The package... It’s a term that seems to confuse many filmmakers and executives alike.
If you’ve ever had to pitch a project to a financier, producer, sales agent, distributor, talent rep, or any other number of executives, you may well have heard the question: “What’s the package?”
Everyone is looking for a good ‘package’. It is in this one small word that the creative and business sides of the industry meet.
You will hear people use this term a lot when it comes to your film or TV show. Understanding what the package is and how you put it together can inform some of the most vital decisions you will take regarding your project, both financially AND creatively.
So what is it?
The package refers to all of your project’s elements combined together. The verb – ‘packaging’ – refers to the process of putting all these things together in one tight bundle.
The package is a loose term that will therefore include many different elements such as:
• Script
• Director
• Cast
• Producers
• Other Heads of Department (‘HOD’s’), including editor, cinematographer, composer etc.
• Any other elements that might encourage someone to attach themselves to a project
The importance is placed not just on the script or the individual members of cast, but on all these elements combined.
In certain contexts, the package can also include any financing elements that you already have in place. This might be less important to sales agents and distributors, but for others, the financial package could be just as important as the creative package.
The package has become so important that now most of the big talent agencies will even have a ‘packaging department’ designed specifically to help producers, directors and writers to package their projects.
Many producers will want to see the project early and be a part of the packaging process. But most financiers, sales agents and distributors will want to see more of a package in place before they can commit to your project.
More often than not, it is the overall package, rather than a single element, that will attract them to your project.
They might only need to see one marketable item in that package for them to be interested. It may only take one name, one marketing hook, or one great way of generating publicity for their eyes to light up. But you’ll usually have to offer them everything to see what might spark their interest. Even if you don’t have every single element listed here, have as much as possible on hand to impress them.
Unfortunately, when it comes to sales agents and distributors in particular, a great script alone is rarely salable unless it comes from a writer who is so well-known that they are in themselves a brand. These writers are few and far between. There usually has to be something more there for the sales agent to sell.
If you have more elements attached to create a good package, that’s when you can draw these guys in, get them to read the script, and see for themselves how good it is. And that’s why the package is so important, and can be THE game changer when it comes to getting your project financed and produced!
So, next time somebody asks you: “What’s the package?”, you should know exactly what they mean - and what information to throw at them!
The above has been adapted from Book Two in our series on film and TV financing, HOW THE HELL… DO I Get My Film Financed: Book Two: Sales & Distribution by Ricky Margolis. For more information and other books in this series, check out all our current releases here.
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