Research social media campaigns – What is out there? What is working? Look at existing campaigns that fit the genre of your product – pull these apart and detail what you have gathered from them.
Research crowdfunding sites – what is out there? What is working? Look at existing campaigns that it the genre of your product – pull these apart and detail what you have gathered from them. Gather stats to show how successful these are/have been. -look at a range of sites.
Social Media Campaigns
Social media is being used more recently to promote a film before its release. It creates excitement surrounding the film so on its release more people will flock to the cinema to watch it. The most common form of social media used is Facebook, this is because information, photos and even videos can be shared on this platform. This image shows the statistics of active users on different social media platforms. Facebook has 1,590 million active users whilst Twiter only has 320 active users.
Statistics found at http://www.smartinsights.com/social-media-marketing/social-media-strategy/new-global-social-media-research/ . Accessed on 14/11/2016
Here are three Successful social media campaigns for coming-of-age films.
The first is a feature film that came out in September 2015 called Me and Earl and the Dying Girl.
Here is a link to the films Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/MeAndEarlAndTheDyingGirlUK/?brand_redir=1008278145852563
What made this campaign so successful was that they posted fairly regularly, about every 10 days. This is a good rate for a long social media campaign because you don’t want to overwhelm your followers because otherwise they will follow the page. They also only posted things that they thought that there audience would actually care about so they they will pay attention too it. The content they posted included, trailers, teasers, posters, news articles, red carpet photos, quotes and days-to-go images. All this content showing up on peoples news-feed made people excited about the movie meaning that they went to go and see it when it was released.
As evidenced by the number of likes, shares and views, people really liked the red carpet photos of the actors and the trailers. I think that this made the audience most excited about seeing the film.
Another coming-of-age feature which had a strong social media presence is God help The Girl. It was a crowdfunded so needed to have a way of connecting with its backers and did so through Facebook. They posted almost every day about production, release dates and special screenings in different cities. God Help The Girl Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/GodHelpTheGirlFilm/
One more successful social media Facebook page was for Perks Of Being A Wallflower. This film is a bit different to the other two because this had a large budget but still needed to have a good social media presence to promote the film. It had just under 1.4 million likes which makes it a very successful campaign. Two things that people really liked on this page was the quotes and images from the film and the updates on the cast and festival screenings.
From looking at these three Facebook page campaigns I can see that regularly posting but not overwhelming the audience seems to be the trend with popular pages. I can also see that including excitement surrounding the release of a trailer or the film brings more likes to the page and the content. What doesn’t seem to be working for the audience is content posted that inst related directly to the film. For my Social media campaign I will stick to posting related content such as updates on the principle photography and editing, Images from the film and updates on releases for the trailer and finished film. I will post this kind of content as it appears to be what draws in and keeps the audiences attention which makes them excited about the film.
Crowdfunding
I started doing some research into the best sites for crowdfunding as a filmmaker and I found a web page called The balance and they have a list of the top 4 sites for filmmakers to raise money for a film. There number one is an investment platform for independent filmmakers, its a really effective way of funding films with a budget of around £20,000 so its not suitable for me. There next best site is Indigogo. Its good because its crowdfunded by the public, its well known, loads of films have been funded via this site and if you don’t reach your goal you still get to keep the money you raised. There third favourite site is called Seed & Spark which is very similar to Indigogo but dedicated to filmmakers. One of its benefits is that it allows you to allocate different funding pots for different arias of the films budget, this allows people to fund different parts of the film like the insurance or equipment rental or cast. There fourth favourite was a site called Slated. This site seems to be very popular with industry professionals as many large budget films have been funded through this site, for this reason I don’t think that this site will be suitable for my film.
Other sites that seem to be popular for funding films are Kickstarter and Go Fund Me. The problem with those sites are that Kickstarter doesn’t allow you to keep any money if you don’t reach your goal and Go Fund Me isn’t only for film and art projects its also for peoples trips and other fund raising needs so films don’t tend to be as successful on this site.
