If you have completed films available for an outright sale our company may be interested in acquiring them. Right now, we prefer buying product as opposed to distributiob - please send info to televistainc@yahoo.com describing your project and the price you are looking for.
Need distribution for your completed films?
- Thread starter Televista
- Start date
Our company tends to buy films OUTRIGHT --- we pay cash (well, actually money orders or checks but you get the idea) for your films and we then own them...so there is no chance of piracy or unreported income on our part. While a lot of filmmakersdo not like this, a lot do...you can make a choice...sign a contract with a distributor who will take a percentage but actually not necessarily give you a fair reporting, self-distribute which can be profitable but also can be a full time job or accept a fair price for your movie and actually get it seen and marketed in real outlets. We DO NOT set the selling price or asking price - the filmmaker does. If we like your project and agree to the asking price we'll buy it and you get paid immediately...if we like the project but the price is too high we DO NOT negotiate we simply pass on the deal...
Zach, we are new here to this board but certainly not DVD or video distribution....I just wanted to elaborate on a post we made... we acquire independent films but the filmmaker sets the price. We are not in the business of telling producers what their film is worth...we ask our filmmakers to set a price they would be willing to sell their film for, either outright (preferable) or for a set period of time. If the price is too high we will just decline on the deal...we will not negotiate a lower price even if we believe the film is marketable. Example, while vacationing in Tijuana (ha! what a vacation that would be) I want to buy a watch from a seller...his "true" selling price or price he would be willing to take would be $30.00, the watch is worth $30.00 to me...no more...no less...if the seller asks $50.00 hoping I'll say $20.00 and we'll somehow settle in the middle we will walk away....if the seller did say $30.00 FIRM we would do the deal....we aren't ebay and in a bidding position...we either review your film and determine whether it works for both parties or not. If we think it does we pay you immediately. It may not be the best business model but one that works for us and if a filmmaker sets his own price it seems to be fair to them as well.
vidled said:
Kind of...we just don't like to tell filmmakers what their film is necessarily worth...if you spend 6 months of your life making a documentary called "Sewage Disposal Techniques in North Dakota" the film's value in the DVD or TV marketplace is probably $0...but it's very difficult for some people to hear. On the other hand you might put a high value on something shot and edited in a weekend and the price might be justifiable. Of course, we will always tell filmmakers if we are asked nicely what we feel we can market. Right now we get truckloads of submissions and there is always a lot of junk, and then there are others that really are very well produced but it's not always the well produced ones that are necessarily marketable. I am absolutely sick to death and bored to tears with the standard horror films...teens go to a remote cabin in the woods and are chased by a maniacal madman....we've seen it all a 1000 times before, but the unfortunate truth is that movie is probably better suited for a video store than a well made independent drama with unknown actors about the plight of a young woman with a staph infection. We certainly love creative movies, but it seems a lot of independent films by first-time producers are "too creative" and don't fit into a marketable movie. In the film world I think most first-timers are more apt to get noticed if their movie actually gets released and makes money...more so than if they make a great critical piece that ultimately sits on the shelf.
I also think (just my personal belief) the absolute death knell for a lot of movies is going the CustomFlix routine...don't get me wrong I LOVE CustomFlix but it also sends out a mixed message to distributors...here's my movie and it wasn't marketable enough to get a "real" release. The whole DVD-R thing does not work in stores. And be honest, how many CustomFlix movies have you ever seen on a video store or retail shelf?
vidled
DVXuser Sponsor
The thing is, Televista, you are an unknown entity right now. You've only just registered here, and have ZERO track record on this forum. Unless someone chimes in here with endorsements or other experiences in dealing with you, it may be only "junk" that you'll get from this type of "call for films".
You'd have to do a LOT better if it is quality products you want. But then, maybe your profitability is higher with exactly in these low quality works?
It's REALLY hard to gauge what you are about from what you've offered here.
Let me give you an example:
We can produce a space-ship that can travel to the moon and back. We've already done 4 trips successfully. For a relatively low figure (payable up-front), we can take 6 passengers. We fly to the moon every 3 months. (Please allow 2 weeks of physical examinations & training, and 3 weeks for the actual trip).
You see, just by writing this doesn't make it legit!
Not trying to be facetious, but you have to give/show a little more of yourself, if you want to be taken serious and if you seek serious productions.
Hope this is helpful to you.
You'd have to do a LOT better if it is quality products you want. But then, maybe your profitability is higher with exactly in these low quality works?
It's REALLY hard to gauge what you are about from what you've offered here.
Let me give you an example:
We can produce a space-ship that can travel to the moon and back. We've already done 4 trips successfully. For a relatively low figure (payable up-front), we can take 6 passengers. We fly to the moon every 3 months. (Please allow 2 weeks of physical examinations & training, and 3 weeks for the actual trip).
