FEATURE: TRAILER - SUPERSEEDS | Super Powered Adventure

Frank Perrotto said:
Anyone seen this short film, Blinky? It disappeared for a while online but I think they forgot it was still on Trailer Addict and now it's gone from there. Hope is not lost, though, there are now copies on youtube, either in another language or subtitled Check it out while you still can!
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I actually posted the original vimeo link right here in this forum when it came out. Big fan of Ruairi and his work.
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?243512-BLINKY-by-Ruairi-Robinson&highlight=Blinky

It's now password protected.

Great info in this thread, guys. Trying to read it all and soak it all in.

I was stuck in limbo for a while myself. Trying to decide on mega-short vs Feature and whatnot. Started writing again so I'll see where that takes me first.
I'm leaning towards feature. Might need some funding though to pull it off properly.

Cheers,
 
I agree 100% with Ted Spencer about the quality of the film as a whole needing to be self-evident. That's why I often temper my remarks with ,"If the film is as good as the trailer." And I didn't just mean going in blind as far as promoting your film once you're in the festival, I meant just blindly submitting it. The promotion remarks hold true as well, but getting in is the far more difficult part, I think. More and more evidence is showing that if you're not on their radar to begin with, it really doesn't matter how good your film is, it's not getting in on $50 and a prayer. I really believe those days are over, and I'm not sure they were ever really here to begin with... in nearly every example of a festival success, SOMEBODY important was championing the film before it ever got there. Even with Clerks, I think the real key moment was Amy Taubin of the Village Voice or somebody important seeing it on the last day/last screening at the IFP in New York. I think by the time that happened, they were convinced they had a turkey that nobody wanted. Only then did it get the attention of people important enough to help it get into Sundance.

And I read Robert Rodriguez's book on it's first printing (1994, I think?) in hard copy. I think I read it so many times in high school that I half memorized it, especially the 10 minute film school. If I'm not mistaken, the real break for that film was that he made a phone call on a lark to an ICM agent in Hollywood while visiting a friend. He dropped a tape off or something, and to his surprise it got a lot of play around the office and they were soon taking meetings with Columbia. Sundance came after all that.

Quentin Tarantino was primarily known for his writing even before he made Reservoir Dogs. He also worked in a production office and the connections he made there helped him sell True Romance to Tony Scott. He used that money to fund the development of Reservoir Dogs. That was his first feature film (first one that he finished, anyway) and I don't think it's that difficult to get a genre-redefining $1.5 million dollar film starting Harvey Keitel and a rogue's gallery of 70's/80's character actors into any film festival. Sorry, I just don't think it's a good example here. Festivals helped their films a tremendous amount, sure, but Kholi doesn't have Harvey Keitel in his movie.

Here's a few more examples off the top of my head -

Primer - Shane Carruth supposedly made hundreds of phone calls during a two week stay in Los Angeles, which was the sole purpose of the visit. At some point, he got somebody important to watch it (can't remember who, think they were from William Morris or a pr firm) and to this day, he thinks but isn't quite sure if that same person is the one who recommended it to Geoff Gilmore and that's how it got into Sundance. Gilmore, I think, denies this.

Pi - Aronofsky went to the AFI and had gotten some heat around him from a comedy pilot (yes, a comedy) that came on the heels of a few good films made during his time at the AFI (one had Lucy Liu in it, I think). So I think that even then, although it's hard to find evidence on this one, he had quite a few good connections before Sundance. In the PQ department, it also helps if you're working with Clint Mansell and Matthew Libatique!

Blair Witch - Again, I'm not sure I remember this correctly, but I think Eduardo Sanchez worked on John Pierson's show that used to air on IFC. Not a big leap from that to getting into Sundance if you've got a great and original film, which they certainly had (The Last Broadcast aside).

I know of people who worked on and rented equipment for a horror film that got into Sundance but i don't want to mention the title. It got in a few years ago based on another film of theirs playing Cinevegas first, and the next one was up to a certain level of quality (though probably not as high as you'd think) and got into Sundance based on that... and a pre-existing relationship with the programmer at Cinevegas... who also happened to be a programmer at Sundance.

