Compiled tweets of #totbo by @circlesoffire @jakestetler @zaffi @jon_reiss @shericandler @milesmaker @variancefilms @julietterichey
The following notes are of the Think Outside the Box Office workshop by Jon Reiss being held in NYC. I wanted to go, but have other commitments that I needed to keep to. However, by following fellow tweeters attending the workshop I hope to get as much as I can and share that with everyone else.
Below are the notes I’ve compiled are from the tweets of these individuals attending the workshop on Day 01
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Who is Jon Reiss and why is he giving this workshop?
#ThinkOutsideTheBoxOffice, or hybrid creative distribution strategies.
Jon Reiss is a filmmaker who made #BombIt, took it to fests, and thought he’d get traditional distribution. “We thought we did everything right.” @Jon_Reiss. Premiered at a major fest (Tribeca), had major PR, and packed the theaters. And……Nothing happened. A week later #BombIt was a bootleg on Canal Street. So, now @Jon_Reiss is here to teach us what he learned.
The days of the “overall deal” in film distribution is all but over. When you leave the world of overall deals (all rights domestic/foreign for 15-20 yrs), you enter the world of “split rights.”
@Jon_Reiss is a believer in working with other people/companies to get this work done — you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. The cost of theatrical for #BombIt was $30K, though @Jon_Reiss budgeted $13K. “You all are indie filmmakers, you know how that goes.” @Jon_Reiss made $22K in the theatrical, so still a $8K loss. However, he then made $70K in self-released DVD sales.
And since @Jon_Reiss could control the “cross-collateralization” (how costs and income are reconciled), he could control that ledger. Distribution companies can tell you that the costs of your film were whatever they want — you don’t get to choose how to reconcile.
Fundamental Principle #1:
Each Film is Unique/Different and Needs to be Treated as Such. To treat your film as the unique product that it is, you need to take four things into consideration
Consideration #1: What do You Want/Need from your Film? Is it fame and fortune? Is it people in the seats? Is it changing the world?
The Second Consideration is the Film itself — it’s a gut check: how good is your film really? “I see so many films that are ‘done,’ but they’re really not done. They could use 15min being lopped off.”
Show your film to people other than your friends and family before you spend $$$ on getting it out there! Get a critical eye. I think having a group of creative advisors - folks who will call ” @#!*% ” - is valuable throughout the entire process.
Consideration #3: Your Audience! Who are they? How do they watch/buy/share media? Is it a niche or mass audience? The “long tail” marketing model looks like an L on a graph — the huge numbers for “mass” audiences also cost millions to market to. But the other end of that L (the smaller audience numbers) takes less money to market to, and comprises more specialized markets.
Identify the differences between the “niche” markets — a slice of the audience focused on a particular interest. ..and the “core” markets. These are generally the active participants, unusually motivated/well-connected mavens of your audience. Work your way “out” from the core audience folks of your audience, and you will be able to map your audiences over time.
The other piece about the “long tail” model is that it’s both about sizes of audiences *and* the reach of your film over time. The further away from your “core” audience that you get, the harder it is to reach them — it will take more time, more money.
And finally, Consideration #4: The new 50/50 — 50% of your time/$ to make the film, 50% of your time/$ to distribute the film.
“Films are like children — the first six months are the toughest, then it gets a little easier and a little easier.” And then, of course, they become teenagers and it’s a bit harder again. But you don’t abandon your children
Fundamental Principle #2:
Integrate Distribution and Marketing into the Filmmaking Process from the Start.
Good - Fast - Cheap | The three sides of the money quality triangle. Which sides do indies choose? Good and Cheap!
Just as you didn’t make your film on your own, you cannot do the distribution and marketing on your own. It’s IMPOSSIBLE.
The same way you have a DP, or an Editor, or any other work that you need to get done and don’t do - you need a PMD. The PMD is the Producer of Marketing and Distribution — the person who coordinates this work and makes sure it gets done.
Ideally, you should bring the PMD on at inception — they are needed before the DP, the UPM, etc. The PMD’s task? Write the dist/marketing plan, integrate it into the budget, identify and engage audiences. More PMD tasks: create promotional and cross-media elements, engage with distribution/marketing partners, hire the team. And finally, the PMD should coordinate your film’s release! Everything already mentioned happens before the release.
How do you find this person? Right now, the place to look would be business schools, and find social media and marketing mavens. In the future, you might be able to go to film schools and find your PMDs. That’s why @Jon_Reiss named it so folks could be trained.
