I was reading an article this morning from Indiewire talking about 10 Tips for Strategizing Distribution for indie filmmakers. http://www.indiewire.com/article/10_tips_from_
tribeca_on_the_tools_of_the_trade/

It provides great insight into what filmmakers should be considering when they make a film and try to distribute it. One of the main tenents for marketing your film that is not mentioned until quite late in the article is “You need to start thinking about who the audience for your movie is when you start making the movie.” – Cynthia Swartz of 42 West Publicity. Thank you Cynthia! I always try to drive this home with filmmakers when they start making a film and the answer from them invariably is “Everyone.” NO IT IS NOT! Every product (or project if you prefer) has a target market. The group most likely to buy (or see) your film. This is a small number of people and it is the primary group you are trying to reach with your publicity efforts. All of the filmmakers I know are on less than shoe string budgets and no one but the major studios can target “everyone” and even they have a primary target. It is not in your best interest to try and target everyone. You do not have the money or resources to do this. Think much smaller. Who are these people?, where do they congregate?, what do they watch online?, what activities are they involved in?, what organizations do they belong to? etc. Then you take your message, ie. publicity efforts, to them in hopes that they will perpetuate it for you in their network of friends with similar interests.

I know, it isn’t like a sexy TV or magazine ad, this grassroots approach. Make yourself aware of how much those ads cost and it will bring you back to reality. Grassroots method is much more focused and likely to pay off for you even bigger in the long run.

Also mentioned, changing the way filmmakers see a distribution method as successful. Many filmmakers can only visualize their film in a theater. A real, popcorn selling, surround sound speakered theater. That isn’t the only way to see a film and, for some, not even the preferred way to see a film. Consider showings in a gallery, museum, park, community center or school auditorium as theatrical as well. Really we are talking about a bunch of people sitting in the dark looking at a screen together. That is theatrical. And a hell of a lot cheaper to support than the local Edwards Cinema!

The last point I wanted to bring up to synopsize the article is a point voiced from filmmaker Jon Reiss (Bomb It). “Filmmakers need to realize that it’s not just about making films, but it’s about generating audience for our films. That’s your responsibility, and frankly, it always has been in the independent world… Yes, it’s a lot of work to do self-distribution or hybrid distribution. It’s pretty much a year of your life… But you have to work and get your audience. The only person that’s going to be the most passionate about your film is you.” The work doesn’t end with the wrap party. You are only half way finished. If your goal is to find a distributor and not do self distribution, you still have to generate an audience for your film. Whatever you can do to influence a distributor to take on your film and then help them sell it by generating an audience, you should do. Distributors have hundreds of films to sell, they can’t push only yours. Both of you will benefit if you champion your film.

Check out the article for more worthwhile pieces of insight.

Received via email today a notice from IndieWire regarding a filmmaker’s contest from Stella Artois and Triggerstreet.com. Contest details:

The Stella Artois Short Film Project

Because Perfection is Worth the Sacrifice.
As a global supporter of independent film, Stella Artois appreciates your dedication and understands the many sacrifices you make to achieve your vision. From hours spent setting up each shot and capturing every nuance to investing every penny you have – you create the stories that move us most. Stories so good no one could possibly tell them better. Stories that are worth the price of perfection.

To help you in your quest, we’re sponsoring a project through TriggerStreet.com that offers a $50,000 cash award. See Triggerstreet.com website for full details.

No purchase necessary. Open to US residents 21+. Contest begins 8am ET 1/26/09 & ends 11:59pm ET 6/15/09.

Good luck for a good prize!!

Just flew back in from NAB tonight. Many great things to see and do, it is Vegas of course, but also the show was so informative. I used to go to and organize these shows from the broadcast side, but there is so much for the filmmaker too. Cameras, lighting, post production software tools, facilities, film commissions from different countries etc. I have a pile of literature to sort through now!

Anyway, this week I will be sorting out the design work on this site and deciding what all I want to include. Keep checking this space.

Another cool thing I attended while in Vegas was the 48hour Film Project. For more info on it check www.48hourfilm.com. Basically, production teams are given a genre, a character name and a dialog line to include in a short film. They are given 48 hours to write, shoot and edit the film and all films are shown on the big screen. The audience is asked to judge their 3 favorites and those will go on to possible inclusion in their best of collection on DVD. There will be a project in LA in June and I would encourage anyone at any skill level to take part if only to keep up the skills and work better as a team. It is fascinating what comes out of it. Of course, be prepared for a sleepless weekend!

Last night I attended a Why Global session with the indie distribution guru Stacey Parks from FilmSpecific.com. If you have not checked out her site and her tools, you should right away. Her site is packed with great information for the independent filmmaker. She also wrote the book on indie distribution titled The Insider’s Guide to Independent Film Distribution which is well worth the read. She is having a Going Global bootcamp April 25-26 to talk about the advantages of thinking globally for your film and how to set a global strategy. Check it out and if you can’t make it, then I am sure she will be having another such session after Cannes.

I am still establishing my blog design and when it is finished I plan to share the intricacies of the process with you. I am now advocating that filmmakers consider a blog as their main website for their films. You can have more than one blog and make each a separate entity for each film. Start it in the script stage or in preproduction to start getting interest from your core fan base. It lets them feel a close connection to the project, kind of an insider’s peek, which makes them feel privileged. They will be your mouthpiece to the world if you handle it right! Anyway, in theory, you can update more easily than you can on a website, you can still incorporate graphics, production stills, and video and it is a lot cheaper than a true website. I say in theory because I am testing this process now and I will let you know how the practical portion turns out. To get an idea of what I mean by blog as website, go to Chris Jones’ blog http://livingspirit.typepad.com/blog/. He has done a brilliant job and it incorporates everything. Plus he has some great interviews and his short “Gone Fishing” looks fab!

That’s all for now. Hope your week turns out great. I am off to NAB in Las Vegas next week so probably no posts from there, we’ll see. I plan to stop in to the 48 hour Film Project booth to see how that turns out. Bascially, 48 production teams have 48 hours to write a script, shoot and edit a finished project. Screenings of the end results are on April 22-23 at the Palms in Las Vegas. I can’t wait to see it.

Hello everyone looking to find information on me. I have decided to use this as my website for introducing my services, my advice and my portfolio. But, like with everything, design takes time. Please excuse this site while it gets up and running. I am having a designer whip up a cool site with lots of useability and this work is totally out of my skill set. I utilize the space, not design it. Check back within the next month and see what I have come up with.

In the meantime, here is a link to a great article for all of you indie producers who want to do some distribution but are not up on the latest techniques. Please note, these techniques do not get you out of the obligation to self promote, only to self distribute.

http://www.studiodaily.com/main/work/10321.html

I will continue to blog in this blank slate until I get a prettier one.

“What really matters is what you do with what you have”-Shirley Lord
and Sheri Candler