This was a great internship. I was intitially upset because I wasn't really given hands on tasks or sat down and taught, but that just pushed me more to soak in everything around me and learn from absolutly everything I could.
Here are some of the major understandings I now have:
1- As in real estate, where location is everything, in film, distribution is everything
2- Viral marketing is hugely popular and effective, but hard to prove
3- If distributors and producers aren't able to connect with Internet marketing and its major presence, they will quickely be pushed out of the market
4- ALWAYS as questions. CLARIFY EVERYTHING! You will make less mistakes and you will learn more!
5- Know your product, know your audience, and you are more prepared than anything
6- Contextualize
7- Take each challenge as it comes
8- Always trendspot! You be the decider of whether or not you want to ride the tail of it or break free from it
9- Take it upon yourself to learn and network, no one will do it for you
10- Carry yourself strongly and the rest will follow
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
DAY 10
This festival was a great arena to work on trend spotting. Walking around the riviera and palais really gives you a good idea of what is in right now. For example, I noticed that the major theme to this years festival was3D .
Both the dailies and the booths have shown me that 3D imaging is growing enormously. Not only were there 3D glasses floating around everywhere, but the plasma screens from a majority of the booths were projecting 3D films and, hello, the festival opened with a 3D film. In addition to these factors the dailies constantly updated us on how the 3D market was doing, and how many 3D theaters were opening in the US, Canada, Europe and Asia. The numbers were shocking.
Both the dailies and the booths have shown me that 3D imaging is growing enormously. Not only were there 3D glasses floating around everywhere, but the plasma screens from a majority of the booths were projecting 3D films and, hello, the festival opened with a 3D film. In addition to these factors the dailies constantly updated us on how the 3D market was doing, and how many 3D theaters were opening in the US, Canada, Europe and Asia. The numbers were shocking.
DAY 9
I am loving this festival! The more it goes on the more I am learning. The groceries are near extinct and the lessons are increasing. Here is an important idea I learned today...
It may sound simple, but take each challenge as it comes. They will not always be the same, even if they appear to be. For example, with the Robert Pattinson film and the Rupert Grint films we are selling. Both are small, independant films, yet both have big actors with big fan bases. Should we sell the films the same way? I initially thought yes, however the answer is no. Take each challenge as it comes.
With Pattinson the distributers already know he is bigger than life, however with Grint they thing that he is not bigger than harry potter...with one we are able to surf the wake, with the other we have to break clear of it
It may sound simple, but take each challenge as it comes. They will not always be the same, even if they appear to be. For example, with the Robert Pattinson film and the Rupert Grint films we are selling. Both are small, independant films, yet both have big actors with big fan bases. Should we sell the films the same way? I initially thought yes, however the answer is no. Take each challenge as it comes.
With Pattinson the distributers already know he is bigger than life, however with Grint they thing that he is not bigger than harry potter...with one we are able to surf the wake, with the other we have to break clear of it
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
DAY 8
As the festival fights on there is less and less time for tasks such as grocery shopping. I'm not saying that grabbing coffee suddenly became a golden task, however the fact that everyone needed Kirsten and I in the office the whole day turned out to be quite a blessing. I had a nice 11 hour day of reading the dailies and highlighting articles I could take back to Chapman and study the subjects more (viral marketing, trend identification, etc.) and listening in on the meetings around me and taking notes on things I learned.
One of the more interesting things I learned was how knowing your product is essential. This definitely sounds obvious, however knowing your mere product is not enough. For example, in a meeting Clay is able to not only explain the film and it's market, but he can relate it to previous films that have been made, their success rates, what happened after they were released, how they were promoted, how they were made. This made it clear to me that being able to compare your film to another (not too much...keep it sounding fresh!) makes the numbers and ideas you have less abstract and more tangible...in short it becomes contextualized. Contextualizing your project truly allows you to get closer to monetizing it.
One of the more interesting things I learned was how knowing your product is essential. This definitely sounds obvious, however knowing your mere product is not enough. For example, in a meeting Clay is able to not only explain the film and it's market, but he can relate it to previous films that have been made, their success rates, what happened after they were released, how they were promoted, how they were made. This made it clear to me that being able to compare your film to another (not too much...keep it sounding fresh!) makes the numbers and ideas you have less abstract and more tangible...in short it becomes contextualized. Contextualizing your project truly allows you to get closer to monetizing it.
Monday, May 18, 2009
DAY 7
I finally got a chance to put my crisis communication skills to work! It wasn't exactly how I pictured it would be...in front of a huge crowd, behind a podium, cameras flashing, the people far away from me....
