Episode 36: Pre-Sales—Selling Your Film Before It’s Made

Hi, I’m Denis O’Brien, and welcome to MakeYourFilm, where we dish out practical tips to help the filmmaking community—and yeah, me too—figure out how to get our projects off the ground. Whether it’s a doc, a video, a commercial, or anything produced, the principles are usually the same. But today, we’re talking about something different: pre-sales. This is a game-changer mostly for films and sometimes TV series. Docs? Not so much, unless you’ve got a killer track record.

So, what’s a pre-sale? It’s selling your film before you even shoot it. Here’s how it works: you package your project—think budget, shooting schedule, and, most importantly, key actors. Bonus points if you’ve got a known director, though big-name actors can carry an unknown one. You take this package to a distributor. They look at it, crunch the numbers, and figure out what a film like yours, with those actors, could make. If your cast has star power, this gets a lot easier.

What happens next? The distributor offers a pre-sale figure. Sometimes they guarantee it in writing so you can borrow against it; other times, they pay an advance upfront for specific rights to your film. It’s all about the terms—layers of them. I recently took a deal for all countries except the U.S. That gave me enough to finish funding while keeping the U.S. open for a bigger play later. Smart, right?

These pre-sale folks know how to make money and spot a good investment. If you land an offer, that’s a win—it means your project’s got legs. But before you sign, check a few things: How long’s the term? What’s the scope—regions, platforms? Are there hidden fees or deductions sneaking in there? You’ll need a lawyer, no question, but don’t just hand it off—read it yourself too. Get a grip on what’s happening. We can’t unpack it all in one short podcast, but start here: you’ve got the power if you package it right.

Need more? Swing by MakeYourFilm.net. Grab my book, Make Your Film—A Producer’s Guide to the Process, on Amazon—it’s all in there. Now, go make your film!

Catch you next time. #MakeYourFilm #Filmmaking #IndieFilm #FilmProducer #BelieveInYourself #FilmProduction #CreativeProcess #PassionProject

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