Author: Ted Hope

David Fine on “More Thoughts On Crowdfunding Campaigns”

Post author By Ted Hope
Post date September 16, 2011

This past week, we’ve had a lot of input from filmmakers who have used the IndieGoGo crowdfunding platform. Filmmakers have been sharing techniques and best practices on what made their campaigns a success. It’s a practice we hope will continue for all filmmakers, across all platforms, utilizing a wide range of tools. Let’s figure this out, together.

Today is no exception. Although a lot has already been said on the subject, there is still more that can be added about how to make crowdfunding really work for your film.

A FEW MORE THOUGHTS FROM DAVID FINE, OF SALAAM DUNK (Los Angeles Film Fest)

Make sure the trailer for your film is strong
We waited to put up our Indiegogo page until we were all really happy with the trailer. For many it was the first thing they saw of a project that they had been hearing about from us for quite some time. I think asking for small donations from friends in the same breath as showing them the first thing they’ve seen of your project will create more donations.

Don’t worry about setting your goal low
We were worried that people would see we got to our goal and stop giving. But they didn’t. It’s better for your $ and your morale to set a goal you think you can reach. That’s how we left this experience feeling anyhow.

Make your crowdfunding efforts a way to boost team morale
Keep full control of our project through crowd funding has been a blessing. But honestly, a big part of the boost that we got from IndieGoGo was morale. I had been cutting the film for 9 months and we were not yet in a festival. Having people respond so positively to our trailer, so positively in some instances that they donated money, that felt great and really re-energized me at a time when I was running out of gas.

Tags crowdfunding, David Fine, Guest Post, IndieGoGo, Salaam Dunk

Truly Free Film

K Lorrel Manning & Michael Cuomo on “Riding The CrowdFunding Train To SXSW”

Post author By Ted Hope
Post date September 15, 2011

We all one know how to do more with the very little we have. This is the year the indie film world turned to each other for help. And people responded. It is so exciting that we are working together to get the work done. Indie / Truly Free Film has never been more of a community!

In just the first half of this year, eleven films that raised money on IndieGoGo appeared in the world’s leading film festivals. From Tribeca to Sundance, intrepid filmmakers learned the ropes about what it takes to make a splash in these festivals. This is the first in a series of posts are from the teams behind some of these films.

–Adam Chapnick, IndieGoGo

RIDING THE INDIEGOGO TRAIN STRAIGHT TO SXSW WITH HAPPY NEW YEAR

by Happy New Year Writer/Director K. Lorrel Manning & Actor/Producer Michael Cuomo

In January of this year, we received a call from the great Janet Pierson (Head Honcho of Film for SXSW) informing us that our film Happy New Year had been accepted into the Narrative Competition at the 2011 SXSW Film Festival.

Based on the critically-acclaimed Off-Broadway play, then an award-winning short film of the same name, Happy New Year tells the story of Sgt. Cole Lewis, a wartorn Marine who returns home after four tours of Iraq and Afghanistan to face his fiercest battle yet – the one against himself. The film is an entertaining yet hard-hitting look at the perils of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).

We reviewed our budget and quickly surmised that we needed about $25K to not just make a decent splash at SXSW but have the additional funds to attend upcoming festivals as part of continued promotions. Though the news of our acceptance was huge, we were forbidden to publicly announce it for nearly 6 weeks. We had a group of investors but how in the hell were we going to raise $25,000 and not share our biggest news? Many stepped forward stating that they were not in the position to invest but wanted to help out in any way that they could. IndieGogo became the answer.

After studied several studying other campaigns on the IndieGoGo website and bombarding, Slava Rubin (one of the Founders), with dozens of questions, we began to plan our campaign.

Here were the milestones:

Shoot short behind-the-scenes pitch videos
By involving different cast members talking about his/her real life connection to the material we created a human element to the campaign. These scenes were interspersed with some scenes featuring them from the movie.

Announce the video roll out via email, Facebook and Twitter
We posted these videos every two weeks, an idea that proved to be extremely effective. It was a way to excite and inform our fans .

Turned our entire team into evangelists
Everyone from management to each of the featured actors became spokespeople for our campaign, each one going out of his/her way to spread the word. This won the project more support and created an in-built audience for the film.

Identified tactics for our last days of funding
We timed our last video to be posted an hour after the SXSW Festival announced the 2011 competition lineup. In hindsight, saving the biggest news for the final push actually turned out to be our best move.

