by Adam Matalon
So, you have a deal! You made a film, and someone has expressed interest and offered you a deal. If you’re lucky, you even have a modest advance. It’s a thrill, that’s for sure, and you’re jumping up and down.
Understand that today most deals will require you to license your film across all media, therefore, cut the best deal you can because it will be your only source of income. If you are very lucky, you may be able to split North America and the rest of the world, but they will want everything – DVD, TV, Film, Internet, and VOD, etc.
For me, the thrill of an offer lasted about an hour, and then, reality set in. Don’t underestimate another huge workload, and that’s the business of delivering your film.
What are film deliverables? These are the video and audio masters and supporting items that sales agents and distributors will require to bring your opus to the market in an expeditious and financially remunerative manner.
Remember that they want it because they think they are going to make money.
These items may differ slightly from company to company. However, there are some constants, which include, of course, the film itself.
In this case, let’s assume you have shot HD 16:9. It’s been cut on Final Cut. You have the film sitting as an uncompressed file on a drive and, you will not be doing a 35mm print.
Unless you have free access to a post house or your own decks, you will expect to spend approximately $2,000 on getting your film bounced to the HD and other masters. If you have to deliver both NTSC and PAL, it will be more.
For a North American domestic market, you will be expected to deliver at least a couple of different options.
• An NTSC HDCam 16:9 master
• An NTSC Digibeta 16:9 master
• An NTSC Digibeta 4:3 full frame master
• Stereo audio stems
• Stereo M&E (Music & Effects: This is the complete film soundtrack both ambient and musical without dialogue.)
You should be able to watch an M&E version of your film without it sounding any different except for the lack of dialogue. This includes every rustle, bump and creek.
• 5.1 Audio Stems (6 separate tracks, if you have them.)
Deliverables will also include a long laundry list of information and supporting material, as well as masters of your film. A mistake I made early on (which I will never repeat) was to assume that I would just ‘figure out’ the E&O insurance and the MPAA rating. Both these items come with a price tag, and if you are serious about selling your film, you should expect to add approximately $15,000 to $18,000 to your budget just to cover these items.
Whether you have it going into production, or you find it later, films will need these items to sell. If you don’t have your own E&O and MPAA rating, distributors will use this as a tool to seriously reduce their offer beyond the true cost. They will charge you back for every moment they (the sales agents/distributors) spend getting these or any other items in place. These are some of what are known as ‘distribution costs’, which are charged back to you before the financial split agreed in your contract.
E&O insurance is to protect against Errors and Omissions made by the filmmaker/producer. These include not getting proper location, cast, and music releases, etc. As an indie producer, you should ensure that you have contracts and agreements signed by everyone involved that state you own the rights to use their services in connection with the project. Disregard this advice at your peril; even friends should sign releases and deal memos, otherwise you are leaving yourself open to a potential grudge that might well prevent your hard work from seeing the light of day. Contracts and licenses for everything include: actors, crew, music, sound design elements, location releases, writer’s releases, copyright information beyond a simple WGA registration and chain of title. If you are deferring payments, make sure that you have deferment contracts, which specify payment after recoupment of all costs and return of investment to any investors. In other words, whoever buys your film will want written proof that you own the film and all its associated properties.
The MPAA rating should be obvious. While the “unrated film” is often used as an additional marketing tool for DVDs, licensing of your film for TV, both domestic and international markets, is largely linked to the film’s rating. If you don’t have a rating, you are cutting off a potential income stream. And we don’t want that do we?
Additional deliverables can include:
Key Art: High resolution versions of all your poster and artwork designs. These should be layered editable versions, as many companies will take your art, and then, rework it to suit the potential market as they see it. Don’t bother trying to argue with their creative decisions. They should know what works best in the market, and unless you have some big name talent attached.
Text Less Titles: This is your entire picture title sequence prior to the first frame of the first true scene of the film without any text. This will be used as a base for international sales where the text on screen may be translated into various languages. Text less titles can be added as a properly slated item on your deliverables master or on an additional tape that includes DVD extras, etc.
Cast & Crew Photos: Most deals will require a press pack, both digital and hard copy. The most effective digital press packs include a reference PDF with ID #s and left-to-right name identification, that refer to full-size Photoshop images and JPGs, which you should include in separate folders.
Featurettes & DVD Extras: This is whatever you want it to be. ‘Behind the Scenes’ shorts. ‘Bloopers’ deleted scenes and/or ‘Cast Interviews’. You will not make any extra money for these additions, but they may help to increase the long-term value of your film.
Director/Producer Commentary: Personally, I am not so keen on these, as they always seem to say the same thing: “It was great to make and we never had a fight and we all loved each other.” I don’t believe that I’m the only person who’s gone through hell on projects! However, these are very popular and probably worth the time if you have access to recording these.
If you own an internet domain associated with the film, you may need to license the domain to the distributor as a marketing platform.
Once you have delivered all the items associated with your deal, the company in question will put your film through an independent QC (quality control check). They will not accept the film until it has passed QC. There is a fair chance that you may FAIL. If you fail – and believe me, it’s not uncommon as it’s not always just about technical quality – you will have to bear the cost of re-mastering, changes or additional color correction. A couple of years ago, we failed QC with a Sesame Street DVD, “All Star Alphabet” with Steven Colbert that we produced.
The Digibeta was delivered to Sony adhering to pretty rigorous PBS specs, but was rejected for DVD. We spent another two days in post before it was accepted. Once accepted, they will release your check, you can pay back some investment, and you can get some sleep.
What do you do now? Nothing. Let the sales people and distributors do what they do best, make money off your film. The better they do, the better you do. Try to forget it, and start working on your next film. I’m planning three films ahead and know that if I manage to produce 10-12 films in my lifetime it will be a huge accomplishment.
Good Luck.
Adam Matalon is a writer/director/producer. He started Chatsby Films to develop his own film and TV projects. He has directed shorts and home DVDs for Sesame Street: All Star Alphabet (Stephen Colbert & Nicole Sullivan), Exploring Together (Matt Lauer), and Moving Together (Sarah Jessica Parker). His film credits include Seasons in the Valley, Death On Demand, and Sex & Camping.
