Online distribution, VOD, day/date screening, transmedia and of course the threat of piracy are all part of the new frontier.
I am presently revamping the Raindance website and revisting our marketing an PR strategy. The author and marketeer Jeff Bullas highlighted several key factors in his excellent blog. A survey of nearly 2,000 companies rated the optimised press release as the most effective way to release news. Optimizing press releases for news search engines is now called "SEO-PR".
If you are a filmmaker, you better get tooled up - because this is where it is all starting to happen. The tools that relate to marketing in general pretty much all pertain to a successful film launch.
Read: The 3 New Rules Of Film Publicity
Head and Shoulders Above The Film Crowd
Yesterday I presented the Saturday Film School with my good friend Patrick Tucker for Raindance - it's always a fun day.This one was extra fun because we were at the Salvation Army on Oxford Street.
Many of the questions I had after the class at the pub, or doing the break concerned how to get work. Everyone is worried about their next job. film work ios pretty much all freelance.
I was thinking about this and how best to answer this basic and acrtually quite simple question when I decided to do another of my list articles - the "x" number of ways etc. It is quite interesting how many times I get criticised for using a numeric in the title of an article. The reason I do it is because it generally means that more people click on it.
Here goes then. If you want to stand head and shoulders amongst the crowd looking for film work, read my latest article, 7 Ways To Make Your Film Career Stand Out
Cannes Wrap Up
My last morning in Cannes was spent with Daniel Kresmery of Raindance Budapest. we had a lengthy early Cannes petit dejeuner discussing some of the finer points of our new venture: Raindance Raw Talent. It's amazing how quickly you get a dozen quality projects together.
I arrived back in London last night to a glorious evening. I took Eurostar all the way back and the French weather was wet and murky until I got to Lilles. Suddenly I was in London's balmy weather. People were actually walking around in shorts and sitting outside at cafes - something I didn't see at all in Cannes!
Here's a great Half-Time Report: Cannes Film Festival 2012.
So, what did it mean for me?
The bottom line is that there is a golden opportunity for niche digital distribution. Getting films out there and monetised outside of the traditional Hollywood paradigm is what the next big digital opportunity is.
The question is: what business model, which trajectory/business plan and what time-line?
For me today, it's back to work in London!
Grrr.
I arrived back in London last night to a glorious evening. I took Eurostar all the way back and the French weather was wet and murky until I got to Lilles. Suddenly I was in London's balmy weather. People were actually walking around in shorts and sitting outside at cafes - something I didn't see at all in Cannes!
Here's a great Half-Time Report: Cannes Film Festival 2012.
So, what did it mean for me?
The bottom line is that there is a golden opportunity for niche digital distribution. Getting films out there and monetised outside of the traditional Hollywood paradigm is what the next big digital opportunity is.
The question is: what business model, which trajectory/business plan and what time-line?
For me today, it's back to work in London!
Grrr.
Cannes Day 5
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| Rain-soaked Croisette in Cannes Film Festival2012 |
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| Brazil Drinks |
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| Jazz Trio Cannes Cinema Club |
The time has flown by, and it has been a great five days. I deliberately left Monday free, hoping to grab a few hours and wander over to Antibes. Alas - the sky a blood red this morning (sailor's warning) and sure enough the rain falling relentlessly. No one can remember a Cannes this rainy - 4 consecutive days and no sunny weather forecast til Wednesday, long after I have left.
I thought I'd report how my casual meetings take place here in Film Land. For those of you not in Cannes, this is what you are missing:
Generally, you feel a tap on your shoulder, turn around and there is someone you haven't seen since Berlinale, or last year in Cannes. "Great to see you!" then, with great intensity "When did you get here?" then, "Wow the weather!" then, "When are you leaving?". It's generally in that order too. If you exchange business cards, the patter this year is: "Wow! I Really Love Your Business Card!" followed by: "If you aren't leaving til Tuesday, we should really hook up!". Then on to the next one.
