TOTBO Tip of the Day 27 Don’t Do Your Deliveries Alone

Yesterday I mentioned how onerous delivering your film can be. As a result – Having someone on your team either help with or do your deliveries is manna from heaven. This alone is a reason to have a Producer of Marketing and Distribution. If you are self distributing or using an involved trans media project […]

TOTBO Tip of the Day 26 Start Your Deliveries During Production

As I continue to create delivery elements for Bomb It (for new sales three years after its premiere) I am reminded as to how onerous they are.  Deliverables are the assets you need to deliver to distributors so that they can exhibit/sell your film.    You need to start developing them during production.  You should be […]

TOTBO Tip of the Day 25 Budgeting

To conclude 2 weeks of crew tips – a reminder that it is best to be able to pay these crew people. While sales agents should work on commission, lawyers, web designers, PMDs etc most likely will not. You should create a budget that is as detailed as a production budget. In Think Outside the […]

TOTBO Tip of the Day 24 Webdesigners Part 2

Oftentimes the best designer is not the best programmer, and vice versa. You may need two separate people: one for the look of the site (which hopefully is integrated with your key art), another to do the actual programming. If you have to choose to pay one or the other, go for the programmer. It […]

Film Independent Announces 2010 L.A. Film Festival Programming

I will be doing a 2 day Boot Camp at the LA Film Fest for its competition filmmakers. I am also designing the whole 3 day symposium with the folks at LA Film Festival. Its quite an event with pretty incredible speakers and combos – stay tuned! Jon Press Release published on filmindependent.org. Film Independent […]

TOTBO Tip of the Day 23 Webdesigners

If you are not a technically-oriented person, you need an IT person to set up your website. Chances are, they will know a lot more about search engine optimization (SEO) than you do. Ask them to set up a site that you can regularly modify on your own, so that you are not spending thousands […]

TOTBO Tip of the Day 22 Create a Grid of Rights

It is important that you or someone on your team keep track of who has the rights to what. Most lawyers will never have the time to do this for you. You should create a grid and track it, because it can get confusing. Orly Ravid of The Film Collaborative who handles the legal on […]

TOTBO Tip of the Day 21 Lawyers

A good lawyer who is familiar with split rights scenarios and the vagaries of new distribution models is essential, although hard to find. If you cannot find one, I suggest using a consultant in tandem with a lawyer. The consultant negotiates, the lawyer goes over the language. Find someone who is open to working in […]

TOTBO Tip of the Day 20 Television Sales Reps

Television is a market that is hard to monetize if you DIY. You should get yourself a TV sales agent if you can. These agents/reps deal with television buyers all the time; they also go to specific television sales markets throughout the world. Like foreign sales reps, foreign television sales reps typically take 25 percent […]