The
Variety headline reads:
Indie Filmmakers Still Looking for Internet Equation
In other words, indies can't seem to figure out how to leverage all the amazing free or cheap tools online to sell their movie, leaving them (still) at the mercy of festivals, distributors, sales reps, bookers and others.
I've done about 75 or 80 Q&A sessions and interviews following screenings of my movie,
The Graduates over the last year, and every single conversation involves the following question in some form (also from the Variety article):
The power of the Internet was supposed to level the playing field on which independent filmmakers and studios compete for audiences. So what happened?
The implication is that "level playing field" really means, or was supposed to mean "equal returns" or "massive audience" or "guaranteed attention." In short: we indie filmmakers want the same things for our films that we see studio pictures receiving: money; audience; reviews and buzz...
When I do interviews or Q&A's, Indie filmmakers and even indie film fans ask me how we do it, and how they can do it. The problem is, their eyes usually glaze over, or the hope and optimism is drained out of them when I give my answer, which is similar to another line in the Variety article:
One thing the Internet has clearly changed, observes distribution consultant Adam Chapnick, is access to an audience. "But having easy access to the global audience doesn't get anyone to see your movie," he says. A solid marketing strategy, whether traditional or digital, is still essential.
He's right- though digital platforms can make your film available anywhere, they can't (or, more accurately, won't) drive the audience to your film.
I can't outline in this one blog post all the things we've done- and all the things other companies have done for us and with us- to build our audience, but I will outline many in upcoming blog and vlog posts.
But before you dive further into what we've done on
The Graduates, there are three really important things to remember:
1. Like the article implied, nobody wants to see your movie. Yet.
It is up to you to build your audience from essentially zero. Your family and friends don't count. They're important, but they are not an audience, they're more like a birthday party. Sure they'll show up, and they'll be really supportive, but they're not going to bring tens of thousands of people.
2. Audience building starts in preproduction
Matt (my brother and producer on the film with me) and I started preparing for self distribution and audience building in preproduction. Though we had the usual hope of getting a distribution deal and having the hard work done for us, our success was not going to depend on any other person or company's help. You have all the resources you need to develop huge amounts of multimedia promotional content right now, so start immediately.
3. GREAT NEWS: The internet does, in fact, level the playing field
Digital platforms and free social media make it possible for you to drive a national audience to your film without spending serious money. To be clear, I'm not talking solely about digital release platforms like iTunes and AmazonVOD. 99% of the equation is the audience building that takes place online through free social media like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and other sites. If you don't have an audience, your digital availability is worthless.
So what did we do for
The Graduates? In short, we created tons of
free additional content on set and following production, and we continue to do so today. I'll outline a lot of ideas, both good and bad, in upcoming blog posts, starting with ideas for audience building in preproduction.
Just know that there is hope for indies and DIY filmmakers, but there is no magic digital platform that will guarantee success, income, digital prominence... The internet is the single greatest, most powerful tool indie filmmakers have ever had. The trick is fully exploiting that tool to bring the widest audience possible to your digital release.
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The Graduates on iTunes