You see, just by writing this doesn't make it legit!
Not trying to be facetious, but you have to give/show a little more of yourself, if you want to be taken serious and if you seek serious productions.
Hope this is helpful to you.
vidled
DVXuser Sponsor
Televista said:
Okay this is really confusing.
You write the above, but then I just did a froogle search as you suggested, and these are 4 of the first 6 entries that come up:
"Terror From Under The House"
Revenge Isn't Always So Sweet!... A family's youngest daughter is brutally raped and murdered. They try to put the tragedy behind them, ...
"Savage Weekend"
"The Murder Mansion"
"White Cannibal Queen"
:huh:
capitalP
Veteran
So let me get this straight. Your company own all the rights to a film that is sold? Say for example, if I sell you my movie for $30 bucks, and the movie ends up making $200 bucks in one year, ten years later it makes another $200 bucks.
All I get is that $30 bucks and that's final right?
Then again, If my movie makes $0 bucks, your company ends up making nothing. But as a businessman you would know to stay away from those movies that will make you no money.
So my question is, we're basically selling our souls to you
.
But ultimately, it's the film makers decision, but IMO selling rights to my movie to an uknown Entity like Vidled says is a little too risky. Ofcourse not everyone will feel this way.
All I get is that $30 bucks and that's final right?
Then again, If my movie makes $0 bucks, your company ends up making nothing. But as a businessman you would know to stay away from those movies that will make you no money.
So my question is, we're basically selling our souls to you
.But ultimately, it's the film makers decision, but IMO selling rights to my movie to an uknown Entity like Vidled says is a little too risky. Ofcourse not everyone will feel this way.
capitalP said:So let me get this straight. Your company own all the rights to a film that is sold? Say for example, if I sell you my movie for $30 bucks, and the movie ends up making $200 bucks in one year, ten years later it makes another $200 bucks.
All I get is that $30 bucks and that's final right?
Then again, If my movie makes $0 bucks, your company ends up making nothing. But as a businessman you would know to stay away from those movies that will make you no money.
So my question is, we're basically selling our souls to you
But ultimately, it's the film makers decision, but IMO selling rights to my movie to an uknown Entity like Vidled says is a little too risky. Ofcourse not everyone will feel this way.
Well as I said this IS NOT for everyone...certainly I too would be hesitant as a filmmaker to let my baby go, but for a lot of people it does make sense. Most independent films made each year see very little and in many cases no distribution whatsoever. A lot of peope want to get their foot in the door and be able to showcase a film that actually has been marketed and for sale on DVD. Certainly our company doesn't do anything all that different than a bunch of other companies. Then there are other DVD companies that will give you nothing up front but will promise you the moon and the sun on the backend...I won't name names but at least a few of these companies are nororious for never paying their respective royalties and the producers very possibly will never see a dime. Then there are other very legitimate companies that will pay an advance aginst royalties, but again the royalties are hardly ever seen...not because the distributor is dishonest simply because the advance against royalties contract is usually slanted percentage wise for the distributor. Self distribution is very possible but can be a lot of hard work. A lot of filmmakers would rather go on to the next project and not have to worry so much about having to do the sales side of things.
vidled said:
Not too confusing...I said personally I am tired of these films but I never said they weren't marketable!!! If our company only marketed films that appealed to me personally we'd go broke in a week! The other difference is that the films you mentioned aren't direct to video films - they were shot on 35mm and in theatres and some have stars...Terror From Under The House for example features Joan Collins.
vidled
DVXuser Sponsor
Televista said:
YOU'RE not confused as it is YOU who knows much more about it than us! :beer:
When you write things like: "I am absolutely sick to death and bored to tears with the standard horror films..." you must appreciate that we don't know whether it is YOU who decides on the selection of the films. Like I mentioned several times here; we have VERY LITTLE information about you and your company.
If I were to have made a "standard horror film", even if I thought it were marketable and worth something, I'd be hesitant to send it to a person who proclaims he (or she) is "absolutely sick to death and bored to tears" with such movies. I don't think that hesitation is unreasonable.
vidled said:
You are correct...I'd be hesitant as well. Don't get me wrong though I like horror films a lot especially ones that are creative...what I am tired of is run of the mill Friday The 13th ripoffs. The original Friday the 13th was pretty good though. I'm just bored when I see the same plotline used 300 times over. Movies like Henry, Hostel, Saw, Silence of the Lambs, etc. had me on the edge of my seat. One of my friends did a little shot on DV movie called Sixes And The One Eyed King...it was obviously done for very short money and I have to say it was one of the best horror movies I have ever seen...that one had just as much impact on me as any big budget studio horror film.