We decided to parody Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues” video by shooting our SXSW announcement in the midst of a snowstorm in a discreet NYC alleyway. This was a more celebratory video in comparison to our more serious videos and it turned out to be a game-changer. The shift in tone worked perfectly – we raised $26,390!

Our decision to join forces with IndieGogo was invaluable. The campaign forced us to become more aggressive and savvy in the area of social media. The pitch videos allowed us to exercise the creative sides of our brains that were often stymied with the challenges of post-production and festival strategy. And we were able to see that with a lot of hard work and faith, anything is possible. Would we do it again? Definitely!

HAPPY NEW YEAR – www.happynewyearsfilm.com

Tags crowdfunding, Guest Post, IndieGoGo, K Lorrel Manning, Michael Cuomo

Truly Free Film

I Don’t Do Panels. I Do Do Panels. I Am Doing A Lot Of Panels! What Am I Doing?

Post author By Ted Hope
Post date September 14, 2011

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.

Tags Anthony Kaufman, Co-Productions, IFP, Panel, ted hope

Truly Free Film

Prescreen Debuts as a Social Movie Discovery Platform

Post author By Ted Hope
Post date September 14, 2011

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.

Tags distribution, Prescreen, tools, video

Truly Free Film

Prepare To Have Your Mind Blown: PowerToThePixel Announces Project Line Up

Post author By Ted Hope
Post date September 13, 2011
35 Comments on Prepare To Have Your Mind Blown: PowerToThePixel Announces Project Line Up

A couple years back I was asked to give the Keynote Address at PowerToThePixel’s Annual Cross-Media Forum. It is not an exaggeration to say that the people I met and the knowledge they shared blew my mind. I saw the potential for immersive culture. I witnessed the growth of a community of visionaries. I had my hope restored for the culture, art, and society.

If there was one film related event each year that I most want to attend, it is PowerToThePixel. Get ready because it is around the corner, and as today’s press release (below) indicates, this year’s edition is going to be 1000% pure awesome.

POWER TO THE PIXEL ANNOUNCES LINE-UP FOR ANNUAL CROSS-MEDIA FORUM & PROJECT SELECTION FOR THE PIXEL MARKET

London, 13 September 2011

The fifth edition of The Cross-Media Forum 11-14 October, from leading global cross-media company Power to the Pixel, features a world-class line-up of speakers and industry experts.

His first time speaking in the UK, Jeff Gomez CEO Starlight Runner (Pirates of the Caribbean, Halo, Avatar) will present the keynote for the conference on 11 October. Additional talks come from Digital Emmy award-winning filmmaker Katerina Cizek; Christopher Sandberg, Founder of Emmy-awarded TV and new media production company The company P; Creative Director Digital at Aardman, Dan Efergan; Michel Reilhac, Executive Director of ARTE France Cinéma as well as Tero Kaukomaa, producer of the much-anticipated Finnish project Iron Sky, amongst others. The Cross-Media Forum is held in association with the BFI London Film Festival.

The conference covers the latest trends in audience behaviour and new business models in the cross-media and transmedia space. It is followed by The Pixel Market, a one-of-a-kind marketplace dedicated to financing international cross-media properties.

Chosen from nearly 100 applicants, 25 producer-led teams take part in one-to-one business meetings with potential partners and financiers from across the media industries. Project stories extend across media platforms including film, broadcast, gaming, online, interactive, publishing, live event, mobile/tablet. Selected projects include Cloud Chamber produced by regular Lars von Trier collaborator, Vibeke Windelov; Fort McMoney, a new project from David Dufresne, writer of multi-award-winning web documentary Prison Valley; Swandown, a collaboration from award-winning artist/filmmaker Andrew Kötting and author Iain Sinclair; Unspeak being produced by award-winning cross-media company Submarine, directed by film director, producer and long-time collaborator of Richard Linklater, Tommy Pallotta.

Nine of the teams go forward to The Pixel Pitch Competition on 12 October, backed by French/German broadcaster ARTE to compete for the £6,000 top prize. Projects are presented to a jury of international commissioning executives, decision-makers and financiers in front of an audience of Power to the Pixel delegates. The Pixel Pitch presents a unique opportunity to hear how cross-media projects are financed, and by whom.

The winner of the ARTE Pixel Pitch Prize will be announced at an evening awards ceremony on 13 October.

The Cross-Media Forum receives over 800 international delegates each year and is seen as an essential part of the calendar for anyone interested in exploring creative business and digital change.

