Apr 27 2010

(Social Media Expert PanelHollywood, CA)  This year’s Los Angeles Showbiz Expo took place last weekend, April 24-25, at the Los Angeles Convention Center. While the actual exposition was smaller than in years past, I found the real value to be the wide range of workshops offering valuable insight by industry veterans. One such workshop I attended and found especially valuable was titled “Social Media for Film & TV.” The panel was moderated by Robin Rowe (Co-founder| ScreeenPlayLab , COO | MovieEditor.com) and Gabrielle Pantera (Co-Founder | ScreenPlayLab, Executive Producer | Gosh!TV) and included the following impressive ensemble of entertainment industry social media experts:

Jeff Ragovin (CRO | Buddy Media)
Jan Coleman (Executive Producer | MTV’s “The Buried Life”)
Todd Greene (Consultant | MovieSet)
Linda Nelson (Co-Founder | Nelson Madison Films/Indie Rights)
Adam Armus (Executive Producer | NBC TV’s “Heroes”)

The workshop experts offered a nearly constant stream of social media “takeaways” that can be used by anyone interested promoting themselves or their project online. Below are my top 10 list of “takeaways” from this session:

  • Create an online presence from day 1 of your project! It is never too early to start building a fanbase.
  • The Facebook page for your project should be separate from your personal profile page.
  • Let go of your content! Let people get involved that otherwise would not.
  • Build an audience and the sponsors (read: money) will follow!
  • Social media feeds are proving to be a more accurate predictor of box office revenues than more traditional methods (http://mashable.com/2010/04/02/twitter-the-killer-box-office-predictor-2/)
  • Use social media to let others tell their story!
  • Advertise on Facebook. It is very targeted and cheap!
  • With the disappearance of middlemen it is now up to you to find the target audience for your project!
  • Millennials gravitate towards authentic prosocial action. The key word is authentic!
  • Find a “voice” for your Twitter feed. Use separate Twitter accounts for different voices.
  • Feedback from social media can act like a focus group and may be used to help direct your project as it is being developed.

Yes, I know there are actually 11 items here. I threw in the last one for free! Good luck on your next project. Just remember to go out, go online and BE SEEN!

Jason Waterman
CTO & Co-Founder | FilmEmerge

http://www.filmemerge.com

Mar 24 2010

The “D” Film Industry Represents Well in LA!

Written By: Jason | Category: News | Comments : 1 comment

Beverly Hills, CA – The 2nd Annual Film Detroit Panel Discussion took place Tue night, March 23rd at the WGA West Theatre in Beverly Hills. Twelve expert panelists from Detroit and their supporters traveled from Detroit to Los Angeles to present and answer questions about the state of the Michigan Film Industry. The two hour event was hosted by Chris Baum of Film Detroit and featured two panelist discussions – ‘People’ & ‘Places’. Over 200 attendees, mostly representing various Los Angeles based entertainment and production companies, came to learn more about the emerging Michigan Film Industry.

Panel #1: ‘People’ expert panelists included:  Paul Fitzpatrick (Entertainment lawyer for Dickinson Wright), Ele Bardha (SAG Council Member), Joe Bessacini (Cast & Crew), and Carrie Ray (Owner of Carrie Ray Casting). Discussion topics centered on the growing experience level of Michigan cast and crews, moving of productions from Iowa to Michigan after the freezing of the tax credit in that state, availability of numerous cheap Detroit filming locations including hospitals and schools, and, of course, several questions concerning the details of the Michigan tax credit law.

Panel #2: ‘Places’ expert panelists included: Bart Rosenblatt (Producer of ‘The Irishman’), Jeff Spilman (Managing partner of S3 Entertainment Group), and Tony Wenson (Studio Operations Director for Raleigh Studios Michigan). Discussion topics for this session centered on the state incentive process, the status of the new Raleigh Studios in Michigan, and the new production permit processes for local cities.

A hosted reception followed the panel sessions and provided an opportunity for the Detroit and Los Angeles film communities to discuss together in a more informal and relaxed atmosphere. There was definitely a buzz in the air and the feeling that this is just the beginning of more good things to come for film in Michigan. After all, it is at events like this where partnerships are formed and deals are made in the City of Angels!

Thanks again to Film Detroit for the great Detroit hospitality shown and for putting on such a first class event!

Oct 19 2009

FilmEmerge Foundation Inaugural Commercial Film Challenge

Written By: Jonathan Rayos | Category: News | Comments : 0 comments

Commercial Film ChallengeLeading film and movie portal, FilmEmerge creates a venue for budding filmmakers to help promote their cinematography skills, while assisting local businesses with their marketing and advertising.

The FilmEmerge Commercial Film Challenge is the first local business and filmmaker commercial competition in Michigan, bringing filmmaking teams together to make a :30 second and 1:00 minute commercial from scratch — teams write, shoot, edit and score a commercial. FilmEmerge plans on rolling out the competition to other major markets.

“With the current economic environment for small businesses, in conjunction with the emerging Michigan Film Industry Tax Incentives for filmmaking, we had to create a forum in which we could give back to the small business owners,” says FilmEmerge CEO-Jonathan Rayos.

“The Commercial Film Challenge proceeds will help benefit local homeless shelters, will help create the ‘Movies For Shelters’ program and also help in creating scholarships for filmmakers,” adds Mr. Rayos.


Filmmakers compete to see who can make the best commercial. The winning commercial receives a $250 cash prize. Other electronic prizes will also be available. All commercials will be promoted online.

Mr. Rayos says, “local Businesses will get a :30 second and 1:00 minute web commercial made to promote their business by local filmmakers,” he adds, “Where else can you get a commercial made for less than $100?”


FilmEmerge is a movie production resource center providing social media for the Michigan film and entertainment industry. Originally begun as a film production directory for those offering production services, it quickly grew into also a non-profit film foundation for training and education. Currently, FilmEmerge has more than 270 production categories. The differentiator technology of FilmEmerge includes a customizable profile page for directory listings, a marketing-friendly URL to attach one’s business name, a customizable banner, personalized and up loadable news, events, videos, an area for verified film credits, and a Save/Share component to share profiles with other social media sites
About FilmEmergeFilmEmerge.com - Be Seen!
http://www.filmemerge.com
http://www.filmemerge.com/challenge/
http://www.filmemerge.org
Contact: Charlie Ploughman,
734.474.1246
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