IFH 723: The Essentials of Screenwriting with Pilar Alessandra

Today's episode is a big one guys. You need to brace yourself. The film marketplace is going through a major shift. It is as big as when we went from Black and white films to color or adding sound to movies. Movies industry is changing from a product-based business (DVDs, Blu-Rays) to a service-based business (streaming services). Spotify and other music streaming services have devalued music down to basically worthless. What used to cost you $17.99 for one album of 1 or 2 hits and a bunch of songs you didn’t want now cost fractions of a penny from your monthly membership.On Spotify, an artist needs around 337,000 plays to earn $1472 a month (the monthly minimum wage. Amazon Prime pays .6¢ per hour viewed. Streaming platforms are paying less and less and the indie budget seems to be going up and up. This business model is not sustainable.Companies like Disney, Amazon, and Apple have a business model that will ensure their survival in the new film economy. Because their main business is not making movies. They use media as marketing vehicles selling other products and services. Disney’s revenue is broken down like this 42% is Media Networks (licensing ESPN, Disney Channel, FX Networks, etc to cable and streaming platforms. 28% is Parks and resorts. 15% is studio entertainment and 9% is consumer goods and interactive entertainment. Disney generates $36,220,000 a day. Disney+ is a HUGE sign on where the film industry is going. It has 10,000,000 subscribers so far. The direct to consumer model, killing the middle man (DVD manufactures, Cable channels, movie theater chains). The old way is dying and entire sub-industries are trying to hold on for dear life to the status quo. Movies theaters are struggling. At the American Film Market. I heard many distributors tell me the theatrical was not a growth industry anymore. The devaluation of movies and series began with YouTube (the FREE version of Spotify for videos). A generation was raised on getting video content for free whenever they want. Movies and series fell into that well. Then Netflix gave us the ability to watch films and series as part of a small monthly fee. We no longer had to wait for weeks to watch the full seasons of our favorite show and suffer through commercials, we could binge an entire show in a few days, commercial-free. Now with so many streaming services available why would you buy or rent a film if it will be available on a streaming service in a few weeks. The other big problem is the volume of content. Indie films (along with studio films) are being dumped into a marketplace in an ocean of content. It’s basic economics, the more quantity of a product that is on a shelf the shelf, the cheaper it is. It’s supply and demand. How can an indie filmmaker survive in this new film economy?Niche down and focus your work on a specific audience that you can reach or cultivate. Become a filmtrepreneur. Musicians have begun focusing on building themselves as a brand and using their music as advertising to sell ancillary products and get sponsorships. Indie filmmakers can do this as well when focusing on a niche audience. Piracy is a HUGE problem for all media industries, books, music, and movies. Steve Jobs said“You can’t stop piracy, you can only compete with it.”It’s much harder to pirate a t-shirt, course, niche service or sponsorship. You need to think outside the box. The business is changing whether you like it or not. If you do not change the way you think about filmmaking you will not survive. You can sit there and complain. You can sit there and try to hold on to the good ol days. You can sit there and talk about how things should be or you can adjust and pivot your approach to making and selling your films or end up like Blockbuster Video, Toys R Us, Circuit City, Virgin Records, and a many other corporation corpses of companies and people who did not change with the times. I do a deep dive and go farther into this in the podcast and share ways to make your film projects thrive in this new world. I hope this episode opens your eyes to the current marketplace for indie films.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

26 Marras 201938min

I know the title of this show is bold but in the course of this podcast I will explain what I see happening in the traditional film distribution model. My trip to this year to the American Film Market was extremely educational. I met some amazing people, industry insiders, and tribe members. I did, however, spoke to many film distributors and sales agents and discover a truth that I had suspected for a long time now, traditional film distribution is dying.Film distributors are having as hard of a time trying to generate revenue with their film libraries as filmmakers are getting their films sold. The world is changing. Many filmmakers are producing films for the 90’s and early 2000’s marketplace. Both filmmakers and distributors have little or no understanding of what today’s customer wants or how to get it to them while still making money.In this episode I discuss:• The DVD/Home Video Crash• The Streaming Wars• AVOD• How film distributors are becoming more predatory out of desperation• The world of data/niche driven cinema• Cutting out the middlemen• The Googlfication of the movie industry• Foreign markets• The shortage of talent in the film industry, according to the streaming platforms• Why Netflix paid $200 million for The Irishman• How the indie filmmaker can survive and thrive in the new world of filmmaking• and much moreWarning: This episode will be mind-blowing so please brace yourself. Enjoy!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

19 Marras 201945min

Today on the show we have the legendary indie film champion, Chris Gore. Chris is the founder of Film Threat, a magazine that's mission is to champion indie filmmakers while giving the middle finger to the Hollywood establishment. In this episode, Chris and I speak about the glorious 90's indie film scene, his time being a part of the geek channel G4, his new documentary Attack of the Doc and the state of indie film today.I've been a fan of Chris' for years. I even ran into him on my first trip to Sundance back in 2005. Chris also wrote the guerrilla guide to marketing and selling an indie film, Chris Gore's Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide, 4th edition: The Essential Companion for Filmmakers and Festival-Goers.If you love indie films then you will love this episode. Enjoy my conversation with Chris Gore.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

