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Saturday 11 May at the Casale Garibaldi space – Common at work, the workshop “App to You – technologies at the service of the cinema” was held, the fourth meeting organized by Baburka Production for the Cartello degli Indipendenti project.

The theme chosen this year were the apps and software for cinema workers, fundamental tools that have made knowledge and tools pocket and sometimes free.

The form of the workshop represented a particular novelty. The previous meetings of the Cartel, after the initial cognitive call, took place in a frontal logic; in these the issues dealt with were the independent distribution and the sources of financing, necessities emerged precisely from the first meeting. This time we wanted to experiment with a completely different way of participating: after a short collective session, the participants were divided into 8 working tables, corresponding to as many in-depth sessions dedicated to: Script Supervising and Continuity; Cinematography; Director; Post Production Video; Production; Sound; Makeup, Costume and Set Design; App creation.

It was therefore a real practical workshop completely free, thanks to the voluntary participation of many professionals, who use technological tools every day and who have become available to share their experience and knowledge in a logic of collective growth.

The result was without doubt up to expectations. The spirit of the Cartel is in fact based on the free sharing of knowledge and networking for the purpose of a conscious growth of the world of Independent Cinema (both in terms of production and of individual professional figures). The workshop format has created an opportunity to explore the potential of the many technological tools present today and at the same time to compare and get to know each other, making mutual exchange deeper than the usual frontal sessions.

The choice to deal with this issue took place following a survey carried out among the participants of the previous Cartel edition. This is because often independent productions generally give more space to experiment, and being constituted by many young figures have a propensity to use technological facilities. This research is also dictated by the need to streamline the work of the individual and the collective, with the result of simplifying and reorganizing it to the benefit of the mental serenity and efficiency of the entire production machine that does not usually navigate the economic comforts of a classic production. Although most of the apps handled during the workshop sessions come from the great international production system (mainly American), often in large productions in Italy we are refractory to innovation, this unfortunately also due to the low propensity to update and average age of workers. We therefore believe that adaptation to technological innovation is a specific competitive advantage of independent productions.

The introductory session opened with the intervention of Alain Bindele, technology mentor and founder of the PC-go project, focused on the concept of Smart Work, or the ability to choose the best technology for himself and for his business. The almost total technologization of human activities is a fact. One of the negative consequences of this evolution is the imbalance of the relationship between people and technologies that is created when the technological tool is used passively and subtly to the point of making the relationship with technology frustrating. PC-go has the objective, through consultancy services, to create a more conscious and proactive use of technology, both for individuals and for companies, in order to optimize and make these tools effective resources. (more on: https://pc-go.it)

The second intervention was that of Gianfranco De Rosa, founder and CEO of Cinebooking, a free online platform that facilitates the meeting of demand and supply of work for the entire production chain of Cinema, television, advertising, events, radio, fashion, music and theater. cinebooking.com is a user-friendly tool, just register for free on the site, without needing to create a profile, then selecting from your account what you are looking for and/or proposing. In addition to professional positions and nominations, there is space for the demand and offer of rental of equipment and soundstages.

One of the major strengths of cinebooking.com is its algorithm that seeks to create consistent “matches” between open positions and competences of the candidates, avoiding submerging the email accounts of the subscribers with unsuitable proposals for their curricula.

cinebooking.com is also used by foreign productions that arrive in Italy, making it an indispensable tool for those who want to approach international productions. (more on: https://cinebooking.com)

Always in the spirit of sharing the Cartel of Independents, at the end of the day, the participants were asked to send us a report written by them on the topics covered in the various tables. Here are some extracts of the precious reports sent to Baburka’s email

DIRECTION DEPARTMENT
(Speaker David Ambrosini, assistant director)
“The subject of the meeting were the FINAL DRAFT and MOVIE MAGIC programs and specifically the use that makes the figure of the assistant director.

Consequently it was shown how to analyze a screenplay based on the counting, what are the elements to pay attention to when reading and how to set the text formatting for easier analysis of the scenes and to more easily understand the length of the same.

Subsequently the basic functions of Movie Magic program were shown, the main categories in which the counting and the consequent construction of a day out of days (DUD) and an agenda are composed. “

(Stefano Ricco Filmmaker)

CINEMATOGRAPHY
(Speakers Matteo De Angelis – DoP and Giovanna Addivinola – electrician and professor of CineTV Rossellini)

“Important premise: the apps all have a free and / or demo version. The speakers explained how to best use the different apps without having to spend money. The advantages of full paid versions have also been explained.

