Soft Launch

I've started up a Kickstarter for REDD. I've launched it, but I have yet to really push the marketing for it. I wanted to get the ball rolling and have it out there before I was fully ready. But the next step is to put together a good pitch video for Kickstarter. A video that fully explains the movie, how it's going to be made, where it's going to go, and most importantly why it's important to give the project money.

Even though I'm setting donations as low as $1, you still need to convince people, get them excited. I don't want just their donations, I want their support. I want this movie to have fans. It's part of the reason I produced the first 4 minutes and the teaser. To give people a taste. Now it's time to really show people the movie, before I can even make the movie.

Hopefully I can get to that video tomorrow. I also hope to shoot a video blog and say hello to all the Facebook fans. We've gained a few in the past week, and it's a good idea to say hello, and really keep the freshness of the page up with new content.

Oooh, hold on, lemme check YouTube real quick.

Yup, we're at about 24,898 views. Not too bad for 3 weeks. And I've gotten alot of positive messages and feedback. So a good start, I think.

So here's a list of what I need to get done.

1) Make Kickstarter Pitch Video.
2) Make Video Blog for Redd.
3) Make a Video Blog for Monster Cops about Redd.
4) Personally message all my closest supporters about Kickstarter and hope to God they can donate at least $1.
5) Send out emails and press releases about Kickstarter.
6) Post on Facebook and Twitter.
7) Finish Concept Trailer and post it everywhere, especially on Blogger, Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter.
8) Push Kickstarter while at the sametime pursue offline funding. Dayjob, begging on the street, pawning everything, local sponsors, etc.
9) Complete Full Package. This means finish re-writes, get cast and crew, locations in place. Make sure everything is ready to go.

I wanna thank the fine folks over at Night Of The Living Podcast. They've been nice enough to talk about REDD and help get some buzz going. Check them out here:
http://www.notlp.com/
They're a Horror Podcast and they are quite funny.

I posted the DIY Werewolf FX Tutorial at Instructables, in an attempt to get more attention to our YouTube vids for REDD.
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Werewolf-Costume-A-Werewolf-Army-for-47/

Ok, I've got to sleep. Get up, run errands, work on a client's project, work on another project, then hopefully get to something on that list above.

In Voluptas Mors

In Voluptas Mors (1951). A portrait by Salvador Dali and photographed by Phillipe Halsman. A tableau vivant (living portrait) of Dali sitting next to a skull made of seven nude women.

This would later be used in the famous poster for Silence Of The Lambs (1991). Where the pattern for the Death's Head Moth, would be replaced by a recreation of the skull from Dali's famous portrait.

It does seem quite fitting for the movie. The killer (Buffalo Bill) saw the Moth as a symbol of transformation that paralleled his own transition from gender to gender, and his deadly and sadistic approach to make such a change.

The Descent (2005), would recreate the skull for the film's poster.

I'm quite fond of this poster. Not only a creative idea, but very fitting symbolism for what the women in the movie go through. It's great to see such creativity in marketing for a movie, but I appreciate it even more when it's applied to a really good movie like The Descent.

To me it makes the movie a little bigger, and in a way helps tell the story of the movie. Which is what great marketing should be. Not just a way to tell people about the product, but to contribute to the overall story and feel of the story, making it bigger than a movie. Giving it what we all sort of look for in art and creativity. A little depth.


UPDATE:
Check out our latest short/trailer. RED RIDING HOOD is a bad ass (REDD)

Welcome To The Party Pal!

It's been a rough week, no doubt, but to look to the positive side, there have been fun moments. Besides, as an experienced human being of nearly 35 years on this planet and existence, I should already know that with the bad comes the good, and so on and so on and ....

So we've gotten past some of the bad and hopefully heading into some good, possibly even into some great. Personal matters seem to be correcting themselves, and I'm finally getting back into some production work. Trying to beat that late February deadline for this one video project of which I will continue to be vague about. I mean, ya know, if I talk about it then it won't come, true right?

Anyhoo.

Forces Of Geek reports this: AC/DC Sets The Tone For IRON MAN 2

Today, Marvel Studios and Columbia Records have announced plans to release the CD compilation AC/DC: IRON MAN 2 on April 19, 2010. The album features 15 AC/DC tracks, many of which will be used in this summer's Iron Man 2. The songs include:

Shoot to Thrill, Rock 'N' Roll Damnation, Guns for Hire, Cold Hearted Man, Back in Black, Thunderstruck, If You Want Blood (You've Got It), Evil Walks, T.N.T., Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be, Have a Drink on Me, The Razor's Edge, Let There Be Rock, War Machine, and Highway to Hell.

Here's a promo video for AC/DC and Iron Man 2.




