Show Your Films to the World on YouTube
by Jaden
If you want to be a screenwriter or filmmaker, you need to have your material seen.
Film Festivals can be expensive to enter and maybe you don’t have that kind of money to spare. Or maybe you don’t have high quality film or digital footage. Maybe you have great snips, clips, and funny moments, but not a full story. Maybe you have tried to enter film festivals, but none have accepted you. There are lots of reasons that film festivals might not be the best outlet for your films.
YouTube.com is one of the best creations that have come out of the Internet to promote any kind of business or share entertaining personal footage, and YouTube is especially exciting for filmmakers. It’s like one big Global Film Festival, welcoming to all. Never before have you been able to show your films to the entire world! That’s exciting.
Some young people may never remember a time without YouTube, when the world was a different place, so they don’t know how lucky they are.
The more opportunities the Internet gives us to access a global audience, the more competition there is to get that audience. Even though the outlet is easier to find, you might have to work harder or have better material to get a dedicated audience.
If you are going to build an audience for your material, you have to do some self-promoting; perhaps sending out emails to friends and family, creating a website with a blog that will draw keyword searches, making friendships with people online who are interested in what you have to offer, having social networking accounts, and so on.
We all have to draw our own boundaries and limits as to what we will and will not do to promote. I do not like being a part of social websites that bombard me with advertising or give out my private information, so I am picky about those.
Last month, I bought a cheap film editing program, so I have been going to town pulling out all my fun old footage and putting up small portions of it on YouTube. You can see all my videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/jaden33sfh#p/u.
The most informative thing that has happened by putting up my short films on YouTube is that I have learned what people are interested in and what they can easily find, which is really helpful to me when deciding what films to produce and publicize.
For instance, I thought my film school short that features singer Jack Johnson would be a big hit because he is so well known, yet that video is getting very few hits. This was a big surprise to me. It could be because there is just too much footage of him on the Internet already and people who search for him don’t find my video. I don’t know.
Videos that are doing well of mine, oddly, are my Lightening clip, a video on Daguerreotypes, the Money Dog Mascot for the 100%, and my most popular video is Fight Night at the East Bay Rats Motorcycle Club in Oakland (includes a girl fight and band The Corruptors) featured above. These are all of course very short clips, only recently uploaded, so I don’t know which ones will withstand the test of time.
Some of the clips are part of my feature film documentary about Oakland Music and Art. I just wanted to practice editing and get a response from people to help me decide which direction to go. These videos were all quickly edited in a few hours and are not completed works and do not necessarily show the best footage.
The most important thing I have learned so far by using YouTube as a film testing ground is that when it comes to making movies, follow your heart! Don’t make something or put something out there because you think other people will like it and it will go viral. Put out screenplays and films to the world that resonate in your heart and soul, material that you really love, and don’t worry about what other people think. Whatever you really like, there is a good chance that others will like it too.
What old films are in your closet?
Calling All Independent Horror Thriller Sci-Fi Fantasy Filmmakers & Screenwriters !
Shriekfest Film Festival
CALL FOR ENTRIES!
Late entry date July 10
PRICES: Original Songs Early: $5.00 Regular: $10.00, Late: $15.00
Super shorts/Webisodes (10 min/pages & under, including credits) Early: $20.00 Regular: $25.00, Late: $35.00
Regular shorts (11 min/pages-49 min/pages, including credits) Early: $30.00Regular: $35.00, Late: $45.00
Features (50 min/pages & up) Early: $40.00 Regular: $45.00, Late: $55.00.
These same prices apply to the screenplays too.
If you would like 2 pages of script coverage by a script doctor, please add $60.00 to your entry fee.
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If you like this article, here are some other articles you may like:
Interview with Screenwriter Boaz Yakin, Writer/Director/Producer of Death in Love
The Top 10 Best International Film Festivals of 2011
by Jaden
photo credit: Alina Sofia
Filmmakers and screenwriters looking for exposure to Hollywood entertainment movie studio and television industry network executives ought to enter their films into international film festivals.
Although showing films in local and small film venues is a great beginning to get recognition and experience, to breakthrough to Hollywood, you need to be seen by real working Hollywood officials.
