Tim Ritter, Round 2

Preproduction

Source an on-set photographer and videographer and set schedule for them

This is definitely a high priority, if not an immediate one as I still have a lot of time before production. These two roles will likely be handled by the same person on set. In addition, I plan on having someone whose role is to consistently update and disseminate new content to social media during production (production photos on social media, twitter updates, etc.). Whether this is the same person handling the behind-the-scenes videos will depend on the candidate and how confident I feel about their abilities and reliability. This will be one of the primary roles I’m looking to fill at this year’s meet-and-greet, and Lisa Mills has already started compiling some candidates among her documentary students.

Continue audience research and online listening to “influencers,” bloggers and grassroots organizations

This is definitely among the highest priorities for establishing me and my film among potential audience groups. I have already started investigating some potential online gathering places for potentially favorable demographics, and my marketing team and I have started to lay some early plans for me to create a consistent commenting presence on sites with potential fans of Testament, from the Christian Left site on Facebook to more general independent film sites. Building a fanbase among Twitter followers will also be a high priority. The best way to set this in motion will be to create some sort of regular commenting schedule so I budget time for this and get in the habit of doing it on a daily basis.

Choose e-mail database program to maintain a fan contact list

We have not done this, but this will be an important step. First we need to accumulate some e-mail addresses, and this will likely be achieved through community outreach to potentially favorable church congregations, as well as on social media like Facebook and through my crowdfunding campaign. My wife has also started playing with programs like MailChimp, which allows users to create templates to churn out professional-looking, standardized mass e-mails. We’re not very far along on this one, but it is definitely on our list.

Production:

Design website/Write content for website and digital press kits. Work with graphic designer to match film branding.

Though this is listed as a production activity on this site, we have made it a preproduction priority. The website we are building, as well as its Facebook counterpart, will be critical to fundraising and audience-building efforts in establishing our legitimacy as a project in development as well as supplying background information and regular updates. We, meaning my wife and I, have already laid out the skeleton of the site, and then started filling in with content where we can. We’re also trying to build the basic early branding, from font of the title to just the general look of the site (as it would hopefully match the feeling created by the film itself). We have created the typical pages found on film sites to detail production (cast/crew bios, video for trailers and BTS, about the filmmaker, etc.), as well as an “Inside the World of Testament,” which will detail the unique alternative world the film takes place in as well as establishing the key characters in that world. We still have a lot of work to do, as it is my wife’s first time trying out Wordpress, but we are trying to launch it within a month or so.

Start researching appropriate festivals

Obviously, I won’t be doing this during production, as I’ll be kind of busy then. But I would like to finish this before production, or at least get a good head start before production and then finish after. Doing this now is probably a lot easier through withoutabox, which allows you to use search fields to narrow to all sorts of specific niches and categories. I’ll be tossing up the typical prayer and sending the finished film to some bigs, such as but not necessarily Sundance and Toronto, while also looking for DIY, religious/spiritual, science fiction and maybe political festivals. For each one I add to the list as a potential target, I’ll then see what I can find through some internet searching about the festival’s reputation, history and whether it truly would be a good fit for me. I’d like to get into some bigger festivals, but also submit to some smaller festivals that I might have a better chance of winning. I don’t have a specific timeline yet for starting to compile this list, but it’d be nice to get going by October.

Procure a recent film delivery list to make sure you are collecting every item. Put all materials in an organized filing system

This is an absolute priority. I struggled with this mightily on my first feature for both lack of knowledge and time, and am quite worried about the ceiling of my film as the materials involved in this list are in a disastrous state right now (missing and inadequate agreements, primarily). I immediately clicked on Candler’s link to her sample list and saved it to my Evernote and computer. Before I start shooting, I intend to print out a stack of exactly every form I need, hole-punching and filing them into a notebook with dividers. For every form I create and get filled out, I want to turn around within a week and create duplicates, which will be filed in similar notebooks. I think this will matter almost solely in the longshot eventuality of a traditional distributor taking an interest in my film, but probably very little if I go to self-distribution, but I want to be prepared for the longshot nonetheless.

