With this in mind, MovieSet’s Director of Fan Communities (and noted pundit and presenter), Dave Olson wrote a concise and relevant guide book about how to market your film using the social web – and you can download it for free.

Enjoy the report? Please let us know with a comment and share the knowledge with your friends and colleagues.

Download “Social Promotion for Movies – A Practical Guide” (.pdf)
by Dave Olson for MovieSet.com

Presentation Slides, Table of Contents and Author info after the jump …

View the Social Promotion for Movies presentation slides

Overview: “Social Promotion for Movies – A Practical Guide” covers most everything film producers and publicists need to know to begin identifying, outreaching and engaging fans. The white-paper-like booklet explains topics like Search Engine Optimization, Campaign Planning, Promotional Tactics and tips for preparing videos, stills, blogs, and news for maximum impact. Along with professional tips for building keyword lists and monitoring conversations, you’ll find a list of tools, resources, performance indicators and action plans for getting cast and crew onboard. The report includes specifics steps for making the most of MovieSet’s Production Tools (free) and points you to additional marketing resources if desired.

Table of Contents

• Intro to Participatory Marketing (keys, benefits, results)
• Preparing Content (strategy for video, stills, blogs, news, links)
• Search Optimizing (how search engines work & how to rank well)
• Promotional Tactics (outreach, comment, converse, create, contests,
• Campaign Planning (activities, objectives, assembling, approvals, measuring
• More Help (sign-up for MovieSet’s tools or services)
• Glossary/Toolbox/Credits

Dave Olson, author of Social Promotion for Movies - photo by KK

Author notes: This report was produced for MovieSet.com by Dave Olson, Director of Fan Communities. After award-winning stints at Zhonka.net, RaincityStudios.com and Happyfrog.ca, Dave joined MovieSet.com to connect movie fans and filmmakers by using social media campaigns to deliver unique, behind the scenes coverage of films in production. In one year, he helped increase traffic exponentially, spark participation, and educate producers on new media marketing tactics.

Dave frequently speaks at events including SXSW, Northern Voice, Island Tech and is widely quoted in social and traditional media outlets. Published in magazines and journals on topics from Hemp Culture in Japan to Telco de-regulation, Dave is most proud of his handmade literary chapbooks, static montage art, and audio podcasts.

5) District 9 – Neill Blomkamp’s debut surprised everyone with a great story and believable computer generated aliens. The profoundness of the feature extends beyond the explosions on screen, emphasizing world culture and the genocides that still plague African nations. The style was something to be amazed by as well; a faux documentary about the alien ghetto. Newcomer Sharlto Copley amazed me with a believably solid performance as Wikus, with raw emotion and the incompetence necessary for the character. While this is hardly the promised “Halo” film from Peter Jackson, “District 9” became the best science fiction of the year.

4) Fantastic Mr. Fox – Wes Anderson’s first animated feature proved to be the best animated film of the year. George Clooney’s first of two top 5 films of the year is charismatic and charming as the title character. The stop motion animation built a fun environment with the typical Anderson straight on camera style. Anderson also brought many of his usual stars on board as support, including Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, and Owen Wilson. The point is that Anderson knows how to make enjoyable heist movies, with “Bottle Rocket” and now “Fantastic Mr. Fox.”

3) Inglourious Basterds – The most intriguing a war film ever came from none other than Tarantino in the only way that he could do it. History buffs probably should shy away, but for anyone looking to witness the most heartfelt homage to cinema, “Basterds” fulfilled all expectations. Brad Pitt and Christoph Waltz delivered brilliant performances as two enemies coming to heads in the most unlikely of situations. It took the right frame of mind for me to truly see the significance of the film, because the focus is not on war, battles, or heroics, but rather on deception and the performances necessary for espionage and surviving behind enemy lines.

2) Up in the Air – George Clooney’s best performance of the year came with another success form writer/director Jason Reitman’s third excellent film in a row. “Up in the Air” already has garnered nearly unanimous critical acclaim around the country, with only the Golden Globes and Oscars ahead. The heartfelt story of a man consumed by his career, might depress you a bit, but ultimately it sends the right message to all, about what the important things in life should be. It might not have the best-constructed narrative, which seems choppy, uneven and somewhat disconnected at times, but the characters stitch the scenes together well enough to make a great film.

