Monday

DIY Wishing You Happy Holidaze

This post is like the old holiday ornaments that are stuffed in the closet... it's that time of the year to dust them off and hang them on the tree, put them in the window, light the candles, do whatever it is that puts you in a better mood.  The world is a complicated place, and your camera is something you can pick up and use to change the world... so don't hesitate to do so...  meanwhile, here's some sound advice from a previous post.. reposted like an old ornament.........



We at the DIY Film Festival wish y'all a wonderful holiday season.
DIY Santa


We're getting closer to the deadline for submissions - and we will be announcing the finalists in February for the awards ceremony in March.

First, sit back and congratulate yourself for having finished your film!  Not everyone does that.  Many folks want to start a film and never get around to it.  So you've won that battle.  And now that you've done all that work and have started to submit it to festivals worldwide, also consider the most logical and best ways to market your film, as well as to consider how to distribute your film.

We here at the DIY Film Festival are fans of do it yourself distribution as well.  If you've entered it into festivals and gotten great feedback from friends and the viewing public, all the better. But if you want to find your audience online, there's no better way to do that than doing it yourself.

One method we've seen work is to:

1. Consider creating a method for distribution through Amazon.com - they're the largest online retailer, and posting your film on their website is a logical way to do reach people you never considered reaching.  How to do that? Easy.  Use Createspace.com - they're the aggregator for Amazon, don't charge you anything to create and build your own catalog.  You follow their easy instructions, submit your film in the way required, submit your artwork to their easy to design covers, and within a few days you could be looking at a sample copy of your film.

Once the film is on their site, it automatically becomes linked to Amazon.  Then make sure all your friends check out your film, and if possible get them to write a review of what they thought of the film. It's a way of building interest.

Also, the film automatically is offered as a DVD, as a streaming video and a download on demand. Amazon keeps a percentage of the money collected, but it's worth checking into.

2. Consider putting your film onto itunes.com - another giant retailer.  However, it's a bit harder to do so, as you must go through an aggregator to get them interested in your film.  And the aggregator has to be able to format the film in the way that apple will accept it - and sometimes they will charge money to do so.  However, KinoNation.com offers a simple and easy alternative - they will format and put your film onto all the major outlets, and retain a percentage of what the film earns.

3. Then its up to you to consider how to create public awareness and interest.  That would be offering your film to colleges and universities to review, getting yourself onto radio shows or television outlets, or having public screenings at your local library - which usually cost very little to do.  The only thing preventing the filmmaker from creating their own tsunami of publicity is themselves.  So get to work!

And good luck with all your festival entries, including ours!
Monty Python wants you to have Holiday Fun