Trivial as this may seem, us human beings love exchanging phatic conversation. It's how you add in those little bits of what you know about someone, and all important too. That is is in a truly spectacular setting with loads and loads of people having a great time, makes Cannes at the top of my "Must Attend" events.
My first meeting (10:30am) was with a festival representative. There are many such in Cannes, but only a handful of professional ones. It breaks my heart to see nieve newbies being conned by certain startup 'festival experts." It's one of the cons that filmmakers fall for.
I then went to see a couple other film sales agents who patiently went through their lists of new product, hoping that the titles would spark Raindance's interest - and many have. I now have a case full with over 150 DVD's and press kits.
With my last day racing by, and rain pouring down in buckets, I decided to abandon my stroll around the old town in favour of lunch followed by a tipple at the Brazilian drinks. Brazil has really upped their game at this year's Cannes, and the films and filmmakers pouring out of Brazil are as dynamic and as exciting as from anywhere.
Australian Jon Hewitt is another fab friend from many Raindance Film Festivals gone by and I ended up chatting to him for ages in the Marche with his producer Lissette. Jon is on feature number seven right now, and is a wonderful director. Jon is having a private party on Thursday, shamefully scheduled after I leave! Last year's private party was one of my Cannes 2011 highlights.
I was able to introduce Jon and Lissette to Zachary Miller, a Raindance regular since year one, and producer of one of last year's festival highlights: the award winning After Fall, Winter. Zachary has put his crew in a villa up the hill, and has scheduled his villa party on Tuesday - again when I am gone. I have got to get this better organised next year.
It was now approaching sunset, and by London standards had packed in another really successful days, but there were still 3 WOW factors about to spin me around.
The first was the IMDB.com dinner party up the hill in the Old Town - hosted by festival friend and ex BIFA juror and IMDB founder Col Needham. Col had a fascinating cross section of festival directors, journalists, producers, agents and new media experts including the Withoutabox.com team.
Idiotically I didn't take any pictures, but if you head over to the IMDB.com blog I am sure you can find some. Somehow it didn't seem appropriate to take pictures of a small intimate gathering of the net's film giant's inner circle.
The second WOW was the arrival into Cannes of Julian and Marion from our London office. They had driven down from Brussels With Maxime and FX of the Brussels office.
The third WOW was elevenfiftyfive's Cannes Cinema Club - a 1960's pastiche club filled with hundreds of film references, Stella Artois and one of the best and most entertaining Jazz trio's I have ever heard.
Cannes Day 4
I will remember forever this as the Raindance day at Cannes - and has it rained for over 10 hours now.
All the evening plans were washed out and I ended up back in my cozy hotel room watching festival submissions on DVD.
My day had four highlights.
Very first thing this morning I had a great meeting wtih Julian Richard's of Jinga Films. Just 6 years old, Jinga now commands a prime spot in the Riviera and has a slate of terrific independent films.
This morning I also managed to catch Thomas Vinterberg's Jagten (The Hunt) in the big cinema.
Then it was off to a cute restaurant off the main street where I co-hosted a lunch for 4 Brit and 4 Quebecois producers - the lnnch the brainchild of Laurent Gagliardi, Directeur au contenu et aux affaires internationales, Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC for short).
If I have my way you will be hearing a lot more about SODEC and Quebecois filmmakers in London. I wish the UK had something equivalent and even half as effective. Speaking of which, I am dying to see Montrealer Xavier Dolan's next film: Laurence Anyways. Watch the trailer here:
This afternoon I discovered one of Cannes special secrets - a magnificent house tucked down an alleyway off the market street near the old town. The occasion was a wine tasting hosted by Morris Ruskin of Shoreline Entertainment - truly one of the most switched on sales agencies with a strong festival strategy spearheaded by Tom Davia. Check out their website, and see how they handle filmmakers and their films.
Also at this get together was Sydney Levine and Peter Belsito - two for my favorite people. Read Sydney's Buzz on Indiewire.com.
Tomorrow (my last day ;-( the rest of the London team arrive so I will be able to kick back and enjoy a bit more. And I am meeting up with Daniel Kresmery of Raindance Budapest. We are going to put the finishing touches onto Raindance Raw Talent. I'm looking forward to that.
