October 28, 2019 by thefilmsprites

It’s CROWDFUNDING WEEK at Film Sprites PR!

Crowdfunding for Filmmakers

The film funding landscape has changed over the past 10 years. With the advent of crowdfunding, the ability to secure funds for films and webseries has been put into the hands of filmmakers across the globe. It’s a very exciting time to be involved in film, because crowdfunding gives you the ability to manage your funding on your terms. It also has the added benefit of growing and maintaining an audience for your film or webseries.

So…what’s my background with crowdfunding, you may ask? I started my career in film publicity and social media marketing through assisting with crowdfunding campaigns. Initially, this was just by amplifying the signal via social media. When Film Sprites PR was established, this extended to securing publicity for filmmakers and their crowdfunding campaigns and actively assisting with the creation of campaign strategy. I’ve assisted with the successful campaigns for Magpie, Arcadia Bay, Vampire Mob Graphic Novel Issue 1 and RAIN: A Fan Film About Storm as well as the Kickstarter for the award-winning short film Hello World. Most recently, a film I assisted with post-production crowdfunding, Us Among the Stones debuted at the 2019 BFI London Film Festival.

In addition, I also worked at Boosted, the crowdfunding platform of the Arts Foundation of New Zealand as Projects and Operations Assistant, specializing in film crowdfunding. Including 5 years under the Sprites mantle, I’ve had around 7 years of crowdfunding experience across various platforms, including Kickstarter, Social Screen and IndieGoGo. I’ve seen the good and bad of crowdfunding, the pitfalls, the triumphs, the things that people don’t necessarily think about when they set out to crowdfund their film or webseries. Crowdfunding can be exciting…but in order for a campaign to be successful it also requires a lot of planning.

This week on the blog and on our social media we’ll be looking at various aspects of crowdfunding; from planning to some of the unusual things that may crop up in your campaign. If you’re not following Sprites on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, make sure you follow so you don’t miss a second. PLUS- there’s going to be some great FREEBIES headed your way too!

December 19, 2018 by thefilmsprites - 1 Comment

Our Year in Review…and a Freebie for You!

It’s hard to believe that we’re nearly at the end of another year; the fourth year of operation for Film Sprites PR. It’s been a fun and inspiring year, and we’ve had the great pleasure of working with some truly fabulous filmmakers to provide publicity and digital marketing. Here’s a look back at some of the projects we’ve assisted this year!

Under the Flowers: Circle of Hell

Film Sprites PR had the great pleasure of teaming up with Mad Shelley Films again to promote Under the Flowers: Circle of Hell, the second thrilling installment of this chilling female-driven horror webseries. The season received glowing reviews, as well as award nominations and wins at several film festivals. Season 3, Waking the Witch, is now in development.

The Final Blade

In August we assisted NZ-based Chinese director Willie Ying with the Auckland release of his feature film, The Final Blade. The film was scheduled for an initial 3 days of screenings at Event Cinemas St Lukes, Albany and Queen Street and by the first day of screenings this was extended to an additional 5 days. And despite being screened during NZIFF 2018 (always a difficult time to secure press outside of NZIFF-screened films) we were able to secure media placements (including interviews) in outlets like Radio NZ, Western Leader/Stuff, Showtools, and the NZ Herald’s Time Out magazine supplement.

Us Among the Stones

Film Sprites PR assisted with the pre-production crowdfunding campaign for director D.R. Hood’s second feature film, Us Among the Stones a few years ago, and this year we had the great pleasure of assisting with the crowdfunding campaign for post-production funds on Social Screen. Not only did they meet their crowdfunding target, they exceeded it, achieving 113%!

Us Among the Stones stars Laurence Fox (The Frankenstein Chronicles, Inspector Lewis), Raia Haidar, Sinead Matthews (Chewing Gum, Mr Turner, Wreckers) and Anna Calder-Marshall. It is the second feature from D.R. Hood, the writer/director of acclaimed independent film Wreckers, starring Claire Foy (Netflix’s The Crown, Unsane), Benedict Cumberbatch (BBC’s Sherlock, Doctor Strange) and Shaun Evans (Endeavour, Silk).

