August 18th, 2011
John Rodsett’s latest book, THE FILM BIZ BIBLE, is a comprehensive, up to date, Hollywood insider’s view of the business aspects of the independent feature film industry offering solutions, insightful, practical answers and advice on the complex topics and decisions that will affect you in your own independent film career.
CONTENTS OVERVIEW OF THE BOOK
Why the segment order as listed below? Simply, it addresses what I view to be the most pressing areas that filmmakers need to focus on and become most aware of in terms of the business aspects of the independent film industry.
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October 18th, 2010
By John Rodsett
Buzz marketing captures the attention of consumers and the media to the point that people talk about the film, because the message is perceived as entertaining, fascinating, and/or newsworthy – the word of mouth approach – an age old concept applied to 21st Century technology!! This concept is an important element of 21st century film marketing. Buzz building, plays a role within the context of a movie differentiation strategy, in that it helps to achieve a competitive advantage over other films in the market place. Buzz marketing plays a role in cutting through the clutter and capturing the attention of consumers and media.
So what is word of mouth, viral marketing and buzz marketing re. film? ………..
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September 17th, 2010
By John Rodsett
home-business-business-plan
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September 1st, 2010
By John Rodsett
Hollywood
There is a certain mystic and aura around the film industry and Hollywood in particular so let me help remove some of the BS that is perpetuated by the industry.
Lie #1- Filmmaking is an art form
How nice to think of it as an art form and in some ways it is but to the film industry making films is a business. There is a reason it is called the “film business” – why, because to make movies is big business that demands big money – cash!! Once the money is paid out then we need to get it back and hopefully make a profit. This is business – do not think otherwise.
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August 31st, 2010
By John Rodsett
Confidential Private Placement Memorandum
Be careful when dealing with LLC/PPM for film financing.
In the late 1990’s, I was asked to be involved with a film that was to be funded via a Private Placement Memorandum/an LLC. My company was to be the worldwide sales agent for the film which was budgeted at about $1.2m. I read the script and also reviewed the film package (writer/director/actors/producers etc) to be involved in the production and I reviewed the production budget. I did my due diligence on the film project.
I liked the film project and I liked the genre and pace of the script etc so I was happy to provide revenue estimates for the film. Those estimates were for worldwide revenue potential at a low/medium/high basis of revenue potential by each major territory worldwide. Doing such estimates of revenue potential was common place for me as I have been a sales agent for independent films for many years and I know the film sales market very well both domestically and internationally.
I also knew that it was important to have at least one established actor of noted that would help sell this film and these producers had. Secondly, I knew the film had to have good production value and that the money of the budget had to go on screen and not all on upfront fees for the producers. Based on my review I then gave permission for my name to be included in the Private Placement Memorandum for the financing of this film project.
Some short time later, I was presented the Memorandum that looked very professional and had a quality marketing presentation of the film project. This memorandum included my company as the official Sales Agent for the project. In other words, it was my job to sell the film and generate revenue to pay back the investors who would subscribe to this film funding offering and generate profits for all concerned.
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August 28th, 2010
By John Rodsett
Splatter
I was in Europe this April and I spoke to a number of companies about the utilization and monetization of the internet in relation to movie and TV projects. The discussion centered on making movie products or TV series that would attract and engage an internet audience. But how would it work financially? Could something like this be attractive to investors? Also, how would the medium of the internet change the product? We discussed for a while, bouncing ideas off of one another.
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August 28th, 2010
By John Rodsett
On Set Quiet Kill
So you think you are ready to make a film? Before you do so, please think about what you are about to do; the time, effort, sweat, frustration and hair pulling you are about to land yourself into by making your first film. Make sure you have thought through the entire process from start to finish and it will save you a TON of heartache along the way. There are a lot of newbee filmmakers that think they will become the next film tycoon with their first try. This is highly unlikely, but if you listen to these tips, you have a much better shot.
Now that I have placed you into the proper frame of mind, let’s get into some of the things you should know before you shoot your first film:
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August 28th, 2010
By John Rodsett
With the cast of M.A.S.H
Film Friends,
A brief story while I reminisce: I recently visited Los Angeles, and I hiked into the Santa Monica Mountains and ended up at the MASH hit television series outside location site MASH was my favorite TV series in England and when I joined Fox I saw MASH was shot in stage 9, at the 20thCentury Fox studios in LA.
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August 28th, 2010
By John Rodsett
Film Script
The essence of any good movie is the script. It all starts and ends there, so you better get it right! In my many years in the film business, I have heard executives analyze scripts and have read hundreds myself. Here are a few points that may assist the budding screen writer in their endeavor of creating a winning script:
- DO NOT FORGET THE STORY: Tell a story, not just a never ending sequence of events that are not connected or relevant. Try and maintain act 1, 2 & 3 – a beginning, middle and end with purpose. Keeping an eye on the story will attract an audience.
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August 28th, 2010
By John Rodsett
Rodsett Handshake
Pre-sales – what you need to know
Pre-sales are an important aspect of being a sales agent and are little understood by independent producers. Pre-sales can be the difference between making your indie film and not, between enticing an investor to invest in your film or not.
What are pre-sales?
The concept of pre-sales relates to the ability of a sales agent to present your film package (script/ cast/director etc) to a distributor/buyer and have them commit to licensing your film before the film is completed or even production has begun. This is a valuable asset when the producer is trying to finalize the funding of a film at whatever stage in development, pre-production, production or post the film is in. A pre-sale can put the film into a green light position and make the project happen……….. a major celebration point if you are a hard working producer close to making a film.
Please understand anyone can make a pre-sale including the producer, but you need to know the world of film sales and distribution and most of all you need to know the buyers for your type of product and are they willing to contract with you. Here the sales agent with their experience and knowledge step forward on behalf of the producer.
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