Transmedia Market Ideas for Social Documentary Project

Transmedia storyteller Robert Pratten lectured at the University of Central Florida’s graduate film program last week while in town on vacation (thanks Robert for taking time to speak to us!).  His experience in transmedia marketing is invaluable to the graduate film students who are required to direct and produce a feature-length film for their thesis project.  I am one of those fortunate enough to have been admitted into the program and had the opportunity to sit in on Robert’s speed mentoring session where I gained valuable insights into how to use transmedia marketing to promote and distribute my films. 

I’m currently in post-production on a feature-length documentary film about sex offenders called Scum of the Earth and in pre-production on an experimental essay film about fate, free will, and moral culpability titled A Matter of Choice.

Transmedia storytelling will be utilized to market and distribute both films.  First, let’s look at the documentary.

Scum of the Earth was filmed over a two-year period at the Palace Mobile Home Park in St. Petersburg, Florida.   The Palace is a transitional home to approximately 100 sex offenders who have recently been released from prison.  Many of the residents served prison sentences of 10 years or more for child molestation.  Others were convicted of such crimes as internet solicitation of minors, indecent exposure, aggravated sexual battery, and rape.

The film follows six offenders who land at the Palace upon release from prison because they cannot find housing that meets the housing restrictions placed on sex offenders.  State law prevents sex offenders from living within 1000 feet of schools, playgrounds, bus stops and day care centers or other places where children congregate.  Some additional local ordinances extend that restriction to 2500 feet which effectively bars sex offenders from living within the city limits.  Miami is one such city in which sex offenders have virtually no place to live and thus end up moving elsewhere in the state.

Five of the six offenders molested children under the age of twelve.  The sixth offender was caught masturbating on a webcam to a detective posing as a 14-year-old girl.  The film delves briefly into each offenders’ past history, including their own childhood abuse and neglect histories.  From there we follow them as they gain and lose employment, face eviction, become homeless, get arrested, attend therapy, suffer from untreated mental disorders, and face the legal challenges of probation.

The original plan was to film for a month, but after becoming involved with the residents, we quickly recognized the benefit of a longitudinal study that would do more than report on the current moment in time in these offenders’ lives. 

To be able to track events over a six-month or even year period was possible given the low overhead and the willingness of the offenders to allow us into their lives for an extended period of time.  So many monumental events kept occurring in their lives that it was difficult to end the project.   That first month turned into six months, then into a year, and finally into two years at the end of which, among many other things, four had been rearrested, one became pregnant, and one died.

There were 75 offenders who volunteered to be photographed, interviewed and filmed.  Most appear only briefly in the film during group meetings or while hanging out at the Palace.  However, their roles will be expanded through opportunities inherent in transmedia storytelling.

The website will be home to many (20-40) two minute clips from interviews from individual offenders who were interviewed over the course of filming. 

Documentary photographer (and co-producer of the film) Gary Monroe photographed each of the offenders in their rooms and translated their interviews into micro-histories (144 words each just to make it a challenge).  Those photographs and stories will be posted on the website along with the two minute clips from their interviews. 

The benefit of this approach will be multi-faceted.  It will provide a perspective about the wide range of offenses in the population.  It will also give a voice to many of these men and women who have been banished to the margins of society and who are begging to be heard. 

This clearinghouse of stories and experiences will draw many different viewers to the site.  Of course, there will be the voyeuristic who will find some perverse pleasure in hearing others talk about molesting children; that is unavoidable.  Other groups will include other offenders and families of offenders, sexual abuse survivors, professionals who treat offenders, loved ones of children who have been sexually abused, incest victims, and hate groups that target sex offenders.  Documentary photography and film fans will also be drawn to this highly controversial and provocative film.

