Fairytales can hold a powerful sway over us.  As a child whose father had just died, I cried for years.  Not knowing what to do, my mother told me that when I grew up, I would meet Prince Charming, who would sweep me off my feet and make-up for everything I’d missed.  I stopped crying and turned my head toward the future.  You can bet that letting go of that fairytale took a toll.

Here’s another fairytale I think is equally destructive.  A filmmaker that I recently overheard on a discussion list said he was planning on offering streams of his movie for free and getting 600 million people to view it.

600 million.  That’s nearly twice the population of the entire United States or about 25% of all internet users on earth.

His question on the list was what platform to use.  No queries about how to attract 600 million viewers which he evidently saw as realistic, only whether to use Vimeo or YouTube.  Another post responded that if he expected to reach over 600 million people, he should post information about his film on a few websites!

Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been thinking.  Filmmakers certainly deserve to sell their films to universities and libraries, but too many lack the funds at the end of the day to hire me, or anyone, to help them.

Since the skill of distribution is not rocket science, some can succeed on their own, but many need help.

So, I’ve come up with a plan.  Beginning Monday, July 2nd, I will be offering small, affordable, 4-week seminars to get you ready for a fall campaign, with plenty of individual feedback.  In addition, the purchase of any month of seminars will entitle you to a 30% discount on one hour of my consulting time, useable whenever you like.  Also, seminars will be available via a web hosting service, to make it possible for you to attend long-distance, even if you live just a mile away from my home in Los Angeles.

For details, times, and prices on these seminars, see the Workshop link on the menu bar.  A 4-week introductory seminar is required for all students, even if you’ve had some background in distribution.  It will give an overview of my process, fill in any gaps, and establish a general vocabulary that we can share.  In addition, during this first month, you will create a general distribution plan.

After the introductory month,  future 4-week seminars will focus on giving each person specific feedback and response as they work on their distribution plan and prepare a campaign.  You may dip in and out of these 4-week classes, or work month-by-month to be ready for fall.

Ready to go back to school? Your film certainly is!  I hope to see you there.