Throughout my grassroots marketing adventure, I've had the unique opportunity to interact with people from all backgrounds. From retired professionals, to active service members, to Vietnam veterans, every person I speak to has their own way of relating to The Way We Get By. As someone who's father and brother are both military veterans, I find the people I personally connect to the most are other family members of veterans and active service members.
These folks, often belonging to groups called Blue Star Moms, know how important the Maine Troop Greeters are, as they're the ones who receive the phone calls from Bangor when their loved-ones depart and return home from Iraq and Afghanistan. It's especially moving for them to know that strangers are opening their arms up to their sons and daughters and welcoming them back the first time the set foot on American soil.
One day last week as I was working on our Los Angeles outreach, I emailed an L.A.-area Blue Star Mom group to notify them of our screening times at the Laemmle Music Hall 3. About 30-minutes later, my phone rang and I didn't recognize the number. I picked up and on the other end of the line was Maria Riley, a Blue Star Mom from L.A.. The leader of her Blue Star Mom organization had forwarded their group members the movie info and she wanted to personally thank me for The Way We Get By. All three of her children served in the military and had gone through Bangor, Maine. Just watching the trailer had brought her to tears. According to Maria, whenever her children called from Bangor, that was when she knew they were finally home safe. Needless to say, speaking with her was incredibly moving. This post is dedicated to all military and veterans family members. The production team here at The Way We Get By sincerely hope your loved ones return home safely with a hero's welcome-- even if they don't get the pleasure of passing through Bangor!
Don't forget to buy your tickets to see The Way We Get By in Los Angeles now playing August 14-20!!! Click HERE for tickets!
Jessica Barnthouse
Associate Producer
Showing posts with label documentary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label documentary. Show all posts
Friday, August 14, 2009
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
"The Way We Get By" Goes Hollywood...
Associate Producer Jessica Barnthouse delves into the L.A. Grassroots Marketing Outreach for "The Way We Get By"...
As you know, The Way We Get By will be having its Los Angeles premiere from August 14-20 at Laemmle's Music Hall in Beverly Hills. As with New York City, I've been busy with grassroots outreach to make sure that the people who would love The Way We Get By are aware of the venue and screening times. With all of the press we've been getting, from The New York Times, to national NPR, and countless television interviews, one would think that word about The Way We Get By would have already spread like wildfire all the way to the West Coast. This is not necessarily the case, however. And trust me when I say that if you ever make your own amazing film, you can never do too much grassroots outreach.
So how do you get an audience to come see your film when you're 3,000 miles away from them? It's not like New York City where I can just show up and hand out fliers (yes, I did this for four days all across NYC). The key is to be meticulous, creative, and persistent. First, I compiled a 12-page list of every veterans group, military recruiting station, aging association, and volunteer organization within a 30-mile radius of the movie theatre (I was like Tommy Lee Jones in The Fugitive-- our audience would not escape!). Next, myself and our new intern, CJ, began calling and emailing each place on our list.
New intern CJ charming L.A. by phone.
The film, because it's such a great story (shameless plug), turned out to be an easy sell over the phone. Calling the military recruiting stations was especially rewarding as time and time again, the soldier on the other side had either heard of the Maine Troop Greeters, or had experienced them himself. I suppose that's the benefit of making a movie about three people who've already been met by almost one million American troops from across the country. And that's what's so great about this human story: that coming to a movie theatre can reconnect you with the strangers who cared enough to give you a hero's send off to war and welcome you back home as a respected veteran when you returned.
And in case you haven't heard, we've even had a few celebs talking about the film, with Alyssa Milano and Milo Ventimiglia from the TV show Heroes supporting the film on Twitter! I definitely believe that with the combined grassroots efforts of myself, CJ, and our new celebrity friends, Los Angeles is going to be a major sucess! Buy your tickets now while they're still hot: Laemmle Music Hall ticket info
Jessica Barnthouse
Associate Producer
As you know, The Way We Get By will be having its Los Angeles premiere from August 14-20 at Laemmle's Music Hall in Beverly Hills. As with New York City, I've been busy with grassroots outreach to make sure that the people who would love The Way We Get By are aware of the venue and screening times. With all of the press we've been getting, from The New York Times, to national NPR, and countless television interviews, one would think that word about The Way We Get By would have already spread like wildfire all the way to the West Coast. This is not necessarily the case, however. And trust me when I say that if you ever make your own amazing film, you can never do too much grassroots outreach.