1) The Hurt Locker – Where “Inglourious Basterds” built upon the fiction of war, “The Hurt Locker” creates a gritty realism of the Iraq War in the best film of the year. Jeremy Renner stars as Staff Sgt. William James, a bomb diffuser, who puts his team in the most extreme danger possible daily. The focus is on the addictive nature of war, and the need for the rush of adrenaline in life/death situations. It is no hold barred with suicide bombs, improvised weapons, and the best sniper battle I have seen. Kathryn Bigelow, one of the few female directors in Hollywood, directs what is her best film so far with a great style by putting hand held angles up close in the action. It never got the national release it deserved, or even the recognition it so much deserved, but hopefully three Golden Globe nominations and some Oscar buzz helps entice audiences to check it out when it releases on DVD in January.

Now gaze into your crystal ball and guess which of these will score shiny statues this spring – gaze deeper and speculate which forthcoming movies will appear on similar lists a year from now – What do you see?

The article ran as a full page on the Entertainment section and you can explore two versions online in both the Technology and Entertainment sections. The print edition includes a screenshot of the Behind the Scenes vidcast show with Shaun and Eric, while the online version features a video with Director of Fan Communities Dave Olson giving a tour of MovieSet.com (including Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus).

The article kicks off by asking: Care to wander onto the set of a movie shoot, chat with the actors, see the inside story on the stunts?

Well, do you?

This kind of set access has been the goal of MovieSet CEO Colleen Nystedt since 2005 and she continues to educate and push her industry forward with the belief that there is a universal interest in how movies are made and that the action on-set is something fans care about. MovieSet seeks to satisfy that hunger by delivering value to both the film industry, with the suite of production tools, and to all passionate movie fans, by providing exclusive access to great content.

Here’s a snippet from the article to explain:

The site flips traditional movie marketing on its head, much the way online music has transformed the relationship between music makers and their fans. Like many traditional content-oriented industries, movie making has been more about closely guarding the content and releasing it on a prescribed schedule than in sharing it and offering inside sneak peeks.

“It is part of the Hollywood thing that they think they don’t need to communicate with fans,” said Nystedt. “To hold things back is very old school thinking.

“On the web, exclusivity is dead. If you hold back stuff it is either going to get stolen or it is going to get ignored.”

The article quotes the erstwhile leader of the “social media renegades,” Dave Olson, who relates the focus on fan participation as the key to traffic growth and enthusiasm for the site, using our recent Death Warrior campaign as an example (links added):

For small very specialized films, such as Death Warrior, a mixed martial arts film that included livestream video among its offerings for fans, Movieset allowed it to find a core audience that shared a passion for the action film.

“We found out where fans of that genre hang out, we communicated with them in their language and we invited them to take part,” said Olson. “We even gave away the bloody sweatshirt that Georges St-Pierre was killed in to a fan at the end of it.”

Finally, Ms. Shaw’s article outlines some of the other tactics we’ve used to bring movie fans behind the scenes and a call to action for movie makers of all kinds ~ from indies to majors ~ to hop aboard the MovieSet cluetrain:

“The site’s front page is refreshed daily and we’re outreaching to fans through Twitter, a Facebook trivia application and a behind-the-scenes vid cast,” said Olson.

While it still goes against the grain to loosen their grip on content, traditional studios are stepping aboard.

“Studios one by one are starting to realize there is some value here,” said Olson. “They see it is a conversation that is going on and it will go on without them.

“They are saying ‘we should start to participate whether we want to or not.’”

Dave Olson gives a tour of MovieSet.com

Indeed, there are now excellent examples which demonstrate the power of MovieSet’s two-headed monster. Cast and Crew members are employing our tools to streamline their daily workflow, they deliver content directly to their movies page including still photos, videos, news, or blog posts.

