Film Festival Roundup

So far, 42 festivals applied to (since July) which equates to just under two applications a week, but by the end of next week, I will be up to 49 which will bring the total to just over two applications per week.

That is (on average) twice a week, burning DVD's, testing them, purchasing the postage and packaging (as well as the DVD's and DVD cases), printing the materials or burning a further media CD-ROM (publicity), heading off to the post office, securing the postage via registration (yes, Royal Mail is really that bad at the moment - paying for normal postage does not ensure jack anymore) oh and don't forget the submission fees to a lot of these festivals. In a bad week, you can be looking at £60 easily being spent on just two film festivals.

And for what?

So far, not much!

Turnaround Time

Film Festivals take a long time to respond to your submission. Not surprising, a festival with say, 50 slots to fill may well get ten times that number pouring in through their letterbox. For one film festival that I have submitted to yesterday afternoon, I will not hear from them until July next year. That is over nine months and to put that into context, you can conceive and bear a healthy child in that amount of time.

The wait is agonising, but it is important not to loose focus and to still distribute. It is also why many films at these festivals have copyrights that are one or two years old. These events are big thing, show a lot of films and take time to organise.

Which still leaves me twiddling my proverbial thumbs. Or am I?

Media Files, bumpf and distribution

Sending copies of 'Jay and Kay Save the World' to film festivals is a long and bewildering process. You need to be focused on the task at hand (hell for someone like me who enjoys the thrill of procrastination) as well as military precision in order to fulfill the requirements for each festival. Some festivals are part of a central submission system, such as the UCAS system for Britain's universities. This can take a lot of the heartache out of applying to festivals. About half of all the film festivals I have applied to so far are a part of one of four such systems. The other half are still independent and require you to go direct through their own website in order to submit your film.

And there is a lot of 'bumpf' that you need with the film that you submit to the film festival. Many festivals just want the DVD screener and nothing else. They will get back to you when they have made their decision. Others want a whole array of materials. This is the much anticipated media pack. You see, making a film does not just stop with the editing of a film and subsequent burning onto CD. No way. You see, the 'indy' director has to be a person of many talents. As 'El Director' of CWP, I also act as distributor, possibly one of the most tedious tasks to fall onto a film maker and the one that will make you go bald faster than any other task on set (other than dealing with actors/actresses).

Firstly, you have to distribute the film itself. That means, getting a list of all those film festivals. Filling out forms (accurately without spelling errors – and if anyone has read this blog then u no how baad i am at dat), burning DVD's (PAL or NTSC, subtitled or not, and better get handy with your French) before heading off to the local post office to send your post. Of course, I know how bad postmen can be, so it is not just a case of licking a few stamps but actually registering the damn things (at least fiver a pop for international submissions). The guys at my three nearest post offices know who I am. Then there is the waiting. Oh, the dreaded wait...

'Bumpf', yes, let me get back to that. There is an assortment of 'media' files that many festivals may or may not want, but need to be prepared by the director of his/her film in case they are required. This is where many directors (including myself in the past) fall. After the marathon run of making a film, you are then expected to complete the triathalon of creating a media friendly side to the film and then distributing the damn thing. You can see why even small films have a huge number of people in their credits. They are the minions who take care of all the 'little things'.

So, what 'bumpf' do I have prepared for my official 'Media Pack'? At a glance, I have a director's bio, filmography, picture and statement (that's the ego bit), half a dozen film stills (at 300 d.p.i.), Posters and Press Packs (recently rewritten), Synopsies (long, short, loglines and everything else in text, word and acrobat formats), a dialogue list (note this is not the same as the script, and again need as txt, doc or pdf files), and teasers/trailers (formatted for both Quicktime and Media Player).

Don't forget, a website is always handy, and guess what. All the above is on that website too, able to be downloaded at a click of a button. Some festivals do not want the clutter of extra paper or a CD-ROM as part of their submission. They want all these files online where they can download at their leisure. These festivals are few and far between at the moment, but they will probably become a requirement in the future.

That's the 'official' bumpf'.

There is a whole lot of 'bumpf' that I do not include in my media CD-ROM, but still need to keep on hand. For instance, a cover for the DVD case, letterheads for any letters I may need to send, a CD cover (if I send the CD-ROM separately), a credit list (some festivals demand a separate list, despite the inclusion of a press pack), a synopsis for the feature film (you never know), lower resolution files of the film stills (to upload directly onto some festival websites) and ditto for the press pack/posters.

As you can imagine I have sent to a lot of festivals. The turn around time is kicking in next month. The proof is in the pudding as they say. Or in this case, the media files...

Distributing Continued

But distributing by itself it no fun. I need a little bit more to inspire me. And so, I have decided to start the Caution Wet Paint Comic.

A twofold reason. Firstly, it keeps my mind on Caution Wet Paint in a creative way. Distribution, to be blunt, is pretty dull. Forms, letters and more paperwork. It takes a lot of the fun out of film making, and so I need that creative buzz. Secondly, there is a lot of material left over from the webisodes that has not yet got used. Hence the Comic Strips, a great way of utilising the unused and old material and retelling the stories of Jay and Kay or getting new adventures out.

Enjoy, the Caution Wet Paint Comic begins tomorrow and introduces our two loveable rogues, Jay and Kay!

Distribute Baby!

The final stage of film making, the distribution. After the months spent filming, preparing and editing the piece, finally, the film has to be screened.

For me, as a budget film maker with a couple of crazy characters at my disposal, that means film festivals...

There are a lot of festivals out there, but I have to gauge which ones would be the most suitable for my film in terms of it succeeding in being screened at the festival as well as its reception there. A difficult balancing act...

Now what?

That's it. It is official. Two days of rendering, burning DVD's, correcting last minute mistakes and then wholesale re-cutting of the pice has left me feeling kin od numb as I have actually finished editing Jay and Kay Save the World, which for anyone who has just joined us, is the very first outing of Caution Wet Paint in HD. It is my film festival offering for 2009-2010, and at ten minutes long, it is pretty impressive for a short film. I rather look at it as a featurette rather than just a mere short.

Anyhow, what now? Well, first send off the films to film festivals whose deadlines are fast approaching. That is the priorty. Thankfully, my preparation in terms of press packs and posters earlier this month really means that I can drop the letter in the mailbox and let it et to the festivals. A lot of the groundwork is already done.

Next send a bunch of DVD's to the cast and crew and open the swearbox in order to meet up with everyone again.

But it is a weird feeling. This film has been in the planning since late summer last year and part of the sequences were shot in October, some nine moths ago (although the main shooting took place in March). That means, for the best part of a year, Caution Wet Paint has been my life.

So what now? Do I go onto another project? Hell no. Here comes the hardest part. To continue with Caution Wet Pant, but this time follow it up with marketing alongside distribution to festivals. Now this is the tricky bit. How do I market? Well, like all aspects of film making, I am learning as I go along. Slowly, but surely, I will figure this one out. But definitely is to spruce up and update our website, which I have already begun to do...