Producers Peter Katz and Don Le share why filmmakers should produce film pilots (proof of concepts) to market their projects online. This is based on their experience creating Already Gone ( http://vimeo.com/40921995 ), a short adapted from a feature script written by Bill Balas. Directed by Ross Ching, starring Harry Shum (Glee) and Shawn Ashmore (X-Men). Check out the credits here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2378083/

1. STORY
R&D
Peter
Katz
@PeterKatz1
Don
Le
@sagafron8er

2. Already
Gone
In
2012,
we
produced
this
film
pilot.

3. What’s
a
film
pilot?

4. Film
pilots
are
prototypes
for
movies:
Already
Gone
started
as
a
113
pg
crime
script
wriRen
by
Bill
Balas.
We
adapted
it
into
this
3
minute
short
directed
by
Ross
Ching,
starring
Harry
Shum
(Glee)
and
Shawn
Ashmore
(X-­‐Men).

5. 2005-­‐Neil
Blomkamp
directed
2009
-­‐it
was
adapted
into
the
the
film
pilot
Alive
in
Joburg.
theatrical
film
District
9.

6. Film
pilots
currently
in
development

7. Why
make
a
film
pilot?

8. Share
your
vision

9. In
less
8me
it
takes
to
drink
a
cup
of
coffee,
you
can
watch
Already
Gone.
It’s
easier
to
get
buyers
to
make
the
small
commitment
to
watch
a
video
before
reading
an
en8re
script.

10. Directors
will
interpret
the
same
story
differently.
Film
pilots
show
viewers
the
visual
style
of
the
movie.
Bat
nipples
Joel
Schumacher
Christopher
Nolan

11. Communicate
unique
ideas.
Many
people
aren’t
familiar
with
South
Africa’s
culture
and
poli8cal
landscape.
That
said,
District
9’s
film
pilot
showed
financiers
it
could
resonate
with
many
fans.

12. Exists
on
Mul8plagorms
The
Resistance
series
started
as
a
proof
of
concept.
Ghost
House
Pictures
(Sam
Raimi’s
company)
found
the
teaser
online,
then
Starz
co-­‐produced
it
as
a
1
hour
TV
pilot
that
premiered
on
Syfy
Channel.
Finally,
it
was
released
as
8
short
episodes
on
Xbox
Live
and
iTunes.

13. It
doesn’t
maRer
where
you
live.
Sam
Raimi
op8oned
the
film
pilot
Panic
ARack
aher
discovering
it
online.
The
filmmakers
live
in
Uruguay,
a
long
way
from
Hollywood.

14. Produc8on
companies
won’t
accept
your
script
submissions,
unless
you
have
representa8on.

15. Once
a
film
pilot
is
released
online,
any
produc8on
company
can
see
it.

16. Many
films
are
based
on
a
pre-­‐
awareness
property:
ar8cle,
board
game,
video
game,
comic,
toy,
true
story,
novel,
TV
show,
amusement
park
ride,
remake,
sequel,
prequel,
reboot…
ANYTHING
with
a
fanbase.
Film
pilots
aRract
fans
before
the
movie
is
made.

17. It’s
gekng
cheaper
to
produce
and
distribute
professional
content

18. “The
same
camera
that
the
Peter
Jacksons,
and
the
David
Finchers
of
the
world
use
to
make
movies,
all
the
young
independent
filmmakers
with
much
smaller
budgets
are
using
the
same
exact
tools.”
Ted
Schilowitz,
co-­‐founder
of
RED
cameras.

19. “Video
technology
puts
filmmaking
back
in
the
hands
of
the
people.”
Robert
Rodriguez

20. Fric8onless
distribu8on

21. Developing
stories
for
the
web.

22. Developing
stories
for
the
web.
First
10
seconds
of
a
film
pilot
MUST
hook
the
audience.
You
are
compe8ng
against
Facebook
and
a
million
other
distrac8ons.

23. Film
pilots
sell
an
experience.
Boil
your
story
down
to
its
essence.
Anything
that’s
not
memorable
should
be
cut.

24. Write
roles
for
talented
actors
who
are
looking
to
explore
new
types
of
characters
and
genres.
Don
Cheadle
as
Captain
Planet

25. Sell
the
sh#t
out
of
it!

26. Before
releasing
your
film
pilot,
pitch
press
a
unique
story
that
would
interest
their
readers.
Examples
from
Already
Gone:
Wired
covered
it
as
an
ac8on
film.
Mashable’s
story
focused
on
innova8on/social
media.

27. Shoot
behind
the
scenes
pictures/videos
for
the
press.

28. To
cut
through
all
the
noise,
make
sure
all
your
ar8cles
are
lined
to
up
to
be
released
at
the
same
8me.

29. Post
release

30. Study
your
fans.
Facebook
and
many
other
sites
provide
info
about
your
community.

31. Now
use
your
film
pilot,
press,
fanbase,
script,
and
team
to
pitch
buyers.

32. Make
something
cool!
Even
if
your
movie
doesn’t
get
financed,
you
will
s8ll
have
a
film
pilot
to
showcase
your
skills.

33. We
thank
our
talented
cast/crew.
@Mellylee_
shot
the
set
pictures.