Market Plan
As post-production continues on First Signal (we are on target for an April completion), I’ve been developing the marketing plan for the film. With the majority of independent films there’s no studio marketing department, no retained agency or staff. Marketing is another skillset that filmmakers need to develop. Thankfully during my years of publishing magazines, and my own consulting business, marketing is something I’ve been doing for years. I had some excellent mentors in my early years.
I firmly believe that an independent film needs a central online destination. Building a website used to be a task that required a special set of design skills. Thankfully that is no longer the case. Wix is my preferred platform. If you know how to click a mouse, type copy and upload a video, you can have a website in no time. I no longer use their templates, but rather build my sites from scratch. Case in point my own personal website and First Signal’s.
While I was marketing First Signal through AFM’s platform, I came across one filmmaker who was promoting their project to attendees. This was not an inexpensive film. It had some known actors from the 80s and 90s. When they posted to check out the website, all the visitor found was the dreaded “under construction” notification. It was never fixed throughout the entire market. You spend all that time and money making a film, talk about a lost opportunity to introduce it. I can’t begin to tell you the thousands of films that are marketed through AFM—all looking for a home. As time is literally money at these film markets, you only really get one chance at a first impression. One critical component of first impressions is the trailer.
This past week I started to write the trailer. A trailer is perhaps the most important calling card of a film. Yes, a poster introduces the film, but a trailer brings it to life. As First Signal is what I hope to be a series of films in the “First World Universe,” getting it right is vital. In two minutes the goal is to condense the story, without giving it all away and to convince your audience to see more. There’s certainly no pressure to deliver!
While writing a trailer is challenging, it’s one that I do enjoy. It challenges me to look past the linear script and film and see how it can be presented to (hopefully) thrill audiences.
As screenwriters we all start with an idea. We look blankly at a white page on our monitors hoping it speaks to us. Our hands at the ready on the keyboard. Our notes, if any, to the side for glance. Then suddenly, the following happens:
Intro Logo/Intro Score: The Ashton Times
“This satellite intercepted a signal that originated from Lagrange Point Two.” VO General Reager over Milstar satellite.
First Trailer
Sea Trial
The HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier in SOS United States.
It has become a common practice in the entertainment industry to create “proof of concept” trailers and short films to promote projects past the written word of the script (sometimes there’s not even a script!). With more and more projects looking for attention, a thoughtful concept trailer can most certainly advance a project.
Yesterday morning, Daniel Elek-Diamanta, the composer of Justice Is Mind, sent me just over :30 of music he scored. We’ve been talking about SOS United States for several months and when it comes to composing music, we have always been on the same page. It was like this with Justice Is Mind. In August, 2012 he was sending me samples of music well before one frame of the film was shot. What you hear in the final cut of Justice was largely agreed to well in advance. Suffice to say, it’s a great collaboration and I highly recommend him as a composer.
The concept trailer for First World.
I’ve been wanting to create some sort of video for SOS United States past our concept poster. The moment I heard Daniel’s sample the idea came to mind. You can view the concept trailer at this link. The general premise of SOS United States is relatively straight forward. An ocean liner in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean may have a nuclear bomb on board. The only military vessel in the vicinity is the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier during her sea trials.
As I have some preliminary producer meetings this week, the concept trailer for SOS United States is well timed. But that being said, I’m sure the subject of budget, casting, etc., will come up. On the face of it, it looks like the Massachusetts Film Tax Credit is here to stay – for now anyway. But as these producer meetings are happening “across the pond” the UK offers some of the best incentives along with a vibrant infrastructure.
A scene similar to this appears in In Mind We Trust.
This past week a very rare article was published around an independent film called Papadopoulos & Sons. What was rare about it was the breakdown of financials. Honestly, that short of working for a distributor, these numbers are seldom known, never mind released. There’s a variety of pros/cons for releasing numbers. Yes, box office results are largely public, but VOD, TV, etc. are usually held very close to the chest. In this filmmakers view it’s because the deals for these platforms not only differ for each film, but there are myriad proprietary contracts involved that can limit public dissemination from a competition point of view.
What this article does fully document are the fees involved in film distribution and the realities of revenue that come back to the financiers. This is why being realistic about a film budget is so important. Yes, you want the film to look and sound great with a stellar cast and crew, but at the end of the day it’s about revenue.
So while I start to market the concept trailer for SOS United States, I may look to do the same for In Mind We Trust. Before I forget, check out the concept trailer for First World at this link.
Full Ahead
The Ashton Times 