The apps analyzed were:

MAGIC VIEWFINDER: perfect for location scouting, as it provides a faithful image of the camera.

SUN POSITION: probably the most important app for a cinematographer. It allows you to know the position of the sun in advance and exactly.

SHOT DESIGNER: app that allows you to digitally build sets with props, lights, actors, doors, etc.

KODAK CINEMA TOOLS: this app provides all the useful information for those who plan to shoot in film. The glossary and the mt/feet calculator are very useful.

ARRI PHOTOMETRICS: in the app the entire range of lights with Arri brand is outlined with all the useful features to know.

LEE SWATCH: Lee is one of the most important brands of jellies filters. The app makes the entire catalog available by providing all the information on each individual jelly.

DA VINCI: given the vastness of the program, the speakers focused on the concept of color correction, LUT and file compression. “

(Marco Valerio)

PRODUCTION
(Speakers: Tobia Calevi – production secretary and Francesca Andriani – 10D Film producer)

“Tobia Calevi opened the meeting, illustrating the MOVIE MAGIC program. He showed the functions suitable for the screening of the script and the general organization of the shooting. At the end of the break down of the script, which the program allows to do scene by scene, the general working plan is obtained. It was then explained how to obtain calendars subdivided by themes of interest from the work plan, useful to be able to share with the employees of other departments.

The second part of the meeting, led by Francesca Andriani, was dedicated to the new platform on the website of the General Directorate of Cinema called DGCOL, through which it is possible to apply for selective financing, tax relief and Italian nationality for the film work. . The long procedure to be carried out for the correct registration to the portal has been illustrated in detail, such as obtaining the actual documents for the request for financing and finally the methods of sending the request itself. “(Gaia Pistoiesi)

CREATE YOUR APP
(Speakers Ivan and Alessandro Specchio, founders of the KodiPlus app)

Ivan and Alessandro told the story of their app, the birth of the project and following which path an intuition has become a downloadable app on every smartphone. Kodi Plus is an app that lets you print 10 Polaroids a month for free and receive them at home by post. Photos can be selected from social accounts or from the mobile gallery. With Kodi Plus you can keep your memories in the safest way: keeping them in your hands. https://meetkodi.com/it

MAKEUP AND COSTUME
(Speaker Giulia Chimp Giorgi SFX make-up artist and president Baburka).

Organizing continuity on the set is an important part of the work of make-up, hairstyling, costume and set design departments and in the modern digital era there are several options that save time and paper. Good organization is the basis for a small or large set, these click-through apps allow greater fluidity in management and communication within your team and with other production departments. A complete review of the analyzed apps is included in volume one of the publication “EffectUs Journal”. Below are the apps and basic information:

CONTINUITY PRO
Cost 49.99 $

Devices: Apple iPad

Website: www.continuitypro.com/

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAghBhsl4Rc

Manual: downloadable from the website

SYNCONSET
Cost: when a project is created on SyncOnSet, 7 days of free use are automatically assigned, after which it is necessary to purchase one of the tariff plans ranging from $ 200 for 3 users for 4 weeks ($ 100 for each additional week up to a maximum of 8). To have a final price you need to contact the administration as the different possible prices are determined by different factors such as: production and department budget, number of users etc.

Devices: Apple iPad and iPhone, Android, web platform

Website: www.synconset.com

Video: https://vimeo.com/synconset

Manual: it is the site itself

DEPARTMENT HEAD
Cost: $ 159.99 (reduced version only $ 99 makeup)

Devices: Apple iPad – also available for Mac and PC platforms

Website: https://scriptesystems.weebly.com/

Video: https: //www.youtube.com/watch? V = 5_2yrqz0oPA

Manual: downloadable from the site

THE CONTINUITY APP (HILLCOOK)
Cost: $ 1.99

Website: http://hilcook.co.nz/

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpLkmwPjA20

Manual: not present

CONTINUITY
(Speaker Giulia Suadoni, edition secretary)
The Apps and programs presented during the edition table were:

SCRIPT
It is the most used in the United States, where they even do in-depth courses. A complete app in which the script is loaded to have the counting automatically and a quotation of time. Then there are functions that help the preparation of the bulletin and the working diary in the recovery phase, being able to keep everything in sight. In Italy this app is difficult to use because it is based on the American method, for example, it does not recognize the Italian methodology of how the clapperboard is made. Another limitation is that it loads only and exclusively scripts in Final Draft, while in Italy they are often in Word or Celtx. It may be useful to compile newsletters, but is it worth buying a very expensive app to use half of its features?

