Working in collaboration with the Florida Film Festival, the spring 2009 “film producer” class played host to a relatively new concept in independent film marketing. Student groups from the class were given the opportunity to use their skills and knowledge to help market one of twenty independently financed films and documentaries selected for this years festival circuit.
The purpose of the class was threefold and beneficial to all parties involved, for it not only allowed the film students minor access and experience in the industry but it also provided the independent filmmakers with a free labor source to market their films as well as increasing the rate of attendance, and subsequent revenue, at the festival itself.
The majority of the class was spent preparing the student groups for their upcoming task. Along with multiple guest lectures from people in the business; such as Christine Vachon, Richard Grula, Shannon Lacek and Mathew Curtis, the class was also designed to provide insights into various marketing strategies. Some of these strategies included the use of online advertising, the creation of blog sites, and an overall coverage of guerilla-style street marketing.
The members of our team included Jarrod Cain (Cinema Studies major, graduating May 2009), Salvatore Depasquale (Cinema Studies major, graduating spring 2010), and Alex Figueroa (Cinema Studies major, graduating May 2009). The film that our group was assigned to market is a film by debut artist E.E. Cassidy called “We Are the Mods.” The film was produced by Cassidy and Robert Poswall, and written by Cassidy and Bruce Pavalon. This final report was intended to reflect upon our group’s failures & successes, likes & dislikes, what worked vs. what didn’t, and our overall experience with this particular assignment.