11 Marras 20191h 18min

Today on the show we have Jonathan Wolf, the managing director of the American Film Market or AFM as it's known. The AFM has gone through many changes over the years. In recent years the world of film distribution has been turned upside down and AFM has been changing along with it. I have the honor to be moderating a panel on Micro-Budget Filmmaking at this year's AFM. The times they are a-changing​. I sit down at talk Netflix, streaming, OTT, self-distribution and how you can screen your film to hundreds of potential buyers at the AFM.Jonathan Wolf is Executive Vice President of the Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA®) and Managing Director of the American Film Market® (AFM®). The Independent Film & Television Alliance is the global trade association of independent producers and distributors of motion picture and television programming. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the organization represents and provides significant entertainment industry services to 125 member companies from 20 countries.Since his appointment in 1998, Mr. Wolf has guided the growth and repositioning of the American Film Market (AFM), the world’s largest film market. A pivotal destination for independent filmmakers and business people from all over the world, the AFM is a global marketplace where more than $1 billion in motion picture production and distribution deals are closed each year.The eight-day Market hosts more than 8,000 industry professionals and screens more than 306feature films. Participants come from over 80 countries and include acquisition and development executives, agents, attorneys, directors, distributors, financiers, film commissioners, producers, writers, the world’s press, and all those who provide services to the motion picture industry.If you want to sell your film then get ready to take some notes. Enjoy my conversation with Johnathan Wolf from the American Film Market.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

5 Marras 20191h 2min

Today on the show we have filmmaker Cody Meirick. Cody is the director of the documentary Scary Stories, based on the wildly popular book series Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark. We discuss how he leveraged an underserved niche audience, how he piggy-backed off the major studio release of the narrative version and how he was able to get access to the key players in this niche.Enjoy my "scary" conversation with Cody Meirick.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

31 Loka 201949min

Today on the show we have returning champion Stephen Follows. In this Halloween themed episode, we dive into Stephen's opus, The Horror Report. The report was created by using data on every horror film ever made, a data-driven dive into everything from development, production, and distribution to recoupment and profitability.Stephen Follows is an established data researcher in the film industry whose work has been featured in the New York Times, The Times, The Telegraph, The Guardian, The Daily Mail, The Mirror, The Evening Standard, Newsweek, The News Statesman, AV Club, and Indiewire.He acted as an industry consultant and guest on the BBC Radio 4 series The Business of Film, which was topped the iTunes podcast chart, and has consulted for a wide variety of clients, including the Smithsonian in Washington. He has been commissioned to write reports for key film industry bodies and his most recent study, looking at gender inequity in the UK film industry and was launched on the BBC Radio 4 ‘Today’ program.Stephen has taught at major film schools, normal business schools, and minor primary schools. His lessons range established topics from Producing at MA and BA level, online video and the business of film producing to more adventurous topics such as measuring the unmeasurable, advanced creative thinking and the psychology of film producing. He has taught at the National Film and Television School (NFTS), Met Film School, NYU, Filmbase, and on behalf of the BFI, the BBC, and the British Council.Stephen has produced over 100 short films and two features. Past clients range from computer game giants, technology giants, and sporting giants but sadly no actual giants. He’s shot people in love, in the air, on the beach, and on fire (although not at the same time) across over a dozen different countries in locations ranging from the Circle Line to the Arctic Circle.Enjoy my eye-opening conversation with Stephen Follows.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

29 Loka 20191h 54min

What is "Hybrid Distribution?"Hybrid distribution is the state-of-the-art model more and more filmmakers are using to succeed. It enables them to have unprecedented access to audiences, to maintain overall control of their distribution, and to receive a significantly larger share of revenues.Today on the show we have a legend in the ultra-low budget indie film world, Peter Broderick. He coined the term Hybrid Distribution in his seminal article Declaration of Independence: The Ten Principles of Hybrid Distribution. Peter also wrote a​ very informative article detailing ways filmmakers can deal with the Distribber debacle and protect themselves if a distributor goes bankrupt.Peter Broderick is President of Paradigm Consulting, which helps filmmakers and media companies develop strategies to maximize distribution, audience, and revenues.In addition to advising on sales and marketing, Paradigm Consulting specializes in state-of-the-art distribution techniques—including innovative theatrical service deals, hybrid video strategies (mixing retail and direct sales online), and new approaches to global distribution.Enjoy my eye-opening conversation with Peter Broderick.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

25 Loka 20191h 45min

I wanted to release this Facebook LIVE event to the tribe to give them some MAJOR updates on the Distribber/Go Digital debacle. I was on the phone for two hours with Seth Freeman of Glass Ratner, the firm handing the liquidation. I do some mythbusting and drop some painful truth bombs in the episode.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

24 Loka 201953min