“The Cross-Media Forum has built a global reputation to be the place where creators, financiers and entrepreneurs can discuss innovative ideas and business practices in a unique collaborative environment,” said founder Liz Rosenthal.

“World-class experts will share their latest findings on new ways to tell stories, engage audiences and grow successful cross-media story properties.

“The Pixel Market is the only dedicated cross-media market and showcase in the world where you can meet commissioners and financiers from the film, broadcast, games, mobile, interactive, publishing and online worlds who are committed to investing in cross-media properties. We’re very excited about the high quality of projects and talent
showcased in this year’s selection and look forward to facilitating new synergies and partnerships across industry silos.”

The Pixel Market is supported by the Media Programme of the European Union. Additional support from BFI, Skillset Film Skills Fund, ARTE, Telefilm Canada, TorinoFilmLab

Costas Daskalakis, Head of MEDIA programme unit at EACEA said: “Cross-media projects have attracted a lot of attention over the last few years. MEDIA is happy to support events such as The Pixel Market so that they also attract funding. The MEDIA programme has developed an overall strategy to support cross-media projects including training, financial support for development, markets and distribution.”

Dan Simmons, Head of Film (Acting) Skillset said: “The impact of digital and new technology continues to be a funding priority for Skillset under the UK’s film skills strategy ‘A Bigger Future 2’.

We have funded Power to the Pixel since its inception five years ago. Events such as The Pixel Lab and The Pixel Market are powerful opportunities for cross-media professionals – spanning different sectors of the creative industries – to network with leading digital pioneers; developing new business and transmedia opportunities in an international environment.”

Carolle Brabant, Executive Director Telefilm Canada said: “We’re excited to support cutting-edge events like Power to the Pixel. Today, Canadian producers, broadcasters and distributors need to be more innovative to ensure that their content is properly showcased, viewed and distributed around the world. At the same time, opportunities abound with many new cross-media platforms enabling consumers to engage with the work of Canadian creators in new ways.”

Michel Reilhac, Executive Director of ARTE France Cinéma said: “Although the field of transmedia is fairly new and still inventing itself as we speak, the Power to the Pixel event allows all people involved in the art of storytelling to evaluate where we are, who does what. It is the focus event that allows us all to check what our current issues are, what’s new that’s been accomplished and how our new challenges in the field of participative storytelling evolve. It is the one invaluable occasion in the year where people involved and interested come together and share projects, knowledge and experience.”

PIXEL MARKET PROJECTS including
PIXEL PITCH FINALISTS & PIXEL PITCH JURY
PIXEL PITCH FINALISTS
1. Process: Cause & Affect (CAN) Non-fiction: Online | film | installation | mobile
Producer: C J Hervey | Executive Producer: James Milward
An interactive documentary and transmedia project that profiles groundbreaking artists who create beautiful works of art using computer code.

2. Cloud Chamber (DEN) Fiction: Online | mobile | TV
Producer: Vibeke Windelov | Director: Christian Fonnesbech | Writer: Darin Mailand-Mercado
A science drama inspired by space. Players collaborate to uncover the story of a young scientist who has risked her sanity and betrayed her father in order to save humanity from itself.

3. Jezabel (FR) Fiction: TV | online | mobile | radio | print | live event
Producer: Eric Pellegrin | Director: Julien Bittner | Writer: Julien Capron
A series about a 19-year old student who posts a song on YouTube – the song soon becomes a big hit. After a producer offers her to launch her career, Jezabel will be torn between two worlds: show business in Paris and the decadent student parties in her city, Lille. How will she handle her fame?
A story about growing up, falling in love, finding your way.

4. Lost and Sound [working title] (UK) Non-fiction: TV | online | app
Producer: Kat Mansoor | Writer/Director: Lindsey Dryden
An exhilarating and moving creative experience about the great human love affair with music, through the prism of deafness. It weaves a character-driven narrative – following three people’s re- discovery of music after deafness – with an extraordinary adventure through the science of sound, revealing how music reaches us through the ears and brain when neither work ordinarily.
5. Love & Engineering [working title] (FIN) Non-fiction: Film | TV | online | mobile
Producer: Kaarle Aho | Writer/Director: Tonislav Hristov
Digital geeks looking for analogue love. One claims to have hacked love, can he help lonely engineers find real happiness?

