A Critical Element of Your Film Success Strategy
A Critical Element of Your Film Success Strategy
This one activity has some of the biggest "return on investment". It is now an important part of publicity strategy for the success of your film. . . .
Attending ANY and ALL film festival that you can get to.
Try to make it to five or six film festivals per. Whether you are speaking, showing, being honored, there to network or there to watch the films, it is invariably extremely rewarding.
Although you will see some some great films at the festivals, by far some of the biggest benefits will be the networking opportunities that will present themselves.
Just think, you could make some great conntections that may lead to strong deals that quite likely would never happen without meeting and talking to other people face-to-face.
There is a tremendous advantage to meeting and talking to someone in person. You can accomplished things that might never have been possible without having met the person. Common interests are what brings people to film festivals, so right there, you already have something to talk about.
The reason to go is to meet other student filmmakers while meeting the pros. You may go to a huge school with hundreds of other film students, you may go to school much fewer, but the fact is, networking with other students will always be at your advantage.
Although you may share a common network on MySpace, there was nothing like meeting another filmmaker in person. It was the only way to really feel comfortable enough with a potential partner or crew member. A real connection that is not done in front of a glowing box.
Many times the more festivals that you go to, the more excellent connections you will make by virtue of face recognition. Someone may not come up and speak to you at one festival, but at the second one, with that common ground, you are much more approachable.
Send out an invitation or let your online network know that you are attending a certain festival. This way, you will finally was able to meet face to face with people you had emailed and talked with prior to going. It helped solidify some partnerships on upcoming projects which will likely be very significant.
Remember that it's not just the people you meet that you can network with.
Often times they know people or have contacts which can be extremely useful in one way or another. Again, there is a synergy between people talking face which is nearly impossible to do otherwise.
What Makes Film Festivals So Productive?
A lot of it has to do with "the atmosphere" of these events. The mood in general is people with common interests who are there to learn and share. This is a really good thing for filmmakers that can sometimes be in solitary in editing rooms for hours.
Quite a few people benefit greatly from networking. At film festivals you could and will meet some very influential people. You will also be able to meet people that will be high ranking filmmakers.
Film Festival Preparation
Contact all of your friends and people that you know through your online network and offer to carpool, meet up before or after, save seats for at the film festivals. Tell anyone that RSVP's to your invitation to bring another filmmaker or film enthusiast. If the ignore you, it will the their loss on a great evening.
This allows your friends or your network the opportunity to start planning some networking while they are at the festival.
Some tactics for successful networking include:
- Preparing ahead of time with your thought as to what goals or things you may want to accomplish.
Keep it simple and reasonable. Like, "I want to meet an editor that could look at my work and give me some tips". Or, "I want to meet the director of a Documentary to see how they got interviews".
- Bring PLENTY of business cards and give them to any and everyone that you talk to for at least a few seconds.
Keep you cards simple. Name, telephone number, what kind of a filmmaker you are. Ex. "Gaffer" or "Sound Technician" or "Screenwriter".
- Make yourself available - don't just sit around by yourself during the breaks. Take the time to really socialize.
This is why we encourage you to invite friends. Don't stand around in a circle with just your friends where it look impenetrable, stay lined up, spaced apart and don't cross your arms. Smile and have confidence. Offer to refresh drinks, ask questions about the projects they are working on. Be a good listener, don't talk too much about yourself.
- Take advantage of the limited time available. If you see someone who you would REALLY like to have a conversation with, contact them early and offer to buy them a coffee afterwards. Don't wait until the last minute as they may already have plans, or could have made them while you waited.
Don't be afraid to approach someone. They will most likely be flattered that you approached in the first place. If they can't, ask for their business card and find out when they would be able to.
- Make notes about your conversations on the back of the buisness card they gave you.
Make these notes as soon as possible. It is easy to forget who is who and this way you can begin to properly file them.
Finally, not going to film festivals just limits the opportunities that you give to yourself. So, go see some movies, have good conversation and make new contacts.
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Benefits
