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SXSW 2008 & From Here to Awesome - the original digital road trip...

Attention Filmmakers Join The Revolution!

Submission Steps

Posted by lw

February 11, 2008

Step 1. Make sure to register with From Here to Awesome and create an account

Step 2. Educate yourself. The Workbook Project is a great resource for filmmakers and contains hours of interviews. You’ll learn a lot from the dozens of other innovative D.I.Y. projects. We have also created several tutorials on the help section of From Here to Awesome that give tips on how to best use blip.tv, youtube, myspace, OurStage, twitter, flickr and other recourses for building your film’s online identity.

Step 3. Make friends with the other filmmakers. So far over a 100 filmmakers (as of 2.10.08) have registered with the festival and are currently creating submission videos. Take a look at each of their submission videos, read their blogs, follow them on twitter and spread the word about their films to your friends. You can also learn about the films created by From Here to Awesome’s founders; Head Trauma, Four Eyed Monsters and We Are The Strange. We’ve each been able to build huge audiences for our films online, had a theatrical life for the film in the real world, secured DVD deals. DIY distribution has created direct connections with our audiences worldwide.

Step 4. Make your Submission Video. Simply explain in a submission video why it is you made the film and why you think your film is awesome. There is a reason you’ve turned your own personal life upside down in the name of filmmaking. What is that reason? What is it that you are trying to say? Show some clips from your film and let the audience know the journey the film has taken you on. End by explaining what you hope to see happen with your film and how the audience can help. Don’t forget to grab some GRAPHICS for the opening of your submission video?

Step 5. Upload your Submission Video. Follow the tutorials for uploading your submission video to blip.tv, myspace, youtube, OurStage and a variety of other sites that you may want to post to as well. Make sure you tag your videos with AwesomeFeature & FH2Afeature or AwesomeShort and FH2Ashort. For short films you can either make a submission video, or do a simple on camera intro or just post the whole short film, it’s up to you.

Step 6. Return to From Here to Awesome and log in to your account to finish the submission process. Make sure to have your myspace, youTube, OurStage and BlipTV upload URLs handy. Create a From Here to Awesome Page. Fill in your details on the site to officially submit to From Here to Awesome so your film will have it’s own page.

Step 7. Spread the word. Start sending friends, family and fans to your page on From Here to Awesome (fromheretoawesome.com/yourfilm) so they can see your video and support it by clicking “This film seems Awesome, Notify me of screenings.” Soon people all over the world will be wanting to see your film and this will factor in to how we create the top 10 feature and top 10 short films list.

Step 8. The Showcase. 10 feature films and 10 short films will be a part of a world wide showcase in JUNE that will kick off in Paris. The top short and top feature filmmakers will be flown to Paris all expenses paid thanks to Wonderland’s “Alice in Paris” event. The top short and feature will screen in the historic Cinematheque Francaise. Afterwards there will be a special party and awards ceremony.

But before the films screen that evening From Here to Awesome, the Workbook Project, and Wonderland will join forces with Power to the Pixel to present a ground-breaking event that brings together key digital pioneers from around the world who are changing the way that films reach audiences and audiences discover films. Power to the Pixel is a rich mix of visionaries and expertise from leading filmmakers, entrepreneurs, networks and companies who are reinventing film distribution, promotion, finance and filmmaking.

During the month of JUNE screenings will happen all over the world as the top 10 features and shorts screen in theaters, living rooms, online and via mobile devices around the world - with a direct return in revenue to the filmmaker. For instance, at participating theatrical venues, 50 percent of what is collected from theater entrance will go back to the filmmakers whose films are screened. Showcased and festival films will be able to use Brave New Theaters, Amazon Unbox, Vudu, Heretic Films, Breakthrough Distribution, IndieFlix, Bside, Withoutabox, DogWoof and a host of outer outlets to reach people in living rooms and online around the world. During this time filmmakers can also sell DVDs and downloads of their film directly to their audience. Heretic Films will provide free errors and emissions insurance to the top 10 features. These top 10 filmmakers will also get free DVDs of their film provided by Breakthrough Distribution. Other awards for the top rated films to be announced in the coming weeks.

Step 9. Virtual Panels. While the showcase is happening there will also be a virtual conference called “The 2008 Awesome Workbook”. The idea is that the filmmaking community already has all of the knowledge it needs to fund future projects, create revenue from their films, improve filmmaking craft and improve filmmaking business skills. All we have to do is take filmmakers that are experts in a particular area and have them share their knowledge with other filmmakers. As professional communicators in the video medium creating this resource should be no problem. By communicating all of the knowledge each of us has and by putting it all in one search-able download-able resource, we can all become completely unstoppable filmmakers.

Step 10. Awesome. Everything that will have happened will be pretty damn awesome, but thats not the end. After JUNE, we’ll have become a strong community that can decide collectively what needs to happen next to keep the film industry evolving beyond hollywood, beyond distributors, beyond corporate media and into the business of connecting people who have something to express with people who want that expression. That is the day we are working towards. That is the day the film medium will ascend. That day that will be awesome.

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The Festival's Mission

The festival’s goal is to create a direct connection between filmmaker and audience. There are NO submission fees for filmmakers. FHTA attempts to create multiple revenue opportunities for the festival filmmakers by providing a platform that enables distribution across multiple outlets - mobile, online, living rooms and theaters.

Filmmakers retain all their rights and choose how to price their work.In an interesting twist we’ve decided to put the programming of the festival directly in the hands of the audience. By harnessing the power of social tools, audience members will be able to discover, share and assist in programming the festival.

Getting Started

STEP ONE - create an FHTA account.

STEP TWO - READ THIS and create a submission video and upload it to blipTV, myspace, and youTube

STEP THREE - come back and finish submitting your project

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