sundance 2006 - Zoael

Maximizing Distribution Pt. 2
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 61
or motorcycle racing. For the purposes
of formulating a distribution strategy, a
core audience must be identifiable and
reachable, both of which have been
made substantially easier and more
affordable with the growth and diversification
of the internet.
Some films have an avid core audience
(fan base) that can’t wait to see a
film and own it. Some films have multiple
core audiences. And other films
never find one. While researching,
preparing, shooting, and posting a
movie, filmmakers need to be exploring
their film’s core audience. How can
they be reached online and offline?
What are the key websites, web publications,
discussion boards and mailing
lists? What organizations and clubs do
they belong to? What special interest
publications do they read? What
organized and ad hoc social gatherings
do they frequent? Who are the leading
figures in the field whose endorsements
could be most influential?
During the filmmaking process, the
filmmakers will have one to three years
to learn how to reach their core audience
most effectively. They will also have time
to create an effective web presence. This
will enable them to build a valuable mailing
list as they are creating awareness for
their film within the target.
Reaching a general audience can be
very expensive and inefficient, while
connecting with a core audience can be
done inexpensively and effectively. In
the past, many independent film cam-
paigns targeted the general audience,
assuming that the core audience would
show up, which often didn’t happen. For
films with large and avid core audiences,
filmmakers should make sure that they
can effectively reach the core audience
first, and then build on that base of support
to cross their film over as widely as
possible. My Big Fat Greek Wedding,
Monsoon Wedding, and E Tu Mama
Tambien each attracted core audiences
to theatres, enabling them to stay on
screens long enough to reach a general
audience. Films with avid core audiences
may be successful even if they
don’t cross over, if members of the core
audience buy enough tickets and DVDs.
A PERSONAL AUDIENCE
Conceptually there are three audiences—the
core audience, the general
audience, and the filmmaker’s personal
audience. In the past, filmmakers had
little knowledge of and few direct connections
to their audience. However
loyal their regular viewers, they were
for the most part anonymous. Today’s
filmmakers have an unprecedented
opportunity to build and nurture a personal
audience Thanks to the internet,
filmmakers can now have a much more
direct connection to a personal audience,
made up of individuals they can
communicate with.
This audience is built one name at a
time- it includes everyone who e-mails
you about your film, everyone who reg-
Palm Springs International
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 34
ming focus, and growing the audience
for foreign and alternative films in the
Coachella Valley (Fourteen local
screens are now devoted to showing
foreign and independent films here
year-round, where there were none in
the Festival’s early years).
Part of this is a simple matter of
exposing increasingly larger audiences
to alternative voices and visions—
this Festival is now one of the top two
film events in the U.S. in terms of audience
size and the size of its film lineup.
But I think the diversity and range
of our programming is also key, providing
audiences with a comprehensive
and all-encompassing program of films
which covers a wide variety of genres,
perspectives and countries of origin, in
such packages as our Supercharged
Cinema showcase, our New Voices/
New Visions competition, our Modern
Masters series and our expansive
World Cinema Now section, in addition
to our Awards Buzz series of Foreign
Language Oscar submissions and our
documentaries sections. Our philosphy
is to show “something for everyone,
not everything for someone.”
As filmgoers gain more exposure to
alternative cinema, they also gain an
appetite for discovering the work of
unheralded filmmakers and seek out
the opportunity to be exposed to new
perspectives and filmmaking styles. In
the process, they become more openminded
in their film going habits, and
develop more of a sense of appreciation
for films that are unconventional
or strike out in bold new directions.
DM: In that sense, I think we’re doing
our job, but, Lord knows, it ain’t easy,
with the increasing number of festivals
and the growing competition amongst
them for premieres. “Premiere” doesn’t
63
isters at your website, and everyone
who buys a copy of a film from your
site. This personal audience should also
include everyone you meet while making
and launching your film. At first,
this group’s size may seem insignificant
(in the tens or hundreds), but it may
increase to thousands before long, and
eventually, after several films, could
reach tens of thousands.
