Meet the gang, 'cos the toys are here...

...actually, first things first, the actors are here too but that fact didn't lend itself to a parody of '70s sitcom theme tune lyrics.

Enough of that. Tim here with a quick bloggage of updates I've made to this site.

Firstly, I've uploaded some choice pics of Selective Listening's brilliant cast.

You can find them here: Cast & Crew

And secondly, here's a page to introduce you to the toys and the role they play in the film... The Voices 

More soon!

Tim

Press kits and a trip down Memory Lane...

Hello! Miriam here,

Today I have been reminding myself about press kit essentials.

There are several useful articles out there as well as some examples worth checking. In a nutshell, a good press kit must contain information about the film as well as materials to publicise it. These include:

• synopses of different lengths (generally long, medium and short)
• technical information about the film
• cast and crew biographies
• anecdotes from the filmmaking process
• frequently asked questions with the answers (this does not only provide information but also helps journalists who need content ASAP)
• director’s statement
• production notes
• reviews and endorsements
• credits
• interviews with cast and crew 
and, of course
• photos!

As we have loads of production photos, I have been sorting through them and will select some for the press kit as well as others for this blog and our social media sites.

By the way, if you are reading this but are not following us on Twitter or haven’t “liked” our Facebook page yet, please do!

Twitter: @AllOnFive
Facebook: Facebook.com/SelectiveListeningMovie

It really has been a trip down memory lane. What a wonderful time we had!

Here are a couple of photos of one of the rooms used in the film.  As well as being a working set, it also served as the producer and director's bedroom from 1am till 7am. During the day, however, it was either the bedroom of the protagonist Harrison (played by Salvatore Stella) or it was the green room / canteen / storage room / hair and make-up suite / props house / DIT room...

It becomes more and more difficult to believe that there were at least 11 people every day working here and that we all managed to get along and do a great job.

Anyway, I’ll keep gathering the materials to put together a cracking press kit and will post it here when it’s ready. 

Bye for now!

Miriam

Festival strategy...

Hello! (Miriam here)

So, as Tim explained on his last post, we have had to take some paid work in order to...well, in order to survive, really. Today, however, I’m working on the film! 

Once the film is finished, we would like to start getting it seen by taking it to film festivals. Even though the film is not ready yet, I believe that it is essential to have a planned festival strategy as much in advance as possible. The fact is that when you work by yourself and on your own terms, you have to be twice as disciplined and, for this, deadlines have to be set. Of course, there is also the issue of budgeting how much the film festival strategy will cost...

How did I start? Well, I started by researching and reading articles and top lists for Film Festivals around the world. Then, I compiled information, such as dates, deadlines, fees, formats and eligibility. 

Within these aspects, it is important to learn whether the festival requires a premiere or not, as this can affect your whole strategy and effect your chances to submit your film to certain festivals. 

Then, learn as much as you can about the nature of the festivals. What films made it to the final selection in past editions? What is the festival’s mission? How does your film fit within their program? 

Also, do they require a press kit? Most of them do, so gathering info, photos, etc, is another task that needs to be added to the to-do list. Before we started shooting, I took the time to find out what a press kit must contain so I know that we have the materials. 

Many festivals include “anecdotes” to the list of the contents for a press kit. This is something we have well-covered because when you are a two-person team, working on the pre-production, shooting and editing in your own flat, you are aware of everything.

Our plan is to submit the film to UK festivals that are scheduled to take place from September 2014. Then, from January 2015 onwards, we hope that we will also be screened by overseas festivals.

The good news is that there are plenty of interesting film festivals out there, which I will be writing about as we move along in the submission process. For now, I would like to mention how useful the British Council Film Festival directory and Withoutabox.com have been in order to search and gather information. Of course, it is important to contrast whatever you find out with the information given on the festival’s website. However, it has been a lot easier to use these sites to find out about festivals and their main information when devising the ideal festival path for the film. 

So, it seems that the main strategy is ready. Needless to say, I will keep my eyes open and attend some of the festivals available in London so that I can keep revising and improving our strategy... and, at the same time, have some fun too!

“How's it going with the film?”

Hi, Tim here.


“How's it going with the film?”

This is a question that we are very happy to be getting asked very often, and so I thought it might be a good idea to give our answer here, for blog-padding purposes.


It's instinctive to feel a little coy about the answer because at present both Director/Editor and Producer are having to make up for the period of production and pre-production when we didn't have an income, with work outside the film industry in order to pay those damned rent and bill things. This means that the opportunities to edit currently reside in the evenings or on weekends, mixed with other pressing duties.


The good news for the progress of the film is that this work will soon dry up. This is also good news for me, as while I'm not working on the film, I feel like I'm in some form of “career coma”.


In the meantime, we're using any spare moments to do our best to create some entertaining social media content with the toys featured in the film.


If you'd like to show your support and you're on Facebook, Twitter or Vine, then follow the following...


Facebook:

Facebook.com/SelectiveListeningMovie

Twitter:
@AllOnFive (for any breaking news on Selective Listening)
@SmilingHerbert (for commentary on all things that inspire indignation and rage)

@BeanInHarrison (for comments on anything perceived as sexy - usually via misinterpretation)


Vine:

Seek out Smiling Herbert.