The Death of the Short Film Festival
June 18th, 2008 by Robert GustafsonPosted in Business, Marketing, Online, Strategy |
Yesterday, I had lunch with a friend of mine who makes short films. We talked about the purpose of short films these days and how short films really don’t need to go the way of the film festival anymore.
With production and editing so easily assessable to the masses, and the ease of which anyone can upload short form content to the Internet for exposure, why pay the $50 plus entrance fees for each festival?
Next, add to that the traveling expenses to the actual festival - all the while hanging on hopes that a production executive might take a liking to your film, and might consider calling you about being involved in a project?
I see the only purpose of film festivals for short films these days is to help creators (and all those involved) to stand out from the ever-growing crowd. My beef is that the same thing that can be achieved through a few online competitions such as Crackle’s Comedy Pilot Contest, a few ongoing online festivals like on filmaka, and a little marketing.
Don’t get me wrong, uploading to different sites and often getting friends and fans to vote does take time, but it has the ability to reach just as many of these production executives (who subsequently don’t want to spend that much time at festivals in the first place). What it doesn’t take is money out of your pocket.
So today I took action on my beliefs and canceled all my e-mail notifications from the Film Festival uber-site WithoutABox (owned by IMDB/Amazon), because I realized that I ignore every film festival e-mail they’ve sent out (and for good reason: film festivals still have their place for independent feature films looking for distribution and niche films that could never garner a mainstream audience, but that’s it).
Then today I received an e-mail which further proves my point. I was forwarded a video of the 2008 Online Cannes Short Film Festival winner. Apparently they were all featured on YouTube for people to vote for. Simple and poignant like all great short films. I hope you enjoy it.
[It looks like it's since been taken down from YouTube, which doesn't make sense. From YouTube's point of view, they really need to be associated to the Cannes Film Festival, and each short's creator should re-upload it immediately to get all the exposure they can.]
HISTORIA DE UN LETRERO (THE STORY OF A SIGN)
3 Responses to “The Death of the Short Film Festival”
By Alec McNayr on Jun 19, 2008
Totally agree.
I think there’s one exception to this, however, and that’s the animated short film festivals. People come out in droves for cartoons, and they are inherently short. In that case, I think the brand of animation is actually bigger than the shorts themselves, which drives attendance.
Kind of like how Comic-Con is bigger than the comics themselves.
By Marc Hustvedt on Jun 23, 2008
Funny, I have been considering canceling my WithoutABox notifications for months now. Somehow I just haven’t been able to pull that trigger.
I think that true filmmakers, those that tell stories cinematically, still find that their audiences are at the festivals. There is an interactivity and intimacy at the festivals, like the post-screening Q&A with the filmmakers and cast that you just can’t get anywhere else.
I remember asking Guillermo del Toro a question at the AFI Film Festival a few years back and was thrilled with that instant candid response from him.
I really haven’t seen an outlet on the web that can recreate the festival experience in terms of picture quality, interaction, film discovery, and of course the parties.
By Marc Hustvedt on Jun 23, 2008
Follow-up:
Ok, the Guillermo del Toro story was clearly after a screening of a feature, not a short. But I have to say I love seeing a short before a feature at a festival, and even attend a shorts program if I can. It’s generally still people who love film who attend.
As far as ROI on producing short films, I’m not sure most short films are made with that calculation in mind. Many are made to tell a good story.
But I see your point, that short form content that might have otherwise been pushed to the festival circuit can have a better chance at exposure, broad audience and shelf life on the web. YouTube’s new Screening Room is a decent start in this direction from a site still heralding “The Evolution of Dance” as its most viewed video of all time.