Festival short film kit?

Shawn Philip Nelson

Shawn Philip Nelson

Veteran
I'd like to find a good example of everything needed to submit a short film to festivals. My work is getting to a point where I have a lot of people telling me to submit, but I haven't since the days where the only thing I was doing was burning a disk, writing on it with a marker and dropping it in the mail. It seems that if you want to get accepted into a festival that they expect it to be packaged professionally. DVD cover art and packaging? Printed out cards? Posters?

This is part of the reason I checked out of festival submitting years ago. But I dont want to give them too much. Sheesh, festival submissions are already so expensive, I dont want to burn another $30 per entry.
 
Personally, I don't spend much money on packaging. Most fests take the DVD-R screener out of it and put it into their own cases with their own ID number, or onto a spindle with other films for each person on their team that reviews entries. I have a stack of blank HEART OF NOW DVD-Rs that a friend of mine printed up for me using this template...

nowdiscdimensionsj.jpg


and as needed, I burn the film to them in DVD Studio Pro and slip them in a clear blank slim case. with first class shipping averaging a buck and a half the whole thing is probably costing me under $5 for each submission.

Where packaging matters is if your looking for buyers. that's when professional key art for your poster, screener and marketing materials will go a long way.

Where I WOULD invest your time is in writing top-knotch loglines, synopses, bios, production anecdotes and filmmaker statements. and include a brief but compelling cover letter. if you can't write, find a writer to help you. know that festivals are just as interested in the filmmaker's story as they are in the film's story. the two of you are inseparable. Hanging out on the Without A Box message board, most of the festival programmers there have said they don't have use for materials they don't ask for – like press kits, screenshots or photos of the director. the exception being, the cover letter, which seems to be welcomed across the board. so only send them what they need.

Also, never, never, never, make an excuse or apologize for ANY aspect of the film in the written materials you are sending. be confident in your work. if they don't like it, ignore them. there are plenty of people who aren't going to help you. the sooner you can move on, the better off you'll be. don't waste time on it. keep moving.
 
Thanks Zak, makes sense. How do you affix that graphic to your DVD-R? Is that a sticker, direct Light Scribe transfer or do you have a DVD-R printer?
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top