Creating a Marketing and Distribution Plan
I’ve always been inspired by artists who have worked outside established frameworks for success and created their own models to get their work out into the world. I got my start in film via punk rock in the early '80s working with the documentary collective Target Video. Half of what I did at Target, was to distribute the videos we made of mostly California punk rock bands throughout Europe and the US. (photo above is me at 21 on the way back from shows in Italy) For those of you who know me, this would be "the new 50/50” from Think Outside the Box Office. No film distributor was going to take our 3/4" videos - forget that they wouldn't have accepted the content. So FU to the gatekeepers. Wiith a handful of bootlegged satellite phone cards, I booked the films as if we were a band throughout Europe. We travelled with our own projector and 3/4" deck going club to theater to cultural center to festival shooting more bands along the way. Paul Rachtman just reminded me of how I slept on his couch when we did a show in Boston when he was in college.
While the energy and perfect acronym of what DIY stands for has always inspired me, I never advocate pure DIY. I feel you have to create a team and work with elements of structures that can be bent to your purposes.
We live in a very disruptive time - more and more turmoil hits our industry on a seemingly weekly basis. But in working with hundreds of filmmakers over the past 15 years, I have found that there are seven essential components that all need to be considered when creating a distribution and marketing path for your film:
- Your Goal - I am pretty hard core on picking one of the following goals to guide your campaign: Money, Career, Change the World, Audience. Most filmmakers want all of those - but you have to make tough choices when creating your release - and knowing which goal is primary is key. (and your team all needs to be on the same page!)
- Your Film - what makes you and your film unique in the media landscape - We live in an Age of Abundance - what will cause a potential audience member to choose your film to spend their precious time (much less money).
- Audience. What is/are the unique niche audience(s) for your film. What is the core within each of those niches? Yes there is a difference between core and niche.
- Reaching Your Audience(s). There are a variety of techniques to reach audiences. What is working now? What will work for your specific audiences? How and where do you start?
- Film Rights. Understand what film rights make the most sense for your film - in Think Outside the Box Office I reorganized the conception of film rights to make it easier for filmmakers to create their own split rights strategies into the following categories: Event/Theatrical including festivals (you are in distribution when you are doing your festival run), theatrical and community screenings. Digital including all VOD and broadcast. Educational which is a hybrid of the first two. Merchandise which can be very important for select films.
- Timing/Windowing This is one of the trickiest aspects of creating your strategy - not only what your premiere date(s) should be - but also how you window all of the rights mentioned above.
- Your Resources Even before our current severely broken landscape, filmmakers had to have resources (time and money) to fund the release of their films - it is essential to budget properly and spend the right amount of money on each step of the process - so you can support the entire release of your film.
My fundamental principle is that every film and every filmmaking team is different - each have their own goals, audiences and unique ways to connect their film with an audience - and as a result each film deserves a different distribution and marketing plan to achieve those goals.
If all of this sounds interesting - I’d love to connect with you:
In my newsletter and in public webinars, I try to parse out these seven components often using case studies of films that I have worked with. When you sign up for my newsletter - you will receive a free copy of my book Think Outside the Box Office as well as links to my two documentaries about graffiti and street art around the world.
But what I really love doing is working with filmmakers directly or in a group. If this is something you might be interested in - take a look at the Distribution Intensive below - or sign up for a 1x1 chat here about your project.
6 Month Distribution Intensive - New Cohort
Guest Dor Dotson Relating 5 Myths about Social Media/Fall Cohort 6 Month Distribution Intensive
We’re four months into the first 6 Month Distribution Intensive and it has been going amazingly well - its truly super fun and something I look forward to every week. Besides my presentations and a trove of support documents on everything from booking community screenings to creating a distribution strategy - we’ve had a plethora of amazing guests including Dor Dotson debunking 5 myths of social media, Emma Griffiths on PR strategy, Nick Kelso on how to create an effective cold email campaign, Tom Hall talking film festival strategy, Laura Fallsgraff on how to design and execute an impact campaign, Sarah Feinbloom on current strategies for educational distribution and Mat Levy talking about the state of digital distribution. Future cohorts will have a whole new group of guests as well as being able to access the discussions above.
