We speak to many people about getting their films distributed and we often hear the same question: “Will it be on Netflix?” and although we have avenues to get a film to Netflix, there are various issues that you should take into consideration before you even start shooting if you want your film to try and sell your film to Netflix. I will highlight a few of them:

1. Your camera must have a true 4K UHD sensor (≥ 3840 photosites wide) as  Netflix currently stream content in 4k! A full list can be found here. For fiction 90% needs to be shot on approved cameras and 80% for non-fiction.
2. There’s good news on the sound front, though, they have a series of recommended practices, not guidelines, they are generally common sense. though if you are lisensing existing content they do specify that 5.1 needs to be mixed to 2.0 in that document.
3. Artwork will need to be provided “clean” as so many exhibtors request it, without laurels or credit blocks. We, as independent filmmakers, are all proud of our festival achievements, but distributors are trying to sell your film and may want to use that space to promote their screening your film, but for the fact that you’ve covered the entire poster in laurels.
4. subtitles are to be delivered and must encompass any word that is spoken in a language that differs from the subtitle file

For full specifications and guides documentation click here!

Even adhering to these, in the event that you are not producing a product in partnership with the platform, does not guarantee its acceptance, as there would be other considerations including:

• What are they looking for at the moment?
• Did they recently take on something similar?

Many filmmakers see Netflix as the level to aspire to, maybe because unlike cinema they have some experience of VOD distribution and have managed to get their films onto platforms such as Amazon and Vimeo. Netflix is a completely different kettle of fish! A worldwide audience get your film streamed directly into their homes, and you get a licensing fee upfront (no earning from sales.)  With almost 150 million subscribers worldwide they will want to be sure they have the content that they need. Not taking your film may not be a reflection on its quality.

There are plenty of other options, for you to distribute your film elsewhere and we can help you with that, just take a look at our film distribution pages, to see which platforms we currently have content on!