From what I’ve found out about the different crowdfunding sites, my best choices are Indigogo and Seed & Spark. I’m going to use Indigogo to fund my film as it more popular than Seed & Spark so I’m more likely to get some funding from a site with more traffic.
Crowdfunding examples
One of the most famous Crowdfunded films was called Wish I was Here, directed by Zach Braff. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1869987317/wish-i-was-here-1. It raised $3,105,473 from 46,520 backers. Its ran for 28 days, and posted 48 updates over 14 months, the updates included 10 videos of stuff like behind the scenes and 14 photos of behind the scenes, concept art and planing. The incentives ranged depending on price pledged. They offered; thank you credits, framable art, the directors chair, t-shirts, the soundtrack download, advanced film screening tickets in LA, Q&A screenings, copy of the soundtrack on vinyl, signed posters and dvd’s, voice video and personal meetings, premiere tickets, after party tickets, set visits, parts as and extra, naming a character ($7000), be a featured extra ($7500), film making symposium and special thanks ($8000), special thanks ($9000), be a cast member ($10000), the film slate ($10000). I think one of the really big selling tactics for the backers was the use of a very well produced video explaining why they needed the money.
Another successful crowdfunding campaign was for a film called The Best Friend. Its a romantic coming-of-age film following the underdog in a relationship between two best friends. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/637195670/the-best-friend-a-short-film?ref=category_most_backed. It raised $19,171 from 269 backers in 30 days. They didn’t have any links to social media or websites which I thought was one let down of the campaign. There incentives for backers are; a thank you message on IMDb, a twitter follow, a coffee mug, digital copy of the score and the short film, DVD copy of the film and score, printed t-shirt, invitation to a screening party, 2 tickets to the screening party, executive producer credit on IMDb. On the campaign page they posted loads of photos of crew and cast and also a video describing the project and why they need the money.
One other famous successfully crowdfunded film was God Help The Girl. It was funded through backers on Kickstarter. They needed $100,000 and got $121,084 from 1334 backers and the campaign ran for 60 days. Here is the Kickstarter campaign – https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/godhelpthegirl/god-help-the-girl-musical-film/description
Its incentives range from a thank you on the website to a one off signed vinyl record for $5000. The other incentives include, posters, t-shirts and as its a musical, the score on CD/Digital download/Vinyl. This campaign also didn’t have any links to social media pages, it also lacked photos (only one posted) and the only video was an interview with the creator.
My Crowdfunding campaign
From looking at the successful campaigns I know that I need to include a video, a large range of desirable incentives at a range of prices, link to the social media campaign and plenty of photos with regular updates.
The campaign:
- the 100 character tagline
A short coming-of-age film about a young photographer with a classic boy-meets-girl story line.
- The Campaign card image
The same image used on the social media site.
- The Goal
I’m going to set £500 as the goal for my campaign as I think that this will just about cover, transport, set design, catering, cast/crew hire and location costs, all without asking for too much.
- Campaign Duration
Looking at other successful campaigns like Wish You Were Here and The Best Friend they tend to go for a 28/30 day length so i’m going to have my campaign run for 30 days because it seems like a length successful for other projects.
- The header Video
All the successful campaigns have good videos that explain; the project, the story, why the money is needed and what it will be spent on. I made a script for my film and then shot it, thinking carefully about the lighting and editing to make it look as professional as possible. The script;
Hi, my names Henry. I’m the writer and Director of the short film portrait. Portrait follows the story of a photographer who meets and falls for a girl but the story’s told in the traditional method. First we see the break up and then the film shows there relationship developing and finally goes on to show the events leading up to them meeting for the first time. I wanted to show you the film in this way because I believe it’s a much more interesting way to tell the age old story of boy meets girl.
The story is a follow up to the award winning short film Viewfinder which I’ll link somewhere below. It’s by a good friend a brilliant director Charles power. Portrait will follow the story from the male characters perspective whilst viewfinder from the female characters.
