When you are a Visual Artist that uses film as your medium or a short film-maker, making money out of your work can seem like a futile endeavour. With the abundance of free content available online, your average viewer is not used to paying for content and will likely be resistant to doing so. Especially if you are unknown, or relatively so, and are trying to develop your practice but need money to do so. Follow these top tips and make sure your content pays.
Enter Film Festivals and Competitions
Don’t write yourself off before you have applied to any competitions or festivals, however, you should also remind yourself that the festivals you’re applying for aren’t Sundance. Everyone has to start off somewhere, though!
To find relevant festivals and competitions, buy art magazines as they will mention all the upcoming events. Also, Google any local festivals and competitions, and read how you can submit. If you don’t get accepted by one then don’t be disheartened; instead, keep sending your work and continue making your video masterpieces. The Arts mean countless rejections before anything good comes along. However, if you are falling short of places to send your work, check out Art Rabbit or another dedicated film journal; the more you know about it, the more likely it is that you will get somewhere. Although you may not make money from your work immediately this way, over time you will raise the profile of your name and brand and hopefully be on your way.
Know Your Market
If your work is serene, peaceful and archaic; therefore, choosing Daata Editions to submit to, for example, is probably not going to get you results. Although it might still be worth applying to open calls, think long and hard about your style guidelines and try to apply to outposts that match up to them. It might be the case that you are not getting anywhere because you have your target market all wrong. After all, Artists are not renowned for their business acumen. Ask a friend who is a branding whizz, or if you know somebody that works in the industry, ask them nicely to put in a good word for you. Input from others in your field could be the difference between getting something published and being a bedroom videographer for life.
Consider Self Releasing Material
If you are finding getting anything for your work to be an impossible feat, think about getting a website and releasing your own material. With the plethora of web design apps available, it has never been easier to design something that looks professional even though, in terms of IT, you aren’t. Remember, if you are releasing a video you will want it to be on a good server so that people can actually view it. Use a reputable web hosting service like bestwebhosting.co.uk and ensure you have enough space and uptime to run an abundance of videos. You should also ensure your web hosting company can offer you 24/7 support, just in case you need help further down the line.
Self-publishing is becoming incredibly fruitful for Artists; many novelists are self-releasing their novels online or paying for them to be printed, therefore, why shouldn’t other Artists follow suit?
Amazing tips to make money easily, Thanks for sharing valuable information
A serene and archaic work always attracts peoples towards itself and thus it helps filmmakers in making money and gathering strong popularity from short films.
Interesting article – really good to see a short film and the short films are used as a calling card for filmmakers to show their talent.
I want to earn money by making short films…how is that possible? please guide me.
Great article Austin. Thanks for sharing information on how to make money using short films. I need to sharpen my skills on Final cut!