“After Actors” is a blog that aims to help aspiring filmmakers on their path to becoming successful movie makers. This blog focuses on the “after part” of making your breakout film. Our blog will give you tips and suggestions on how to make your film stand out in a crowded market, and how to market it well. We will also feature interviews with new filmmakers and actors who have made a splash in the industry. Additionally, we will give tips for actors and actresses who are trying to break into the business.
Our blog is useful for any independent filmmaker or video maker, but has a special focus on horror and science fiction films, which we feel are underrepresented in the mainstream media.
How to make your film stand out in the crowd
If you are an independent filmmaker or a video maker, you have probably spent years practicing your craft. You have attended film school and have shot many short films. Now you have finally made your first feature film. But how do you get people to watch it? How do you get the media to pay attention to your work?
In this blog I will share my thoughts on how to create a buzz around your film and how to market it well.
In my experience there are two main components that make up a successful marketing strategy for an independent feature film. The first component is about creating a buzz around the film by using social media and online marketing tools. The second component is about making sure that if people like your movie they know where they can find it.
The first step in any marketing process is research. What kind of audience do you want to reach with your movie? Who would be interested in seeing it? Which social media channels do they use? Which magazines do they read?
Once you know who your target audience is, the next step is to think about what kind of message they would like to hear from you. What would excite them? What would make them want to see your movie? Is
There are thousands of short films and videos on the web, so how do you make your breakout film stand out?
– Keep it short. The best way to keep an audience engaged is to keep it short. There’s a reason why most big blockbusters aren’t epic six hour movies. In the age of attention deficit disorder, you want to capture your audience right away. The best way to do that is to keep things short and sweet.
– Make it look like a movie. Most people can tell the difference between a homemade video and a big-budget Hollywood film. That’s because production value plays a huge role in determining how a film looks, feels and sounds. If you want to make your breakout film stand out in the crowd, you’ll need to invest in equipment like HD cameras, lenses, lights and sound recording gear.
– Make it loud but not obnoxious. You want your video to be heard above all the other noise on the web but not overly loud or obnoxious or users will quickly tune out. One way to get around this is by increasing the volume of your video at certain points when you want viewers to pay attention (like during dramatic scenes or key plot points). Another method is by adding background music that helps set the tone for what’s
Are you making a film? Do you want it to succeed? What’s your biggest challenge?
It is not whether or not your film is good. It’s not even whether or not your film gets seen. Your biggest challenge is to make it get noticed.
The world of independent filmmaking is filled with movies that are absolutely brilliant, but the filmmakers and producers have no clue how to market or distribute those films in a way which makes them stand out from the crowd.
Films need to stand out just like their stars do; and so you need to approach it as if you were an actor looking for a breakout role. You need a great demo reel, good headshots, and you need to know how to give a great interview. Well, it’s the same with independent movies.
Just as every film is different, so is every film’s distribution. When seeking a distributor for your film, you first need to ask yourself what your goals are and which distributors can help get you there.
If you want to work with a particular distributor, the best way is to know someone who knows someone who knows them. Having an agent or a lawyer to do that work for you is even better. But the truth of the matter is that the distribution world changes weekly and it’s hard to know precisely who is best suited to distribute your film. There are always new distributors emerging, and older ones changing their model or disappearing entirely.
Start by making a list of your top ten favorite films from the past three years. Then go online and find out which companies distributed those films, and if they’re still in business. Check out their websites and read about their company philosophy and values (if there are any). Look at their library of films; if it’s not online check their IMDb page.
There are only a handful of major distributors that have the muscle to move your film into theaters on a national level: Sony Pictures Classics, IFC Films, Magnolia Pictures, Fox Searchlight, Focus Features, Oscilloscope Laboratories, Paramount Vantage, Weinstein Company
We all know that Hollywood is a dream factory. But for most people, the dream is just to see their name in lights.
For me, it was to get my movie made.
And like most independent filmmakers, I had no idea how to go about it. I didn’t have the money or the connections, so I had to go it alone.
I spent five years working on my first film and almost a year trying to sell it at film festivals. So far, I’ve managed to get into a couple of dozen festivals and pick up two prizes. It’s not much, but it’s a start.
I’m going to tell you how I did it — and how you can do it too.
I’m not an actor. I was an actor for a short time, but I never put the effort into it that it deserved, probably because I am a lazy person. If you are reading this, then you are probably like me – so interested in making films that you want to know how to stand out from the crowd.
So here is my advice: don’t try to stand out from the crowd.
There is this general assumption about actors and filmmakers that if they put enough effort into their work then they will become successful. This is also said about writers, painters and sculptors, but as much as I love writing, acting and filmmaking has always felt like a profession where people think they can be an exception to the rules of life. It’s very easy to get caught up in the idea that if you have talent and charisma then it doesn’t matter what other people say about your work – you’ll make it on your own terms.
To be clear: there is nothing wrong with being arrogant or self-assured. It is important to believe in yourself and your work. But many actors and filmmakers take pride in believing they are going to make it regardless of what other people think of them or their work – and this is just plain foolishness.
