Breaking into the Mainstream Film Industry

As I sit here writing this blog post on New Years Eve, I'm thinking what 2014 will hold for a struggling independent filmmaker like me? The industry has been changing, yet somehow did not form in the way a lot of indie filmmakers, myself especially, had envisioned. With the failure of companies like Dynamo Player and Chill, signs that hinted that the "break" from traditional distributors and the hollywood system is going to be harder, and take longer, or perhaps not come at all.

Looking back on the last 3 years after the release of my first independent feature film "Bang Bang", I can say it has been a very tough struggle and definitely more difficult than I could have ever imagined in my youthful naive.

You know when you're young you have all this energy and this I don't give a fuck I'll take over the world attitude. And as you get older and wiser, you see the immature thinking that you had as a youth. Although that hunger and drive is admirable, it needs to be directed by wisdom and knowledge.

I've come to realize that the independent film industry is struggling more than ever before.(read this Int. with John Sayles) Even with all the new technology, and excitement of youtube, hulu, netflix, it's not looking good for us. Because these platforms are all trying to become mainstream. Just look at the direction each one has taken with their content.

I will be pursuing a traditional distributor for my next film LAS VEGAS STORY. I plan to write scripts that can be picked up by other producers and funded through traditional ways rather than the whole Crowdfunding/private equity/self financed direction I've been taking. Its just too hard and not a good idea when you're struggling to pay rent. I recently watched an interview with Francis Ford Coppola from 1997 in which he talks about how he went into the wine business to give himself financial stability. This is after he made all those big hits like Apocalypse Now, & The Godfather.

Filmmaking is a gamble. The biggest gamble anyone can make. Every time you make a film, you put your life on the line. After awhile, you kinda get burnt out from playing Russian Roulette.


I've also come to realize theres more to life than just making films. Part of becoming a good director is to enjoy life and experience life outside of making movies. So for next year, 2014, I hope to focus more on my spiritual growth, and in turn it will bring me to a higher place than I can ever imagine in all aspects of life, including my career.

I plan to spend time writing seriously, and also networking with Producers by attending film festivals and film markets. I will focus on getting financial stability, health, and reconnecting with family. Sometimes we get lost in our passion for our dreams, that we forget to smell the flowers. 2014 here I come! Happy New Year Everyone!

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Reelhouse.org has launched my film!

Hey guys, So i've just launched my film BANG BANG on this new digital distribution platform I found called REELHOUSE.ORG I'm embedding the player here as a test. Check them out if you're looking for a place for your film. They give filmmakers 94% cut.



Here's the link to the film on the site:
https://www.reelhouse.org/beyondcinema/bangbang/trailer

UPDATE:(1/27/14) ReelHouse so far has exceeded my expectations. They are better then chill.com. The main reason I say this is because of the way that the sales are made. Each sale goes directly to my PayPal account. Then PayPal sends Reelhouse there cut of 6%. This means I get my money right away, and 100% transparency of sales. No more waiting for another company to send me my money. not to mention, their platform and branding is really great, and allows for integration with social media, and is in itself, more socially driven with users creating accounts, and users following or subscribing to your profile, or films.

Self Distribution with Reelhouse.org

So now that Chill.com is shutting down, I need to find another platform to move my film Bang Bang. I think I found a great Home. It is called reelhouse.org, and what they offer is a better deal than chill.com. I just signed up so I don't have all the information to write a review, but from what I understand, they are offering a 94% cut to the filmmaker. This is great because chill was only offering 70%.

Their website and platform looks very aesthetically pleasing, and easy to use. They also have partnered with Warner Bros. to offer more than just indie films to their viewers. I think this is a great business model and it achieves where Chill and Dynamo player could not. This integration of bigger films along with indie-direct-to-audience films is a good idea because it allows for crossover audiences.

Here is a link from PBS which gives an overview of the DIY platforms (Where I found out about Reelhouse)

I'll update y'all once I've launched my film and perhaps write a review on my experience with them.

