Why I premiered my feature film, "Bad Bones" on YouTube | Am I crazy?

I decided to upload my movie FIRST to KZbin before anywhere else. Why would I do such a thing?
Watch "Bad Bones" on KZbin: • BAD BONES | FREE FULL ...
Watch "Bad Bones" on Amazon: amzn.to/3QAhFwb
Watch "Bad Bones" on Plex: watch.plex.tv/...
Official "Bad Bones" website: badbonesmovie.com
IMDB Page: www.imdb.com/t...
"Bad Bones" Facebook Page: / badbonesmovie
"Bad Bones" on Letterboxd: letterboxd.com...
Filmhub: filmhub.com/
Instagram: / thefrugalfilmmaker
TFF Facebook Group: / thefrugalfilmmaker
Twitter Feed: / frugalfilmmaker
TikTok: / thefrugalfilmmaker
Blog: (archived) www.thefrugalfi...

[@shadricosuave]

I love it when somebody has found their niche. And you have found it absolutely. I love these tips focused on the budget filmmaker. You have lived this life and sharing it with others is awesome.

[@knoptop]

Playing the long game! Nice work! Miss those car talks.

[@Bluecloudandrew]

You're an inspiration. Have been for years. I wanna say you were one of the first channels I found on KZbin. Thanks for your work and ambition. It's certainly contagious.

[@NickzAndMikz]

Hey there, I used to watch your channel when I bought my first cameras in like 2011/2012. Good to see you're still making videos!

[@hotwith101]

Frugalman you were my source of poor man's information but for a long time I couldn't find you. Good to see you are back, thank you.

[@frugalfilmmaker]

Thank YOU, sir!

[@Binbuster]

I loved the movie. Been sharing the link around as well!!!

[@MaskinJunior]

I like you posted it on KZbin. It is a bit of coming full circle and perhaps giving back to the community of KZbin film makers.

[@tylerramosii1365]

I do appreciate your contribution to the creatives, you have a great way of cutting to the bone. I dig your perspective and value your process, good work Sir!!

[@aarondcmedia9585]

Horror is not for me, sorry, but I did want to give you mega kudos for finishing and getting something completed that you set out to do all those years ago. Chapeau!

[@thatsallfolks8867]

I think your channel is great plenty of good tips and projects to do,great content 💚💚👍👍

[@caststudios8966]

I’ve been following you for years and you even help me build my first stabilizer

[@MobileFilmmaking]

Just discovered your channel through your comment on a J. Horton video. Just subbed you

[@CheapGeek]

Makes sense.

[@BadKarma714]

I want to see that movie

[@rickh6963]

You should watch it! THB my expectations were pretty low going in to the movie. Most first time efforts aren't what I'd call polished. I was very wrong. I'm sure if we were making a dollar for dollar comparison of some of the efforts coming out of the "Hollywood formula machine" we would find that #BadBonesTheMovie is punching way above its weight!

[@moongladefilms]

Omgggg I MISSED YOU!!! I thought you stopped making content forever 😭

[@RajeshMaallah]

Pure Respect, I saw the movie yesterday and It's awesome

[@frugalfilmmaker]

Thank you sir!

[@rickh6963]

Scott! I really enjoyed the movie .... a lot more than I though I would with it being your first movie. I hope you make enough off of this one to fund your next movie. I would love to see a few behind the scenes FFM episodes about what frugal hacks you used in making #BadBonesTheMovie and I'd like to see an episode with your insights on budget, where you got the most bang for you bucks, what you could have done without. I hope you're working on your next film! Great job!

[@frugalfilmmaker]

Thanks Rick, glad you enjoyed the film! You've got some great ideas for an episode there!

[@tcriti]

So? Any updates on this project that you can share?

[@telmore6490]

Did you finally release your movie what was your budget

[@marshmower]

Looked up "free movie". Just found sketchy bootlegs and actually some pay per view stuff. Then I searched "free crappy movie". Your movie was in the top 3. You really can't predict the search results. Btw I liked the premise of the movie although you kinda wonder how the previous occupants escaped. Overall the vibe was fresh and it stands head to head with other indie flicks.

[@frugalfilmmaker]

Yeah, it's become clear that things change as your movie ages out. Thanks for giving it a watch!

