Landing product placement for an indie project

1. Start with what the story already needs

Read your script and list every object a character touches, wears, drives, drinks or walks past: the car in the chase, the energy drink at the all-nighter, the jacket the lead wears all season. Each one is a potential slot. Placements that serve a character beat are worth more and feel natural.

2. Price it honestly

Brands pay for audience. A festival short reaching 10,000 people won't command what a streaming series does, and asking $50,000 gets silence. Use the value calculator: it shows estimated media value and a fair price range for your audience and stage.

3. Barter is a real deal

At micro-budget level, the most valuable deals are often in-kind: vehicles for the shoot, wardrobe, food for crew, a location. That's money off your budget. List those slots as Product / in-kind and say exactly what would help.

4. Get it in writing, and get the clearance

Distributors require E&O insurance, and insurers want proof you had permission to show brands. Every FilmMortal deal includes a signed trademark-use authorization. Keep it with your clearance files.

5. Deliver proof

After the shoot, upload timestamps, seconds on screen and a frame or two. Brands that can measure what they got come back for your next project.

6. Don't let it hurt the film

Never write a scene around a product that doesn't belong. Mark slots "category exclusive" only when you can honor it, and never show a product in a way that disparages it if the brand paid to be there.