{"id":22264,"date":"2014-12-01T15:49:56","date_gmt":"2014-12-01T23:49:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/?p=22264"},"modified":"2024-02-01T09:44:29","modified_gmt":"2024-02-01T09:44:29","slug":"dos-donts-sending-dvd-screeners-film-festivals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/dos-donts-sending-dvd-screeners-film-festivals\/","title":{"rendered":"Dos and don&#8217;ts when sending DVD screeners to film festivals"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_83 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-light-blue ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a15ea9148501\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a15ea9148501\"  aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/dos-donts-sending-dvd-screeners-film-festivals\/#do-make-an-effort-to-make-your-dvd-packaging-attractive\" >DO MAKE AN EFFORT TO MAKE YOUR DVD PACKAGING ATTRACTIVE<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/dos-donts-sending-dvd-screeners-film-festivals\/#but-dont-put-so-many-stuff-in-it\" >BUT DON&#8217;T PUT SO MANY STUFF IN IT<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/dos-donts-sending-dvd-screeners-film-festivals\/#-do-e-mail-them-about-important-information\" >\u00a0DO E-MAIL THEM ABOUT IMPORTANT INFORMATION<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/dos-donts-sending-dvd-screeners-film-festivals\/#but-dont-pester-them-with-too-many-e-mails\" >BUT DON&#8217;T PESTER THEM WITH TOO MANY E-MAILS<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/dos-donts-sending-dvd-screeners-film-festivals\/#for-rough-cuts-put-a-title-card-that-your-project-is-still-a-work-in-progress\" >FOR ROUGH CUTS, PUT A TITLE CARD THAT YOUR PROJECT IS STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/dos-donts-sending-dvd-screeners-film-festivals\/#but-dont-flash-watermarks-every-5-minutes\" >BUT DON&#8217;T FLASH WATERMARKS EVERY 5 MINUTES<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/dos-donts-sending-dvd-screeners-film-festivals\/#-do-put-a-cover-letter\" >\u00a0DO PUT A COVER LETTER<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/dos-donts-sending-dvd-screeners-film-festivals\/#but-do-not-beg\" >BUT DO NOT BEG<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"do-make-an-effort-to-make-your-dvd-packaging-attractive\"><\/span><strong>DO MAKE AN EFFORT TO MAKE YOUR DVD PACKAGING ATTRACTIVE<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/DVvT2m68cN1Ryy_1_l.jpg\" alt=\"7 DVD Sets with Really Awesome Packaging - UnifiedManufacturing\" width=\"600\" height=\"389\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The programmers certainly appreciate a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/unifiedmfg\/boards\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">good-looking DVD packaging<\/a>. Actually, they&#8217;re pretty easy to impress.<\/p>\n<p>As long as your DVD case is presentable\u00a0enough and it&#8217;s obvious you put some thought on your DVD packaging, they&#8217;d be smiling. Give them a plain DVD without even a label and they would automatically think you&#8217;re one of those filmmakers who don&#8217;t give a damn.<\/p>\n<p>Your film may be good but it&#8217;s also a good idea to impress them even before they play your DVD.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"but-dont-put-so-many-stuff-in-it\"><\/span><strong>BUT DON&#8217;T PUT SO MANY STUFF IN IT<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ebayimg.com\/images\/g\/v5kAAOSwZOhj9lI-\/s-l1200.jpg\" alt=\"STRANGER THINGS The Complete First Season blu-ray \/DVD Box Set. 4 Disc | eBay\" width=\"600\" height=\"578\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Don&#8217;t put a booklet of your synopsis, hundreds of movie stills or merch because programmers don&#8217;t care about those things.<\/p>\n<p>Keep your DVD screener simple and to the point. Put your DVD in a creative DVD case but don&#8217;t overdo it. You&#8217;ll only be wasting money.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"-do-e-mail-them-about-important-information\"><\/span><strong>\u00a0DO E-MAIL THEM ABOUT IMPORTANT INFORMATION<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theictbook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/letters-4744855_1280.jpg?fit=1280%2C853&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"What is email? Importance of email. - the ict book\" width=\"601\" height=\"401\" \/><\/p>\n<p>If you are suddenly selected at a certain festival for a world, International, or any premiere that affects your application, do inform the programmers.<\/p>\n<p>Do e-mail them if there are other changes to your application like the running time, sales agent, etc.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"but-dont-pester-them-with-too-many-e-mails\"><\/span><strong>BUT DON&#8217;T PESTER THEM WITH TOO MANY E-MAILS<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/billda.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/too-many-emails.jpg\" alt=\"How to Deal with Too Much Email - Bill D'Alessandro\" width=\"598\" height=\"336\" \/><\/p>\n<p>These people receive so many e-mails a day.<\/p>\n<p>Please make their lives easier by only sending very important e-mail (i.e. the ones you can&#8217;t find\u00a0in FAQ or is really urgent).<\/p>\n<p>Asking them if they&#8217;ve viewed your film already or whether the results can be given earlier, blah blah blah.