For now, its back to the next in a monstrous pile of DVD's
Bon Soir from Cannes
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| Morning crowd settling in the Palais to watch Vinterberg's Jagten (The Hunt) |
All the evening plans were washed out and I ended up back in my cozy hotel room watching festival submissions on DVD.
My day had four highlights.
Very first thing this morning I had a great meeting wtih Julian Richard's of Jinga Films. Just 6 years old, Jinga now commands a prime spot in the Riviera and has a slate of terrific independent films.
This morning I also managed to catch Thomas Vinterberg's Jagten (The Hunt) in the big cinema.
Then it was off to a cute restaurant off the main street where I co-hosted a lunch for 4 Brit and 4 Quebecois producers - the lnnch the brainchild of Laurent Gagliardi, Directeur au contenu et aux affaires internationales, Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC for short).
If I have my way you will be hearing a lot more about SODEC and Quebecois filmmakers in London. I wish the UK had something equivalent and even half as effective. Speaking of which, I am dying to see Montrealer Xavier Dolan's next film: Laurence Anyways. Watch the trailer here:
This afternoon I discovered one of Cannes special secrets - a magnificent house tucked down an alleyway off the market street near the old town. The occasion was a wine tasting hosted by Morris Ruskin of Shoreline Entertainment - truly one of the most switched on sales agencies with a strong festival strategy spearheaded by Tom Davia. Check out their website, and see how they handle filmmakers and their films.
Also at this get together was Sydney Levine and Peter Belsito - two for my favorite people. Read Sydney's Buzz on Indiewire.com.
Tomorrow (my last day ;-( the rest of the London team arrive so I will be able to kick back and enjoy a bit more. And I am meeting up with Daniel Kresmery of Raindance Budapest. We are going to put the finishing touches onto Raindance Raw Talent. I'm looking forward to that.
For now, its back to the next in a monstrous pile of DVD's
Bon Soir from Cannes
Cannes Day 3
Cannes Day 3
Yesterday passed in a blur and the trip to the Cote D'Azur which seemed so impossibly long a few days ago has passed by at lightning speed. Only 2 more mornings and I am gone!
At 11am I took a bunch of Raindance members on a tour of the market and showed them a few secret places to get freebies and those elusive party tickets. I doorstepped Gary Phillips of Moviehouse Entertainment who gave an impromptu 10 minute masterclass on the relationships between producers, sales agents and distributors. A poster for a film he is representing was just singled out by Hollywood Reporter as a terrific example of a poster. All this while trying to finish a press release. Thanks you Gary and partner Mark Vennis.
We ended up as usual at my private stomping ground - the Media Pavilion - stand number 120 this year.
The Media Pavilion is really one of Cannes' best kept secrets - for the price of a Market badge - you essentially get an office - with WiFi, message taking and more importantly - meeting areas with free drinks for your guests. At the American or British pavilions, in contrast, the drinks are sold at normal prices, meaning that meetings are suddenly an expensive affair. And the staff at the Media Pavilion are cheerful and helpful.
Today I mainly toured the stands and spoke to some of the professional sales agents in the Marche. Meetings are structured as such:
Raindance's Director of Programming, Suzanne Ballantyne sets up meetings weeks in advance from London. On arrival you look up the company's Cannes headquarters in the Marche guide and turn up at the meeting. The sales rep then goes through teh films one at a time, showing you the one-sheet, discussing the merits of the film and often showing a trailer. If the film looks suitable for Raindance, then one gets either an invite to the market or festival screening, or is given a DVD screener. Because of Raindance's excellent reputation and long history of launching films into Europe, we also report on the progress of previously screened films.
I then managed to take 90 minutes off and toured around the back streets at the foot of the Old Town. Cannes is a busy place even without the festival, and the back streets are full of treasure!
I bumped into so many good friends - Rinaldo - the energetic and passionate publisher of Moviescope Magazine being one. We swapped tales and yarns for a few minutes. Rinaldo and I have known each other since the start of Raindance - a really long time now - and we watch each others backs. Amazing to hear today how jealous and angry competitors and ex-colleagues are still trying to stick the knife into either Moviescope or Raindance. Geez!