Transmedia marketing will include:

I.  A website that features:

1.    the two-minute films, stories and photographs of the 75 additional offenders who are not in the film;

2.    blogs from three of the major offenders in the film;

3.    blogs from the management of the Palace;

4.    postings from the program founder;

5.    blogs from the therapist who works with the offenders;

6.    blogs from leaders of support groups for offenders;

7.    commentary from viewers will be allowed on most blogs;

8.    links to professional research and researchers in the field of sexual offending;

9.     uploads from visitors who can post their own stories for possible publication in book;

10.  list of legislators to contact about reforming laws;

11. petition to sign to reform laws;

12. news streams with links to stories in the news related to sex offenses, legislation, treatment, etc.

13.  festival screenings;

14.  press and film reviews;

15.  store to purchase dvds, books and merchandise;

II.  Books for sale that come directly from this film project

1.    Three of the offenders are writing their lifestories and will be publishing them through online publishing services;

2.    Documentary photography project (art book) by Gary Monroe;

3.    New book(s) that will be published from stories that viewers post;

4.    Books for sale that are written by outside authors but pertain to the subject of offending (commission on sale of books through site);

IV.  Film download or streaming for fee;

V.  DVD deluxe set which includes dvd with extra scenes, behind the scenes, interviews with filmmakers, therapist, park managers, copy of the documentary photography book, copy of one, two or three of the offenders’ biographies; and compilation of stories from viewers to the site.

VI.  Live Events

1.     Local sex offenders get permits to protest march.  Groups that lobby against offenders’ rights will be notified of the event so that they will attend as well (conflict!).  Media coverage is almost guaranteed.

2.     Speaking engagements/private screenings with Q & A in towns that show a lot of interest in the film.

3.     Speaking engagements at colleges, universities, social service agencies, law enforcement agencies;

The core audience for this film will stem from participants in the project (100+) and their network of immediate family and close friends, the personal and professional network of the three filmmakers, therapist, program manager, the leading sex offender researcher in the country, local public defenders and defense attorneys, and the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.  

Alliances are being established between the filmmakers and the featured offenders to national support groups for sex offenders.  These groups have thousands of followers, many of whom have their own newsletters, local branches, talk radio programs, blogs, etc.  Likewise, groups who protest against the rights of offenders will be sought out to provide an alternate viewpoint (which actually has more common ground that one might think at first in that all involved want the most dangerous offenders restricted and monitored).

From this group the target audience should expand to include social service providers, mental health professionals, Department of Corrections, college and university programs, public defenders, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and the general public if the press can generate enough interest.

Blogging about your film: Oct. 17, 2011

I'm currently developing my marketing strategy for my film, Scum of the Earth.  According to Shama Hyder Kabani in her book The Zen of Social Media Marketing, I need to identify my "hook" or something that differentiates my film from others.

With this film, that's not difficult.  While there have been some magazine articles, newspaper stories, and tv segments that address the issues surrounding sex offenders, there have been no serious in-depth documentary films about it.  This film offers that and does it in a very unique way.  By filming over a three-year period, the film examines more than just a snapshot of what happens to offenders after being released from prison which is where other media start and stop; it documents the ongoing and unrelenting struggles that strip them of their humanity and any chance that they may have to successfully reintegrate back into society.

Through social media marketing, I want to attract viewers to the website to educate, market, and sell.  The website will be a clearinghouse of resources by which the visitor will be offered education about any concern they have about the topic.  The site will market the film through several means:  blogposts by sex offenders, 2) a two minute trailer, 3) a 20-minute teaser, 4) photographs and stories of the 75 offenders interviewed, and 5) possible live-streaming from the trailer park where the 100 offenders live in St. Petersburg. 

This marketing will hopefully sell the film which will be available for download for a nominal fee.  Additional income will be secured through advertising on the site from third party vendors (related to the topic of sex offenders) such as writers, attorneys, support groups, political action committees and others.

The goal for social media marketing of this film will be to attract, convert and transform consumers into customers.  Each social media outlet works toward these goals from different angles.

On Facebook the goal will be disseminate information about the film through a core audience to a much broader audience through likes, friending, commentary, and sharing of the content about the film.  The user-generated content will be tracked through Weekly Total Reach to monitor the reach of the film's Page in an attempt to redefine strategies that will help make the film go viral.