This put a smile on my face. I really enjoyed Iron Man and I think Jon Favreau has a good sense about moviemaking, much of which seems to harken back to the marketing sensibilities of the 80's.

As I've talked about with much glee before, I do love the 80's and movies from the 80's. I'm sure much of it is because I was an impressionable kid from back then, but I always felt like there was this sense of fun for movies back then, even in the marketing.

Putting out an AC/DC compilation CD that ties in with a summer blockbuster reminds me of Prince recording pop songs for the Batman soundtrack, or Billy Ocean doing a music video for Jewel Of The Nile and Kathleen Turner, Michael Douglas, and Danny Devito making an appearance. Or even Tina Turner singing "We Don't Need Another Hero" for Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome.

All the cross over music and movie marketing still goes on today, of course, but back then it felt much cooler and much more fun. Like everyone who performed or made movies back then were all just having one big party. I sense alot of that in Iron Man 2. Kinda makes me feel like a kid again.

Makes me long for something from back then to surface now in something new. The Ghostbusters had Ray Parker Jr. Back To The Future had Huey Lewis and The News. And now Iron Man 2 has AC/DC. I'd love to see more marketing like this from more movies in the future. Where it's not just about telling people about a movie premiere. It's about announcing that a MOVIE EVENT is about to happen. It should make you feel like if you miss this movie, then you're missing the party.

I think that's something Indie Moviemakers need to keep in mind, even before you start working on that script. Think about the marketing. How can I make this into something more than just an indie movie? How can I make this into an EVENT? How can I make this so people will WANT to see it?

Don't just make a movie. Make an EVENT!

Thanks Harry

Looks like I may be doing quite a bit of traveling next year. Texas in January then to Washington on the 20th. Atlantic City most likely in March, and then back to Texas in April. If I'm lucky I can add Park City, Utah in January. But since I've missed Park City every year for the past 6 years, why break the streak? If I'm really unlucky I'll be in L.A. before summer for a few weeks. I really don't like L.A. No offense to my L.A. peeps, but you know it just ain't my scene. Great place to visit. As long as it's a short visit. I'll stick around for your sake Beks, but only for production reasons.

I'm not as adventurous when it comes to traveling. Not like I use to be. I think it's mainly because I'm focused on the project at hand, and right now that doesn't really require alot of traveling. I am determined to make as many out of town screenings as possible. Nothing like watching an audience full of strangers watch your work. Something I haven't done since 2001.

I'm on Twitter now. I find it beneficial to rattle off random updates in short form, especially when I'm working on scripts. Right not I'm working on 3 MC episodes, 1 short, and next years Feature Film. Don't even ask me about it cuz it's going to change, it always does. Thankfully I'm not as sick as I was, and I can concentrate more steadily. But in my short bursts of stoppage, I do sound off on Twitter now, or I post here, or on my super secret (but not really) LJ.

I'm also trying to keep up with learning about New Media, how the new PR techniques apply to New Media, and examining different business models. This whole entertainment landscape is changing everyday, especially with regards to the internet as it applies to the DIY Moviemaker. Tell you what, wanna keep up with it yourself, then keep an eye on Scott Kirsner's blog CINEMA TECH as well as Lance Weiler's THE WORKBOOK PROJECT. Both sites that will definitely help you stay ahead of the game, or at least keep up with it.

But no matter what new media I observe, no matter what new marketing, tech, model, idea, strategy, etc. The old adage still applies. If you put on a good enough show, people will surely pay the price of admission. Marketing becomes easier when you've got a good product. It's an easy sell when it's something they wanna see.

So back to writing I go.

High Pitched Advertising

Saw this first on Matt Dentler's blog. Sony came up with an interesting way to advertise for the movie THE MESSENGERS. Utilizing high frequencies in commercials. I thought this was an interesting approach. Glad there are still some people in movie marketing still using the old noggin.

Here's an article all about it.

Candy Hearts and Knowing Your Movie

I'm just now, right at this moment, getting over being sick. As a matter of fact I'm still sick, and feeling a bit better, and most likely jinxing things by jumping the gun in posting this. It's been a bit of a rough week. The last time I was sick was back in October when Juli's mom died. So there was a bit there where I was reliving some things that really didn't really need reliving. Add in some other things. The father of an old friend of Juli's had passed away, Juli's Grandmother isn't doing all that well, and our old next door neighbor and a dear friend to me and Juli, and to Juli and her family long before I was in the picture isn't doing much better either.

I was quietly dealing with a small bout of depression, but I had a nice little cough and headache to keep me preoccupied. Juli ended up breaking down the other night. This vibe of illness, death, and depression seemed to swallow us this week. It has been a bit heartbreaking, but we've gotten really good a dealing with this kind of thing. The only thing that kept Valentine's Day from sucking was the simple fact that we have each other. And I decided to be silly super husband and brave the cold cold weather in my sick sick body to hunt down Juli's favorite candy hearts. Undercover of getting dinner and DVDs of course. That made her happy. At least I hope it did.

