Artemis Eternal - more than just crowdfunded

The great thing about more affordable and easily accessible media devices means that almost anyone can make a film if they want to now.  And with social media and viral networking we can show the whole world the films we are making.  But to make something of quality takes a little more skill and a lot of business nous, especially if you don’t have an investor and/or a sales agent and distributor.  ’cracking’ into the industry is tough!

It’s expensive to make a film.  Even a ‘low budget’ film is expensive!  You might get your mates to help you out and ask people to worked for deferred payment, but you still have to pay for camera, lighting and rigging hire, props and set making, makeup and costumes, location fees, studio hire, accommodation for all cast and crew when you go on location, travel costs, truck hire to move gear around, travel and petrol costs and most importantly catering for all cast and crew.  Some would say these costs don’t add to as much as the cost of post-production; editing, sound, ADR, musical score, licenses for music, colouring, any green screen special effects, animation, printing to 35mm, DVD pressing and providing all the deliverables you need for various festivals and cinemas.

And once you’ve overcome the massive hurdle of actually finishing your film, you reach another wall…  How to show the world what you’ve made.  The easiest and most cost-effective way to show the world your film is get into a distinguished festival.  But getting into a festival is far from easy…  Thousands of people enter these festivals every year, the selectors don’t have time to watch them all, if nobody knows your name there’s no reason they would choose to watch yours over someone they know or who was recommended to them.  They all want your world premiere.  How do you decide who to give it to?  Which festival will you apply to first?  It costs money to apply, and once you get in its costs a lot of time and money to market your film.  The festival won’t market your film, so it’s up to you to make the most of the platform you’ve been given and get the word out there.

So if you don’t have a sales agent who can talk you up to the right people, or you would actually prefer to stay away from people like that who take your money, then how do you get yourself and your film out there?  How do you get an audience?  How do you create a splash in the international film industry?

Someone who’s doing this is Jessica Mae Stover.  Currently in pre-production for the original sci-fi/fantasy film Artemis Eternal, Stover is cutting out the middleman, allying audience and artist while breaking ground on a new formula for film finance, production and exhibition.  She is generating an online following as well as hitting the streets and the media, creating advocates who are helping to fund and promote this film and the philosophy of creating a completely independent film free from studio intervention.  These advocates are called Wingmen, ordinary people like you and I who are sick of Hollywood producing fancy, expensive but awfully written films and just want to see a film that brilliantly written and produced with some really talented actors for a change.  So they backing a director who’s in it for the love of the craft and not simply as a money-making exercise.

Watch the video they made  

Jess says, Artemis Eternal is a professional sci-fi fantasy short intended for film festivals and traveling screenings. The film is the premier crowd-funded, professionally-led, studio-quality film with absolutely no studio intervention, and the way production is approached tackles issues of media consolidation, independence and a lack of diversity in cinema as well as eliminating the middle-man and connecting artist to audience in a direct, meaningful way.

She’s creating her audience now, marketing her film now before its even made, based on philosophies of a way of working, wanting to disrupt the industry system, make films that are better and out of conglomerate control.

Artemis Eternal is an example of how to get your name, your film, your ideas out into the international sphere, using the internet and the all-powerful word of mouth.  Marketing your product before its even made, and when it is made your audience is already there waiting and at least festival directors might have heard about you before.  Search through the website and you’ll find all sorts of interesting links and industry information as well as a generous look at the production process for Artemis Eternal.

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