withoutabox

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eco_bach

Well-known member
Just signed up with withoutabox. Has anyone used this service? What are some of the 'higher' profile festivals worth submitting to?
 
Lots of people use Withoutabox. There are pros and cons with it, but if you're planning a festival circuit and don't have a producer with inside connections to large festivals, you're going to need it.

Some basic advice that will save you a lot of time and money if you listen to it:
There are a few different kinds of festivals, that run different kinds of films.
A-list festivals, Fantastic Festivals, Independent Festivals and Underground Festivals

Know which type of festival is likely to program your film, then apply to those. Don't waste time or money on A-list festivals if you don't have a chance of getting in. Any festival that has great press coverage and networking is good.

If you don't have a producer with inside connections to an A-list festival, and your festival budget is limited, it might be worth applying. Especially through Withoutabox.

If I said the competition is "immensly fierce" due to the sheer number of films you're competing against for a festival spot, that would be an extreme understatement.
 
Jawa Ex Machina said:
Lots of people use Withoutabox. There are pros and cons with it, but if you're planning a festival circuit and don't have a producer with inside connections to large festivals, you're going to need it.

Some basic advice that will save you a lot of time and money if you listen to it:
There are a few different kinds of festivals, that run different kinds of films.
A-list festivals, Fantastic Festivals, Independent Festivals and Underground Festivals

Know which type of festival is likely to program your film, then apply to those. Don't waste time or money on A-list festivals if you don't have a chance of getting in. Any festival that has great press coverage and networking is good.

If you don't have a producer with inside connections to an A-list festival, and your festival budget is limited, it might be worth applying. Especially through Withoutabox.

If I said the competition is "immensly fierce" due to the sheer number of films you're competing against for a festival spot, that would be an extreme understatement.
Click to expand...

Good advice. I had to find out the hard way. Wasted so much money and time. Now when ever I have a movie ready for festivals, I custom submit.

But withoutabox is a great resource I just don't know how in the hell they haven't upgraded their website after all these years, you wouldn't think a major company such as Amazon owened it. Great resource but low scale web design and navigation.
 
to add-on: unless your film is legitimately brilliant, the high end festivals aren't worth looking at. it's become silly when you see hollywood films showing up at festivals. but, if you do want to give any of them a shot, the main thing you need to know is that most of the big ones require to be submitted to first/premiere rights. meaning they don't want you showing it anywhere else before them, which would be quite the pickle if you got into a bunch of other festivals.

a great great doc on the subject is "official rejection" a filmmaker's journey through the whole process.

and why hasn't withoutabox upgraded or done anything of significance? because they're a monopoly, they forced out any competition by stating in their TOS to festivals, that they can ONLY use withoutabox, and nothing else. so it's either WOB, or elsewhere, they don't play nice. That, and they're owned by IMDB, and WOB is one of the pathways to get your film onto IMDB.

i run a small festival and opted to steer away from WOB, not so much for the TOS, but for the 'introductory' fee and mandatory advertising packages you have to buy. fine if your a big festival, not so much for a practically non for profit one like mine.
 
I submitted to 30 festivals through Withoutabox, all kinds of festivals, not knowing anything about it beforehand. This was in 2010/2011 when nobody wanted an online screener, so I had to also send 30 DVDs through registered mail internationally. Those costs alone were sky high.

The thing is though, even though I got a few important festivals, the thing that actually got me there wasn't Withoutabox at all.

I screened "Marianne" at the film market in Cannes, which cost me even more than festival submissions, and I went over there for the screening. By pure chance, it was seen by programmers for two great festivals who loved it, and having been programmed at those festivals, I started getting emails and even phone calls from smaller festivals who wanted to program it.

So even though it's more expensive to do that, it's probably better, or at least better if you can combine the two ways.
There's also Cinando.com, which is a brilliant website with an online screening room and contacts to all distributors, sales agents and festivals you need.