I'm not use to being sick. I don't really get sick that often. And when I do get sick I tend to want to still work on stuff. Especially movie stuff. So I spent the past few days struggling through a sore throat, annoying cough, stuffy nose, and sinus headaches, planning out screenings, fest entries, and convention screenings.

Thanks to Crystal for reminding me of what our exact demographic is and for pointing out conventions as a place to target our core audience. Monster Cops: The Midnight Special is, after all, Cult, Horror, SciFi, Comedy, Action. So it does reach a wide range of people. Thing is I was mainly working the Horror and Comedy crowds in my agenda. I had conventions in mind, but I was aiming mainly for horror themed cons. For some reason it didn't even occur to me to that our core audience would also be interested in general scifi fandoms. I had missed the SciFi aspect of The Midnight Special. I mean I knew it was there, but I was mainly concentrating on the two things The Midnight Special are at the forefront, Horror and Comedy.

Film Threat put out there "Top Ten Tips To Distributing Your Movie" years ago. In one section they mention Truly Understanding Your Film. The section talks of filmmaker Mark Bosko making his movie "Killer Nerd". Mr. Bosko thought he was making a simple horror film, but when he was distributing and marketing he discovered a new niche for the film, Horror Comedy. I don't know how you couldn't know from the title, Killer Nerd. But it's a good tip to truly identify what your movie is. Makes it much easier for you to identify who your audience is.

In my case I just didn't really look at it, and I would've missed a good opportunity to really get to the core audience of people who love Cult, Horror, Comedy, SciFi, Action movies. This is why I have specific people I call when I need data or assistance. Crystal is great with PR, and when I hit a point where I knew I needed to re identify our core audience in order to figure out everything I needed to supplement my agenda, I knew to call Crystal. She really hit the nail on the head with the SciFi Cons. Also helps that she's worked a few in her time.

What's great with alot of these cons is they seem open to screening indie movies. Many of them have just started their own little film festivals or at least have a video or screening room that runs movies through out the con. Even if it isn't an official screening, at least your movie will screen through out a convention run and you have the potential to reach hundreds of people. It's mainly just about having some sort of presence around your core audience. Also cons love to hand stuff out for free. Send them any promo items, especially ones with your URL on them (monstercops.com) and they'll be sure to put them in the hands of many if not all of their attendees. I'm documenting the entire process for a future article on Indies working with Cons.

Don't know how many cons Monster Cops: The Midnight Special maybe screening at, but I know it will be a couple at least. This will definitely be a great supplement to the festival screenings as well as the theatrical screenings we're going to organize.

Still have a ton of things to put together before we start getting people to the website. That is the big key here, getting people to the website, monstercops.com. this is where they will get to know the movie, get to love the movie, and then eventually where they will want to buy the movie.

To do:

- Update trailers. Cutting together a new trailer to supplement the official trailer.
- Upload clips of the movie. Must give the people a sample of the film if they're just coming to the site without having seen it at the screening. Gotta let them know what they're missing out on.
- Video Blogs. Gotta let the people know about the filmmaker. If they know you, they'll be more inclined to buy from you and support your efforts. At least I hope.
- Update all links and pages and put up some new content. Gotta keep em coming back for something until the DVD release.

- Must prep all marketing materials, fliers, cards, promo items, etc. for the conventions and possible other events.
- Still got a bunch more press kits and DVD screeners to make and burn.
- Still have a bunch of festivals to submit to.

OK gonna work on the site a bit, and email a few more cons.

Ooh, I hear the cough medicine calling me.

Uncharted

I try not to do anything unless I research it to death. And lemme tell ya I think I know more about cable advertising and media buying then I ever wanted to know. All this research is part of the marketing plan. No, no, don't expect to see any Monster Cop commercials anytime soon. But perhaps in the future. Just trying to flesh out every bit of the agenda. You can add on top of all that the current research on guerrilla marketing that I've been brushing up on. I've always been a fan of Jay Conrad Levinson. I feel I've learned much about marketing from all of his books.

I found myself wondering around the book stores and libraries today before going into work. I realized that there was really nothing for me to look for. Most of the research I needed has been online. If it is in book form, I've already read it. After perusing most of Mr. Levinson's teachings, which I had actually read years ago, I realized that there was nothing left to learn. Ok, well that's not true, there is always something to learn. But as far as a book on filmmaking, independent movie making, movie marketing, low budget production, digital production, and DIY distribution? I don't think there is anything left for me to read.

I flipped through the usual mags, Filmmaker, Moviemaker, yadda yadda. Don't get me wrong, great mags they are, but I don't need another article telling me how easy it has become to self distribute. Every article, every book, every piece of paper that had anything to do with movie making or distributing, I had already read, or already knew what it was going to say.

