Filmmaking Stuff Filmmaking Stuff provides resources for independent filmmakers. The website includes articles on how to take a story idea from script to screen, including articles on scriptwriting, producing, finance, shooting, editing, directing, marketing, distribution and how to build an audience. Filmmaking Stuff also has articles detailing how to make money making movies – including interviews with Hollywood Producers, Directors, writers and other filmmaking professionals.

Most filmmakers have no idea how to optimize their movie website. Most filmmakers have no idea what the word optimization means.

As traditional distribution sales channels erode, replaced by various internet marketplaces such as Amazon and iTunes, it has become essential for filmmakers to increase traffic to their website.

The first thing I suggest is to reserve your domain name and get your site hosted at a reputable company. My partner movie site host is a great for this. But there are others too.

Once your site is hosted, I recommend forgetting HTML and instead opting to set up a wordpress site. WordPress is a content management system. The reason why I prefer this type of setup over HTML sites for movies is ease of use. If you know how to send email, you know how to update the content on your website.

Here are examples of wordpress websites for movies:

• Career Courier The Movie
• Toxic Soup Movie
• Special Dead Movie

In all of these movies, you’ll see a very similar theme. The sites are simple. Some people might even argue that they are too simple. But this is incorrect. These sites are designed to optimize conversions. When a visitor comes to the site, we don’t want them to get lost.

Instead, in the case of Special Dead, we want the site to say:

Attention Zombie Fans Seeking Good Zombie Movies!

Special Dead  is a must see movie about zombies attacking a camp…

If you check your stats and see visitors are getting distracted by pages that don’t lead to the sale, you must get rid of those pages, or optimize them to continue the funnel process.

Related articles

• How To Create a Filmmaker Website (filmmakingstuff.com)
• Internet Marketing For Filmmakers (filmmakingstuff.com)
• What is Your Filmmaking Niche? (filmmakingstuff.com)

Posted under DISTRIBUTION

Given the ways in which independent movie distribution is changing, having a great filmmaker websites for both your production company and your movie is one of the most important aspects of your eventual movie marketing campaign.

The first step in getting your website established, involves reserving website hosting and a domain name for both your production company, as well as separate sites for each of your movies. And if you already know the name of your movie, you will want to reserve it as soon as you can (before somebody else grabs it).

Create a Filmmaker Website Fast

To set up a website for your filmmaking business, you will need hosting and your domain name. To do this, head over to my friends at www.MovieSiteHost.com – Like most links I mention, MovieSiteHost pays me to promote. I would not recommend them unless I utilized the service myself. And so far I have utilized MovieSiteHost for all of my websites, without issue. In the few instances when I needed to reach someone in customer service, my calls were always answered.

In terms of setting up your actual site, I no longer recommend building a site from scratch. Instead, consder using something called a content management system – or CMS. With a CMS, you can have your own movie website in minutes…

Just in case some of these terms of confusing, let’s recap: Website hosting can be compared to the vacant lot where you’ll eventually build your office building. Your domain name can be compared to your street address. And the CMS is the raw materials needed to build your office building, or in this case, a sophisticated website.

Assuming you are utilizing www.MovieSiteHost.com for your hosting, these elements can be implement in a few clicks of a mouse.

Assuming you have a little technical know-how, when you arrive at MovieSiteHost, you will first need to reserve a domain name for your production company.

To set up your initial CMS website (for your production company or your movie), after you reserve your domain name, you will be redirected to your MovieSiteHost control panel. Once there, click on an icon called “WordPress.”

From there, you will install WordPress on your server.

After a minute or two, your movie CMS will be installed. You will then be issued with a username and a password. Once you have it, you can log into your new website and begin your customization.

In my opinion, WordPress is one of the most robust and powerful content management systems in the world. And the reason I recommend installing a CMS for filmmakers, over building a traditional website is because once you set up WordPress, you will be able to create and modify your content and change the entire look and feel of your website, with the ease of sending an email.

By making these tweaks yourself, you will save the cost of constantly contacting your webmaster.

 

Posted under DISTRIBUTION

If you’ve been following Filmmaking Stuff for some time, you probably know that this site really pushes non-permission based filmmaking. This concept means that if you’re a filmmaker with ambition and a dream, you should not hesitate… You should not wait for Hollywood to give you permission – but rather, you should pick up a camera and Make Your Movie Now!

For some of you, this is easier said than done. Part of why this seems challenging and impossible is because many of us start our career with the belief that filmmakers need a gazillion dollars, tons of experience and an address in Hollywood to make a living as a “real” filmmaker. While this was once true, the new model of movie making allows you to create and sell movies from anywhere in the world.

