What's the best VOD option for my documentary?

by Todd
(Utah USA)

Question: I have a finished 1-hour documentary that I'd like to offer for sale on the internet as a buy or rental download. What would you suggest is the best VOD service provider?

Desktop Documentaries: Every day it seems I'm hearing about another VOD provider. This is a constant evolving and exciting part of being a filmmaker -- all part of the new world of self-distribution. No longer do you have to rely on traditional distribution or a middleman to get your film out to your audience.

Here are just a few choices for online VOD distributors:

• Amazon/Create Space -- they take a 50% cut of your sales, but they are a well known trusted entity and they can create on-demand DVD's as well as VOD rentals


• Dynamo Player -- They take a 30% commission on all sales, there are no set-up fees. This is what I chose for my documentary. I like the look of the player.. clean and simple.


• IndieFlix -- This group looks interesting. There are no set-up fees, they take a 30% commission on sales and they say they can negotiate to get your film on other online video providers such as Netflix and iTunes.


• Distrify -- I'm not a huge fan of the "look" of their player wtih the three colored buttons, but they have a cool option where anyone who embeds your film on their personal website, they get a 5% cut of the sales which encourages people to showcase your movie and help you sell more downloads!




• Filmbinder -- this is a great option if you don't have your own website -- a great one-stop-shop. They'll host a web page for your documentary and you get to keep 100% of your profits after you pay a monthly fee of about $12.


• Distribber -- These guys will shop your movie around to all the big online video providers such as Netflix, iTunes, Hulu and Amazon. You pay them a one time fee to negotiate these deals and then you keep the profits.

None of the above VOD providers require any kind of exclusive deal, so you are not limited to just one choice. Really, the more providers you can use to showcase your documentary, the more chances you'll have to make a sale.

Hope this helps!

Someone who knows a lot about online movie distribution is Jason Brubaker. He's got tons of resources on his website filmmakingstuff.com or you can buy his set of books (left) all about DIY distribution.

Read an interview I did with Jason.

Learn more about DIY distribution ideas for documentaries.

Anyone have any other suggestions or experience with VOD providers? Please comment below.