These top rated film festivals are the best for launching a Hollywood filmmaking career.
#1 — The 64th Festival de Cannes
Festival dates: May 11-22, 2011
Location: Cannes, France
Deadline to enter: March 11, 2011
Click here to submit your film to Cannes.
#2 — The 36th Annual Toronto International Film Festival
Festival dates: September, 2011
Location: Toronto, Canada
Deadline to enter: To be determined.
Click here for the Toronto International Film Festival.
#3 — The Sundance Film Festival
Festival dates: January 20-30, 2011
Location: Park City, Utah, USA
Deadline to enter: September 3, 2010
Click here to submit your film to Sundance.
# 4 — The American Film Market
Market dates: November 2-9, 2011
Location: Santa Monica, California, USA
Deadline to enter: April through June, 2011
Click here for the American Film Market to exhibit your film.
# 5 — SXSW South by Southwest Music and Film Interactive
Festival dates: March 11 – 20, 2011
Location: Austin, Texas, USA
Deadline to enter: August through December the year prior to the festival year.
# 6 — The 38th Telluride Film Festival
Festival dates: September 2 – 5, 2011
Location: Telluride, Colorado, USA
Deadline to enter: April, 2011
Click here for the Telluride Film Festival.
# 7 — Austin Film Festival
Festival dates: October 20 – 27, 2011
Location: Austin, Texas, USA
Deadline to enter: June 1, 2011
Click here to submit your film or script to the Austin Film Festival.
# 8 — 16th Annual Nantucket Film Festival
Festival dates: June 22 – 26, 2011
Location: New York, USA
Deadline to enter: March 7, 2011
Click here to submit your film or screenplay to Nantucket Film Festival.
# 9 — Tribeca Film Festival
Festival dates: April 20 to May 1, 2011
Location: New York City, New York, USA
Deadline to enter: Year prior to festival year.
Click here for the Tribeca Film Festival.
# 10 — The 68th Berlin International Film Festival
Festival dates: February 10 – 20, 2011
Location: Berlin, Germany
Deadline to enter: November, year prior to festival year.
Click here for the Berlinale Film Festival.
If submission dates have passed for 2011, please mark your calendars so you can prepare your films by next year’s submission dates. Please note that many competitions also have requirements about a range of dates within which your film must have been completed.
For short films under 10 minutes, a great place to show them internationally is on YouTube.com. If you get millions of viewers, there is a good chance Hollywood will take notice of you, and who knows, you might get some offers!
RELATED ARTICLES from 2009:
* 20 Best Film Festivals to Enter Your Film or Script *
* Top 8 Screenplay Contests of 2009 and the Scams *
Please contribute additional FILM FESTIVALS INFORMATION or YOUR PERSONAL FILM FESTIVAL EXPERIENCES to the comments section for this article (not via email to me). Thank you!
2010 Screenplay Contests Deadlines & New Links
The following are the deadlines and links to the best 2010 screenwriting competitions.
Nantucket Film Festival Showtime’s Tony Cox Awards Screenplay Competitions
March 1, 2010
Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting Competition
May 1, 2010
Austin Film Festival Screenplay And Teleplay Competitions
May 15, 2010
Samuel Goldwin Writing Awards Competition for Theater, Film and Television
June 1, 2010 — University of California Students only!
Zoetrope Screenplay Contest
September 7, 2010
For more information about each of these contests, please read last year’s post that includes writers’ discussion in comments section:
Top 8 Screenplay Contests of 2009 and the Scams
Good luck!
You may review other contests or add your own screenwriting competition to the comments section here. Thank you.
Cannes Film Festival Wanderlust
by Euro Geezer
photo credit: Philippe sergent
Wandered over to Cannes Film Festival today…
Though the papers say attendance is down and everybody is on a tight budget, the old magic is still there with fans, stars, red carpet, hoopla, and screenings. The streets are full of Limos, harbor full of yachts, and the airport full of private jets. To me, the crowds look the same size as ever. Enthusiasm of prior years is there too. Ahhh, so many gorgeous sexy girls on parade, dressed to be noticed!
Years ago, I always engineered a few party invitations for myself and girlfriend(s) of the day, but these days I can’t be bothered.
Just a “has been” I guess.