<\/p>\n<p>Try your best not to be of annoyance to these busy people. They watch an average of eight films a day and answer to hundreds of e-mails a week. Give them a break.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"for-rough-cuts-put-a-title-card-that-your-project-is-still-a-work-in-progress\"><\/span><strong>FOR ROUGH CUTS, PUT A TITLE CARD THAT YOUR PROJECT IS STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/miro.medium.com\/v2\/resize:fit:820\/1*y7ZgcnbxdF4aDgh-XaS1-Q.png\" alt=\"The work-in-progress fallacy and the power of WIP limits | by Jorge Alonso | Spotahome Product\" width=\"599\" height=\"378\" \/><\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s different when viewers watch your film with the fact that it&#8217;s still a work in progress that when they don&#8217;t know this fact and they watch the same cut.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, they&#8217;re more forgiving to the flaws of you film. Sure you can put this information in your application form but sometimes programmers just don&#8217;t care about papers anymore and just go directly to the DVD.<\/p>\n<p>We can&#8217;t blame them. Being assigned to watch over 800 films for the festival is a tedious work. Reading all info for each film is almost impossible! So make sure you put it in a title card.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"but-dont-flash-watermarks-every-5-minutes\"><\/span><strong>BUT DON&#8217;T FLASH WATERMARKS EVERY 5 MINUTES<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/imgv3.fotor.com\/images\/blog-richtext-image\/watermark-the-milk-poster.jpg\" alt=\"7 Best Ideas on How to Make a Watermark Effectively | Fotor\" width=\"600\" height=\"397\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Showing &#8221; For Your Consideration&#8221; every 5 minutes will not only distract them, it also shows how paranoid you are that they will pirate your DVD.<\/p>\n<p>This is not a very good first impression.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"-do-put-a-cover-letter\"><\/span><strong>\u00a0DO PUT A COVER LETTER<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>As mentioned above, giving them too many stuff along with your DVD screener is not the best way to get their attention.<\/p>\n<p>They&#8217;d probably just toss the extra papers (glossy or not) to the side. But one thing they will most likely read is a cover letter.<\/p>\n<p>Make it brief and to the point. State why your film is important and what it&#8217;s about, the more personal your letter is, the better.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"but-do-not-beg\"><\/span><strong>BUT DO NOT BEG<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Never ever beg. Do you know how many times a regular film festival programmer gets a desperate letter? Too many in a day.<\/p>\n<p>That style just doesn&#8217;t work, even to the most compassionate programmer. You&#8217;d look like one of those auditioners in American Idol that beg and cry just to get in. No amount of begging can save you.<\/p>\n<p>Show good work, that&#8217;s all that matters.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>I know all you want to do is make films but in order for you to make more, you need to be an entrepreneur.<\/p>\n<p>Learning the basics of and packaging selling your film\u00a0is a must.\u00a0If you just finished your film and you&#8217;re about to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/products\/4-panel-dvd-digipak\">send out DVD screeners<\/a>, good luck!<\/p>\n<p>____________________________________________________<\/p>\n<p><b><i>James Hill<\/i><\/b><i>\u00a0is a veteran of the music industry. He first worked at Warner Reprise Records then later joined Interscope\/ Geffen Records where he managed producers and songwriters and got his first platinum record for Keyshia Cole\u2019s The Way It Is. He is now helping indie artists with branding and manufacturing through his company\u00a0<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer follow\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\"><span class=\"s1\"><b><i>Unified Manufacturing<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/a><i>, a CD\/DVD,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/vinyl-pressing\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer follow\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">custom vinyl records<\/a> and merch company in LA.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DO MAKE AN EFFORT TO MAKE YOUR DVD PACKAGING ATTRACTIVE The programmers certainly appreciate a good-looking DVD packaging. Actually, they&#8217;re pretty easy to impress. As long as your DVD case is presentable\u00a0enough and it&#8217;s obvious you put some thought on your DVD packaging, they&#8217;d be smiling. Give them a plain DVD without even a label [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":22934,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,6,15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvd-manufacturing","category-dvd-packaging","category-dvd-set"],"contentshake_article_id":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22264"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22264\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39152,"href":"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22264\/revisions\/39152"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unifiedmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}