WARNING: this is a bit of a disorganized rant (aren't they all!).
I want to share a short story about planning a non-traditional release. The goal is to get your film to the audience, right? This involves getting a distributor interested in your film--except it doesn't because that only works for a small percentage of the [insert large number here] films that are produced each year (many of which don't make it much past a few festivals). But let's not talk about the negative--what's the solution?
So the future of indie film marketing is in the internet? Social networking, maybe--it's a start. The theater may be dying, but watching movies alone at your computer screen hardly seems like the answer. So fast forward ahead, you've finished your movie and want to bring it to a live audience. How do you go about doing that? There always seems like there is more questions than answers...
Then someone like Jon Reiss decides that the world is changing and writes a book about the new way. It's theory--good theory perhaps, but each film is different. Each film is like starting a business from scratch: new locations, new employees, new partners, and a new marketing strategy. But let me get back to the first question. What is the solution to getting your finished movie to a live audience--an audience that will connect with your story and will pay money to buy it the DVD.
So how about renting out theaters? That's what Hunter Weeks did. Problem is that they tend to require a large upfront payment or they might risk a split of ticket sales if they think you can attract an paying audience (can you?). I very nearly followed this strategy myself wanting to do anything to get my film in front of an audience. Why not bring the the theater to the audience?
Here's my idea: purchase a large outdoor projection screen, a high-output projector, and a sound system and start book outdoor showings at cities where your audience already exists. This could be locations where the movie was filmed, or perhaps locations that relate to your storyline. Get the venues at no charge by offering the movie as a free community event and sell DVDs to help cover expenses. You'll probably still not make your money back, but it'd be great promotion to get some buzz going about the movie. And it'd be a fun event for the communities that participate. Every one loves movies-in-the-park.
Summary:
Isn't this what indie bands do? Why aren't filmmakers on board yet? Is someone doing this already? This isn't just theory--I'm personally doing it myself. I'm booking 45 cities this fall and bringing my own movie event to the people. Venues have been receptive--they are offering use of their locations at no charge. Will it work? Will it be profitable? I don't know...yet...
What do you think?
I want to share a short story about planning a non-traditional release. The goal is to get your film to the audience, right? This involves getting a distributor interested in your film--except it doesn't because that only works for a small percentage of the [insert large number here] films that are produced each year (many of which don't make it much past a few festivals). But let's not talk about the negative--what's the solution?
So the future of indie film marketing is in the internet? Social networking, maybe--it's a start. The theater may be dying, but watching movies alone at your computer screen hardly seems like the answer. So fast forward ahead, you've finished your movie and want to bring it to a live audience. How do you go about doing that? There always seems like there is more questions than answers...
Then someone like Jon Reiss decides that the world is changing and writes a book about the new way. It's theory--good theory perhaps, but each film is different. Each film is like starting a business from scratch: new locations, new employees, new partners, and a new marketing strategy. But let me get back to the first question. What is the solution to getting your finished movie to a live audience--an audience that will connect with your story and will pay money to buy it the DVD.
So how about renting out theaters? That's what Hunter Weeks did. Problem is that they tend to require a large upfront payment or they might risk a split of ticket sales if they think you can attract an paying audience (can you?). I very nearly followed this strategy myself wanting to do anything to get my film in front of an audience. Why not bring the the theater to the audience?
Here's my idea: purchase a large outdoor projection screen, a high-output projector, and a sound system and start book outdoor showings at cities where your audience already exists. This could be locations where the movie was filmed, or perhaps locations that relate to your storyline. Get the venues at no charge by offering the movie as a free community event and sell DVDs to help cover expenses. You'll probably still not make your money back, but it'd be great promotion to get some buzz going about the movie. And it'd be a fun event for the communities that participate. Every one loves movies-in-the-park.
Summary:
- Locate your audience where they already are
- Bring your film to them
- Offer the event for free to the community
- Sell DVDs at the event
Isn't this what indie bands do? Why aren't filmmakers on board yet? Is someone doing this already? This isn't just theory--I'm personally doing it myself. I'm booking 45 cities this fall and bringing my own movie event to the people. Venues have been receptive--they are offering use of their locations at no charge. Will it work? Will it be profitable? I don't know...yet...
What do you think?
