A Case for Social Media, Outreach, Marketing and Distribution Producers

The first time I heard of a 50/50 film budget, I was like, yeah, right, like I’m going to spend 50% of my production budget on M&A (Marketing & Advertising).

That was the fall of 2009 after having spent all but $1K of my budget on MAKING a film. The remaining 1K was earmarked for festival submissions.  Not long after I started spending my own money to cover outreach and marketing expenses so the film would meet some deserving eye balls.  Not including my labor, 20% of the production budget for distribution seemed about right.  But then I started factoring in my time and realized how long an outreach, marketing and distribution process lasts. 50% now was very reasonable.

Documentary Distribution Update

Peter Broderick, an independent film distribution consultant and strategist posted this month on getting ready for festivals, with Sundance about to start.  Getting into Sundance is something many of us dream of and so few achieve.  Needless to say, the advice goes beyond festivals and also provides a good check list, and primer on independent distribution windows, strategies and current trends; a definite must read if you’re about to, in the midst of, or thinking of distributing anything with pixels, consecutive frames and sound...   

 

Peter links to a post by Thom Powers Distribution Advice for 2014 – a must read, especially for doc filmmakers and to Ted Hope’s blog who in effect has curated a list about all things festival – and distribution – and this list is being updated as we move along! That should keep you busy for at least a while… once you’re done, why don’t you share what you learned here?

If You Ain't Livin' On Edge, You're Takin' Too Much Space

The first time I heard the quote: "If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space" was at "The Conversation" at Columbia University, March of 2010.  It was an exciting time, the internet and social media in particular were changing how a filmmaker - or any artist, content producer and creative - shared their wares with his or her audience and fan base. We now had direct access to audiences without layers of sales agents, distributors, aggregators, studios, etc.  We could engage directly, get our messages out AND (potentially) make some money.

Not screening in a Theatre? No problem…

We are at a stage in the distribution of Abraham’s Children were we hold grass-roots semi-theatrical screenings. What that means is we go to non-traditional venues, like school auditoriums and class rooms, mosques, meeting halls and living rooms to show the film. Last weekend I had the good fortune to show Abraham’s Children twice myself. Once at a high school auditorium and once in a 1-12K private school whose auditorium also functions as a prayer room.

Early on, Caitlin Boyle of Film Sprout had warned a bunch of us filmmakers at her (awesome) workshop on grass roots distribution outreach for social change documentaries, to let go of having the film screened in a ‘perfect’ setting. I took that to mean, that the film might be shown in 4:3 format rather than the intended 16:9 (widescreen) or that the sound was not going to be perfect, etc. I also assumed that I would not be there to have to witness it.

SO on Friday and Saturday I made sure we had it all set up perfectly – right aspect ratio, sound as balanced as possible with the sound system available, room darkened, temperature right, etc. Friday: perfect! Saturday? Not so. For reasons beyond my control it was decided stop the film after it was only about 80% done. Whaat?

Reason being, they had simply run out of time and needed the room for something else. I was dumb folded. Why invite me to attend? Why go through the trouble of holding a screening of a film whose length is known? Why schedule a speech and Q&A session with the director? The Q&A turned into a discussion in the hallway with a few interested parties and I was back at my car before I knew it. It was a bizarre experience and something tells me: not the last.

Moral of the story: you can only control so much and then you have to let go. You where right, Caitlin (and Mom).

All I can say: donate $50, get the DVD shipped to your home and FINISH watching it!

Screening Photos - Abraham's Children Premiere

I can't tell you how wonderful it was to see (nearly) all the kids and their families in the same place and have them all meet and then have them up on stage with the crew! Thank you for all that came to the Premiere of Abraham's Children at the New World High School in the Bronx! It was a trek for those not from the hood, but I hope it was worth it.

And please, don't be shy ACT! and donate to get this film into classrooms! Thank you.

Photos are courtesy of Bob Cowin and Marc Seago.

Yasmine, Susan, Isma, Teresa, Claudia, Terry, Marc, Saraj, Tariq, Kasem & Ahmed

Terry, Claudia, Saraj, Tariq, Kasem, Ahmed, Haleema, Anam, Dareen, Nina















Yasmine with Teresa Pereira and Sister Susan

Ahmed and Saraj

My friend and supporter, Betsy holding up a donation envelope.

One Educator = $1

We are launching the "ONE EDUCATOR = $1" Campaign!

We are raising funds to help us distribute Abraham's Children to educators and get the film into as many American classrooms as possible. Act! and help us achieve our goals. $1 pays for a postcard to an educator and we are sending out over 3,000 cards. Share, educate and contribute!

Donating is easy. Go to our "Donate" page. One dollar, hundred dollars, what ever you can give. Get a DVD copy of Abraham's Children, a "thank you" credit on our website, a poster and we have other cool thank you gifts. Check it out.

The Conversation

Yesterday the Conversation happened. That is, THE CONVERSATION on Social Media, Digital Distribution and the Future of Film (Tweet: #convoNYC) at Columbia University in Manhattan.
Organizers, Scott Kirsner (who wrote one of my all time favorite books: Fans, Friends and Followers), Tiffany Shlain and Lance Weiler and http://www.workbookproject.com/) put together a full day of panels and beak out meetings that kept me focused for 9 hours straight. Really good stuff if you are an independent filmmaker and especially if you are in DIY distro mode with a documentary.

