I don’t have the stats to prove it, but I’d guess that a surprisingly high percentage (maybe even a majority) of the films produced in the US in a given year are independent documentaries.  Certainly that’s true of the 1100+ independent filmmakers in the Fractured Atlas membership, many of whom participate in our fiscal sponsorship program.

Of course, very few of these films ever get seen by more than a handful of people.  Movies are mass media in America, and if you’re not going to gross $50 million in your opening weekend, it’s tough to find a serious distributor.

Thankfully, the internet is systematically dismantling the very notion of mass media. Today, via Walter Mossberg, I learned about a new service called SnagFilms, which aims to faciliatate the viral distribution of independent documentary films.  As Mossberg puts it:

The service … allows anyone with a blog, a Web site, or even a page on a social-networking site, to open a virtual movie theater and show these documentaries, free.  The virtual theater is a small widget that contains the film, and that can be embedded easily and quickly in a wide variety of popular social-networking services and blog platforms.  No technical knowledge is needed.

SnagFilms already has an impressive roster of films to choose from, and a wide open content model promises an even greater bounty in the future.  Filmmakers can submit their work simply by emailing submissions@snagfilms.com.

So let’s try this out, shall we?  A quick perusal of the site turned up a few interesting-looking films.  (Disclaimer: I haven’t actually watched any of these, so view at your own risk.  They may be offensive or simply not very good.)

First up is Heavy Metal in Baghdad:

Next we have Freestyle, the Art of Rhyme:

And finally, Black, White, and Gray: a Portrait of Sam Wagstaff and Robert Mapplethorpe:

Just about a month after the Flickr announcement, we’ve got some more bling for your online member profile!

If you’ve got a blog somewhere, the odds are pretty good that you’re publishing a feed (either RSS or Atom). Well, you can now enter your feed url into your profile settings and it will automatically pull and display snippets of your recent posts. Here’s what mine looks like.

This site gets a lot of traffic, and it’s pretty well targeted for your audience, so hopefully this is a nice way to drum up some interest and get a little exposure.

Let me know if you have any questions or have trouble getting it to work.

I recently met with Seedco Financial and went over some of their services. I wanted to post it because the services are very helpful for startups and those forming a non-profit organization. Here’s some information about the great services they offer.

Through Seedco Financial and its New York City ArtBusiness Initiative, you may be eligible for low cost financing and free consulting services!

Free customized training and business advisory services on various topics including financial management, marketing & business planning, resource development, facilities development, and other topics. Services will be provided through intensive group sessions, workshops and one-on-one consultations in collaboration with specialized arts technical assistance providers.

Seedco Financial also provides below market rate loans ranging from $25,000 to $1.5 million with interest rates as low as 3%. Loan funds may be used for long-term working capital, expansion, cash flow needs, financial restructuring, and real estate projects.

Seedco Financial is a nonprofit community development financial institution that offers technical assistance and below market-rate loans to community organizations, nonprofits, and businesses in economically distressed communities. Since February 2005, the ArtBusiness Initiative has disbursed over $4.8 million in loans and worked with more than 450 arts groups in New York City.

To access services or to get more information, contact Edgar Zavala at (646) 843-6510 or ezavala@seedco.org

A while back I wrote an article for the Fractured Atlas Newsletter (RIP) entitled “Defining Success.” In it, I wrote about the need for artists to develop new ways to measure their accomplishment outside the paradigm of “blockbuster” and “hobbiest.”

Kevin Kelly takes a go at developing a practical definition and his conclusions are worth a read. He eloquently puts into words some of the ideas that have been churning around my marketing consultant brain for a long time. He addresses The Long Tail and where the creative individual fits into the equation. Kevin puts forth the idea that in order for an artist to find sustainability, she needs to find “1,000 true fans.”

You don’t need to aim for the short head of best-sellerdom to escape the long tail. There is a place in the middle, that is not very far away from the tail, where you can at least make a living. That mid-way haven is called 1,000 True Fans. It is an alternate destination for an artist to aim for.

Check out the full article here. I’d call this post a must-read for those trying to “make it” as an artist.

This piece originally appeared as an article in the Fractured Atlas newsletter on January 15, 2005.

For the grassroots impresario, few challenges are as daunting as getting your message out to the masses. Broadway shows and museum exhibits enjoy six or seven-figure marketing budgets, while those of us in the lower echelons of the arts ecosystem are lucky to scrounge up three or four figures for promoting our work. But a tiny marketing budget doesn’t necessarily mean a tiny audience. If you’re smart about how you spend your precious pennies, you can get maximum mileage out of your meager resources.

Forget About Conventional Advertising
Advertising campaigns rely on repetition. Commercial messages sink in only after they’re heard numerous times in different contexts. Bombarding a would-be customer with the same pitch day and night, on TV and in magazines, at work and at home can be brutally effective, but it is brutally expensive as well. Independent artists, as a rule, don’t have anywhere near the resources to mount a comprehensive campaign. Without repetition, your message is sure to be lost in the din of all of those other advertisers vying for the customer’s attention. One or two modest ads simply won’t accomplish much. But if you can break free of the ingrained notion that advertising is a must, you’ll find other more effective ways to get the word out, and you can focus all of your energies on those tactics.

Jumpstarting Word of Mouth
Unlike a commercial pitch, a single enthusiastic recommendation from a trusted source can be extremely effective at putting butts in seats. Better yet, it’s free! For these two reasons, word of mouth is the most important tool in your arsenal. Although it may seem beyond your control, with a little careful planning you can help ensure that it gets off to a good start. First, assuming your project will be open for a handful of weeks, it’s critical to get the “friends and family” contingent in as early as possible. This is trickier than it sounds, since these folks often feel obligated to come and therefore might put it off until the last possible opportunity. Don’t let them. Make sure everyone involved in the project knows how important it is to get their crew to come sooner rather than later. Second, keep in mind that empty seats are not only worthless, but they’re also lost opportunities to create word of mouth apostles. That means you shouldn’t hesitate to “paper the house”, especially in your first weekend. There are many organizations that will be grateful for comp tickets to distribute. In New York, for example, senior centers, universities, and organizations like Gay Men’s Health Crisis are always eager papering partners. Be generous with them, and they’ll ensure that no valuable seats go to waste.

Hire the Best Publicist You Can Afford
A good review, or even a well-written free listing, can be ten times as effective as an ad. But you’ll need some help getting the attention of busy editors and reviewers, which is why you should shell out a large chunk of whatever budget you have to hire a good publicist. Interview several, get references and recommendations, and try to find someone with a proven track record on similar projects. Publicity is hit or miss, and no publicist can guarantee a review, much less a positive one. What a good press agent has, though, are contacts, credibility, and experience far beyond your own. Leveraging those resources can maximize your chances of enlisting the media as an ally in spreading your message farther and wider than you could ever spread it alone.