What is Watch This Space Film Magazine?

Watch This Space Film Magazine is a monthly publication which focuses on the independent film scene in the UK, with snippets of foreign and American indie cinema. The magazine covers all aspects of independent films, from the no budget production right through to the more commercial indie films. There are reviews of all types of independent films as well as features on different aspects of filmmaking such as screenwriting, distributions, marketing and more. These features are all written by people with vast knowledge and experience in those areas. 

I, Oliver Willis, will be the editor of the magazine. I have recently graduated from the University of Worcester with a degree in film studies and journalism. I have extensive knowledge in film, I have worked on some freelance independent film promoting and written for various film websites as well as my own.

Writers and Content

The main body of contributing writers have already been found and have begun writing content for the website and the first issue. They are all working free of charge as they believe in this magazine and want a publication containing quality independent film content. They are writing about how to make it in the film industry, tips to making your own indie film, from screenwriting and shooting right through to distribution and everything in between. I have also assembled a team dedicated solely to writing reviews for the magazine. 

Cost

The start-up funding requirements are as follows:

Printing - £700 for 1500 printed and bound

Delivery - £300 for delivery of 1500 around the UK by Parcel Force. 

Website - Would be able to purchase a quality domain and produce a professional website (dependent on amount of funding)

Advertising the magazine - The remaining funds, after printing and delivery costs are taken out, will be spent on advertising the magazine to potential vendors, getting more orders and therefore a better position to sell our advertising space to potential advertisers. 

Our best film of 2013 'Good Vibrations'

Orders So Far

This is a list of the orders we have already received: 

Stratford Picturehouse - 100 copies (an independent cinema in Stratford)

The Marrs Bar, Worcester - 100 copies (independent music venue)

Northampton University - 100 copies (will be available in their Student Union and film department)

University of Lincoln - 100 copies (will be available in their Student Union and film department) 

Phoenix Cinema, Leicester - 100 copies (an independent cinema in Leicester)

MAC Arts, Birmingham - 50 copies (an arts centre in Birmingham) 

Bournville College, Birmingham - 50 copies (will be available in their film department)

The Drum, Birmingham - 50 copies (an arts centre in Birmingham)

The Alma, London - 50 copies (a film themed pub in London)

Hereford Sixth Form College - 30 copies (will be available in their film department)

Rise Records - 20 copies (independent record shop in Worcester)

Bewdley Cinema - 20 copies (independent cinema in Bewdley) 

HMV Worcester - 10 (will order more depending on how fast these copies get taken)

Phoenix Cinema London - TBC (have yet to get back to me confirming the number of copies)

The magazines will be available to pick up from the venues above and the many more we hope to secure. 

Shot from a film we reviewed for the magazine 'Drinking Class'

The Website

The website is an integral part of the magazine. Here we will update people on what is going on in the magazine, how to get in contact with us and content that didn't make it into that month’s issue will be posted on the website. Also there will be the current and back issues of the magazine available in PDF on the site. This boosts the amount of people that will see the adverts in the magazine, so it wont just be the people who pick up the physical copy, but also our online viewers too. 

The website will also be another place where we can sell advertising space and contribute to the revenue made from the magazine. 

Online is also how we will promote our magazine via the website and social media such as Twitter, Facebook, Stage32 and more where we already have a strong presence. One of the advantage of promoting online is the cost, it is complexity free. We also will have the option to use paid adverts on these sites to help promote our magazine and website more if needed.  

The Competition

Print sale figures for second half of 2013 provided by pressgazette.co.uk 

Empire 

Percent paid for: 99.6% 

Average sale: 145117

Y/y change: -13.5% 

Sight and Sound

Percent paid for: 97.0%

Average sale: 17176

Y/y change: -11.1%

Total Film

Percent paid for: 96.3%

Average sale: 55316

Y/y change: -15.4%

Compared to the free magazines

Shortlist

Percent paid for: 0.0%

Average sale: 534692

Y/y change: 0.6%

All About Health Magazine

Percent paid for: 0.0%

Average sale: 203648

Y/y change: 18.9%

RWD

Percent paid for: 0.0%

Average sale: 98806

Y/y change: 0.5%

As you can see, the major film magazines in the UK which charge for their issues, normally on a subscription basis, are losing huge amount of sales while free magazines are slowly, but surely, increasing. People are more inclined to pick up a free film magazine which covers a vide variety of independent films than paying money to read about films which almost every film magazine and website talk about. 

Potential Advertisers

The magazine will rely on advertisement revenue as its form of income. The possibilities of potential advertisers are endless. I have identified such potential advertisers as independent cinemas, arts centres, any shop or website which sells, rents or streams independent films. Independent film production companies and film equipment hire/sale companies. We can advertise events such as film festivals, premieres and screenings along with anything else film related. Another possibility is including a private adverts section which would consist of a few pages devoted solely to independent filmmakers looking for actors, locations, equipment and crew. This would be divided up into small adverts enabling me to charge the filmmakers individually for a small advert on the wanted pages. 

At the moment I have gathered a group of writers from mainly in the UK but also some from Europe and America. They have all agreed to work for free, at least for the first number of issues. This lowers my costs dramatically for the initial start-up and the next number of issues to follow. 

Plans for Growth

As the business takes off and our revenue increases Watch This Space Film Magazine would grow in size. We would be able to afford to reach further around the UK, delivering all over the country and growing our reader base. We would move from 32 to 48 pages, enabling us to include more advertising and increase our revenue further. As this revenue increases we aim to produce a digital copy for tablets and PCs, widening our audience yet again.