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Producer Handbook: Elements to Promotion

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Elements to Promotion

  • Film Descriptions
  • Key art
  • Trailers
  • Press kits
  • Film Premiere
  • Social networking sites are a must!
  • Navigating film festivals

Film promotion takes place long before the film is done.  Photos, press kits and trailers will help create the buzz—and aid with fundraising efforts—to get the word about your film and induce that “must see” feeling to viewers, as well as public television program directors.

Film Descriptions: Making it Sexy—and sell!

We’ve all read boring textbooks but yet remember great lines in poetry or books or have memorized inspirational sayings.  Your film description should be those memorable lines to describe a memorable film.  The first step is to write out what your film is about in 50 words or less, then start using colorful adjectives to replace the mundane ones. 

For example:  This film is about my Creek grandmother, Wanda, in Oklahoma who was the first professional female sharp-shooter in the nation that toured with the Wild West Show.  Folks who saw her said she was wonderful and picked up that nickname.  She learned sharp-shooting from her father at 13. Her career ended when she shot my grandfather. Investigators still don’t know why.

Changed to: Picking up her first gun at 13, this little-known Creek woman rose to the professional ranks of sharp-shooting at 25. Traveling with the Wild West Show and performing for cowboys in her home state of Oklahoma, Wanda the Wonderful led a quite life until she shot my grandfather before his 55th birthday.  But sheriffs still don’t know why.

Another way to think about selling and describing your film is to shrink it down to a sentence:

  • American Cowboys—The first Native American and the first African Americans overcome persecution in the early 1900s to become the best cowboys in the country.
  • Waterbuster—Producer J. Carlos Peinado returns to the Ft. Berthold Reservation and discovers stories of the past as he assesses tribal identity.

Think about the words you’re using, then ask yourself if there are better adjectives.  Try to be as descriptive as possible.  For example, if a young girl is the subject of your story, is she a teenager or in elementary or middle school?  Is there a turning point in the film?  Are there geographical contrasts?  If so, work these into the description.  Also remember: the shorter, the snappier, the better.

Key Art

Still photographs are a great way to present your film to the public and entice them to see the final product.  Planning for still photos should also become at the beginning of the film to help you sell your film to investors, viewers and program directors.  Remember the stories are about people so it’s best to get photos with people in them, especially one or more of your main subjects.  Also remember lighting, framing and focus all apply to stills as these concepts apply to your film.  The stills need to be high-quality in order to be publishable in newspapers, magazines and Web sites.  All still photographs should be at least 300 dpi and NAPT will not accept screen grabs.  At least one broadcasting distributor, ITVS, suggests that producers hire a professional photographer to get those quality shots before filming begins.  NAPT requires four to six stills for our press kits. 

If a professional photographer cannot be obtained, NAPT recommends going to your local community college or tribal college or university to see if an upper level graduate photography student is available.  You can suggest that the student use the photos for his or her portfolio although there may little or no money for payment.  Be sure to get the copyright for the photos.  An upper level music student can also be asked to create original score, too, and, again, be sure to get all the rights for the music, too. The student will get the credit.

In addition, NAPT will start a series of “behind the scenes” articles for our newsletter for a new section called VisionMaker Video First Look to create that buzz before the film is released. Please send behind the scenes photos to NAPT when you start shooting to incorporate them in the articles.  The behind the scenes photos can also be posted on your MySpace, Facebook and other social networking sites as the film is being developed.

Trailers

In this world of instant audio and video, trailers have become important vehicle in the promotion and marketing of your film, as well as aid you in fundraising.  After a viewer watches your trailer, they should come away with the “I’ve got to see/buy this film!” feeling.  But don’t wait until the end to do them.  As soon as you have a good sense of the storyline, NAPT suggests that you create a trailer to help you with the promotion not only for viewership but raising money for your film. PBS requires 20- to 30-second trailers, depending on the distribution outlet.

Press Kits

There are several elements to a press kit that are used both by the media, as well as public television program directors:

  • Press or news release—A synopsis of your film, which includes a statement from you and/or other producers about the film, credits, etc.  An example can be seen on: www.nativetelecom.org/program_the_oneida_speak.html. NAPT can help in the writing and editing of the news release, in addition contact Native and the mainstream press when the film is released.
  • Biographies
  • Credits and crew biographies
  • High-quality still photographs
  • Educational or discussion guides—These supplemental tools to help a teacher or viewer use your film as the basis of a lesson or discussion.  These aren’t essential to a press kit but producers should consider them. 

Film Premiere

How and when you release your film is an important first step in promotion.

  • Be proactive in where you would like to premiere your film. Ask yourself:  What are the goals for this film? Who is my audience? Who are the natural consumers of this film? What is the best way to reach them?  If you can’t answer these questions before you make a film, then there’s trouble.

Some considerations:

  • Give back to the community—have a premiere in the area where the film was shot and invite the local press & celebrities to help get the word out
  • Partner with an organization with the same mission as the film e.g. Sierra Club or American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES)
  • Film festivals that have a theme or a purpose e.g. the World Wide Short Film Festival in Toronto.
  • But before the premiere, have the following supporting materials ready:
  • Press kits
  • Postcards and posters with key art
    • Social networking sites and/or web sites to support the film—Facebook, MySpace, YouTube

Social networking sites

Social networking sites—My Space, YouTube and Facebook—are a must.  The NAPT staff can aid in building a site to place your trailers, press kit and other information about your and your film to build that fan base.  Your film development can be documented here and messages or bulletins can be sent out to interested viewers or friends when new photos, music or other new elements are posted to keep them in the loop.  Consider adding a personal film blog, as well as add comments or blogs or links to blogs from others associated from your film.  Don’t forget to send out messages about the film premiere and other screenings.  And please send the updates to NAPT so that we can alert our fans as well.

The sites should also continue to be utilized after the film has been broadcasted to update your friends/fans on the progression or digression of the issue.  This can also translate into DVD sales.

Film Festivals

There are about 3,000 film festivals in the world today each with special themes or purposes.  Film festivals can also be quite costly, so be strategic when entering them.  NAPT can aid you in coming up with an affordable plan so that time and money aren’t wasted. 

  •  Native American film festivals:  All Roads, American Indian Film Festival, First Nations, Smithsonian, etc.

Top festivals:  New York, Montreal, Telluride, Toronto, Tribecca and Sundance

  •  “Second Tier:”  AFI, Hamptons, L.A., Miami, Palm Springs, San Francisco, Seattle, SXSW and Vancouver
  • “Third Tier:”  Cinevagas, Cleveland, Chicago, Denver, Mill Valley, SlamDance, Santa Barbara, etc.

Other Film Festivals:

  • Shorts:  Clermont Ferrand Short Film Festival, Expressions in Corto, Palm Springs, World Wide Short Film Festival, etc.
  • Documentary:  Hot Docs, Full Frame, InFACT and Silverdocs
  • Major Gay/Lesbian/Transgender: Frameline, Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, Outfest, Philadelphia and Toronto

As with film premieres, have supporting materials ready, such as postcards, posters, etc.

 

For more information or questions:

 

Georgiana Lee

NAPT Assistant Director

Glee3@unl.edu          

Phone: 402.472.0497

Fax: 402. 472.8675

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