Cost: about € 329.

Devices: Ipad.

Rating: Not recommended

SCRIPT LIGHT
Free version of Script, if you want to test the application. It automatically scans only screenplays in English.

RACCORDER
Created by a Spanish continuity girl, it allows you to fill out the bulletins, upload the pdfs and work on them, instead of the paper script.

Cost: free

Devices: Apple and Android

Findings: not recommended, the application often crashes

LOCKIT SCRIPT
Application not very intuitive to use, but once you understand how it works, it has several comforts. It is an app dedicated only to the preparation of bulletins, it has the stopwatch included, it can attach photos. Produces a synthetic DDL ..

Cost: € 50.00

Devices: Apple

Findings: Provable. Useful on films, less on series

CONTINUITY COSTUME PRO

It is an app designed for make-up and costume fittings that allows you to create folders for each character, shooting day, story day and the various changes within the same day. The details of the clothing or make-up can be written for each character. It’s convenient but it’s an extra app, so all in all avoidable.

Cost: € 55

Devices: Ipad

Findings: Provable. It may be good on movies, but on the series it’s extra work

Giulia Suadoni recommends writing her own bulletins with NUMBERS which also allows files to be converted to PDF, while PDF EXPERT is suggested for working on the script. If you use an Ipad it is important to remember that the data can always be recovered by automatic backup of ICLOUD. DROPBOX is instead recommended for the realization of the photographic archive, dividing it into folders for historical day, with the various scenes inside.

(Elisa Costa)

VIDEO POST PRODUCTION
(Speaker Victor Rosalini Spacek, post production supervisor)
During the session we discussed the main post-production software for color correction, file management and some small mention of Vfx integrations. The software covered were: AFTER EFFECT and DA VINCI RESOLVE. We then discussed more traditional methods and color correction plug-ins for image development and improvement, and then discussed Key Frames and the creation of animations from static images. Subsequently the question of render and codec for export was treated: H264 / mov / apple prores / dnx. Finally we moved on to the issue of display platforms such as youtube and vimeo, and the sending of files through: MyAirBridge, Dropbox, Wetransfer

FIELD RECORDING
(Speaker Celeste Frontino, live sound engineer. Sponsor Lambda srl)
During the workshop the applications were treated: WINGMAN (Sound Devices), F8 CONTROL (Zoom), A10 TXREMOTE (Audio Limited). Subsequently various Tests were carried out on the aforementioned and the new Audio Limited product, the latest generation of wireless microphones were analyzed, also analyzing the different use of capsules such as Sanken and DPA on the latter. We then spoke in general about the potential offered by the different audio materials on the market.

– Cristina Festa –

Meeting “Financing – Welcome to the Jungle”

Baburka and The Cartel of Independents were back on Saturday 24 February with a meeting to discuss funding held at the Felt Music Club & School. The name chosen for the event “Financing – Welcome to the Jungle”, wants to emphasize the difficulty that often independent productions encounter every time they face a new project, looking for funds and financing. The aim of the meeting was to provide concrete support for smaller production companies that intend to follow the path of the independent cinema.

The Cartello degli indipendenti (Cartel of the independents) invited some organizations involved in this industry to illustrate the options available to the micro and nano companies of the Italian independent scene:

– Calls

– Joint Committee

– Crowdfunding

Veronica Baccolo, funding of Indigo Film, focused on funding calls and effective ways to submit a film project. The calls represent an important opportunity for companies that intend to start a production. The independent organizations , do not always have the economic requirements and/or structure to compete, and not all calls are suitable for all projects.

During the meeting, Veronica addressed the differences among the typologies of calls (regional, ministerial, European) that support the phases of a project: from development to production, from post-production to distribution. It is essential to understand which phase is most suitable to receive funding, according to the type of call in which you decide to participate and, above all, to know how to recognize the potential and the limitations of your project in order to better meet the requirements. The most complicated calls are often those where legal, financial and reporting documentation is required. For this reason,” said Veronica Baccolo, “it is important to pay the utmost attention to the requirements.

