short film marketing

7/30/2019 Short film marketing

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/short-film-marketing 1/16

SHORT FILM

producers guide



The marketing life of your short lmis generally no longer than two yearsso it’s crucial to capitalise on this

time by developing a clearmarketing strategy.

Ideally your marketing strategyshould be drafted alongside thedevelopment of your project. Thiswill ensure that you allocate abudget for your promotional needsand schedule time during flming to

complete your publicity activities(media set visit, stills photographyetc).

T his guide c an assist y ou in t he c r eat ion of y our shor t lm or low budget f eat ur e lm mar k et ing st r at egy . ] [

Producers GuideOverview



Your marketing strategyshould address these keyelements:

1. Project Overview

2. Marketing Objectives

3. Target Markets

4. Promotion

5. Film Festival Strategy 6. Press Kit

“Professor Pebbles”

Marketing strategywhat to include ?



Your marketing strategy shouldstart with a project overview.

This is a short description of your project (one or two para)

including the genre, subjectmatter and the unique featuresthat set it apart from other shortlms (e.g. rst-time lmmaker,

innovative lmmaking style).

Project Overview

“Storytime”



Your marketing objectives shouldbe three or four key aims that willdene and shape your marketing

strategy.

The objectives should be based

on your project’s strengths and

weaknesses and the current

state of the global lm economy.

While your key marketing objective should be to gainrecognition and the widest audience possible youshould also consider these questions when dening

your objectives:

Do you have other projects that you hope to securenancing for or promote as a result of your marketing

of this project?

Do you want to connect with a sales agent or other lmmakers by attending lm festivals?

Will you target lm festivals or distribute the lm

electronically? (e.g. via iTunes)

What research or consultation have you undertakento assist with developing your objectives?

Is the short lm/independent lm market booming or

experiencing a downturn? If so, how will this affectyour project?

“ Talkabout Walkabout”

Marketing Objectives



Identify and describe the type of market(s) that would be interestedin your short lm.

You can describe this in relationto demographics e.g. gender, agerange, subculture (distinctionsbased on ethnicity, class, location

etc) and values.

Your target markets will help toshape your lm festival strategy and

inform all steps of your marketingstrategy. [ TIP! ]

Target Markets

“Done Dirt Cheap”

Consider w hat media y our t ar get mar k et s c onsume / r ely upon f or inf or mat ion ( e.g. pr int , r adio, T V , int er net ) as t his w ill inf or m y our pr omot ional ac t iv it ies.



Your promotional activities should meetyour marketing objectives by utilisingsome or all of these elements:

Internet• (e.g. website, blogging) andsocial marketing (e.g. Facebook,MySpace, YouTube, Twitter)

Publicrelations• (e.g. releasing amedia statement)

Advertising• (e.g. print, radio,television, internet)

Marketingmaterials• (posters, yers,

postcards etc)

Your choice of promotional activitiesshould also be tailored to the mediausage of your target market (e.g. if your target market is middle-aged then you

should utilise traditional media includingnewspapers and radio).

“ The Deep End”

Promotion



Promotion cont.

Film festivals receive large amounts of marketing material from lmmakers; as a result

this material can go to waste, especially if youare not physically at the festival to hand out thematerial to the public. Marketing material for short lm submissions may also not contribute

to the festival’s consideration of the lm.

Your materials are more likely to be utilised bya festival if the design is strong (e.g. aneye-catching poster) or if the design matches

the festival’s image / brand.

Some lms are submitted with a ‘designer’

hard-copy press kit, however this may be an

unnecessary cost and only relevant if the lm

has been selected for a market that is attachedto a lm festival.

An electronic press kit with good quality

electronic stills is usually all that is required to

accompany your flm entry.

Marketing materials are not always the

most cost effective way of achievingyour marketing objectives.

Before you produce any marketingmaterials you should consider thesequestions:

What is their purpose?•

Will the materials direct people to a•

website for further information or promote a specic screening?

Where will the materials be•

distributed? This should affect the

content and type of marketingmaterial you produce.



[ TIP! ]

If your lm is selected for a lm festival,you are recommended to contact thefestival publicist to discuss:

Ways you can assist with promotingyour project;

Local newspapers to actively pitchstories for media coverage;

Whether marketing material for your lm will be effectively used or if it will go

to waste;

How much marketing material youshould deliver (if required); and

Also inform the publicist of previousfestival screenings and any relevantterritory premieres (e.g. North Americanpremiere).

If y ou ar e selec t ed t o a high pr ole f est iv al t hen c onsider r eleasing a media st at ement . Any media c lippings should be sc anned and inc luded in y our pr ess k it as public it y is v iew ed f av or ably by f est iv als.

“ Karla”

[ TIP ! ]

Promotion cont.