So how do you get an audience to come see your film when you're 3,000 miles away from them? It's not like New York City where I can just show up and hand out fliers (yes, I did this for four days all across NYC). The key is to be meticulous, creative, and persistent. First, I compiled a 12-page list of every veterans group, military recruiting station, aging association, and volunteer organization within a 30-mile radius of the movie theatre (I was like Tommy Lee Jones in The Fugitive-- our audience would not escape!). Next, myself and our new intern, CJ, began calling and emailing each place on our list.
New intern CJ charming L.A. by phone.
The film, because it's such a great story (shameless plug), turned out to be an easy sell over the phone. Calling the military recruiting stations was especially rewarding as time and time again, the soldier on the other side had either heard of the Maine Troop Greeters, or had experienced them himself. I suppose that's the benefit of making a movie about three people who've already been met by almost one million American troops from across the country. And that's what's so great about this human story: that coming to a movie theatre can reconnect you with the strangers who cared enough to give you a hero's send off to war and welcome you back home as a respected veteran when you returned.
And in case you haven't heard, we've even had a few celebs talking about the film, with Alyssa Milano and Milo Ventimiglia from the TV show Heroes supporting the film on Twitter! I definitely believe that with the combined grassroots efforts of myself, CJ, and our new celebrity friends, Los Angeles is going to be a major sucess! Buy your tickets now while they're still hot: Laemmle Music Hall ticket info
Jessica Barnthouse
Associate Producer
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Creating The Perfect Logline - Part 2
Last week marked the start of my personal quest to supply the new, breakout documentary The Way We Get By with the perfect log line. With this single sentence pitch, The Way We Get By will be sure to appeal to anyone, which will undoubtedly set it up to take the entire documentary film world by storm. As an outreach coordinator for the film, I know that whatever I do, it is imperative that it generates at least some, preferably good, publicity for The Way We Get By. That is why, in the latest edition of my log line quest, I’ve decided to make an appeal to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (The people who run the Oscars). Now, I know it’s a long way away but after seeing The Way We Get By, I’ve realized that the subjects presented in it, who happen to be real people, are even more brilliant than their Oscar-nominated acting counterparts, and today I get to show you exactly what I mean. Also, with all this shameless internet name dropping, The Way We Get By, can claim to be doing the film community a service by connecting loyal fans of highly acclaimed feature films to a documentary that might be right up their alley.
Take Joan Gaudet for example. As a troop greeter and one of The Way We Get By’s main subjects, she confesses that she can only welcome soldiers on their return home because greeting those who are departing would be too heartbreaking. She cares deeply for her eight children, but now with all of them grown up and with families of their own, her rural Maine home reflects a life that has seen busier days. Gaudet’s story is one that resonates with a myriad of Hollywood portrayals. However the comparison I find most accurate is that of Sara Goldfarb, played by Ellen Burstyn, in Requiem For A Dream.
Burstyn earned multiple award nominations for her stunning performance as Sara Goldfarb, an aging mother whose unconditional love for her son blinds her from seeing his all but obvious addiction to heroin. In Joan Gaudet’s case, her unconditional love similarly extends to those of a younger generation, be it her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and of course troops returning home. Sara Goldfarb tragically attempts to become famous and more attractive, as a means to escape the loneliness that consumes her in her vacant apartment. The Way We Get By’s Gaudet finds purpose in something even more all-American than trashy daytime television – troop greeting. It is her addiction, just as Sara Goldfarb’s prescribed dieting pills become an addiction in Requiem For A Dream. Director Darren Aronofsky paints a grim world where shallow aspirations of fame and fortune corrupt any perception of the American Dream. In The Way We Get By, Director Aron Gaudet finds a similar character in his very own mother, who provides an inspirational counterexample to our greatest fears, demonstrating how citizenship and patriotism can motivate an ailing woman to brave frigid temperatures in the middle of the night, all to fulfill the call of duty that binds her not only to the troops she greets and the nation she inhabits, but also to the future.
