Sundance And NATPE Tips

This week there are two big gatherings of interest to
independent filmmakers everywhere.

The first is Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, and the second is the NATPE Broadcast Convention in Las Vegas.Personally, I will be heading to NATPE in Vegas, and will be keeping an eye our for what types of independent films are getting bought by broadcasters. I'll report back afterwards of course!

In the mean time, if any of you out there are heading to either of these events, here's some tips to keep in mind so you can make the best of your experience there:

1. If you're going to Sundance, try and go to some screenings so that you can see all the hullabaloo that takes place before and after screenings with distributors and sales agents in the room. Take notes on which distributors you see scouting the film, maybe take a note of their name (visible on their
badge hopefully) - if you know they're interested in a particular type of film (like the screening you're at), and you have something along the same lines, you can always try contacting them after the festival about submitting your film for consideration.

2. If you're going to NATPE, if you can get a day-badge, great.It's pretty expensive even for a day badge to get on the sales floor, but I know they have a cheap student rate of less than $200. If you manage to get on the sales floor, what you'll see are the big networks selling all their series to international
and local buyers, as well as small, medium, and large sales companies selling independent films and television programs and pilot ideas. Remember, these companies all pay a tremendous amount of money to be there and they are there for one thing only - to SELL. So don't go door to door bothering them. What
I would do is walk around and take notes on what companies are selling what types of products, and make it a point to get in touch with them AFTER the market to submit your films and ideas. If you happen to be there on Wednesday or Thursday,things should be a little slower then the first two days of
the market so you may get lucky and get to talk to some
companies while their standing their at their booth. If you get that opportunity, feel free to pitch your film or TV program then, and try and get their cards so you can follow up after the market. Don't worry about carrying around screeners of your film, as they won't want to take anything while they're there. Better to send everything after the market is over.

3. Whether you're going to Sundance or NATPE, try to get your hands on an attendee list or buyers list. This is an incredible resource and is often worth the price of registration itself.This is your ticket to email all these people AFTER the event and pitch your film to them. Remember, when contacting any of these people by email, send a short polite note with a link
to your trailer. They will watch it and let you know if they would like to see a full screener of your film.

4. If you're at NATPE and you don't have a badge to get on to the sales floor, there's at least a central bar/cafe area in the lobby of the Mandalay Bay Hotel (where the event takes place) where many buyers and sellers mill about. Hang out there and observe what's going on, and by all means try to network if the opportunity arises.

5. If you're going to Sundance and you can't get into any screenings or big parties, hang out in the bars and
restaurants in the evenings, as there are always impromptu gatherings going on and you can network till your heart's content. You can also network just walking up and down the street for that matter!

Any way you slice it at either of these events, there's a lot to be learned just by being present....so if nothing else,you'll have a tremendous learning experience by just being there and watching the buying and selling process of indie films and TV programs. It will also give you insight into what's happening NOW sort of thing, in terms of cutting edge
technologies and products.

So if any one makes it to either of these events this week, do let me know what your experiences were! I'll do a round-up of everyone's responses and report back to the group so we can all learn from each other.....sound good?

And remember those small distribution workshops I said I'd be launching in 2007? Well stay tuned for my Distribution Labs flier coming out in the next couple of days. Registration is opening for London (this Spring), Los Angeles (this Summer),and New York (this Fall). I've created a program that will provide one-on-one customized distribution plans for all
involved, in a small workshop setting, over the course of a full day.

Talk to you soon!

Stacey*
PS: For all of you who were having trouble with the Pay Pal portion of purchasing the Self Distribution Starter Kit, I heard back from Pay Pal that they were doing maintenance over those two days, so service was spotty. What luck! Anyway, it's all up and running smoothly now, so take a crack at it here at:
www.selfdistributeyourfilm.com
or
http://www.selfdistributeyourfilm.com