The next cohort starts in May 2024 and there are a few slots available. If you are interested: Sign Up for a Distribution Intensive Informational Webinar
BUTTS IN SEATS
More turmoil in the film festival world this past week but I am still hopeful about a path for film and filmmakers - much of it coming from the vibrant activity in our community to find solutions. I am part of a bi-weekly Zoom distribution discussion group that is trying to do just that. Last week the organizers asked everyone to contribute their “5 Best Practices to Get Audiences Into Seats”. I thought I would share my five with all of you:
1. Know Your Audience.(for your film and for you personally)- how they consume media - what creates value for them - where they reside in space - geographically, online, organizationally.
2. Cultivate Your Audience Over Time - (not just for this film but for your career) develop and cultivate an email list (or however your audience wants to stay connected with you). These super fans are very important in many ways: not the least of which is to get them to come to your screenings and get other people to do so as well.
3. Outreach to your communities/organizations nationally and locally. Start early - engage them in the process - give them ownership. This can work for fiction as well as docs if done creatively. In our releases we find that outreach is the key factor to get people into theaters for smaller films - much more than advertising/social media/press - I have heard this from many other people as well.
4. Create Events - At least filmmaker q&a, better the subject, better yet music and/or panel discussion or something new and fun. Specifics determined by what will engage your audience and encourage them to come out.
1. Know Your Audience.(for your film and for you personally)- how they consume media - what creates value for them - where they reside in space - geographically, online, organizationally.
2. Cultivate Your Audience Over Time - (not just for this film but for your career) develop and cultivate an email list (or however your audience wants to stay connected with you). These super fans are very important in many ways: not the least of which is to get them to come to your screenings and get other people to do so as well.
3. Outreach to your communities/organizations nationally and locally. Start early - engage them in the process - give them ownership. This can work for fiction as well as docs if done creatively. In our releases we find that outreach is the key factor to get people into theaters for smaller films - much more than advertising/social media/press - I have heard this from many other people as well.
4. Create Events - At least filmmaker q&a, better the subject, better yet music and/or panel discussion or something new and fun. Specifics determined by what will engage your audience and encourage them to come out.
5. Create Community and events for that community. For exhibitors make your theater as a hub of activity that understands how people want to engage with events and event spaces. The new Vidiots space in LA does this very well. Be open to one night specialized events in a variety of formats. What kind of experiences does your community want? How can cinema fit that? How to expand the conception of those experiences to make people excited to engage in your space? (As a distributor I find that many venues are very accommodating and adventurous and these are wonderful partners! But we still face theaters that don’t want to do one night events, don’t want to make accommodations for music, staff that doesn't want to be bothered (literally once turning off the lights during a Q&A to get people out of the theater)).
I agree that a lot of the above have been repeated ad naseam - but while many people are following these guidelines and more - many people/institutions don’t - and that’s why they keep being repeated.
One Best Practice that was suggested by others in the group that I think is wonderful: How certain theaters and festivals are programming films and events for people under 18, especially children, to encourage families to start making cinema-going a habit that is carried through to adulthood to create new generations of audience. At Sundance, Barbara Twist, head of Film Festival Alliance, told me about an initiative she and Lela Meadow-Conner from Arthouse Convergence are developing around this concept - hopefully more on that soon.
If you agree/disagree on any of this- have other thoughts or suggestions - I’d love to hear them - just hit reply and let me know.
I agree that a lot of the above have been repeated ad naseam - but while many people are following these guidelines and more - many people/institutions don’t - and that’s why they keep being repeated.
One Best Practice that was suggested by others in the group that I think is wonderful: How certain theaters and festivals are programming films and events for people under 18, especially children, to encourage families to start making cinema-going a habit that is carried through to adulthood to create new generations of audience. At Sundance, Barbara Twist, head of Film Festival Alliance, told me about an initiative she and Lela Meadow-Conner from Arthouse Convergence are developing around this concept - hopefully more on that soon.
If you agree/disagree on any of this- have other thoughts or suggestions - I’d love to hear them - just hit reply and let me know.
Gina Gershon on Plantscendence
Gina Gershon is a good friend, 3rd cousin by marriage and really good at titles - she is the one who came up with the title for my podcast Plantscendence. She is our guest this week talking about how ketamine helped her get over her debilitating depression. Give it a listen and let me know what you think.
