Archive for the ‘UNCATEGORIZED’ Category
Introducing the newer, better 2nd edition of my ebook!
Posted by admin in UNCATEGORIZED on February 18th, 2010
Dear Reader,
I’m please to announce that I’ve refined and improved my ebook STOP WAITING and MAKE YOUR MOVIE and filled it with even more valuable information, tactics and lessons to help emerging filmmakers to finance your first feature film.
STOP WAITING and MAKE YOUR MOVIE, the 2nd edition is available now for a limited time promotional price of
ONLY $14.95
ACT NOW! Click here for more details.
Movieset.com
Posted by admin in UNCATEGORIZED, VIDEOS on February 10th, 2010
Today, I received an email introducing me to a cool film industry website called Movieset.com. MovieSet.com is movie online source that providing fans with daily news and content from films in various stages of production.
“MovieSet is a great tool for film producers, especially as we know how much social media campaigns are now playing an important role in our distribution and promotion strategies – basically getting the word out about films way before their theatrical release,” says Christine Haebler, producer for Daydream Nation at B.C.-based Screen Siren.
Check out this behind-the-scene video of the making of Shutter Island. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Directed by Martin Scorsese.
Watch more behind-the-scenes making of videos and interviews from Shutter Island and other upcoming Hollywood films at www.movieset.com
How Smart Filmmakers Get People Talking About Their Film
Posted by admin in UNCATEGORIZED on January 28th, 2010
“Good marketing is easy” – Guy Kawasaki
It’s has now been one month since the release of my new movie, Bend and Break. Over these last 30 days I’ve learned a lot about film marketing and sales and how important it is to have a clear marketing plan to create awareness and exposure for your movie.
To-date, exactly 81% of all Bend and Break sales have been generated from word of mouth marketing, the other 19% was generated from publicity. The power of word of mouth marketing has impressed me so much that I decided to do some research and studying in order to better understand and utilize this efficient marketing strategy.
I came across a book called Word Of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking by Andy Sernovitz. In this book, there is a simple yet great definition of what word-of-mouth marketing is:
1) Giving people a reason to talk about your film
2) Making it easier for that conservation to take place
That’s it. Andy’s book explores four basic rules for creating and maintaining word-of-mouth marketing success.
Rule #1 – Be interesting
Nobody talks about boring products(films) or people(filmmakers). I’ve found the best way to interest people about your film is a tell them an (true) entertaining story about how something went terribly wrong during filming the movie and how all hope was nearly lost but because of your wit, creativity or just pure determination you managed to press on and successfully finish your film. Everyone love a hero.
Rule #2 – Make it easy
Word-of-mouth is lazy. You’ve got to help it along if you expect it to go anywhere. You need to do two things: Find a super-simple message and help share it. What I’ve done is tell people, ”This is my first feature film!”. When people hear the word ”first” they always seem to get a little bit curious.
Rule #3 – Make People Happy
Happy fans are your greatest advertisers. Thrill them. Create an amazing film. Do whatever it takes to make the experience remarkable for them. Make sure the work you do gets people energized, excited and eager to tell a friend. For me that means always shipping DVDs to my customers the exact day they purchase me movie from the website, provide free shipping or personally delivering the DVD movie myself to their home. Customer service is key, even for filmmakers.
Rule #4 – Earn trust and respect
If you don’t have respect, you don’t get good word of mouth. Be good to your fans (customers). Talk to them. Fulfill your needs. Make people proud to tell your story to everyone they know. The two best ways I feel you can earn people’s trust and respect is to:
A) Always tell the truth, no matter what.
B) Be yourself.
Think for a moment about a person or film-maker you respect a lot. I’d be willing to bet the reason you respect this person so much is because they always seem so honest about themselves and their lives (even when admitting their failures and mistakes) or they’re always true to themselves. They don’t compromise or go against their values in order to make everyone else happy.
Here is Andy Sernovitz’s conclusion regarding word of mouth marketing:
“Success comes not from what you advertise but from what you deliver”
Read Andy’s blog at http://www.damniwish.com/ for more great information about word of mouth marketing.
As always, your comments are welcome and encouraged. Let me know what you thought about this article by leaving a comment below!
No-Fee Film Festivals
Posted by admin in UNCATEGORIZED on January 6th, 2010
After a little holiday break, I’m back onto Ian Agard dot Com. I hope you enjoyed their holidays. Now that my film Bend and Break is completed I plan to devote the next 4 to 6 months of my time and energy to market and sell my feature film around the world and entertain as many people as possible. That means I will not be writing on this blog on a weekly basis as usual. It might be once a month or once every other week. But I will continue to share my personal filmmaking experience as things progress over the next 6 months.
Here is something interesting I came across while researching for potential film festivals to submit Bend and Break too. It can be quite costly to submit your movie into a film festival, so here are some festivals from around the world which have no entry fee.
