Streaming is a reality!
I’ll repeat: Gauntlet is LIVE on streaming platforms, with its first official launch date being on Wednesday, January 11th on Amazon Prime Video.
AMAZON PRIME VIDEO!
Gauntlet can now be viewed and marketed to all of Prime’s territories, all 155 of them. That’s wild! What’s even more surreal is seeing your film, the story that you had to tell and sacrificed time, finances, blood, sweat and tears over a decade; seeing it be available in the comfort of my own home, is a joy that I personally can not describe. In addition to Prime Video, other streaming platforms have licensed the film such as Tubi, Plex, among others like Brazilian Box Channel, Thrilz TV, Nuclear Home Video, Sunn Stream and finally Stash on YouTube. Below are a few snapshots seeing the film on their respective sites.
It hasn’t been easy. Heck it has been down right depressing at times. But to be here, seeing the film be available for streaming is such a tremendous achievement that I will never take for granted. Over a decade ago, streaming was just another way to view content that wasn’t fully embraced as a way for distribution because hard copies of DVD/BluRays were still king. In 2012, seeing your film on the shelves at BestBuy, Walmart and Target was the original pipe dream when we first embarked on this journey. It’s amazing to see how the film industry has not only changed via the technology for creating film as in cameras with post production software upgrades, but also how distribution operates by reflecting on how audiences consume content has evolved as well. It’s challenging to keep up, yes?
So how did this happen? What was the process? How did we rebound from not getting into any festivals to being on Prime Video? Let’s find out.
FilmHub
As stated in the previous Production Log, I did my research and felt that FilmHub would be the best place for my film to succeed for distribution. After closely looking at all of their requirements that I had to create (Chain of Title, Artwork, etc.), I was able to schedule a Video Meeting with one of their representatives back in the fall of 2022. This was roughly around the same time I was also preparing for the film’s premiere. Expectations were established along with how things worked on their end as far as business operations and payment. To explain it as simply as possible, this is how it works:
- Filmmaker wants their film to be picked up by Streamers.
- FilmHub says, “Hey we can help with that due to our vast network of trusted streaming platforms, here’s what you need to do.”
- Filmmaker prepares all necessary and standard work like documentation, trailers, one sheets (movie posters), etc. and presents it to FilmHub for them to Quality Check (QC).
- FilmHub says, “Hey you’re all set to go!” What we’ll now do is upload it to our database so that Streamers who want content, they know that we (FilmHub) has done our due diligence in that whatever film they select, they’ll get everything that they need to stream AND know that the film’s rights are good to go.”
- Filmmaker is excited because they have access to a dashboard that FilmHub provides that they can see which streamers pick up their film along with performance tracking metrics on how well the film is doing.
- FilmHub gets a certain percentage on the film’s earnings for their services.
Make sense? The only caution FilmHub stated on the front end, of which I was thankful for, was the expectation that they couldn’t inform me when my film would go “live” on a streaming platform when it got selected. FilmHub didn’t have a way to track this because once the Streamer picks up your film and downloads all of the assets for them to upload on their platform, the Streamer wouldn’t inform FilmHub when they intended it would go Live on their respected sites. The best that FilmHub suggested to me was to check the Streaming platform at the beginning and middle of the month, if my film did indeed get selected.
So with that laid out, I had access on my FilmHub account a dashboard where I could keep track of all the data associated to the film, including which Streamers selected Gauntlet. Well, wouldn’t you know it that on December 26th, the DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS, Amazon Prime selected Gauntlet. So naturally I told everyone I knew about this news and began checking Prime Video on the daily to see when it became available. Every time I typed in “gauntlet” I would see Clint Eastwood’s 1977 film “The Gauntlet” and would shake my head in disappointment (not that the film was bad, it’s decent; I wanted to see MY film).
Finally, on Wednesday, January 11th, there she was in all of her glory!
Performance
I hesitate to continue this part of the conversation about Gauntlet’s viewing performance but the heart of doing all of these Production Logs throughout the years was to shed light on the filmmaking process from start to finish. That includes the back half of the process to where the film being viewed and all that goes with it. Even though we’re only halfway through the year of the film being available on streaming platforms, the writing is already on the wall that Gauntlet will not make a significant amount of money.
In fact, the film won’t break even.
Who knows what will happen down the road, but more than likely the film will not make a profit.
This was something I had already accepted halfway through the project and to be honest, I had little hope that it would turn to gain some attention or allure for it to be profitable, but that’s not the case. There are a couple of reasons why Gauntlet really isn’t performing well as hoped:
- Marketing/Engagement – Social media engagement is crucial, if not more important than the film itself for any independent film to be successful. When I first started, I didn’t have the foresight to create a Facebook Page or Instagram account to build hype to the film because I personally didn’t think it would take 10 years to create nor did I fully understand how vital it was. You absolutely need to build a base audience for your film so that when it does hit the Prime Video shelf, you immediately have a following to view it right away, which helps the film get more attention. There’s a TON of work that goes into this in doing it well and throughout this filmmaking journey, I personally didn’t have the energy to invest in another aspect to the project, I was tapped out.
- Recognizable Star Power – This isn’t to bash our stellar Cast but we have unknowns playing all of our character roles. If you don’t have a strong social media presence to your film’s development, then your indie film could gain some attention with just a recognizable cast/crew that’s attached to the project. We had neither. When we began back in 2012, the lead actor and actress had plans to continue acting by moving out West to L.A. which I thought was awesome for them. I continue to cheer them on in their careers to this day and who knows, if either of them make it big, we could see if Gauntlet’s stock will be affected positively if that’s the case.
- No Paid Ads – Finally, I chose not to do any paid advertising to help expand the films’ presence due to the simple fact that I already invested a lot of money to see the project through and to have a premiere in a theater. I understand that you have to invest money to make money, but in this case, I simply understood the situation I was already in and decided against it. Paid ads can help your indie film’s exposure by attracting new audiences to view it and should be budgeted for such an investment. For me, I didn’t have a budget to work with at all so to add on another expense so late in the game didn’t seem logical.
In conclusion, I’ve accepted the fact of this reality and I’m okay with it. Again, I can’t predict the future so anything can happen. Fortunes may change in our favor, but I won’t hold my breath.
Fin
So that brings us to the end, the final Production Log for this project, this story, this film.
It has been a gnarly ride with a lot of ecstatic ups and some disheartening downs. I can’t express how much I’ve learned, how much I’ve experienced and how grateful I am for all the love and support to see this behemoth through to the end. Watching the smiles on the people’s faces when I showed them Gauntlet on Prime Video has truly made this investment worth it. I would argue that filmmaking is by far the hardest art form to create, especially when you have to do it on your own or with a small crew. But if you surround yourself with supporting people who not only believe in the story you’re trying to tell but they believe in YOU, you’ll be amazed on how much fun you’ll be having in creating an indie film.
It’s a bittersweet feeling, but your boy here isn’t done creating. Gauntlet will still be around for the foreseeable future on streaming platforms so you never know what connections that may blossom from it. In the meantime, I’ll be taking a break from filmmaking and instead, focusing the majority of my creative efforts to my YouTube Channel, Lurks Lessons, to see how far it can grow.
In closing, this Log is being posted on May 6th, 2023, exactly 11 years since the very first Production Log was posted on this fun movie idea I had that I wanted to make. That’s wild! I’ve shared everything I could on how to make an independent film. I now leave it to you to film your story, that one story you have to tell and can’t sleep because of it.
Time to hit record!
“Regardless of how good or bad it is, you can learn a lot about yourself when you make a film. As long as you see it through or you’ll never know.”
– Jeff Loehrke (Gauntlet)