If I’m going to compare amazing cinematic performances to those featured in The Way We Get By, then I must mention Bill Knight, an 87 year old WWII veteran and troop greeter who unflinchingly bears his life story for all to see; exposing us to a harsh reality characterized by a battle with cancer, financial troubles, and unwavering dedication to his country. Bill Knight is a personification of the characters played by Clint Eastwood. Just think of his recent highly acclaimed performance in Gran Torino. As a hardened Korean War veteran, we see Eastwood at his best—playing a mean, stiff-jawed Walt Kowalski, a man with an allegiance to duty and order that forces him to do what should be done, even if it is not in his best interest. Where Eastwood’s Kowalski falters as a character, Bill Knight shines; Walt harbors a desire for peace and solitude, while for protagonist Bill Knight, isolation is never an option. He has taken it upon himself to serve his country once more the only way he knows how. Still, if you take one of the great Bill Knight monologues featured in The Way We Get By and transfer them to a Clint Eastwood movie script, few would imagine anything out of place. Bill Knight is simply a man with a story to tell, but the man is so humble that’d he never bother you with it. For him, it’s just business as usual. “Leave a car outside and it’ll rust out faster than you can wear it out…just like people” Knight explains. Or was that a line from Walt Kowalski?
Finally, to seal the deal in proving why every film buff with a taste for Oscar nominated performances (and lengthy blog posts) needs to see The Way We Get By, I turn to a final comparison – that of Jerry Mundy (The Way We Get By) to Mickey Rourke’s character, Randy “The Ram” Robinson (The Wrestler). Now before people start jumping to conclusions (and filing slander lawsuits) I issue the disclaimer that there’s a lot that separates Jerry and Randy. However, if you see The Way We Get By, you’ll instantly be reminded of the way Mickey Rourke was able to convey the absence of a life that once was, mainly because like Randy, Mickey was trying to make his own personal comeback. While Randy may have awesome hair, a larger fan base, and tighter pants, I think Jerry Mundy parallels Randy “The Ram” Robinson in one main way: they both are trying to find their place in a world that is changing every day; the only constant for Randy being the wrestling ring, while for Jerry the same comforting yet temporary solace is found in the airport while troop greeting. With a heart that is as loving as it is weakening, Jerry’s humorous quips break any silences just long enough to let him second-guess himself. Beyond his charm though, we see a man who refuses to live in his past. Instead, like Randy Robinson, Jerry has the courage to live for the future, despite the hardships that it may hold in store.
The subjects featured in The Way We Get By provide real world examples of the type of people our movie-going audiences loves to romanticize. Their personalities, their hopes, their dreams, their idiosyncrasies, their struggles are all there for you to experience when viewing The Way We Get By. Now with all that potential, it should go without saying that my log line needs to be centered on these three fascinating subjects, who undoubtedly drive The Way We Get By forward.
CJ Saraceno
Intern
Take Joan Gaudet for example. As a troop greeter and one of The Way We Get By’s main subjects, she confesses that she can only welcome soldiers on their return home because greeting those who are departing would be too heartbreaking. She cares deeply for her eight children, but now with all of them grown up and with families of their own, her rural Maine home reflects a life that has seen busier days. Gaudet’s story is one that resonates with a myriad of Hollywood portrayals. However the comparison I find most accurate is that of Sara Goldfarb, played by Ellen Burstyn, in Requiem For A Dream.
Burstyn earned multiple award nominations for her stunning performance as Sara Goldfarb, an aging mother whose unconditional love for her son blinds her from seeing his all but obvious addiction to heroin. In Joan Gaudet’s case, her unconditional love similarly extends to those of a younger generation, be it her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and of course troops returning home. Sara Goldfarb tragically attempts to become famous and more attractive, as a means to escape the loneliness that consumes her in her vacant apartment. The Way We Get By’s Gaudet finds purpose in something even more all-American than trashy daytime television – troop greeting. It is her addiction, just as Sara Goldfarb’s prescribed dieting pills become an addiction in Requiem For A Dream. Director Darren Aronofsky paints a grim world where shallow aspirations of fame and fortune corrupt any perception of the American Dream. In The Way We Get By, Director Aron Gaudet finds a similar character in his very own mother, who provides an inspirational counterexample to our greatest fears, demonstrating how citizenship and patriotism can motivate an ailing woman to brave frigid temperatures in the middle of the night, all to fulfill the call of duty that binds her not only to the troops she greets and the nation she inhabits, but also to the future.