The thing is much of that info is obsolette. I picked up a book on No budget distribution, published just last year, already the data in it was outdated. It is after all January 2007. Technology is moving fast and the opportunities for DIY movie making and distribution are growing faster than can be documented. It's pretty easy to find publications that already have it wrong just weeks after they've been published. It's come down to it. The knowledge has caught up to the present. Nothing in books can prepare me. It's all about the current trends being reported now.

It was just today that I learned of 2 new trends in technology and marketing that will be quite useful for the indie distributor. Hopefully I'll get to utilize them soon. All the old data I've already consumed, and the new stuff I'm keeping an eye on. The preliminary research is over, and it's time to start taking some very big steps. We're most definitely off the map here, and perhaps soon, instead of me reading the news, I'll be making some.

This whole DIY distribution thing is some scary shit.

Ain't it cool?

- P

Without A Box

The Golden Globes. Yeah, I forgot about em. I was at work.

The Superbowl. I'll probably forget about that too.

The Oscars. I really don't care.

The Superbowl, well, that has to do with me not keeping up with any sporting even that didn't involve cards, pool, or free form fighting this past year. As far as awards. I'm at the point where I don't really care what movie wins an award, because I've got my brain wrapped around making and marketing my own. However I am quite happy that Jennifer Hudson won. And it's about damn time Eddie Murphy received something as well as Forest Whitaker. So good for them. And Sacha Baron Cohen, yes I am happy you won too. But I'm still envious that you get to bang Isla Fisher with frequency. So congrats and screw you.

I didn't care to tune in, cuz I'd rather be working. I'm glad for the winners, but I don't find myself taking nights off for award shows or TV events anymore. Unless there is some sort of segment on Indie Self distribution, I most likely will not be tuning in to the Oscars. Especially if I'm working, either at the day job or my real job.

I find myself lately surrounded by budget sheets and scrap pieces of paper covered in scribbles of numbers and prices and costs and sales figures. I'm trying to take a note from a wise piece of advice Lance Weiller (The Last Broadcast) said in an article on DIY Distribution. "Don't lose that same empowerment that you felt when you picked up the camera and shot the film in the first place."

So very true. It doesn't end when the movie is in final cut. That is honestly only the beginning. And since that final edit last year, it's been a bumpy road that hasn't really alloted me the chance to get going. But I've got my second wind back, and I'm ready to get going on distribution.

I'm aiming for a DVD release date of March, but in reality it may be more like April. This is also going to coincide with Festival Screenings as well as separate theatrical screenings. Any place I can show this movie I will and at the same time let people know that they can own it on DVD. This is also going to coincide with some fundraising for the sequel. I'm going full steam ahead on MONSTER COPS the movie. The series will come after. I fully garuntee an interesting and fun fundraising and marketing ride. Get the bail money ready, cuz I've got a plan.

I've got 5 packages to send out. Each with a DVD screener/press kit/promo kit. I already did one video about the basic DVD screener creation and what that entails, but I'm documenting the creation of the full kit and promo materials. I hope to have that up in a few weeks.

I really don't know what I would do without WITHOUTABOX. If you're an indie filmmaker and you're not utilizing Withoutabox.com, than you are just plain missing out. It's a festival data base and a one stop shop for entering festivals online. No need to fill out any paper work, now you can find the fest or fests you want, submit your info and press kit details, have your entry form and applications filled out automatically online, pay all of your entry fees online, and all you have to do is mail your DVD screener in. Entering fests have been so much easier since Withoutabox came along a few years back. It's also a huge help that you get discounts on many of these fest fees.

And they've really grown too. Almost every fest on the planet has signed up with them, making it easier to enter fests in one shot. Now they also provide DVD on demand delivery. They will burn and send in your DVD everytime you enter a fest online. Soon they will be much like Indieflix or Customflix where indies can distribute there DVD's on demand. They've even started something called AUDIENCE. It's pretty much MYSPACE for Filmmakers. Got a movie to promote, you can start your own Audience Page and upload pics, info, and trailers. Check out THE MIDNIGHT SPECIALS AUDIENCE PAGE. Many films have already used Audience to build buzz about their movie.

I'll tell ya though it's getting hectic having to keep up with all these promo pages. Audience, Myspace, Indieloop, etc. But it's worth it everytime I see how many new hits there are on monstercops.com. How the hell are we so popular in Germany? Everytime I check the stats, there's 20 new hits from Germany. I don't think I've even sent a screener out that far. Whatever, as long as they spend as much time as they do on the site getting to know the movie, I'm cool with it.

As posted on the WTW Blog, there will be some major changes to monstercops.com and whethertheweather.com. Got some major work to do.