[@oneeyedphotographer]

I am here for all the DIY stuff you used to share. I miss those days. Do you? I might linger a little longer if you continue to us this as a how-to service. Perhaps you don't have to build cheap stuff any more, but perhaps you could tell behind the scenes stories, maybe some new (to you) tricks. And trailers. If I am somewhat typical of your viewers, probably we're not your market. You might serve yourself better with a new channel for your films, and for those here what want to see them, the trailers would tell us where to look. I like the channel PonySmasher. Take a look.

[@frugalfilmmaker]

I do miss posting videos on a regular basis, but my life kinda prevents that crazy schedule these days. I don't think I would start a new channel, as I wouldn't want to dilute what little audience I have left. But I do think I can marry the two concepts (DIY and feature filmmaking) for good material.

[@marsmediapro]

I watched your movie, and although, I like it, I will watch it again, and then give you a critique, if you would want this?

[@tcriti]

Really curious on how this experiment worked out for you. I’ve had a similar idea of releasing my narrative full-length fiction on KZbin to gain subscribers which in turn might generate revenue through being able to monetize the channel because of the increased subscriber base to help pay for a small part of the production costs. In other words, can we pick your brain and find out more?

[@frugalfilmmaker]

Of course! What do you want to know?

[@tcriti]

Thanks! (1) Now that a long time has passed, do you plan to do it again with your next feature? (2) Were you able to recover your production costs beyond the $600 you refer to in your video? (3) Did releasing on KZbin meet the expectations you set for yourself when you started the channel? (4) Is this a valid business/distribution model for independent filmmakers?

[@frugalfilmmaker]

@@tcriti (1) I would absolutely do it again, but would probably insert more commercials. Filmhub forces you insert ad breaks, which run about ever ten minutes and is where other platforms using commercials (such as Tubi) put their spots. I would also NOT have any swearing in a KZbin version, since the platform asks about this when you upload. There's a good chance the algorithm limits exposure because of this. (2) The movie has made around $7500 (mostly from Tubi), which has not eclipsed the budget. What does this mean for the next project? Crowdfund to get the next budget, so I'm not losing the money I or my partners are investing, and market smarter to have a better return. My frugal budgets are at about $10k, which should not be that hard to make back. I just need to make a more unique product than a genre fan would typically find and spend my ad dollars where they really count. It's a tough code to crack for us microbudgeters, but still think it's doable. But competition for eyeballs is fierce these days. (3) Unfortunately, I hit burnout and life which drastically reduced my activity on the channel before the feature hit. Had it come out in my heyday, I'm confident it would have done better on KZbin and possibly elsewhere. As it stands, this setback only effects the KZbin ecosystem. The other ones I've made money on (Tubi and Amazon) are their own animal and probably would not have been affected all that much. (4) It is a valid model if you can keep your costs as low as possible and utilize other means of distribution, like Filmhub. In other words, don't put all your eggs in one basket. The beauty of Filmhub is it's non-exclusivity. Traditional distros will lock up your movie and you are completely beholden to them. Filmhub and Indie Rights are way more open ended and allow you to try any and every way of getting your movie out there. You still have to do all the marketing, but that holds true with any distribution method. Trad distribution can still work, but again, you have way more control with this method. Which one works the best? Only the multiverse knows for sure.

[@tcriti]

@@frugalfilmmaker Thank you so much for sharing this!

[@MileyonDisney]

Cool. Who remembers what kind of car he used to record in? Excuse me. Who remembers in what kind of car he used to record?

[@joegibson9382]

ｐｒｏｍｏｓｍ

[@YVO007]

Thank you for being you on KZbin. I am a healing quadriplegic hoping to find a new way to contribute to our wonderful community. I am only 62 years yong. Please explain to me the safest way to purchase online Rented film editing utilities. I do not own a credit card and the banks no longer have reloadable bank cards to keep my one bank account separate from my main account so even if I am hacked I'll only lose whatever I placed on the card instead of risking every penny I have. Please help by commenting on my comment. Love your work. I'm inspired. Ps can I mail you and how can I safely offer you my gmail address? Keep up the good work. I will follow you closer to watch for your kind reply. "Be Joyful, it is a good investment". YVO