I just skimmed Reiss's first article and find it, um, largely useless. How do you go from making a DIY film to getting it on the festival circuit where you might then get some distribution and/or publicity help? How did Reiss get into these fests to begin with? What was his budget and network like?
Reiss acts like hiring assistants and publicists is something everyone can afford. Even then, his model sounds unsustainable and dangerous to an artist's creative process. Personally, I think what we need is to stoke popular interest in (genuinely) challenging indie films such as FROWNLAND. You can't target a demographic that barely exists in a market that doesn't want it.
I mean, I didn't start listening to non-mainstream bands like No Age or Animal Collective because it was well marketed to me by their labels -- I heard about them through blogs and reviews and friends and loved their music.
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posted by @ 4/26/2009 5:20 PM
I'm not quite sure I get your questions. I think Jon's pretty clear that he didn't have much money and that he convinced his investor to kick in a little bit for his DIY distribution approach. He talks about how he had to cut deals for his publicist by hiring someone who doesn't strictly do film and offering her a deferment deal. What Jon had was less of a network than a knowledge base that came from doing DIY tours of media to punk rock clubs in the 80s.
But with regards to the Frownland comparison, I think you are comparing apples and oranges. Frownland is a tough, uncompromising fiction feature; Bomb It is a documentary on a subject matter that has interest to a niche audience of non-film people in addition to the people who just like good docs. And I think Jon would be the first tell you that it's not about top-down marketing but instead facilitating those networks of fans and followers.
If you have any thoughts on how exactly to stoke popular interest in challenging indie films such as Frownland beyond what all of its supporters have already done, let me know. Or maybe I should ask Ronnie and Marc, his producer, to comment. They are currently self-distributing around the country right now.
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posted by Scott Macaulay @ 4/26/2009 5:54 PM
"...he convinced his investor to kick in a little bit for his DIY distribution approach. He talks about how he had to cut deals for his publicist by hiring someone who doesn't strictly do film and offering her a deferment deal."
But how did he get an investor? How did he get his doc into his first fests? That seems like really helpful nuts-and-bolts stuff a budding young filmmaker could use. His article covers Steps 3-10, so to speak. That's all very well and good, but I'm interested in Steps 1 & 2.
"If you have any thoughts on how exactly to stoke popular interest in challenging indie films such as Frownland beyond what all of its supporters have already done, let me know."
I think you answered your own question. I'm of the opinion that they're no thing better than a film simply having vocal supporters in the media, blogosphere, fellow filmmakers, etc. That's where it has to start. I'd like to see film blogs, magazines, critics, etc. spend less time discussing blockbusters, safely canonized filmmakers, and Indiewood pics that have enough press already, and more time discussing projects that could actually use the press. I mean, do we really need Manohla Dargis reviewing "17 Again"? Does the Onion AV Club need to devote podcast to "Observe and Report"? Does Spout really need to do a Variety/Hollywood Reporter roundup?
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posted by @ 4/26/2009 7:06 PM
I would find great value in articles on...
1. negotiating and leveraging film markets like AFM, etc.
2. financial and logistical realities of touring a film theatrically from city to city as Todd Sklar, Hunter Weeks and Zeke Zelker have done.
3. New models of Sponsorship by corporate entities and how best to shape that toward something sustainable
4. Patronage - reading about this in Friends, fans and Followers right now, but I'd like to hear more about how a community of fans can best be motivated to support the work... such as by monetizing DVDs, t-shirts, posters, etc while giving the digital content away for "free" via peer to peer, hulu, and other online venues.
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posted by Zak Forsman @ Sabi Pictures @ 4/26/2009 9:17 PM
I don't know what Anonymous is talking about. These are excellent articles.
I would love to hear from one of the straight to video distributors about stuff they look for, budgets they expect, and maybe even some numbers, like, how many DVDs do they sell for an indie that hasn't been in a theater? Is it really possible to make a low budget film and make the money back on straight to DVD? I'm sure a studio could do it, but even they have a hard time with it and they have real m+a budgets.
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posted by pangofilms @ 4/26/2009 9:24 PM
What about a how-to guide for picking up hot chicks at film festivals?
