Film Festivals | Industry News | Massachusetts

Indie-vidualized Attention for Filmmakers

1 Apr , 2000  

Written by Kristen Paulson | Posted by:

Jay Sweet from Fort Point Entertainment takes NewEnglandFilm.com on a tour of the company's new film promotion division.
I was at the Fort Point Entertainment Group, Inc., waiting for Jay Sweet to materialize. A dog strolled by, wagging its tail good-naturedly. A good sign. I spent the next few minutes squinting at the photographs on the wall, hoping to recognize some of the musicians in them. Aha! A picture of Mark Sandman. I’d know those mournful basset-hound eyes anywhere. Okay, phew, I’m not abjectly uncool.

Here’s what I learned. Bear with me if you’re more indie-savvy than I am, and you probably are if you’re on this Web site. Enjoy.

In the can: Getting your film produced.

Wet tape: A soundtrack with a temporary sync to it; a tape with no score.

Slamdance: The alternative indie division of the Sundance Film Festival. Jay Sweet spoke at the most recent one on a panel.

Bob: Code name for Robert Redford, founder of the Sundance Film Festival.

Pre-production: Planning, hiring actors and rehearsing your film.

Production: Shooting the film.

Post-production: Editing, lots of editing.

Post-post-production: Buy distribution rights, lock the soundtrack.

Sweet emerged and led me on a tight circuit of Fort Point’s large loft on Summer Street in Boston, filling me in on its new indie film division, instituted in August 1999. For him, this was a victory lap. He had just returned from the Sundance Film Festival, his third to date. As he greeted reverent employees, he was like a Roman gladiator returning triumphantly from battle. He dispersed crumbs of greetings and industry news:

SWEET: I saw Luke [Wilson].

RECEPTIONIST: Squeal!

SWEET, to the graphic designers (mysteriously): I have some stuff to show you.

By the time we sat down, I felt lucky to talk to someone so evidently in demand. At intervals, employees poked their heads in and gawked respectfully, eager to catch up. Thus ensued a whirlwind I’ll call Indie 101, as Sweet gave me a crash course on Fort Point’s new role in the film industry.

Fort Point Film was a natural progression, considering its established interrelated services: soundtrack and music supervision, publicity, graphic design, radio promotion and merchandising. Would you like a mental tour of the premises? Say you’re making a film called "Liz’s Long Weekend." You want to use a Pixies song on your soundtrack, but in trying to buy rights beyond festival rights, you get bogged down in legalese. You don’t have millions of dollars to spend. Where do you turn? Fort Point Film to the rescue!

Fort Point won’t let the legalese strangle you, leading you calmly through the maze of distribution. The company can negotiate an appropriate package of rights for you, working within your budget, whether festival, limited, theatrical, major theater, cable, video or Internet. "People spend all their money making the film, and don’t set any aside for post-post production [distribution and promotion]," explains Sweet. He recommends setting aside 10 to 15 percent at the outset. Getting your product "in the can," Sweet confirms, is only half the battle. "In the vast world of independent productions, it takes a creative and aggressive campaign just to be heard above the rest," reads Fort Point’s promotional materials. Fort Point Film will help you yell real loud.

Speaking of loud, Fort Point has two record labels. The company sees 300 bands a year, covering a wide spectrum of styles, which enables it to compile a bangin’ soundtrack. Listening to your preferences about music for "Liz’s Long Weekend," Sweet and his employees find something that sounds like what you want but costs less. You smile, relieved. The "Liz’s" soundtrack CD gets pressed in-house and tossed gently over a partition to the radio promotion department.

Soon the airwaves are crackling with news of your film. College stations are talking about it nonstop. "Liz’s Long Weekend" develops a cult following among women college students. Sweet uploads a clip along with your film bio onto IFILM for a free slice of viewing pleasure — online distribution via digital streaming. He also recommends checking out BuyIndies.com and AtomFilms.com.

The buzz mounts.

A publicist, tethered by wires, dons Janet Jackson-like headphones, working a network which extends across the U.S. An in-house promoter does some tracking. "The people in Austin love it," they report. They book "Liz’s Long Weekend" for the Austin Film Festival.

Buzz, buzz, buzz.

One-stop shopping at its best, now Fort Point gets you some good press. IndieWIRE calls your film "A quirky tale of one woman’s extremely long holiday weekend, charged with a Sartre-esque melancholy and a piquant humor." "It levitates with good-natured pathos," gushes the "Hollywood Reporter."

Concurrently, the in-house design department, not a single member of which looks over 30, is doing an identity campaign — designing a look for the film. The graphic design people walk a few feet over to the merchandising people. Pooling their considerable creative juices, they create special lime-green tchotchkes that go with the CD packaging.

"Liz’s Long Weekend" is a hit. Your creative dreams are realized. The people at Fort Point Film are happy. Soup, the company dog, is happy. He wags his tail and barks approval. You could swear he just winked.