UK Film Network

Social networking. The term is such commonplace these days and when we hear it, we all nod our head and say “Oh yeah, Facebook”.

Making Film

As a founder of social networks since 1999, I’ve been part of the evolution of connecting people online long before the term Social Networking was in common parlance and many years before Myspace, Facebook and Twitter had developed their platforms, to turn their services and websites into household names. Nowadays, their names are used in every day language; “I facebook’d him last night” or “she sent me a tweet”, as well as the many stories you hear in the media, like Jonathan Ross dropping in a Twitter keyword during the BAFTA Film Awards. On Facebook we’ve seen a variety of different viral games from films such as JUMPERS with Jamie Bell, which effectively setup an application to allow you to “jump your friends” to a different city and present them with an image of that city. Social Networking in the world of film, has had some early pioneers who are using it to good effect for publicity, marketing and getting the word out on their film.

Casting and Collaborating

Given that the film industry is effectively a people business, where finding the right person can be the difference between the film being a box office success or a production and investment failure, social networking comes into it’s own. I setup the Shooting People casting network in 1999, to enable filmmakers to post their requests to a pool of around 35,000 people, to resource their project quickly and effectively. In addition to Shooting People, there are others like PCR Newsletter, Mandy.com or even Gumtree for certain roles to fill. If you are looking for a bigger name, then the site whorepresents.com has all the facts and figures on how to find the agent representing Kevin Spacey, or Kate Hudson for example, to follow up and let “their people talk to your people” and see if a deal can be struck. Additionally, these are the places to find quality editors, directors, sound and lighting experts and resourceful people who are motivated to work on your film and help make it a great end product. Often collaborative agreements can be entered into, with many people getting involved without pay, but instead using the project to develop their career in unexpected ways.

Marketing and Advertising

When it comes to marketing and advertising, the effectiveness of social networking is still being tried out. I setup a Facebook group for my documentary Making It In Hollywood, which has around 700 people now, who have followed the progress of the film from idea phase, through to the location setting, film editing and finally making it’s way out into the festivals. The feedback I get is that it brings audiences closer to the action and the evolution of a film as it develops from a blank page to the big screen. By the time it hits the big screen, this audience have shared all the trials and tribulations and feel very much part of it’s development. In addition, those who are interested in filmmaking or performing, can see for themselves, that the challenge is not to be taken lightly but there are hints and tips that you can gather along the way to make the journey easier. The fact of the matter is that social networking, for the most part, is free. A little bit of effort in creating groups, setting up events, sharing links and updating status information, are all valuable channels to gain feedback on your production, as well as starting to spread the news. There are also many sites to contact journalists directly online in order to offer interviews to your cast and to submit trailers or screeners. PRWeb.com is one that I use often. If you submit your article and pay a small fee of around £80, the article will be distributed online to a wide variety of online news sites, who grab the latest stories to fit in with their online publication.

Now, the real power of the online networking comes in when you need to find the right person in an organisation of the various industry publications, magazines, newspapers and what will soon be known as “offline media”. Fortunately most of the offline media are also online, they are twittering, they are on facebook, they have myspace pages, and are generally contactable and approachable if you have an idea that’s relevant to them, and you are patient. For my documentary, I briefly met with the editor of Screen International in Hollywood, I kept in touch and contacted him again when I noticed he was in Cannes, and finally had a long interview with them in London which resulted in a nice little article on their back page. This was while I was still filming it. Peter Travers, another social networker, is the infamous editor of Rolling Stone magazine. He was given the trailer for the short version of the film that I took to Cannes. He said “Accent-tacular”, as a reference to my Glasgow accent which is rarely heard in the US and I now have a quote for the cover of the DVD ***** “Accent-Tacular” Rolling Stone Magazine *****.  I followed that up with an article on making film from you laptop which was featured in the .Net Magazine, creating another avenue to discuss the film. And then of course there is this article, which has planted the seed in your mind. It all helps to get the name of the film (Making It In Hollywood), in the public consciousness.

Another social networker that I met in LA, was film and theatre director Chris Dickerson, who was also a journalist and author. He wrote a full chapter in his latest book called “Poetry & Prose” of the weekend we filmed Clint Eastwood and Ennio Morricone at an exclusive party at the Italian arts centre in West Hollywood. Chris was very descriptive about the weekend and our adventures and as the book is now getting interest online at lulu.com, the self-publishing site, it has resulted in questions about the film and when it’s coming out.