I also ran into and had a brief catchup with LA based Shoreline Entertainment's Morris Ruskin - another of my favorite people.
Suddenly the Marche was closing and with nothing to eat since the morning with a couple of hasty croissants (courtesy of the Media Pavilion) I had to strategise on how best to max out the evening. Elisar Cabrara, our very first Raindance employee and now part of the Highpoint Media Group came charging to the rescue and led us down the Croisette - actually a very short way down the Croisette where we ducked in to Dutch drinks and snafued a couple canapes and then to the Swarovski party in honor of Romeo and Juliet. OMG what a party!
I managed to catch up with former Raindance student Lord Julian Fellowes and BIFA sponsor Nadia Swarovski as well as tons of London friends I hadnt seen in ages, included Hamish MacAlpine who whispered a few secrets about his exciting future plans. I didnt realise that he re-edited The Proposition. Mums The Word on his amazing future plans.
By now it was 9pm, and Elisar trooped us to a secret cheap pizza joint where we ended sitting next to a Dutch DVD distributor. We left to the Tokyo International Film Festival party in the glamorous Majestic Hotel Ballroom and finished up about midnight.
Cannes really is such hard work.
;-)
And the weather continues to suck, so be happy in your home.
Yesterday passed in a blur and the trip to the Cote D'Azur which seemed so impossibly long a few days ago has passed by at lightning speed. Only 2 more mornings and I am gone!
At 11am I took a bunch of Raindance members on a tour of the market and showed them a few secret places to get freebies and those elusive party tickets. I doorstepped Gary Phillips of Moviehouse Entertainment who gave an impromptu 10 minute masterclass on the relationships between producers, sales agents and distributors. A poster for a film he is representing was just singled out by Hollywood Reporter as a terrific example of a poster. All this while trying to finish a press release. Thanks you Gary and partner Mark Vennis.
We ended up as usual at my private stomping ground - the Media Pavilion - stand number 120 this year.
The Media Pavilion is really one of Cannes' best kept secrets - for the price of a Market badge - you essentially get an office - with WiFi, message taking and more importantly - meeting areas with free drinks for your guests. At the American or British pavilions, in contrast, the drinks are sold at normal prices, meaning that meetings are suddenly an expensive affair. And the staff at the Media Pavilion are cheerful and helpful.
Today I mainly toured the stands and spoke to some of the professional sales agents in the Marche. Meetings are structured as such:
Raindance's Director of Programming, Suzanne Ballantyne sets up meetings weeks in advance from London. On arrival you look up the company's Cannes headquarters in the Marche guide and turn up at the meeting. The sales rep then goes through teh films one at a time, showing you the one-sheet, discussing the merits of the film and often showing a trailer. If the film looks suitable for Raindance, then one gets either an invite to the market or festival screening, or is given a DVD screener. Because of Raindance's excellent reputation and long history of launching films into Europe, we also report on the progress of previously screened films.
I then managed to take 90 minutes off and toured around the back streets at the foot of the Old Town. Cannes is a busy place even without the festival, and the back streets are full of treasure!
I bumped into so many good friends - Rinaldo - the energetic and passionate publisher of Moviescope Magazine being one. We swapped tales and yarns for a few minutes. Rinaldo and I have known each other since the start of Raindance - a really long time now - and we watch each others backs. Amazing to hear today how jealous and angry competitors and ex-colleagues are still trying to stick the knife into either Moviescope or Raindance. Geez!
I also ran into and had a brief catchup with LA based Shoreline Entertainment's Morris Ruskin - another of my favorite people.
 |
| Elisar Cabrerra manning the Highpoint Booth singlehandedly |
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| Swarovski's Party Bar |
I managed to catch up with former Raindance student Lord Julian Fellowes and BIFA sponsor Nadia Swarovski as well as tons of London friends I hadnt seen in ages, included Hamish MacAlpine who whispered a few secrets about his exciting future plans. I didnt realise that he re-edited The Proposition. Mums The Word on his amazing future plans.