6. My Little Songs (FR) Non-fiction: TV | online | apps | books | games
Producer: Deborah Elalouf | Director: Edith Louis
Tim, aged 7, has discovered a mysterious magic piano. No sooner does he play, than a variety of characters pop up from the piano to create animated and interactive musical cartoons. Nursery rhymes initiated by Tim will be the starting point of adventures for Tim as well as the viewer/player.
An opportunity for young children to discover foreign languages through a fun trip!
7. Tomorrow We Disappear (USA) Non-fiction: Film | Condition ONE | interactive | online | installation
Producer/Interactive Director: Jimmy Goldblum
Since 1978 Delhi’s magicians, puppeteers and acrobats have called the tinsel slum, the Kathputli Colony, home. Last year the government issued relocation permits to the colony residents; the slum is to be bulldozed, cleared for development. Experience the last remnants of a culture borne out of folk traditions and moulded by poverty.
8. We R Democracy (BEL) Non-fiction: Online | apps | games
Producers : Matthieu Lietaert, Jamie Balliu, Nicolas Sauret
Co-Directors/Co-Creators: Matthieu Lietaert & Fritz Moser
Have you ever wanted to shape tomorrow’s globalisation? Here is your chance: Become an online lobbyist in Europe! Get to know the hidden part of democracy, meet key protagonists and build your own lobby network. Play a game-like experience that’s also influencing the real world around you!

9. The First Zombie (CAN|UK) Fiction: online | book | film
Producer: Jeff Norton
A lonely zombie, fresh from the grave, struggles to get back the family life he once took for granted. Sometimes even the living dead deserve a second chance.

ADDITIONAL MARKET PROJECTS
10. “100” (UK) Non-fiction: Feature film | online | apps | TV | live events
Producer: Jessica Levick | Director: Sam Blair
A hypnotic study of the art of sprinting, this startling documentary – made in partnership with adidas – reveals the hopes and struggles of London’s grassroots athletes on the eve of the 2012 Olympics.

11. The Ark Experiment (AUT) Non-fiction: Feature film | online
Producer: Michael Seeber | Director: Sepp R. Brudermann
The end is near, but don’t worry we will guide you through it!

12. The Awra Amba Story – Utopia in Ethiopia (FIN/UK) Non-fiction: Online | mobile | broadcast | live events
Producer/Director: Paulina Tervo | Co-Director: Serdar Ferit
A multi-platform, multimedia project about a utopian village in Ethiopia including an interactive 360° web documentary, a feature-length film and an interactive exhibition.

13. The Cat Time Stories (CRO) Fiction: TV series | interactive | app | online
Producer: Helena Bulaja | Writer: Nada Horvat
The Cat Time Stories relates the everyday adventures and experiences of cats and their friends, through blending the worlds of 33 stories about the adventures and experiences of slightly humanized, but thoroughly feline characters. They hunt for treasure, displease their human “masters”, go shopping, worry about their appearance, avoid dogs, get stuck in the top branches of a tree and do everything which takes up the busy agenda of a cat’s day. One of them even discovers he can fly…

14. Conspicuous (USA) Fiction: FB apps incorporating stills | text | news
Producer: Mike Knowlton | Writer/Director: Hal Siegel
A suburban mum discovers her husband is having an affair. In the aftermath, she becomes a private detective. It’s Weeds meets artist Sophie Calle.

18. Mirages (BEL) Non-fiction: TV | online | mobile | iPad | live events
Producer/Director: Patric Jean | Transmedia Producer: Barbara Levendangeur
Science and scepticism require that we look for natural and empirical explanations for all phenomena. Mirages is designed as a transmedia documentary experience which investigates how we often convince ourselves to believe and overlook the facts (of any kind).

19. Pas de Deux (SWE) Fiction: Film | book | live event | online/social networks | radio
Producer/Co-Writer: Anna Nevander | Co-Writer: Signe Kjellman
A devoted opera singer lives a consuming passion with an inconstant photographer and looks for divine love in her friendship with a young priest, who ends up trying to rape her.

20. The Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted (FR) Non-fiction: Live event | online platforms | feature film
Producer: Emilie Blezat | Director: David Dusa
TRWNBT investigates how far the internet can go to found a new civil society, how the power of social media influences social change. An educational project, a think/do tank, a dialogue platform and a visual representation of the way the internet empowers citizens and articulates a rapidly changing world.