One filmmaker here just said his team likes that their Social Media Coordinator doesn’t know much about film — it’s really worked.
my top 3 traits needed for a PMD. researcher, writer, relationship builder. Add in organization as a must too. “If you have investors, and you’re a producer, you *have* to do these PMD jobs. It has to be done.” I think what’s great about the PMD position is that it’s separating it from the *rest* of the work that the producer does.
Everybody has to make a living, and PMD skills are certainly marketable… but folks, if you don’t believe in the film, don’t do it
There are three main categories of rights to your film: Live 1) Event/Theatrical, 2) Merchandise and 3) Digital - As you think about the “what” of your film’s rights (events, merch, and digital), also think about the “when” of all those releases. This is called Creative Windowing — what makes sense for your film as it releases into the various markets, in various forms?
For my friends at #totbo please remember the cross-marketing potential of releasing/merching a soundtrack CD for your film (with real songs)
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Sheri Candler on Stage
“You want to establish how you want to be known. People relate to people — they don’t relate to a faceless entity.” recommends, at bare minimum, using your name and your picture to establish your personal brand online.
“You need to be contributing information, knowledge, expertise to help other people online. You want to be a resource.” What is your USP (Universal Selling Proposition)? This is your unique knowledge, strengths and how you can best help others.
Want to find out who you are now? @SheriCandler sends you to the www.OnlineIDcalculator.com to get started. Or just Google yourself — and this should be done regularly. At least the first page on Google should be all you!
Elements of your personal brand online: LinkedIn, IMDB, Personal website/blog, Twitter in your name, Wikipedia, Massify - Establishing those online elements in your name NOW will help you get to those solid Google results.
Engagement media means you’re engaging. You’re talking to people and they’re talking to you. It’s not just advertising.
Remember, everything that you write on the internet lives forever. Make sure that what you say is how you want people to know you. Commenting on big blog posts online is a way to build your brand online - but again, be careful and be strategic. (I’d add, be kind.)
Use Google Alerts to monitor what people are saying about you. Keep up with whether/how your name is propagating online.
Whenever a film that @SheriCandler is working on is mentioned, she thanks the author for the mention. #BestPractices
also recommends Addictomatic.com to keep track of your identity online.
Don’t let people tweet for you! Don’t let people sort your Facebook for you! Then THEY are talking for you! Often when people tweet for you, they don’t know what to say — they just advertise. It’s much better when you engage.
@SheriCandler recommends 30 min in the morning and 30 min in the evening to deal with the social media engagement.
Identifying your audience is not about selling out or writing to attract an audience. We’re also not talking about demographics (males 35-50, etc.). We’re talking about psychographics — what people are *interested* in.
Three reasons why a film doesn’t find an audience: 1) Lack of Interest. 2) Failed Production. 3) Failed Distribution
Nothing wrong with making a film only for yourself, where you are the only one interested in it. But don’t ask others to pay for it. Attempting to appeal to everyone with your film may ultimately make it UNappealing to everyone
Think about where online your audience gravitates — then go there and LISTEN.
@Jon_Reiss: use google alerts abt the subject of your film as source mat for blogging. @SheriCandler’s recs for more Twitter resources — Twitter’s AdvanceSearch function, MrTweet and OneForty.com
When you’re updating about your film, think more broadly than posting production stills, posting vids, and flooding your streams. “For every ten tweets, you can have one that’s about you.”
It takes time. It takes constant work. You’re not going to have 1000 followers tomorrow. Don’t post so often that it turns people off. Don’t post so infrequently that it fades away completely. These tools work best if you treat them as a two-way conversation, not an advertising outlet.
When you receive negative feedback, comments and people questioning your sincerity, treat these an opportunities to engage. Twitter and Facebook aren’t just propaganda machines.
Smartphones. They make a HUGE difference and are worth the investment. Smartphones offer moments to access/monitor all day
Q: What do you do to get followers on Twitter?
A: Post a lot. Post relevant content online.
I don’t really believe in big numbers. Big numbers alone don’t pay. What you want is engaged numbers. Don’t use machines, or auto-bots, or following machines. Don’t fool yourself - those 10 or 15K followers aren’t doing you any good
“Unique visitors” — and how many “repeat visitors” or folks who come back to you — are the important numbers to track. Remember to frame your audience engagement as a question — ask folks what they think, what they want, and engage with the answers.
Engagement media: Keep content fresh, engaging, enlist help of the production team, provide calls to action/interaction
@SheriCandler is also recommending MovieSet.com as a one-stop shop for social media integration for your films
With all this Facebook/Twitter/Tumblr automation, why do you need a website? BECAUSE YOU CONTROL/OWN THE DATA
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Breaking down the theatrical release / live event.
