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Stacey takes a look back at 2015, and takes a peak at 2016.

Every May buyers, sellers, filmmakers, journalists, and lots and lots of gawkers descend on the South of France for the Cannes Film Festival and Market. In this podcast Film Specific founder Stacey Parks disseminates how to fully leverage the tremendous opportunities to be had at the Cannes Film Market, whether or not you're attending.   In this podcast Stacey discusses:   • What her Cannes preparation looked like   • Why this year is different for her than years past   • What you can do to maximize your time in Cannes if you're attending   • How you can leverage Cannes even if you're not going

FS members Kim + JT are back to give us an update on their film currently in distribution Angels Perch, and their newest film that they are crowd funding, and what they are doing differently this time. Here’s what we discuss:   • update on Angels Perch - two years on, what does the financial picture look like?   • why they decided to go micro budget this time around and decrease their budget substantially since Angels Perch   • how they are crowd funding their latest film Auld Lang Syne and what’s changed in the landscape since their original campaign with AP 3 years ago   • Tips on how they are using social media, email, and content marketing to garner support (and contributions!) for their latest film Auld Lang Syne   • Their secret weapon with promoting their crowd funding campaign that everyone should pay attention to when crowd funding in today’s market   • And more!

In this podcast Film Specific founder Stacey Parks discusses the importance of assessing marketplace viability for your film before you make it. In this podcast Stacey discusses: • What is Strategic Producing   • Why should you care about marketplace viability   • What festivals & markets have to do with it   • How to increase the commercial prospects for your film   • How to tap into market intelligence from home, without traveling to festivals and markets   • and more

As 2014 is coming to a close, instead of talking about what I see as trends for 2015 I want to be a little more productive and talk about some overall strategies that you might want to implement if you have a project in development that you'd like to get off the ground in 2015, or at least move forward in any significant way. FULL STORY

Juliane Block, a writer/director from Berlin joined my Producers Incubator program earlier this year when she committed to doing things differently this time around.   Full story

We first met independent producer Victoria Westcott of Elgin Road Productions when she enrolled in Film Specific's Producers Incubator in 2013. 18 months later she has a film that just made several pre-sales at AFM and is getting ready to go into production. She's also prepping a second film for pre-sales in 2015   Full story here

In this podcast Film Specific founder Stacey Parks looks at 5 ways indie filmmakers can benefit from the American Film Market (AFM) whether they're attending or not. Full artcile

The truth is that probably 90% of films, if not more, won't break even let alone profit from self distribution. Especially as you get higher and higher up in the budget ranges, it becomes harder to break even or profit when you're selling $4.99 downloads, $10 DVD's and spending money on marketing and promotion. But it's not impossible! FUL ARTICLE

As the popularity of VOD and digital distribution grows and grows, the rules are being rewritten fast - releasing windows are now emerging, certain distribution platforms are looking for exclusives, and some platforms are even limiting direct to consumer sales. In this seminar VOD expert and digital aggregator Linda Nelson of IndieRights walks us through many of the changes taking place within the VOD landscape and discusses the emergence of digital release windows. In this seminar Linda discusses:   The importance of a windowing strategy for VOD and digital platform releases Suggested release windows for films without broadcast/cable VOD release Suggested release windows for films with broadcast/cable VOD releases What to do on your own vs. what to do with an aggregator and when Timing of DTA platform releases including Vimeo, sites like ReelHouse, Chill, KinoNation, etc. Full Story

We are always talking about marketing and promotional budgets for our releases, but what if you literally have $0 budget to work with? How do you pull off a release with NO MONEY? Filmmaker Micah Van Hove is about to find out through the release of his feature debut MENTHOL. Tune into this case study we did with him to find out: • An intro to the movie, the budget range, and how he funded it• What his initial goals were going into Menthol• What the festival process was like and how long he waited before approaching distribution• Why he decided NOT to do a TUGG tour• Why he decided to launch his VOD release on the Reelhouse and Vimeo platforms over all the other ones available• How he plans to sustain a digital release with $0 marketing budget and who his target market is (his answer will surprise you!)• The single biggest lesson he's learned throughout the process of making and releasing his first feature in today's 'distribution is everywhere' climate• The biggest challenges he's faced along the way and what he's done to overcome them• The three things he'll definitely going to do differently next time