For many, this filmmaking evolution is exciting. But the classic elements of filmmaking remain. You still need a great story, the passion and persistence to bring your movie to life, and the guts to share your work with the world. To give you a rough plan of how to get your indie movie business up and running, I’ve provided a few steps. (Where I thought it would help, I also included links to some sponsored filmmaking tools and services.) Ready:

1. Create relationships with at least 5-10 collaborators who complement your skill set. At the very least, you’ll want to find a writer who understands budgets, a physical producer experienced in low budget movie making, a tech guru who understands cameras and modern production gadgets, a sales and marketing professional who can promote the heck out of your movies, an editor with Final Cut Pro, an internet guru who can help you promote and sell your movies online. And you’ll also need a lawyer who can provide you with the necessary legal advice, contracts and advice on setting up a business.
2. Come together as a team and design a movie that can be explained in one high-concept log-line. It has been my experience that original, genre specific movies with a bit of controversy, geared towards a clearly defined target audience will later help you when it comes time to market and sell your movie. And above all, your movie idea should be totally fun and captivating. (Otherwise, why make the movie?)
3. Design a YouTube channel for your “production company.”
4. Once you have a title for your movie, reserve domain name and get a website. I use this company www.MovieSiteHost.com
5. Break down your sceenplay. Out of this, complete your schedule and your budget. Then analyze your budget. Ask yourself: If we do not garner a traditional distribution deal, how many $4.99 VOD downloads will we need to sell to get a return? At this point you can decide to decrease your budget, or not. But once you decide on your budget and the amount of sales you’ll need to make to get a return, you can then begin planning your marketing strategy. If you have money, hire a great Production Manger. If you don’t have money, you’ll have to do your own breakdown. CLICK HERE for a great script breakdown resource.
6. Once you have a concrete filmmaking strategy, you can go after your money. Investors like to see three things in your business plan, who is running the company, how you’ll spend the money and how you’ll make a profit. Unlike years past, iTunes, Amazon and Netflix provides you a somewhat easily accessible distribution pipeline. This will assist you in getting the necessary movie money. If you don’t know how to find prospective investors, see: www.GetMovieMoney.com
7. After you lock down your money, you can go into pre-production full force. Hire a great 1st AD.
8. Make your movie! Edit your movie. Refine your edit. Then…
9. Two things have to happen. You have to spread the word of your movie. This can be done by entering film festivals. Additionally, you have to start building a big audience list, so you can tell them about screenings and ask them to BUY your movie. Get your movie onto iTunes, Netflix and Amazon. Try www.MovieSalesTool.com
10. Once you get your movie out there and selling, focus on fueling your marketing with ads, PR and partnerships with other filmmakers.

And after you do this once, the way to become successful is to create more and more movies. Remember, your goal is to create at least 20 movies in your life time, so that you can get at least 20 checks in the mail each month!

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If you like this filmmaking stuff, you’re welcome to join the revolution by grabbing over $100 dollars in FREE filmmaking stuff here: www.FreeFilmmakingBook.com

Posted under FILM FINANCING

Filmmakers: Do you have websites for your movies?

When you’re in the filmmaking process, getting a website up and running is one of those things that filmmakers oftentimes forget. Please don’t. Given the ways in which distribution is changing, having a great website for your movie is probably one of the most important aspects of your eventual movie marketing campaign.

If you’re not technical, that’s OK. The following tips will help you:

The first step in your movie marketing campaign involves reserving some domain names. For example, once you have a title for your movie, you need to go out and reserve your website address names. These addresses are called domain names. And the names you pick will be influenced by the name of your movie.

For example, our first feature was called special dead – so we reserved the domain names www.specialdead.com and www.specialdeadmovie.com. (You’ll notice the sites are very simple. There is one objective – sell the movie. Anything that doesn’t help us achieve this objective has been cut.)

You should write down some names for your movie websites.

You can get domain names through sites like UltraCheapDomains or GoDaddy. But when it comes time to set up a website, in addition to your domain names, you will also need hosting. So I prefer a one-stop-shop.

Luckily, most hosting companies also sell domain names. I use www.MovieSiteHost.com (I get a commission when filmmakers use this link.) You can get hosting for your website there. But if you do your research, you will also find a few other places as well.

The nice part about MovieSiteHost is they give you one domain name as part of your hosting package. And the prices are incredibly affordable. Then once you’re set up, you can buy additional domains there too (not additional hosting – all of your websites can be included on one hosting account).

Once you get set up with your hosting and your domain name, the next step is actually creating a website for your movie. This is still open to your creativity. Just make sure you cut all the fluff. You website should have one purpose. You need to collect the name and email address of each visitor. These people will become your fan club and your most important asset.

Posted under FILMMAKING