THE IMPORTANT QUESTION

TheOpusFuller

TheOpusFuller

Alright, I'm posting this discussion in the Newbie thread because I think this is one major issue that needs to be looked at and flushed! I think the newbie section is the perfect home for what's about to be talked about. Every new independent filmmaker and every veteran should be involved in this little chit chat!

So, in my opinion, the issue that needs to be discussed here is what do we do once the film is finished.

For all you new filmmakers out there, for all you filmmakers who have been at this for years, how do you make someone give a damn about the film you have just completed. How do you make them interested enough to invest their time and money to purchase your dvd from your website and sit down and watch it!?

I think that is the question.

A lot of people, including myself make a movie. They make a damn good movie. But then it sits, collects dust and dies.

Think about it. Your name is John Doe and you just made a movie. It can be the next Pulp Fiction for all you know. But the average person out there in the world has no clue who the hell you are or what the hell your movie about. I think the important question here is how do we make that average person in the world curious as to who you are and WANT to find out and watch your movie. What can we do as filmmakers to make that person WANT to spend 10 bucks on your dvd and watch that movie.

I think this is worthy of discussion and I think all of us filmmakers Newbies and Oldies should chime in and flesh this out.

*Let's keep this DIY style. I don't want to bring in Hollywood or major distribution deals.... If you want my reasoning for this, just ask and I will gladly explain why we should start modeling our film distribution as a DIY model and stop thinking we have to rely on Hollywood to get anywhere in the world when it comes to Film distribution. :)


Thanks,

The Opus Fuller
www.theopusfuller.com
www.twitter.com/theopusfuller
 
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wheatgrinder said:
I'm simply proposing a new distribution model
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I know you are. And it's perfectly reasonable to expect that something like that may be adopted in the not-so-distant future. That's the part that scares me!

wheatgrinder said:
Seems to me consumers are actively "free editing" content today.
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Also true, but the filmmaker has no control over what the end consumer does. It's when the distributor starts dictating what an artist does or enables their work to be altered without their consent - as already happens on TV and aircraft - that I start circling the wagons.

wheatgrinder said:
The key to the idea is that it IS the filmaker who decides what content is reserved for viewers who are willing to pay the premium.
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As I stated earlier, if the creator is on board with it, I have no beef. Trouble is, the bottom line often intrudes and otherwise good work gets destroyed by numbers crunchers. Not everyone can stick to their guns like Terry Gilliam did with Brazil.

wheatgrinder said:
If you saw a decent movie on youtoob, you might be tempted to buy the DVD for the extended features, but if you knew you would get MORE movie, more of the filmmakers vision, more scares, or screams, or sex, then youd be much more willing to pay for the DVD.
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I'll always watch the director's cut, if available. To me, no other version counts. :)
 
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really interesting discussion here. i am a video blogger and know that it is an excellent way to advertise anything. at least 50 percent of viewers would view something free if you told them to (so the trailer maybe) and probably 10 percent of the 50 percent would buy it if they liked the look of it and had seen some of your work for free. so out of a 100, i really think at least 5 people would buy it.so If 10,000 subscribers watched it then you have 250 sales ( i think thats right, im not that good at maths) Vlogging is VERY effective. i say this from experience.
Callum ;->
 
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@ Smurfy:

You can expect a lot of trailers being brought to your attention ;)

The thought of a form of interactivity concerning the content is a nice view on things. Maybe there is a future in this.
Yesterday I watched the news and saw there's a interactive horrormovie in Germany. The viewers in the theater can get a phone call from the actors in the movie. They want advice: left or right? Run of fight?
Everytime another visitor gets a call.
I think it's a great concept: especially for horror, because you make the audience responsible for the horrific events :P
 
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I can see it now -

Choose your own adventure movies in IMAX 3D.

For the German one, they had to shoot alternate routes and such? And the theatre just skipped to the correct track for what the audience wanted?
 
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Someone else on these boards was reseaching this type of thing. Interesting they're doing already in Germany. This combined with 3D will make a very interesting experience in the coming decade or so.

Role Playing Movie watching? Not a bad idea :)

I can see it now: The call comes in, 5 min into the movie:

Left or Right?

I choose Left:

Bam! Character killed with an arrow, movie over after paying 10 bucks for 5 min of film. Want the movie longer, watch it again, pay 10 dollars, make a different decision!:lol:


I licence to print money I tell ya....
 
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Tinalera said:
Someone else on these boards was reseaching this type of thing. Interesting they're doing already in Germany. This combined with 3D will make a very interesting experience in the coming decade or so.

Role Playing Movie watching? Not a bad idea :)

I can see it now: The call comes in, 5 min into the movie:

Left or Right?

I choose Left:

Bam! Character killed with an arrow, movie over after paying 10 bucks for 5 min of film. Want the movie longer, watch it again, pay 10 dollars, make a different decision!:lol:


I licence to print money I tell ya....
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:lol:
I guess you will have to created a lot of plotlines with a good amount of tension before you say 'end'.
Without using 'double events' (every choice leads to an unique part of the story) you will end up with 128 scenarios if you have 7 moments where the audience can choose between 2 options.
This means the interactive movie must be thought throught carefully.
 
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Gonzo_Entertainment said:
Maybe not, but my latest rejection was from the Nashville Film festival. I know someone on the board (as a Nashville native), and 3 years ago they got about 900 submissions. This year they had close to 3000.
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I didn't even submit mine to NFF. Too much of a clique around here for one thing, they're probably not looking for horror, and the price tag was way too high.
 
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Every indie film you can mention off the top of your head had a big time producer from start to finish secretly planning and plotting the marketing of the film. Creating hype on your indie film just takes 3 main ingredients - 1. Money 2. Time 3. Good Product. I think what we all lack is money and time. So to compensate for this, we should save as much money for the marketing as possible, up to 40% of the budget if possible (I seriously wish I could of done this), and have a marketing plan before you start shooting your movie so that you can start marketing the film 2 years before it comes out. In the book Guerilla Marketing, it says that all the money in the world cant replace the amount of time it will take to build a loyal fan base.
So there you go, I hope this helps.
 
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I guess I'm lucky in that the total production budget for my doc will be well under 5000 Euros, so I'm just going to stick the damn thing on the net and hope it gets passed around. I'm helped by the fact that 100,000 people have already read the rough draft of the script, and there's a lot of interest. I hope to explode off the blocks with at least 50,000 viewers. I might make money by selling an extras package... A downloadable 1-2 hour package of outtakes; the making of, deleted scenes etc that I'll sell for 5 bucks.

To me, there's no other way. I suppose if you're trying to recoup millions that distro model becomes unworkable.

Who knows if it'll work... If it doesn't, I can take a 5000 Euro hit to my bank account in return for increased exposure.

Has no one else in the micro-budget range contemplated sticking the whole thing online, and hoping you gain a long term following in exchange for short term cash?
 
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MrBoss said:
Every indie film you can mention off the top of your head had a big time producer from start to finish secretly planning and plotting the marketing of the film. Creating hype on your indie film just takes 3 main ingredients - 1. Money 2. Time 3. Good Product. I think what we all lack is money and time. So to compensate for this, we should save as much money for the marketing as possible, up to 40% of the budget if possible (I seriously wish I could of done this), and have a marketing plan before you start shooting your movie so that you can start marketing the film 2 years before it comes out. In the book Guerilla Marketing, it says that all the money in the world cant replace the amount of time it will take to build a loyal fan base.
So there you go, I hope this helps.
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Holy cow, my thread is still going!? A lot of good discussion in this thing.

Hey James Boss, count on my buying your movie man. This your first feature you directed?
 
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