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posted by @ 4/27/2009 12:07 AM
I'd second the comment about the Range Life tour - I'd love to read more about the nuts and bolts of that process, especially as Todd and crew prepare their second tour. As alternative means of digital distribution get more prevalent (and don't get me wrong, I'm interested in that as well), I love the idea of a bunch of dudes merging shoestring filmmaking with old fashioned big screen showmanship.
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posted by David Lowery @ 4/27/2009 12:44 AM
I would be interested in information on how to promote short films and films that don't easily fit into neat categories.
Also, since having a good website is essential, is it possible to have reviews of hosting sites/design platforms that are especially suited to the needs of a filmmaker?
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posted by Jessica @ 4/27/2009 7:04 AM
Hi - I was sent to this post from the Shadow And Act black cinema website.
My thoughts:
- I like reading about success stories, especially those about unknown filmmakers like myself who, through luck or just sheer will and perseverance, or both, completed a film, got it distributed, whether it was picked up by a distributor, or they self-distributed it. I know you already feature those, but they never get old to me. They're encouraging and informative.
- All that said, I also would like to read about failures - especially when success seemed certain.
- It might also be really interesting to shadow a filmmaker as he/she goes through the process - preferably an "unknown" - from the completion of the script to the distribution of the film (if that happens). So, something like a serial. I suppose that would work better with a publication that was printed more frequently, or on your website instead of the print magazine. But, maybe there's something to be plucked from there.
- This might have already been covered in previous issues - I'd love to see features on filmmakers finding success strictly on the web; those filmmakers who have shunned or just given up on traditional methods, and have chosen to create content specifically for online distribution, like web serials, or shorts, or even features.
- How about devoting an issue to the "underground filmmakers, for lack of a better description. Those who aren't getting their films into prominent festivals (or any at all), and thus, no distribution anyone would be aware of - but are making challenging films and screening them at microcinemas across the country - whether a lounge, church, campus theatre, renting out a community center space, or 4-walling at venues like Anthology Film Archives; and then printing their own DVDs and selling them on their sites, or elsewhere, AND are actually making a living doing so.
That's all I have.
Thanks!
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posted by Strange Fruit @ 4/27/2009 10:49 AM
As a writer who's also a new director, I would personally enjoy more articles on 'transitional tips' regarding the many ways we can use being a writer-director to our advantage. Maybe some tips on how to effectively use our verbiage skills to help us translate what we're thinking on to the screen with our DPs in more technical or appropriate terms (whatever those may be!).
Thank you kindly.
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posted by Jentri @ 4/27/2009 11:45 AM
Thanks for all the comments. Strange Fruit, I would recommend you check out Scott Kirsner's new book, "Fans, Friends and Followers. (www.scottkirsner.com/fff) We have an excerpt in the new Filmmaker but if you go to his site you can download a larger section of it for free or buy an e-book edition. It's a whole book of interviews with people who have turned to the web to monetize their media.
There are definitely a number of things for me to follow up on here. For example, Jessica, I was just recommended to Joomla, which is an open source platform offering easy website design, and it's something I plan to check out myself.
As for Range Life, there are some details in the interview I did with Todd Sklar a few issues ago, but as he gears up for another tour (a much bigger one, incidentally), I'll find a way to get more detailed info from him.
Finally, Anonymous, I ran into Jon Reiss last night at a Tribeca party and I told him about this thread and asked him about how he got the project started and hooked up with an investor. First, he told me that he originally was going to write his whole story from inception of the film to release, but everyone told him that the DIY distribution stuff is what people are interested in now so he concentrated on that first. He said his second book will actually cover fundraising and production. But, in short, he filmed a giant chunk of the movie himself, on his credit cards (including sections in South Africa and other countries); applied to and got an Annenberg grant which he put towards the production; put together a 40-page business plan/presentation package and started circulating it and asking people about who was out there with an interest towards this kind of documentary; was told about the person who became the film's executive producer, who he didn't know, and then it went from there.
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posted by Scott Macaulay @ 4/28/2009 10:17 AM