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Self Distributing your own movie really Sucks

Having self distributed my 1st 2 feature films, I've come to the conclusion that self distributing films is not something I will be actively pursuing. It is a extremely difficult task, and takes tremendous amounts of work, time, effort, and knowledge. You end up spending hours upon hours researching, marketing, promoting, and dealing with the business aspect, negotiating, booking theaters, e-mailing aggregators, working with designers, web developers, and just a whole bunch of stuff that is simply not filmmaking. I've gone through this experience and have learned a lot. Now I need to take another direction with my career, and that is to take it to the next level.

I will now dedicate my time to developing my skills as a writer And developing scripts that have both creative and commercial appeal. All those countless hours spent doing social media, countless hours researching the ever-changing world of DIY distribution, I should have put that time into developing my writing.

I have a new film called LAS VEGAS STORY which will be hitting the festival circuit in 2014. I have high hopes for this film, as it has better production value, bigger names(Eric Roberts), better writing, and has more general appeal in terms of the story and concept. With this film I hope to secure distribution, and be done with it. On to the next one. I'm already working with a Chinese Producer to develop a film for the Chinese Market. Lets see how this goes. Meanwhile, working on my newest script "THE 10th TRAVELER", a sci-fi drama that deals with a man traveling into the future.

The thing with this industry is that everyone wants to know what your next project is, and if you don't have something to pitch, when the time comes, those opportunities will pass you by. I need to have ammo stocked up, if I'm going to war. Have at least one script, one solid script, that you can pitch. Also have 2 or more other concepts ready to pitch if the 1st script is passed on. These 2 concepts can just be ideas in your head but you need to have them.

The other thing they say about this industry is that it's not about what you know but who you know. That's true. The 2nd part at least. Still need to have talent, assets, things to bring to the table. But once you have those assets, you need to find the right people that will help you make these films. I need to go out and network with producers, producers that have access to financing, both on a domestic level, and international level. Begin attending major film festivals all across the world, and start putting those social skills to use. All those years of partying in college, partying in Hollywood, meeting people, I have to do that now but in a different way. Here goes nothing! 2014 will be a great year, new vision, new direction, new places.

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Random thoughts from Post production hell

Its been a long battle, and so many times I wanted to give up but couldn't because I didn't know what else to do. I burned the bridge 9 years ago so that I would have no way to retreat. Days came when I hated myself for doing so, I wanted a way out, I laughed at my situation and wondered why am I trying to make movies? what is wrong with me? but its a compulsive disorder that filmmakers have and soon enough I find myself coming up with new ideas for movies, and I keep saying wtf am I doing I need a job, I need health insurance, I need to pay rent, I need some new clothes. But because theres no way out, I have been forced to think "okay, stop thinking where your path of retreat is at, and start thinking about how you can survive this battle!" Its a fight to the death here.

This last few months have been a dark time for me as it usually is when one is in the pits of post-production hell. Not knowing if your child will breathe, or die. I'm finally seeing a glimmer of light as we near the final stages of post production. Sound design is 2 weeks from being finished on LAS VEGAS STORY. POSTER looks AMAZING! There is hope for the future! Music sounds great! SXSW submitted, fingers crossed. Tribeca submission this week.

Stay tuned y'all.



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Chill.com is shutting down

Wow...only less than a few weeks after I posted my review of Chill.com, they are officially shutting down. Today I got the email from their Content Partner Manager, Chris Dumler, which gave the sad news. Just like their predecessor Dynamo Player, Chill.com has also gone under.

This goes to show that although the age of digital filmmaking and indie distribution is at an exciting time, there are still many challenges ahead. The future of independent cinema, the freedom of independent filmmakers to distribute their films to their own audiences, is still in experimental stages.

We will remember the pioneers of these new platforms, and hopefully another will rise to do what these all so failed to do-- make money.

What will I do with my film BANG BANG now that I need to find a new home once again? I have my eye on VIMEO PRO, where they offer the same sort of platform to distribute your film. The way it works with them is much the same way as Chill, you upload your movie, set your price, and keep a revenue split of 90/10. Pretty good right? However, the downside is that it costs $199/year to be a Vimeo Pro account holder. The upside is all the other great features that come with this account.