I’m raising the money to help pay for costly expenses such as actors, locations and equipment hire. All these are necessary to the film’s production so any donations are greatly appreciated. I can’t wait to produce this film and for you to see it so thank you for your time and donations.
- 500 character campaign overview
Short film – I’m an 18 year old film student and Portrait is my final major project. The film is about a young photographer (a hobby of mine) who meets a girl and begins a relationship with her. The film will take some inspiration from the 1960’s French New Wave style along with having a non-linear story line.
- The campaign pitch
Me and the film
Hi my name is Henry. I’m an 18 year old filmmaking student from the UK. I’ve made 4 short films and 1 feature. My latest project Portrait is my final major project for my course. It’s a short about a young photographer who meets a girl and begins a relationship with her. This project means allot to me as I’ve always wanted to make a coming-of-age film ever since I first watched Wes Andersons Moonrise Kingdom and Stephen Chbosky’s Perks Of Being A Wallflower. Your contributions will help me achieve this dream by helping me pay for actors, transportation, costume etc. To see more about the project so far please see the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/PortraitShortFilm/.
The proof of concept
The Proof of concept is complete. It’s a short example of one of the scenes planed for the film. It takes place in a photography developing darkroom and shows an argument between the two main characters. I shot the scene in one day using darkroom at my college and asking friends to be the cast and crew. This is just an example of what the film could be like.
What I need
I need £500 to complete the film. It will be approximately four days of shooting and the money will cover all cast and crew transportation and catering costs. The money will also help cover hire cost for additional equipment, such as lenses and a field monitor. One of the main arias the money will go to is the actors, the acting is key to expressing the emotion in a scene so I want to be able to afford the right actors for the parts. If the goal is not met the project will still go ahead but with an even more limited budget so any money I do get will be helpful to the production.
What you get
I’m going to assume that anyone who is reading this and is willing to donate money to the project is passionate about either films or film making so I thought that I might make some of the incentives film related. For the smaller donations a thank you on out Facebook page or at the end of the credits. For slightly bigger donations, photography prints from my photography portfolio that can be found at http://www.hreesmedia.com/photography, some of these photos will appear in the film. I thought this to be appropriate as the films main character is a photographer and the storyline surround photography and portraiture. Some of the other incentives include a LUT package of the grading used on the film and other useful cinematic looks. Also five hand typed (on a typewrigter) scripts are available.For the larger donations executive producer credits are available along with two of the camera props that will be used in the film (possibly a Minolta and a Canon 35mm film cameras, but this could change depending on what I find). For the biggest donation I will be giving away the clapper board used on the film (this will ship to all over the world).
There are other ways you can help.
Even if you can’t donate anything you can still help the project by sharing the Indigogo campaign and the Facebook page and help spread the word. https://www.facebook.com/PortraitShortFilm/. To contact me with any questions, please message me through the Facebook page.
- The incentives
1- Thank you on the Facebook page (£2) costs nothing
2- Thank you in the credits (£5) costs nothing
3- Thank you in the credits + digital download (£10) cost nothing
4- LUT package (£15) costs nothing
5- Hand typed script on typewriter (£20) costs £2 postage
6- 1 Photography print A4 (£25) Costs £5
7- 1 Photography print A3 (£30) Costs £10
8- 3 Photography prints A4 (35) Costs £9)
9- Executive producer credit + 3x A4 prints (£45) Costs £9
10- 3 Photography prints A3 (£50) Costs £21)
11- Film camera prop x2 (£60) Costs £24
12- Executive producer + 3x A3 prints (£60) Costs £21
13- The clapper board + Executive producer (£120) Costs £50
I’ve worked all these incentives out to be cost and time effective and I think that they will appeal to the potential backers.
