Festivals, Audience, and Social Media…
Festivals are essential to the proper development and marketing of audiovisual content; they allow for professionals to scout new talent, to meet their peers, exchange and build trustworthy relationships essential to the production/monetization of a high-risk prototype industry such as filmmaking.
Festivals are also increasingly becoming a platform where core audiences gather in order to discover the new films that will then be marketed and distributed to audiences around the world. Indeed, people gathering at festivals turn out to be active communities in grass root marketing, whose interactions and conversations are becoming more important in the effective distribution of audiovisual content…
In many countries, successful commercial distribution of “independent films” is made difficult due to the “niche” aspect of the market, and filmbuffs rely mostly on International Film Festivals in their home countries to catch a glimpse of what the International community of filmmakers has best to offer.
Kirchleintragen
Traditionally, the recommendations made by Cinema affectionados were mostly ineffective and not usable by their entourage… Even though Fritz had seen this great film during the Viennale, his friend Carl (living in Carinthia) could not easily have access to it, as the movie would not get (or limited) distribution in traditional networks… Carl would slowly nod his head saying “Das ist interressant Fritz”; however his thoughts would quickly go back to something more familiar to him, or something he could hope to eventually enjoy like a a good old Kirchleintragen (pictured here). Furthermore, Fritz excitement for the film would slowly but surely die off due to the arrival of the Rathaus Weihnachtsmarkt in Vienna, and the lack of friends with whom he could share his interest…
But voilà, the Internet was invented, and along with it came promises of a better world for everyone… in other words, Fritz is no longer alone; his interest can be stored, and shared as he see fits with a growing community of cinema lovers, and Carl will finally have access to all films available for him to choose exactly what his friend is recommending at anytime he wants; at the tip of his fingers…
With the help of Social Media Technologies, 2010 could rightly be the year where Festivals and Audiences come together to reintroduce these events as the main platforms for film promotion around the world…
Sundance; a trend setter?
We have been seeing in the professional press, since the beginning of 2010, many articles (such as this one, that one and this one) concerning Sundance Select partnering up with the Sundance institute to make selected films available simultaneously to Festival screenings via Video on Demand (VoD)… but that’s not all… Let us dream a little.
Sundance also has many online tools in order for a person like me to follow what is going on via their website/player, twitter account, and facebook account.
I’ll let you take a look at what they have in store for us in 2010 …
Festivals as Promotional Platforms
Now what?
In order to fully reap the benefits of these promotional circuits, Film professionals are currently in need of solutions in order to reach these audiences. However, the singularities of different events, cultural differences, the costs, and lack of resources/time needed to properly prepare for such events are currently hindering film professionals to harness the full potential offered by festival exposure.
Glitner has been working on modernizing its approach based on the mutations actually taking place in the industry… and we believe that new technologies are currently changing many existing paradigms, and that they will play a central role in tomorrow’s film industry. More to come on our solutions adapted for festivals …