Twitter will provide consistently updated content that will keep viewers/consumers/customers interested in the project.  The Twitter feeds will come from characters in the film (administrators and offenders) and the filmmakers.  This information is bound to attract many followers due to the controversial issue and the newsworthy qualities of the content.

Blogging will be a very dynamic aspect of the website.  I plan to establish blogs for at least five of the people in the film, three offenders, the therapist and the program administrator.  They will be able to address the issues from very different perspectives and will appeal to very different audiences thus drawing a larger crowd to the site.

Reform Sex Offender Laws is a newsletter and website that is followed by thousands of members including offenders and their families, social workers, therapists, lawyers and others who have an interest in the field.  I have already made contact with the publisher of the site.  He blogged about the film last year while we were in production.  Now that we're almost finished with post, I'll be contacting him again to encourage him to blog about the film and to link to our website.  The letter would be something like this:     

Hello Paul,

It's good to see that RSOL is still serving the community and growing.  The recent posts regarding changes in the laws in several states are very encouraging. 

You may recall the trailer I provided last year for our documentary film SCUM of the EARTH.  We are now completing the film and would like to share some clips with you.  I'm also sending the clips to Mary Stewart, the Chair of Florida RSOL.  She has visited the park where the men and women in the film live and was very moved by their stories.  

After you've had a chance to watch the clips, I'd like to speak with you so that we can begin to form a partnership that will benefit both of us and the people we represent.  I'll call you early next week.  Perhaps we can do a conference call with Mary at that time as well.

Kind regards,

Phyllis

Facebook Weekly Total Reach: Oct. 31, 2011

Social media marketing is in its infancy considering where it's at and where it appears to be going.  Advertisers have discovered that pushing their message to the masses simply isn't enough anymore.  Social media sites, especially Facebook, now have resources and options that allow products to be marketed so that the brand pulls in customers rather than reaching out to grab them.


Advertisers already set up Pages for their products that viewers can "like" and for creating user-generated content.  However, with the exception of some really bored people, most viewers won't go to the pages without some prompt.  When a product is given the thumbs up by someone a person trusts, that product is more likely to be viewed favorably by the customer.  That pulls the customer to the product with the added benefit of a pre-determined brand approval.  This marketing method is much more effective in the social media world because word-of-mouth, "friending" and "liking" brands give that product credibility and inspires curiosity in potential clients. 

To provide that information to advertisers, Facebook is launching a new program called "Weekly Total Reach" that will track how products and brands are disseminated through its site.  This is a powerful tool.  By tracking the likes, friending, sharing, reposts, questions and general comments that a brand or product receives, the trail of the product can be viewed as it moves through the virtual world.  This dynamic revolution will allow marketers the opportunity to develop techniques and modify existing strategies to reach additional customers.

 As a filmmaker, this tool will help create sites that can go viral through intelligent guerrilla marketing.  A wealth of data can be mined for nothing more than the time needed to prepare a Page and analyze the figures and dissemination trends.  However, time is the key.  Filmmakers need to have a plan in place to examine and exploit this data. 

It's a gold-mine if it can be harnessed.  A PMD must be ready to devote a substantial amount of time to social media marketing, not only on Facebook, but on Twitter, LinkedIn, and other sites.  This time will be one of the best investments that can be made in marketing and distributing a film.  The field is developing rapidly and a good PMD must stay current with upcoming trends and adjust the marketing strategy continually to gain the most benefit from these resources. 

Creating an Event

I am in post-production on my latest documentary film, Scum of the Earth, a film about the unintended consequences of current legislation on sex offenders who have been released from  prison.

To begin to create buzz about the upcoming release of the film,  I will plan an event that will create the illusion of success (actually, it may be more than just an illusion).

The film will be entered in all film festivals in the St. Petersburg, Tampa, and Sarasota areas.  The film was produced at a trailer park in St. Pete, so interest will be exceptionally high.  The trailer park is well-known (and abhorred) in the area by the public.  The film will also be entered in the Florida Film Festival in Orlando because we live here and have had previous films in that festival.