21. Ruby Skye P.I.: The Haunted Library (CAN) Fiction: online/social networks | TV/VoD | mobile/tablet | books | live events
Producer/Writer/Showrunner: Jill Golick | Producer: Susan Nation | Director: Kelly Harms
A cross-media, live-action, comedy-mystery series designed especially to engage young audiences growing up in the digital generation. Stubborn, smart, determined and a little too quick to jump to conclusions, 15-year old Ruby makes a lot of unfortunate choices in her pursuit of truth, justice and, well… personal curiosity.

22. Seasons Project (FR) Non-fiction: TV | online | games | smartphone app
Artistic Producer/Co-Creator: Chloé Jarry Co-Creator: Antoine Bamas
Seasons Project launches a large citizen investigation into the evolution of the seasons in Europe.

23. Shankaboot – Unlocking The Power of Social Media (LEB) Fiction: Online | social networks | mobile apps
Producer: Katia Saleh | Director: Amin Dora | Lead Writer: Bassem Breish
Fresh from dodging disaster on the streets of Beirut, Suleiman causes havoc across the Middle East when he convinces four friends in different Arab countries to launch a bogus political campaign on Facebook. but, when their virtual revolution spills over into the real world, the armchair freedom-fighters are forced to face the consequences.

24. Swandown (UK) Non-fiction: Feature film | installation | live events | TV | online
Producer: Lisa Marie Russo | Director: Andrew Kötting Writer: Iain Sinclair
Swandown is a documentary, travelogue and odyssey of Olympian ambition. A poetic film diary about encounter and culture. It is also an endurance test and pedal-marathon.

25. Unspeak (NETH) Fiction & non-fiction: online HTML5 cloud & integrated social media | interactive
Producer: Femke Wolting | Directors: Tommy Pallotta & Geert van de Wetering
Unspeak is a style of political language that smuggles persuasion into description by renaming politically sensitive subjects. A radical and at times poetic collage of found footage, media sound bites and voice over, the series unveils the mechanisms behind Unspeak and encourages the viewer to listen closely, as well as editing and distributing their own Unspeak clips.

Confirmed international jurors (with more to be announced):

JULIE ADAIR Director of Online (Europe, Middle East, Africa), Walt Disney Company (UK)
NUNO BERNARDO Producer & CEO, beActive (PORT)
GUILLAUME BLANCHOT Head of New Media & Video Games, CNC (FR)
ROSA BOSCH Producer & MD, B & W Films (SPA/UK)
MORGAN BOUCHET Director Transmedia & Social Media, Orange (FR)
PETER CARLTON Head of European Division Warp Films (UK)
NICK COHEN Managing Partner & UK Head, MediaCom Beyond Advertising (UK)
LOC DAO Head of Digital Content & Strategy, NFB (CAN)
REBECCA DENTON Senior Producer, Original Series & Development Turner Broadcasting (EMEA) (UK)
LIZZIE FRANCKE Senior Production and Development Executive, BFI Film Fund (UK)
JEFF GOMEZ CEO Starlight Runner (USA)
BEN GRASS Managing Director Pure Grass Films (UK)
DIGBY LEWIS Director of Content & Digital Development, ShineVu (UK)
RAY MAGUIRE Former President (UK, Nordic & Ireland) Sony Computer Entertainment (UK)
IAN McCLELLAND Senior Vice President of New Media RTL Group (LUX)
MICHAEL MORRIS Co-Director Artangel (UK)
MICHEL REILHAC Executive Director ARTE France Cinéma (FR)
CHRISTOPHER SANDBERG Founder & CCO, The company P (SWE)
VIDA TOOMBS Head of Content Europe, VBS.TV | Vice (UK)

About Power to the Pixel:

Power to the Pixel supports the film and media industries in their transition to a digital age. The company specialises in new ways for content creators and businesses to create, finance and distribute stories and engage with audiences across multiple platforms.

Headed by Founder & CEO Liz Rosenthal and COO & Producer Tishna Molla, the company’s London team has a wealth of experience and expertise across film and cross-media development, production and finance, and is linked to a unique network of the leading thinkers, practitioners and innovators who are developing new business and creative opportunities around the world.

Specialising in new ways for content creators and businesses to create and finance stories and engage with audiences across multiple platforms, Power to the Pixel’s core activities are:
• Providing consultancy to international media organisations, content creators and companies
• Designing innovative in-house company training programmes and bespoke initiatives
• Producing international forums, events and labs centred around cross-media, IP and business
• Facilitating the exchange of ideas and the building of international partnerships between media professionals and between industries

The company’s understanding of the challenges and opportunities of digital change means Power to the Pixel is an essential bridge between the visionary, the pioneering and the practical.

