As Jane Russell said, “Publicity can be terrible. But only if you don’t have any”. Making a film is not enough; you have to publicize it as well. Being a director, or a producer or an actor or anyone related to that movie, makes you responsible for it. If you have completed your short film, that doesn’t mean your work is over. Now you have to promote it among the audiences. There are many ways to promote a short film innovatively. Here are a few suggestions for all the filmmakers.
1.BUILD A WEBSITE
This is the foremost thing to be done after making the film. Provide all the information about the film and the persons related to it like the director, producer, cast, crew etc. in the website. Do not forget to mention the premiere date of your film. Share all the mediums where your film will be available after its release. Mix and match the design and colour pattern of your web page with the theme of the film. Suppose the film is about LGBTQ rights, then use blue, pink and a mixture of bright colours on your page and for the poster of your film.
2.INVEST YOUR EFFORTS ON THE TEASER AND TRAILER
The second thing you have to work on is your teaser. Make it as enticing as possible. If the viewers are lured by the teaser,then only they will be compelled to watch the trailer and then the short film.
If your teaser was successful enough to make the audiences wait for its trailer, then the next thing you should be working on is that trailer. The trailer should be a glimpse of the movie. It should reveal the theme of your short film and increase the curiosity of the viewers. Do not disclose too much in the trailer. Its already a short film, disclosing too much in the trailer will bring loss to the movie. So neither reveal too much nor too less in your trailer. One more thing you would-be-superfamous-filmmakers, do mention the film’s website at the end of the trailer.
3. VIRAL IT ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Its 2017 people, if you will not use social media to promote your short film now,then what is the use of being ‘tech savvy’. Create a Facebook page, Twitter feed, Instagram account and promote your film via these sites. Create a YouTube Channel and launch the official trailer on that channel. Share the website link of the film on these pages. These are some of the best ways of promoting a film; medium through which you can publicize your movie among the people of diverse age groups. Most of us nowadays come across new films,books, or even daily news via these networking sites only. On Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter you can share videos like off-screen clips from the movie, or making of the film, cast and crew interviews or promotional videos, to catch the audience’s interest till the movie is released. Arrange popular stars on the social portal to promote your film, your workload of promoting will reduce and chances of success will automatically increase.
4. FILM FESTIVALS
Film festivals are a great way of promoting any film. Some filmmakers prefer releasing their films first in the film festivals and after that it is made public. Gather all the information about the film festivals you are interested in promoting your film. Then approach the movie critics, journalists, bloggers and other media persons who are attending the film festival and inform them about your film. Publish their reviews on your site and pages. Mostly, people watch movies after reading reviews, so make sure you have made a movie which will get you good reviews.
Film festivals are also a great place to meet established filmmakers. You can talk to them about your work and use their advice in your current and upcoming projects.
5. PROMOTE IT IN PERSON
Well you must promote it personally apart from posting it on social media. You can go to college fests, radio shows, give interviews, and connect live on Facebook with the viewers and answer their questions. This way you will reach a wider audience. College fests are a great platform to promote films among the youth. You might be thinking who promotes a short film in college fests; well someone has to be the first one. Why not you?
Promote what you love folks because no one else cares about your film the way you do. Happy Promoting!
– Isha Mehrotra
