Social Media and Independent Cinema- Final Project

The first time the phrase "social media" was published was by Tina Sharkey (the co-founder of iVillage, former SVP of AIM and Social Media, and now the head of BabyCenter.com) in 1997. She used the term to refer to the Internet as being community driven. The term was used loosely through the late 90's and early 2000's when chatrooms and AOL were extremely popular. Then in 2004 Chris Shipley (co-founder and Global Research Director for Guidewire Group) coined the term to focus on business. Social media now referred to user-generated content or consumer-generated media. It is believed that social media utilization is a driving factor in the idea that the current period in time will be defined as the Attention Age.

Social media is broken down into three components:

1. Concept (art, information, meme)

2. Media (physical, electronic, or verbal)

3. Social interface (intimate direct, community, engagement, social viral, electronic broadcast or syndication, or other physical media such as print)

These components work together to create many different forms such as, concepts and slogans, electronic media sharing, media campaigns, and print media to be redistributed. By understanding the basic concepts of social media, independent filmmakers can use the knowledge to create social media campaigns to try to get their film distributed.

A film that took this knowledge really at the beginning of the social media stage was The Blair Witch Project. The Blair Witch Project was released in 1999 and went on to gross over $248 million worldwide, making it the most successful independent film at the time. The first rough cut of the movie was made for only $20,000. The film premiered at The Sundance Film Festival and soon after began it's global ad campaign. The campaign was groundbreaking because they used the Internet to suggest that the film was a documentary instead of a mockumentary. By creating the idea this was real footage from the filmmakers that had died it created a huge buzz. The buzz granted the film a wide release first in the U.S. and then a global release to follow.

The Blair Witch Project really paved the way for independent filmmakers to compete with Hollywood films. July 2009 was the ten year anniversary of the film being released.Entertainment Weekly did an interview with the filmmakers about what the movie meant at the time and how it holds up now. Check it out here.

The movie Paranormal Activity has become a huge success. So far the film has grossed over $100 million and the number is growing. It followed the success of 1999's The Blair Witch Project by using an internet net campaign to secure a wide release of the film. Director Oren Peli made film for only $15,000 and used his website for the film to get noticed. Peli used Eventful.com to have people demand the movie be released in their city. Paranormal Activitywas released the film in 13 college towns in the United States, 12 out of the 13 showings sold out almost immediately. The films distributor Paramount Pictures then decided the film would get a wide release in the U.S. The film also used Twitter to help promote the movie. Their Twitter account was appropriately named "Tweet Your Scream" and they encourage people to tweet their reactions to the movie. For example:

RT @josezuniga1: Paranormal Activity is one of the most intense, creepiest, & heart-pounding movies I've ever seen!5:17 PM Nov 9th from web

The Paranormal Activity campaign really took what The Blair Witch Project started in the 90's and brought it to a new level.

The social media trends continues to grow by the day. New websites are being created for filmmakers to use media to get their work seen. One of these sites is IndieGoGo. IndieGoGo is a social media driven platform built on the idea of crowdfunding, creating a location where independent filmmakers can showcase their work, and fans can show their support through microdonations right on the site. The site was founded in 2008 because the creators wanted to address the fundraising and marketing challenges that independent filmmakers today are experiencing.

The site has also recently started a partnership with Snag Films, which allows filmmakers to have a new way to connect viewers directly with the causes they support, by giving them the ability to make their films and a difference. They believe in using social media to the fullest to mobilize their fans and what they call "DIWO" (Do-It-With-Others!).

Because of this, many of the films posted on IndieGoGo are related to social causes. One of the films that has earned over $20,000 is Tapestries of Hope; a documentary about a rape crisis in Zimbabwe due to the misunderstanding that sex with virgins cures HIV and AIDS.

So far IndieGoGo has raised $150,000 in funds to date with participation from 90 countries. The social media the site does involves widgets, social networking, real time Internet, and an online hub. IndieGoGo believes the site will help deliver important social and environmental topics that will connect with viewers emotionally, and keep lasting connections with them after the film ends.

