Film Self-Distribution with Alrik Bursell

In this episode, we dive deep into the world of indie filmmaking and self-distribution with Alrik Bursell, filmmaker and co-host of the Making Movies is Hard podcast. Alrik shares his journey, from creating his first short film Strange Thing to releasing his feature film The Alternate and building an engaged audience along the way.

We cover everything you need to know about self-distribution, including:

• Why self-distribution is becoming increasingly popular.
• Practical strategies to build an audience before your film is even shot.
• What indie filmmakers can realistically expect to earn from self-distribution.
• Organic and paid marketing tactics to boost your film's visibility.
• The role of PR in amplifying your film’s reach and how to collaborate effectively with PR teams.
• Common mistakes filmmakers make and how to avoid them.

Alrik also shares insider tips on working with platforms like Tubi, optimizing your metadata and posters for maximum impact, and choosing the right distribution path for your film.

Whether you’re a first-time filmmaker or an experienced producer looking to level up your distribution strategy, this episode is packed with actionable advice to help you take control of your film’s release and connect directly with your audience.

📌 Mentioned in the Episode:

• The Alternate: Alrik’s latest feature film available on Tubi and Amazon Prime.
• Making Movies is Hard Podcast: Insights and tips for indie filmmakers.

🔗 Follow Alrik:
Making Movies is Hard Podcast:
https://www.makingmoviesishard.com/

Watch The Alternate:
https://tubitv.com/movies/702632/the-alternate
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11383050/

Connect with ZB Siwek:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/zb-siwek-55938442/

Learn More About Cine Circle:
https://www.cinecircle.co.uk/

Explore our live in person and virtual events:
https://www.eventbrite.com/o/cine-circle-uk-17697994790

Follow us on social!
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Transcript

00:00:00:00 - 00:00:01:09
Unknown
Ulrik, thank you so

00:00:01:09 - 00:00:01:20
Unknown
much

00:00:01:20 - 00:00:03:02
Unknown
for coming on our show.

00:00:03:02 - 00:00:08:27
Unknown
to talk about distribution and more specifically about Self-distribution here, where we're really excited to have you.

00:00:08:27 - 00:01:59:23
Unknown
Could you maybe start off by just telling us a little bit about yourself, your previous experience and what you currently do?

00:01:59:26 - 00:02:30:26
Unknown
Wow. Yeah.

00:02:30:28 - 00:03:00:10
Unknown
Well.

00:03:00:17 - 00:03:23:04
Unknown
So quite, quite a journey there. Thank you. Thank you for sharing all of that. I think it really shows, you know, I think some filmmakers might feel a little disheartened when they feel like their film is also taking years and years and years to make. But, that's just sometimes how long it needs to take. So I'd love to, dive straight into the main topic today, which is which is self-distribution.

00:03:23:20 - 00:03:41:23
Unknown
Perhaps starting off with specifically in practical terms, what is self-distribution for someone who has never done it? And what can filmmakers expect, from the journey of, of going down the road of Self-distribution?

00:03:41:26 - 00:05:39:21
Unknown
Yeah. Yeah, I think I think, mainly feature length films. Yeah.

00:07:17:27 - 00:07:37:08
Unknown
Yep.

00:07:37:11 - 00:07:41:08
Unknown
Yeah.

00:07:48:29 - 00:08:21:10
Unknown
Yeah. And and that's great. Thank you for that. You mentioned at the start that Self-distribution has, has come out really from for because of the need for Self-distribution in a sense because the distribution deals have started to get worse and worse and worse. There are many distributors out there that are essentially just trying to scam filmmakers in the sense, or, you know, you, you get you hear these horror stories about distribution deals where the distributors pretty much keep all of the money from the filmmakers.

00:08:22:04 - 00:09:41:13
Unknown
But do you do you believe there is any reason to go for self-distribution, even if you can get a good distribution deal? Or do you feel like it's always. Should filmmakers always look for a good distribution deal first, and then do self-distribution as a sort of second resort? Or do you think there are film projects where you should think about it from a perspective of already knowing that you're going to do self-distribution from the start?

00:09:41:15 - 00:10:46:21
Unknown
Yeah.

00:10:59:05 - 00:11:28:14
Unknown
Yeah.

00:11:28:16 - 00:12:23:20
Unknown
Yeah.

00:12:23:22 - 00:12:30:25
Unknown
Yeah.

00:13:11:18 - 00:13:40:08
Unknown
Yeah.

00:13:40:11 - 00:13:45:13
Unknown
Yeah.

00:13:45:16 - 00:14:08:05
Unknown
Yeah. And I think an important point you raised there is that the filmmaking journey is a marathon, not a sprint. And I think a lot of people are using sort of finite tactics in what is an infinite game, right? Where you're not just trying to make and distribute one film. If you actually think about the broader picture of making the next 2030 films, over your lifetime, then you can actually have a better strategy even with just that one.

00:14:08:07 - 00:14:32:02
Unknown
One thing that you mentioned there, and I really want to demystify a little bit. What can filmmakers expect in terms of revenue? Because, you have, you know, massive blockbusters these days. You have pretty good insights from box office and so on as to how much those films are making. But actually, most filmmakers have absolutely no idea how much other indie films are making.

