Author: Ted Hope

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

Categories
Truly Free Film

Most Useful Websites For Filmmakers?

Like most folks out there, I get excited with every new list.  MovieMaker has put together their 50 Best Websites For MovieMakers.  It’s a good list and will provide something fresh for virtually everyone out there.

But alas….  I was surprised not to see FilmmakerMagazineBlog on it which I read religiously — oh wait, they are their competitor.  Now I get it.

And let me admit it, I was truly bummed not to see Truly Free Film there.  Or HammerToNail.  I guess I just have to try harder.  Or you could do me a favor (give me the strength to go on…) and stage a write in campaign to their blog and encourage them to add TFF & HTN to the list!  Thanks!
And if you ever have a thought about what will make this blog more useful, or even what you would like some discussion on, don’t hesitate to write in and let me know.
Update 2010: Moviemaker made a new list, and sure enough Truly Free Film and Hammer To Nail made it.  Whew!  Thanks for the support.
Categories
Bowl Of Noses

Seeing What You Can’t Normally See

Technology gives us all super powers.  There will always be people who can do what the average human can’t, but the really astounding powers are things that no one can do, like see in slow motion, or crystal clearly underwater.  But we have cameras to do that.

Categories
These Are Those Things

Great Short Film, but "you always take things one step too far"

Thankfully, there are those among us who always take things one step too far.  It may be difficult for a relationship, but it is one of those things that the internet is really good for.  People always say, in terms of content, the web works for broad comedy and horror/gross out, but equally grabbing is the OMFG vein.

Nash Edgerton’s SPIDER got a couple of exclamations out of me.  And it kept me away from my third cup of morning coffee — which means it is a pretty strong dose.
I got turned onto SPIDER via Scott Macauley at FilmmakerMagBlog.  Or at least I thought I did — Toni Collette actually got their first for me for the video he did of her.  But Scott’s sourced other great work too, and gets full credit to turning me onto the work of Patrick Daughters long before he ever shot a music video.  It was Edgerton’s recent clip for Bob Dylan that initiated Scott’s posting.
Checking out Edgerton’s work I was excited to see he is part of Blue Tongue Films in Sydney.  I had the good fortune of mentoring a feature project of theirs — or maybe just related to them — when I participated in the Aurora Screenwriting workshop earlier this year.  There’s great new work popping up all over.  Here’s hoping everyone keeps taking things one step too far.
P.S.  After I posted this I got a thank you note from my Mom who had just watched it and said that it had produced multiple screams from her.  She reminded me that I repeatedly placed a fake spider in our sugar bowl growing up.  I guess my connection to the work was even more primal than I recognized.