I'll start from the beginning. We had another screening today, and, as usual, I was responsible for getting business cards from the buyers and producers who were attending, and to make sure that everything went smoothly with the film. Well, all did not go smoothly. There was a problem with the projector, and it took about 25 minutes to fix it. After spending about 10 minutes in the projection booth trying to help them, the hostess came running in and asked me to help her with the "people who were yelling" outside. Great. An interns favorite thing to hear...a problem that can't be fixed and an angry mob awaiting you.
I used my knowledge of PR by telling all and telling fast, the golden rule. However, unlike what I learned, they were NOT very happy to hear the truth, which was we didn't know what was wrong and that we may have to send them individual screeners. At this point, I have about 20 people surrounding me threatening to leave. The only thing I can think to do is turn the situation around somehow...
The film is a horror story about a haunted house that uses holographic images to scare the guests, but due to a technical error the house becomes truly haunted...I tried cracking a few jokes about how the movie had taken over the system here and it was meant to bring the film to life a bit. Needless to say they were not impressed. Crickets chirped.
15 minutes after it was suppose to start, they were allowed in and all was well. Phew...glad to have gotten that experience out of the way! It's definitely important to take a position of authority then. You absolutly can't let them walk all over you! People were grabbing my arm and trying to yell in my face...and at first I was taking it and apologizing consistantly. But after a while, I realized that I was the person in charge here, I wasn't an intern to them. I had to step up. I made the situation known and I handled it as best I could.
Later, there were some more administrative things to do, like demanding a refund from the screening office (after 20 minutes on hold), sending 40 emails to perspective buyers, and maintaining contact with MJ Peckos (my 6th boss in LA).
We got to do some other fun stuff also. We researched more information for Cherrybomb and collaborated a huge amount of information to put into a booklet for buyers and distrubitors to check out.
I heard a girl in the office talking abut the press releases she had to write that day. I was jealous, I want to be writing press releases!!! Not today though...this 11 hour work day is KILLING ME. By3:30 my eyes were literally shutting and I was typing like I was wasted, haha.
Tomorrow I have to wake up at 4 am to buy my bosses tickets to the world premier of Inglourous Bastards.
I ate too many Belgian chocolates at work today.
I'll start from the beginning. We had another screening today, and, as usual, I was responsible for getting business cards from the buyers and producers who were attending, and to make sure that everything went smoothly with the film. Well, all did not go smoothly. There was a problem with the projector, and it took about 25 minutes to fix it. After spending about 10 minutes in the projection booth trying to help them, the hostess came running in and asked me to help her with the "people who were yelling" outside. Great. An interns favorite thing to hear...a problem that can't be fixed and an angry mob awaiting you.
I used my knowledge of PR by telling all and telling fast, the golden rule. However, unlike what I learned, they were NOT very happy to hear the truth, which was we didn't know what was wrong and that we may have to send them individual screeners. At this point, I have about 20 people surrounding me threatening to leave. The only thing I can think to do is turn the situation around somehow...
The film is a horror story about a haunted house that uses holographic images to scare the guests, but due to a technical error the house becomes truly haunted...I tried cracking a few jokes about how the movie had taken over the system here and it was meant to bring the film to life a bit. Needless to say they were not impressed. Crickets chirped.
15 minutes after it was suppose to start, they were allowed in and all was well. Phew...glad to have gotten that experience out of the way! It's definitely important to take a position of authority then. You absolutly can't let them walk all over you! People were grabbing my arm and trying to yell in my face...and at first I was taking it and apologizing consistantly. But after a while, I realized that I was the person in charge here, I wasn't an intern to them. I had to step up. I made the situation known and I handled it as best I could.
Later, there were some more administrative things to do, like demanding a refund from the screening office (after 20 minutes on hold), sending 40 emails to perspective buyers, and maintaining contact with MJ Peckos (my 6th boss in LA).
We got to do some other fun stuff also. We researched more information for Cherrybomb and collaborated a huge amount of information to put into a booklet for buyers and distrubitors to check out.
I heard a girl in the office talking abut the press releases she had to write that day. I was jealous, I want to be writing press releases!!! Not today though...this 11 hour work day is KILLING ME. By3:30 my eyes were literally shutting and I was typing like I was wasted, haha.
Tomorrow I have to wake up at 4 am to buy my bosses tickets to the world premier of Inglourous Bastards.
