I have been asked many times how I do so well theatrically with my films. I promised my good filmmaking friends that I would share some of my secrets. I BELIEVE FILMMAKING IS A BLEND OF ART AND COMMERCE!

Start early! When I am in preproduction of a film I am thinking about possible partnerships. I bring this up for two reasons, one is product placement, two is for sponsorship for the film’s opening. Let’s say you have a celebration scene where the couple is drinking champagne. I think of a champagne company that I would like to partner with. You need to be smart about this and it has to make sense in the story, you need to think of the brand name’s demographic. In InSearchOf we used Dom Perignon which made sense all the way around, we place their product in the film, they gave us free bottles of champagne that we used for a toast in the film and at our opening screening pre-party. I’ll get to why this is relevant in a moment.

Build relationships! In this new world of filmmaking you need to be social, not only on the internet. Build and maintain relationships with eating and drinking establishments, the press, businesses and organizations. Think of where you would want to hold an after party for your film’s opening, go there, be social. How would you get the word out about your film’s opening? Become friendly with the press, realize when to ask for coverage, think like a journalist, what is interesting and important. Who would you invite and who could you partner with? Go to events held by other people see what works and what doesn’t. Remember it always isn’t about you, scratch someone’s back so they will be willing to scratch yours.

The Venue! Try to pick the biggest independent theater possible, this does not only mean movie theater. We have put in projection, sound and screens into venues so don’t limit yourself. It is helpful if they can handle the ticketing, but you can do your own ticketing. We have designed our own tickets and sold them via our own store. The theater will cost you so try and team up with a non-profit, theaters often discount non-profits. These non-profits can also open the door to potential attendees. It is about giving back, offer 10% of the proceeds to go to the non-profit in return for their sponsorship.

Plan! Plan! Plan! You may be in post production trying to get the perfect cut of your film, but you need to set a date of when you want to screen/premiere your masterpiece. This is important because it brings closure to the process, creates a deadline, and enables you to start planning to make money. Here is an action list: partner with a non-profit, book the venues and entertainment (pre-party, screening, after party), partner with multiple companies, liquor, beer, printers, caterers, florists, etc. (in return for product or discounted product you will put their logo on all of your invites and advertise them in your filmbill), create tickets (you should have multiple ticket offerings; pre-party/screening/after party, screening/afterparty, screening), set a date that tickets go on sale, send out e-mail blasts (you will need to e-mail 10 people for every seat that the theater holds), send our press releases (know who the audience is for the publication, ask one to be on hand with backdrop to take photos at screening, generally magazines), send out invitations (yes via mail, not a postcard), comp your cast and crew, put tickets on sale, create and book advertising, follow up with press, book radio and TV engagements (offer free tickets to their listeners and viewers, they love giving away free stuff), borrow your stylish outfit from a local store, arrange for transportation for stars and any last finishing details.

Make your screening an event! It is important to make people feel like they “need” to be there. To create this feeling, have a lot going on around the screening, have mutiple ticket offerings. This is a big way to increase your revenue. Yes it is a lot of planning but it will pay off. For the screening only we charged between $10-$25, for the screening and after party, $35-$75, for the pre-party, screening and after party with goody bag of merchandise $100-$125. Our pricing depends on costs and value perception. People will spend more money for premium stuff like the best venue in town, Dom, a signed copy of one sheet, etc, as well as the exclusivity of the engagement. A higher priced sneak preview is not out of the question, ask the attendees to give you honest feedback then party with them for ripping you apart (your humility will spread word of mouth you can still re-edit your film).

Design everything! Pride yourself on your vision. Design every piece of material that is seen by the public be creative and maintain the theme of the film. This does not only mean merchandise but also invites, posters, flyers, etc. This gives your film a “feel”, which means people will subconsciously feel they are a part your film and be more willing to spend money. Sell t-shirts, DVD’s, Soundtracks, books, clothing, whatever makes sense. This will add revenue to the bottom line.

Filmbill & On Screen Advertising! Hand out a filmbill to all of the people in attendence. This highlights your film, gives them some background information, credit list, etc. Sell advertisements in your filmbill. Have multiple advertisment sizes. See what your competition is charging and create an ad sheet. This can add thousands of dollars to your screening revenue. Make sure it is well designed. Do not put the date on it! I say this because it generally isn’t a lot more money to print a couple more thousand of the filmbill. Distribute them after the screening everywhere, make sure there is an advertiment where people can buy or see your film. You can also sell packages where advertisers can buy ads as well as On Screen slides before the screening of the film. Why not earn a couple hundred bucks for a slide show?

By putting these types of plans to work we have generated over $20,000 in total revenue for one screening and netted over $10,000. We expensed all of our merchandise in the beginning, we’re still making revenue on these original purchases. Here’s how the numbers work out: Revenue: Ticket Sales $15,965 (713 @ $10, 161 @ $35, 32 @ $100), Merchandise $2,170, FilmBill $2,725 = $20,860. Expenses: Theater Rental $2500, Equipment Rental $570, Advertising $2,260, Food $1120, Printing $860, Merchandise $3,140 (1000 DVDs, 120 t-shirts, 1000 posters)= $10,450

Start Early, Keep Costs Low, Build Partnerships, Create Value Added, Think of Multiple Revenue Sources.

Having a great opening screening will generate great word of mouth and drive future revenue!