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This workshop could save you tens of thousands!

We know that your movie is your baby... But like all babies, when the time is right, it needs delivering - for films, that's the point where you hand your movie over to a sales company, and it's usually the point where things, for indie film makers, start to fall apart... That's why we built this workshop.

DATE One day only, June 21st, Ealing Studios, West London...

MAKING THE GREAT FILM is one thing, we know you can do that…! But after the premiere, and after you have cut your deal with the sales agent, you will be presented with a 12 page ‘delivery schedule’, a mind numbingly detailed list of potentially hundreds of expensive items that they say will be needed to sell your film. It’s not just the movie, there is sooooo much more.

This seminar will uncover EXACTLY what you REALLY need to deliver a film to the market, when you need to deliver it, and how much it will cost.

WHAT SALES AGENTS ARE SAYING - After interviewing many sales agents around the world, their number one problem when dealing with indie producers is that the film makers often underestimate just how much time and money it takes to fully deliver a film, saying ‘do we really need all this stuff?’ and ‘but we have no money left’. Delivering a professional feature film to a sales agent can, if left unchecked, cost upward of £50k! YES WE KNOW, that may well be MORE THAN YOUR BUDGET!

YOU COULD GET RIPPED OFF IF... One thing that often happens is the sales agent says, ‘I will cover the cost of delivery’. In reality this means they will go to a big company and get it all done for you, and pay top dollar too. That’s YOUR money they are spending! They don’t mind, they get their commission off the top of any sales first, and anything left over goes to paying back the cost of delivery. The upshot? You rarely get any money. It's up to you to be professional.

Worse still, we have come across situations where some sales agents also OWN the delivery companies, so they PAY THEMSELVES YOUR MONEY to do work you could hussle for much less, or even for free. Knowledge is power!

About the course

DATE JUNE 21st (Sunday), Venue Ealing Film Studios - £125 inc VAT.

Get the Workshop for £99 inc VAT instead of the normal £125, that's a 20% discount. Click below to book.

This one day seminar will step you through the whole delivery process for three distinct movie models…

1. No budget self distribution (budgets under £20k)
If you are going to sell your film on DVD, online or even a small cable channel, what will you need? This is mainly technical stuff, but some legal paperwork will be needed too.

2. Ultra low budget, small sales agent (budgets £20-200k)
So you have made an ultra low budget film and you have someone interested in selling it. Most likely one of two things will happen. One, your film is a hidden gem and they will do a deal with Lionsgate or Miramax etc, and you are away as they will rework your film anyway. Or they will sell it piece meal, territory by territory… So what are they REALLY going to need to close these smaller deals with say a small German distributor? Or a Korean buyer? This delivery list will be the bare bones minimum needed to exploit your film commercially. Remember they want an easy life so they will demand EVERYTHING IMAGINABLE. It’s up to you to understand what it all means and negotiate the delivery schedule down to something manageable.

3. Low budget, attracting mainstream sales agent
(budgets upwards of £200k)

So you had some money, not a lot, and you have turned in a terrific pic and the sales agents are talking about Cannes, Toronto, German Theatrical… These guys will hit you with a terrifying list of technical and legal requirements. We go through this list in detail, remove what is not needed and finally settle on the definitive deliver list for films in the 21st century.

Schedule for the day

09:30 Registration
10:00 Film Sales recap. Doing the deal and how it all works.
11:00 Read through of the delivery list
11:30 Coffee
11:45 Delivering the No Budget film
13:00 Lunch
14:00 Delivering the Ultra Low Budget Film
15:30 Coffee
15:45 Delivering the Low Budget Film
17:00 Conclusions and discussions
18:00 - 19:00 Ends

During the seminar, we will hand out samples of paperwork and provide physical elements to handle so you fully understand what these items are. We will also show relevant video clips and run through, in detail, QC (Quality Control) report sheets. Attendees will also receive contacts for companies and institutions you may need to work with in order to make full delivery of your film.

YOU HAVE COME SO FAR, DON’T FALL AT THE FINAL HURDLE!

The seminar will be led by veteran film maker and author of The Guerilla Film Makers Handbook, Chris Jones and will also feature two expert guest speakers (TBC).

Seats costs £125 inc VAT and are limited. SPECIAL DISCOUNT for the Workshop - £99 inc VAT. Click below 

If you want to know more about sales, read the free interview pulled from The Guerilla Film Makers Hollywood Handbook here.

The course is held at Ealing Studios in West London. If you would like to know more or book a place, call the office on 020 8758 8544, mob 07977 516 628 or send us an email with your name and phone number. If you want feedback from our other courses, you can read it here.

Notes on Attending and Accommodation

1. Ealing Studios can normally accommodate parking at weekends, but there are no guarantees. If there is no onsite parking there are several roads behind the studios where you can park. So far we have never turned anyone away. The nearest tube stop is Ealing Broadway, which is on the District and Central Lines. The Piccadilly Line is also close with South Ealing tube stop. A map of the local area is here.

2. Kick off is 9.30am.

3. The course discussion ends at around 6 - 7.00pm, depending on how many questions have been asked during the day. 

4. There are snacks, tea, coffee and water available throughout the day, and for lunch we will go into nearby Ealing.

Accommodation
If you can rough it, £10 a night buys you a bed in a Hostel. Check here.
If you want luxury in Ealing, the Ramada is on +44 (0)208 896 8400 (email sales.ealing@ramadajarvis.co.uk and website here. Their address is Ealing Common, London,W5 3HN and they are just by Ealing Common Tube station.