AFK

And rounding out the year, we’re currently assisting NZ fantasy/gaming webseries AFK with publicity and digital marketing of their second thrilling season. Filmed in NZ with an entirely Kiwi-based cast, it features actors that have appeared in The Hobbit trilogy, 6 Days, Spartacus: Blood and Sand, Power Rangers, Legend of the Seeker, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Avatar, The King’s Speech and Mortal Engines. AFK is available to watch at TVNZ On Demand (NZ only), Stareable and YouTube.

Time for that gift!

And yes, as promised…it’s gift time! We’re giving you Getting Prepped for 2019, a handy guide on when to generate publicity and digital marketing for your indie film or webseries. It also includes a timeline you can either print out or modify to help you to plan everything out and have it at your fingertips! You can download this guide HERE.

Many thanks to our clients, supporters, indie film fans, media partners and friends who have made 2018 a really special year indeed. We’re having our summer break from December 22nd- 27th, but you can always contact us to schedule a meeting to discuss your publicity and digital marketing needs in 2019.

September 20, 2018 by thefilmsprites

When a Project Feels Like Coming Home: Us Among the Stones

Us Among the Stones

After assisting on the pre-production crowdfunding campaign for Us Among the Stones (which was then titled This Family), Sprites is back working with writer/director D.R. Hood and the Likely Story team for their post-production crowdfunding campaign, which launches at the end of this week. Returning to the project feels like coming home. Rather fitting, considering the film is centred around a dutiful son (played by Laurence Fox) in thrall of his dying mother (played by Anna Calder-Marshall) who visits his childhood home during one weekend. Recently separated from his partner, he ends up in the middle of his colourful extended family as they descend on the family home.

Us Among the Stones is a film that has been 20 years in the making, sparked by the story of D.R. Hood’s sister’s visit to a big house as an architecture student. This house had an ancient wine cellar, pre-medieval origins and was presided over by a hippy laird. The story would end up being the foundation (no pun intended) for what would become Us Among the Stones as it is today.

Ungraded Still Us Among the Stones Laurence Fox Anna Calder Marshall.jpg

Ungraded still of Owen (Laurence Fox) and Marianne (Anna Calder-Marshall) in Us Among the Stones

You may also be familiar with D.R. Hood’s first film, Wreckers, starring recent Emmy® Award-winner Claire Foy, Emmy® nominee Benedict Cumberbatch, and Shaun Evans. Wreckers won Best Film of the Perspectives Competition at the 2012 Moscow International Film Festival. D.R. Hood was also a nominee for Best British Newcomer at the 2012 London Film Festival and New Voices/New Visions Grand Jury Prize nominee at the 2012 Palm Springs International Film Festival. Us Among The Stones also reunites Hood with Wreckers creative collaborators Annemarie Lean-Vercoe (as DoP), Claire Pringle (as editor) and Wreckers actress Sinead Matthews starring as ‘Anna’.

D.R. Hood says: “my hope for the film is that people feel they can relate to the characters and story even if very different…at the heart the film is about a man who comes home stuck and leaves liberated, and it explores what ties home and family can have for us, even long after we have apparently ‘grown up’. It is also about time- the time we live in, and the deep time we come from, and an uncertain future. What does family mean? Family is not always just the people you are related to.”

Us Among the Stones is taking over the Twitter and Facebook accounts of Likely Story, so be sure to follow them, and use the hashtag #UsAmongTheStones. The crowdfunding campaign is launching very soon.

September 17, 2018 by thefilmsprites - 2 Comments

When’s The Best Time to Grow Your Film’s Audience?

A few weeks ago I was up in Auckland to catch up with clients and film industry acquaintances. One afternoon, I was chatting with an acquaintance who has been in the film industry here in NZ for many years. We were discussing the best time to grow your audience for your film via publicity and social media. The consensus? Pre-production.

