Presentation

What are the possible outlets:

Being that my final major project is now complete and to a standard I am satisfied with, there is now the question of where do I take it?

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Festivals:

There are a number of festivals which this product has eligibility for. For instance, the Aesthetica Short Film Festival; there is not just one strictly set genre of films which are submitted and it is aimed at independent film makers rather than industry professionals so, already, my project fits with the criteria. On the official website for the festival, it describes the festival as a, ‘…hotbed for talent discovery and a key annual event for emerging and establishing filmmakers…’ The technical considerations are achievable by the software I used to create Richie’s Lost & Found meaning that there will be no issues regarding quality changes and resolution. They request that films be exported at 24 or 25 frames per second with the audio codec 16bit 48KHz Stereo format. Resolution wise, they require 1920 by 1080p which is exactly what my film is at.

Having attended Aesthetica, I understand how important it is to people and how many people it attracts. Also, whilst with regards to the course my running time originally was a risk, with Aesthetica the running time would not be too excessive as I attended a number of short films with a diverse range of running times. The Silent Child was one of the longest films I saw and it was also one of the most enjoyable. With this in mind, Aesthetica gives me ambition to make sure that if my film is entered into the listings it will perform as well as I believe the Silent Child did, if not towards critic reviews then at least towards members of the audience.

Aesethetica is accepting of both narratives and documentary films and being that Richie’s Lost & Found is a narrative, it passes the first question of what sort of films are accepted. Also, the entry cost is £24 for short films and the deadline is the thirty first of May. Short films are required to have a maximum running time of thirty minutes. My final film is at no risk of exceeding this limit so I feel compelled to enter it into Aesthetica.

Another possible festival for submitting my final product would be the Raindance Film Festival. The website talks about how Raindance was founded by Elliot Grove and how he experimented with the question, ‘…can you make a film with no money, no training and no experience?’ Being that Richie’s Lost & Found was made on a zero budget and without an excess of training, it seems that, again, the project fits the criteria of the festival. They accept short films under 45 minutes and Richie Lost & Found is currently 14 minutes long. As well as this they have a list of the types of films that are expected for submission. They range from ‘Narrative Feature’ through to ‘Music Video’. I believe that Richie’s Lost & Found would fit under ‘Narrative Feature’.

Whilst Raindance would welcome films such as Richie’s Lost & Found for submission, the entry dates are clearly listed below and, as it stands, I have missed them for this year. Admittedly, I could aim to enter it in for the following year but, with the public release date set for the first of July, it seems less inspiring to wait until then. Also, the fees for short films seem excessive and yet for Aesthetica the entry fee has been cut down to £20.

 

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Online Platforms:

One of the most obvious online outlets would be YouTube. YouTube is widely used by a variety of audiences, including that of my target audience. It is also a popular platform for upcoming film makers to submit their short films and allow others to see what they are capable of. In the best case scenarios, people have gained useful contacts through their short films being published to YouTube.

One YouTuber Billy Hanshaw uploaded an opening titles concept for the long running BBC Sci-Fi series Doctor Who. The BBC reached out to Billy and worked collaboratively to make his concept the official opening sequence for series 8. It lasted for three series.

Also, YouTube accepts video files at 1080p down to 240p. Of course, I would prefer my film be seen is the highest possible quality and YouTube allows this.

YouTube Page:

I have uploaded the film to YouTube but it remains unlisted until the 1st of July. After which, it will be available to the public rather than just the cast and crew of the film.

For tags, I added the genre which reads, ‘Action/Adventure/Crime/Thriller’ This will attract my target audience and inform others of the possible codes and conventions which could feature. It is a creative way of hinting and what is to be expected from the product. You can also see the description and the title. The title listing the three actors who represent the mains. Whilst I portray one of the main protagonists along with the other three names, I have based the decision on the characters who have the most lines in the film.

Link to YouTube Channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClhJ9DUvqlp53wk9QLHxmAw

I have also chosen Vimeo as an online outlet. Unlike YouTube, there is no time limit. However, if the file exceeds 500MB then it will not be successfully uploaded. There are fewer limitations to YouTube but the number of quality options are around the same but still of a high standard.

Vimeo Page:

Vimeo is also an outlet used by millions of filmmakers, worldwide so, again, it is extremely useful for upcoming filmmakers who want to gain recognition within the industry.

Link to Vimeo channel: https://vimeo.com/user79192222

 

Here you can see that I have listed the film as ‘Mature’. In the context of a motion picture, it would fall under a certificate rating of 15. In doing this, I feel I am taking the project seriously and making sure it is aimed at the right audience which is people aged 15 and over. As well as this, there is the description. Slightly more brief than the YouTube description but nevertheless, a synopsis.

Link to Film on Vimeo: 

https://vimeo.com/275397430

Using the link from the Vimeo upload, I will also publish the film on my promotional Facebook page on June the 12th. This promotional page shares release dates and important information on Richie’s Lost & Found. Complete with character introductory videos, a trailer and even an official poster, this is another way I am reaching out to my target audience and building anticipation for the final film.

Link to Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/RichieLostandFound/

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Conclusion:

Having missed the deadlines for Raindance Film festival, Aesthetica is the most suitable outlet for entry. It is based in York and, having a family member studying there, it is a place I visit regularly. The requirements meet with that of my final product and it fits within the ‘Narrative Films’ category. Having attended Aesthetica, it would be thrilling to have my own work be part of it as seeing the way the audience confided in the films that were shown and how they reacted so positively, it would be interesting to see what kind of reactions my project would attract.

For online outlets, I am using both YouTube and Vimeo as well as my promotional page for the preview of the final film. A link from Vimeo will be placed into a post on the Facebook page and published at a set time. For YouTube and Vimeo, it will be unlisted until the first of July when I announced it will be released to the public. This will allow me more time to continue building anticipation. Also, Youtube and Vimeo have flexible quality controls with 1080p as the maximum resolution.

Whilst YouTube is good for publicity, there is a limit to the duration of videos uploaded via a channel which is not verified. Verifying the channel is an easy step by step process, however with Vimeo the limit is a lot more flexible. As mentioned before, if the file does not exceed 500MB then it will be uploaded whereas YouTube refuses to upload videos which exceed fifteen minutes. This will not factor my decision to publish the film on YouTube as I already have done so. However, Vimeo is a popular paltform for showreels and high definition short films. It focuses less on gaming channels and music videos, despite them still being present on the website.