Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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Moderator: Orly Ravid - Film Collaborative Case study: Matt Harlock - American The Bill Hicks Story Panel: Eamonn Bowles - Magnolia Nolan Gallagher - Gravitas Dylan Marchetti - Variance Films
Criteria for a funded feature doc Bill who? Awareness of Hicks comedy in the UK: 350,000 unit sales track record in the UK - lively/active online community - 200,000 FB fans (ww) - voted 4th best Stand-Up Ever in recent UK poll... - books sell 40,000 copies (base) in UK - the comedians comedian - Bruce/Pryor/Hicks Full life story had never been told before Bills family had never spoken at length, once 18 years ago BBC initially financed production through DVD and TV acquisition for $280K (incl. $60K for US DVD) nb. pre-sales are not typical and based on 2006 DVD market World Premiere at LFF led to press reviews led to UK theatrical BUT awareness of Bill was nowhere near same level in the USA... therefore THe goAL oF THe FiLm was to firmly establish Bill Hicks on the permanent cultural timeline in the US
Halflife Films, Jackamo TV & The Film Collaborative 2012
Audience trailer must establish that this is an amazing theatrical, group experience that you dont have to know Bill to like the film (inclusive) nb. his fans will seek this out - our target is the peripheral & non-fan. Bill is a comedian, controversial, & unique. he has cult cool - if you havent heard of him you should have.
Performance in lead up to US release international festival run selected for 30+ international festivals incl: London FF, SheffDocFest, Glasgow, SXSW, HotDocs, Seattle, Boston IFF, winning at: Dallas, Downtown LA, Little Rock, Biografilm Bologna major UK theatrical release may 2010 - American was the 2nd highest grossing theatrical documentary that year, ahead of Capitalism A Love Story, Religulous and The Cove. Australian theatrical release through Madman Sold out 3 week run in Sydney, ACMI in Melbourne took $40K. Top 10 films of 2010 lists www.cinemablend.com plus IndiePixFilms, yourturnheather & ScreengrabX. imDB rating of 8.2 out of 10 (in the top 50 best docs of all time) Driven by UK & festival press reviews - producers own money spent on PR in the UK from LFF to theatrical
HHHH HHHH
HHHH HHHH
nothing short of astounding Time Out surely the most visually inventive bio-doc ever a kinetic masterpiece The Observer
lovingly assembledhighly watchable One of the Films You MUST See This Summer Total Film a really impressive film biography The Guardian
A flawless piece of workutterly inspiring. Certainly our most anticipated movie of the year Maxim Visually, the movies fantastica fascinating & incredibly entertaining movie. Aint It Cool News
HHHHH
A total must-see Love Film A brilliant and beguiling film Esquire Thoroughly engrossinga very fine piece of work. Movie of the Week Mark Kermode, BBC Film 24
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hysterically funny and deeply moving tribute to a true American outlaw. Daily Mirror The groundbreaking comedian gets a step closer to immortalityhas a compelling intimacy The Hollywood Reporter
HHHH
Absolute perfection. Loaded Likely to be the pre-eminent documentary of 2010 Clash Magazine
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Producers split-rights decision had talks with major distributors but no right offer emerged we had met partners we liked offering a viable theat/VoD strategy (albeit with a risk/investment involved) we had experienced the positive audience reaction, convincing us it was a theatrical film press reaction had been very strong - to use it, the film needed to be theatrical - & banked interviews/press interest for release on theatrical assumption we knew (hoped) that Bills US fanbase/community was out there - Our Facebook Groups up to 12,000 by this point - our website getting 2000 hits a day during SXSW if we did not make the right impact in America with the film, we would have considered it to have failed
SO...
Halflife Films, Jackamo TV & The Film Collaborative 2012
Theatrical release factors Variance agreed to defer part of their low 5 figures fee as producers, we had skillset to deliver print artwork and trailers at no/minimal cost decided that 35mm trailers were worth the cost to hit right theatres PR was the most valuable money spent due to Bills story potential ie. important American comic whos not as well known as he should be, British filmmakers tell American story about freedom of speech
Targeted marketing materials Research - we asked all our US friends, festival heads, producers, marketers and comedians what worked - with some surprising results
Designs phase 2 Final set of designs sent out for feedback round 2
The silhouette our feedback pool unanimously chose the silhouette design As with trailer,
must quickly establish: Bill is a comedian controversial, & unique. he has cult cool - if you havent heard of him you should have. that this is a full bio and an amazing rollercoaster life (not death) The non-subermersible elements must be identified with each film to be brought out in trailer/poster. 2ndary use at small sizes eg. banner ads
1. Trailer 250,000 views then (now 400,000+) 2. Variance marketing via Facebook & limited advertising - budget $500 3. US press reaction/awareness via PR spend - placement generated via release of exclusive clips/content - Grit TV, Sirius XM, KCRW, KLBJ, GATW, AICN...