The second contribution was made by Andrea Canali, secretary of the Troupe Joint Commission of Anica. Canali focused on the National Contract for Cine-Audiovisual Workers and on the derogations that the Joint Commission has to assign. Very often, work in independent projects is carried out with light troupes that do not reach the numbers of a standard one, not only due to a budget issue but also, and above all due to their convenience. The independent production approach is completely different from that of a standard production, much more fluid, consisting of multi-purpose figures and hybrids. This does not imply lower quality, but a peculiarity.

The composition of the crew and the work schedule are at the heart of the Commission’s analysis, which accepts requests from producers before the beginning of the shooting, and on which it is asked to provide its opinion. For smaller productions, it is often difficult to comply with the rules contained in the national contract, which is also the reason why some exceptions can be requested to the Commission. As Canali has pointed out in detail, these often concern the sixth working day and, even more frequently, the composition of the crew in terms of numbers. For economic reasons, it is quite obvious that it are mainly small productions that ask for derogations from the social partners, but there are no differences for the Commission, which evaluates each film project appropriately according to the peculiarities of the film (by genre, plot development, number of outdoor scenes, etc.).

And lastly, crowdfunding was discussed as an alternative form of financing (or a supplement to other funds) for the cinema. The director Thomas Morelli and Elisabetta Fusco, social media manager and festival consultant, introduced to the audience the different online platforms that support crowdfunding, analysing Morelli’s documentaries as examples of successful campaigns.

Starting with the launch and operation of a crowdfunding campaign, Elisabetta Fusco illustrated the different forms of this particular system of collective financing (based on rewards for users, but not only) that has been able to raise 41 million euros in Italy in 2017, a remarkable result if we consider the poor willingness in our country to buy online. Thomas Morelli is one of the Italian directors who has focused mainly on crowdfunding for the production of his documentaries and has been able to significantly increase the funds raised over three projects, thanks to the right strategies: a good use of social media and the widespreading distribution of his films. The creation of a solid audience is fundamental, explained Morelli, to launch a campaign to support a new film project, because the user/viewer needs to “trust” the director.

Generally speaking, crowdfunding is an effective way to raise funds in the form of donations for a project; in Italy there are at least 46 platforms dedicated to crowdfunding, each one with its own characteristics, a sign that this form of financing is growing in some way.

In conclusion, we believe that it is a real priority for independent productions to fully understand the nature of their project in order to focus on their energies, which are however reduced compared to big productions, and by designing their production path from the very beginning to the distribution, together with an adequate marketing plan to support the whole process, in order to face the cinema system in a more fluid, dynamic and independent way.

Below is a link to the full video of the meeting:

Saturday, May 27th, the “Guide to the Distribution of Independent Films” event was held at Il KiNO.

Distribution is one of the most felt themes among producers and independent directors. As emerged during the first meeting of the Cartel of Independents (to learn more see here), many works struggle to circulate and to fully exploit their potential for dissemination. Following the spirit of the Cartel to find shared solutions, it was therefore decided to dedicate an afternoon to the possibilities of distribution for independent films through festivals, VoD platforms, rooms and sales.

During the meeting various realities in the cinema distribution were presented, some directors and producers told their experience and everything ended with an intense debate between guests and participants.

Several positive points emerged and a much richer panorama of opportunities than when we had asked ourselves the question “how is an independent film distributed?”

Below is a summary of the interventions and conclusions that have come from them.

 

CRISTIANO ANANIA – ASSOCIAK

Associak offers a distribution service for short films in the national festival circuit. The service includes the creation of promotional material and registration procedures for festivals. Thanks to the direct relationship with many festivals, it ensures widespread distribution throughout Italy.

EMAIL: associakdistribuzione@gmail.com

FB: www.facebook.com/associak/

SITE: https://associak.wordpress.com

 

PLATFORMS FOR ONLINE REGISTRATION FOR FESTIVALS

The platforms for online registration for festivals are an indispensable tool for those who want to circulate their works at festivals in DIY mode.

The platforms allow to:

1) save time, creating a single registration valid for all the festivals in the catalog of the platform;

2) easily find the most suitable festivals for your film thanks to search filters;

3) monitor deadlines and the status of your registration.

The recommended:

Filmfreeway: very well stocked catalog, excellent search filters, free.

Withoutabox: historic platform, integrated with Imdb.

