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...

Praise (or Feedback) 3

The ultimate praise however, does not come from friends, family or the people on the set. That comes at a later stage when a cinematic release is formulated and money for admission is charged. But up until then, only one form of praise matters. That of the film festivals. So, I better keep on sending to them. Another package today and distribution continues!

The DVD...

I REALLY think that this film could well be ready...

Burning DVD's

Just doing a little experiment with the DVD suite...trust me, it is an interesting number, mucking about with the spare footage...

Ticking the Boxes, one at a time...

So far, so good. Done the for for the film festival website. Updated both the Babarouge and CWP websites. Now uploading photos from the set online. That should take a few more hours. Oh and cut a simple trailer, although I will turn my attentions to something more funky in a couple of weeks time.

El Director is happy, considering that July has only just begun...

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...

Finished?

It has been one very, very long day, but I think it is safe to say, that I have finished correcting the colours for Jay and Kay Save the World.

Eight days, not bad. Still, I will go over the corrections once again tomorrow to make sure everything is to my liking. I need a little time out just to make sure everything is constant throughout the film, with no sudden changes or blips in the lighting levels. But for now, I am going to leave this computer for a bit. It has driven me nutty, sitting here all day long!

A significant milestone for El Director

This image could be one of the most important points along the road of Jay and Kay Save the World. For at long last, I have finished the editing. Five weeks after the final live action shooting days, along with a few re-shoots and voice overs the editing process has pretty much come to an end.

And yep, this film hits the ten minute mark including credits. That is a phenomenally huge short film. But for me, I have always viewed this project as a featurette, something which shows the potential of CWP as something more than a series of shorts. Hence the almost epic lengths I am so far tackling.

But this does not mean that the post production sequence is finished. Next comes the colour correction and just as importantly the cleaning up of the soundtrack.

In the editing process I get the final picture that I want, the pace of the film and the sound at an appropriate level. For the colour correction, I had a little life into the picture quality and in the sound correction, I smooth out the bumps and clean up the background static that is prevalent in the recording process. That is going to be a hard task, but it is something I will do after my holiday...