Fascinating portrait of a born funnyman Variety thought-provoking, heartbreaking, and hilarious NBC.com incredibly inspirationaldeeply moving IFC News Possibly revolutionizing the documentary genre NYPress.com The groundbreaking comedian gets a step closer to immortality Hollywood Reporter Fantastic...incredibly entertaining Aint It Cool News By far one of the best documentaries Ive seen. WASHINGTON Square News Excellent doc...great exploration of the man. HUFFINGTON POST I loved the film, totally inspiring. Bob Edwards, SIRIUS/XM RADIO Fascinating we can see why he was glorious The New Yorker Magazine
Outreach partners:
Austin Film Society - screening/prizes Alamo Drafthouse - special screenings Austin Chronicle - giveaways CapCity Comedy - Houston - 10,000 mail list Comedy Store LA - 20,000 mail list Comics Comic website GATW - clips & DVD giveaway Improv Comedy chain - free screenings KCRW - interview & giveaways KLBJ Austin - screening, prem host Laughbutton Mondon Tees - bespoke poster Satiristas - 20K impressions SXSW - ticket giveaway Waterloo Records Austin - 20,000 mail list giveaway
Halflife Films, Jackamo TV & The Film Collaborative 2012
Release support PR/marketing 5. generate interest through leveraging champions relevant to project... SXSW New York
Richard Linklater Keith Olberman Jamie Kilstein
Los Angeles
Paul Provenza Bob Weide Colin Hanks
Cable VOD reach & marketing Theatrical awareness, strong reviews & the tour helped the online campaign, leading to: banner ads on iTunes, featuring in Comcasts VOD barker and :30 second spots on Dish Network all of which were free because the these providers saw the film in advance and got behind it. 1. 100million home reach in North America - featured in Comcasts VOD barker 2. Dish Network takes the film
(usually $10m Hollywood product)
Internet VOD performance Transactional VoD: Top 10 in iTunes Doc & indy charts for 10 weeks after release (incl. no.2 for first 2 weeks behind oscar winner inside Job) Banner advertising
American theatrical/VOD revenues Theatrical gross: $7K opening w/end at Cinema Village NY $90,589 - producers break even VOD revenues:
Windows
Price point
$6.99 during theatrical $4.99 after DVD avail $3.99 rentals iTunes $15.00 to own Netflix + Amazon Prime Hulu Rev. based on plays tbc
(No.1 on release)
Term
Transactions
28,600 35,000
Gross
TV sale
1. Film reaches top tier festivals - this allows crucial access to partners - partners see film perform with an audience 2. Film inspires positive press/audience reaction - bank interviews/press interest for release 3. Subject has a fanbase/community (or at least is known) - see Jon Reiss on PFM, Peter Broderick on suitable subjects - Facebook Likes min 5000, ATM 17,000, DMT 150,000(!) 4. Producers prepared to spend another year releasing film - leads to question: what kind of filmmaker are you? and the two you may not be able to do: 5. Confidence/cash to fund a theatrical to publicise VoD release 6. Have your films title start with A to D - unfortunately not a joke
Halflife Films, Jackamo TV & The Film Collaborative 2012
Billionaire
Synopsis: The story of DHL-Founder and tycoon Larry Hillblom who disappeared mysteriously in a plane crash leaving his unacknowledged children to fight for their share of his vast fortune. gross VoD Revs: Release Year: Theatrical Box: Film Festivals: marketing element: $200,000+ 2011 $0 Tribeca occupy Wall Street, 99% v 1%
5 Star Day
Synopsis: Jake sets out to find the three people born the same time and place as himself to see if their birthdays proved to be as disappointing as his own in an effort to disprove Astrology. gross VoD Revs: Release Year: Theatrical Box: Film Festival: Marketing Element: $1,250,000+ 2011 Under $100K Newport Beach Over 12 million people get horoscopes from Facebook
Halflife Films, Jackamo TV & The Film Collaborative 2012
?
Film starring comedian friend of Adam Sandler
Reasons Why Film Struggled: VoD release occurred 3 months after DVD, poorly coordinated marketing gross VoD Revs: Release Year: Theatrical Box: Film Festival: $100K-$150K 2010/2011 None None
Halflife Films, Jackamo TV & The Film Collaborative 2012
Results driven by a niche musical genre (black metal) with a rabid fan base that was engaged early by the filmmakers, coupled with reviews and marketing that was able to expand the film past the core audience. Theatrical Box: Theatrical P&A: TV Pre-sale: VoD Results: $140k $25k $27.5k - Sundance Channel, included non-excl. on demand FVoD) $38.5k total
(VoD windowing was backwards - first Sundance Channel and Netflix streaming, then VOD - therefore VOD revenues affected by delay.) $30k Cable VoD/amazon/itunes $3k Filmmakers website $3.5k DVD: Low-to-mid six figures and sales holding up. Netflix/SVoD
VS. Anonymous Niche Musical Documentary with Day/Date VOD A lesser known subject without a rabid fan base, mediocre reviews, and a minimal release budget hurt this title. Theatrical Box: Theatrical P&A: VoD Results: DVD Results: $12,000 $14,000 Poor, low five figures TBD
vs.
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$220,000 $160,000 excellent, high six figures Outstanding
Halflife Films, Jackamo TV & The Film Collaborative 2012
Their FEES and also their splits (especially with Cable MSO / platforms) Expenses being recouped If they have to go through middlemen to get to any key platforms / digital stores. What they do, if anything, to support and market the film from both a business-to-business side and consumer facing side.
a. If you stream or distribute digitally before Cable VOD, you will often lose that opportunity. b. Festivals will often not program a film if its available digital or at all commercially. c. Broadcast and SVOD are competitive with each other so compare distribution results/maximum benefits. d. Consider Reverse Windowing (VOD BEFORE theatrical) eg. Magnolia e. Ad Supported VOD (AVOD or FOD (free VOD) (e.g. regular HULU) or broadcast airings can be useful for maximum awareness, are relatively significant revenue generators, and can drive transactional VOD (as opposed to AVOD/FOD being seen as cannibalizing business.
www.thefilmcollaborative.org
Halflife Films, Jackamo TV & The Film Collaborative 2012
www.gravitasventures.com
Halflife Films, Jackamo TV & The Film Collaborative 2012