Festhome: additional paid services such as translations, subtitles, dcp; most European festival catalog.

Reelport: limited catalog but more focused on European festivals for short films.

Filmfestivallife: it is also a social network so it is useful for interacting with industry professionals.

Shortdepot: dedicated entirely to short film festivals.

Clickforfestivals: fast growing, to watch.

 

ALESSANDRO REGALDO – GRAY LADDER

Gray Ladder is a company based in Turin, which deals with development and production in the field of entertainment, and above all with international, innovative and cross-media projects. The Gray Ladder team is composed of emerging talents and industry professionals; is a network made up of collaborations and partnerships across the various sectors of the production chain, which puts operators and companies that deal with entertainment into a system.

Alessandro told us about the experience of Gray Ladder especially in relations with VoD platforms and in particular Netflix, with which they distributed several works. Some of the most interesting ideas were:

1) Getting in touch with VoD distributors is not impossible, as they are farsighted and content-hungry companies, therefore open to new collaborations. Festivals and film markets create good meeting opportunities, such as the Cannes MIPCOM.

2) The best approach to approach is to present projects in an advanced development phase. Taking the example of a series, the ideal is to bring a subject for the development of at least three seasons. As for the films, instead, it is better to present more than one project, because the VoD platforms seek above all extensive collaborations rather than on individual projects.

3) Distribution on VoD platforms is not suitable for all films. Some films once sold to a player risk ending up in the so-called “offer baskets”, where they remain blocked without obtaining any visibility, while through a studied media distribution you can give your film and its production greater value.

4) The consumption of VoD is constantly growing, especially on smartphones, so it is important, if you have as your goal the distribution on VoD platforms, to think of formats suitable for use on mobile devices and tablets. An interesting example is the Studio+ app designed exclusively for consumption on smartphones by Canal+.

EMAIL: script@greyladder.net

FB: www.facebook.com/greyladder/

SITE: greyladder.net/en/

 

DISTRIBUZIONI DAL BASSO

Online portal that allows access to cultural works released under a Creative Commons license through a free but mandatory donation. The site contains over 120 creative works directed by 80 directors, writers and musicians, from Italy, Belgium, France and England. For this reason, the documentaries are subtitled in Italian, French and English (with the possibility of assistance), and the platform is usable in the three languages. The intention of the video library is in fact to open up to the rest of Europe and the world by networking those independent productions that would hardly find space in the traditional market.

The pillars of DdB are:

– Selection upstream: works of social content or inquiry and denunciation are preferred (“A boy was dead” by Filippo Vendemmiati, winner of the David di Donatello);

– Open Culture: thanks to the Creative Commons 4.0 License the user is free to share the content (in whole or in part) as long as it is not for profit;

– Pay what you feel: culture can be profitable and remain accessible, making the user responsible for supporting the production projects of the authors in the catalog. Percentages: 50% author; 20% platform; 30% logistics costs.

DdB is also committed to promoting cultural events and networking moments between directors, cinema and festivals. Today there are more than 250 clubs throughout Italy and the affiliated spaces that host screenings and presentations of the Ddb-branded works.

FB: www.facebook.com/OpenDDB/

SITE: www.openddb.it

 

LUCA MALGARA – MOVIEDAY

Movieday is a self-distribution platform that allows you to organize screenings in movie theaters  throughout Italy. To organize a screening, simply register and reserve, for a specific date, one of the 180 movie theaters available (each one has fixed slots available per week). In this way an event is created but it is realized only when a ticket quorum is actually sold. Any film that has a censorship visa can be projected and this allows many films, which would hardly reach us in other ways, to arrive in the room.

This system allows you to organize an effective promotional launch and keep a movie in the theater until there is an interested audience; furthermore, in the event of a successful campaign, it allows to increase the commercial value for subsequent exploitations.

In the last year at least 15 productions have distributed their films through Movieday. One of the most successful examples is the documentary “Unlearning” which produced more than 100 screenings sold out with Movieday and another 80 organized by the exhibitors themselves, enticed by the large influx of spectators. Another successful example is “Figli della Libertà”: for this film Movieday was involved already in the development phase, putting tickets for the screenings among the rewards for crowdfunding offers; a particular launch was then chosen, with 35 screenings simultaneously in different cities, and inserting in-depth information on the themes of the film after the screening. The event was so successful that in the end the exhibitors requested further screenings and it was decided to leave the film on the platform.