I ate too many Belgian chocolates at work today.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
DAY 6
Today was good, I ran a few more errands but mostly worked in the office with inputting sales offers and reading articles. I didn't realize how many different ways there are to sell a film...theatrically, video, editable, rights, story, etc. I was able to see which countries wanted what, and Clay explained what the reasoning behind all of this was. I also got to see what kind of numbers are involved with a small independant film company. I would be interested to see what other studios are negotiating for, since ours is in an itneresting position. The Little Film Company works with independant films, usually quite small, yet it has a lot of popular actors involved in the projects, ranging from Julia Roberts to Robert Pattinson to Ashley Judd. I think that the names drew in a lot more people than independant film companies normally would without them.
DAY 5
Today I worked on film acquisition. Because my bosses were so busy with their meetings, I was sent out to collect about 20 screeners from different companies spread throughout the festival. It was an interesting project because it tought me that how you carry yourself plays a big role in this industry, even for an intern.
The first few booths I approached played the run around game, telling me they weren't sure they remembered any conversations with my bosses, or their bosses weren't in, or they weren't releasing their screeners just yet. After about the third time of this happening, I realized that maybe it was because of how I was asking. Up until that point, I had been timidly introducing myself as the intern for the company, and that I worked for so and so and could I please have the screener for such and such movie. I realized that these people have no idea who I am or what position I have. The next booth I approached I marched over and introduced myself with all the confidence in the world, introduced myself as simply Maria Delano, and said that I worked WITH so and so and that I was FROM such and such company and that I had a screener on hold for me to bring back to LA and show my boss. This worked much better. So much better, in fact, that not only were they giving me the screeners willingly, but they were inviting me into their meeting rooms to let me preview the screeners while they pitched the film to me to report back to my boss. Very interesting...
Other than that, I did more listening in on meetings and observation of promotional materials.
The first few booths I approached played the run around game, telling me they weren't sure they remembered any conversations with my bosses, or their bosses weren't in, or they weren't releasing their screeners just yet. After about the third time of this happening, I realized that maybe it was because of how I was asking. Up until that point, I had been timidly introducing myself as the intern for the company, and that I worked for so and so and could I please have the screener for such and such movie. I realized that these people have no idea who I am or what position I have. The next booth I approached I marched over and introduced myself with all the confidence in the world, introduced myself as simply Maria Delano, and said that I worked WITH so and so and that I was FROM such and such company and that I had a screener on hold for me to bring back to LA and show my boss. This worked much better. So much better, in fact, that not only were they giving me the screeners willingly, but they were inviting me into their meeting rooms to let me preview the screeners while they pitched the film to me to report back to my boss. Very interesting...
Other than that, I did more listening in on meetings and observation of promotional materials.
DAY 4
Interesting lesson today. It was one that I already knew, but I was able to see the scope of it today: viral marketing. Viral marketing is growing huge. Two of our films are starring major actors who have specific characters that they are known for: Rupert Grint who plays Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter series, and Robert Pattinson who is in both Harry Potter and Twilight. This is good in that they are established actors and have well known names, however, many distributers are not willing to risk the film because they think fans won't want to see them in another character.
This is an excellent example of when viral marketing and publicity is huge, it's like word of mouth on steroids. The fans can talk it up, write petitions, and even advertise trailors and promos for it themselves! This is the type of phenomenon that is taking place for the films we are representing. Kirsten and I printed a bunch of these websites, petitions, and fan bases to show to Clay's clients. I also searched through the market books to find articles on the importance of Internet advertising and promotion for him to show to clients.
This is an excellent example of when viral marketing and publicity is huge, it's like word of mouth on steroids. The fans can talk it up, write petitions, and even advertise trailors and promos for it themselves! This is the type of phenomenon that is taking place for the films we are representing. Kirsten and I printed a bunch of these websites, petitions, and fan bases to show to Clay's clients. I also searched through the market books to find articles on the importance of Internet advertising and promotion for him to show to clients.
DAY 3
I love walking from booth to booth and seeing the ways they set up their stands and are promoting the product. I can't get enough of the promo material, some of it is put together in such a creative way! I love picking them up and getting new ideas. After my desktop publishing class last semester, the layout, theme, and design of all of the material is much more interesting to me, and I notice a lot of the lessons I learned coming into play as I look at the material being sent out. For example, simple definitely is best. Some of the fliers and materials were so busy that I couldn't even stand to look at it, and it seemed that buyers felt the same.
Today we also started the ordering of tickets for Clay and Robbie. It's interesting to see how your status really does take you pretty far in this business. You can work your way up to free tickets to any premier or party if you know the right people, or, in this case, literally score enough points.