The sex offenders are not allowed to travel outside of the county in which they reside; however, we know offenders that live in the counties where the festivals take place.  We will recruit offenders and non-offenders to hand out flyers and hold signs encouraging people to see the film.  Those offenders will be present at the screening of the film at the festivals, and they will be available for Q & A following the screenings.

Many of the families of offenders are very politically active and will volunteer to help with the promotion of the film during the festivals.

To get press, we will recruit others who protest sex offenders living in the area.  We can do this easily by notifying local organizations that fight to keep sex offenders from living in their neighborhoods.  This may likely be a heated or even physically violent confrontation between anti-sex offender people and the sex offenders themselves and their families and friends.

We will film this event and post it on the website.  It will likely get press because of the subject matter.  Often you see protesters marching against sex offenders, but rarely (if ever) do you find offenders at these protests.  This will be extremely newsworthy.

Many state agencies will have an interest in the film.  The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office is featured in the film, so I expect many of the officers from that county and others nearby will attend.  Social service agencies, therapists, families of offenders, attorneys and many other groups will be notified of the screening repeatedly for the month prior to each screening.  

Local governments officials who are charged with enacting local ordinances prohibiting where sex offenders can live will also be notified of the screenings.

To get press, I will contact Roger Moore, the movie reviewer at the Orlando Sentinel.  He gave exceptionally high ratings to our previous film, and the Sentinel ran a full page story about it.  When we began filming Scum, the Sentinel assigned a reporter to cover the story in St. Pete at the park.  The primary offenders in the film were featured, and there was a spotlight on the fact that the filmmakers were from Orlando.  I will also contact the reporter as she said she would like to do another story when the film is ready to be released.

There is little doubt in my mind that we will sell out in each theater.  Selling out will create an illusion of success that will hopefully bring even more attention to the film and the subject matter.

PMD

Marketing and distribution are the least interesting aspects of filmmaking for me primarily because of the time-consuming aspect of them.  To be managed properly, even on a low-budget, small scale independent film, there must be someone working on them full-time.  I don't want to be that person.

I'm already working on another film which has taken a backseat to everything else, so I'm in need of a PMD to manage both films.  If I could increase my distribution budget from $5k to $10k,  I could possibly hire a PMD to:

---Develop the core audience by using my mailing lists, address book, facebook friends, LinkedIn affiliates, colleagues from past and present, friends and family.

---Set up social media sites.

---I have initiated a M&D plan, but I would want the PMD to analyze it and revise it to make it stronger.  I do believe that the distribution will entail website sales, live events, and press.
Cross-platform marketing strategies will be utilized to promote the film to the target audience.  The film will be promoted and made available through an interactive website with creative commons licensing that will enable the site visitors to download and use portions of the media for non-commercial use.  This “mash-up” concept will be a key element to promote the film as well as to stimulate lively debate on the website.

---The primary venues for the film will be film festivals, art houses, and live events.  The film will be available for streaming on the website.  Subscriptions to the site will enable members to access additional media downloads and the ability to upload their mash-ups onto the site for public viewing.  DVDs will also be offered on the website.

There will be reviews from site visitors on the mash-ups that will give the authors feedback and will also further stimulate the discussion of the issues.  Blogs and links to professional organizations and experts in the fields as well as links to other bloggers will draw viewers from other blogs to the site and increase traffic.

---It’s a possibility that advertising space may be made available on the site for authors and filmmakers who produce books and films about related issues.  This would create an additional revenue stream as well as traffic to the site.

---Distribution contracts with Netflix, Amazon, iTunes and other media providers will be solicited through Distribber, a progressive distribution company for independent artists.  The educational market will be solicited for sales.