Last week’s guest Sitamaraya Sita was the ceremonialist that I did my first entheogenic experience/ayahuasca with - so if you want to hear about the start of my journey - take a listen to that as well.
Last week’s guest Sitamaraya Sita was the ceremonialist that I did my first entheogenic experience/ayahuasca with - so if you want to hear about the start of my journey - take a listen to that as well.
The Ride Ahead at Hot Docs
The Ride Ahead premiers at Hot DocsI have had the good fortune to work with Dan Habib - previously on his film Intelligent Lives. Currently I am advising him and his co-director Sam Habib on their new film The Ride Ahead which is premiering at Hot Docs with other festivals scheduled and in the works. The Ride Ahead follows Sam Habib who is a typical 21-year-old, itching to move out, start a career and find love. But no one tells you how to be an adult, let alone an adult with a disability. Can a community of disability activists help him follow his dreams? Its a beautiful and fascinating film that will have a very long and productive life.
Continued Turmoil
Unfortunately the announcement of the premiere of The Ride Ahead was a week before a mass resignation of programmers at Hot Docs- no less than one month before the festival opens. But Dan and Sam are very pro-active filmmakers and because they know that they have to be responsible for their own release - they are taking this in stride and feel confident that this will not adversly affect their launch. Time and again I have seen filmmakers who take matters into their own hands, are then not dependent on unstable systems and as a result continue to persevere and succeed. This is needed in these crazy times where this week alone also saw the closing of the venerable Human Rights Watch Film Festival as well as the resignation of Joanna Vicente from her position as CEO of the Sundance Institute who oversaw the emergence of Sundance from the pandemic culminating in one of my favorite Sundance experiences this year under the helm of Eugene Hernandez along with the rest of their excellent staff.
UPCOMING EVENTS
I'll also be at Getting Real this year - 8 Above will be co-hosting a get together with the DPA and The Film Collaborative. For $75 off either an All Access or a Virtual Together pass, please apply discount code ZQ38THKMN32X8KY at checkout at our Getting Real '24 Pass Purchase site. GETTING REAL ‘24 will be held April 15–18, 2024 in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles. All conference events, with the exception of select closed sessions, will be live streamed to virtual passholders and available for post-conference viewing on IDA’s YouTube channel. Hope to see you there!
|
|
Left - Ep 1: Musician Vera Sola Right Ep 2: US Army Veteran Itzel Barakat
|
Yin and Yang of the AI Apocalypse
Will We Still Be Here by the Time AI Helps Us Find Our Audience?
Even though I use a lot of technical tools - many of which use AI as part of their functionality, I have been slow/loathe to use Chat GPT to write newsletters or social posts or press kits or anything else nor have I embraced Midjourney to create key art or other graphic design. I tried Chat GPT once but was not impressed with the results - realizing that I’m probably not taking the time to properly learn how to prompt it properly. The masochist in me also seems to prefer agonizing over posts like this than letting a bot spew out sludge. But my aversion primarily stems from my love/hate relationship with technology in general and AI in particular.
Last week Open AI previewed Sora which creates short videos from text prompts. Some of it is quite astonishing and it is remarkable to see how fast AI is developing - and if this is how rapidly it is developing in the creative landscape - I can’t even fathom how it is advancing in other spheres (such as warfare). In related news, this Saturday, the D-Word is co-presenting with Phillip Shane an online workshop Chat GPT for Documentary Filmmakers which I intend to attend even though if that might surprise you after you read the rest of this newsletter.
Ultimately generative AI like all of technology is a tool that we as a society must figure out how to use and regulate properly without letting it destroy our humanity or the planet that sustains us. So far, at least the global north has not been great at controlling technology’s effects. A letter/petition containing policy recommendations made by a notable group of AI scientists one of whom wrote the primary AI textbook used in universities (and Elon Musk) last March posed the following question(s): “We must ask ourselves: Should we let machines flood our information channels with propaganda and untruth? Should we automate away all the jobs, including the fulfilling ones? Should we develop nonhuman minds that might eventually outnumber, outsmart, obsolete and replace us? Should we risk loss of control of our civilization?” To my knowledge, none of the policy recommendations have been put into effect and I don’t have much faith in Congress to do so. What is a bit sad is that only 33,000 people have signed this petition so far - perhaps people are tired of signing online petitions (that never seem to result in action), perhaps people are concerned about being targeted by future robot overlords (it gave me pause) or perhaps people just don’t care and just want their text prompt videos now (or have AI to write their newsletters that Mailchimp keeps prompting me to do)!