Sales and Distribution

So, you’ve got your movie made, you’ve created a bit of online buzz about it. Next stop is the end game. The big players get the Sales and Distribution signed up prior to filming begins, that’s when there is clearly a lot of money at risk, but when it’s your first low budget film and you need to find someone who will be interested in your product, it’s a wide world. Fortunately, there’s online networking to come into play again. Apart from simply attending the market at Cannes, taking business cards, handing out screeners, there’s Cinando.com which I used to find out who was in town and to email them before going there to setup a meeting to discuss my projects.

As they say “everyone’s in town” so that’s the best target to meet, greet, connect and pitch. A lot of the time it’s a numbers game. The more people that see your film, through the festivals if you’re lucky enough to get it accepted, the more chance you have of getting a top distributor shaking your hand and offering you a small but handsome cheque. There are of course hundreds of festivals around the world and I’ve personally been looking at Melbourne, Hawaii and Hollywood Festivals. If only for the sunshine, sea and sand. Of course Withoutabox.com has become my best friend and I took out a promotional advert for £50 and I’ve had several festival programmers contacting me and giving me fee waivers to submit the film to their festival. It’s a great service and it is now moving into online distribution.

The main problem a producer has with online distribution, is once it’s online, it cannot be entered into any of the festivals. Well most have a rule which says it can’t have been shown online and only cast and crew screenings are acceptable. This therefore means that online distribution, for me at least, is a crossroads and perhaps something to try when the other avenues haven’t turned up any suitable opportunities. Though I have researched it, and at around £1/copy for a DVD print, a quick copy and paste of HTML from Paypal and it’s another avenue. It’s certainly a business proposition to consider for “no/lo budget” films. A little bit more cash on google and facebook advertising and it could well help the film sell in the low tens of thousands and make some sort of return.

Reviews and publicity

Of course, the free press that a film can get from journalists, reviewers and critics, all helps with the word-of-mouth. At UK Film Network (ukfilm.tv), I’ve pulled together a wide variety of film reviewers around the world in order to bring films to life online and support those who really deserve it. In the last few years, I’ve been to the Oscars, BAFTA, Sundance and Cannes to watch as many films as I can and write about them online, often way in advance of their cinematic release. Endgame and Five Minutes Of Heaven are two great examples of British films doing really well and then seeing a TV release, a mere 4 months from it’s premiere at a festival. BBC and Channel 4 were investors in these films, but I noticed that Endgame only had an audience of 80,000 and for such a great film, it must be a disappointment to the producers. The old adage of “nobody knows anything in film”, makes a lot more sense to me now. No-one can really tell what impact their film will have in the world at large. Any online reviews and publicity, can only help to increase the knowledge of the likely take up of the film, so I’m delighted to be able to be helping the community that is, in return, providing a lot of support, guidance and connections to help me make my own film.

Show business, there really is no business like it, none that I know but with the world at your social networking fingertips, it has really become an open market for filmmakers. What’s stopping you from Making It In Hollywood ?

Beverly Hills, CA — The 82nd Academy Awards, which will be presented on March 7, 2010, will have 10 feature films vying in the Best Picture category, Academy Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis announced today (June 24) at a press conference in Beverly Hills.

“After more than six decades, the Academy is returning to some of its earlier roots, when a wider field competed for the top award of the year,” said Ganis. “The final outcome, of course, will be the same – one Best Picture winner – but the race to the finish line will feature 10, not just five, great movies from 2009.”

For more than a decade during the Academy’s earlier years, the Best Picture category welcomed more than five films; for nine years there were 10 nominees. The 16th Academy Awards (1943) was the last year to include a field of that size; “Casablanca” was named Best Picture. (In 1931/32, there were eight nominees and in 1934 and 1935 there were 12 nominees.)

Currently, the Academy is presenting a bicoastal screening series showcasing the 10 Best Picture nominees of 1939, arguably one of Hollywood’s greatest film years. Best Picture nominees of that year include such diverse classics as “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” “Stagecoach,” “The Wizard of Oz” and Best Picture winner “Gone with the Wind.”