Movieday also provides logistics services for the creation of copies, marketing and communication to help productions intercept and stay in touch with their fan base, and a consulting service for the development of their distribution strategy.

CONTACTS:

EMAIL: luca@movieday.it

FB: www.facebook.com/movieday.community/

SITE: www.movieday.it

 

FRANCESCO NOTARANGELO – CINEAMA

Cineama is an art-house film distribution company based on social and self-management strategies, that is by bypassing the agencies and favoring instead the tools of word of mouth and spreading on social networks. To make this distribution as effective as possible, Cineama focuses above all on intercepting the reference community of the film or on creating one. One of the most frequent methods is to create partnerships with sponsors who share the same values ​​as the film, based on mutual exchange of visibility. Very successful examples are those of the sponsorship between Legambiente and WWF and the documentary “The search for a meaning” which allowed the film to reach a very wide audience and the associations to promote their activity.

This type of distribution requires a long path of accompaniment and support for the film but allows niche films to reach large numbers of people and a pool of 150 rooms. One of the most striking examples of this strategy is “I stay with the bride” who, beyond all expectations, managed to obtain a sum of 400 thousand euros.

CONTACTS

EMAIL: francesco.notarangelo@cineama.it

FB: https://www.facebook.com/cineama.it/

SITE: http://www.cineama.it/

 

JACOPO CHESSA – NATIONAL SHORT FILM CENTER: TORINO SHORT FILM MARKET AND ITALIAN SHORT FILM VIDEO LIBRARY

The National Short Film Center is a project born in 2007 as a film library and promotion agency for the Italian short film. Present in the main international markets, he is the privileged interlocutor of festivals and foreign buyers on the Italian short film market.

One of his most interesting initiatives is the Turin Short Film Market, which will take place this year for the second time within the Torino Film Festival, in the form of two calls:

– Oltrecorto: call for feature film projects, TV series, digital and gaming that are the evolution of a short film already made. The short films and projects will be presented, during a pitch, to an audience of producers and broadcasters in search of talent with the aim of building a bridge between the world of shorts and those of production. The call is open to directors and screenwriters of any age and country who have made a short film and who want it to evolve into a feature film, a TV series or a digital or a game.

– Distribution: call open to distributors, of any country, who have a catalog – national or international – of short films up to 30 ‘to be presented to potential television and web buyers, in the form of pitch.

Another interesting CNC initiative is the Italian Short Film Video Library, a platform that allows the uploading of short films, data sheets and other materials in complete safety. In fact, what is loaded is not in any way made public and only registered buyers and festival programmers have access to it and, if interested in purchasing and / or programming short films, they can contact the directors and producers directly. The annual fee is € 20 for each short film inserted.

CONTACTS

EMAIL: info@centrodelcorto.it

FB: https://www.facebook.com/CNCItalia/

SITE: www.centrodelcorto.it

ANTONIO LUCA PADOVANI

Producer and director, he has lived and worked in Berlin for several years. Antonio spoke of his experience in the distribution in Germany of the film “Le Meraviglie” by Alice Rohrwacher and the documentary “Belluscone” by Ciprì and Maresco.

What has emerged is that in Germany there is a great interest in international cinema, especially in Berlin where 40% of theaters project in the original language. Italian cinema has a particular success, both because it attracts the German public’s curiosity a lot, and because in Germany lives a large Italian community. In fact, there are not few reviews dedicated to Italian cinema and it is not uncommon to find Italian films in the cinema, even in the original language.

One difficulty that Italian films can encounter in Germany is that of adaptation: sometimes, to make the contents understandable, meanings are distorted, but this is the problem of every international distribution.

Although Antonio has mostly talked about arthouse films but not really niche, the fact remains that Italian cinema is very popular in Germany and therefore it is certainly a foreign market to be taken into consideration even by the most independent productions. Furthermore, distributing to the German public means reaching a wider geographical area than Germany which also includes Austria and German-speaking Switzerland.

LUDOVICO DI MARTINO – DIRECTOR OF “Il nostro ultimo”

“Il Nostro Ultimo” is a direct and self-directed 2014 film produced by Ludovico Di Martino when he was still a student of the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia.

