3. Grassroots Films
– Grassroots Films is a production company that is based in New York and desires to produce content
that inspires and enlightens. They have a good record in producing viral campaigns, short films and
feature length documentaries and continue to try and push the limits of what an independent film
company can do. We believe that they would be a good production company for our film as our
documentary suits their desires of content that they want to produce. This is because our
documentary will unravel and showcase the struggles of achieving happiness and explore the whole
idea of happiness which will inspire and enlighten our audience. We also believe that they would be a
good production company for our documentary as they strive in the field of feature length
documentaries production so therefore they would have a lot of experience and be able to
successfully produce our documentary. The fact that they are exploring the possibilities of
collaborating with different companies and film makers around the globe means that they would be
willing to work with us even if we are from the UK and that they may be able to secure co-producers
for our documentary which is common in independent film. However, the only thing with this
production company is that they are based in the US so it would have to be done internationally
which may cost a lot of money which we may not even have being an independent and short
documentary with limited funds. In terms of content, our production may feature opinions from
people in America as well as montage shots of different places there which would still be able to
make are film look like a grassroot production.
4. Spring Films
– Spring Films is a London-based production company that focuses on producing high-end
documentaries for television, cinema, IMAX and multi-media platforms who focus on
internal co-productions. We believe that they would be a good production company for
our documentary as the fact that they specialize in producing documentaries means
that they have a lot of experience with it and will help us produce a successful
documentary. The fact that they produce films for the cinemas fits with our
documentary as it will be a cinematic documentary for independent cinemas in the
future. Since, they do focus on internal co-production is another factor that draws us to
this production company as co production is something that will be needed for our
documentary as it is common in independent film and will ensure its success. Spring
Films has also won quite a bit of top-knotch awards like the oscars and emmys for their
films proves that they have a lot of experience in this field and will be able to produce
high quality and cinematic films which our documentary will fit. Lastly, the fact that
they work with ICM partners in the US proves that they would have connections for our
documentary to look attractive and be sold to universal distributors for it to be seen
world wide and eventually have a mass market audience.
5. Mosaic Films
– Mosaic Films is a well established documentary production company in London that has produced a wide
range of award winning creative documentaries. We believe that this production company would be the
best one to produce our film. This is because they specialize in producing documentaries and it is what they
are best at which would therefore mean that they would have the most experience and are a well known
production company that distributors would know. This would benefit our documentary as the well known
production company would lead to distributors already having an interest in our film and it would be easier
to find buyers for our documentary in the future. The fact that our documentary is of innovative subject
matter and is creative means that it would suit the type of documentaries that this company produces and
be linked to this production company. Mosaic Films also works internationally and produced content for
international broad casters shows that they have global connections and work globally which would suit
our documentary as it would show people and places from the United States appealing to a more universal
audience and representing the global aspect of this production company. This would also allow our
documentary to be distributed globally through connections that mosaic films may have. The fact that one
of the team members of this production company was a clinical psychologist would also show a connection
between our documentary and the production company as we will feature psychology in our documentary.
Lastly, the fact that they have a particular expertise in producing films on issues relating to mental health
shows that they would also be the right producer for our documentary as happiness is part of mental
health and would show the connection between our documentary and mosaic films.
8. Sales Agent or Distributor
– When it comes to making money from your short film, it can either be done through a sales agent or a
distributor. A sales agent will get your film and through connections will find buyers and market your
film. Their main focus is to get buyers at TV channels, VOD and different in flight entertainment
programmers where they would then pay you 50-75% of the money that they make from your film.
They normally pay for the rights to your film. A distributer is similar to a sales agent but their main
focus it to get your film out there-get your film seen. They focus on getting your film into film festivals
whilst still finding ways to sell your film. Distributors sometimes charge you for them to help distribute
your film so it is important that you chose an established organization. Even if they don’t make money
through distributing the film to film festivals, it increases the perceived value of the film allowing them
to make more money from it later on.
– In order to get a distributor or sales agent, it is important that you enter in a film festival that have a
wide range of distributors attending and that you enter in festivals with markets. If not then it is
important that you do a lot of research to find the right distributor or sales agent for your film who
understands it and is passionate about it. When you do find one, then contact them but make sure
that you have an EPK for the film and that you up load the film on a password protected online
screener prepared first. When you pitch the film to them you should email them these materials as
well as a short synopsis of the film, a strong promotional image and invite them to the film festival that
the short film will be screened at.
9. We have chosen to get a distributor
instead of a sales agent
– We have decided that for our short documentary a
distributor would be the best. This is due to the
fact that their main focus is to get our film seen
which is important for our documentary as it being
part of an independent company means there is
limited funds. If our documentary is seen by many
and particularly entered in many film festivals both
in the UK and Internationally which is another
focus of distributors, it will increase in value and be
able to get seen by other distributors, sales agents
or exhibitors who would want to buy rights to our
film and exhibit it in their independent cinemas or
other platforms. We prefer them to a sales agent
as sales agents look for platforms on television
whilst we think that independent cinemas and film
festivals would be better platforms to show our
documentary in.