“Having 10 Best Picture nominees is going allow Academy voters to recognize and include some of the fantastic movies that often show up in the other Oscar categories, but have been squeezed out of the race for the top prize,” commented Ganis. “I can’t wait to see what that list of ten looks like when the nominees are announced in February.”

The 82nd Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday, February 2. The Oscar® ceremony honoring films for 2009 will again take place at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network.

Seven Pounds Featurette

Academy to Spotlight
Costume Design in the Digital Age

Beverly Hills, CA – The opportunities and challenges facing motion picture costume designers working in the current era of digital technology will be explored at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ program, “Costume Design in the Digital Age,” on Friday, April 24, at 8 p.m. at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood. The evening will be hosted by Oscar®-nominated costume designer Dr. Deborah Nadoolman Landis and Academy Governor Bill Taylor.

Presented by the Academy’s Science and Technology Council, the program will feature a panel of costume designers, including Oscar nominees Jeffrey Kurland (“Hidalgo,” “Collateral,” “Bullets Over Broadway”) and Ruth Myers (“The Addams Family,” “Emma,” “The Golden Compass”) as well as Ellen Mirojnick (“Chaplin,” “Unfaithful,” “Cloverfield”) and Michael Wilkinson (“300,” “Rendition,” “Babel”). Joining the discussion will be cinematographer Daryn Okada (“The X-Files,” “Mean Girls,” “Apocalypto”) and color scientist Joshua Pines (“Titanic,” “Saving Private Ryan,” “The Aviator”), who won a Scientific and Technical Award for the design and development of the TDI process for creating archival separations from image data (shared with Chris Kutcka).

The evening also will feature special viewing hours (from 6 to 8 p.m. and following the screening) of the “Dressed in Color: The Costumes” exhibition. The exhibition, which examines the important aspects of costume design for color films from the 1940s through the 1960s, is on display through May 2.

Established in 2003 by the Academy's Board of Governors, the Science and Technology Council provides a forum for the exchange of information, promotes cooperation among diverse technological interests within the industry, sponsors publications, fosters educational activities and preserves the history of science and technology of motion pictures.

Tickets to “Costume Design in the Digital Age” are $5 each for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID. Tickets are available for purchase by mail, at the Academy box office (Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.), or online at www.oscars.org. Doors open one hour prior to the event. All seating is unreserved.

The Linwood Dunn Theater is located at 1313 Vine Street in Hollywood.

For more information call (310) 247-3600 or visit www.oscars.org.

I'm now working with BAFTA on their online activity and the first thing they are keen to let everyone know all about, is their new ACCESS ALL AREAS. It's a new public area of their website and it's not just for professional filmmakers and performers, it's for EVERYONE. 

Join today and start to get more inside news throughout the year. All their fantastic events are held throughout the UK and are open to the public. 

Read more below.

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Access All Areas

BAFTA is the UK’s foremost charity working with the leading lights in film, TV and videogames. Access All Areas is our way of making their expertise available to everyone. 

We work with learners of all ages – from young children who want to find out more about how their TV show, film or game is made; to students wanting to know about working in the industry; to industry professionals who want to learn from the successes of their peers. 

What is learning for BAFTA?

All of BAFTA’s events are part of our learning strategy. 

Our events help to develop an accomplished, vibrant and diverse workforce for the UK’s film, TV and video games industries by sharing expertise and developing relationships within the industries. 

BAFTA is lucky enough to count some of the most successful and talented practitioners as our members and friends. Our events allow them to share the secrets of their success with their peers, the public and with those who are pursuing careers in the industry. 

Examples of BAFTA’s sharing expertise

• A BAFTA Interview – Julie Walters – The acclaimed TV and film actress spoke to an audience of BAFTA members and the public about her career experiences, sharing stories of how she got into the industry, how she approaches her work and her relationship with directors. 
• Short Sighted – BAFTA’s event for short film-makers, demonstrating how they should plan for exhibition and distribution. A day long event including case studies from recent successful short film-makers
• Games Speed Surgeries – over 2 days BAFTA members working in the games industry took part in 15 minute surgeries for young people wanting to get into the industry. 
• BAFTA Families Storyboarding Workshop – an interactive workshop at Leeds Young People’s Film Festival with storyboard artist Temple Clark. Temple showed the audience what his job entails and explained the role of a storyboard artist in the production process. 
• BAFTA Schools Sessions at National Schools Film Week – BAFTA-winner Stephen Frears spoke to an audience of school children about his work before a screening of Dirty Pretty Things. 