Yes, really! Pre-production is the best time to start to grow your audience. Mainstream releases and tentpole films generally have the benefit of being able to secure coverage and have a built-in audience due to things like the cast, a known director, being part of a franchise, and more. It can be a lot harder for indie films and filmmakers to receive that sort of coverage…but it’s not impossible. It just takes a bit of strategic planning early on in production.

So why start building your audience in pre-production?:

You will cultivate a following that wants to support you every step of the way: this can be particularly beneficial if you’re looking to crowdfund during production or in post.
Your intended audience will have more awareness of your film on release: imagine having a dedicated following and fan base ready and waiting to see your film and media outlets who are more likely to provide coverage and/or review your film because they’re aware of your film prior to release. That’s powerful stuff!

So, how do you go about building your audience in pre-production?

Make sure you have your social media accounts and website established: if you have a production company website and social media accounts already set up and with a large following, you may want to retain that instead of setting up separate accounts, especially if you are building your audience for a short film or have a slate of films in the works. Check out our post on the most frequently asked questions about social media for filmmakers for more hints and tips.

Crowdfunded in pre-production? Capitalize on campaign updates: the great thing about crowdfunding platforms is that they provide you with the opportunity to raise funds for your project, but also help you to build an audience at the same time. The campaign updates function on your campaign page should not be forgotten after your campaign! You can find out about maintaining contributor connection after a crowdfunding campaign here.

Establish a mailing list: invite people to subscribe to your mailing list via your website or a call to action on social media. Provide content like production updates, competitions, and cut-and-paste sample tweets or Facebook posts that can be used by fans when you’re getting ready to launch!

Reward your fans: some of the most passionate, dedicated fans are the ones who follow your entire journey, so why not reward them? Think about having a ‘Fan of the Week’ post on social media, share fan art, have competitions for signed merch, and more. Your imagination is the limit here!

Start building relationships with journalists and media outlets: get to know the journalists and media outlets that you would like to secure coverage from when you’re ready to release your film. Follow them on Twitter and like them on Facebook, interact with them and share content from them that is relevant to your audience. Never underestimate the power of a great connection with media and journalists.

Building your audience in pre-production may sound daunting. After all, you’ve got so much else to juggle! But think of it as an investment in your film that will return to you right when you want it.

May 12, 2018 by thefilmsprites - 1 Comment

Strategies For Reluctant Self-Promoters

strategies for reluctant self-promoters

I can honestly say that I owe about 99% of the opportunities I’ve had in my career to being a smartarse.

And I don’t mean being a smartarse in a disrespectful way, but some of the biggest and most exciting opportunities in my life have arisen because I’ve been cheeky enough to ask for them in a playful way that doesn’t come off as pushy. This isn’t something that would work for everyone, but that’s my schtick. I pretty much live my life on the verge of telling a joke anyway, so using my sense of humour (and my cheekiness!) have become second nature.

It’s something I’ve had to develop over many years, because to be completely honest I’m very much a reluctant self-promoter. Part of it stems from the fact that here in New Zealand we’re not big on tooting our own horn. Part of it is because I’m very much an introvert, and while I can bring the energy for presenting a workshop or networking events, I need at least a day to recover afterwards. Introversion isn’t a hindrance to things like networking and self-promotion, but it needs careful consideration when it comes to utilising your energy resources and being at your best (I’m sure many of you can relate).

In the work that I do, I get to talk to a lot of filmmakers about their work, and I often hear them express the difficulty they have in self-promoting their work. Sometimes there is a reluctance in reaching out to people for donations to their crowdfunding campaigns, promoting on social media or reaching out to media outlets to secure coverage or a review. It’s something I understand- sometimes it’s not easy! But your work deserves to be seen and appreciated.

Better yet, the information age provides filmmakers with a variety of opportunities to connect with their audiences in ways that were not previously available prior to the Internet going mainstream and the development of social media. The world is literally at your fingertips.

