Film Inc
Film Inc Viral Marketing for Documentaries and Feature Films Changes in filmmaking technologies have created more filmmakers, more films and more documentaries than ever before. A similar revolution ...
Film Inc
Viral Marketing for Documentaries and Feature Films
Changes in filmmaking technologies have created more filmmakers, more films and more documentaries than ever before. A similar revolution has occured in film marketing. The Internet has made it easier than ever for a film to find its audience even before its finished. MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING, THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST and FARENHEIT 911 are all examples of films which found their market without going through the mass media first.
The following are suggestions that worked for those films and they will work for yours as well. How well they work will have a great deal to do with how much time you spend analyzing your market and planning your attack . . .
Know your fans. One thing filmmakers hate is being told to create movies people will "like". Independent filmmakers make movies because they have something important or interesting to say and they aren't going to invest all that time and energy pandering to strangers they don't even know. The good news is, you don't have to. Once your film is finished, or almost finished, sit down and figure out who is going to like it. MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING was perfectly suited to the Greek community. These were people this population knew and situations they understood. So is it any surprise that the filmmakers decided to open the film first in Greek communities? Or that they made a specific effort to target those communities through their newspapers, their theaters and their churches? THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST made its first appearance on rickety screens in parish halls where people sat in folding chairs to watch it. Farenheit 911 appeared first before "liberal audiences" who already accepted its premise. Subsequent success from all these films came from making those first reviews the best they could be. Give your film the same good fortune.
Seek flattery . . . or controversy. MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING turned its small fire into a huge blaze by showing it to influential audiences in Hollywood, Cannes, Aspen and elsewhere. Those media magnates loved it, told one another, told the world that this was the first of a new breed of independent films. It didn't have big stars. It didn't have a big budget. But it did have a big heart. PASSION OF THE CHRIST and FARENHEIT 911 both thrived on controversy. PASSION OF THE CHRIST was an unabashedly Christian film in a nation embattled over religion. It was bloody, violent, showcased torture, and didn't protray Jews (or Romans for that matter) in a particularly favorable light. For all the people who hated the film for those reasons, others loved it. And many, many more saw the film to make up their own minds. FARENHEIT 911, and its progenitor Michael Moore, was so well hated . . . the Political Right practically sold the film to the American public and to audiences overseas. O'Reilly "advertised" the show for weeks in daily rants. Tucker Carlson mentioned it so often he should have received product placement revenue. When your film is finished, and its gotten its share of great reviews, don't be afraid to put it in the hands of the folks who will hate it completely. You'd be surprised how that energy can churn sales.
Go wide, but not too wide. When a film is bad, it goes into wide distribution immediately. The studios try to book it into as many theaters as possible as fast as possible because its only going to have one week in theaters. When a film is good . . . get it into theaters where it will do its best and then contact theater owners as it gains market share. Make sure they see the reviews. Make sure they see the trailers. Consider working with digital cinemas which can display films created and edited in digital media. Independent feature films have some advantages over studio films. You can draw people to specific theaters or theater chains, and you can execute some unique "co-marketing" agreements that the studios can't compete with. Exhibitors are struggling to maintain their market share. You make that easier for them when you give them a film not every theater can show.
Key to all these strategies is to carefully analyze your distribution options from a financial perspective. Distribution through large film distributors may seem like the Holy Grail, but you are giving control over your film's distribution to virtual strangers along with a substantial percentage of your profits. Consider paying cash up front to execute a "distribution service agreement" with folks like FREESTYLE or ROCKY MOUNTAIN. You'll retain more of the back end on your film and you'll end up with more control over its release. If you can create and fund a feature film for hundreds of thousands or millions you can create and fund a rational distribution plan as well. No film is really finished until it has reached its audience.
Start your marketing while your film is still in preproduction. Storyboard your trailers just as you do the rest of your film film. Make sure they sell the "sizzle" that made you decide to do it in the first place.
Viral marketing for a film or documentary is relatively easy for filmmakers who can stay true to their vision for a film, demand good production values, and take time to really understand their audience.
About the Author
Nancy Fulton is a writer, publisher and filmmaker. You can find more of her work on www.nobetterfriendmovie.com, www.backfromiraqmovie.com, www.complete-support.com and www.bluestatefilms.com.
London Film Festival: a True Celebration of Films
The love of films becomes a celebration in London for two weeks during 'The Times BFI 51st London Film Festival'. The capital city is buzzing with people who love films and filmmakers from all over the world. This festival gives a chance to view films, documentaries and provide opportunity to meet filmmakers and celebrity artists. It also promotes world films that may not be available for screening in the cinemas across the nation. The festival is an important venue for development and promotion of films from UK and abroad and it showed around 184 feature films and 133 short films from 43 countries, at various venues in London. The Festival Started with the opening night gala showing David Cronenberg's 'Eastern Promises' and finished with the closing night gala showing Wes Anderson's 'The Darjeeling Limited', a train voyage across India. Few films from the festival are reviewed below.
Closing The Ring: Richard Attenborough/ UK-Canada
Richard Attenborough has done it again. 'Closing the ring' is one of the most beautiful films I have seen in a long time. This film is about the value of love and the loss of it, inability to grieve, loyalty among friends and above all, the heartache and suffering brought on by war. Shirley MacLain and Christopher Plummer have excelled in their performance. Christopher Plummer showed his adoring fans that he could still win hearts, just as he did all those years ago as the handsome captain in 'Sound of Music'! 'Jimmy' (Martin Mac Cann) was a delight to watch along with Pete Postlethwaite. Richard Attenborough shows us that there is no shame in falling love and keep it live, no matter what your age is. 'A film that touches your heart and tells you something', that's what 'Closing the Ring' does and therefore, an example of good cinema truly at its best. Question & Answer time with Lord Attenborough after the screening was sheer delight.