For distribution, the film had initially relied on an already established company, the “Pablo”, which had taken it to the “Sacher” cinema by Nanni Moretti. When the possibility of giving the film the “classic” distribution was presented, Ludovico chose to take a path more in line with the philosophy with which the film was made – as expressed in the opening credits “All those who participated present this film … “- and take it around accompanying it theater by theater. “Il Nostro Ultimo” has been circulating for more than two years now in theaters, festivals, and events, not only in Italy, but all over the world, and at every screening there is always a part of the cast and crew. The story of how the film was made has become an integral part of the projection.

Why was this route chosen when the occasion of a “real” distribution was presented? To answer, Ludovico argues that making a film in total autonomy still remains a way to build a launching pad to enter the real film industry and then accompany the film in its distribution (as they say “always putting our face”) remains a way to continue to do what the film was made for, that is to make the experts and viewers know and vice versa to get to know the audience and understand their tastes, communicate their ideas and their vision. The next step to be done can therefore only be another self produced film, but this time through a high level production method.

Another interesting tip was the one on the bureaucratic/legal aspect: even an on the road movie produced in a completely informal way can, without too much difficulty, obtain the posthumous authorizations for the screening in the auditorium (visa censorship).

CONCLUSIONS

Independent distribution often requires a lot of patience and creativity, as it is a long path of accompaniment and support for the film, which must be conceived from the beginning of a project, both in terms of marketing and budget. It is fundamental to identify your target audience (fan base) through all the means we have available, from social media to traditional associations, as they will be the real promoters of the film throughout its life, thus creating a very relationship deeper between the works in question and their audience, no longer just a silent spectator, but an active promoter of the project that he chose to support even with simple sharing.

It is important to understand which distribution strategy is best suited to your film, in order to be able to choose, on the basis of the topics dealt with and the potential target audience, exit methods and times and any sponsors to whom to bind.

Not to forget the participation in the festivals, which are often associated with the film market and during which important opportunities are created for meeting with other sector employees, potential buyers and investors. The festival circuit is an important channel especially for short films, not only because it is their main space of diffusion, but also because it can be a sort of “ram” to break through a new door: a short film can serve to present a bigger project – a feature or series – or be the link to propose new projects to potential investors.

All this must be a starting point to learn to conceive our film projects in an innovative way, to ask ourselves about the ultimate goal of the work we promote by looking beyond the traditional horizons: who are our interlocutors? How to reach them? What do they expect from us? How to surprise them?

It is important to get out of the idea of ​​individual “success stories” to create a “functioning system of successful case studies” and only the network, among many realities with different characteristics, can lead to a creative and innovative market power, making the Italian independent cinema is not a set of sporadic “success stories” but an active alternative market system that effectively attracts investors and is strong enough to claim its creative autonomy, because we are our strength and the basis of our audience is ourselves we just have to learn to look beyond.

The sharing of knowledge and study are the basis of a strong system that can someday confront itself with the great pre-existing realities.

DIRECT LINK FACEBOOK OF THE MEETING in italian: https://www.facebook.com/baburkaproduction/videos/1914555151903511/

The following article of our blog is intended to be a report associated with personal considerations, following the first meeting of “Il cartello degli indipendenti“.

On March 18 in the former council hall of Via della Marranella, the first meeting of Il cartello degli indipendenti was held. An experiment promoted by Baburka Production in order to create an operative network among active relatives of the cinema industry.
More than 70 participants took part in the meeting and 25 companies, cooperatives, informal groups and individuals presented themselves to the potential working group.

Cristina Festa gave us a brief overview of the current situation of the productions that operate micro and low budget as a starting point for the debate that was held following the roundup of presentations. This analysis, after the meeting has been implemented and is the basis of the following reflection.

Let’s start with the definition of our area of action: independent cinema. In the common imaginary we usually mean cinema made by productions that operate with a low budget, mainly found by private individuals, often produced without public funds, but it is necessary for the purposes of a complete picture also to consider all the self-productions supported by the filmmakers themselves and/or by some sponsors, often in a completely informal way.  This kind of cinema is to be considered operative on several levels, often influenced by the different type of budget to which the production realities have access. At the same time, each production moves between these different levels depending on the projects in progress.

Moreover, creating a company involves very high costs for those who work with micro and low budgets, starting from the existence of the company itself and this also leads us to question the real need about the organizations’ duplication.

