Having gone through the huge task of making your first movie you may feel that you deserve some time off, but since completing my own animated short Pump-Action I have realised there is a whole section of the film making process that comes after finishing the final edit and that is promotion and distribution. Getting your film out into the world is as important as planning the story in the first place. If either part is missing then no one will get to see your work. Be prepared to put in a few months work filling in forms and running to the post office if you want your film to be seen. After all that is why you made it wasn't it?

Luckily the process of finding film festivals around the world has become a lot easier with the use of the web and the reference list at the bottom of this article is about to save you a week of browsing, but I am sure there are many more that I have missed so don't stop when you get to the end of my list.

Film Festivals and independent short films are made for each other and in my experience the people running the festivals are extremely enthusiastic, supportive and hard working often giving up their spare time to run the festival. So it is your job as the film promoter to give them what they want with as little trouble as possible. Different festivals require different material but in general I found sending a complete kit to each festival worked in my favour.

Kit Essentials - Completed Entry form for the individual festival

Every festival will have its own individual entry form which is vital to fill in. Some of the more sophisticated sites allow you to fill them in online then email it to them before printing a copy to include with your postal application. With others you simply print it out and fill in by hand. Most questions are fairly obvious like name address etc but you may get worried when you have to choose your film format and aspect ratio. These specifications really only apply to film prints on 16 or 35 mm and as a computer based animator my entries were always on video so skip the film section and look out for the video specification. If there is no video section you may have found a festival that only accepts entries on film. A quick look at the rules and regulations should confirm this and in my case that ment I could not enter.


As a solo maker you may find yourself repeatedly filling in your own name and address for everything from Director to Distributor on the one form. Don' t be tempted to leave any blank and assume they will automatically use your details for all sections like I did for the Edinburgh Film Festival in Scotland. When I looked in the catalogue my film was the only entry without contact details for distribution - oops.


Don' t forget that all material you provide for public screening must have copyright clearance and most entry forms require you to sign an acknowledgment that you have full rights to distribute the material you submit. If cost me 1000 USD to use the track 'Stuck in the middle with you' by Joe Egan and Gerry Rapherty in my short Pump-Action. This license was for festivals and demo reels only.

VHS Preview Tape in the correct format

Out of all the festivals I researched I found only one that wanted a Beta SP tape for the selection process, that was the London Effects and Animation Festival (L.E.A.F.) all others prefer standard VHS video in the local format PAL or NTSC. In general that means anything in Europe will be PAL and anything American will be NTSC. Some do accept either for pre-screening but if you do get selected you will probably have to provide the format of there choice for the final show.


I was aware of this from an early stage in the making of Pump-Action and decided to rendered two versions of my film to provide a native copy for both 25fps PAL and 30fps NTSC. I kept these two master QuickTime movies on my hard drive in the highres format of my video output card (Aurora Igniter for Mac) and bought a domestic multi -system VCR for around 250 UKP (400 USD) that could record in true PAL and NTSC formats. I now have a set up where I can run off which ever version I need with out having to pay for costly conversions at a bureau.
Labelling your tape is important. When it gets separated from the rest of your application to go ito a VCR it must carry with it all the information needed to be reunited at the end of a long session of viewing.


Title
Running Time
Format (PAL/NTSC)
Film Makers Name
Film Makers Address
Film Makers Tel
Film Makers e-mail


Also make sure you get the title, running time and format on the side label as well. A sturdy plastic case will help your tape survive the postal journey and allows you display your own printed cover.



Beta SP Screening Tape in the correct format

Few Festivals will use VHS tapes for the public show. So if you are lucky enough to be selected you must have a high quality copy of your film in the correct format ready to send out. Generally this will mean Beta SP although mini DV is now starting to show up as an accepted format. Either way things start to get expensive at this point for solo artists like myself who don't own PAL and NTSC Beta SP decks. There is no easy way around this so do your best to find some one friendly with this equipment or look out for a community arts centre or college who may provide a cheaper service than the big bureaus. Don' t forget to label them with a return address.



Entrance Fee

Some charge, some do not and many of the top festivals like Siggraph, Ottawa and Prix Ars Electronica do not. If there is a fee it is usually around 20 - 35 USD to help cover the administration of the festival. The highest fee I found was L.E.A.F which was uniquely expensive at 100 UKP (150 USD)! It was enough to put me off entering.

