The Sweet Spot

[David Quakenbush]

So, there was another conversation on this site lamenting the lack of financing in Denver and I thought it would be fun to do a little math.  I'm a DIY-er at heart, so I thought I would see what it would take to just break even on one film.

 

Here are some parameters for the thought experiment:

Let's assume I can find a 200 seat theater, and they'll let me screen there as much as I want for free.

Let's also assume that 1 out of every 5 of my projects is good. Really good. So good people wouldn't mind paying to see it. Within reason. Say $5/ticket to see my awesome indie feature.

 

And I SELL OUT THE THEATER by spamming all of my facebook friends about it.

 

I make $1000.

 

Clerks was shot for $20,000. I've been told that's the nobody gets paid budget level. No SAG. DSLR. Stale bagels for lunch every day. Let's use that as a model. But only one in five of my projects is worth watching -- the first four flopped. So all together they cost $100,000 in startup cash before one of them took off. And if I popped them out machine-gun style development and production would take maybe 10 grueling years.

 

I will have to sell out that 200 seat theater 100 times to just BREAK EVEN. Ouch.

 

I have a conclusion about this one.

My goal with this was to figure out how many projects, at what average length, could screen together to start to look lucrative. It didn't happen. There IS no sweet spot.

So, when talking about independent narrative drama, and with the end goal of telling a great story and putting it in front of an audience:

Unless you have access to a million seats, and the marketing dollars to invest to fill them, you can't be motivated by the money. So I'm going to shoot as cheaply as I can, with as solid a story as I can. And enjoy the process of making it beautiful...

 

Apparently this makes me one of those "artist" types.

 

DMQ | We Drink it Black

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[Jim Brennan]

Well, theatrical screenings usually aren't profitable, even in Hollywood.  What about DVD sales, individual downloads or VOD?  For the indie, those are probably more viable revenue sources.

 

Indie filmmaking is not a good business model by any standard.  It seems to be most succesful in 2 ways

 

1) Pure art (or fun).  You make something because you want to.  Breaking even is a bonus.

 

2) A calling card.  You make something because you can parlay into something else; either credibility for indie funding, or the attention of the industry.

 

The one exception would be to produce films at the low-budget threshold you are describing (50K and under).  That might allow for profitability.  But it's a gamble that probably requires multiple income channels and an investment beyond the cost of production. Clerks may have cost less than 20K to shoot, but it required a lot more than that to clean it up for theatrical release, and exponentially more to market it.  It also requires a bit of luck and timing.  

 

But of course I am only speaking theoretically.  The feature films I have been involved in have not broken even.  They might at some point, but they haven't yet.   Maybe someone like Haylar (Do It For Johnny), Darla Rae (The Goal), Steve Mudd (Seclusion) or Marty Lindsey (Measuring Dan/Suburban) can speak to that.  They have all produced feature length films in past years.

[Jim Brennan]

I've been thinking about this all night.  Not long ago, I put together a 25 page business plan for a feature, including a whole addendum on revenue sources and distribution channels.  When I read it, it sounded very promising.  On paper there are numerous ways to create income from a feature film.  The good news is that, in these tumultuous times, the model is malleable.  You can create or capitalize on innovative ways to reach your audience.

 

Then I think about the documentary, Commited, which shows John Sayles (IMHO, a gem of an American filmmaker), unable to secure a distribution deal.  Unable to break even.

 

This is not an easy path we have chosen.  Even with the best people, best preparation and best intentions it will always be something of a crap shoot.

 

Maybe that's one of the reasons I like it so much.

[Haylar Garcia]

There is no consistant way to make a living in indie film.

 

that is not to say that the vocation is not without its merits, profit just is not one of them.

 

It's pretty simple really.

[David Quakenbush]

If Ning had a "like" button I'd like your comment, Haylar.

[Michael Haskins]

Have you, or anyone, been following Girl Walks Into a Bar from Sebastian Gutierrez (yes, Snakes on a Plane)? I'll confess that it snuck up on me. In short, it was a feature written in 10 - 15 vignettes with an interwoven story. It's like TV writing in a sense, but each segment can stand entirely on it's own but there are common themes. Almost like a macro story line on a TV series. 

 

Anyway, I think this was funded completely by Lexis or as just a promotional tool for Electra Luxx, but either way, it makes a potential model for a different pipeline. Look, I ain't gonna secure Carla Gugino and Emmanuel Chirque do work on my next project (but if any one can, I have a great scene in mind with me in it), but a person may be able to micro finance segments of the film in manageable chunks as a branding mechanism.

 

It's a thought anyway. 

[Haylar Garcia]

the trick with that type of branding mechanism, is how does it fit into the consumer market.

Does it make money, is there an audience, what is the output pipeline for profit?

Or is it just a clever indie one-off?

 

That being said, maybe having sponsors finance sections of a traditional narrative to offset the gamble

from burdening any one sponsor could be a blossoming idea.

 

Bed bath and beyond.... pays for the first act.

Jake jabs, the second.

and Rockies Auto can foot the bill for the climax, and donate the cars we explode.

 

I love it!

 

 

[Michael Haskins]

I don't think it has a way to make money directly from the consumer unless its in the premium subscription offering. And that could be good too, at least your viewers would have some quality threshold... maybe.

 

I can't possibly be the only person trying to come up with the plot of your sponsor driven movie... Boy meets Girl, Girl improves Boy's hygiene, Boy smells better now and gets promotion at work, Boy owes this new success to Girl, they smooch, Boy and Girl buy some waxed pine furniture, said furniture was brought in country from Mexico and has a hollow bottom full of drugs, cartel attacks Boy and Girl for furniture, Boy and Girl escape in a late model used car that had an original MSRP of $26,595 but was their for only $8,995!

[Jim Brennan]

As part of our financing plan for Lucky Punch we looked into product placement people.  If you can convince them that their products will be seen by an audience that is either significant in either size or demographic, they will help you find connections to companies that are looking to participate.

 

It's not always funding.  Sometimes it is vehicles you can use for transportation, specialty equipment for props, food and beverages for cast and crew or wardrobe.  Even if they aren't writing you a check, it's a deduction from your negative cost.  Using that as a line item on your funding streams can give other investors confidence in your project.

 

Patrick and MaryLee did something similar for Jimmy Said.

[David Quakenbush]

The value of pair (or a thousand pair) of eyes.

CPM circa 2009

[David Quakenbush]

Why go Theatrical?

 

Awesome article.

 

Story first.

And it's not about being in a theater, its about finding an audience.