I don’t like panels. They can never be conversations. They are usually five people pushing separate agendas that have no relation to what the audience is looking to learn.
I like discussions. Two, maybe three participants is best. It was just me & Anthony Kaufman in Toronto. I happily moderate panels though, when it is an issue, film, or organization I care about. And sometimes I break my own rules. This weekend I am doing one panel and one conversation. I hope you will come. I may start enforcing my rules after this.
Tomorrow I am participating in ” Co-Production Strategies: Identifying and Negotiating US and International Partnerships” at the Film Finance Forum / East. Get tickets here.
“This session will address how to identify the right partners and locations for enhanced incentives, work out financial structuring, distribution territories, agreements, and accounting practices, among many other issues when working on co-productions in the current environment.”
Moderator: Jeff Begun, Production Executive, The Incentives Office
Panelists: Ted Hope, Producer, Double Hope Films
Randall Emmett, Co-Chair, Emmett/Furla Films
Harris Tulchin, Owner, Harris Tulchin & Associates
Pat Swinney Kaufman, Executive Director, New York State Governor’s Office for Motion Picture and Television Development
Lloyd Kaufman, President, Troma Entertainment
On Sunday, I am participating in IFP’s Independent Film Week in “The Hot Button: Is Indie Filmmaking A Career Or A Hobby?” My fellow participants are Scott Macauley and Mynette Louie. The blurb explains: “As production budgets contract and sales struggle to rebound, is it possible to make a career of independent filmmaking? Join the debate on the sustainability of the industry.” Get tickets here.
Prescreen was featured on our MUST READ list of the New Platforms. Sheri Candler also did an overview for the community on this site. Now they are launching. Their press release is below, but to understand just what they are doing, watch this short video before.
Are you excited? I’m excited.
Prescreen Debuts as a Social Movie Discovery Platform
Prescreen will embrace a curated daily email service to leverage the social web to give movies blockbuster exposure on an indie budget
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – September 14th, 2011 — Prescreen, an innovative movie marketing and distribution platform, will officially launch today to give filmmakers and distributors an alternative to traditional advertising and distribution channels – through the mass marketing of curated content that is then shared by users through social media.
Prescreen offers users the ability to subscribe to a daily email alert, view trailers and rent movies to stream on demand, as well as earn rewards and discounts for sharing movie information on their social networks. Their daily email service highlights one movie per day, enabling their featured films to reach a wide audience.
Prescreen also delivers a Prescreen Performance Report to each filmmaker and distributor whose movie is featured on Prescreen. The report offers aggregated analytics and demographics about the audience for each featured film.
How it Works:
• Consumer subscribers receive an email alert featuring one new movie each day.
• Users watch the movie trailer for free and can purchase a rental to view the entire movie to stream on demand for up to 60 days.
• Users can earn discounts and rewards by sharing the film through their social networks using Facebook, Twitter, etc.
• Prescreen aggregates the purchasing data, protecting the privacy of each user, and delivers valuable demographic and analytic information back to filmmakers and distributors for future marketing and distribution efforts.
Prescreen’s intuitive marketing report includes all of the relevant information from the purchasers, allowing the content owner to use the detailed information to make informed decisions about continued distribution and marketing efforts. Prescreen allows content owners to maximize profits by marketing and selling via the Prescreen platform.
“Movie goers are increasingly consuming premium content through new digital channels including downloads, streaming, and video on demand (VOD), generating new revenue streams for the movie industry,” said Shawn Bercuson, CEO and Founder of Prescreen. “Prescreen will help movies of all shapes and sizes receive the love they deserve by leveraging the social tools that exist today to market and distribute movies more efficiently.”
One of Prescreen’s first films will be Kino Lorber’s “The Robber;” a story of a champion marathoner who leads a double life as a serial bank robber, sprinting between heists and escaping from police in epic chase sequences. The film was directed by Austrian director Benjamin Heisenberg and features a riveting central performance by Andreas Lust (Revanche).
“Prescreen has developed an exciting and innovative digital platform for film distribution, and we are happy to be one of their first content providers,” said Richard Lorber, CEO of Kino Lorber. “We have one of the largest, most essential libraries in the United States and with Prescreen’s curatorial team so committed to high quality cinema it was a natural fit. In this rapidly changing digital distribution landscape, increasing market penetration means thinking outside the box –which is exactly why we’re working with them.”
Prescreen is now accepting full-length feature film applications on a variety of topics and genres. To submit, visit: prescreen.com/submit. To sign up for the daily email service, visit: prescreen.com
About Prescreen
Prescreen is a movie marketing and distribution platform that helps filmmakers and distributors efficiently reach audiences they otherwise would not have the ability to reach, and identify which audiences would provide maximum opportunity for continued growth and revenue. Prescreen offers users the ability to subscribe to email alerts, view trailers and stream movies on demand, as well as earn rewards for sharing movie information on their social networks. Visit prescreen.com for more information.