If I’m going to compare amazing cinematic performances to those featured in The Way We Get By, then I must mention Bill Knight, an 87 year old WWII veteran and troop greeter who unflinchingly bears his life story for all to see; exposing us to a harsh reality characterized by a battle with cancer, financial troubles, and unwavering dedication to his country. Bill Knight is a personification of the characters played by Clint Eastwood. Just think of his recent highly acclaimed performance in Gran Torino. As a hardened Korean War veteran, we see Eastwood at his best—playing a mean, stiff-jawed Walt Kowalski, a man with an allegiance to duty and order that forces him to do what should be done, even if it is not in his best interest. Where Eastwood’s Kowalski falters as a character, Bill Knight shines; Walt harbors a desire for peace and solitude, while for protagonist Bill Knight, isolation is never an option. He has taken it upon himself to serve his country once more the only way he knows how. Still, if you take one of the great Bill Knight monologues featured in The Way We Get By and transfer them to a Clint Eastwood movie script, few would imagine anything out of place. Bill Knight is simply a man with a story to tell, but the man is so humble that’d he never bother you with it. For him, it’s just business as usual. “Leave a car outside and it’ll rust out faster than you can wear it out…just like people” Knight explains. Or was that a line from Walt Kowalski?
Finally, to seal the deal in proving why every film buff with a taste for Oscar nominated performances (and lengthy blog posts) needs to see The Way We Get By, I turn to a final comparison – that of Jerry Mundy (The Way We Get By) to Mickey Rourke’s character, Randy “The Ram” Robinson (The Wrestler). Now before people start jumping to conclusions (and filing slander lawsuits) I issue the disclaimer that there’s a lot that separates Jerry and Randy. However, if you see The Way We Get By, you’ll instantly be reminded of the way Mickey Rourke was able to convey the absence of a life that once was, mainly because like Randy, Mickey was trying to make his own personal comeback. While Randy may have awesome hair, a larger fan base, and tighter pants, I think Jerry Mundy parallels Randy “The Ram” Robinson in one main way: they both are trying to find their place in a world that is changing every day; the only constant for Randy being the wrestling ring, while for Jerry the same comforting yet temporary solace is found in the airport while troop greeting. With a heart that is as loving as it is weakening, Jerry’s humorous quips break any silences just long enough to let him second-guess himself. Beyond his charm though, we see a man who refuses to live in his past. Instead, like Randy Robinson, Jerry has the courage to live for the future, despite the hardships that it may hold in store.
The subjects featured in The Way We Get By provide real world examples of the type of people our movie-going audiences loves to romanticize. Their personalities, their hopes, their dreams, their idiosyncrasies, their struggles are all there for you to experience when viewing The Way We Get By. Now with all that potential, it should go without saying that my log line needs to be centered on these three fascinating subjects, who undoubtedly drive The Way We Get By forward.
CJ Saraceno
Intern
Friday, July 24, 2009
Creating The Perfect Logline - Part 1
If you talk to anyone in the business of marketing films, I guarantee that you'll be lectured on the importance of the log line - a single sentence that captures the essence of the film while sparking the audience's curiosity without giving too much away. When I found out that I was getting the opportunity to assist a burgeoning filmmaker in promoting her recently released indie documentary, The Way We Get By, I decided that the log line should be the foundation of any of my future marketing efforts. Whether I would be creating Facebook groups, posting Twitter updates, or blogging about the movie, I planned on referring back to my own original log line to help sculpt both the content and style of any self produced marketing material.
When I first saw the trailer for The Way We Get By, I immediatley assumed that I could come up with some line about how the documentary is a heartwarming tale of how three members of America's "greatest generation" find purpose in life by greeting troops as they return home from war. Not bad, right?
I tried out some of these initial log lines on some of my über hip friends and their responses were all pretty much the same. There'd be a slightly awkward pause and then a comment like, "Um, so it's like some movie about old people in Maine who shake troops' hands?" Some would follow that up with a smirk while the nicer ones would hesitantly offer some half-hearted complement like "Oh, well, that sounds kind of inspiring…" or "That sounds like it could be good." My test subjects' lack of instant enthusiasm motivated me to refine my approach, so I began toiling away for what seemed like days, on trying to come up with the perfect logline.
Then came my big Aha! moment. I had my epiphany. And no, it wasn't the perfect logline for the film. It was the realization that it wasn't my logline crafting ability that was preventing me from getting people excited about The Way We Get By. It was the fact that I had yet to actually see the movie, and that was when I learned that you can't market a film until you actually see it (Exception: Transformers).
