Macphilia
Well-known member
Hey Folks, below is an article I recently wrote for another site. I thought people here might benefit as well.
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Don’t Orphan Your Film-Child
by Christopher J. Boghosian
Not long ago, the masses cheered as digital technology democratized filmmaking. Hoorah - we can all make movies now! Freed from Studio tyranny and hegemony, the proletariat armed themselves with Panasonic DVXs and now HDSLRs. Viva Zacuto! So onward we marched, birthing films by the thousands. Everywhere you looked, a newborn cried for attention. YouTube quickly arose as a virtual nanny, but it proved inadequate, valuing quantity over quality. And what about film festivals? Sundance is now statistically more selective than Harvard!
As many of us now know, the democratization we embraced has not only liberated us, it has made us responsible parents as well. Giving birth to Junior isn’t enough, you now need to raise him and introduce him to the world lest he become an orphan. According to independent film marketing and distribution gurus like Jon Reiss and Peter Broderick one thing is certain: you better start promoting your film-child while it’s still in the womb. In other words, don’t wait until Junior is born to tell the world. Share the news at conception. Post ultrasound pictures on Flickr and solicit baby names on Twitter. Yes, you might even consider a Facebook fan page for Junior.
The idea is to get people excited while you develop and produce your film. If you simply wait until the final cut to promote a screening or sell DVDs, you’re doomed. Remember democratization? Well, there consequently are tens of thousands of films vying for attention nowadays. Even if your film is a masterpiece, no one will ever know unless you properly care for it from the beginning.
For this very reason, I created and launched FollowMyFilm.com, a blog chronicling the making of my film, from script to screen. As I endeavor to write and direct my first feature film, I’m calling upon friends and family to join me and follow my progress. And hopefully they will tell their friends and family and so on. And here’s the best part, my blog has proven to be much more than a marketing tool. A month since its launch, a couple latent benefits have quickly surfaced: the site forces me to think critically about my film and it holds me accountable.
Whether I discuss script decisions or directorial options, writing posts on FollowMyFilm.com necessitates that I take time and think through the filmmaking process. The post itself becomes a brainstorming session and previsualization exercise. I may not ultimately make a decision in the post; however, when the time comes, I will be better prepared to make an intentional one. There are many variables in filmmaking, so to sit down twice a week and think some through has proven invaluable. Updating the website directly impacts the filmmaking process itself.
The second hidden benefit I discovered upon launching my blog is accountability. If you’re human like me, you are constantly plagued with doubt, fear, confusion, overwhelm, etc.. All this can lead to procrastination, and worse, a lack of productivity. They say one of the benefits of film school is project deadlines. Whether you like it or not, your film is due on a given day and if you don’t turn it in you fail. But in the real world, we create our own deadlines, which seem to be pushed back chronically. As a result, publicly announcing your film project from the start is a powerful motivator. Everyone will know what you’re up to and they will ask you about it; they will expect results. If this doesn’t motivate you, nothing will. Many people have subscribed to FollowMyFilm.com and are expectant. They ask me when the film will be done and how they can see it. Believe me, this is extremely motivating. I’d love to say I make films purely for the love of it, but I’m human, remember? Thus, having some folks expecting results is an incredibly encouraging and compelling force.
So there you go, the birth pangs of democratization. Am I complaining? Hell no! I love it. I feel privileged to be able to shoot a technically sophisticated film for next to nothing. I often wonder what John Cassavetes would do with today’s technology – imagine! However, I am now responsible for my baby. I cannot just pop him out and expect fanfare. I have to celebrate his life before he’s born.
And for more up-to-date information, please visit and subscribe to FollowMyFilm.com.
Peace,
Christopher J. Boghosian
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Don’t Orphan Your Film-Child
by Christopher J. Boghosian
Not long ago, the masses cheered as digital technology democratized filmmaking. Hoorah - we can all make movies now! Freed from Studio tyranny and hegemony, the proletariat armed themselves with Panasonic DVXs and now HDSLRs. Viva Zacuto! So onward we marched, birthing films by the thousands. Everywhere you looked, a newborn cried for attention. YouTube quickly arose as a virtual nanny, but it proved inadequate, valuing quantity over quality. And what about film festivals? Sundance is now statistically more selective than Harvard!
As many of us now know, the democratization we embraced has not only liberated us, it has made us responsible parents as well. Giving birth to Junior isn’t enough, you now need to raise him and introduce him to the world lest he become an orphan. According to independent film marketing and distribution gurus like Jon Reiss and Peter Broderick one thing is certain: you better start promoting your film-child while it’s still in the womb. In other words, don’t wait until Junior is born to tell the world. Share the news at conception. Post ultrasound pictures on Flickr and solicit baby names on Twitter. Yes, you might even consider a Facebook fan page for Junior.
The idea is to get people excited while you develop and produce your film. If you simply wait until the final cut to promote a screening or sell DVDs, you’re doomed. Remember democratization? Well, there consequently are tens of thousands of films vying for attention nowadays. Even if your film is a masterpiece, no one will ever know unless you properly care for it from the beginning.
For this very reason, I created and launched FollowMyFilm.com, a blog chronicling the making of my film, from script to screen. As I endeavor to write and direct my first feature film, I’m calling upon friends and family to join me and follow my progress. And hopefully they will tell their friends and family and so on. And here’s the best part, my blog has proven to be much more than a marketing tool. A month since its launch, a couple latent benefits have quickly surfaced: the site forces me to think critically about my film and it holds me accountable.
Whether I discuss script decisions or directorial options, writing posts on FollowMyFilm.com necessitates that I take time and think through the filmmaking process. The post itself becomes a brainstorming session and previsualization exercise. I may not ultimately make a decision in the post; however, when the time comes, I will be better prepared to make an intentional one. There are many variables in filmmaking, so to sit down twice a week and think some through has proven invaluable. Updating the website directly impacts the filmmaking process itself.
The second hidden benefit I discovered upon launching my blog is accountability. If you’re human like me, you are constantly plagued with doubt, fear, confusion, overwhelm, etc.. All this can lead to procrastination, and worse, a lack of productivity. They say one of the benefits of film school is project deadlines. Whether you like it or not, your film is due on a given day and if you don’t turn it in you fail. But in the real world, we create our own deadlines, which seem to be pushed back chronically. As a result, publicly announcing your film project from the start is a powerful motivator. Everyone will know what you’re up to and they will ask you about it; they will expect results. If this doesn’t motivate you, nothing will. Many people have subscribed to FollowMyFilm.com and are expectant. They ask me when the film will be done and how they can see it. Believe me, this is extremely motivating. I’d love to say I make films purely for the love of it, but I’m human, remember? Thus, having some folks expecting results is an incredibly encouraging and compelling force.
So there you go, the birth pangs of democratization. Am I complaining? Hell no! I love it. I feel privileged to be able to shoot a technically sophisticated film for next to nothing. I often wonder what John Cassavetes would do with today’s technology – imagine! However, I am now responsible for my baby. I cannot just pop him out and expect fanfare. I have to celebrate his life before he’s born.
And for more up-to-date information, please visit and subscribe to FollowMyFilm.com.
Peace,
Christopher J. Boghosian