---I need a PMD to examine my budget and make it more detailed as well as identify missing elements.  If fundraising is successful, then the PMD could recommend additional M&D approaches and techniques.  Currently, I have $5k budgeted for production.  This money will be spent primarily on acquisition of rights to music and stock footage.  I would like to raise $5-10k for post-production, marketing and distribution.  This will help pay for a PMD.

---PMD will set up indiegogo and other crowdfunding organizations, apply for grants from academic, non-profits, and sponsorships, arrange in-kind donations, and solicit private donations.

---Hire an art director.

---Prep the digital products for iphone/android/apps as well as for the web and DVD distribution.

---Book live events.

Marketing for A Matter of Choice thesis project

A Matter of Choice will follow non-traditional distribution models, thus requiring a non-traditional approach to marketing strategy.  Cross-platform marketing strategies will be utilized to promote the film to the target audience.  The film will be promoted and made available through an interactive website with creative commons licensing that will enable the site visitors to download and use portions of the media for non-commercial use.  This “mash-up” concept will be a key element to promote the film as well as to stimulate lively debate on the website.

The primary venues for the film will be film festivals, art houses, and live events.  The film will be available for streaming on the website.  Subscriptions to the site will enable members to access additional media downloads and the ability to upload their mash-ups onto the site for public viewing.  DVDs will also be offered on the website.

There will be reviews from site visitors on the mash-ups that will give the authors feedback and will also further stimulate the discussion of the issues.  Blogs and links to professional organizations and experts in the fields as well as links to other bloggers will draw viewers from other blogs to the site and increase traffic.

It’s a possibility that advertising space may be made available on the site for authors and filmmakers who produce books and films about related issues.  This would create an additional revenue stream as well as traffic to the site.

Distribution contracts with Netflix, Amazon, iTunes and other media providers will be solicited through Distribber, a progressive distribution company for independent artists.  The educational market will be solicited for sales. 

The transition from traditional all-rights distribution to split-rights distribution is an emerging trend that is expected to be a necessary shift in the way independent filmmakers market and distribute their films. 

At the Power to the Pixels Cross-Media Forum 2010 experts in cross platform marketing and distribution discussed the paradigm shift away from the traditional models and toward cross platform models.  They spoke of cross platform as a necessity, not merely an option, in the digital age.  The panel asserted strongly that those who remain grounded only in traditional models will likely fail or at least reduce the maximum potential of their film.

Based on information from the transcripts of the panel discussion, the marketing and distribution plan for A Matter of Choice will follow the advise from the experts at the forum.  According to Blair Witch Project  trans-media innovator Mike Mennello, the plan must be specific rather than just a general application to social media or an over zealous plan.  Innovation and creative marketing are keys to success. The development of a core audience will be the key aspect of the marketing plan.

To take advantage of any media publicity the film may receive upon release, the film will premier at film festivals that offer the best opportunity to attract the attention of core audience members, film critics and reviewers.

The website will be established prior to the festivals to begin to attract the attention of potential audience members.  Scenes from the film will accompany the traditional trailer; this aspect of the website will be crucial to the marketing plan for the film along with the development of the core audience.

Those two elements, the development of a core audience and the availability of scenes from the film, will work in tandem.  Following the festival run, the website will stream the entire film.

It is at this point that the development of the core audience and the streaming of the film will meet.  The topic of fate and free will is of interest to a wide target audience as well as a niche audience.  To reach those audiences the film must first reach the core audience.

To meet this end, the film will be available for free screenings at colleges, universities, libraries and community/grassroots organizations such as those that discuss philosophical issues or research related to the criminally mentally ill.  Those viewers along with festival viewers will become the core audience. 

The website will offer opportunities for discussion and blogging for viewers.  Viewers will be allowed to submit essays for competition. Through social media marketing and live event screenings at colleges, universities, libraries, and community/grassroots organizations, experts in the field from universities and popular bloggers will be invited to submit their entries.  This will lend a sense of professional credibility to the film and the website and books/dvds.

The film will offer mashups of scenes and clips where the viewers will be allowed to create their own two-minute multimedia films that they will upload to the website to submit their work for competition on the site.