Finally seeing The Way We Get By changed everything for me. I walked in expecting to see a typical real life narrative; a plot driven documentary that would leave me brimming with patriotism and a more congenial attitude towards both Maine and the elderly. I predicted a simple yet dainty, easily-packaged film that could do well with the right audiences: Republicans, ex-soldiers, and old people. But the Greenwich village audience, which The Way We Get By premiered to this past Friday night at the IFC Center, consisted of many who fell outside such demographics. And yet, somehow amidst this diversity, the film flourished. From the Marine in camo to the NYU cinephile, from the WWII vet to the smelly kid with dreadlocks, the audience was moved. The evidence was right there in front of me. I watched as individuals eagerly awaited their turn to meet the filmmakers, Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly afterwards, their faces all sharing the same expression, characterized by a grin stretching from cheek to cheek and glassy eyes where tears had once occupied. Maybe that's how I came to realize the true potential of this film. As cheesy as it sounds, I instantly adopted the mindset that everyone and anyone must see this film, and since coming to this realization, I've radically altered my strategy for composing that perfect logline.
As I promote The Way We Get By, I find myself moving away from trying to critique it. Sure, I could provide you with evidence of its stunning cinematography, comment on some of my favorite scenes, and make allusions to Godard while discussing director Aron Gaudet's ability to find beauty in the film's harsh yet ordinary setting of rural Maine, but there are professionals for that sort of thing (Rotten Tomatoes). Instead I wanted to share some of my priceless wisdom with the masses, and what better way to do it then through a series of blog posts that track my progress in attempting to provide The Way We Get By with that perfect log line. Stay tuned...
CJ Saraceno
Intern
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Associate Producer Jessica Barnthouse Conquers NYC!
Let me tell you-- excitement is definitely brewing in New York City for The Way We Get By. I know this, because I spent the last four days on foot all over Manhattan and Brooklyn handing out and putting up fliers for the theatrical run starting Friday at the IFC Center. All in all, it was definitely an amazing experience. Here's the rundown of what I did:
Saturday I started in Union Square taping fliers to anywhere there was room. I was nervous about doing this at first-- I mean, I'm an outsider to NYC so I wasn't even sure if what I was doing was legal. However, after taping up fliers in front of numerous police officers without so much as a quizzical look, I realized they probably had bigger fish to fry on the streets of Manhattan. Armed with my cell phone GPS, I put fliers up from Union Square Park down the streets to Washington Square Park, then all over Washington Square Park, all the way to the IFC Center, and then to Tribeca, and back up to the IFC Center. I used up a brand-new roll of Scotch tape that day.
Here are some photos from Saturday:
1. The Way We Get By at the Union Square subway stop!
2. The Way We Get By at Washington Square-- it definitely adds to the scenery.
3. I gave some fliers to police officers I met while postering Washington Square. One of them said his dad is a veteran and plans to take him.
4. As you can see here, Hermoinee Granger is fully endorsing our Battle Buddy promotion for The Way We Get By.
5. Check out that guy's awesome trumpet!
6. I took this at the IFC Center. Notice how The Way We Get By flier is in the center, like the sun. Now, notice the other, smaller, postcards circling it.
Sunday I woke up early to do something I haven't done in about six years: I went to church. Actually, I went to five churches. I'd never been to a mega church, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect and I was kind of afraid everyone inside would somehow "know" I hadn't been in a while. Fortunately, everyone was incredibly welcoming and had an earnest interest in The Way We Get By. That day I focused mostly on youth groups and volunteer organizations. Hopefully we can get a ton of volunteers of all ages out to the screenings this weekend.
Sunday photos:
7. One of the directors for the St. Paul Community Baptist Church was excited to hand out fliers and show the youth group the film trailer.
8. This is the Christian Cultural Center. It looked like the Pentagon from the outside and had a rock band playing all throughout the sermons. I'd never been in a church this large before-- they probably had about 100 different flat panel TVs inside! Perfect, I might add, for watching The Way We Get By trailer on.....
Monday and Tuesday I spent both days going to as many veterans and military recruiting organizations as possible. This was by far my favorite part of the whole trip. Every person I met was so helpful and excited about the film coming to NYC, it made my whole trip worth it 10 times over. I had the pleasure of meeting Iraq veterans, Afghanistan veterans, Gulf War veterans, Vietnam veterans, Korean War veterans, and WWII veterans. I've never gotten to go to Bangor and experience the "real deal" of troop greeting, but I shook a lot of hands and thanked every soldier I met while in New York. It was fantastic!
Monday and Tuesday photos:
9. This is one of the recruiting officers from an Army National Guard recruiting station in Manhattan. Hopefully he can recruit people to The Way We Get By!
10. The Marine Corps Band had an amazing outdoor concert in Manhattan. I tried to pitch the film to one of the officers present, but she told me she'd heard about it already and sent the information to everyone she knew. It was great to know that the word was really getting out.