The No-Fee Film Festival List
15/15 Film Festival - short must be produced during the contest
African-American Film Marketplace
African Diaspora Film Festival
American Conservation Film Festival
Amnesty International Film Festival
Annapolis Reel Cinema Festival – defunct?
Archaeology Channel Festival – indigenous peoples, heritgage film
Arizona State University Art Museum Short Film & Video Festival
Auckland International Film Festival
Australian Effects Short Film Festival - showcases digital effects and innovation
Balticon Film Festival – sci/fi convention fest, mostly shorts
Berlin and Beyond – films from Germany, Austria, Switzerland only. Fest is in San Francisco.
Bicycle Film Festival – films featuring or celebrating bicycles.
Black Soil Film Festival – hip hop films
The Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival
Brisbane International Film Festival
Calgary Underground Film Festival
Cinerama (defunct?)
Conscious Life Expo Film Festival – where the “the spiritual and progressive community in southern California” comes together
Daytona Beach Film Festival – free for student filmmakers
DOCNZ – documentaries
Docfest – New York International Documentary Festival – filmmakers apply by letter first; festival will request screener if they are interested
DC Independent Film Festival – student filmmakers pay no fee
Down Under International Film Festival
Greenbelt Utopia Film & Video Festival – fee waived for filmmakers under 18
Human Rights Watch Intl Film Festival – festival solicits film descriptions by email and then requests screeners from filmmakers
Intelligent Use of Water Film Fest – short films about water conservation
Loisaida Cortos Latino Film Festival
Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival
Melbourne Independent Filmmakers Festival - no fee for films submitted before certain date
Melbourne Underground Film Festival
Native American Film & Video Festival
National Neighborhood Day Short Film Contest - no entry fee for youth
New York Arab & South Asian Film Festival
New York International Latino Film Festival
Next Reel International Film Festival
OUTer Gay & Lesbian Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film Festival
Providence Latin American Film Festival
Red Stick International Animation Festival
Salem Film Festival – send info first, they will request screener if interested
San Francisco Women’s Film Festival
Scandinavian Film Festival L.A.
Scinema Festival of Science Film
Tiburon Film Festival – fee waived for students
Wild Spaces Film Festival - appears defunct?
Happy Holidays from Ian Agard dot Com
Posted by admin in UNCATEGORIZED on December 24th, 2009
Hello,
I would just like to say thank you to everyone who visited my website, read my articles, bought my movie and ebook this year. 2009 has been a wonderful year for me and that was made possible by your support and interest in Ian Agard dot Com.
I would like to wish you a very safe and Happy Holidays and I look forward to helping you towards your success throughout 2010.
Thank you again.
Ian.
NEWS: Bend and Break movie now available on DVD
Posted by admin in IAN AGARD'S PRESS/RECENT NEWS, UNCATEGORIZED on December 21st, 2009
Monday December 21,2009 11:58am
Because of unexpected popular demand, the DVD release date for Ian Agard’s feature film debut ’Bend and Break’ has been moved up to today. For more information about the movie and to purchase it, click here: http://www.bendandbreakmovie.com/buy-the-dvd-now
Bend and Break – Official trailer
Posted by admin in UNCATEGORIZED on December 19th, 2009
With one week away from the DVD release of my new movie ‘Bend and Break’ I’d like to share with everyone the film’s official trailer, check it out:
Watch the Official trailer now!
NEWS: Movieola purchases short film ‘Karma’
Posted by admin in IAN AGARD'S PRESS/RECENT NEWS, UNCATEGORIZED on December 16th, 2009
Tuesday December 15,2009 2:35pm
Movieola-The Short Film Channel purchased the short film ‘Karma’. Release in 2008, Karma is a 7 minute film about a young man of moves to a new city to live with his girlfriend, however, things don’t turn out as smoothly as planned. Directed by David Planche. Written and produced by Ian Agard.Starring Ian Agard and Mishelle Ayesha.
BEND and BREAK – a film by Ian Agard COMING SOON TO DVD!
Posted by admin in UNCATEGORIZED on December 8th, 2009
Only 18 days left until…New Year’s Eve? Nope.
Christmas? Close.
There’s 18 days left until my movie Bend and Break goes on sale on DVD. Here are some publicity stills for the movie:
Check out the official Bend and Break site at http://www.bendandbreakmovie.com/ and join the mailing list for your chance to win a FREE poster for the movie.
How to Make Your Video Look Like Film
Posted by admin in DIRECTING, UNCATEGORIZED, VIDEOS on November 24th, 2009
Now that I’m in the final stages of post-production with my feature Bend and Break ,I’ve been doing quite a bit of research to make sure my movie looks as kick-ass as possible for my audience. Since we shot Bend and Break in HD, I’ve been searching around for tips on how to make my film look more cinematic and film like. Thankfully a film maker in San Francisco,CA,Nick, has posted a very useful video to help filmmakers take their DV footage to the next level.
Nick is a nice guy and very willing to answer any questions you have about his videos and give you advice. Check out his Youtube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/rosenchuck1