00:14:32:15 - 00:14:53:19
Unknown
And I'm wondering whether whether there is any ballpark figures that you've heard from, for example, your podcast, you know, you've had quite a few different guests as to how much money indie filmmakers are actually making from Self-distribution, where they go out on on their own, they put their film on Amazon, or, you know, maybe they managed to get around YouTube or other platforms.

00:14:53:21 - 00:15:22:06
Unknown
How much can filmmakers really expect to make? I mean, you know, is it is it actually feasible for them to make over 100 K, for example, in that film?

00:15:22:08 - 00:16:40:06
Unknown
Yeah.

00:16:40:08 - 00:17:05:00
Unknown
Yeah.

00:17:05:02 - 00:17:12:11
Unknown
Yeah.

00:17:12:13 - 00:17:47:04
Unknown
Yeah.

00:17:47:06 - 00:18:33:12
Unknown
Yeah.

00:20:05:07 - 00:20:31:06
Unknown
Yeah, definitely. You. You mentioned audience there, and I'd love to. I'd love to move into how filmmakers can actually build up their audience. So, you know, even before the film is shot. And, you know, and after, but really before the release and, and specifically because I think a lot of filmmakers here, you know, pretty sort of generic advice out there, you know, yeah, you should just hustle on social media and.

00:20:31:07 - 00:21:08:25
Unknown
Yeah, and so on. And therefore, I wonder from either from your own experience or from other filmmakers that you've interviewed, have you heard some really interesting or perhaps unique stories of how filmmakers managed to build an audience around their film in a way that, you know, really helped with the release? You know, perhaps a specific strategy that filmmakers might have not heard of or, or perhaps you know, a specific strategy within the realms of things that people have heard of, on, on how they can actually build an audience in a way that doesn't break the bank, you know, not to spending too much money on advertising.

00:21:09:17 - 00:25:24:18
Unknown
But in a way that's actually meaningful.

00:25:24:20 - 00:26:03:00
Unknown
Yeah. Yeah.

00:26:03:02 - 00:26:24:26
Unknown
Yeah. I definitely agree with that. I think the key there is to not use social media just as a promotional medium. But instead of that, use it as a way to engage with your audience to get really, really loyal fans. Because I think what you said at the start that, you know, people say, oh, I've got a million followers, but actually a million followers could mean very, very little if they're not engaged followers.

00:26:25:12 - 00:26:46:18
Unknown
It's actually sometimes a lot better to have 10,000 very highly engaged followers than a million followers don't really care about anything that you're doing. They've just followed you at some point. I also think, so filmmakers need to find the medium that works for them or the platform that works for them. So for some people, it might be Twitter because they don't like being on video.

00:26:46:18 - 00:27:01:26
Unknown
For some people it might be TikTok. For some people it might be Instagram. For some people, they might actually think, you know what, maybe I want to start a podcast, right? So there is, you know, for some people it might be in person and they just love going to events in person. And I think filmmakers just need to find what works for them.

00:27:02:11 - 00:27:23:06
Unknown
Which is which is definitely important. I'd love to move on to, to to the different platforms that filmmakers can use. So for people who are completely new to to distribution, I mean, you also, you already mentioned sort of t VOD, which is transactional video on demand, where people buy your, film for, say, 999 on Amazon.

00:27:23:09 - 00:27:46:01
Unknown
You have then have as VOD, which is subscription video based, video on demand such as Netflix. And then you have a VOD, which is advertising based video on demand. So, you know, that would be like YouTube, for example. Which so I'm wondering, you know, what strategies you've heard and actually, perhaps starting with your film, you mentioned that you, you started off with t VOD.

00:27:46:04 - 00:30:14:10
Unknown
Is it still, you know, do you still pay to, to watch your film, or did you go from t VOD at the beginning and then move into. As for the neighborhood afterwards?

00:30:14:12 - 00:30:18:29
Unknown
Yeah.

00:30:19:01 - 00:30:59:10
Unknown
I think especially right now, people are not used to paying for films, even when they're massive blockbusters. Right? So then when you talk about indie films and actually purchasing a film, that is a massive thing, right? Like nearly no one buys films anymore because you have so much free content out there. Have you have you heard other filmmakers, perhaps from your podcast, who have had, success with t VOD?

00:30:59:12 - 00:32:27:15
Unknown
Yeah.

00:32:56:28 - 00:33:19:10
Unknown
I definitely think that's pretty incredible.

00:33:19:13 - 00:33:38:12
Unknown
Yeah. And just to put it into perspective, you know, if, between, you know, the difference between t VOD. And as for an award, you know, on TV or if you, if your film is, you know, I don't know, selling for 599, you know, on average Nesbo I believe the figures are you get about a percent maybe for an hour, that your film is streamed.

