12 Mistakes I Made Producing 12 Feature Films

In this video, I'm going to take you through the 12 mistakes I made producing 12 feature films.
By watching this video, you will be able to avoid some of the costliest and painful mistakes I've made over the past 7-8 years.
Enjoy!
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[@sunlightpictures8367]

Great advice. I'd add that you should make sure you have enough shooting days to get the quality and what you need for that specific project.

[@AlexiOuzas]

Agree!

[@silas1414]

True

[@zcounts]

great information! love and blessings!

[@silas1414]

I'm wondering whether there may be a limitation in securing distribution deals up front before the final value of the film can be better assessed. For instance the recent Australian independent film Talk To Me had such a fantastic reception that the production received multiple offers far exceeding what they had anticipated, including one from A24, who they ended up signing on with. Maybe exploring distributer interest early on could be used as a metric for market value while not actually making any exclusivity deal etc in order to remain open for potentially better partnership opportunities once the film is made. Thoughts?

[@AlexiOuzas]

Great question. Actually, Talk To Me secured an Australian distributor (Umbrella) AND an international sales agent (Bankside) during financing. The Sales Agent then sold the film to A24 at Sundance. The film's budget was around USD$4m so it never would have been financed without the Australian distributor and sales agent putting up MGs. So my recommendation is to always attach a sales agent at a minimum during financing. Not always easy when you're starting out though, it took my until my 3rd film for that to happen

[@theejimmyv]

Alexi great video! What are your thoughts on selling a finished product to a production company that has a distribution deal already lined up?

[@AlexiOuzas]

Hey Jimmy, it's hard to know without all the info. It is unorthodox because usually you would sell directly to a sales agent or distributor, or use an agent like a Producer's Rep to set up that deal. Having said that, in principle there's nothing wrong with it - provided you're happy with the distribution deal and it actually goes through. One thing I always try to do when selling a film is to get as many offers on the table before making a decision. So if you haven't taken your film out to sales agents/distributors, it would be worth doing that asap. Especially if there is already a distribution deal lined up, because that means your film has value in the marketplace. So you want to make sure you're maximising that value by getting as many offers as possible. Hope this helps

[@theejimmyv]

@@AlexiOuzas Understood. Thank you for the response and additional info.

[@AlexiOuzas]

@@theejimmyv all good!

[@ScribblebytesWorldwide]

12 Mistakes, 12 Comments. I hate to break the structure but I had to. I'm sending you a digital hug for all you've been through. 🤗

[@AlexiOuzas]

Nice one, hugs right back at you

[@khalidaziz2196]

the faact that your video only reaches 500 views, makes my more glad to find you, i am sorry but i hope your channel dosen't be famoues hhhhhhhhhh, i want it to be kept for me and some great guys to benefit from. i am your fan from saudi, i hope i can see your movies in our cinema

[@AlexiOuzas]

Haha, enjoy it while it lasts ;)

[@khalidaziz2196]

@@AlexiOuzas haha, is there any plan to come to red sea festival in jeddah, saudi, i will be very happy to see you there

[@AlexiOuzas]

@@khalidaziz2196 no plans currently but I'd love to make it out some day

[@lukaskendall]

Here's one I learned the hard way: don't make an NC-17 film! haha

[@AlexiOuzas]

Haha, oops!