Sales Update

STANDING FIRM is slowly making its way into Bookstores around the US.  I’ve called many to find out if they’ve even heard of the film.  Most tell me no, which is no surprise.  Little films like this aren’t known by everyone.  I went to a local Christian Bookstore today I hadn’t heard about in my area…about 40 minutes away.  It’s not apart of any big chain.  The film wasn’t on the shelf so I asked the lady at the desk if anyone had asked for the film.  She said many have come in looking for it but they’d never heard of it.  Their manager ordered copies the day it came out since so many had come in looking but they were told that there wasn’t any in stock for THEM to order.  It seems that every single place that ordered the film didn’t order enough, even those intending to give it to other retailers.  That was a little discouraging but in a way encouraging.  Anyone who doesn’t have it that’s being asked for it will definitely buy some.  So no matter how well the sales are doing, they’ve been kept alive by that simple fact.  The lady at this store looked at me funny when I said the film I was asking about was mine, and we all got talking (there were others there that sorta showed up) about the film, they asked their questions, and I gave the people at the counter a free copy of it so they could see it.  They’ve already ordered some, but I figured it would just be a good gesture since they’re local and I’ll likely need their support in the future.  They were happy to accept it.  I blushed a little when the lady said “I’ve never met someone who made a movie before.”  It’s still very weird for me, and I don’t think that’ll stop.

Amazon.com keeps running out, and every time they order a box, they’re almost sold by the time they finally list the film as “In Stock.”  Though, frustratingly they wait too long to order more and it’s listed “Out of Stock” for a week which either drops my sales, or they go somewhere else to find it.  All of this stuff requires watch on a daily basis to keep going and to make sure I’m in the know of where my film is, isn’t, where it needs to be, etc.  It’s not always fun, because it seems most of my time spent on Facebook is linking people where to buy it since they can’t seem to find it (um…Google?), or they queued it on Netflix and it’s telling them “Short” or “Long” waits…which they aren’t happy about.  Netflix didn’t order enough either it seems given how many are bugging me about it so hopefully they’ll order more.  The initial order they made was double what was expected, so this is a good sign.  All in all this film from the middle of nowhere is doing pretty well, and I hope this continues.

A New Marketing Push

I’ve begun dabbling into running Ads on Facebook.  It costs money of course, but my efforts are going to go so far then become a bit stagnant on the STANDING FIRM fan page.  I still have some ammunition, but I’m going to begin looking at the Ad system again after leaving it alone for a year.  Of course, my concern in covering my expenses is there, but you don’t have to go crazy to do OK on there.  Granted, new fans doesn’t mean squat if they don’t go and buy it somewhere, but I won’t know 100% for sure the actual affect it has.  I’ll have to just be careful and weigh out my options and be smart.  $5 or 10 or $15 a day is a lot to spend when you consider a 30 day month…so I’ll be treading slowly unless my Ads get good results and the profits cover things.  We’ll see…

Moving Soon

I only have about 3 weeks left in my parents house, that’s a little unsettling.  I’m very excited to get out of here, but I’ll be sad to leave for good.  I’ve been here my entire life save a few years as a kid.  I learned almost everything I know in the same room I’m typing this.  I’m happy though to be getting my own place, getting my own furniture, and starting my own life as fully self-sufficient and ready to take life on longterm.  It’s a bit of a risk, but what isn’t?  I don’t currently make enough minimum to be completely OK for a really really long period of time, I do need to see growth in my income, but I’m trusting this will be the case.  I can’t wait forever and if I waited to make every decision when things were 150% certain … STANDING FIRM wouldn’t exist.

Reviewing Films

I got a more balanced review of STANDING FIRM today which was nice to see.  Let me be clear, I’m not going to bash my film.  I think many can be far too nice to some movies, including me at times.  Doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy the good comments though It’s actually a little annoying however when some judge a film negatively based on other films that cost 10, 20, or even 30x more and involved waves of people in the process to complete, and so much more.  I explain a lot of the films shortcomings in my commentaries on the DVD, and even go into why they’re there.  I’m no fool, I see the mistakes in my own movie.  I’m not happy about them, nor do I intend to make them again (I hope…knock on wood).  If I do make them again, it won’t be because I did things the same way (in every aspect of the process) all over again expecting a different result.  The cinematography is inconsistent for instance, and I would’ve liked to get more coverage.  There are actually quite a few wides in the film, but some wish I backed up more.  I’ll agree with that, but then explain we had 2 people on crew, limited lights and time, and actors who might not have the ability to recreate something in a close-up that they gave me in a wide.  What’s that mean?  MOVE IN.  Move in and get what you need to make the scene work, because it’s 5pm and whoever lives in the house you’re shooting in will be home any moment, and the person who’s acting in the front of the camera has a bunch of kids who need to have their mom/dad come home so the babysitter can leave, and yada yada yada.  Welcome to no-budget filmmaking.  What?  You were expecting something else?  While I understand most folks will simply judge a film outright as they have zero knowledge of what it takes to make a film, or how to tell what a budget was (for the most part), I try and look at what they had to work with, and what kind of result they got with it.  That’s why FLYWHEEL is my favorite if not one of my favorite Christian films.  Somehow even with the problems the film has (which are many, especially technical), the film WORKS…and works well with the viewer.  That’s a though thing to do, so if STANDING FIRM is my FLYWHEEL then I’m more than proud (in Christ of course, lol!)

Closing

I’ve gotten a lot of good response on my previous post regarding money and filmmaking.  Thanks to all for supporting the article.  I’ve gotten some kind words from other filmmakers who feel the same way and never had an outlet to share it.  That’s sorta the point I think of even posting it.  There are many things I need to get off my chest regarding this industry, Christians in general (including my own problems), and much more.  Blogging is a good outlet, so if you have time I recommend it.  It’s like a Journal, except it’s public and while you can spread some great things very quickly, you can get in trouble very quickly too

P.S. – A film I had the pleasure to help work on for a brief time has a new website and will be in theaters in Feb 2011.  It’s called The Grace Card.  When I was about to leave California last year I got a phone call from a guy named David Evans who was looking for some help in a film he was doing, this happened to be it.  I gave him some names and whatever help I could.  I did an older website for the film and some initial poster/graphics concepts, started the fan page and grew it to about 6000 or so as a base, did some location scouting and photos, was present for the first read-through (which was very exciting and went very well), helped find one of the lead actors and a crew member, and a few other oddball things.  It was a pleasure, and I’m VERY excited to see this film when it comes out.  It’s the first thing that I’ve had any connection with to play in a theater.  WOO!