The first step-by-step "How To" guide to film festivals, offering filmmakers a bird's eye view of what it takes to have a successful festival experience. Practical, hands-on information with examples and exercises to help the filmmaker include: Targeting the right festivals; Creating a press kit; Promoting and branding your film; Promoting and branding yourself; Filling out entry forms; Creating a logline; And much more.
Every year thousands of filmmakers like you unleash their newly completed movies upon the film festival circuit. Whether you're a first-timer with a comedy short or a seasoned veteran with a documentary feature, you all face the same set of problems. You all ask the same questions. You all want the pleasure of seeing your film play before a festival audience and gain the recognition it deserves. This is your book. Film Festival secrets will help you select the right festivals for your film, prepare your festival screener, save money on festival fees, create marketing collateral, and craft a screening sell out plan. And that's just the beginning.
As the digital revolution has democratised film production, a new hybrid model of distribution is the way independent filmmakers can take control of their own distribution. This approach is not just DIY or Web-based - it combines the best techniques from each distribution arena, old and new. In Think Outside the Box Office, Reiss explains audience identification and targeting, negotiating split-rights agreements, the new role of film festivals and more.
The last decade has witnessed an explosion of interest in film festivals, with the field growing to a position of prominence within the space of a few short years. Film Festivals: History, Theory, Method, Practice represents a major addition to the literature on this topic, offering an authoritative and comprehensive introduction to the area. With a combination of chapters specifically examining history, theory, method and practice, it offers a clear structure and systematic approach for the study of film festivals. Offering a collection of essays written by an international range of established scholars, it discusses well-known film festivals in Europe, North America and Asia, but equally devotes attention to the diverse range of smaller and/or specialized events that take place around the globe. It provides essential knowledge on the origin and development of film festivals, discusses the use of theory to study festivals, explores the methods of ethnographic and archival research, and looks closely at the professional practice of programming and film funding. Each section, moreover, is introduced by the editors, and all chapters include useful suggestions for further reading. This will be an essential textbook for students studying film festivals as part of their film, media and cultural studies courses, as well as a strong research tool for scholars that wish to familiarize themselves with this burgeoning field.
Fully revised and updated practical and inspirational guide for students and independent film-makers, describing and explaining the whole process - from creating an original or adapted script, through producing, directing and editing, to finance and distribution.
"I liked it, didn't love it." It's the most often heard line in Hollywood."What happens to your screenplay or novel when it leaves your hands and is submitted to a studio, network or production company? What happens to it after it's optioned or sold? What does "in development" really mean? Rona Edwards and Monika Skerbelis shed light on all of those questions and more for those new to the business, and to those already journeying through the "storied" halls at a film studio, television network, or production company. They tackle how to find new ideas, what it takes to be a development exec or a story analyst, how to work with producers and writers, and tips for pitching.
Designed for people who want to tell a story their way, 'The Complete Idiot's Guide to Indpendent Filmmaking explains everything a budding auteur needs to know, from literary development and financial and organizational pre-production to principal photography production, post-production assembly, exhibition and distribution, and more. The advent of desktop editing and a wide range of consumer cameras enable the average person to create a 'film studio' at homne. A great 'textbook' for novice filmmakers, whether film students or on-their-own auteurs. The proliferation of film festivals around the world, many of which encourage submissions from 'amateur' filmmakers, shows that there are countless filmmakers who aren't learning the ropes in school. Author has terrific credentials and has a feature-length script in development in Hollywood.
Whether you’re a producer, screenwriter, filmmaker, or other creative, you probably have a project that needs constant exposure, or a product to promote. But how do you rise above the noise? In Crowdsourcing for Filmmakers: Indie Film and the Power of the Crowd, Richard Botto explains how to put crowdsourcing to use for your creative project, using social media, networking, branding, crowdfunding, and an understanding of your audience to build effective crowdsourcing campaigns, sourcing everything from film equipment to shooting locations. Botto covers all aspects of crowdsourcing: how to create the message of your brand, project, or initiative; how to mold, shape, and adjust it based on mass response; how to broadcast a message to a targeted group and engage those with similar likes, beliefs, or interests; and finally, how to cultivate those relationships to the point where the message is no longer put forth solely by you, but carried and broadcasted by those who have responded to it. Using a wealth of case studies and practical know-how based on his years of experience in the industry and as founder of Stage 32—the largest crowdsourced platform for film creatives—Richard Botto presents a comprehensive and hands-on guide to crowdsourcing creatively and expertly putting your audience to work on your behalf.
Many filmmakers struggle to find a place on the festival circuit because they don't have the right foundation for their submissions strategy. They think that all film festivals are basically the same. (Wrong.) They rush post-production to meet festival deadlines and consider test screenings to be optional. (Nope.) They think that sending out form emails to hundreds of festivals to ask for fee waivers is a clever way to save money on submissions fees (so very, very wrong).If you're stumped about where to start - if you're losing sleep over which festivals are right for you or (worse) blindly submitting to festivals with late deadlines about to pass - get your hands on this book today. You'll discover not only how festivals operate but also how veteran filmmakers craft a custom submissions strategy for each film they make . . . without wasting resources or damaging their reputations in the industry. "Knowing insider tips on when and how to submit to festivals, creating the correct materials, following best practices will help get your foot in the door. Following the advice in Chris' book on promotional materials, building your fan base, and attending festivals will help you stand out once you are at your festival premiere. " Jarod Neece, Senior FIlm Programmer, South by Southwest (SXSW) - from the foreword