The Darjeeling Limited: Wes Anderson/USA
A light hearted film that tells the story of three brothers who haven't seen each other for a year going on a train journey through the deserts of India. They are trying to bond with each other and with the beautiful but unknown conditions in India. Wes Anderson's film brings comedy, conflict among siblings and some hilarious moments. These brothers who love each other don't like each other very much and their odd behaviour comes as no surprise once you meet their mother (Angelica Houston), who gives a great performance along with Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman and Owen Wilson. A good laugh and a film you don't want to miss.
I'm Not There: Todd Haynes/USA
'I'm not There' means just that! It's a biographical journey into Bob Dylan's life, portrayed by six actors, but Bob Dylan, as the title says, is not there! If you think an 11-year-old black boy, Marcus Carl Franklin, who is splendid as Bob Dylan is odd, the worse is yet to come; but that's surely the best, Dylan played by a woman! Cate Blanchett in black and white turns up as Bob Dylan and you don't for a moment suspect that it's a woman. She is just magnificent and puts the other 'Bobs' in the shade. It's confusing and chaotic if you are not a Dylan fan, but entertaining till the closing credits. The music however is real stuff and as the closing credits roll in, songs like the original 'Knock knock knock'n on heaven's door' keeps you on your seat.
The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford: Andrew Domonik /USA
Definitely 'a Brad Pitt film' and everyone else fades away in the background. The film is based on the legend of Jesse James, 'the gentleman outlaw' who became an American icon. Brad Pitt has shown his acting ability yet again, only more so this time. He has graduated in the 'Jack Nicholson School of acting'! A film worth watching and the cinematography is at its best. Perhaps the film would have been even better, if it did not stretch that long after the assassination of Jesse James; great film, in spite of this and not to be missed.
In Memory of Me: Saverio Costanzo/ Italy
As the film is set in Venice one expects to see at least a bit of this beautiful city; but that was not to be. The camera has eyes for the outside world only when a large ship slips by the window of the seminary. 'In Memory of me' is a very intense film that goes into the inner depth of spirituality and the conflicts encountered. The story is about Andrea who is accepted into a Jesuit seminary, isolated in an island. The recruits undergo very strict training to prepare them for the disciplined work that awaits these soldiers of Christ. The rituals are repeated in a methodical fashion everyday and that includes cleaning of the corridors of that magnificent monastic building. The inmates' personality is analyzed to such an extent that they start to doubt their own spirituality and whether such mental cruelty is justified.
The silence that lingers in the magnificent corridors is mesmerizing, to say the least! We have heard of severe Mother Superiors, but the Father Superior in this film is frightening. Some find this fearsome training unbearable and decide to leave. Andrea too reaches his turning point, but finally realizes that he is made for better things and God has a purpose for him and decides to follow Him. This film is a lesson in itself in how one gives himself to God, then loose that faith and ultimately regaining the love of God and the faith. An intense film that makes one think.
Things We Lost in the Fire: Susanne Bier/USA
It tells the story of Audrey (Halle Berry), her loss and how she tries to rebuild her life after loosing the love of her life in a tragic accident. Her envious life with her husband 'Brian' and the two beautiful children are shown as flashback. Audrey decides to seek help from her husband's childhood friend, Jerry (Benicio Del Toro), who is a drug addict and quite dangerous at times. Though she did not like him to be her husband's friend in the past, she felt drawn to him now as they both had one thing in common- the love they both shared for Brian. She asks Jerry to move into the converted garage that was refurnished following a fire at the house and Audrey and the children form a bond with him. Anyone would wish to have somebody like Jerry in a situation like this, but not a drug addict though! Complications set in and the emotional turmoil in dealing with the sense of loss, drug addiction, rehabilitation and the society's role in all this are portrayed very well.
Halle Berry has given a magnificent performance. Benicio Del Toro was dazzling and he has given his best ever. It was a delight to see Halle Berry at the screening, looking gorgeous in a brilliant blue backless gown! Susanne Bier (Director) and Halle Berry answered questions from the audience after the film: a beautiful film not to be missed.
Richard Attenborough, Wes Anderson, Susanne Bier, Saverio Constanzo, Andrew Dominik, Shivajee Chandrabhushan, Shamim Sarif, Amitab Bachan, Robert Redford, Tom Cruise, Halle Berry and Adrien Brody were among the celebrities who attended the screening of their films. It was truly a festival of films, films that touched the audience and made them think. The two weeks of the festival was a stage for meeting the best filmmakers from all over the world, listen to them and see films of extreme diversity.
About the Author
I am Dr Elizabeth Menon, working in the UK. I love writing and my articles have been published in the UK and abroad. My hobbies include reading, writing, gardening, cooking, watching films, listening to music, helping environmental causes, etc. Visitors to my homepage gets the unique opportunity to read my monthly write up,'Corner' and articles written by me on various topics in two languages, English and Malayalam (the language spoken in Kerala, otherwise known as 'God's own Country'!).
Please visit my homepage at: http://omana.net/