Two stories, and only one of them gets made
Every film has a story on screen and a second story around it: who made it, why, and why anyone should watch. The first gets years of attention. The second is often written in a hurry, the night a festival form is due.
The same is true of the people. A director or a small production company is a business. It needs a current reel, a website that loads, biographies that match from one place to the next and a way for a producer or a label to get in touch. During a shoot none of that is touched. After a shoot everyone is exhausted. Then the next project starts.
Music video directors feel this most sharply. The turnaround is short, the budgets are tight, and the next commission depends on the last video being seen by the right people while it is still new.
A director or a small production company is a business. During a shoot, nobody is running it.
What we take off the filmmaker’s desk
We work as your outsourced business manager. The list is agreed in writing. For a filmmaker or a production company it can include:
- A weekly conversation, short and written up, that continues through production so the business does not go dark.
- Keeping the essentials current: the reel, the credits list, the biographies, the company overview and the contact route.
- A materials routine for each project. Stills, credits, synopsis at three lengths, the poster and the trailer link are gathered once and stored where anyone on the team can find them.
- Submission and deadline tracking for festivals, grants and showcases, with the forms prepared for your approval.
- Follow-up after meetings, screenings and enquiries.
- Coordination with your editor, designer, web developer and publicist if you have one.
- A monthly report in plain words.
We are not producers, sales agents, attorneys or accountants. We do not negotiate deals or clear rights. We work alongside the people who do.
Marketing: the director, the company and the project
There are three things to position, and they are easy to blur.
The project needs an audience. The director needs to be understood as a filmmaker with a voice. The company, if there is one, needs to be seen as a reliable place to bring work. Each has different readers and needs different words.
We start with three questions for each. Who are you? What are you about? Why should a producer, a label, a programmer or an audience choose you? When those answers are on one page, the rest gets easier.
- The website. The reel first. Then selected work with credits, a short biography and one clear way to make contact.
- Biographies. Fifty words, one hundred and fifty words and a longer version, all consistent, all current.
- The press kit. Synopsis, director’s statement, cast and crew, production notes, stills with captions and technical details, in one tidy folder with one link.
- The pitch materials. For a director seeking commissions, a treatment template and a short capabilities sheet that make it easy to say yes.
PR: the premiere and the weeks around it
Attention for a film gathers at a few moments: an announcement, a festival selection, a premiere, a release. For a music video it is usually a single day. Preparation decides whether those moments are used.
We write the announcement and the press notes, build the list of writers and outlets that cover your kind of work, send the story and follow up. We prepare the director and key cast for interviews, with the three points they want every piece to carry.
Timing matters here. Festivals and distributors often set rules about what may be announced and when, and artists and labels control the release date of a video. We work to the dates and embargoes you give us, and nothing goes out early.
If you already have a publicist for the release, we support them. We keep the materials in order and the calendar straight so their time goes on relationships.
We do not promise coverage or selections. Programmers and editors decide. We promise that you will arrive prepared.
Social media: build the audience before you need it
The hardest time to find an audience is the week of release. The easiest is during the months of making, when there is something new to show every few days.
- Behind-the-scenes stills and short clips, cleared for use, posted on a steady schedule.
- Introductions to the people making the work.
- Milestones: wrap, picture lock, selection, premiere.
- For music videos, a plan agreed with the artist’s team so the director’s posts support the release and do not step on it.
We write, schedule and watch the replies. You approve the calendar once a month.
Credits, clearances and permission
Film marketing uses other people’s work and faces constantly. A still includes an actor. A clip includes a song. A behind-the-scenes photo includes crew who never agreed to be published.
We keep a simple record of what may be used and how, and we ask before we post. We state credits as they are contracted, and we do not announce cast, selections or deals until the people who control that news have said yes. Questions of rights and contracts go to your attorney.
How we work inside your team
One person approves what goes out. For a film that is usually the director or the producer. We ask for about an hour a week, less during a shoot, and we plan around your production schedule. Your website, your accounts, your materials and your contact list stay yours.
Where to start
Between projects is the right moment. The 90-Day Plan gives you a review of your website and social accounts, your three answers, five rewritten pages, twelve pieces of content and a monthly discussion with your team, for one fixed fee. You begin the next project with the business in order.
If a premiere or a release is close, tell us the date and what you already have. We will start with what that date needs.