Here is the link to the crowdfunding campaign – https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/portrait-short-film-drama/x/15461006#/
My social media campaign
For my social media account i’m going to use Facebook because from my research i have found that its to most used social media platform so I will have a greater chance of reaching a larger audience if I use it over other platforms. I will begin by posting a cover photo and profile picture to make the site more appealing to look at. Next I will add a description so people know what the page is and what the film is about. The description I will put will be (Portrait is a short coming of age film by Henry Rees. The film starts with an argument between the two main characters and then goes on to show the events leading up to there first meeting and there time together as a couple.
Portrait is a follow up to the award winning short film Viewfinder by Charles Power. Veiwfinder tells the story of the events leading up to the characters first meeting from the female characters (Leah’s) perspective whilst Portrait will tell a version of the story from the male characters (Harry’s) Perspective.).
The post that will follow will start with an introduction to the cast and crew, a post about the release of the proof of concept and then the release of the proof of concept. I will then post the second french new wave version and then conduct a poll and see which version is preferred.
Ive now published the account. Here is the link too the site – https://www.facebook.com/PortraitShortFilm/
Posts
1. The first post was the cover photo for the page. I decided to use a screenshot of the best shot out of the film as it includes both the characters and its a good shot so it will catch a viewers eye and get them to read the description.
2. The second post was a profile picture for the page. I decided on a clapper board screenshot from one of the rushes. I decided to use this because it shows people quickly that its a film and it says the name on the clapper board so it tells the viewer alot of information about the film quickly.
3. For the third post I introduced the cast and crew to the viewers with a post of the wrap photo from set.
4. Too keep the audience updated the next day I posted a screenshot of the edit to show that I was working on the project and that it would be coming out soon.
5. Two days later I posted a picture of the actors on set learning lines to keep the audience interested whilst they wait for me to finish the edit.
6. Five days later I needed something else to give the audience because I hadn’t posted in a few days so I made a little graphic in Photoshop on 35mm film with the name of the film (Portrait) on it. The post was to give a release date for the film, I said it would be posted on the following Thursday.
7. Two days later (the day before the release of the proof of concept film) I posted a teaser/gag reel to get people excited for the film release the following day. The post was well received and got the most likes out of any post (14 likes).
8. The next day I actually released the film. It reached allot of people (1,138) but only got 12 likes.
9. Five days after I released the proof of concept I shared the film that influenced my film. It tells the same story as Portrait but my film is told from the other characters perspective.
10. I then shared an alternative edit to the proof of concept film. I shot and edited it in French New Wave style, I will see which style people prefer.
11. To find out which style of proof of concept people prefer I posted asking them to like for the original version and love for the French New Wave style.
Distribution
For the distribution of the film there aren’t many paths to go down with a low budget short film. The main pathway to go with is the YouTube and Vimeo way. Its free its easy and it has the possibility of getting to a large audience. Another pathway is through competitions to get the film out too people who actually care about film. The two main issues with this method of distribution is firstly cost, it costs money to enter most festivals, and the second issue is a question of quality. I will need to decide whether my film is up to standard to enter into some of the festivals and when they cost money I will need to really consider if its worth spending the money on the entrance fee.
If I do decide that my film is good enough to warrant spending money on entrance fees, the two main websites for distributing the films to and finding festivals on is Filmfreeway and Withoutabox. These distribution platforms allow you to find festivals based on price, entry requirements and location. They also allow you to select a list of festivals to enter and enter them all at once from the same platform, this makes entering lots of festivals allot easier. One of the issues with the festivals is the length of the film. Some festivals will only take feature length films but some only take short films, these ones tend to be the cheaper ones and I will enter these.
On withoutabox I found that some of the competitions and festivals I could enter are Edinburgh international film festival, After Hours student film festival in Illinois USA, Pine River student film festival in Michigan USA. For most of the competitions on withoutabox and filmfreeway the entry fee will be around £10-20 I also found that I could submit to Aestetica film festival and Falmouth film festival.
Henry Rees 
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