Can you pre-sell the theatrical premiere screening to finance an independent film?

[Gary Huff]

I gave it a go and it failed, all you can do is try.

That's very true, but at the same time you can bend the stats to your advantage. Think of it like this: if you want to ask a girl out, you might ask around, find out what kind of music she likes, what her interests are, what her taste in guys is. Then you can make a move with that information at your disposal, and you still might fail, but you made a great attempt and can feel good that you did what you could to do it right.

OR

you could go up to her, with a slight hint of BO in the air because you forgot to shower for the last two days, start talking about Star Trek or camera gear or some other topic that she has no interest in whatsoever, and then ask her to go bowling, which is an activity that she actually hates doing.

The end result might be the same, but which approach would you have rather utilized?

My point is that there are some great Kickstarter campaigns, some of which have been done by members of DVXUser. Did you do your research on those campaigns? Did you actively research both campaigns that fail and campaigns that succeeded and really broke both of them down and tried to figure out what made one worth donating to another another not worth it? Did you do your due diligence beforehand, or did you just try to figure out what might work completely on your own, and hope that messaging people on Twitter/Facebook/DVXUser/ect. would be able to carry the day?

You can do everything perfect and not reach your goal, but you should at least give it your best shot with the massive amount of information at your disposal. Sometimes the timing is just not right. Michael Dorn, a known celebrity, had to cancel his project (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/akaworf/through-the-fire-life-after-star-trek) while Marc Zicree, nowhere near as well-known, absolutely killed it with his campaign (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/58936338/space-command?ref=live). What's the difference? Well, just from a casual glance, I can tell you that Dorn tried to sell his project through Star Trek, which has absolutely nothing to do with the film, while Zicree sold the film he wanted to do, not that fact that he directed a Star Trek fan film (you have to scroll wayyyyy down before you even get to information about that). His credits are mentioned, but nowhere near being used as the primary selling point.

 

[Doc Bernard]

I think you'd be lucky to get one of those cameos for $10k...I wouldn't be surprised if the going rate is even more than that, really.

Never hurts to ask, and......if one of the "A-lister's" really like it.......could be free. Last year I did audio on a gig, that had MAJOR a-list support. Something about not liking the digi remake of star wars or something. Almost everyone of his A-List talent did it for nothing (scripted comedy).....because of the subject matter.

So, never be afraid to ask, and POLISH THAT PITCH!!!!!!!

 

[GoodLuck]

I think the big issue is people don't want to pre-order a ticket for a screening when they don't know when the date is. Everyone keeps asking when is the date. So I told the cast/crew that I think we should reword our pitch as the ticket being more of a bonus gift and be up front at the start of our kickstarter to address any common questions/concerns people may have. How does it sound? Could it be better?

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/59092787/paul-and-the-hooker-feature-length-romantic-comedy

We are pre-selling a digital download of our movie and soundtrack for $9 to raise money to shoot our movie. For $1 more ($10 total), you can also get 1 movie premiere ticket to our screening in Dallas where you'll get to watch the movie on the big screen with the cast and crew present! We will notify everyone 1 month in advance of the screening date and time who pre-orders for this package to give you plenty of time to mark your calendar. No matter what you'll have your digital download of the movie to watch! We also have a great DVD package if you'd prefer a DVD! Please check out our perks on the right and make a pledge. Everything is processed securely through Amazon payments and nobody is charged anything unless we reach our goal by Sunday November 4th. So please help us out by making a pledge. We would really appreciate your support in making this movie happen.


I think we were putting too much weight on the strategy of the ticket and it causes people to check their calendars and inquire about a date or search for one on the page. They then don't find a date and give up. So I put it right in the first paragraph on there and hopefully it will help. I got really discouraged but the plan as of right now is to run it to the end and see what happens.

 

[Gary Huff]

[/B]]I think we were putting too much weight on the strategy of the ticket and it causes people to check their calendars and inquire about a date or search for one on the page. They then don't find a date and give up. So I put it right in the first paragraph on there and hopefully it will help. I got really discouraged but the plan as of right now is to run it to the end and see what happens.

Which doesn't surprise me that you'd be getting those questions. And think of it this way...plenty of films have had dates set ahead of time, before production has even begun. Do you think people would still find the pre-ticket purchase as a selling point if you told them the date was, say, May 23, 2014? Would people really buy tickets for an event that far into the future? And yet, it's possible that would be the date of your event, which is why I didn't think it would be effective.

 

[GoodLuck]

^I really think the model could work though. Maybe more for short films if you set an exact screening date. I think it's just how we frame it though and although they are getting the exact same thing, by putting emphasis on the digital download/soundtrack for $9 and $1 more for a ticket, the ticket date then is probably not as crucial. We'll see. I'd really like to prove this can be done.

 

[Gary Huff]

I think there's even less incentive for short films that could have a shorter window of release. I just don't see that interest being there.

If there's not even interest for a film on DVD/Blu-ray or iTunes, what makes you think there'll be interest in making a commit to have one's butt in a particular seat at a particular venue at a particular time?