Other than the important writer’s and actor’s strikes very little has been done to control AI (go striking workers!). Concerns for independent artists are many - including appropriation (see this latest post from Ted Gioia yesterday on how people (or perhaps sentient bots) are using AI to appropriate his work) or how algorithms are blocking promotion of independent films as Anthony Kaufman points out in this great piece.
While Open AI is not releasing Sora to the public because they recognize these potential dangers - and are instead using a “Red team” to help figure out all the nefarious ways Sora could be used and how to control it. But I have never seen evidence of an industry self-regulating itself for the good of the public and Open AI’s recent leadership struggle kicked those concerned about the abuse of AI out of the company. So I don't have a lot of faith in that "red team".
I highly recommend reading or taking a look at Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control by Stuart Russell (the author of the primary AI textbook I mentioned above and one of the primary authors of the letter I mentioned). I had the opportunity to interview Stuart for my documentary about Mark Pauline/Survival Research Laboratories whose work has questioned our relationship with technology since 1978 (this questioning is one of the main reasons that I have devoted much of my creative career working with Mark and SRL and spurred me to make a new documentary about him). This quote from my interview with Stuart is telling: “The King Midas problem is an example of how it is that we lose control of our own creations. Midas asked the gods that everything he touched should turn to gold, and he got exactly what he asked for - but of course his food and his family all turned to gold, and he dies of misery and starvation. That's how we lose control of super intelligent machines. They pursue the objectives we give them and just like the gods, they pursue them too well. And we don't know how to turn them off. We don't know how to stop them. We have to figure out how we retain control over something that's more intelligent and more powerful than us - forever.” When I look out at humanity I have strong doubts whether we can accomplish this - forever is a long time. (perhaps this is where I should have asked Midjourney to create an image of generative AI as King Midas - but instead I used a photo from a SRL performance above).
This all gives me pause when I consider using these technologies. Using Chat GPT helps to train it. Hence by using it, I am complicit in what evolves from it. I’m a proud Luddite. Luddites were not anti-machine - but were radical workers protesting how machines were being used in “a fraudulent and deceitful manner” to get around standard labor practices”. Sound familiar? But even though I'm a Luddite - I try not to keep my head in the sand - so perhaps I'll see you Saturday.
My Yang hopes that one day AI will be regulated and be helpful in solving all our societal and planetary ills - and even help us find our audiences and create sustainable careers. My cynical Yin thinks my Yang is out of its mind.
PLANTSCENDENCE
JOIN ME ON MY PSYCHEDELIC JOURNEY
Onto the human - I'm super excited to announce the imminent launch on March 14th of my new podcast, Plantscendence, about people’s psychedelic experiences. Check out our WIP cover art above created by a wonderful human graphic designer.
As we build to the release, I’m hoping you will join me on one of the AI determined social channels below where I’ll be introducing our guests and talking about why I started on this journey:
Follow Us On Instagram Here
Follow us on FB Here
I will bring up the podcast a few more times on this list - but eventually, I will only email people who opt into this segmented Plantscendence list. So please opt-in to the Plantscendence email list here if you want to keep learning more.WHAT IS PLANTSCENDENCE?
It was nearly a year ago that I started having deep conversations with a number of artist friends about their experiences with psychedelics and how their experiences with plant medicine had transformed their lives. These conversations dovetailed with my own experiences with entheogens (hell I took another microdose to finish this newsletter)– so I figured why not record them? And then if I’m recording them – why not make a podcast (like everyone else!)? But I’ll talk more seriously about why I chose the podcast format in a future newsletter.
Each week we will have a different guest talking about how various psychedelic/entheogenic substances have affected their lives. They are intense, funny and informative. While I began by focusing on artists and how it inspired their creativity, those discussions led me to a wide range of folks including counselors, veterans, practitioners and more. And while I started this podcast as a way to explore some incredible experiences people have had and their fascinating stories, I am also doing it because it is something I wish I had listened to before I started on my journey - similar to my motivations to write Think Outside the Box Office.