11. This was at a VFW post in lower Manhattan. When I asked if I could take a picture, the veteran on the left replied, "Sure you can, but don't get my cards in the picture!" I'd say I did a pretty good job of that.
12. This is Richard Dugal from the Catholic War Veterans. He was a huge help and took me around to all of the other veterans offices in his building to hand out fliers to.
13. This is Lieutenant Commander Suzanna Brugler from the Navy Office of Information. She was super excited about the film and was nice enough to email our fliers to a lot of other Navy offices around NYC.
As you can note from the pictures, my grassroots marketing experience in NYC was great. My feet are sore and I'm about three shades darker from walking around in the sun, but it was all worth it. I don't want to speak too soon on this, but I predict the film will be a major hit at the IFC center this weekend. If you live nearby, it's definitely going to be a film you'll want to see, but get your tickets online early-- it's going to be a sell out!
Saturday I started in Union Square taping fliers to anywhere there was room. I was nervous about doing this at first-- I mean, I'm an outsider to NYC so I wasn't even sure if what I was doing was legal. However, after taping up fliers in front of numerous police officers without so much as a quizzical look, I realized they probably had bigger fish to fry on the streets of Manhattan. Armed with my cell phone GPS, I put fliers up from Union Square Park down the streets to Washington Square Park, then all over Washington Square Park, all the way to the IFC Center, and then to Tribeca, and back up to the IFC Center. I used up a brand-new roll of Scotch tape that day.
Here are some photos from Saturday:
1. The Way We Get By at the Union Square subway stop!
2. The Way We Get By at Washington Square-- it definitely adds to the scenery.
3. I gave some fliers to police officers I met while postering Washington Square. One of them said his dad is a veteran and plans to take him.
4. As you can see here, Hermoinee Granger is fully endorsing our Battle Buddy promotion for The Way We Get By.
5. Check out that guy's awesome trumpet!
6. I took this at the IFC Center. Notice how The Way We Get By flier is in the center, like the sun. Now, notice the other, smaller, postcards circling it.
Sunday I woke up early to do something I haven't done in about six years: I went to church. Actually, I went to five churches. I'd never been to a mega church, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect and I was kind of afraid everyone inside would somehow "know" I hadn't been in a while. Fortunately, everyone was incredibly welcoming and had an earnest interest in The Way We Get By. That day I focused mostly on youth groups and volunteer organizations. Hopefully we can get a ton of volunteers of all ages out to the screenings this weekend.
Sunday photos:
7. One of the directors for the St. Paul Community Baptist Church was excited to hand out fliers and show the youth group the film trailer.
8. This is the Christian Cultural Center. It looked like the Pentagon from the outside and had a rock band playing all throughout the sermons. I'd never been in a church this large before-- they probably had about 100 different flat panel TVs inside! Perfect, I might add, for watching The Way We Get By trailer on.....
Monday and Tuesday I spent both days going to as many veterans and military recruiting organizations as possible. This was by far my favorite part of the whole trip. Every person I met was so helpful and excited about the film coming to NYC, it made my whole trip worth it 10 times over. I had the pleasure of meeting Iraq veterans, Afghanistan veterans, Gulf War veterans, Vietnam veterans, Korean War veterans, and WWII veterans. I've never gotten to go to Bangor and experience the "real deal" of troop greeting, but I shook a lot of hands and thanked every soldier I met while in New York. It was fantastic!
Monday and Tuesday photos:
9. This is one of the recruiting officers from an Army National Guard recruiting station in Manhattan. Hopefully he can recruit people to The Way We Get By!
10. The Marine Corps Band had an amazing outdoor concert in Manhattan. I tried to pitch the film to one of the officers present, but she told me she'd heard about it already and sent the information to everyone she knew. It was great to know that the word was really getting out.
11. This was at a VFW post in lower Manhattan. When I asked if I could take a picture, the veteran on the left replied, "Sure you can, but don't get my cards in the picture!" I'd say I did a pretty good job of that.
12. This is Richard Dugal from the Catholic War Veterans. He was a huge help and took me around to all of the other veterans offices in his building to hand out fliers to.
13. This is Lieutenant Commander Suzanna Brugler from the Navy Office of Information. She was super excited about the film and was nice enough to email our fliers to a lot of other Navy offices around NYC.
As you can note from the pictures, my grassroots marketing experience in NYC was great. My feet are sore and I'm about three shades darker from walking around in the sun, but it was all worth it. I don't want to speak too soon on this, but I predict the film will be a major hit at the IFC center this weekend. If you live nearby, it's definitely going to be a film you'll want to see, but get your tickets online early-- it's going to be a sell out!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
BAVC Producers Institute...Day #2...Part Two!
