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Making Movies that Make (Financial) Sense.

A Three-Part Series - by Mark Bosko

Make a children’s film. That’s my advice to all the independent filmmakers out there looking for a financially successful first (or second) project. Why? Obviously, shooting a kid’s flick isn’t nearly as cool as that Tarantino-esque heist flick you’ve been penning for the past 6 months. Nor is it as fun as letting the camera roll while you and your buds hang out, get stoned and philosophize. But gritty-robbery-gone-bad-now-what-do-we-do-while-set-to-pseudo-70s-music movies have been done to death. As have twenty-something-angst-ridden-should-I-drop-my-girlfriend-and-sleep with-my-roommate-or-just-have-a-beer films. Though both definitely fit a preconceived set of audience expectations (the HEIST movie and the SLACKER movie), there’s just not that much audience left for these kinds of independent projects since such a multitude of these films were produced in the past five years (of which, a huge percentage were truly awful).

So, again, why a kid’s flick? Well, it has to do with something I like to call “feeding the genre.” Live-action children’s feature films are one of the many recognizable “genres,” or niche categories, of films that are easily identifiable by a set of elements – plot, characters, settings and action. These elements clearly define a genre movie from others in the market, while delivering on its core audience’s distinct needs and interests. And, with the children’s film genre being a seller’s market right now – meaning there is more demand than supply – it’s a good time to “feed the genre.”

Sure, there are a number of companies specializing in children’s films. You’ve got the big boys at Disney and Dreamworks churning out animated children’s features, secondary distributors such as Concorde delivering some live-action movies and of course, a slew of suppliers making short, educational-slanted product. That still leaves a sizable void in the market, especially with regard to independent feature-length product.

In multiple conversations with distributors, video store managers, cable channels and other industry buyers, I am repeatedly asked ‘Do you know of any independent children’s features?’ Unfortunately, the answer is always ‘no.’ This already-considerable and continually-growing market wants more product to offer customers. Kids watch a lot of video and, more importantly, kids repeatedly watch a lot of video. Sellers just can’t keep up with demand right now, leading to my recommendation given at the beginning of this article.

You might think this is a somewhat simplified view of today’s home entertainment marketplace. Like, all you have to do is shoot some syrupy-and-cute, fun-filled movie about a couple of precocious youngsters, and film buyers are going to be knocking down your door with handfuls of cash. To say that was true would be a gross exaggeration. However, if you make a technologically adept movie, from a solid script with accomplished talent featuring a plot and production elements that deliver on the needs of the children’s genre, then yes, chances are very good you’ll be trying to decide which offer to accept.

And this formula for ‘feeding the genre’ works with other film categories, too. Consider slasher films, urban action movies and erotic thrillers. A consumer knows what he’s getting when he picks up a movie belonging to any one of these traditionally popular or newly-hot “genres,” and the product is usually quite successful (with regard to sales) if it contains all of the properties associated with its niche.

Filmmakers are always asking me, ‘What’s going to be hot in the next five years?’ Well, that’s always a tough question, especially when trying to guess what the general public will favor. Luckily, however, we’re not talking about the general public. We’re talking about small groups of people with common interests. Small groups that, thanks to the Internet, can be successfully identified and solicited on a nearly one-to-one basis. And this scenario makes me believe that it’s not so much the creation of new genres that will rule the future of indie filmmaking, but, instead, the next 60 months will bring more genre piggybacking, greater diversification within genres and the development of audience interest segments that were once considered too small to profitably exploit.

One new DVD distribution company, Critical Mass Entertainment, is solidly aimed at releasing relatively unknown, albeit high quality, films, will take advantage of developing new segments by relying heavily on Internet marketing and e-commerce strategies. They’re going to target the entire creative community of producers, directors, writers and others involved in making and teaching about films, television and videos. While these folks have always been part of other niches, singling them out as their own sub-category of film buyers, and offering them an exciting and intriguing line of new DVD movies, authored with features that they specifically find of interest, will be one of this new companies specialties.

I personally believe in the development of sub-niches, such as creating religious or spiritually-themed urban films as a further refinement of the popular urban category. Diversification within a popular genre is the key to staying on top of this business. Though consumers still demand the typical, gang-banging urban action films, I also feel a growing need for more involved stories about the human condition, stories that deal with everyday issues, but just happen to be set in an urban environment. And uplifting stories as well, not just sex and violence. Films that I think will be marketed and targeted to a new, urban Christian genre.

This kind of thinking is also important to the independent filmmaker looking to “jump on the bandwagon.” As was evidenced with the tide of imitator reality films following in the wake of The Blair Witch Project. Beyond the comedic Erotic Witch Project series, not many of those other copycat productions even registered a blip on the entertainment sales radar. Indie producers “feeding the genre” must aspire to stay ahead of the curve, read trends, realize when a genre has been done to death, or, be the filmmaker who “breathes new life” into a stale genre.

A sampling of some of the many film genres that exist

Next we talk about Self Distribution