In 2008 we began production on a Super 35mm short film called Ten for Grandpa. After blowing up a car in an underground parking garage for my 2006 short, Anniversary Present, it seemed only natural to raise the ambition level and build nine sets on a sound stage for my next seven-minute film. Four years later, after an amazing festival run (including a Sundance 2009 premiere, and screenings at more than 50 other international fests) it was finally time to release the film for free on the Internet.
In the few short weeks since we launched online, Ten for Grandpa has racked up more than 33,500 plays on Vimeo (from 800,000 hits plus thousands more plays on other sites), and has been featured on Short of the Week, Film School Rejects, TheAwesomer.com, Oscilloscope Laboratories, directorslive.com, Flavorpill, theworldsbestever.com, johnaugust.com, directorsnotes.com, notcot.org and many others. Ten for Grandpa—which you can check out here—is centered around a list of 10 unanswered questions for the grandfather I never met. So it’s rather fitting that MovieMaker asked me to write a list of 10 answers to how we ran our Web campaign.
1) Quality first.
If you want anyone to take notice of your film when you launch it on the Internet, you’ve got to do one of two things: Film some folks willing to engage in coitus on camera, an infamous dilettante who will let you point your lens as she smokes salvia bong hits, or make damn sure that your film is of super high quality. From the writing to the production to the love you and your crew pour into every frame in post-production, getting folks to dedicate precious minutes of their time to watch your latest Internet offering is harder than ever. If the work is quality, your job will be much easier. We spent two years making Ten for Grandpa and another year getting it out there on the festival circuit. As they say, it’s shit in shit out. Do the work up-front and you’ll find your audience.
2) Lets give ‘em something to talk about.
So you say you want to send out a media blitz? Spend the time putting together your best still photos, making a detailed press kit with tons of info and pull quotes and if you have behind the scenes materials, a previs, art department drawings or even your shot list, post them online too, so that you can give the press something to write about.
3) Choose your weapon.
In 2007, my film Anniversary Present was launched online by Atom Films and received more than 425,000 plays. In 2008 I co-directed a music video for Kaki King for her track “Pull Me Out Alive” that got featured on the front page of YouTube and racked up more than one million hits. But it’s 2011, and although I like a stuttery, highly-compressed cat on a skateboard as much as the next guy, in this day and age, Vimeo is the place for filmmakers to be. If hit counts are all you care about, then you should consider YouTube, but with 1080p image quality that destroys the competition and an interface that just won’t quit, Vimeo brings the goods.
4) Recruit your pals.
During the first week of Ten for Grandpa’s online release, I recruited full-time volunteers to help for the first five days. Launching on a Monday, together we emailed hundreds of publications, blogs and Websites with a clean little email letting folks know that the film was launching free online and telling them something about the film and it’s life on the festival circuit. Just like every other aspect of film collaboration, one of the greatest rewards in filmmaking is sharing the successes with your team. No one likes to drink alone; once the film starts to catch on, pop some bubbly to thank your friends for helping out.
5) Make friends with strangers.
When your film airs on TV, you deliver the broadcaster a tape or a digital file, and then if you’re lucky enough to be working with a great commissioning editor, they might be able to tell you a little something about how the film’s ratings racked up once it went to air. It’s an anonymous audience that is next to impossible to reach out to with your micro-distribution budget. With Vimeo and YouTube, the more users you befriend and the more channels you join, the more likely you are to get the film noticed and drive up your daily views. Don’t be afraid to send a personal message or two to channel moderators who are the gatekeepers to thousands of viewers. Just write a brief little note and let the film speak for itself.
courtesy of moviemaker.com
