches for the name of your film can find it easily, and not just at IMDB.com - that's important too - but if you're going to market and sell your film at some point, it's important to make it easy for people to find it.

Blogger offers an easy solution if you have a gmail account.  There are a million other ways to promote and sell your film, and the first and best way to do that is find a film you like, check out the website, see how it's built, and either hire someone to do the same for you, or figure out how to do it for yourself.  After all, we are about DOING IT YOURSELF here at the DIY Film Fest.


And in light of this profound information, I submit there are a few other things you can do, if you have enough money saved over from production to promote and distribute your film.  And that is CreateSpace.com - it's owned by Amazon.com, it's simple to build a page and submit your film, and once the DVD is submitted, the film goes live through Amazon - streaming, downloading, etc - and the account you've set up at CreateSpace pays you monthly.

But one final step might be to join an organization that has a proven record of helping filmmakers - it's Film Independent.  It's based in LA, they hold the Spirit Awards every year, but its a way for completely independent filmmakers to reach out and contact other filmmakers. Their deadlines are in Sept to submit films, but they have forums and workshops where you can learn more about distribution and sales.  There are conferences held at AFM every year - but the ones held through Film Independent are more often than that.  And they cover all disciplines, from shorts to features, from documentaries to animation to fiction films.  So if you have the extra cash lying around, it's something to look into - basic memberships are under $100, but the schmooze factor can be high if you get your film accepted into their festival, or just attend some of their events.  Good luck!!

FILM FESTIVAL NEWS

Hi All, I'm in contact with the management at Withoutabox.com - which is a feat unto itself!  Now that they're owned by IMDB which is owned by Amazon, it really is the one stop shop for the DIY filmmakers.

Just a note about DIY Distribution - if you're not aware of createspace.com - it's something to check into.  You follow their fairly simple instructions and submit a DVD of your film which they digitize and can offer as streaming video.  Of course it's up to you to advertise, promote, sell and otherwise wave the flag of your film high.  But while you're waiting to sell it to a larger studio concern, your friends and family can purchase the DVD and have it on their tv in a day or two.

Create space is www.createspace.com - We contacted them here at the DIY Film Festival to see if they wanted to be listed as an Ad on our website - but they're not up and running in that area at the moment, still trying to manage content.  But I can recommend their business model - it makes sense.  Just make sure you own all the rights to the music, to the content, to the visuals etc from your film - and have all the permissions necessary before listing it.  A fairly simple process - it's a way for DIY filmmakers to make money from their film while its in the festival circuit - and at a screening you can stand up and announce "Go to my web page if you want a copy!" and provide a link to your product.

Make sense?  To sign up with Amazon.com to supply content, go to their Advantage Account.  But if you sign up with CreateSpace.com and provide the content, they'll provide the package, and instantly offer the film as a streaming video - for whatever price you decide.  Don't forget to thank us at Oscar time.

Long live the DIY Film movement!!!!  (why the shots of Rome? Perche no?)