How to Get Monetization for Your Short Film

7th October 2020

Advice

How to Monetize Your Short Film

By Argo

Being a filmmaker is not easy and making an income off your short film is even harder, but rest assured, it is not impossible. There are many ways to profit off your hard work, all it takes is the right mindset, strategy, and determination.

Believe in Your Work and Fully Understand the Message of Your Film:

Critically understanding all perspectives of your film will allow you to fully understand who your possible target audience will be.

The Questions You Should Ask Yourself:

Does this film have an audience? & Who would want to see it? Once you figure out who would want to watch your film, find ways to promote it.

Ways to Promote Your Short Film:

A good way to promote your short is to advertise your short film on social media platforms where you will gain recognition. For example, one way of doing this is by creating a Facebook page or website specifically for the film. These platforms should display a trailer for what your audience should expect to see when they watch the short.

Get a Direct Deal with Argo

Argo is a short film streaming platform that allows filmmakers globally to engage with an audience based on curation, sociability, and accessibility. Through revenue share tools it gives filmmakers an opportunity to monetize their work. Utilizing all three methods of marketing, festivals (link to Untold Stories), and revenue; Argo will give you the best chance to access larger audiences and generate income off your short film.

Find a Film Festival

Applying to multiple film festivals is important, but when you apply you should consider three key tips.

Create a logline that is appealing: you want to tell the jury and audience what your film is about, and a good logline might be featured at screenings.
Advertise to the festivals that you have an audience for this film and that it would be something people want to see.
Thirdly, if you want to monetize your film it is important to find festivals that will give cash or in-kind awards.

Exposure at larger film festivals is great and if you’re lucky you can get an agent or distribution deal for your film, but if you are new to the film world or you want to start small, it is better to submit to smaller festivals. There are plenty of smaller festivals around the world that will offer rewards, but it is important that you do your research prior to submitting your work.