Film Festival

Your festival strategy shouldbe based on your marketingobjectives, target market(s)and the unique features of your lm.

Start by targeting festivals locally (e.g. inyour home city/state) so you can build a

prole and support network for your lm,

especially if you utilise social media (e.g.Facebook, Twitter). The prole of your

lm will be viewed favorably by other lm

festivals as an indication of your lm’spotential audience and success.

Be aware of territory premieres: afestival may not screen a lm that has

previously screened in the same city/

state/country.

If you do not have experience with

entering lm festivals, seek advice froma producer who does.

If you have been selected for a festival,contact any lmmaker you know who

has previously been accepted to thefestival for tips and advice, especially if

you aim to attend the festival.

StrategyConsider these points when creatingyour lm festival strategy:

What festivals will you be targeting andwhy?

Is your festival strategy realistic? Manylmmakers aim for a screening at

one of the prestige lm festivals (e.g.

Cannes, Sundance, Toronto) but thesefestivals only select a small number of very high quality lms. Be realistic

about your festival prospects and don’twaste time and money by enteringfestivals that may not be relevant toyour lm.

Research the type of lms (genres)

that are usually programmed at lmfestivals. i.e. if you have made a shortobservational doco and a lm festival

only usually screens short comediesthen you should not be targeting that

lm festival.



[ T I P ! ]

Press Kit

Unless ot her w ise spec ied by t he lm f est iv al, all of t his mat er ial should be sent elec t r onic ally or on a CD / DV D.

This is an example of the information and material

you should include in your press kit:

One-liner / tag line*•

Short synopsis (one or two paragraphs)•

Long synopsis (less than one A4 page)•

Production images**•

A medium close up shot of the director •

Director’s statement***•

Short bio/CV of the key creatives (e.g. producer,• writer, director)Technical specications (e.g. language, duration,•

ratio, shooting format, screening format, sound)Festival and award success•

Cast and crew credit list•

Contact information and link to website•

Scanned press clippings (include the name of •

the publication, page number and date)

These items should be available on request:

Post production script•

Rights clearances•

Additional stills•

“Medusa: First Date”



Press Kit cont.

***Director’sstatement :Include info about anyprojects that are in devand mention anythingunique about the director

that a journalist would beinterested in e.g. rst time

lmmaker or personal

connection to the story.

*One-liner/tagline: Things to consider: can a journalist easilyinclude this in a story? Is the statement comprehensible to a reader?

Can a publicist easily include the line in a media statement? Ask afriend/someone not closely connected to the lm if this accurately

reects the core of the lm.

**Productionstills: Hopefully you have a number of photos takenby a professional photographer (and are not relying on potentially lowresolution screen grabs) so that you have eye-catching production

and behind-the-scenes images to offer to the media and festivals.

Eye-catching images are more likely to be used in festival marketing

materials, which will increase the prole of your screening. Imagesshould be colour (unless your lm is B&W) and you should submit

two electronic formats for each image: high resolution format for printreproduction (300 dpi, at least 1MB, CYMK); and low res format for

websites (72 dpi, RGB). All images should be electronically labelledidentifying all cast and crew in the image as well as describe theresolution format (e.g. Director_Bill_Bloggs_on_set_of_FILM_ TITLE_300DPI.EPS). A photo log can also be provided as a Worddocument with a list of each image le name and the corresponding

caption (e.g. L-R Director Bill Bloggs on set in Albany with actors

Tony Mac (‘Jimmy’) and Jane Betts (‘Jessica’)); the name of the pho-

tographer for crediting; and copyright information (e.g. Copyright Joe

Bloggs Films). The festival may specify how many images you cansubmit or you should send 1 or 2 set-up poster shots; 2 or 3 A shots

(which tell the story of the lm in one shot); character shots includ-

ing a medium close up of each of the principal cast; key relationship

shots; and 5 set-up behind the scenes shots. “My Shout”



Other TipsContinue to rene and revise your press kit and

marketing strategy based on feedback received and

recent news/festival screenings; these documentsshould not be static.

Seek advice from fellow lmmakers and attend

events where you can gain knowledge from proswith years of experience.

Success with a short lm can lead to interest from a

talent agent to represent you and help you get more

work. If your lm is in a high prole festival it mayget noticed by a visiting agent or you can submityour lm to local and international agents.

Withoutabox.com and ShortFilmDepot.com enablelmmakers to easily enter multiple lm festivals

online and receive notications of upcoming festival

entry deadlines.

Save time and money by setting up a free Blog that

can function as the website for your lm e.g.Wordpress.com, Typepad.com, Blogger.com.

Keep your short lm short (10mins or less) andsnappy to increase your chances of festivalselection.

