Last weekend I attended the 3D Wire Animation and Video Game Market in Segovia. It is one of the most important events surrounding animated film in Spain and an excellent place to take the pulse of video games and now also virtual reality.
In addition to professional presentations and screenings, there are a series of very interesting conferences. The work that Jose Luis, Beatriz, Alfonso, Loic, and their entire team have been doing for years is impressive.
One of the conferences that most caught my attention was that of Celia Bullwinkel, director of the animated short film Sidewalk, which has a duration of four minutes and has achieved no less than 16 million views on the internet (three million on Vimeo alone).
Here you can watch the short film, which is available online:
When I consider the distribution strategy for a short film, whether animated or of any other genre, one of the first considerations is not to publish it on the internet. Many festivals do not accept short films that have premiered online for competition.
This is normally a strict rule. But, like all rules, it has its exceptions, and the case of Sidewalk has made me reconsider it.
In her conference, Celia Bullwinkel discussed the advantages of premiering an animated short film online. Although some of her advice could be applied to other genres, it works best for very short animation. This online success has given her considerable recognition as a filmmaker and has generated interest in her work.
To carry out the online premiere of a short film, it is not enough to simply publish it on Vimeo and YouTube and wait for the views to arrive. You must have a very well-defined strategy.
Some key points to consider:
- Know your audience well; in the case of Sidewalk, we could identify up to three audience niches:
- Children and young adults.
- Female audience.
- Social issues.
- Contact legitimizers, who would be the equivalent of influencers or early adopters of a brand or market niche. This involves identifying those individuals or media outlets that have credibility on a topic where you want to position yourself and that have a strong presence on social media. You can invite them to watch your short film and get them to share it. As a result of these contacts, Celia Bullwinkel has appeared in media such as Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, Huffington Post, L’Avenir, Stylist.co.uk, SVA Film & Animation Blog, etc.
- Try to be selected for Vimeo Staff Picks. This Vimeo channel is becoming increasingly important for promoting short films on the internet and is essential for making your video go viral. In this case, the director of Sidewalk recommended writing directly to the programmers. She succeeded, and the views skyrocketed.
- Do not limit yourself to Vimeo; you can publish your video on other platforms at the same time, such as YouTube and Facebook, which continues to grow as a video platform. In the case of YouTube, you must be careful with other users who might upload your video as if it were their own. For Google to understand that you are the legitimate owner, here is good advice: keep it private for a time before making it public. This way, Google will have no doubt that you are the owner.
- Create a digital E.P.K. (Electronic Press Kit) with the main details of the short film, the link to the video, photographs, a director’s statement, links to social media, etc. You can create this E.P.K. in Google Docs or build a simple website.
- Take care with the title and description of the video.
At first glance, we might think that the online premiere and promotion of an animated short film would not be compatible with festival distribution, but in this case it was not so.
Sidewalk was very well received at film festivals, participating in both general and animation competitions. Among them were Annecy, Anima Mundi, Anifilm, and Klik! Amsterdam Animation.
This is the list of festivals where it participated and the awards received from 2013 to 2014:
- April 18-21, 2013 – High Falls Film Festival (Rochester, NY)
- May 3-8, 2013 – Anifilm International Festival of Animated Films (Třeboň, Czech Republic)
- May 9-16, 2013 – Flying Broom Int’l Women’s Film Festival (Ankara, Turkey)
- May 19, 2013 – ASIFA-East Animation Festival (NYC, NY) — First Prize.
- June 14, 2013 – Annecy + (Annecy, France)
- July 16-28, 2013 – Femina International Women’s Film Festival (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
- July 26-28, 2013 – Animation Block Party (Brooklyn, NY)
- August 2-18, 2013 – Anima Mundi (Rio de Janeiro/Sao Paulo, Brazil)
- September 5-8, 2013 – Martha’s Vineyard International Film Festival (Vineyard Haven, MA)
- September 14-21, 2013 – Naperville Independent Film Festival (Naperville, IL)
- September 20-22, 2013 – Coney Island Film Festival (Brooklyn, NY)
- October 2-6, 2013 – Woodstock Film Festival (Woodstock, NY)
- October 10 – Lunafest (Emeryville, CA)
- October 22-27, 2013 – Film Columbia Festival (Chatham, NY)
- October 25-November 3, 2013 – Chicago International Children’s Film Festival (Chicago, IL) Young Jury Award, Second Prize.
- November 7-10, 2013 – Aesthetica Short Film Festival (York, UK)
- November 13-16, 2013 – Cutout Fest International Film Festival (Queretaro, Mexico)
- November 12-17, 2013 – Klik! Amsterdam Animation Festival (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
- February 1-June 29, 2014 – Black Maria Film and Video Festival (Jersey City, New Jersey) Special Jury Award, 2nd Prize.
- February 19-23, 2014 – DC Independent Film Festival (Washington DC)
- April 4-13, 2014 – Florida Film Festival (Maitland, Florida)
- April 3-5, 2014 – WAMMFest (Women and Minorities in Media Fest) (Towson, Maryland) Best Animation.
- April 30, 2014 – Twillerama, at the Legion Bar (Brooklyn, NY)
- June 20, 2014 – Pittsburgh Independent Film Festival (Pittsburgh, PA) Best Animation.
- October 13-19 – Bolderlife Festival (Denver, CO)
There are festivals where it is not possible to participate if the short film has already premiered on the internet, such as Cannes, Venice, Montreal, Berlin, or Sitges, among others. But there are also very important festivals, such as Sundance or Annecy, that do accept them.
If you are in the midst of distributing your animated short film (or another genre), you could consider an online premiere, but you must be very clear about the strategy to follow and what your objectives are. If we have learned anything from cases like that of Sidewalk, it is that we should not take anything for granted.
A good strategy on the internet and at festivals at the same time can be compatible.
Do you have experience with the online premiere of your short film? What is your opinion on this topic?
I would very much like to receive your comments.