We also scheduled more appointments, handled reservations, stocked screeners, and got to oversee market screenings for our company's films; for this, we counted the number of people coming into the screening, collected cards, and made sure everything went smoothly technically.
When I got home that night, I had about 5 minutes to rest from the 11 hour day before calling Fearless Records in California to interview for a summer internship. Man, the road to real life is not an easy one!
Today we also started the ordering of tickets for Clay and Robbie. It's interesting to see how your status really does take you pretty far in this business. You can work your way up to free tickets to any premier or party if you know the right people, or, in this case, literally score enough points.
We also scheduled more appointments, handled reservations, stocked screeners, and got to oversee market screenings for our company's films; for this, we counted the number of people coming into the screening, collected cards, and made sure everything went smoothly technically.
When I got home that night, I had about 5 minutes to rest from the 11 hour day before calling Fearless Records in California to interview for a summer internship. Man, the road to real life is not an easy one!
DAY 2
SO Clay really meant it when he said that little by little we would work our way up to bigger tasks. Slowly but surely, today we had some more to work on.
Don't get me wrong, I still went to Monoprix and Darty about 3 times each, but there was actually more thrown into the mix today. We continued the office organization, mostly by making a million trips down to the business office and technical services to get everything running smoothly, but we also did some appointment scheduling.
The appoinement scheduling is interesting because our company is involved in both film production and distribution. Thus, we were able to see both sides of the process. We saw them talk a big game when they were selling and we saw them put up a front when sellers came to them with ideas. When we had to set appointments for eager producers who wanted to pitch ideas, we were told to make them first pitch them to us, and pass along the story to our bosses at the end of the day, who would then decide whether or not it was worth it. It was very interesting to hear the pitches and to see the reactions of our bosses as we later recounted them.
We got to distribute some promotional material today for Emelie and Catherine. We walked throughout Cannes to all the fancy schmancy hotels and theaters to drop off fliers and line ups. This was a cool job because it really made me understand the magnitude of the festival. As I walked around with our tiny fliers I was overshadowed by the glorified and billowing posters that hung from the Ritz-Carlton. When we laid our material on tables in the hotel lobby, they got lost in a sea of hundreds of other movies. This really is the most buzzing and competitive industry I have ever witnessed.
The best part of the day is when we get to sit down for a second and actually listen to Clay's selling process, hearing him pitch the movies and how hard he sells and negotiates, it's very interesting. I especially enjoy it because it ties in with my major, which is PR and advertising. Hearing Clay turn every negative to a postive and every postive to an even more positive was impressive. He was also able to be personable and honest with the buyers, explaining the risks, yet making them sound exciting at the same time.
Don't get me wrong, I still went to Monoprix and Darty about 3 times each, but there was actually more thrown into the mix today. We continued the office organization, mostly by making a million trips down to the business office and technical services to get everything running smoothly, but we also did some appointment scheduling.
The appoinement scheduling is interesting because our company is involved in both film production and distribution. Thus, we were able to see both sides of the process. We saw them talk a big game when they were selling and we saw them put up a front when sellers came to them with ideas. When we had to set appointments for eager producers who wanted to pitch ideas, we were told to make them first pitch them to us, and pass along the story to our bosses at the end of the day, who would then decide whether or not it was worth it. It was very interesting to hear the pitches and to see the reactions of our bosses as we later recounted them.
We got to distribute some promotional material today for Emelie and Catherine. We walked throughout Cannes to all the fancy schmancy hotels and theaters to drop off fliers and line ups. This was a cool job because it really made me understand the magnitude of the festival. As I walked around with our tiny fliers I was overshadowed by the glorified and billowing posters that hung from the Ritz-Carlton. When we laid our material on tables in the hotel lobby, they got lost in a sea of hundreds of other movies. This really is the most buzzing and competitive industry I have ever witnessed.
The best part of the day is when we get to sit down for a second and actually listen to Clay's selling process, hearing him pitch the movies and how hard he sells and negotiates, it's very interesting. I especially enjoy it because it ties in with my major, which is PR and advertising. Hearing Clay turn every negative to a postive and every postive to an even more positive was impressive. He was also able to be personable and honest with the buyers, explaining the risks, yet making them sound exciting at the same time.
DAY 1
Well, it was what I expected, plus miles of walking. Making coffee would be a blessing compared to the hot sweaty uncomfortable treck to buy the coffee, stirrers, plastic coffee cups, sugar, and whole milk (from 3 different grocery stores I might add...come on Cannes, get it together!).
