There is a quagmire of ‘advice’ out there for filmmakers about how best to market and distribute a film in the current difficult times. It’s often hard for filmmakers wading through this muddy pool of ‘help’ to fathom who’s knowledge is best. Advice is often untested in anything resembling a broad sense of perspective and while there are certainly enthusiastic pioneers out there, plenty territory could turn out to be hostile, if not in general, then certainly for specific projects. Let’s just say that I have therefore always approached marketing and distribution talk with a healthy amount of skepticism. My measure is to always look carefully for sustainability in the options offered.
So it was when Chris Jones suggested I might benefit from attending his Distribution 2010 workshop where Jon Reiss and Sheri Candler would lead a two day step by step exploration of the options available to filmmakers today, I jumped at the opportunity to learn more that would help me plan for the best possible outcomes when marketing and distribution came on the table, and also to put into perspective what was really achievable. So I approached the weekend with an open but cautious mind desiring to glimpse a few sparkles at the end of the tunnel, but not expecting much more that that.
What I found was something quite different to what I’d envisaged. The plethora of options became apparent and though I knew this mindboggling array was there, what I really learned that was astonishingly valuable to me was how to approach that information, not with fear and skepticism but with a very solid sustainable strategy tailor those tools to my projects and a way to work that is right for me.
Over the course of the two days I began to feel more and more free to follow a filmmaking path without feeling that I would end up enslaved to the distribution part of the process. The stunning amount of information I ingested is more than I could possibly repeat in a blog post but I came away feeling I had a pretty good grasp of hybrid distribution, a knowledge of how not to get personally bogged down with things, the nuts and bolts of avoiding comon pitfalls, and a plan to move forward with my current project in order to get the best outcome from it for myself and my crew, while I move on to my next endeavour. I literally felt like I could breath easier having been given back my power as a creator of film and provided with the tools I need to cut a path through the forrest of choices out there and the ability to pick up the right new tools as they become available.
So that was kinda good.
I may have more musings at a later date but I think I’ve just put my foot on the Golden Path to a more holistic way of filmmaking.
I recommend attending the course in person if you can, it was a marvellous relaxed and informal weekend with some of the most lovely people I’ve met in a long time and speaking about distribution and case studies face to face really helps the information to sink in in a more valuable way. However if that’s not possible for you yet most of what you need will be covered in Jon’s book ‘Think Outside The Box Office’ and Sheri’s website along with more information from Chris Jones on his blog.