Last but not least, Paranormal Activity played Screamfest first. An ASSISTANT from CAA saw it there and they signed Peli. Then CAA tried to get the film a distributor... once word got to Spielberg about the film, the rest, as they say, is history. However, it's important to remember that even with CAA and two executives from Dreamworks behind them, Paranormal Activity was rejected by Sundance.

My intention with all these examples is to just show that a great film isn't enough to get into a major festival but it is enough to get connections that will help you get into a major festival. It's often getting important industry people to see it BEFORE submitting that helps these films to get in. I'm sure there are a ton of other examples, but getting out there and pressing the flesh and sending out DVD screeners to agents, publicist, producers, whomever, is also important. Festivals will say that it has to be a premiere screening and all that bunk, but it's total B.S. imho. They will play anything that will bring in the crowds and the publicity while keeping the fest's "street cred" and bend the rules for such films quite often.

The other thing is that I also previous mentioned playing genre-specific festivals right now. I actually think there are more lower-level insiders at these fests right now that are willing to help people like yourself then there are at Telluride, Sundance, etc.

Bottom line - if your film has the PQ Ted spoke of, with some hardcore networking and pleading, you should be able to get people to champion it (and you) for free.
 
Yep well i like the trailer though i reckon maybe a little more action in it wouldn't hurt it! Agree with what the other chaps are saying here - Ted your a regular ol' intellectual here on the forum hehe.

To get back to Kholi's Superseeds. Funny thing about me and Kholi is that we're in similar situations (we're both producing debut feature films) Now I probably am pushing a little more for the festival route but I think Superseeds could still benefit - especially getting into somewhere like Fantastic Fest etc. It is a quirky geeky film about the love of video games - and the story features geeks basically chasing dope... its a classic slacker film set up but with sci-fi pop culturalism. That to me doesnt scream genre in the straight forward commercial sense like say Adam's Corrado. Its a little more offbeat. Sure its not an arty film from the looks of things, its an accessible and entertaining sci-fi comedy but from the looks of it - its stilll something that could really benefit from an endorsement by its target audience - vis a festival focussed towards its type of content.

So I really hope you do consider playing about a bit with festival entries. Regarding costs - yes there can be quite a lot of costs associated with festivals however, if you build enough background publicity for your film - then it can be 'qualified' in the eyes of many festival organisers as a more desirable entry. It might sound a little harsh to say, but festivals aren't gonna sit tight hoping the hottest movies with buzz just happen to submit to them and pay there $50 (or whatever) via withoutabox!

They will get in touch with you - or if you do get in touch with them, they'll certainly not expect fees. Obviously the difficulty with achieving that is creating a genuine buzz - ie promotion of the film via respected gatekeeper style news sources.
 
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Frank Perrotto said:
I read Robert Rodriguez's book on it's first printing (1994, I think?) in hard copy. I think I read it so many times in high school that I half memorized it, especially the 10 minute film school. If I'm not mistaken, the real break for that film was that he made a phone call on a lark to an ICM agent in Hollywood while visiting a friend. He dropped a tape off or something, and to his surprise it got a lot of play around the office and they were soon taking meetings with Columbia.
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Right, I read it too. IIRC, he was all set to sell it into an el-cheapo Mexican direct to video deal, when they jerked him around on the advance - as in not advancing part of what they had agreed to. So he balked at the signing, wisely waiting on them to deliver - which they didn't. It was then that, practically on a lark, he sent it to ICM (I'll take your word on the friend thing - don't remember that detail right now), and the rest is history.

That's fundamentally how it happened for RR. El Mariachi made big waves inside ICM (after being turned down by other mucky-mucks, some of whom were evidently fired later for it), and they pounced.

PQ...
 
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Thanks to everyone that's come to join the conversation. I've been a bit ghost due to the fact that I just need a break from my own head lately but as post ramps up I'm getting back into "do" mode.

