It’s quite common. To determine the cost of making a film, most filmmakers simply add up all the payments they’ve made to the writers, the crew, the actors, for equipment rentals, and for post production. This number, they conclude, is their cost.
This kind of calculation is not only misleading—it’s also hugely inaccurate. What many independent filmmakers forget is to factor in the cost of marketing and promoting the film. An accurate budget must included these expenses. After all, it’s the way the big studios do it, and you should too.
It’s understandable why many independent filmmakers avoid calculating an amount for marketing. How can they calculate what they’ll need to do this job? How do they put numbers to open-ended efforts for marketing? The answers to these questions are so daunting, most filmmakers decide to sweep all this under the carpet. They end up “winging it”—leaving the film’s fate to chance—and hoping there will not be too many painful surprises.
But there is a fool-proof solution to estimating the costs for marketing and promoting your film, and that is our CINEMAflix DISTRIBUTION Program.
For one set price (no tricks, no surprises), you’ll receive the major services needed to successfully and economically launch your film, such as:
* A full one-week run at a major art house theater in New York and/or Los Angeles. You keep 100% of the box office income.
* The services of a well-connected publicist to contact the film critics, write and send press releases, set up interviews (when available), and compile and distribute production notes.
* Encoding and submitting your film to the major digital platforms: iTunes, Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Google, and Sony.
* Pitching your film to TV and cable stations and networks, both domestically and internationally.
* Marketing DVDs of your film to the retail chains, schools, colleges, and libraries.
* Setting up a Google AdWords campaign.