Self Distribution Options for Filmmakers

In pre-production, filmmakers really should be considering what is going to happen to their film beyond production. First thought for independent filmmakers is of course film festivals, but what about after the festival circuit ends? If your film is not picked up for distribution where does your film continue it's life? The Internet gives us a variety of options to avoid the film graveyard. We can upload to sites like Youtube, distribute using a Print on Demand service, and sell on various websites. It is a great time for self-distribution.

There are also services that allow you to provide you film as a digital download or a video on demand rental. Sites such as Createspace.com (an Amazon company) and filmbaby.com (a MoPix company) allow filmmakers to upload their videos to be sold or rented online. Each service has it pluses and minuses of course but there are options available to filmmakers to continue the life of the film.

While planning for my short film Origins, which I will be shooting this summer, I am considering what will happen to my film after, and if, it gets into film festivals. Origins, is a short film based on a feature length script I am writing. It is basically the prequel to the events that take place in the feature. I hope to use Origins to find funding to produce the feature and create a fan-base for the world I am creating. I don't want Origins to die after the festival circuit. I recently discovered that the video hosting website Vimeo, has offered a new professional hosting package called Vimeo on Demand that allows filmmakers and business to post videos for commercial use. For a membership fee of $199/year, Vimeo provides 50GB of storage and up to 250,000 views of your videos. The cost for the service is 10% of every rental or purchase. Right now, there is no other service that offers a 90/10 split for distribution of film. After Origins finishes the festival circuit and hopefully after it helps raise funding for the feature film, I will plan on hosting it on Vimeo on Demand so that fans (and probably all my relatives) can rent or buy the short film.