On topic: let me say that I don't think it would be any sort of issue to recover what small funds we've spent on the movie. I haven't lost confidence in that. Where' my mind's changed is getting the sort of deal that gets you recognized etc. and that's more important to us. However, I've personally come to realize that it surely will take a while, and that I have to find a way to keep going.

I'm changing my mind about festivals, will be entering the movie in some but finding other ways to go about it versus the standard submissions. So far, we've got a shot at Orlando Film Festival and an invite to a festival in Portland, and we haven't actually gone to push yet. As hard as the festival route is, and expensive, you never know until you actually try. It also doesn't mean that we won't still push it for distribution.

On a call with a friend yesterday that has the kind of contacts and reputation that we need to help us out (he's got a household-named trilogy under his belt) he actually told us that we should be aiming for Theatrical with our product and not settling up front. Not based on merit, but based on what he's seen. Whether or not we get it isn't important, it's to let the people who WOULD fight for such a thing on a larger project know that we're a bit more serious. He also gave us tips on how to go about the rest of this process that I'm taking to heart... hence speeding up the post production side.

I'll be back to my old tricks, doing rotoscoping etc to help my friend get through the process faster, we're aiming at having the feature finished by the end of August, with something ready to screen for distributors by the end of July.

We've also finally settled (I think) on what the next project is, which was a decision heavily influenced by what I've learned over the past few months on distribution, and the business in general.

Barring that nothing happens that gets us a larger budget to shoot a more intense project, two that we've got treatments for and one with a script in progress... we're returning to a nano-budget feature and doing it all over again. More than likely this time with even less: no RED MX, might be less cash, and NO VFX if I can help it.

This time, it's straight-up story, a niche topic although it's sure to be a lot of fun, and it's something that I think the target audience actually cares about beyond being entertained.

We've already decided on a distribution plan and a path to fund it, and as of this morning I received an email from a prominent member in the community offering to help in any way shape and form that they can after hearing what we wanted to do.

So, yeah, we're going to risk it again and pretty much go against what we know is the easier way to do this: get names, do genre, etc.

The platform is evolving though, and there really isn't any right way. I know the fun way, though, and one where I don't have to worry too much about anything aside from getting it done and paying rent. At least for now, we want to be a part of the evolving world of digital content creation and distribution and have fun doing it.

Writing time.
 
Keep on keepin' on Kholi...the HIT will happen while you're pushing ahead.

Sounds like you're on it. Just keep going. Hit me up if you have specific questions once the distribs get involved (which they will).

We'll be making another low-budget feature here soon too.

-Martay
 
In More positive News:

Www.directorslive.com -- Featured the trailer on the front page. Thanks to Chris Kontakis for all of the support. We'll be doing interviews with them coming really soon.

www.bleedingcool.com -- http://t.co/gBKHAcn -- Catching a little traction in the comic community, as of today it also went too..

www.comicsalliance.com -- http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/...tice-digital-comic-powers-casting-retro-girl/ -- they picked it up as well and ra a link to Ziggy Marley's comic book Marijuana Man. Haha. Let's see how we can spin that little tid bit!
 
Like it! Like it!

Kholi said:
In More positive News:

Www.directorslive.com -- Featured the trailer on the front page. Thanks to Chris Kontakis for all of the support. We'll be doing interviews with them coming really soon.

www.bleedingcool.com -- http://t.co/gBKHAcn -- Catching a little traction in the comic community, as of today it also went too..

www.comicsalliance.com -- http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/...tice-digital-comic-powers-casting-retro-girl/ -- they picked it up as well and ra a link to Ziggy Marley's comic book Marijuana Man. Haha. Let's see how we can spin that little tid bit!
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Trailer Addicts today. They still need to update it but so far the most viewed of the day. It's a nice place to hit, following that another 80+ embeds. Will have to find where they went. In a push to get to a viewable place within the next few weeks I'm going to pick up señor the vfx work as well. In the meantime, writing on the new project and trying to find work. Oh, and for others in my situation:Soup. I mean, I can afford to spend about 5 a day on food. Wendy's chicken nuggets and value fries, that's like 2 but what about gas mileage? So last night I switched to Soup in a can. You can get good stuff 2 for 4.00 and it's probably a tad better for you. Less gas on trips to get said food. But then you has to factor in the electric bill to heat it up. .... Anyway.
 