By now it was 9pm, and Elisar trooped us to a secret cheap pizza joint where we ended sitting next to a Dutch DVD distributor. We left to the Tokyo International Film Festival party in the glamorous Majestic Hotel Ballroom and finished up about midnight.
Cannes really is such hard work.
;-)
And the weather continues to suck, so be happy in your home.
Cannes Day 2
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| Waiting for the next round of celebs |
The weather sucks - it is pouring. Which means everyone is crammed into the pavilions along the beach.
First up was a meeting with our postgrad film degree students. They are doing some really exciting work, and in Cannes there are a series of projects that will certainly be strong enough to stand on their own two feet next year in either the Marche or Festival.
I then had a short but very effective meeting with the Raindance courses director, Rory O'Donnell. I have been inventing courses 'Raindance' since 1992, and today's meeting is no different: We are putting the finishing touched on an Creating A Web Series class at the end of June, something I promise you sounds like a winner.
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| Cannes Crew Prepping For The Brazilian Party |
This afternoon was an afternoon of partying - first the Bulgarian drinks reception. There is some amazing cinema coming from Bulgaria. We featured some of their films last year in our Balkan strand.
The Les Arc Film Festival had a reception. I was invited to the festival last year but couldn't attend with a diary conflict. Les Arc is on of the industry's favourite festivals - not only is the programming superb but the atmosphere unparralled. I found out that last year's December festival was intrupted by a snowstorm with over a metre of snow. Screenings were cancelled and the awards ceremony took place in a pub because no one could get to the cinema. I bagsied a T-shirt reading: "I Survived The Snow In Les Arc". I'm pretty sure I won't see anyone in London wearing this one.
You might think I am a lush - but these parties are actually hard work. One is always pitching or listening to pitches, and if you are hungry or thirsty there is always a monster scrum in front of the bar.
Next up was the Swedish parry where I knew only one person at the far end of the room - we waved, but fortunately like Moses and the Red Sea - a gap opened to the refreshment table where I was able to grab some food and a cocktail.
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| The Brazilian Band |
I then met up with a new acquaintance from London to discuss a more formal working relationship. He has an interesting production company with a leading international actor (who happens to be London based) and a solid background in the music biz. I don't want to say too much now, but if the wind keeps blowin' the right way, it could be great news for Raindance and our wider circle of writers, directors and producers.
I did few few street chats with friends on the way back to the hotel and got an early night. Tomorrow is going to be hectic with all the invites to the Japanese things ending very early Sunday morning.
Cannes Day One
I thought I'd try and do a bit of a diary about Day One
Our train down on Wednesday was a couple hours late which meant all I could do Wednesday was pick up my badge, walk around and grab a pizza. I did bump into the incredible sales agent Morris Ruskin and my good friend from Paris, Zachary Miller.
Thursday I had a 9:15 at the Palais and managed to nip into the ticket booth and got tickets to the 10:30pm red carpet. I guess that tuxedo will come in handy after all
I am based in the Media Pavilion - it has free WiFi, and more importantly - croissants, coffee juice and water for guests. They also take messages and accept parcels. Between 9:15 and 4pm I met filmmaker after filmmaker. One of the most interesting meetings was with London BIFA colleague Martin Myers who outlined a great new project.
Back to the hotel to change grab a short rest - then in tuxedo - several hysterical calls from London office - more on that later I suppose - off to the Scandanavian Kitchen Party on the Croissette - lovely food and drinks including a sample of a brand new Swedish whiskey that launching today in France and mid September in the UK - so naturally I met the Marketing manager, exchanged cards and told her to compliment our opening night
Off to the red carpet and the 10:30pm screening - Egyptian film in Arabic - got a ten minute standing ovation at the end - went back to the hotel via the kebab shop and picked up a fallafel - next to a friend from London who was totally wrecked trying to pay for a fallafel with a credit card
Got to bed about 2pm
Ready to leave the hotel for day 2
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