Each member of this audience can
buy a ticket and encourage others to
see your film in theatres, and later
buy the DVD for themselves or
friends. Filmmakers sending out periodic
updates to their personal audience
should be able to create a sense
of connection and loyalty.
Filmmakers may be able to carry
much of this audience to their next
projects. They can also benefit from
direct feedback from this audience,
e.g. reactions to the film in theatres
may help filmmakers decide on the
best extras for the DVD.
By skillfully using his website,
Kevin Smith has built a formidable
personal audience. ViewAskew.com is
unique, provocative, and very funny.
Smith is ever present, through his
postings and journal entries. He has
built an extremely large fan base and
has sold a significant amount of merchandise
from his site. If Smith made
a new film and chose not to utilize
conventional distribution channels, he
could easily sell enough DVDs and
videos from his website alone to fully
recoup a million dollar budget.
A NEW ERA
Independent filmmakers now have
unprecedented opportunities. Digital
production is shifting the balance of
always translate as good. I’ve always
said I could program you a line up of
nothing but world premieres in a day,
but that doesn’t mean that any of the
films would be worth seeing.
SA: Is there anything different about
the structure of the Festival, the venues,
technology or opportunities for
filmmaking education or items of interest
for professionals?
DM: We have put an entirely new ticketing
system into place which will
make it possible for us to shift the
most popular films to larger rooms
within the same theatres. This is really
a major improvement over past seasons
when we would get into a jam
with not enough seats for certain
shows and too many for others.
Our programming strategy has been
refined too, so that we have a great
team of people working together to
bring the finest films to us. And our
website has been totally recreated and
much improved.
SA: What would you say is your idea of
the mission of the Festival?
power from financiers to filmmakers.
Filmmakers who can make movies digitally
at lower budgets are no longer
wholly dependent on financiers for the
resources and permission to make their
films. Likewise, new distribution models
are freeing them from dependence on a
traditional distribution system which has
been failing them. Powerful digital distribution
tools-the DVD, digital projectors,
and the internet are empowering independents
to increasingly to take their
fate in their own hands and have a more
direct relationship with their audiences.
By effectively using these tools, filmmakers
will be able to not only maximize the
distribution opportunities for their current
films but also find investors for subsequent
projects designed to reach core
audiences. These tools will also enable
them to build and nurture a personal
audience, which could ensure a long and
fulfilling career.
This article originally appeared
in DGA Magazine.
Peter Broderick is President of
Paradigm Consulting, which provides
consulting services to filmmakers and
media companies. It specializes in
state-of-the-art distribution techniques
—including innovative theatrical
service deals, lucrative DVD sales
strategies (mixing retail and direct
sales online), and web-based global
distribution. Paradigm helps filmmakers
reach target markets effectively
and build core personal audiences.
Broderick was founder and President
of Next Wave Films, which helped
launch the careers of exceptionally talented
filmmakers from the U.S. and
abroad, including Christopher Nolan
and Joe Carnahan.
DM: It’s about providing opportunities
to both filmgoers and filmmakers that
provide exposure for each to the other,
and subsequently furthering the
advancement of the art form. Apart
from that, it’s to inject a sense of
excitement and fun—certainly to provide
an arena for discovery—into the
process of film going. After all, just like
what they say about “show business,”
there are two words that make up
what it’s called—and the “festival” part
is every bit as important as the “film.”
SA: Indeed, this year’s Festival ran
more smoothly than ever. Remarkably,
the schedule of films published nearly
a month before opening, as comprehensive
as it was, didn’t suffer a single
change or missed screening. Kudos to
the Macdonald gang for what is sure to
be remembers as one of the year’s best
festivals.
Stephen Ashton writes about cinema,
culture and cuisine for several
publications and is the Founder/
Director of the 20th Annual Napa
Valley/Sonoma County Wine Country
Film Festival.