If you already use Vimeo as a portfolio or use it to store videos, etc, it could be very well worth it. I'll be making a decision in the coming weeks after I finish post on my newest feature, LAS VEGAS STORY. Stay tuned.

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Chill.com Review

Chill.com is a new digital platform that enables filmmakers to distribute their films directly to their audience through the internet. They do a 70/30 split of all sales with the filmmaker. Filmmaker 70.

I signed up with Chill about 5 months ago with my film BANG BANG after they had reached out to me. It was perfect timing because it was around the same time that Dynamo Player had shut down due to lack of financial success. I had used Dynamo Player in the same way, as a digital player that allowed viewers to view your film and pay directly to your pay pal account.

Here is my movie as seen on the Chill platform: chill.com/beyondcinema/bang-bang

Chill compared to Dynamo Player. Chill's overall design and branding is much more appealing. The look of the site and player is very hip and cool, much like the branding of Kickstarter. Dynamo player's was not. Chill has integrated social media into its player making it easy for viewers to share and promote after watching.

Chill also offers a bundle deal where you can sell your DVD's along with a digital download, or merchandise. So far I haven't sold any bundles, but that could be due to the fact that I've long been selling DVD's through my website and have been quite successful at it.

Chill's customer service is also pretty good. There are people on the other end to answer emails in a very timely manner and also to take calls. I've asked them about technical issues and those issues were addressed within a couple of days.

Also, the tracking of sales and seeing where sales are coming from (facebook, google, etc) is quite useful. And they take down emails for viewers who choose to give it, which is great because this allows for direct marketing of your next movie on Chill!

As for reach, they are international. One thing to note is that geo blocking is not YET available, so if you want to restrict it to domestic it could create problems with any other aggregators you have a deal with. Make sure to check.

There are still a few bugs that their technical team is working on, and as of yet, I have not received a payment from them even though they say that after reaching $100 in sales, payment will be made. I have about $250 in sales right now. I am expecting a payment any week now.

As a young company backed by WME, and with a great team behind them, it seems like chill is the best platform to use in terms of a digital player that can distribute your film directly to a global audience. I will continue to use them and will be releasing my 2nd film RASKAL LOVE with them in February 2014.

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Review of Distribber an Indie GoGo company

This blog post is a review of the aggregator Distribber, an indie Go Go Company. I noticed that there were many people asking about this company and were not able to find many review from actual filmmakers who have distributed a feature film through them. Here is my experience with them. I have my film, Bang Bang, currently being distributed by them to iTunes, and Amazon VOD. The thing with this company that makes them different from other traditional aggregators is that they ask for an upfront payment and in return, they give you 100% of the revenue profit. They advertise on their website that they can get your film into iTunes, Amazon VOD, Netflix, Hulu, and major cable companies for PPV and VOD.

I have since made roughly close to $8,000 through Distribber after subtracting their fee of $1300. However, after using them for the last year and a half, my conclusion is that I would not use them for any other films.

First off, this is not a good choice to go if you don't have a following for your film already established. In my case, my film had a small following and fan base due to my main actor being an underground rap star THAI VIET G.

They did get my film onto iTunes, but it took over 3months from the moment that they received my deliverables. Keep this in mind when planning your distribution strategy. I'm told this is how long it usually takes even with other aggregators.

They successfully put my film in Amazon VOD after 2months from the date that I requested it. Again, very slow in my opinion, but it could be due to 3rd party factors like Amazon's own processing time.

They were NOT able to get my film into Netflix. They added the film on their "pitch list" and it was not selected by Netflix. I'm not sure how actively they tried to put it into netflix, it seems like it was submitted with a list of many other films. I'm not sure how netflix chooses their films, but I've been told that in recent years, they have been straying away from picking up indie-films unless it's a big indie film with some star power attached.

Now for the issues of Distribber which I have a big problem with.

