Distribution answers the question, How will your audience get to see your movie? It is the physical and technical process of getting a movie from its original film negative or hard drive to its audience. Your audience cannot see your movie unless it is distributed to them. In the past decade, new forms of distribution have emerged while traditional models have transformed. This is both good and bad news for filmmakers: it has never been easier to put your film in front of an audience, and it has never been harder to get an audience to watch and pay for it. We’ll start with a general overview of how distribution works and look at ways you can distribute movies yourself.

Distribution Basics

Once upon a time, there were two categories of distribution: theatrical (into movie theaters) and in-home entertainment, which includes physical media such as Blu-ray discs, DVDs, and television. Then, after YouTube launched in 2005, technology evolved and media converged with online and mobile devices, and the traditional model changed. People can now watch films when and where they want, on their computers, game consoles, tablets, or phones through netcasting, podcasting, or streaming from public sites like YouTube and Vimeo.

In today’s world, where devices are becoming interchangeable, some home screens can look almost as good as theater screens, and audiences want movies the way they want them, film distributors are shifting their model away from a focus on the places you can see a movie to strategic approaches toward the ways you can make money from a movie.

It’s worth noting that getting money for a movie is generally possible only if the film is feature length; there is little commercial market for short films. Although there are many ways to experience a feature film, there are really only four ways to make money from it; after all, selling the movie is the most important aspect of the business of filmmaking. Again, it’s important not to let technology—the means or the device through which you experience a film—get confused with how you might make money from it. The technologies keep changing, but the selling principles remain constant. Here are the four ways to sell a movie:

As you can see, when you sell your movie, you’ll use one or more technologies to get it to your audience. An audience member might see a movie on a mobile phone for free (if it is sponsored), for pay (if it is a digital download), or for rent (if it is being streamed for a one-time-viewing fee), or pay for it multiple times to access it in different venues and formats.

Distribution takes into account all of these factors and seeks to share a movie with its audience for the maximum amount of money possible. Studios and independent distributors have well-worn mechanisms for doing this. But what if you need to do it yourself?

DIY Distribution

There are far more movies made than get any form of distribution. For example, at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival—a bellwether of independent cinema—4,105 full-length, completed films were submitted. Of these, 118 were screened as part of the festival. Perhaps 100 will get distribution. What happened to the other 3,987 movies? For most of them, nothing: no DVD sales, no Netflix, no cable TV. This sad squandering of creative capital also represents an incredible loss of financial resources; we estimate more than $3 billion a year is spent on movies that get no distribution whatsoever.

The alternative is DIY distribution—doing it yourself. Increasingly, independent filmmakers are not waiting for deals with distribution companies or agents but are pioneering ways of getting movies in front of audiences, most frequently by using online and mobile distribution techniques. Often the first step is to decide how you are going to sell—get money for—your movie. Although there are four possible ways to do it (see above), you only have three realistic options. Your choices are to rent it, sell it, or offer it to audiences for free with advertising or sponsorship support; you won’t be able to sell it on subscription since you likely have only one movie to offer up.

If you are going to sell your film, you can do so via digital download or DVD. DVDs can be burned on your computer, or you can get them commercially produced for as little as $1 each. If you want to offer your film as a paid digital download, there are several emerging websites that will encode and host your film, and even let you set the purchase or rental price for your customers for either a monthly fee or a percentage of your sales income. Amazon.com also offers a service in which they will sell your movie for VOD or on DVD for a percentage of sales. Because the opportunities for this kind of distribution are expanding daily, we recommend you research the possibilities yourself and find the solution that will best meet your needs.

You can also do it yourself by creating a website with e-commerce capability, which allows customers to pay with PayPal or a credit card. (PayPal accounts are free, although they charge a small percentage of each sale; you can easily set them up online.) You will need video hosting, which may be available from your school or inexpensively through Google, Amazon, or other providers.