So, how can you grow your audience and promote yourself and your work if you’re really reluctant? I have some strategies that may help- they’re the same ones I have used over the years successfully:

camera strategies for reluctant self promoters

Work out what’s stopping you: chances are, when you think about promoting your work, you’ll have thoughts and/or feelings that arise over it. It’s a good idea to really drill down and find out why you’re reluctant to promote your work. Find 5-10 minutes in your day to sit undisturbed with a pen and paper or your laptop with a word processing document open and ready. Take a few deep breaths, focusing on each breath and clearing your mind. When you’re ready, think about self-promotion of yourself or your work and identify any thoughts or feelings that come up around it. Write them down.

Now that you’ve got your list, look at what you wrote. Here’s where it gets interesting! Step outside of yourself for a minute and imagine that it’s your best friend thinking and feeling these things. For each thought or feeling, write a statement that refutes that thought or feeling. For instance, if this thought came up:

“Nobody gives a damn about independent filmmakers and their films”

You might write:

“Who is this ‘nobody’? There are plenty of people who are passionate about independent filmmakers and their films. You will find those people when you connect with your audience.”

Do this for each thought or feeling. It sounds silly, but it really does work!

Take approaches that you’re comfortable with: perhaps you’re not comfortable with social media, but have someone on your team that is and can provide social media assistance. If you’re more comfortable reaching out to media outlets via e-mail, then that’s completely fine! The same applies when you’re crowdfunding your project: if you’re not comfortable with social media, you may want to approach people individually or via your mailing list.

Authenticity is key: you don’t have to be anyone else. You don’t have to try and put on airs and graces with people. Being yourself and sharing your passion for your filmmaking well and truly resonates with your audience. People are passionate about filmmaking, so let them into your world and your process.

You don’t have to do it all at once: while it’s a good idea to have your social media presence established and also tap into resources for publicity of your filmmaking, you don’t have to do it all at once! If it’s easier for you to start with one thing and then add other strategies later, then do so. After all, good things take time!

Strategies for Reluctant Self-Promoters film sprites pr

Remember your WHY: I say this so often with different scenarios because it’s applicable across the board. If you start to feel really reluctant about promoting your work yourself, remember WHY you started filmmaking in the first place. This helps to not only bring you back to your centre, but it also provides a boost of inspiration to propel you forward through your reluctance.

Happy filmmaking!

March 21, 2018 by thefilmsprites

Handy Crowdfunding Resources for Indie Filmmakers

I can say with complete sincerity that it’s been a complete blast bringing you our Crowdfunding for Filmmakers month! There’s been lots of great feedback and it’s been thoroughly enjoyable to bring to you hints, tips and advice on crowdfunding of your indie film or webseries. There have been people who have said: “well, what about my (insert non-film project here)?” No problem! All of the hints and tips we’ve provided here are easily adaptable to any campaign for any project- the reason for a filmmaking focus is, well, we work with filmmakers!

This post is going to be a little different from the previous crowdfunding posts, because I wanted to bring you a really useful toolbox of resources that can assist you with your crowdfunding, regardless of budget or size of project. Some of these resources are ones I personally use for the work we do at Film Sprites PR, some are really handy resources that will inspire and add to your crowdfunding resource and knowledge base. Plus, we’ve got a little freebie we’ve been hinting about via our social media as well! So, here’s some resources I hope you’ll find genuinely useful:

TED Talks and Other Must-Sees

I have previously talked about how Amanda Palmer’s TED Talk about ‘The Art of Asking‘ was vital in the creation of Film Sprites PR, and it really is powerful. It’s something I recommend every artist watches at least once before they think about undertaking a crowdfunding campaign. Why? It’s so hard to ask for anything in life because it can be such a vulnerable act, but when you remember the importance of human connection and of being seen it can put asking in a new light. If you’re really amped up after watching this, you can follow it up with Amanda’s Google talk as well. I also thoroughly recommend reading her book of the same name, because the sections about artists and crowdfunding that are interspersed throughout the book will give you insight on the process from an artistic perspective, something which is so very valuable.

