Eric -

I am mad that you left without hanging - but so pleased that you came - it was great to see some Vegas Forum support, way out there in the Boonies - send me your mail address --I had a "free" disc for anyone from the forum, so I'll mail you yours, immediately.

Thanks also for the kind words - we're starting the festival circuit with the video, and I'll keep you all posted on the trials and tribualtions of that particular part of our business. I've had the priviledge of entering and winning dozens of festivals through my career, but basically from concepts and scripts that were crafted by top marketing professionals. This little baby is totally of my own devise and quetly goes a lot of places that I've never seen explored before.

Re sales site:
I'll get working on it immediately (any suggestions, anyone??)
It was amazing to have 300 people watch my film in totally rapt attention! Having spent the majority of my career doing broadcast TV stuff, I've seldom had the opportunity to actually sit with real live people. This audience was spectacular. They laughed at all the right moments, ooohhed and aaahhhed at the proper spots, actually were cheering during some of the rodeo events, and no -one fell asleep, although a couple of women were spotted softly crying (no joke). Wow...

and then at the end of the screening we totally sold out the 80 videos I brought and took orders for dozens more. I guess they liked it.

So give me a day to recover from this event and I'll get a sales site up online.

Eric - you are the best, and I thank you for the drive.
(Road sign: "End of the world - 5 miles", "Arcadia - 6 miles" :>))
Thanks all for your support, and the kind emails.

Now get out there and shoot something .

v

Customflix is one convenient choice, they handle everything including duplication.

If you have a good disc duplication capability, put the movie on Amazon. They take 55%, but they also have marketing programs that can be useful.

Finally eBay, but with that you're doing the fulfillment.

If you're able to get distribution later, the DVD rights could be affected, but the production of your movie has already been financed, so I'm hoping that would be a non-issue (but you may want to talk to an entertainment lawyer).

Hey Course -
Good series of points - don't know how many readers here are involved with documentary and/or fictional DVD production, but I'd guess more and more everyday, with the increasing availability of high quality production tools and techniques.

So -
does anyone here have experience with selling documentaries to the networks??
Particularly necessary time lengths ( how much of a half hour show is Show, and how much commercials - 1 hr?? same question)
And what are the networks paying for 1/2 hr and 1 hr shows?

I can make my own good guesses, so real life experiences would be more preferred here.

I always say that there's SHOW and there's BUSINESS...
but without the BUSINESS... there can't be too many SHOWS.

This is about the business part, and it's as important to many wannabe film producers as wedding and commercial rates are to others.

So who here has actually produced and sold any documentaries and what are your experiences (as well as those who have had rough times and/or failures)?

I haven't seen too much on this topic and would be very interested in real life experiences.

No congratulations can match that great live audience response. Well done Vic -- hope I get to buy a copy.

Congrats---I think you have to show this video to as many people as possible and then the distirbution will be easier. Slowly but surely word of mouth will increase sales. May I make one other recommendation---if you haven't heard of it, the Margaret Mead Film Festival, at the Museum of Natural History in NYC would be a fantastic place for your film. They show docs that are primarily anthropological in nature and it sounds like your piece might be perfect for it. They draw huge audiences and I know that several films that debuted there got picked up and distributed---Just a thought.

Again, I would love to see your video and congrats---it feels great doesn't it!

Oh, here is the link for the festival: http://www.amnh.org/programs/mead/

Thanks all, for your support.

I slapped together a "store" and put a link for "The Cowboys of Florida" on it, as well as a few of the other video, book and even T-shirt projects that I've developed through the years.

But please ignore anything but the "Cowboys" at this time. All of my distribution is done through outside sources. I just am trying out the concept of an internal store, since I have no other way to get "Cowboys" out, at this time.

Here's the address:
www.VictorMilt.com/store

v

No delivery outside USA?

Vic,
Just ordered Cowboys through your store. Worked fine. Looking forward to meeting you at NAB. My son Colton and I will be helping VASST. See you there.
Randy

Hey Vic!
I'm thrilled for your acomplishments on this project! Big-time Congratulations!
I look forward to ordering my own copy when I get home tonight!

All,
Just finished watching Vic Milt's "Cowboys of Florida". What a great piece! I got so caught in the storyline that I forgot to check out the editing, audio, lighting, camera angles, and effects so I watched it a second time. I highly recommend you get a copy for the enjoyment and for a great example of what can be done with these tools. Congratulations Vic and thanks for making this available.
Randy