Los
Angeles-based independent filmmaker Stefan Avalos offers advice about using
digital screenings to create the kind of buzz that leads to better DVD sales
Article brought to you by Discmakers.
By Stefan Avalos
Writer,
Director
Theatrical
release, a dream for most independent producers, is a tough market to crack
without a traditional, "connected" distributor. For many indie filmmakers, the
main benefit in having a limited theatrical release is not to initially make a
profit in the theaters, but to build a buzz that will help get further
distribution opportunities. One major advantage to doing a limited theatrical
release is that you are more likely to get press coverage in larger publications
than if the film hadn't screened in a theater; most critics won't review a film
unless their readers can see it. And here's where your DVD comes in: many, if
not most, critics review the DVD screener before the movie opens, because they
need to talk about the film in advance and they may not want or be able to
attend an opening night screening. In this way, the DVD can help you promote the
event itself.
Opportunities for Public Screenings
Film
festivals
If
you feel your movie has the chance to be a high-level independent movie,
consider trying to get a producers rep interested. These reps will attempt to
get you into one of the top festivals such as Sundance, Toronto,
Berlin,
or Venice
– the festivals with the greatest presence of scouts, subdistributors, and
people who can help your career.
We
didn’t consider our movie The Ghosts of Edendale to be a “Sundance” movie, but
we felt that the Silver Lake Film Festival would be a great way to do an
L.A.
screening in the area where the film was shot. This was perfect because it
enabled us to advertise a screening in LA and to create a buzz with newspaper
articles. A review (a good one) from that screening appeared in Film Threat –
from which we were able to pull quotes. Additionally, winning the
“Silver
Lake”
award at the festival made for a press release as well as a legitimate reason to
put those laurels on all future materials and packaging.
Limited
theatrical
You
could "four-wall" a theater (rent the theater and keep the door receipts), or,
if the theater owner is amenable, do something like a 50-50 split of the door
(concession sales being theirs). If you do a split, you will likely have to
cover many marketing expenses like fliers and ads in the local papers. You'll
need to work with a theater owner, probably from a smaller theater and not a
large chain. To find the right theater, it's worthwhile to look online for other
filmmakers who have done this, noting which theaters are outfitted for digital
projection. Try to sell your movie by coming up with the thing that makes your
film different – the "hook" that makes it the thing that audiences must see now.
With my film The Last Broadcast, we pushed the historic milestone aspect of it,
as the presentation was one of the first to be a theatrical digital release via
satellite download.
Try
to get a screening in one of the big cities and invite the press as well as
acquisitions people from the studios. Be sure to pack the audience with
supportive friends and family. Even if the acquisitions people don't show up,
you can put in a press release that you had a great screening in a good place –
which you should then send to those distributors.
In
addition to just shooting for New
York
and Los
Angeles
screenings, consider other metropolitan areas and their suburbs – outside
Chicago,
outside Philadelphia,
etc. In order to have them take the risk on showing your film, you often have to
buy and promise ads to the theater owner. Therefore, you need a place with
affordable marketing costs (i.e. not NY or LA) and with reviewers who are not
so swamped with movies (unlike the beleaguered critics at the Village Voice).
Marketing
and promotion are the most important aspects of your movie’s life. This is where
most filmmakers fall short, and why so many indie projects ultimately fail to be
financially viable. It can't be over-stressed – people have to know your movie
exists in order to see it.
An
ad in a paper may cost you a few hundred dollars, but remember that most of
advertising can be free. A local morning radio or television show may cover a
story about a local indie filmmaker. An article in a local newspaper is free
advertisement and can be many times more effective than a paid ad. Be creative
with your marketing. For one project with which I was involved, we made a huge
exhibit on a pickup truck and drove all around town with it.
Also
be sure to work with the theater owners and ask them for suggestions – they know
their audience, and it’s amazing how far theaters will go when they feel that
it’s a real team effort. And let the theater owner know you'll be in attendance
for Q&A after the screening, which is something else they can promote.
Other Screening Opportunities
Some
independent theaters, local film societies, art galleries, schools, and even
nightclubs have showings where they screen DVD movies. Check your local
newspaper or Google for listings of venues nationwide and in your town that
screen DVDs.
Microcinemas
are a friendly way to show your film to a supportive audience of film buffs, and
they are well worth contacting and sending DVD screeners. But it's my experience
that only a few that can help you truly get a cult press presence of the kind
which can help secure distribution. When doing a screening of this sort, think
about a cross-purpose event. Is there a cool band that is somehow relevant to
the movie? How about a poetry slam? Think outside the box.
Stefan
Avalos makes his living as an indie filmmaker. His latest movie, "The Ghosts
of Edendale", is available through Warner Home Video.