Another talk (this time at TEDxJerseyCity), is John T. Trigonis’ talk ‘Crowdfunding Today, Tomorrow, Together‘. John knows his stuff, because he’s not only run his own successful crowdfunding campaigns for his films and graphic novels, he’s also a film strategist for IndieGoGo. I’ve said it many times and I’ll say it again- John knows his stuff. I also highly recommend the second edition of his book ‘Crowdfunding for Filmmakers‘. It’s an enjoyable read with lots of no-nonsense examples and advice, and it’s definitely well worth your time. It’s the one book I recommend to every filmmaker.

And if you’re super-keen, grab a cup of your favourite hot beverage and a notepad and pen and get immersed in Emily Best of Seed & Spark’s videos on crowdfunding for Film Courage.

Posts From Our Vault:

During this month we’ve given you a wealth of information about crowdfunding for filmmakers, but we have also posted blog posts about aspects of crowdfunding in the past as well! We give you ways to look after yourself during your crowdfunding campaign to avoid burnout, how to harness Twitter for your crowdfunding campaign, and how to maintain that ever-important connection with your contributors post-campaign.

Social Media Scheduling Tools:

While you should aim for around a 90/10 ratio for organic posts/automated posts, there are some great scheduling tools which can assist you in scheduling and posting across your social media platforms simultaneously instead of having to do it manually for each platform. Hootsuite is arguably the first platform which comes to mind, but I actually like Tweetdeck when it comes to automation and scheduling on Twitter also.

Design Software and Apps:

Confession: I love design apps, not just for their ability to assist me in designing things quickly and cleanly for social media, but because with many design apps they will help you to crop pictures to fit the proportions of various social media platforms. Images are exceptionally useful when it comes to promoting your crowdfunding campaign on social media and sharing things behind-the-scenes of your film, and design apps can really assist you, even if you have absolutely no clue about how to use design software like Photoshop. Here are the software/apps I particularly like:

Canva: I can honestly say that I use Canva almost every day in some capacity because it’s very easy-to-use. One benefit of Canva is that it will give you alignment guidelines so you can make sure everything is aligned and looking good. For every design size there are also templates available with different design mock-ups. The basic (and generously extensive) software is free to use and you don’t have to download it if you’re using it on a home computer.
Pixlr: here’s another one I use regularly, and have used often during crowdfunding campaigns and for social media posts. In fact, if you’ve seen social media posts for the 2018 Raindance crowdfunding campaign that we’ve been posting on our Twitter, Instagram and Facebook posts, you might have seen collages which show multiple images (like the picture below). These were created via Pixlr. Pixlr is useful for multi image collages, but it also has things like filters, special effects and photo editing which can be useful for touching up images you want to use. The Pixlr app is particularly useful for editing on the run!

Image created in Pixlr to show films which had previous screened at Raindance Film Festival, to be posted on Twitter.

Another app I like is Promo Republic. One of the benefits of Promo Republic is that it gives you a calendar which shows you when international events are coming up (like awards ceremonies, holidays or quirky national days), and there are often templates to match. This can be useful if you’re looking for content to post which matches the theme or vibe of your film.

And now, as promised…we have a freebie for everyone! Click HERE to gain access to our booklet, Crowdfunding Hints and Tips for Filmmakers. It contains two of our most popular (and most useful!) posts about crowdfunding for filmmakers. There’s no catch- no purchase necessary, no opt-in, just click and download. Simple!

Film Sprites PR Crowdfunding Hints and Tips for Filmmakers

Hopefully this has been a really useful month of posts about crowdfunding for you. If you’d like to know more about what we do at Film Sprites PR in terms of publicity and digital marketing of independent films and webseries, you can find out more HERE. Alternately, get in touch with us! Use our contact page, or drop us an email at: filmspritespr[at]gmail[dot]com.

March 17, 2018 by thefilmsprites

Great Aunt Gladys Wants to Pay By Check and Other Unusual Things That Can Happen When Crowdfunding

Unusual Things That Happen On Crowdfunding Campaigns

99% of the time, crowdfunding campaigns run relatively smoothly. You plan, prepare and launch your campaign, the contributions start to roll in, and things go according to plan. But there are times when things go “off script”. It doesn’t happen very often, and for the most part they’re things you may not have to worry about, but I think they’re worth mentioning in case they do arise in your campaign.