Kholi said:
Trailer Addicts today. They still need to update it but so far the most viewed of the day. It's a nice place to hit, following that another 80+ embeds. Will have to find where they went. In a push to get to a viewable place within the next few weeks I'm going to pick up señor the vfx work as well. In the meantime, writing on the new project and trying to find work. Oh, and for others in my situation:Soup. I mean, I can afford to spend about 5 a day on food. Wendy's chicken nuggets and value fries, that's like 2 but what about gas mileage? So last night I switched to Soup in a can. You can get good stuff 2 for 4.00 and it's probably a tad better for you. Less gas on trips to get said food. But then you has to factor in the electric bill to heat it up. .... Anyway.
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Trailer addicts is good.

Soup is Good too.

They got Mac-N-Cheese (store brand) for like $1 if you want to put that into the mix a couple times a week. :)

Been there...used to do Hot Dogs every day. For like $6 you could have 6 meals of 2 hot dogs (bun included).

Hit me up via email if you need to.

-M
 
I noticed that Trailer Addict posted a grade of B+ for "Superseeds". Not bad at all for a site that seems mainly about trailers for big-budget theatrical releases. Anyone know how the "grade" is derived? Reader comments perhaps? In any case, congrats - it's a very good mark any way it comes : )
 
Ted - I actually dunno how Trailer Addicts works. We had to send in the info from an email address, didn't male an account. They still haven't put ip the detailed information. Blarg. Also didn't realize no name trailers could be graded but that makes sense, seeing as how it was also ranked in the 80s yesterday. Thanks for letting me know!We'll take a B+ while we can, before a lot of negative remarks begin to appear. Speaking of...http://www.beyondhollywood.com/harold-and-kumar-get-superpowers-er-i-mean-its-superseeds/ - there's already one in the Beyond Hollywood write-up comments. Haha. We are definitely going to try to hit some fests ASAP. Looks like the right way to go.
 
Martay said:
DUDE! Now I'm jealous for real :)Slash Film never posted a single thing about Step Off or Battle for me (despite me being a fan of the site and sending many an email and press release) but they're highlighting you in the trailers post...Congrats! Nice!http://www.slashfilm.com/week-trailers-prick-salesman-superseeds-beneath-contempt-lord-dance-3d/!!!-M
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It was a nice surprise to wake up to! I really like Chris' trailer section and am happy to be there. Hope it helps get the word out this weekend.

and you can't be jealous! You're distro'd
 
Kholi said:
We'll take a B+ while we can, before a lot of negative remarks begin to appear. Speaking of...http://www.beyondhollywood.com/harold-and-kumar-get-superpowers-er-i-mean-its-superseeds/ - there's already one in the Beyond Hollywood write-up comments
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What a jerk. There's one in every crowd, right? Ignore that kind of negativity-for-negativity's-sake. The longer I've been conversing on the internet the more convinced I am of the existence of a particularly annoying personality type: the kind that likes nothing better than to stir up acrimony of any/all kinds, anywhere, anytime, anyhow, with anybody, about anything...

This guy smells like one of those to me. Pretty much the definition of a professional loser in my book...
 
No matter what any of 'em will say it doesn't really matter: not a single person will be as hard on it as I already am. >=]

Good with the bad!
 
That's the spirit!

And FWIW, almost every single one of the many famous folks I've worked with in film and music are equally hyper-self-critical. It seems pretty obvious that that's a very important part of how they got good at the thing in the first place.

By contrast, almost all of the hyper-confident types I've worked with are artistic hacks...or not even artists at all...

Funny, that... : )
 
I dunno how to be any other way. =|

www.bigfanboy.com -- trailer of the day/week with a nice little optimistic write-up. Mark's a Dallas Comic Con Manager and Sci Fi expo. We're going to do an interview with him.
 
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