Sights such as IndieGoGo and SnagFilms aren't the only ones pushing the social media trend. The author of book Socialnomics, Erik Qualman wants everyone to know social media is not just a fad. Qualman made a video that he posted on YouTube called Social Media Revolution. The video (see below) is 4 minutes of incredible facts about how social media is prevalent in every aspect of our lives. The video really brings this point across through statistics to anyone who had doubts about the livelihood of social media. Besides his book and video, Qualman also has a Socialnomics blog that covers various topics in the field. In an interview on his blog he was asked why he created the social media revolution on YouTube, here was his answer:

"That was designed to get people thinking about social media. The term Socialnomics is introdcued, but I primarily wanted to give a tool to every marketer and every individual who has been struggling with all the hype about social media. Is it a fad or is it the next revolution? The video is designed to show it's not a fad and here are some hardcore statistics that show that it's actually the biggest thing since the industrial revolution."

And people are listening. Besides the films I mentioned earlier, bigger organizations, such as film festivals, are taking notice too. Last summer I interned as the public relations and media intern at the Traverse City Film Festival. I helped bring a social media campaign to the festival by implementing important social media tools, such as Twitter, a Facebook fan page, and a more interactive website where festival goers could connect. On the TCFF Twitter page we tweet about events during the festival as well as about filmmakers doing panels during the festival. Here are some tweets from during the fesitval:

Looking forward to a 9 p.m. movie, "Goonies" at the Open Space, and "Humpday" and Sneak Peak with Jeff Garlin at Midnight.

5:33 PM Jul 31st from web

Congratulations to 2009 Michigan Filmmaker award winner RIch Brauer, and welcome to the 5th Annual TCFF!

6:38 PM Jul 28th from web

Wrapping up the festival with a 9:00 film, then closing night party and after-party at Firefly Cafe.

6:04 PM Aug 2nd from web

We also ask people to follow our filmmakers Twitter accounts, such as the Winnebago Man Twitter account. On the TCFF Facebook page festival goers as well as filmmakers can post on the wall. A filmmakers from one of the festival's best received films Herb and Dorothy recently posted on the page to express her gratitude to the festival for helping support the film.

Megumi Sasaki Dear fellow documentary film makers and friends, Thank you very much for your support for our documentary HERB & DOROTHY, an incredible true story of legendary art collector couple in NYC, Herb, a postal worker, and Dorothy, a librarian who built a world-class collection. We have a great news! HERB & DOROTHY is now available on DVD! One of the most loved and talked about documentary film on art with 4 audience award and 1 best documentary award is a PERFECT HOLIDAY GIFT for your friends and family who love art and docs! Pre-order now.http://www.herbanddorothy.com

November 25 at 10:58am

Finally, on the TCFF official website, allows for festival goers to have a ticket exchange with each other online. Films sell out extremely quick so, ticket holders can get on the exchange site and see if anyone is offering to trade tickets to different films. Simple forms like this create a sense of community for festival goers and allows them to create buzz about films being show. A great way of free advertising for the filmmakers.

Through the different advertising campaigns of The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity, the websites IndieGoGo and Snag Films, and Erik Qualman's Socialnomics, I think it's clear to see how social media and independent cinema can go hand and hand. Social media is a new and highly effective way to get your name, and your film out there...so grab your camera and get to work!

Works Cited:

Allen, Carolyn. "EMERGING PICTURES: The Future of Independent Film is Now." Movie Industry Marketing. Web. 27 Nov. 2009. .

O'Brien, Harvey. "The Blair Witch Project." Eircom. 1999. Web. 27 Nov. 2009. .

Reiss, Jon. "Social Networking to Increase Your Independent Film’s Exposure (well, duh)." Jon Reiss News. 14 Aug. 2009. Web. 27 Nov. 2009. .

"Social Media Policies." Social Media.biz. Web. 1 Dec. 2009. .

"Social Media." Wikipedia. Web. 30 Nov. 2009. .

"Social Networking as Film Distribution Super-Promotion." Ciao Enrico. 8 Oct. 2009. Web. 27 Nov. 2009. .