All of these examples are things which I have seen happen in campaigns over the past 4 years of assisting with crowdfunding through Film Sprites PR‘s publicity and social media marketing services. They’re atypical, but knowledge is power- if things like this happen, at least you’ll know what to do about them:

Great Aunt Gladys wants to pay by check: in the digital age, we’re so comfortable with hopping online and submitting a payment to a crowdfunding campaign that we forget that some people aren’t comfortable with that method of payment (for whatever reason). Occasionally, you may get someone who wants to contribute to your campaign via check or cash. That’s completely doable! You have two choices- bank the funds in the account you’re using for your film funding, or, if you have an all-or-nothing crowdfunding campaign where every cent is vital in order to receive your campaign funds, you can bank the funds in your film funding account and then put those cash or check contributions into the campaign and up on the page. Either way, don’t forget to thank your contributor, and be sure to ask them if they would like a perk.

This is something to bear in mind if you decide to have a pre-launch fundraising event as well. You can upload those cash or check contributions on the first day of your campaign.

unusual things that happen on crowdfunding campaigns 2

Caught by the FB police: now this has only ever happened once in the 4 years I’ve been working on crowdfunding campaigns, so again it’s atypical but definitely worth noting. It’s the final week of a crowdfunding campaign, so things are amping up. The team who are assisting on the campaign (which included the director, several of the actors, and some really passionate fans who went above and beyond) are ramping up their posts, sharing more progress about how the percentages are creeping ever closer to 100%, etcetera. Everything’s going absolutely tickety boo for the first three days…and then ALL of the Facebook and Instagram posts were flagged as spam or offensive content. Yes, caught wrongly by the Facebook Fuzz and Insta Police. Even promoted posts had been flagged! After submitting reports on each of the flagged posts, pointing out it wasn’t spam, the posts were released from posting purgatory, but by that time it ceased to matter- we had no time to lose and then concentrated our social media efforts collectively on Twitter.

The algorithm at FB and Instagram had gone “danger, Will Robinson!” over the upswing in posts for the campaign and flagged it as spam (which it wasn’t). It doesn’t happen often (it’s only happened once in the time I’ve been doing crowdfunding), but if it does happen via social media platforms then it’s time to think about how to work with this sort of obstacle. In our case, we decided to forego Instagram and FB posts to concentrate on our Twitter audiences…and it worked. People were not only contributing, someone was making the most amazing .gifs using pictures of the cast and started helping to spread the word, and people were asking the people involved about the film (and of course we gleefully answered their questions).

If something happens in a campaign which throws up a bit of a barrier, take a deep breath and think: “how can we get around this or work this to our advantage?”

Your all-or-nothing campaign was unsuccessful: all-or-nothing campaigns have their pluses and minuses, and one of the minuses happens when a campaign is unsuccessful. You haven’t received the funds you wanted, but it’s not a waste of time by any means! For one, you’ve gained valuable insight into things like your audience and their demographics, you’ve secured awareness of your film and probably also increased your following on social media, and you have seen how much individuals were willing to pledge.

If there are a few individuals in particular who were willing to pledge a significant amount to your campaign (over $1000), it would be worth reaching out to them post-campaign to see if they would still be interested in investing in the film in some capacity. This could be via an equity arrangement, or in exchange for a credit as a funding producer, etcetera. This is something I have seen happen in the past, and it can make a significant difference when funding your film.

01atypicalthings

Your all-or-nothing campaign has an hour to go…and you’re 95% funded: this can happen, but there’s one solution to consider that will not only ensure you get over the line, but that you secure the funds that your amazing contributors have pledged: you contribute yourself. That’s right- if you’ve got that 5% available, contribute it! There is absolutely no law which states you can’t contribute to your campaign yourself. Otherwise, if you have a team member, family member or close friend who is willing to come in and contribute that 5%, that can be a life-saver as well.

As I stated earlier, these are not things to stress out about, but they’re worth being mindful of. They’re aspects that should never hinder your ability or enthusiasm to go out and crowdfund for your film. Happy filmmaking….and happy crowdfunding!