You must consider scaling your ticket prices if you’re committed to encouraging diverse participation. The more you can create a sense of your film as an event the better.
Emerge from the Dark! Redefine the theatrical experience to LIVE event theatrical—any place, anytime, any media0 Whenever you screen your film in front of a group of people, from beginning to end, in the conditions you intend - that’s THEATRICAL.
Creating an event will help you break through the media landscape with your film — you’re not just another flick at the theater.
How do you create an event out of your film? - So far, the audience has offered Cast & Crew, Celebrities, Live Music, ARG Destination, Audience Interactivity, Auctions
The cast and crew option is the least interesting (depending on your cast and crew), but the easiest to get. Embrace the short run — it can be your best friend! One Night Bookings will help make your film an event.
Cross-artform event is an option. In the past, @Trigonis has screened his film w/poetry reading and live music. Except for @Jon_Reiss’ LA run, all of #BombIt’s one night bookings did better than the week-long runs.
One night bookings create urgency, they’re easier to book, and you make more money. Give up your Fri/Sat night snobbery — book on any other day of the week and be more likely to get screens and folks to see them.
A more expensive, more complex but potentially extremely lucrative option: a national/global one-night event. If your ambitions aim at global one-night events, check out ArtsAllianceMedia.com who provide infrastructure for such things. For a national event like this, it can cost $125K and require a DVD holdback, with revenue currently around a 50/50 split.
Check out Anvil! The Story of Anvil as a great example of the mix of live music with theatrical screening - to the benefit of both.
Use an alternative venue that makes sense for your film to make your film an event. Screen a horror flick in a cemetary, for example. Quick Event-Builders: 1) sell advance tickets, 2) giveaways (like high quality posters), and 3) raffles.
Interestingly, movie theaters did raffles in the 1950s when they were threatened by that new-fangled medium television.
Film festivals are not the sole theatrical release - they should be part of it. You connect with indies and motivated film lovers. There’s a lot of discussion right now about how to coordinate your release around your Sundance premiere. If your core audience doesn’t go to film festivals, then the only reason why you’d take your film to festivals is for you.
If you core audience goes to church and watches movies in churches, then screen in churches! my caveat to a Sundance or big fest premiere as release, you often aren’t told you are officially in until a month before the fest
Unless, of course, you just *have* to be in Sundance, or Cannes, or Berlin, or whatever for your ego. Then spend the $.
Think about TIME when it comes to your film — is there a day, week, or month that would be effective or amusing or important? For example, 4/20 or National Stoner Day is the day that Super High Me released. Do you have a day that fits your flick?
for what it costs to fly four people, lodging, food, and five days at Sundance, I can execute a nationwide theatrical.
Traditionally, there was a two-month window — you release the movie in theaters, and two months later, release the DVD, etc. I think what’s worth saying is that these windows are now flexible — what’s important is strategically coordinating your releases. Don’t waste your brain around holding yourself to a “two-month” time slot, or any other number.
Be sure to overestimate how much time theaters need in advance to be able to book your films (frequently six months or more). it’s not a theatrical without audience outreach and press. 95% of auds don’t care about sundance
sequencing your releases can make sense in terms of 1) logistics and 2) building anticipation. Doing “everywhere now” is HARD. It may be effective, but I think spreading it out could help keep indies sane.
Three questions @Film_Sprout wants you to ask yourself about your film
1. Can you identify several distinct audience groups for your film?
2. Are these groups outward-looking and community-oriented?
3. Are they media and tech savvy?
Streaming, downloading and DVDs are all based on the same technology being available (the finished compressed digital file). DVDs require, of course, the additional disk of plastic and packaging to be ready. The packaging has to be designed and the fulfillment (receiving orders and shipping the disks) has to be in place.
Remember that every film is different and needs a unique dist maktng srtgy
@Film_Sprout’s services would generally cost around $30-35K. If you don’t want to spend that kind of money to have them do it, but still want to do community screenings, then make sure that you approach this with a lot of patience and flexibility.
You’re going to do a lot of educating, and one-to-one communicating. There’s nothing about community screenings that is cookie-cutter
People still respond to packaging, and the DVD is currently the only sales mechanism for films that includes packaging. I feel like this is about partnering with other artists to cross-pollinate the work. Find crafty folks to get involved with creating your merch — don’t do it all yourself!
TopSpin, the next gen of online shopping carts, says that items that cost more than $50 sell more than items priced less online. If a soundtrack is appropriate for your project, consider selling it on 12” vinyl. Better price point, higher motivated interest.
Packaging for live screenings: High quality booklets that enhance story add value to screening.
Day 01 Tweet Notes Compilation End
Belal Khan