– Potential Distributors:
– Journeyman Pictures
– Dazzle
– Dogwoof
11. Journeyman Pictures:
– Journeyman Pictures is an independent co-producer and distribution company that is
based in Surrey, UK. We believe that they would be a good distributor for our
documentary as they have produced many provocative, profound and original factual
content who are one of the leading independent content marketers and distributors. This
suits our documentary as it will contain original factual content and profound information
on the subject of happiness, that chase to achieve it and its link to other areas like crime,
politics, depression, suicide, etc. The fact that they only focus on 3 areas with
documentaries being one of the 3 proves that they specialize in that area and would be
able to ensure that our documentary becomes successful. Also they state on their website
that they create the most sophisticated online marketing campaign proves that they
would be good to have as our distributer as our documentary needs to have good online
marketing due to our limited funds. Furthermore, they are pioneers in niche marketing,
are a focused distribution outlet, have a multi-faceted marketing strategy (with their
youtube site getting 250K views a day) and will be able to get out film placed across the
board (many different countries) also proves that they would be a good distributor for our
documentary.
12. Dazzle (Short Film Label)
– We believe that Dazzle would also be a
good distributor for our documentary as
they are a short film label which shows
that they specialize in short film so would
know the best distribution strategy for
our documentary. They also seem to
focus on original films that are sure to
inspire which is what our film will do,
showing that our film would be appealing
to them. Lastly, the fact that they are
based in London and Paris also makes
them a good distributer as it is where our
film will be produced.
13. Dogwoof
– Dogwoof is a London based distribution company wo are known for being the go-to
company for global distribution of cinema documentaries. They were the first company
in the world to do a multi-platform release in 2005 whose content ranges from social
issue films to broader themes like music and whose film campaigns are known for
having social impact and commercial success. This shows that they would be a good
distributor for our film as our topic could fall as being part of the social issue category
making it appealing to them and also due to the fact that our film is a cinema
documentary where they tend to professionalize in. Also the fact that they focus on
global distribution is another benefactor for our documentary as in order for it to be
successful it is important that is distributed to the mass market and known world wide.
The fact that they started out as a UK theatrical distributor for independent films and
are also a leading sales agent for documentaries proves that they would be able to
successfully distribute our documentary and that in the future our film would be able
to get into independent cinemas and be shown across the world.
16. Film Festivals
Sundance Film Festival
– We believe that the Sundance film festival would be a good place to
premiere/exhibit our film as it is one of the largest independent film
festivals in the united states where a lot of buyers would most likely be
allowing our film to make money in the future if a lot of people are
interested in buying the rights to the film. We believe that this would
also be a good place to exhibit our documentary as they do showcase
international short documentaries which our film would be part of.
Also due to the fact that our film will have some shots of the American
scenery and view points from different Americans will allow the
audience to find people of their same culture to identify with even if
the majority of the documentary will focus on the information from
the British Professionals. This would also provide our documentary
with international viewers and the fact that is it being shown in a
popular and well known film festivals will generate press and increase
its value for future buyers. Lastly, this will also be free exhibition as you
don’t need to pay for your film to be shown in film festivals which we
need due to our lack of funds
London International Documentary
Film Festival, London Short Film
Festival and Sheffield Doc Fest
– We believe that these film festivals would also be a
good exhibition outlet as they are festivals within the
UK. This would benefit us as audiences in these festival
would be able to identify more with the people in our
film as they are of the same culture and background.
These festivals also focus on short documentaries and
short film which our documentary is a part of. This
would also allow for free exhibition which is what our
documentary needs as the funds are limited since we
are an independent production. Furthermore, the
success that our documentary could make from these
festivals would allow our documentary to increase in
value and attract local buyers who enjoyed our film
and want to gain rights to it for further distribution to
other exhibition outlets like independent cinemas.
17. Phoenix Cinema/Independent
Cinemas
– We believe that our documentary should also be exhibited in independent cinemas as
it is an independent production, even if this will occur later on. We believe that this
would help us target people from our target audience due to the fact that they are
people from income bracket B who would most likely be going to independent
cinemas rather than big name cinemas. We also think that independent cinema would
be good for our documentary as it will be cinematic and fit into the short film
category. A particular cinema that our documentary could be shown in is the Phoenix
cinema. This would be a good platform to show our documentary as they have a
tendency to show micro-budget films and like films that inspire audiences as well as
enhance their lives. This relates to our documentary as it will be inspirational and
enhance the lives of audiences through a new intake on happiness. They also have
their own film festival called the short cinemas that is only for short film which we
believe would suit our documentary as it is a short film.
19. Where we will get the funding
for our documentary
– When it comes to the funding for our documentary we will be getting it from 2
different sources. This is due to the fact that in order for our documentary to be
successful it is important that we take advantage of as much funding
opportunities that we can get. We will be getting our funding from the BFI and
the IDA Fiscal Sponsorship. The BFI Film Fund is a fund that is used to support
documentary filmmaking and The IDA Fiscal Sponsorship is a program that helps
independent documentaries get funded. We believe that they would be able to
fund our documentary as our film fits in with their guidelines, making our
documentary more appealing and suitable for these organizations.
20. IDA Fiscal
Eligibility
As you can see our documentary
does meet these guidelines as our
film is a documentary and our
documentary is an independent film.
We are also doing all the stages,
production, distribution and
exhibition, ourselves so therefore
we are eligible to get this funding.
21. IDA Review
Criteria
We believe that our documentary
meets their criteria as our approach
to happiness will be innovative and
will tell a compelling and realistic
story that will inspire and engage
the audience.
