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Film & TV · MS elective · 3 credit hours · 16 sessions

Film Distribution in the Social Media Era

The gatekeepers of Hollywood have been disrupted. This course teaches filmmakers how to bypass traditional barriers and distribute directly to audiences. Students will learn to leverage social media not just for marketing, but as a distribution ecosystem—building communities, crowdfunding, utilizing “Day-and-Date” strategies, and monetizing content through ad-revenue and transactional VOD (TVOD) on social platforms.

§ 01 By the end you can
  1. Analyze the shift from theatrical windows to "Day-and-Date" and hybrid releases
  2. Build an "Owned Audience" through community management (Discord/Patreon)
  3. Master the mechanics of Social VOD (YouTube Movies, Facebook Watch, Vimeo OTT)
  4. Execute a Crowdfunding campaign (Kickstarter/Indiegogo) as a marketing tool
  5. Utilize data analytics to target specific demographics for localized screenings
§ 02 Sixteen sessions

The whole semester.

  1. 01The Disruption: Netflix, TikTok & The Creator Economy
  2. 02Identifying Your Niche Audience
  3. 03Community Building: The "1000 True Fans" Theory
  4. 04Crowdfunding Strategy & Asset Creation
  5. 05Theatrical on Demand (Tugg/Demand.film)
  6. 06Social Platforms as Distributors (YouTube/IG)
  7. 07Developing Key Art for Small Screens
  8. 08 · MidtermMidterm Examination
  9. 09Aggregators: Getting on Apple TV & Prime
  10. 10Influencer Marketing & Brand Partnerships
  11. 11Viral Marketing: Memes & Challenges
  12. 12Paid Social Media Ads (Meta/Google Ads)
  13. 13Monetization: Ad-Rev vs. Transactional
  14. 14Windowing Strategy: From Digital to Broadcast
  15. 15Email Marketing: The Forgotten Tool
  16. 16Final Project: The Self-Distribution Launch Plan

Midterm around session 8. Final project briefed at session 8 or 9 and developed in stages until the juries.

§ 03 Final project

Final Project: The Self-Distribution Launch Plan

How it’s judged

Recommended reading
  1. Think Outside the Box Office by Jon Reiss
  2. Selling Your Film Without Selling Your Soul by The Film Collaborative
  3. Crowdfunding for Filmmakers by John T. Trigonis
  4. Traffic Secrets by Russell Brunson
  5. Social Media Marketing Workbook by Jason McDonald
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