No, the press can’t get you production money, representation or a premiere at a top film festival, but it can place you in front of a lot of people if you can hook it.

Independent filmmakers need a platform to shout about their work. They need to connect with a professional journalist who believes in the filmmaker’s talent and spreads the word to increase the film’s buzz. Once the buzz swells, people decide if they’ll enter the theater or not. Without the buzz, they won’t go.

My first premiere was for a short film. While the film didn’t have a hook to entice a journalist to attend, I did have the renowned author give a talk prior to the film. Leaving his national platform to attend the film premiere of his popular book was enough to draw several journalists to the showing.

One journalist came early to learn about the unknown filmmaker who obtained the rights to a bestselling book. He didn’t introduce himself as a journalist, but instead offered to help me set up the punch and food table.

After the set-up was complete, I stepped into the men’s room and changed into a tux. With my pants down, so I could tuck in my shirt, the journalist introduced himself to me – Awkward.

The next morning I read about how this unknown filmmaker worked hard on setting up the premiere and then changed into a tuxedo in the restroom. The article went on about how such a small production company managed to obtain the rights and finally ended with a lukewarm paragraph about the film.

The story never hooked the writer, but my bizarre ability to pull off the impossible did. Unfortunately, by not presenting a proper hook, our press was ineffective at launching the film. Thankfully we changed our approach before the overseas release date.

But how do you connect with a journalist for a positive result? – By being authentic, truthful and following the below 5 steps.

1. KNOW YOUR TALENT LEVEL.
If your film was made in your backyard and mom did the make-up and dad held the boom pole, then don’t expect to be “found” with the greatest independent release to date.

The key is being honest about if your film can hold its own against competitive films. You need to be surrounded by enough people that will tell it like it is. Then ask yourself, is this picture the one I can give the press to compete nationally? If not, release it to the local or regional press.

2. PROVIDE THE HOOK.
Journalists aren’t lazy, but they are overwhelmed with more press releases than they can follow up on. They need help from honest PR pros that share the most interesting part of the newsworthy film story.

This is not an invitation to try and spin something cool, as it will only fall flat to the experienced – “Unknown Director Surfaces with Cool Movie Starring People You’ve Never Heard of.”

3. PAY ATTENTION TO TIMING.
Tens of thousands of journalists receive announcements that an independent film has started production. Less than one percent of those releases survive the trashcan. Why? Because 90% of films that start production never get released.

Timing is critical and the best opportunity to tell a journalist about a film is just before its scheduled release. Timeliness makes it more newsworthy and if it’s good, increases ticket purchases. Films that use advanced press watch their audience dissolve before ticket sales begin.

4. TEST YOUR PRODUCT/STORY
Everyone you know will tell you that your story is great, especially since they don’t want to upset you. The only true thermometer for excellence is the total stranger.

Heading to the mall and testing your pitch works wonders. If the person doesn’t understand the pitch, then people won’t understand your film. If the person loves your pitch, then learning about their demographics will improve your PR campaign and the film’s release.

5. TEST YOUR TRAILER
Many a film has flopped because the hot trailer drew a cool crowd, but not one made of people who would appreciate the story. Making sure the trailer properly represents the story and the film’s style is critical for testing its audience draw. Getting the wrong audience into seats will only create a disappointment that doesn’t read well in the press.

Making sure the genre, style and key story elements are present will draw the right audience. If you don’t like using your honest trailer, then you’ve been lying to yourself about the film’s entertainment value. By getting it right, the press will do the rest.

Once you’ve managed through the above steps, you’re ready to email the press with the right information that will attract the right journalists and finally the right audience. But this has to be done with just a few paragraphs and one link. Do not attach links to all your websites. Just attach the one that holds all the press information including the epk, trailer, clips, B-roll, photos, sound bites, and interview segments. Then get ready for a call to set up a live interview.

Copyright © 2014 by CJ Powers

At the end of last week I was asked two questions about working on creative teams:
1. What has been your experience with creative teams?
2. What has been the dynamic of those that have worked and those that didn’t?

A smile came to my face as I remembered all of the great story elements created in the collaboration process. Then I also remembered the terrible failures that killed projects before they took off. The differences were clear, so I decided to share my views in this blog.

PRACTICES THAT DESTROY

1. Creatives wanting to be heard without first understanding others.
When I was wet behind the ears, I directed a documentary for WGN about the 1st Infantry Division that included soldier interviews from World War I and II, Korean War, Vietnam, The Gulf War and Desert Storm. The footage captured was priceless and included Captain Joseph T. Dawson sharing how God revealed a path (Historically named Dawson’s Ridge) for him to move his men off of Omaha Beach, take out the bunker and spare hundreds of soldiers that were being massacred.