Continuing with yesterday's panel and presentations at the BAVC Producers Institute. In part two I will cover the three presentations that followed the opening panel discussion. Click here to read part one.
The first presentation was by Jacob Colker and titled Mobile Web For Good. This was a very interesting look at how mobile devices are already being used to help promote social change and activism and how mobile technology will change the way organizations will reach large groups in the future. Jacob gave us several interesting examples of websites where mobile is being used for good. Here are some sites that are worth checking out...
www.mobileactive.com
www.ushahidi.com
www.ireport.com
www.txteagle.com
www.frontlinesms.com
www.theextraordinaries.org
The last website is Colker's own project where anyone with a mobile device can take part in completing microtasks and microvolunteering in their spare time. A boiled down description from The Extraordinaries website-- Our Theory of Change: Americans have spare time – billions of hours – but in small windows of idle moments: sitting in an airport, waiting in a doctor’s office, riding the bus to work, and more. If we can reach people during these spare moments we harness a huge pool of untapped human energy.-- so by reaching these people on their mobile device they can do a simple task during one of these idle moments like transcribe a few words of a subtitle for a human rights video. Add all the idle moments together and the whole film gets subtitled in no time. The idea of harnessing large groups of people to take action using a mobile device certainly had us all thinking of how this can translate to documentary marketing and distribution.
The second presentation was from Ken Eklund and Tony Walsh and was titled Changing The Game about how gaming projects are being built and utilized to help promote social issue documentaries. I'll admit, this is the one presentation that didn't hold a ton of interest for me...I'm not much of a gamer, but it still got me thinking-- a few interesting aspects...1.) Every social tool (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube) has a gaming aspect to it and attracts certain people to this leadership board aspect (# of friends, # of followers, # of views). And in the end people participate in many of these social networks for the same reason they play games...the reward. Action = Reward is usually the engine that drives participation in many social circles.
The third and final presentation was titled The Future Of Social Networks and was a two-parter-- first Patrice O'Neill showed how she built a national movement-- www.niot.org -- to help communities fight against hate crimes, around her film Not In Our Town. This was a very impressive example of not just having a website to promote your film, but to really create a stand alone site and movement that takes off and becomes its own successful entity. This is really what the BAVC Producers Institute is all about, and what we hope to do ourselves this week. Patrice did just that two years ago, when she developed the prototype for www.niot.org at the very first BAVC Producers Institute.
And finally, Evan Goldin from Ning.com gave is a look at the website that allows you to build your own social network to find/reach audiences with similar interests. Having already explored Ning and developed a Ning site for "The Way We Get By" a few months ago, I was familiar with the basics of the website. What I found most interetsing was how much your Ning page could be customized. It seems Ning may be a great alternative to filmmakers hoping to create a clean, easy to use, classy looking website for their film, with just a small amount of money needed to pay a web designer to customize your Ning page. We'll certainly be thinking about that in the early stages of our next film.
Next up...we finally get to work on our projects!! Updates and blogging to follow...
The first presentation was by Jacob Colker and titled Mobile Web For Good. This was a very interesting look at how mobile devices are already being used to help promote social change and activism and how mobile technology will change the way organizations will reach large groups in the future. Jacob gave us several interesting examples of websites where mobile is being used for good. Here are some sites that are worth checking out...
www.mobileactive.com
www.ushahidi.com
www.ireport.com
www.txteagle.com
www.frontlinesms.com
www.theextraordinaries.org
The last website is Colker's own project where anyone with a mobile device can take part in completing microtasks and microvolunteering in their spare time. A boiled down description from The Extraordinaries website-- Our Theory of Change: Americans have spare time – billions of hours – but in small windows of idle moments: sitting in an airport, waiting in a doctor’s office, riding the bus to work, and more. If we can reach people during these spare moments we harness a huge pool of untapped human energy.-- so by reaching these people on their mobile device they can do a simple task during one of these idle moments like transcribe a few words of a subtitle for a human rights video. Add all the idle moments together and the whole film gets subtitled in no time. The idea of harnessing large groups of people to take action using a mobile device certainly had us all thinking of how this can translate to documentary marketing and distribution.
