Month: June 2009

Categories
These Are Those Things

My Various Alternate Lives

Did you know in addition to making Indie Films I sell State Farm Insurance?

http://www.tedhope.com/
I didn’t.  But he does look a bit like me, doesn’t he?
Sometimes I train sheep dogs too (but only in disguise):
The first time I went on Google I admit I googled myself.  The odd thing was I found a “Ted Hope” who was doing exactly what I was going to do before I went to film school: building sustainable agricultural communities and small scale economies in developing lands.  Maybe he will take me on as an apprentice…  or the sheep herder will.  Just don’t make me sell insurance please.  Although I have to say any job looks good these days.
Categories
Truly Free Film

Open Video Conference: The Evolution Of Storytelling


Watch it and let me know if gives you any good ideas…  Thanks.

If you want the direct link, here it is:
http://workbookproject.com/2009/07/resource-social-media-for-storytellers

Categories
Truly Free Film

The New Rules: An Indie Film Digital Policy

Over in the UK they have a state-backed initiative to try to figure out this new digi-film culture universe.  Here in The States of course we are asked to sink or swim on our own.  

Luckily we can crib some of the insights The Brits generate.

The UK Film Council and the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) is calling on the film industry to expand digital distribution, seek new sources of funding and work with online audiences as publishers not just viewers, as part of series of findings from their digital innovation programme.
Some of their initial recommendations are:
  • Film companies should see online audiences as participants, authors, contributors and publishers as well as just viewers, and use this to their advantage
  • Directors, writers and actors should be encouraged to write a blog or Twitter, to engage audiences in the film-making process
  • Free tools such as Google Blog Search and Twitter should be used to track the performance of campaigns by monitoring site visits and bookmarks. But popularity should not be mistaken for financial success.
  • Companies should be wary about giving away potential revenue in return for digitisation costs, and instead look into getting it done themselves.
  • The aim should be to sell content to as many platforms as possible and to keep the deals non-exclusive or for short exclusive periods.
  • Film-makers should look to new sources of funding. Brands and content creators are potential sources, as in the case of Shane Meadows’ Somers Town, which was financed by Eurostar.
  • Companies should think about what would make audiences pay for content, and the principle of ‘added value’ in the form of quality of experience.
  • The whole industry is still learning and there is no perfect online campaign, so experimenting is the key.

If you aren’t following these recommendations, you are not living in the world of today.  Indie Film culture’s survival depends on the majority getting with the program.

Categories
Truly Free Film

Cheat Sheet #3: Profit From Festival Play

Today’s post is again brought to you courtesy of Jon Dieringer, and is part of continuing series of cheat sheets from prior TFF posts.

Other ways to profit from festival play (from Jon Reiss)
(http://trulyfreefilm.blogspot.com/2008/11/film-festival-plan-having-film.html)

1. Some festivals will pay you
2. Maybe they can do a PAL dub for you
3. Foreign fests could supply you with translation that you can use later on DVD
4. Connection to local theaters

-With five united filmmakers you have a booking block, a touring film festival of your own making. (http://trulyfreefilm.blogspot.com/2008/10/film-festival-plan-beyond-bonding.html)

-What about using a festival to launch direct DVD sales/promote self-distributed film rather than looking for distribution (see links to other “post-festival” posts: http://trulyfreefilm.blogspot.com/2008/10/post-fest-era.html) 

(will festivals let you sell there? Check in advance)

-Festival Secrets book, download full pdf: http://www.filmfestivalsecrets.com/book/issuu/

Categories
Bowl Of Noses

Journey Thru The Panama Canal In Under 2 Minutes!

The Panama Canal is a wonder, a massive project that took well over ten years to complete.  An estimated 23,500 people died in the process.  It is a series of locks where water fills and drains allowing huge ships to traverse what was once dry land.  It reduces the shipping route from New York to San Francisco by 8000 miles.  It’s still a long journey though, but now you can do it in the minimal time you should spend brushing your teeth.

Hat tip: Spencer’s Dad.  Thanks!
Categories
Truly Free Film

Cheat Sheet #2: TFF Film Festival Preparation

Today’s post is again brought to you courtesy of Jon Dieringer, and is part of continuing series of cheat sheets from prior TFF posts.

Preparing for a Film Festival

  1. make trailer and post on web
  2. post clips on the web;
  3. have ongoing blog… start during pre-production?
  4. maintain blog through and after festival play
  5. have website
  6. form simple way to collect email addresses for fans
  7. set up a way for fans to subscribe to updates about the film
  8. join multiple social networks, both as an individual and as the film
  9. create a press kit with press notes for the film;
  10. identify the blogs and critics you think will help promote your film
  11. build a study guide for the film for film clubs
  12. map out a festival strategy that builds to local releases
  13. make several versions of a poster, and have enough to sell & give away
  14. make additional promotional items for your film;
  15. manufacture the dvd, and make great packaging for it

Categories
Truly Free Film

Cheat Sheet #1: TFF Festival Goals

Jon Dieringer, my former assistant on ADVENTURELAND — and who was a lot of fun, did good work and you should hire –, recently did a “cheat sheet” distilling a lot of the information from this blog.   I think he did a very nice job and I will be funneling his work to you over the next few days.  Feel free to provide any suggestions on how to enhance it further.

I am starting if off with what started off the blog: Film Festival Strategy
Festival Goals

  1. Plan A has got to be that you will need to be the leading force in the distribution of your film. This is the DIY model.
  2. Plan B is that various experts will all want to work with you on Co-Distributing your film, albeit for a fee.
  3. Plan C is that buyers for different media will want your film and you need to be able to evaluate how to mix and match these offers — or even accept those offers at all.
  4. Plan D is that someone will make an offer of such an amount that it is worth considering giving up all your rights to your film for the next twenty years.

http://trulyfreefilm.blogspot.com/2008/10/preparing-for-film-festivals.html