Dawson’s humility, patriotism and love of God and country was clear. But, one of the producers that hired me was an advocate of separating anything about God from facts about our country – Never mind that our country was founded on religious freedom. The producer refused to hear any opposing views or test the heartfelt interview with an audience. This resulted in a dull segment that watered down the miracle to happenstance. The decision took the life out of the phenomenal testimony.

2. Creatives fighting for something the team already killed.
I was on the development team for Myst Entertainment where the goal was to create a feature film from an author’s book idea. One of the key elements from the original story not only demonstrated the author’s expertise, but it also revealed his strengths as a historian. While this key element was critical to the book, it was not visual and would flop on screen. The team agreed to replace the element with something more physical.

Nothing could zap the energy out of the room more than a passionate author fighting to maintain the integrity of his story when it simply wouldn’t work in the medium. What made the moment more difficult was that we all respected his literary brilliance, but had to stand firm on our visual knowledge.

3. Creatives not staying on Vision.
I was brought on to direct and co-produce a family adventure film titled Legend of the Lightstone. The writer created a brilliant story that was family friendly and held the attention of all ages. When I shared the script with Industrial Light and Magic in order to discuss the visual effects, the ILM creative team got so excited that they storyboarded the climax to sell us on being a part of the film.

In the meantime, the writer rented a BMW convertible and cruised several of the studios in California. His pitch was spot on and he had several luncheons with top executives all wanting the story. However, each studio wanted minor changes that transformed his excellence into a weak script. ILM dropped out of the project and so did I.

4. Creatives playing politics.
I’ve been a part of several webisode development teams, but none have survived long enough to produce a high quality pilot. A particular show fell apart because one of the five member creative team played politics to conform the story to his social agenda instead of supporting the emerging story.

Creating story is an organic process that when forced produces a poor outcome. Whenever a person plays politics to get others to side with his decisions, the story takes on an agenda and loses its realism. The end result is never universally marketable and greatly reduces the potential audience.

PRACTICES THAT ENHANCE

1. Creatives understanding and working with the original vision.
I remember working on A Fighting Chance with my 1st Assistant Director just coming off The Bird Cage and my DP just coming off the K9 Cop series. Both men were not only masters of their craft, but they listened attentively to my vision and gave me exactly what I was looking for. It was an amazing experience to see the film match what was in my mind – A rare occurrence.

What was even more powerful was how they helped conform the set, cast and visuals to match the emotional pattern I was hoping to achieve. Their efforts made it possible for me to win several awards for best directing. The collaboration was impressive, as they would make suggestions based solely on my vision – No added agendas.

2. Creatives heeding the Visionary’s final say.
The visionary differs between visual media. In theater it’s the playwright. In television it’s the producer. And, in film it’s the director. In each case the visionary gets the first and last say, while hopefully reaping the creative input of his team in between. When a standstill is hit, the final say goes to the visionary and everyone works to that end.

Tired & True was a labor of love. It was the first story that I was a part of that was designed for Millennials. As the director, I got the final rewrite of the script and could draw from my personal experiences with the younger generation. The head writer voiced his concern for a couple of my changes, but willingly accepted my final decision. I always appreciate the writer who can present a counter argument for consideration, while not kicking a dead horse. In my mind it’s the only way to make sure the film is at its best.

3. Creatives mastering their craft.
Everyone on the team needs to be an expert at something or it becomes too easy to become a yes man. Just as muscles get bigger and better when exerted against weights, the creative team pushes themselves to excellence through the respectful mashing of ideas. But for this to work, each person needs to be respected as an expert.

I shot a television commercial with a sales guru. He knew little about visuals and motion, but was an expert on what causes someone to say yes at the point of purchase. His expertise coupled with mine caused the final commercial to outsell all previous versions. Had we not respected each other’s expertise, the commercial would have been just another spot.

4. Creatives putting story first and their ideas second.
All creatives want to see the show overtly reflect their creativity or is at least birthed from their idea. However, the organic process typically merges ideas into something new and special that can’t be segmented without a critical eye. It’s like seeing your wife and yourself in your kid, but wanting the ‘you’ part of them to shine more.

I asked the Tried & True development team to come up with a unique set piece that would demonstrate the protagonist’s passion to out do his father, while getting closer to his love interest. The head writer came up with an adventurous scene that had a moose smash a car into the forest guard rails, putting the two leads in jeopardy with a rescue helicopter overhead. We kept the moose, the forest and the helicopter, but changed the cinematic scene into a hunt at a Renaissance fundraiser for the law school – One of the most memorable scenes in the movie.

Overall, collaboration is a great tool when done with people who are more into story than themselves. They need to understand their role in the process and yield to the final decision maker for the story to be at its best. Any attempt to spare one’s own ideas results in the story failing. And, when the story doesn’t include all involved, then it too seems to flop.

I should also mention that this must take place within a reasonable amount of time. Whenever the process goes too long, all suffer for a lack of continuity or a weak vision. A professional approach with everyone staying on task and verbalizing their ideas is the best way to achieve a universal story that works across many people groups.