We are at a cross roads of our industry, not only as independent filmmakers but also as producers and conent-providers at large. The web, new technology and new ways of interaction with content of any kind, audience participation, instant access paired with very limited time resources are completely, totally and irrevocably changing how we consume media, how we engage in politics, social lives and just pretty much everything else. The generational divide of participants and non-participants is bigger than ever and has little to do with age, and everything to do with willingness to engage and sadly for many with insufficient access to computers and the internet.

There were so many things yesterday that were of micro interest to an independent filmmaker, but the bigger picture was ever present in the back (and the front) of the room. My head is still spinning with all the awesome possibilities that not necessarily cost much in terms of technology or bells and whistles, but do tend to take a huge amount of engagement, sic. time, sic. labor and sic. cost.

After all that, my two favorites take-aways from the day had nothing to do with being at the cutting edge in terms of knowledge or technical savvy, but just two quotes that would have been equally as pertinent 20 years ago, but do take a whole new meaning in today's environment.

The first, attributed to one of the organizers of this amazing event, Tiffany Shlane - more precisely her father: "If you're not living on the edge you're taking up too much space." And the other, uttered as a throw away sentence summing up the panel he participated in by Richard Lorber: "Everything is possible and nothing is working". Imight ad a resounding "YET" to the last quote. On on we plod....

What I learned - the abstract stuff continued...

This is something I seem to have to learn over and over again.  I had a teacher once tell me: "if it smells fishy and looks fishy, it is fishy".   Whenever I dismiss my gut feeling I'm in trouble.  Instinct is a fine thing, but you also need to have the guts to follow it.  Right! 

Remember that when making those quick production and slow post production and glacial distribution decisions: instinct and courage.

What I learned - distribution, part 2

In the book "Think Outside the Box Office" by John Reiss is an entire section I have been ignoring: "Sanity and the Future".  The first chapter is:  "Keeping Sane".   Last night I took that chapter to bed with me and as I read it I must have had a hundred "AHA" moments.    As in: "Wow, I'm not the only one who feels like she's working into a black abyss of self-distribution" - it was like reading confessions of a "DIY-Distributor's Anonymous" meeting. - DIYDA.

The book talks about other things the fact that creative talent hates to deal with the business side of things, but that's not even it for me.  I'm a producer and I run small business and I actually very much enjoy the business side of things, but what drives me absolutely NUTS is the fact that everything moves at a glacial (as in when glaciers didn't melt yet) pace.   In production decisions are made fast and you get bids, crews, equipment, answers, etc. immediately.    Now everything feels like pulling teeth - and very slowly so.  Consultant Peter Broderick gave me one good piece of advice:  don't rush anything, take your time to decide what to do....  great advice, especially for a producer, but more than not it feels like I don't have a choice either. 

I think a very obvious piece of advice and one I wish I would have gotten from the get go would be: your film is not like any other film and what worked for others will not necessarily work for you - sounds really straight forward, no?  Yes, and no.  There are SO MANY moving variables.  Every decision you make has ramifications for other venues of distribution and some of them demand a very strict sequence of distribution, lest you shoot yourself in the foot and have your world premiere inadvertently with a small screening in a library and the big film festival you've been dreaming about will now no longer consider your film.  

I would say, first and foremost:  learn who likes your film; show your film:  who loves your film, who responds to your film - how do different groups react? Are there common denominators with groups of people, e.g. educators, women, religious groups, professionals? LISTEN....

What I learned - distribution, part 1

Have you heard about the "new hybrid distribution model" for films?  I hear you cry.  A quick tutorial from my beginners POV:  in the olden days (like 12 months ago, ok, maybe 24 months), it seems that you finished a film, put it out to distribution companies hoping that someone would sign you.  And either you signed and then had THEM do all the work FOR YOU - for a (smallish) cut of the profits or you went into the corner without a distribution deal and cried.   The pros to this approach:  you where done with your film. The con: you where done with your film.  So far so good.

Now, if you have a narrative film I think that's still a pretty good model, since they tend to need a theatrical or TV release.   However if you have a documentary with a social message, then maybe you want to make sure it gets seen by the right people - those who care about your topic, or even better, those who don't - YET. Are you with me?

A few years back and with the help of the interweb, sorry I mean the internet, artists, filmmakers, producers and the like where able to reach their fans, friends and followers directly.  And all of a sudden giving away all your rights to ONE company seemed insane.  Add to that a lousy economy and a hugely risk adverse studio and distribution community and BINGO - the new hybrid distribution model.  DIY distribution (do-it-yourself - for those of you who are acronym-challenged - me included).

Today, thanks to the internet and social networking you can do it all yourself.  That is:  IF: you have the upfront money, never need to sleep, have no family and love abuse.

For now I leave you with two books that are an absolute must read if you are self-distributing or considering it:

For ANYTHING self-distributed:  "Fans, Friends & Followers", by Scott Kirshner - very inspiring and informative.

If you are self-distributing a film:  "Think Outside the Box Office", by Jon Reiss - very detailed and as far I can tell, timely.