1. Their revenue tracker is not updated ever, and is unreliable. There's no way you can tell how much your film has earned because their site is never updated. There's a 3 month lag time. I stopped checking as of 6months ago and I'm not sure if they've fixed this issue.

2. Their customer support is almost no-existent. There's no way to directly reach any of the 2 people that work there. Their phone numbers reach a message machine that doesn't allow you to leave messages. Emails are rarely returned until anywhere from a few days, to months after. This is due to their business model design. Because you're paying an upfront fee, after they put your film in iTunes, they have no incentive to support or help you with your film because they've already made their money. There is still a $79 annual fee, FYI.

3. When a programmer for a channel on Comcast contacted me to acquire my film for PPV on Comcast during their monthly programming, I sent them to distribber to make the deal since they asked to work with an aggregator. Distribber was extremely unhelpful in this and the lack of communication has since cost me the opportunity with this programmer to have my film on Comcast, at least for now. I'm now going to find another traditional aggregator to go with to make this deal. Distribber can't even figure out what their fee for this simple transaction would be, and their lack of client support cost my film a golden opportunity to be seen and to make some sort of revenue.

Overall Conclusion of Distribber and of using aggregators for distribution:

The most important thing is to build a fan base around your film. Marketing through social media, blogs, festivals, etc. etc. Once you have a fan base established, I would not recommend driving them to purchase your film on iTunes or Amazon VOD because you are losing more revenue since the aggregator and ITunes will both take a cut of your revenue. Rather, send them to a streaming platform like CHILL.COM where they can watch it directly from the filmmaker. This way, you skip the middle man and you only share revenue with one company.

UPDATE:(1/28/14) Chill.com has shut down, they have gone out of business just like Dynamo Player. I've switched over to REELHOUSE.ORG and I LOVE their platform because they have 100% transparency of sales since every payment goes directly to my paypal, and they only take 6%. This means I get my money right away, and don't have to deal with waiting for money being sent, or not sent at all like the situation with Chill right now. I'm STILL waiting for a check. Unbelievable.

Another thing that most people dont' realize is that just because your film is on iTunes or Amazon, they are not going to show up in browsing. Your film will only be seen if the customers search your exact title, or if sent through a direct link like from your youtube trailer or facebook post. My advice would be to still have your film available on those platforms, but go through a traditional aggregator where they do a profit share of typically 70/30. But don't drive your fans to those platforms, only drive fans towards your direct lines of distribution such as DVD sales through the use of Bigcartel.com, and use Chill.com platform to embedd the film into its website like how i have it for Bang Bang. This strategy will maximize your profit, but at the same time, if some fans want to use iTunes or Amazon, they will still be able to find your title.

Hope this helps for some of you who have questions about DIY filmmaking and distribution. I will post more reviews about other companies I've used such as Chill.com and bigcartel.com in future blogs. Thanks for reading! To connect with me below!

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Hello fellow filmmakers and film lovers!

Hello. My name is Byron Q, a writer/director/filmmaker from Los Angeles trying to make it in the film biz. As of today, I've made 3 feature films. My first film is called "BANG BANG", a coming of age drama about 2 kids affected by gang life and teenage angst. It won a jury prize for Best 1st Feature at the 2011 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival where it premiered. I have since gone on to successfully self distribute the film. It is available on Itunes, Amazon VOD, DVD/ BluRay, and also on Chill.com. Anyone in the world can view the film as long as they have access to the internet.

My 2nd film is a feature documentary called RASKAL LOVE, a biopic about a Gangster who became a pioneering breakdancer in Seattle during the 90's. Currently making the festival circuit after it premiered at the LA Asian Pacific Film Festival in 2013.

My 3rd film is still in post production. Currently titled LAS VEGAS STORY, with oscar nominated ERIC ROBERTS.

All posts here will be about my journey to make films and also insights and advice on self distribution models, as well as filmmaking techniques and thoughts on the direction of the industry. Thank you for reading! Please connect with me on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST, TUMBLR.

All the best,

Byron Q