Postproduction

Key art creation

On my first feature, I am working with a co-worker with extensive graphic design experience, who is devising materials for me for free (woo-hoo!) just to help me out. I don’t feel like I can count on that kind of favor again this time, though, so I will be keeping an eye out for other candidates. Funnily enough, one of the teachers at Treehouse (my place of employment) seems to have a knack and passion for designing movie posters, so he’s a potential candidate. Also, the person I first started making films with years ago is pretty unparalleled in his talent for this (and was once offered a job doing it professionally only to stupidly turn it down), but he is not always super-reliable. I want to make more of a point in getting stills on this film as that was another thing that slipped through the cracks on my first feature, forcing us to go with something a little more stylized for a lot of the promotional materials so far.

Edit the most gripping trailer anyone has ever seen

This is actually one of my favorite parts of the filmmaking process, and I'm typically brainstorming on potential trailer concepts and structures well in advance. On my first feature, we shot an advance promotional trailer to raise money, then I cut together a trailer during a lull midway through the production process to keep everyone excited and sustain some buzz, and will cut a final trailer once the film is complete to get some momentum going into its festival run. I have already cut together a promotional trailer for Testament, even though I have no cast in place and at that point had very little crew as well, just to again generate interest and money for the fundraising effort. I will cut probably a few trailers, probably one early in the postproduction process and then again at the tail end. Hopefully at that point, I can premiere the trailer across all of the social media platforms I’ll have cultivated, as well as on my own site. This time, it would be nice to do a more calculated rollout of the trailer, perhaps with an announcement a week out that it’s coming, to create more interest in the actual trailer as well as the film. I don’t however, have any idea what a seeding company is?

Coordinate test screenings of the rough cut, collate notes for adjustments

This is something I just did for my first feature, and it was pretty useful. I cut that film, and showed it to other filmmakers only (figuring non-filmmakers couldn’t understand how the pacing will be altered when sound and music are added). I got some good feedback on things that I could alter in cuts and pickups, and it was also good to get feedback on things I couldn’t change, just to see potential criticism I’d face when the film came out. It’s hard to get across sometimes what a difference it will make when music is added (especially if it will play a big role, as it will with that film), but I also didn’t want to make many changes after the music was added, as then it would become a big headache for me and the composer. One other good thing was it helped me decide for sure to hand it over to another editor to work some on things I was struggling with, and he’s bringing a fresh touch to the material. I plan on using the same approach with Testament, handing out individual copies to carefully selected screeners and then seeing what issues come up from multiple screeners.

Release

Maintain social channels and website

This one is a nuisance, but it is important. I’m hoping that the good habit of updating on a daily basis will be so ingrained at this point that it will continue into postproduction as well as post-release, though by that point, it may reduce in frequency to weekly or bi-weekly updates. Part of continuing updates, too, will be generating a continual buzz at this point to sustain updates, such as setting up for press articles or following cast/crew people in their post-Testament lives.

Encourage audience to leave feedback on IMDB, etc.

This is a very good idea, and one I definitely want to follow up on. I know I am a junkie for seeing what people are talking about in regards to a film, and also it’s the number of ratings or reviews that might encourage me to think it’s a legit film as the actual opinions expressed. If a film has no one commenting on it or rating it, I think that can be a red flag for a lot of potential viewers. It will also be important to avoid the inflated reviews that come across as obvious plants by people involved with the film, as those do more harm than good. When a film’s getting all one- and 10-star reviews on imdb, you’ll probably be more inclined to believe the one-stars are the legitimate ones. So vigorously reminding festival audiences as well as friends of the film to post reviews will be important, and something I’ll have to set reminders to myself to do.

Set up own digital distribution outlet on website and estore goes live to sell merchandiser direct.

This will be an important step, because the likelihood of the film being picked up for distribution is such a long shot. And this will also be key to cashing in on any buzz the film generates upon release/festival runs, as the film needs to be available for purchase right away while the audience is thinking about it. If it’s not, they’ll likely forget and move on. I have saved one article detailing some of the technical aspects of attempting this (http://mikevogel.com/2012/08/how-to-sell-direct-downloads-of-your-movie/), and know plenty of people at Treehouse who can help me build this functionality into my website. Then I’ll just have to dedicate a few days to burning DVDs and creating DVD cases (though digital copies will be encouraged, as they’ll be a lot easier for me — and cheaper). If the film generates a lot of buzz or attention, I might then turn to a manufacturer to create copies in mass.