The important thing when it comes to getting your film seen by festival programmers is to get the right programmer to see it. If you submit through Withoutabox, you're probably very likely to end up at the bottom of the hierarchy. At a market you're probably more likely to be seen by a programmer who makes the final decision.
 
This is a very interesting thread...I'm just in the process of setting-up a project on WOB and I have a question for those who have.
I thought the online secure screener might be a really good idea, I followed their specs and rendered a version that looks great when I play
it (QT mp4), but once it's uploaded, it looks like total CRAP on the IMDb site? I've now tried a few different version and they all look the same.
Has anyone use the online screener? Is there a secret to getting the film up and looking even halfway decent...or am I better off sending DVD's.
The way the upload looks now, I wouldn't want anyone to see it!
 
ZazaCast said:
This is a very interesting thread...I'm just in the process of setting-up a project on WOB and I have a question for those who have.
I thought the online secure screener might be a really good idea, I followed their specs and rendered a version that looks great when I play
it (QT mp4), but once it's uploaded, it looks like total CRAP on the IMDb site? I've now tried a few different version and they all look the same.
Has anyone use the online screener? Is there a secret to getting the film up and looking even halfway decent...or am I better off sending DVD's.
The way the upload looks now, I wouldn't want anyone to see it!
Click to expand...
I don't know what online screeners on withoutabox are nowadays, but you're probably better off using either Vimeo (password protected) or Cinando.
 
Jawa Ex Machina said:
The important thing when it comes to getting your film seen by festival programmers is to get the right programmer to see it. If you submit through Withoutabox, you're probably very likely to end up at the bottom of the hierarchy. At a market you're probably more likely to be seen by a programmer who makes the final decision.
Click to expand...

I am sorry, can I be explained this better? I don't quite understand. Not being sarcastic, I just want to understand: as you can guess I am gathering infos about the festival world myself, made a search and got here.

Back to topic,
I thought the process simply was: apply a movie submission (through WAB or anything else) --> They like it: selected; They don't like it: not selected. --> If selected get a screening before the jury which will judge your work.

now, what hierarchy as to do with that?


Jawa Ex Machina said:
At a market you're probably more likely to be seen by a programmer who makes the final decision.
Click to expand...

the final decision about what?

I quoted twice just for clarity

thanks

ps: I am not being sarcastic or provocative here, so please anyone avoid arrogant answers,
it's sunday today ..
thanks:)
 
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bah. unfortunately these days i think there're just too many movies so you really gotta know someone to get "in" at the bigger places.

so are festivals still a thing? im out of the world since a few years ago. seems like online everything would have killed most of that off by now.
 
I am gathering info anyway. Just watched a youtube interview on the subject. it seems more complex than I first thought
 
ZazaCast said:
it looks like total CRAP on the IMDb site? I've now tried a few different version and they all look the same.
Click to expand...

That's one of the problems with Withoutabox. They push their screener option, but the quality is not there. I went back to sending DVDs or a link on Vimeo.


L.
 
I have been using WOB for a few short films. I got accepted for screening twice but as suggested, these were smaller festivals. Once producer on a short we're still submitting insisted on submitting through WOB to Toronto and Sundance. It's not going to work. Sundance takes over 11,000 submissions.

Now I DP'd a short with a different group and they know programmers at Tribeca. They got to submit late and they insist they are getting in. I'm trying to figure this out myself but for sure, if you know a programmer, or someone associated with the festival, you have a much better chance.... however you do that.
 
Josh Bass said:
yeah, its all nonsense and bs. if all submitters arent truly on equal footing, why bother at all?
Click to expand...

One good thing, if they do screen your short, at least you'll never make any money with it. So, you know... there's that.
 
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i dont know i have had success ..every movies except one i have made has gotten in a festival using WAB 4 total shorts but i recently discovered film freeway... its sooooooo much better organized than WAB and easy to use . WAb works like clutter and its a path to imdb. its not bad but its mind ****ing getting around that thing . but knowing someone helps and this thing gets very expensive without waivers or getting in on early bird .
 
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