The second presentation was from Ken Eklund and Tony Walsh and was titled Changing The Game about how gaming projects are being built and utilized to help promote social issue documentaries. I'll admit, this is the one presentation that didn't hold a ton of interest for me...I'm not much of a gamer, but it still got me thinking-- a few interesting aspects...1.) Every social tool (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube) has a gaming aspect to it and attracts certain people to this leadership board aspect (# of friends, # of followers, # of views). And in the end people participate in many of these social networks for the same reason they play games...the reward. Action = Reward is usually the engine that drives participation in many social circles.
The third and final presentation was titled The Future Of Social Networks and was a two-parter-- first Patrice O'Neill showed how she built a national movement-- www.niot.org -- to help communities fight against hate crimes, around her film Not In Our Town. This was a very impressive example of not just having a website to promote your film, but to really create a stand alone site and movement that takes off and becomes its own successful entity. This is really what the BAVC Producers Institute is all about, and what we hope to do ourselves this week. Patrice did just that two years ago, when she developed the prototype for www.niot.org at the very first BAVC Producers Institute.
And finally, Evan Goldin from Ning.com gave is a look at the website that allows you to build your own social network to find/reach audiences with similar interests. Having already explored Ning and developed a Ning site for "The Way We Get By" a few months ago, I was familiar with the basics of the website. What I found most interetsing was how much your Ning page could be customized. It seems Ning may be a great alternative to filmmakers hoping to create a clean, easy to use, classy looking website for their film, with just a small amount of money needed to pay a web designer to customize your Ning page. We'll certainly be thinking about that in the early stages of our next film.
Next up...we finally get to work on our projects!! Updates and blogging to follow...
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Boston screening-COME ON OUT!
I wanted to let you know that we are having a very special screening in Boston on April 26 at 12pm at the Brattle Theater. We're hoping that you could let your friends in Boston know about the screening....also our three subjects..Bill, Joan and Jerry will be there to surprise the audience.
Help us spread the word!
Here is a link for additional info:
http://www.thewaywegetbymovie.com/independent-film-festival-boston/2009-04-26
SEE YOU THIS SUNDAY!!
Help us spread the word!
Here is a link for additional info:
http://www.thewaywegetbymovie.com/independent-film-festival-boston/2009-04-26
SEE YOU THIS SUNDAY!!
Monday, April 20, 2009
THE WAY WE GET BY wins in Atlanta
We won BEST DOCUMENTARY at the Atlanta Film Festival!
http://atlantafilmfestival.com/component/option,com_myblog/show,09-ATLFF-Jury-Award-Winners.html/Itemid,48/
http://atlantafilmfestival.com/component/option,com_myblog/show,09-ATLFF-Jury-Award-Winners.html/Itemid,48/
Sunday, April 5, 2009
TWWGB WINS AUDIENCE AWARD AT FULL FRAME FILM FESTIVAL
THE WAY WE GET BY wins the AUDIENCE AWARD at the Full Frame Film Festival!! THANK YOU to those who came out to watch our film in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina. We are thrilled to win this prestigious award and are so excited to continue to screen the film to audiences across the country!
Monday, September 22, 2008
Independent Film Week- NYC September 2008
Aron and I just returned from Independent Film Week (IFP Market) in New York City. For the filmmakers out there, you NEED to attend this week when your film is close to ready. There were 75 documentary films chosen for this week. We had the opportunity to meet with key film festival programmers and distributors. One on one meetings are arranged with industry professionals who are interested in your film. We came to NYC with a number of meetings and then had just as many side meetings while we were there.
One of the highlights of the week was meeting other filmmakers who were accomplished in their own right and were working hard on some amazing projects as well.
For a few years now, other filmmakers told us we should apply to IFW. I now know why so many people talk about IFW. This week will not only benefit The Way We Get By but also our future projects!
One of the highlights of the week was meeting other filmmakers who were accomplished in their own right and were working hard on some amazing projects as well.
For a few years now, other filmmakers told us we should apply to IFW. I now know why so many people talk about IFW. This week will not only benefit The Way We Get By but also our future projects!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Rough Cut is MOVING FORWARD
We are working hard on refining the rough cut for the film and making it stronger (and shorter). We will be showing our advisers another cut of the film at the end of the week. The meetings so far have been incredibly inspiring and we are looking forward to showing you it soon! Make sure to check back for updates on rough cut screenings near you!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
The Way We Get By
This is an exciting time for The Way We Get By. We are working hard on our rough cut and it is really coming together. Our music composer is working with select scenes from the film and Aron is editing and refining the film. It is so exciting to see it all come together after all of these years.
Thank you for your support!
Thank you for your support!
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