Some sites allow you to pay by credit card but many require a US Dollars cheque or money order which can be a pain and extra expense if, like me, you live out side the US. I got around this most of the time by persuading US friends to write the cheques for me and giving them cash. On a few occasions where I was out of time I just put cash into the video case but I would not recommend that unless you have no other option.



Additional text information

Often festivals will have links with the creative press so if you provide some good information with your entry there is a good chance they will use it. You should at the very least expect to provide a brief synopsis of your film which will be used in the catalogue or website so make sure it sells the film well, a directors biography and filmography which describes your background and other work (if you have any other films :-) and a list of previous screenings if you have already been accepted into other festivals. Be careful as some festivals insist on being the first to screen your film in their local area.


I had also written a generic making of type article about my experience with Pump-Action which included in the press pack. Although it was not requested it often helped me gain extra coverage.



Slides, Prints and Pictures

Alongside your fascinating text you will want to provide some stills from your film and a self portrait for the catalogue. Traditionally Film Festivals would expect colour slides or B/W prints but with the general acceptance of digital imaging a CD can be the best way to deliver a library of images including web ready jpegs as well as print ready CMYK Tiffs. Pump-Action managed to get on the cover of 3D magazine last May thanks mainly to the fact there was a very high quality attractive print ready still on hand at the moment the designers needed it. Don' t miss out because something was not available. You can also include all your text info for easy copying and pasting and a QuickTime of your movie while you are at it.

This does not mean that you should not provide slides. They are essential for quick reference and some people just prefer the hard copy. Unfortunately slides are another expense to endure especially if you have slides made from disk at a bureau. In my case I opted to photograph directly from my 20" monitor using a 70mm lense on a standard SLR loaded with 100 ASA slide film. You will need a tripod as the exposure will probably be around 1 second at f4. The results were quite acceptable for quick viewing and as a taster of what was on the CD. They could even be used for print if the images are small.



Packaging, Notification and Record Keeping

Fibre filled packaging has the huge disadvantage of being rejected be many festivals. Do Not Use Them! If you do you may well get your tape back unopened. Apparently the fibres are excellent at jamming up expensive video equipment so make sure you use bubble based packaging for your tapes. If you are sending videos from one country to another it is important to write...' For festival Purpose Only. No Commercial Value'...on the front of your package to avoid it getting held up at customs.


I settled on a system of medium sized bubble envelopes with a peal off strip for the seal. I used the peal off strip to write notes about what I needed to include and the deadline for posting. When I had all boxes ticked I could seal it up and post it.
Don' t forget to include a return card to acknowledge the arrival of your tape. There is nothing worse that sending off all that work with out knowing if they opened it. Unless of course you cant remember whether or not you have sent it in the first place. If you are really dedicated to promoting your work out then you are going to have to keep track of where it has been sent. I chose to make a very simple spread sheet. Which includes columns for...

Entry deadline
Festival name
Location
Web Address
Notification of judging
Screening dates
My postage date
Confirmation received
Additional notes like - Send Beta SP copy

This makes it very easy to see how the plan is shaping up and more importantly when to check to see if you won anything.

Entering festivals is not going to be a financial winner in the short term. There are few cash prizes to be won (although look out for the excellent prizes at the Shockwave Competition) and by the time you have paid for all your slides, printing, videos, fees, postage you could easily be spending 100 USD and several hours of work per successful entry.


So is it really worth the effort?

At 7.00 pm on the 27th July 2000 I was sitting on the front row of the balcony in the Saenger Theatre, New Orleans with my partner Deepa. Pump-Action had been accepted into Siggraph's Electronic Theater Programme and we had VIP tickets for the sellout show. There was a buzz of excitement and expectation from the 3000 strong audience waiting for the first short to light up the sixty foot screen and we were surrounded enthusiastic representatives of all the participating films from individuals like myself, Tim Best (Pensive) and Mariko Hoshi (Hello, Dolly!) to blockbuster studios like Industrial Light and Magic, Disney's Secret Lab, Sony Pictures Imageworks , Dreamworks SKG and Pixar. This is what all the hard work had been for and it was worth every minute of it.