If you are planning to rent your film, that means you want a good old-fashioned theatrical release. Go for it! Nothing is as impactful as a movie on the big screen with a large live audience enjoying a shared experience. You should approach any venue that has a screen—a museum, a civic center, a gallery, an auditorium in a business center, a place of worship—and don’t be afraid to try regular movie theaters, too. Smaller theaters often like to support local filmmakers, and many of the larger theater chains are beginning to offer similar arrangements, especially if you plan to screen on an evening when there is not much business, like Mondays or Tuesdays. Based on some initial success, you may be able to arrange more screenings. If you have some budget, you can actually rent the theater exclusively for your screening, a practice called four-walling. When you four-wall a theater, you get to keep all the box office income, so you may be able to cover your costs if you sell enough tickets.

If you want to offer your film for free, two common solutions are YouTube and Vimeo. Vimeo is a more respectful community that does not have advertisements, but it does offer a “tip jar” for filmmakers. The video quality on Vimeo is better than that on YouTube; you can preserve your aspect ratio and more easily choose your starting frame. You can also keep your copyright on Vimeo, and you have more control over who sees your movie, as opposed to YouTube, where you give up more rights and control. In addition, there are newer sites that offer similar services. Because video-uploading opportunities are expanding, do some research to determine which site will be the best fit for your movie. But remember: always read the site’s terms and conditions before uploading your film anywhere.

To upload a movie, simply create a free account and follow the directions. If the site allows, you should make a new channel for yourself or for your film—this is also free. If the film is longer than a single permitted upload, you will need to split it into two or more parts; title these Part 1, Part 2, and so on. After you upload your film, the service will process your video so that it is web-ready—meaning that it will play on web and mobile devices—and after several minutes, it will appear on your channel. At that point, your video is actually being hosted by the site, which means it “lives” there, and when someone watches it, your film will be streamed, or sent through the Internet in real time, to his or her viewing device.

In some cases, you may also be able to offer your film to a local television station or to a cable broadcaster that provides public-access airtime. Alternatively, your school may have its own television station or online channel. If any of these opportunities are available to you, contact the appropriate person and ask about requirements; every station or channel will have its unique process for submission.

No matter what form of distribution and sales you have chosen, get the word out. Move your publicity and marketing machine into high gear, and start building up excitement for opening night!

Festivals

Even if you distribute your film on your own, you may still opt to submit it to a film festival—an organized, curated presentation of movies. Although some festivals occur online, most take place in physical locations and last anywhere from one weekend to two weeks. There are more than 8,000 film festivals worldwide, specializing in everything from new films by local directors to animation, shorts, and any form of video expression imaginable, including the ultimate in independent film creation: the iPhone Film Festival (www.iphoneff.com). If you’re looking to get some attention for your movie, consider achieving festival recognition.

Of course, the number of festivals is daunting; almost 100 of them can qualify you for a shot at an Academy Award. But be aware that if you ever want your film to be considered for an Academy Award, especially a short film, the Academy’s rules generally specify that the film must be shown theatrically before any other nontheatrical distribution method. Therefore, let’s divide the festivals into categories. There are the large festivals you have probably heard of, like Sundance and Cannes. These prestigious festivals are also film markets—places where filmmakers and international distributors meet to make deals on movies that are currently being made or are already completed (see Business Smarts: Distribution Rights).

It is hard, though not impossible, to get into large festivals, so you should also explore smaller, more local festivals. (You may want to be a large fish in a small pond, after all.) Smaller festivals, and the avid audiences that attend them, love discovering new filmmakers and forging the filmmaker-audience bond. These festivals take their application process and curatorial role seriously.

Most film festivals require a processing fee of $10–100 for each entry; plus, you will need to bear the cost of sending your application materials. Some festivals will watch your movie online, whereas others will ask you to send a DVD (which also costs money). It’s best to be judicious and only apply to the festivals you’re really interested in attending or those that target the subject matter of your film, as these costs can add up (see Action Steps: Entering a Film Festival, below).