I think I assumed I was in a better position.
Lesson 1: Never assume with a job. It is probably never as it seems.
You see, before my boss, Clay, came to Cannes he gave myself and Kirsten (the other intern) a great assignment. We were compiling research to create a grassroots marketing campaign to fight video piracy. We were also pretty heavily involved in using social media websites to promote a film that the company is selling at the festival. Thus, I let myself assume I might be doing real work at this internship.
These were great projects as they immediatly threw us into the two major elements of marketing: research and implementation. Working on the video piracy campaign showed me how to do truly exhaustive and extensive research, and how to use the many sources on the Internet to my advantage. I was able to find both scholarly articles and industry professional takes on the subject matter, while also taking into account the most elementry of websites and blogs to hear what consumers had to say about the matter. The Cherrybomb project pushed me to really elaborate my understanding of social media and it's impact. We promoted the material online not only by bring in 'friends' through direct requests, but through interactive viral outreach initiatives such as online petitions, videos, and pictures.
However, instead of expanding on these projects, we set up the office. Let me tell you, manual labor in a pencil skirt is NOT easy for the record. It was a lot of organizational work, using a creative eye to create a nice office space and show off the products (posters, promotional kits, etc.) in a nice way.
I think I assumed I was in a better position.
Lesson 1: Never assume with a job. It is probably never as it seems.
You see, before my boss, Clay, came to Cannes he gave myself and Kirsten (the other intern) a great assignment. We were compiling research to create a grassroots marketing campaign to fight video piracy. We were also pretty heavily involved in using social media websites to promote a film that the company is selling at the festival. Thus, I let myself assume I might be doing real work at this internship.
These were great projects as they immediatly threw us into the two major elements of marketing: research and implementation. Working on the video piracy campaign showed me how to do truly exhaustive and extensive research, and how to use the many sources on the Internet to my advantage. I was able to find both scholarly articles and industry professional takes on the subject matter, while also taking into account the most elementry of websites and blogs to hear what consumers had to say about the matter. The Cherrybomb project pushed me to really elaborate my understanding of social media and it's impact. We promoted the material online not only by bring in 'friends' through direct requests, but through interactive viral outreach initiatives such as online petitions, videos, and pictures.
However, instead of expanding on these projects, we set up the office. Let me tell you, manual labor in a pencil skirt is NOT easy for the record. It was a lot of organizational work, using a creative eye to create a nice office space and show off the products (posters, promotional kits, etc.) in a nice way.
Intro
I can't believe this is finally here. I have worked for 3 long years to get myself to where I am now...and now it's all actually happening. I'm a little nervous though, not because I don't think I can handle anything thrown my way, but because I have built this up to much in my mind.
Let me give a little background here...
I am a PR/Advertising major at the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University. When I first toured the school as a high school senior, I was given a tour of the film school by a PR/Ad major who had interned at the Cannes Film Festival. The second I heard that I was hooked. I knew that this was the place I wanted to study. I worked for 3 years to make sure I could make it happen, everything from taking the right classes to prepare myself for it to ensuring a spot in the study abroad program and compiling a good enough coverletter and resume to land this position I am now getting ready for. I gave up 4 months of my life to live in a foreign country, not necessarily to be in a new place, but to get this position. Now do you see why I am a little nervous?
What if I did all this for nothing? What if I realize I hate it? What if I realize I suck at it? Too many what if's. It's time to do now. Whatever happens happens. Whether I spend my days making coffee or promoting films on yachts...right now I will pat myself on the back for making it here, to the 62nd Cannes International Film Festival.
Let me give a little background here...
I am a PR/Advertising major at the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University. When I first toured the school as a high school senior, I was given a tour of the film school by a PR/Ad major who had interned at the Cannes Film Festival. The second I heard that I was hooked. I knew that this was the place I wanted to study. I worked for 3 years to make sure I could make it happen, everything from taking the right classes to prepare myself for it to ensuring a spot in the study abroad program and compiling a good enough coverletter and resume to land this position I am now getting ready for. I gave up 4 months of my life to live in a foreign country, not necessarily to be in a new place, but to get this position. Now do you see why I am a little nervous?
What if I did all this for nothing? What if I realize I hate it? What if I realize I suck at it? Too many what if's. It's time to do now. Whatever happens happens. Whether I spend my days making coffee or promoting films on yachts...right now I will pat myself on the back for making it here, to the 62nd Cannes International Film Festival.
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