00:33:38:12 - 00:33:58:03
Unknown
So, you know, say about a cent for every time your film is watched fully, basically. So your film needs to be watched 600 times fully from start to finish to make the same amount as you do from one person purchasing that film. But at the same time, it is so much more difficult to get someone to buy a film than to just watch it.

00:33:58:17 - 00:34:29:20
Unknown
So it's a difficult balance for sure. In terms of, I know that, you know, your your distributor was probably the one responsible for doing this, but again, from your experience from other filmmakers, when putting your film up onto platforms, I mean, do you find that most filmmakers at the moment when they're so distributing Use Film Hub or what type of platforms are they used to, or do they go directly to the platforms, to actually put their film up onto, say, Amazon Tube?

00:34:31:15 - 00:34:58:19
Unknown
And all the other ones?

00:34:58:22 - 00:35:03:01
Unknown
Yeah.

00:36:12:20 - 00:36:35:06
Unknown
Yeah. And. And on that note, I want to. I want to touch on those details a little bit, because when you're when you're writing your film, you know, whether it's on YouTube, onto, onto Amazon, onto Google Play, whatever it might be. You know, a lot of these platforms work on algorithms, right? So really, what you're trying to do is trying to make sure that when someone goes onto the platform, they see your film.

00:36:36:01 - 00:39:09:27
Unknown
And part of that is sort of search engine optimization. So to make sure that your film comes up when they search for a certain type of film, say in the horror film, to make sure that your film actually is the one that comes up. Have you have you heard any tips, tricks, strategies as to, you know, how to upload your film or you know, what kind of metadata to add, what kind of, you know, titles, descriptions, posters to ads, whatever that might be when uploading your film onto those platforms to make sure you get as many views as you possibly can.

00:39:09:29 - 00:39:54:11
Unknown
Yeah.

00:39:54:14 - 00:40:14:15
Unknown
Yeah. Another tip that I've heard was, really looking at the platforms that you're going to be putting your film on. Looking at the category where your film is going to be, and from there looking, what kind of poster will stand out from the crowd? So, for example, when you go and chubby and you go onto horror films, every single picture is red and black.

00:40:14:16 - 00:40:42:16
Unknown
You know, like those are the two main colors. So if you can actually add a different color into that poster, your film, your poster will stand out amongst the crowd. So that's another, another tip there that I heard from, from a different distributor. And. Yeah. And now once your film is on there, I think, most filmmakers really struggle figuring out what are effective marketing strategies to actually drive traffic to those platforms.

00:40:42:27 - 00:42:11:05
Unknown
And I think those divide into into organic and paid. So perhaps starting with organic, you know, again, aside from, you know, posting a lot on socials and that what perhaps works for you or what works for other filmmakers in terms of really moving the needle and getting a, you know, a high amount of traffic to, to the, to the platforms.

00:42:11:07 - 00:42:51:13
Unknown
Yeah.

00:42:52:06 - 00:43:49:13
Unknown
And what about paid? You know, paid ads? Have you, for example, either on your film or again from other filmmakers who have been on your podcast? Have you heard of people who have been, you know, using paid ads to drive traffic to, to those platforms with any kind of success?

00:43:49:15 - 00:44:39:04
Unknown
Right.

00:44:39:07 - 00:46:08:16
Unknown
Interesting. Okay, that's. That's a good tip there. And how about PR, and getting, you know, different articles, blogs, and so on, written about about your film. Is that something that you felt helped your or other filmmakers and was the best way to, to getting that kind of, those pieces written about you?

00:46:08:19 - 00:48:25:06
Unknown
Oh, wow.

00:48:25:08 - 00:48:51:08
Unknown
Yep.

00:48:51:10 - 00:49:09:10
Unknown
And. And do you have any tips on how to find the blogs or or the journalists who might be, you know, particularly interested in your specific film? I mean, you know, 1 or 1 idea that, you know, that that's out there is, you know, looking on, films that are similar to others, you can go on IMDb and there you can actually find some of the reviews.

00:49:09:21 - 00:51:28:27
Unknown
Do you have any other kind of tips or tricks like that to to find bloggers?

00:51:29:00 - 00:51:55:16
Unknown
Yeah.

00:51:55:18 - 00:52:20:04
Unknown
Yeah, I I did hear that. Yeah, I did hear that. Over the last couple of years, especially, there's been a lot of blogs that stopped. You know, especially film related ones. I'd like to finish off by just, asking you, are there any key mistakes that you think filmmakers are making when it comes to self-distribution that people who are new to it can avoid that?

00:52:20:04 - 00:54:18:13
Unknown
We that we haven't mentioned yet, any of the other big mistakes that filmmakers could, could avoid.

00:54:18:16 - 00:55:10:25
Unknown
And.

00:55:10:27 - 00:55:20:23
Unknown
Yeah.

00:55:20:25 - 00:56:24:20
Unknown
That's great advice there. Alright. Thank you. Thank you so much for for sharing, all of your knowledge. All of your experience. All of your different strategies and tips and tricks. It's. Yeah, it's been great. Speaking of you. So, so thank you so much.

00:56:24:23 - 00:56:27:27
Unknown
Great. Once again. Thank you. Thank you so much.