[youtube]http://youtu.be/AXqHYuzTzgM[/youtube]
Social media has taken over a part of our daily lives by storm over the past few years. Aside from expanding our social circles and networking with other individuals on the internet, it has also helped independent filmmakers find and build their audiences, fund their films, and provide a space for them to share their films.
The process begins with crowdsource funding, where filmmakers use Kickstarter or IndieGoGo to raise money for their film. Through this process, it allows funding to come from people who are interested and invested in these films to bring the stories to light.
Just as getting funding is a great hurdle for filmmakers to get their films made, filmmakers often face another obstacle: distribution. How and where can they show their films? That’s where social media and the internet kicks in. But wait — the internet these days are flooded with content, with 50,000 videos uploaded every hour (and that’s only on Youtube), how can you possibly pick and choose which ones to watch?
In this Google Hangout, Patrick Wang, writer, actor, and director for IN THE FAMILY, Theresa Navarro, producer for 9-MAN and YES WE’RE OPEN, Derek Ting, writer and actor for $UPERCAPITALIST, and Ryan Kawamoto, director for HANG LOOSE, talk about how they got their film made through social media and how they are finding their targeted audiences, marketing and sharing their films through on-and-offline platforms — while some strategize and choose online distribution as their main distribution plan.