Who is my auidence? Intro

Who am I going to sell this project to?

I've covered this question last, but my no means should you be waiting until the end of your project to search for an answer.  In fact, as you begin shooting your test shots of the world around you, get this question answered.  It will control what story you tell and how you tell it.

At a budget of $4k, even if it is your cash, you will make the feature you can make, not the feature you want to make.  You must maximize what shows up for your camera that day -- every day -- and what shows up may or may not be what you had in mind.

So figure out what you can make, based on what is around you, who is around you, and when you can get the people you need in same place at the same time, ready to shoot.  If you have begun taking shots of your world -- what sort of story could you see happening in those locations?  A rom-com?  A thriller?  A caper?  A drama?  You need to know this before you begin answering the "first" question -- What is your story?

Ask yourself who will pay to see what I'm making -- who is my audience?
And, at least as far as I'm concerned, who will pay to distribute my film?

Know your genre audience.  This is generally covered in commentary on what emotional moments audiences expect in particular genres (if you need help with this, Truby is a great resource).  If you don't give the audience those moments, you better have a good reason why.

I intentionally undermined the core emotion audiences want out of a revenge thriller.  But I got to comment in a way that will not be available to me in the future -- I hope anyway.  I mean, let's say I get lucky and next direct a film at the $3M level.  It won't be my $3M and there's where it all comes down to.  Other than now, when else am I going to get to do exactly what I want ever again?

I chose a very narrow market segment; the sort that used to frequent art house cinemas and like to be challenged.  Maybe not a wide return potential, but then I didn't spend that much to begin with.  Interestingly, it has been appealing to a wider market -- how wide remains to be seen.  I'm writing as I complete the project, so I don't know what the sale is going to look like.

However, it is my contention that now  you can saturate whatever market there is for your product because my product is referenced in their social media messages and available on the the phone in their hand instead of at odd times in the run-down art house movie theater half-way across town.  Which is not to say I'll be putting my project up on line myself -- I hope.