What we do

BAFTA is not a training provider but offers expertise-sharing as a complement to training and other forms of learning.

BAFTA’s focus is on production skills – we help the public to deepen their understanding of the production process and also help the industry to define best practice.

Our events encourage creativity, but focus is on professional skills, encouraging people to make the business choices which will help them turn their creativity into a successful career. 

Learning takes place across regional partner venues, at 195 Piccadilly, and online. Online environments will become increasingly important in the 21st century so BAFTA will continue to develop on-line resources from our events. 


To sign up to the BAFTA newsletter visit:-
http://www.bafta.org/newsletter/

http://www.bafta.org/

Hello UK FILM NETWORKERS

Hope you are well. My wrist injury is recovering slowly but surely so I’m just about back to writing again. There’s been a lot going on as you can imagine. 

Not least of which I'm pleased to say that my first documentary feature, Making It In Hollywood, is now on it's way to festivals, distributors and broadcasters. It was completed exactly 2 years after it started at the Oscars in 2007 and it was spooky to see my Kate Winslet clip where I wished her "Good luck for tonight Kate", as she walked down the red carpet. It was only two more years for her to really make it in Hollywood.

If you didn't read the "Top Ten Sundance Films You Must See", it's featured in the latest Film And Festivals magazine. It's now in high resolution digital format at their website and provides all the details of film festivals around the world. 

I’ve also been receiving invites to film festivals, getting offered discounts on renting film and training courses. All of which of course I can pass on to members of the UK FILM NETWORK. I hope you’ll be able to make use of these offers, discounts and invitations.


Douglas McFarlane
editor@ukfilm.tv 

Performers, filmmakers, writers can join our new social networking site @
http://www.ukfilm.tv 


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FILM AND FESTIVALS MAGAZINE

Check the page “Top Ten Sundance Films You Must See “

http://www.filmandfestivals.com/

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RAINDANCE FILM COURSES
Our filmmaking courses aim to give individuals the tools to get out there and start shooting.
We combine the best filmmaking traditions with new digital technology – a policy that works. In the last twelve months, over 3,000 filmmakers - writers, directors, producers, actors, agents, film and media students - attended our courses in London, Europe and Canada.

http://www.raindance.co.uk/site/

UK FILM NETWORK is partnering with Raindance to offer a special discount. Contact editor@ukfilm.tv or reply to this message.

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DO YOU LOVE FILM ?

Love Film contacted me today and said they had come across the UK FILM NETWORK group and wondered if members would be interested in a special offer on LOVEFiLM? I’ve used their service a few times to download films to watch or use their postal service. I’d recommend giving it a try if you haven’t already. The code below gives new members a 2 month free trial. Enter it at http://www.lovefilm.com


CODE: FCMBHAAG7

>>>>>


MARBELLA


I am looking for film submissions for this years Marbella International Film Festival - submissions deadline is 30th June. Submissions in on DVD - can be shorts, documentaries, features or animation.

If you can ask your contacts or film makers please they can email me for T&C's, details etc to: liz@marbellafilmfestivalsl.com. 

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Birds Eye View Film Festival 2009
March 5th -13th 2009
BFI Southbank, ICA
Celebrating the best women filmmakers from around the globe with 70 events over 9 days at the BFI Southbank, The Institute of Contemporary Arts, The Gate (Notting Hill), and Picturehouse Cinemas across the UK.

http://www.birds-eye-view.co.uk/


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LIDF08 Programme

8 DAYS | 8 VENUES | 80 FILMS | LIDF08 | A CONVERSATION IN FILM

http://www.pocketvisions.co.uk/lidf/


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END OF PIER FESTIVAL (WORTHING)

Friday 24 April to Saturday 2 May 2009
Various venues in Worthing
Worthing Theatres Box Office 01903 206206

Sat 25 April in the Ritz (daytime) - Short drama films.

Sun 26 April at the Pavilion - Young filmmakers event (PG).

Monday 27 April in Ritz - Made in Worthing Day – films either made by local people, filmed locally or about local events. Including recent and vintage footage.

Wednesday 29 April in Ritz - European day.