Tips for lm festival submissions:

Regularly update IMDB and Withoutabox with your screenings and award wins to increase your chancesof festival selection.

Avoid buying cheap quality DVDs as they are moreprone to faults.

Before you submit a DVD to a festival, check that itworks on a few different DVD players.

Check that your DVD is the correct region code andthat it is the correct television encodingsystem for the territory (e.g. NTSC or PAL).

Label all DVDs / tapes clearly with the title, length,

aspect ratio, contact name and contact details.

Consider putting a watermark on the screener DVDfor security purposes. This can be a logo or text

but don’t make it too obvious or distracting for theviewer; a simple visible watermark in the bottom

corner is sufcient. The watermark can be set for the

duration of the lm or set to appear every 20mins or

so for a few moments at a time.

https://www.withoutabox.com/

http://www.shortfilmdepot.com/index.php?nlang=2

http://wordpress.com/

http://www.typepad.com/

https://www.blogger.com/start

https://www.blogger.com/start

http://www.typepad.com/

http://wordpress.com/

http://www.shortfilmdepot.com/index.php?nlang=2

https://www.withoutabox.com/



The Flickerfest Filmmakers Resourcewebsite has useful tips on how tomaximise your time on the lm festival

circuit.

The AFC (now Screen Australia) releasedthe document Marketing Short Films

Internationally in May 2004. Note thatsome of the funding info is no longer

relevant and the festival deadlines anddetails may be out of date.

The Young Filmmakers Fund Marketing

Guide is available from the ScreenNSWwebsite (formerly the NSW Film and TVofce).

The Film & Television Institute (FTI) has

forums on their website where you canpost marketing related questions.

Shortlmcentral.com is an internationalshort lm database where you can create

a short lm prole.

WEBSITES FOR MORE INFO

This great YouTube clip (9mins) fromScreen Yorkshire is a concise intro tomarketing your short lm including what

will increase/decrease your chances of

being selected into a festival and the im-

portance of attending festivals and watch-

ing other shorts to see what has alreadybeen made – so that you make a uniquelm that will be accepted into festivals.

The BBC Film Network website has abreakdown of a short lm marketing

lifecycle and other useful lmmaking

guides.

Cinemaroll.com has an info page with

creative promotional ideas and tips onhow to use social media to promote your lm.

“Edgar and Elizabeth”

http://www.flickerfestfilmmakersresource.com/The_Festival_Circuit



http://www.afc.gov.au/downloads/pubs/market%20shorts.pdf


http://screen.nsw.gov.au/data/fund_file/15/MktgGde.pdf


http://www.fti.asn.au/forum/9/


http://www.shortfilmcentral.com/


http://www.screenyorkshire.co.uk/showcase/items/beyond-the-finishing-post-marketing-your-short-fil

http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/filmmaking/guide/distribution/marketing-your-short

http://cinemaroll.com/cinemarolling/marketing-exhibiting-and-distributing-your-short-film/

http://cinemaroll.com/cinemarolling/marketing-exhibiting-and-distributing-your-short-film/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/filmmaking/guide/distribution/marketing-your-short

http://www.screenyorkshire.co.uk/showcase/items/beyond-the-finishing-post-marketing-your-short-fil











ScreenWest’s Short Film and Self Funded Low Budget Feature MarketingProgram provides funding to assist newer lmmakers in WA to cover some of the

costs of marketing and promoting their lm.

Funding is in the form of a grant of up to$2,000 per applicant, intended to cover

the creation of press kits, dubbing,postage etc.

Funding is limited and applications will beassessed competitively. Films producedthrough a course of study are not eligibleto apply.

For further information read the programguidelines on the ScreenWest website.

ScreenWest Funding

“Mabuji”

http://www.screenwest.com.au/go/funding/funding-programs

http://www.screenwest.com.au/go/funding/funding-programs



ScreenWest Contact Info

About This GuideStaff from ScreenWest and The Film & Television Institute (FTI) provided input into

the content of this guide. ScreenWest also consulted with members of the Western Australian screen industry. The websites and documents listed in this guide werereferenced in its creation.

Some of the images used in this guide are from short lms made with the assistance

of ScreenWest, Lotterywest and/or the Film & Television Institute (FTI).

These images are credited to the following people: Talkabout Walkabout (Ashley dePrazer), The Deep End (Josh Weeks), Edgar and Elizabeth (Ulli Krafzik) and Mabuji (Torstein Dyrting).

Address: Level 7, Law Chambers, 573 Hay St Perth WA 6000

Phone: +618 9224 7340

Fax: +618 9224 7340Email: [email protected]: www.screenwest.com.au

ScreenWest would appreciate your feedback on this document and if it has been of

use to you. Please send your feedback to [email protected]

Copyright © ScreenWest January 2010

short film marketing

Documents