Are titles more than a marketing tool? They certainly can be that thing that encourages the desire, and the fond memory, the element that represents the art & the ambition, as well as being the reminder of the thing you want. Titles can tell us that the movie is distinct and worth our consideration (The Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind) or warn us that we may not be the correct audience for it (Blood _______). Good titles grow richer once we see the movie (The Ice Storm) and can move from seeming initially generic into some sort of deeper resonance (as Ang’s movie did).
The industry’s holy grail is often seen as the title that gives you a clear idea of both the tone and content or concept of the film (The Forty Year Old Virgin). Some subjects demand to be put in the title (weddings, food, chocolate, blood) because they are the things that audiences love most. Life’s big subjects get more than their fair share of attention (death, sex, love, power).
Sometimes though it seems as if who’s ever picking the titles deliberately tries to confuse, [...]
Okay, it’s a minute too long, but maybe that’s because they want you to know it is important…
Hat tip to Pericles @PretentiousFilm!
Film Independent sent out the following email:
We have spent the last ten years making the Film Financing Conference an invaluable experience for filmmakers, and as the industry is swept by very significant changes, we want to rise up to meet those changes with programs that meet filmmaker needs at this moment. With that in mind, the Los Angeles Film Festival has created Seize the Power: A Marketing and (DIY)stribution Symposium, a new program specifically designed to help filmmakers navigate marketing and distribution in the growing age of new media and to promote an open dialogue on the impact and exciting possibilities the changes in our industry bring. [...]
“Earth. It Was Fun While It Lasted.” Armegeddon’s tag line sticks with me, because I instinctively substitute “Earth” for “Indie Film” when I read it.
In these days of RampantFilmBizChange, everything is ripe for reconsideration. MCN hipped me to AdWeek’s collection of “66 Great Movie Taglines“. Sure the list gets a smile regularly from me, but I walk away deadened and jaded. The sell is obvious. The dominant clever factor feels like a child beauty pagents’ related icky. “Look at me! Look at me! Give me a trophy! Now!!!”. Get me outta there.
Can’t we do better? Or at least do different? [...]
It seems to be pretty much the gospel now that Slumdog could never have rewritten the rules as it has without Searchlight’s help. Everyone marvels at their marketing campaigns, and how well they work. People say they’ve trademarked color, to the point if you use a bold singular shade in your campaign, folks feel you’ve copped a page from Ms. Utley.
Actress, writer, director, producer, political activist, choreographer, and independent film enthusiast Rosie Perez knows, it’s all about the money:
Most independent film makers and lovers would say that it’s not about making a profit but that is naive and pure independent snobbery. If your film is not marketed to the masses or even just to the independent film lovers’ community in a relevant way, the chances of making a substantial profit is not likely. If your film does not make a substantial return, your film will be considered a failure. If your film is considered a failure, just based on the box office and not on the content, the studio’s, distributors and future independent financial investors response will be that independent films do not work and will be hesitant to support other projects! This is a hard truth that “we” as independent film makers do not want to accept. Well, we can not afford to be blind any longer.
Marketing dollars for television ads, magazine and newspaper campaigns, movie trailers shown not only online but in theaters , press junkets, billboards or at least poster snipes are
vital. Even the “festival” route takes a lot of money after your submission is accepted – word of mouth just does not cut it anymore and if you do not think this is true you are fooling yourself. This is not a part of selling out, it is being business smart about getting your independent, artful and important film seen by as many as possible!
Independent film makers must be competitive and this can be done with out losing our souls. We can be market savvy producers with out selling out our product. We get on our high horse and say amongst ourselves that we do not care about the box office, we care about the content of our films, which we should and do, however, in the real cruel world we must care to an extent otherwise we will be left in the dust.
Much hard love to the Independent Film World,
ROSIE PEREZ
Jon Reiss returns!
Here’s a great blog post about the very very basics of marketing your film’swebsite. I’m sure you know a lot of this – but a lot was news to me (post excerpted):
1. Go to Godaddy.com and purchase a domain name. Get one that ends with .com. Get your movie title. If it is unavailable add “movie” or “themovie” or “film” to the end. (You don’t need to purchase any other services during check-out.)
2. Sign up for WordPress.com. Make your blog the title of your movie/ domain. Start posting press releases and other articles, such as reviews.
3. Sign up for Youtube.com. Make your username title of your movie/ domain. Post your trailer, or you can do a video “pitch”.
4. Sign-up for an account on Facebook.com.
5. Sign-up for Flickr. Get your username title of your movie/ domain.
6. Sign up for an account at del.icio.us. Bookmark your domain, facebook page, blog page and you tube page.
7. Sign up for a google account, to use their alerts, place connect with people who talk about you.
8. Sign up for Box Office Widget. Place this on your website and on your blog. Use it as your signature on forums.
8. Sign up for Spottt. Place this banner code on your myspace page, blog, and the thank you page from Box Office Widget.
10. Go to Yahoo! Groups and find all the groups that may have interest to your film and join. Participate in the group, rather than just spam the group.
This was written by one of the co-founders of Neoflix. Neoflix themselves have set up a number of marketing tools for filmmakers – they are going to give me a tutorial in the coming weeks and I’ll be passing that information along.
And this DIY Flix sites seems pretty amazing at first glance as well.
But back to marketing. I think marketing does not come easy for most filmmakers. Even filmmakers who pitch well – when it comes to the nuts and bolts business aspects of DIY filmmaking – they blanch. Its quite different from being creative. Very different. Doesn’t feel right and doesn’t feel fun.
This site could not have been built without the help and insight of Michael Morgenstern. My thanks go out to him.
Help save indie film and give this guy a job in web design or film!