From Crowd Funding To Broadcast Deal To Emmy Nom: Sean Hanish & Return To Zero Part 

Like many filmmakers, Scott McMahon got frustrated trying to get his independent comedy made the traditional way, and decided to take matters into his own hands and write a new script called THE CUBE, and direct and star in it and get it in the can for $500 with no crew to speak of. Listen to Scott’s story and be ready to get inspired - and hear how he plans to sustain his filmmaking career using out of the box filmmaking and distribution techniques. In this interview with Scott we discuss:   • His background as a filmmaker and what led him to make THE CUBE • How he managed to get THE CUBE in the can for $500 with no crew • What his distribution plans were going in and what the reality has been on the other side • What he’s learned along the way and what he’ll be sure to do differently next time • How much money he’s made so far and how plans for increasing revenue • His recommendations for others pursuing the ‘backyard filmmaking’ path and DIY distribution • And more!

Join us and filmmaker Brooks Elms while we walk you through the steps to preparing your script for financing and Brooks will weigh in on how he applied all this to his project "Montauk Highway Full Story Here

After a 10 year journey of getting his film made, Film Specific member Mike Fitzer got a distribution deal for his film "Pleased To Meet Me" after playing just 2 festivals and is now premiering his film on iTunes. In this candid interview with him, find out...   • Why he chose iTunes to as the premiere distribution platform?   • What his plan is for driving sales?   • What he's spending on marketing and promotion and what's working best?   • How social media is playing a role in the promotion (his answer will surprise you!)   • What type of deliverables he needed for the process and what the costs are Full Notes Here

We last spoke with filmmakers Kimberly Dilts and J.T. Arbogast while they were over halfway through a 75 city theatrical tour (half powered by Tugg) for their film "Angel's Perch". Well now the tour's done and we pick up where we left off with Kim and JT for final tally from their tour. Full story

The VOD landscape is in a period of rapid growth and expansion. Michael Murphy of VOD aggregator Gravitas Ventures joins us to discuss the changes taking place as the VOD landscape evolves, the new model that's emerging, and what steps filmmakers need to take to play the VOD game.   See Full Episode

Sean Hanish just closed a big distribution deal for his directorial debut "Return To Zero" starring Minnie Driver, Paul Adelstein, and Alfred Molina… and that's after crowd funding $100K plus in finishing funds for the film. Full notes here

Everyone generally thinks of social media and community building as tools to help distribute their films. But what about leveraging those assets for packaging and financing? In this case study, producer Miles Maker discusses how he's leveraging social media to move his project forward. We last spoke with Miles in a previous case study, "Creating the Illusion of Motion While Packaging Your Project" Here Miles discusses:• Updates on the packaging of SAFEWORD• How to utilize Facebook to attract producers, executive producers, and financiers• How to take advantage of Twitter to approach actors directly (and by pass their reps!)• The draw of new social media platforms like Pinterest and how you can leverage them• Why you must choose your producing partner carefully and what happens if their sense of urgency doesn't match yours• And more!

Daniel Meisel, producer of "All She Can", which premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the Sundance 2011, is proof positive that is is possible to get into Sundance and get picked up for an all rights deal despite being a small film, a drama, with no name cast, and first time director. In this seminar Daniel discusses how he took the hard road and how it paid off. In this seminar Daniel discusses: • What kind of strategic planning he did in Pre-Production • How he approached budgeting and coming up with a realistic amount • How he financed the film using all private investors • What his distribution strategies were from the get-go: Plans A, B, and C • What was the single most important ingredient in getting distribution for his film • How and why he decided NOT to use sales projections or comparables to 'sell' investors on his film • What is cash flow and revenue model is like now that he got distribution • What he plans to do differently next time