Power to the Pixel’s clients and partners include: ARTE; BAFTA; BBC, BBH; Berlin Film Festival; BFI; Cannes Film Festival (Marché du Film); EAVE; EU MEDIA Programme; Edinburgh Film Festival; IFP; Nordisk Film & TV Fond; UK Film Council

www.powertothepixel.com

Tags Cross-Media, PowerToThePixel, tools, transmedia

Truly Free Film

Adam Chapnick on “IndieGoGo Films Showcased at World-Class Festivals in 2011”

Post author By Ted Hope
Post date September 12, 2011

Google became a verb several years ago. In the Indie / Truly Free Film space we are close to verb-izing another company. But just like all tissues are not Kleenex, there are many crowdfunding platforms out there, and it is worth not forgetting that. Find the platform that works best for your film, as there are plusses and minuses on everything.

Today Adam Chanpick speaks of the films (and some of the benefits) of crowdfunding platform IndieGoGo.

14 IndieGoGo Films Showcased at World-Class Festivals in 2011

IndieGoGo filmmakers have been rocking the world stage in 2011. In the first six months, no fewer than fifteen films that successfully campaigned on IndieGoGo appeared in the world’s leading film fests, including Sundance, SXSW, Cannes, Tribeca Film Fest, HotDocs, and LA Film Fest. These films have gone on to win top awards (Tribeca Audience Award) and get picked up by top distributors (The Weinstein Company).

In my responsibilities at IndieGoGo and Distribber, I’m regularly asked for advice and help with all facets of film finance and distribution. After answering so many of these one-off questions with the words, “lots of IndieGoGo campaigners have already figured that out,” it’s clear the filmmaker community would benefit from an update from IndieGoGo filmmakers who have had success.

As background, since 2008, the independent film community has been a central part of the IndieGoGo family; thousands of films have raised money for production, distribution, festival travel, promotion, marketing and for many other film funding needs.

IndieGoGo is partnered with leading organizations like Fractured Atlas and the San Francisco Film Society to offer filmmakers fiscal sponsorship services (Fractured Atlas campaigns recently passed $1,000,000. Sheffield Doc/Fest, one of the world’s leading documentary events, also has been an active and innovative partner.

Below is are links to all the amazing films, grouped by the festival in which they appeared. I encourage you to check out each campaign to learn more about pitch videos and copy, updates and perk selections, and how to engage an audience.

LA Film Fest

1. An Ordinary Family

2. Wish Me Away (1)
Wish Me Away (2)

3. Salaam Dunk

Cannes

4. Cerise

HotDocs

5. You’ve Been Trumped

Tribeca

6. Give Up Tomorrow (Won the audience award!)

7. The Bully Project Film (Was picked up by Weinstein Co.)

8. Love Hate Love – Tribeca Travel

SXSW

9. My Sucky Teen Romance (1)
My Sucky Teen Romance (2)

10. 8 (Award winner)

11. Sound It Out (1)
Sound It Out (2)
Sound It Out (3)

12. HAPPY NEW YEAR

Sundance

13. The High Level Bridge

14. The Rocket Boy

All of these campaigns succeeded on many levels, but there are three key areas that they nailed: They each had a great pitch, a proactive team, and each found the audience that cares about their passion and interacted with them consistently and creatively.

Over the next four days you’ll hear from four of the filmmakers behind these success stories, who’ll share key takeaways, tips, and tricks about their journey from funding to festival. I hope their learning helps your film become the next success story.

Adam Chapnick
IndieGoGo

Tags Adam Chapnick, crowdfunding, Guest Post, IndieGoGo

Truly Free Film

Allow Me To Take YOU To Venice To Experience DARK HORSE

Post author By Ted Hope
Post date September 10, 2011
41 Comments on Allow Me To Take YOU To Venice To Experience DARK HORSE

It’s pretty crazy how fast everything moves these days. We are able to leap countries and time to find what we missed continents away.

Today DARK HORSE has it’s press and industry screening in Toronto. Tomorrow is the North American Premiere. But I know how to make you feel like you are with us. Let me take you to Venice…

My flight out of Venice was evidently the only one that left for the United States on Tuesday. Our film DARK HORSE premiered there to a very nice standing ovation the night before. I arrive here to find interviews and press conference clips already up online. Check it out (and of course I rant a little bit). You even get to see the photo call and a NEW clip at the end!