In fact, we could consider a company that can promote other people’s projects with specific conditions of involvement of the creators themselves, making them move from the role of mere creators by educating them to a productive consciousness that will turn them also into operational producers.
A path that, furthermore, most of those who work in our field have already undertaken, namely that of becoming the producer of their own projects out of necessity, but which must be strengthened and refined in order to increase the chances of projects to be launched and to learn to analyse upstream their end-user potential and therefore the real chances that can be offered to ourselves and to investors.

Access to public funding is another hot topic, although this is one of the main sources of support for the Italian film industry. Many companies operating in the micro and low budget sector have upstream a barrier of access: social capital and funding. Over the years, however, some companies have managed to meet the requirements to access state funding, but they have also encountered another series of issues related to accessing bank loans and the timing of the disbursement of funds. A dog chasing its own tail- considering that our productions operate with very low budgets.

These challenges therefore lead to the necessity to carefully question the way to pursue, often having to set aside a priority, the option to benefit from public funding for the sustainability of the entire project.

The structure of the teams is also a cause for reflection: the majority of the participants were directors, scriptwriters and directors of photography, very few had a third element which did not coincide with their own people, able to deal with production, fundraising and management. This need is one of the points that the cartel would like to meet collectively.

It is important to keep in mind that the strength that a creator can put in the submission of a project is one of the keys to success, but only if associated with a whole series of technical and productive skills, skills that will allow in the future to understand and supervise the choice of a possible external element to take charge of their projects.

Following a brief overview of the common weaknesses and shortcomings observed:

BANDS AND ACCESS TO CREDIT

– Formal requirements (legal or capital)

– Advanced skills for compiling and applying projects

– Limited economic resources with consequent limitation of access to credit despite winning calls for financing.

BUROCRATIC/AMINISTRATIVE FIGURES

– Production/organisation

– Training in managing new fundraising tools (e.g. Crowdfunding)

– Advanced administrative/bureaucratic training

– Training in promoting and selling finished products

MARKETING, ADVERTISING, SALES

– Internal staff with graphics skills

– Web management, marketing, visual identity and sales skills

– Staff dedicated to the commercial field

– Distribution system for finished works (festivals, cinemas, web)

After this brief summary of points to implement, we must list our strengths:

– An average of under 40 years old professionals

– Cost-optimisation capabilities

– Diversification of skills

– Diversification of the offered services

– Expertise in new technologies and trends

– Greater freedom of speech in the editing of projects

– Forward-thinking vision

– Operational energy for the construction of a sustainable independent cinema system

So we get to sketch out the first potential points that the cartel would allow to emerge in our realities:

NETWORKING

– Shared strengthening of skills in areas in which other members of the network have already proven experience (e.g. administration, advertising and management)

– Connection with potential new business partners and technical/artistic partners

EXCHANGE

– Skills exchange (exchange of skills through seminars)

– Services (at reduced prices or through potential partnerships)

– Equipment (potential discounted rental and the introduction of collective material packages)

SALE OF SERVICES AND PRODUCTS

– Comprehensiveness of the offer by creating partnerships on departments that you do not have internally

– Creation of an independent multi-level distribution network (festival, cinema, web)

– Broadening of the collective promotional range

In conclusion, an active network is essential to respond together and find shared solutions, to make our independent productions stronger and generate a sustainable model of artistic, professional and economic growth for those who do our job, pushing our customers and the State to understand that work in the artistic and cultural field has a market and it is necessary for this to feed it and educate our audience starting from the bottom.

Aware of the lack of interest that the country in which we operate has for our problems and for what we produce, it must be seriously considered the importance of creating strong connections with private individuals and foreign realities of our kind, to learn from them and to be open to the foreign market, conceiving it as a potential point of arrival of our productions, and then return home, stronger. It is also essential to work on the aggregation, loyalty and growth of an audience that is aware of art and culture, involving them through the collective promotional potential that we can obtain by connecting the communicative forces of all our realities.

The first step has been done and the road is uphill. So far, we have started by categorizing the organizations that introduced themselves to create a free consultation list and those who took part in the meeting as auditors have been included in the dedicated mailing list. The first initiative that we will propose as Baburka to the working group, to understand who really wants to invest its time and skills in the project, is that of a collective initiative within which we can organize short seminars and workshops, where we can propose skills sharing, moments of socialization and projections to test the collective potential.

Surely there will be, as it is already happening, new joinings to the project, but to move towards a concrete realization of the targets described above is required to work step by step by calibrating the energies of all the participants.