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| Art Biz, Filmmaking, Internet / Blogging | |
Scott Macaulay of Filmmaker magazine has written a bit about film marketing that’s worth a read. His thoughts apply to all largish creative endeavors, not just films. Here are a few excerpts from his current Editor’s Note: “We are all telling you that you must define your audience, aggregate them, get their email addresses, build a marketing plan and conform to a new orthodoxy that believes that it’s up to the filmmaker to drive the new model that will see a film arrive to audiences’ home screens, desktops and cell phones. Yes, all of that is actually important, but I’d urge filmmakers to do one thing before all of that: know your film. I mean, really know it. Understand what you have made on a deep level that derives from not only your intimacy with all that you have poured into it but from your sober reflection on how people you trust perceive it. Basic thoughts, yes, but they came to mind after I co-moderated the IFP Rough Cut Lab this past week.. As the Labs progressed throughout the week, I found myself resisting a ‘one size fits all’ pattern of advice, urging each filmmaker to discover what might make their film stand-out in the marketplace and hone a strategy that was unique to them. There was one film, a beautifully executed, small relationship drama, that probably shouldn’t be hyping themselves through endless email blasts; the film will get into a great festival and audiences should feel like they’ve discovered it on their own… On the other hand, there was a powerful social-issue film that needs to target and reach out to audiences who will debate the movie’s topical concerns after the credits roll. Each of these filmmakers shouldn’t try to shoehorn their film into some new conventional wisdom. In other words, nobody knows anything – except, if he or she is very lucky, the filmmaker…” You can read the whole thing here. | |