Once uploaded, the rich content gives the social media conversationalists an opportunity to reach out to an engaged community of fans interested in the film. Fans then become active contributors by following, supporting and commenting throughout each phase of production. And so on, and so on …

Read the full article: Online and on the set by Gillian Shaw (@gillianshaw on Twitter) in the Vancouver Sun, June 9, 2009 – please consider leaving a comment or sharing with your movie fan and filmmaker friends.

First off we take another look at King of Fighters! Its an exciting new movie based on the Video Game.  MovieSet has a few exclusive behind the scenes interviews and clips! Check it out! King of Fighters is a stylish, high-octane, live action feature based on the highly successful video game franchise, in which the last surviving descendants of three legendary clans are continuously transported to other dimensions to test their martial arts skills against an evil force that seeks to invade and infect the real world.

It’s 1998 and Star Wars fanboys across the globe eagerly await the release of Episode I. But for Eric, Linus, Hutch and Windows the term “fanboy” is more than just a title, it’s a badge of honor. Spurred by impatience and an undying loyalty to their cause, these former high school friends reunite to undertake the road trip of their fan-tasies. Traveling West across the country to visit their Mecca – George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch – the plan is to break in, steal the film and stake their claim as the first fanboys in history to watch it. But to secure their place in the fanboy hall of fame, they’ll have to contend with bizarre bikers, a crazy pimp, a deranged group of trekkies and the quiet intensity of William Shatner.

Death Warrior is about a gritty MMA fighter is forced into a twisted, underground gambling ring in which he must fight to the death with other MMA fighters in order to save his wife from certain death at the hands of a maniacal crime boss. In a desperate race against time, he is forced into a series of increasingly violent life and death matches while simultaneously piecing together the puzzle which leads him to uncover the identity of the promoter and the ultimate showdown, in which there can only be one Death Warrior.

Be sure to check out more Behind the Scenes! We screen 3 episodes a week.

Subscribe to behind the Scenes in iTunes or by Email

First off, The Watchmen which opens March 6th with midnight screenings all over. Check out the interviews with Watchmen’s Head Sculptor Jack Gaureau who discusses the creation of the futuristic battleship and weapons. The guys also discuss the possibility of a Watchmen sequel based on the Tales of the Black Freighter or Allan Moore’s Minutemen.

Next up, clips from The Horsemen with Dennis Quaid – a thriller directed by Jonas Akerlund about a detective tracking down mysteries which seem connected to the fabled four horsemen of the apocalypse.

Finally, The Highwayman – the story of a young farmer in England who becomes a robber. The film was a true DIY indie project and Eric celebrates by reading some of the poem which inspired the story while channeling inebriated Orson Welles.

Contest

Win an double-sided autographed Max Payne poster signed by Mark Wahlberg and a bevy of other cast and crew from the film. Send email to contests@movieset.com with “I Want Max Payne” in the subject line.

More about the Watchmen Contest with Shaun Eric’s explanation video. Enter at watchmen-contest@movieset.com.

Check out the official Watchmen movie site and the MovieSet Watchmen Sitelet for more than a dozen behind the scenes Watchmen video clips, and heaps of stills to explore – plus the complete synopsis, blog posts, news and cast & crew listings from this highly anticipated movie.

The Watchmen – In Theaters March 6th

Enter to Win

1) Watch this video clip carefully for all Watchmen references
You must find at least 5 of the 16 clues to qualify to win. Note: some references are clickable hidden interactive elements – spot them all to score the best prizes.

2) Enter the Watchmen contest

Enter between February 20, 2009 and March 16, 2009. Registration is free. By entering, you agree to abide by the MovieSet, Inc. contest rules.

Include:

• Watchmen reference clues from the video, and
• Name, street address (to mail your prize), email address and date of birth

Send by:
Email to watchmen-contest@movieset.com
or
Mail an envelope containing a 3×5 card with your name, street address, e-mail address and birthdate postmarked by March 16, 2009 and received no later than March 19, 2009.
Send to:
MovieSet, Inc. Attn: Watchmen Contest
254 Market Street
Venice, CA, U.S.A.
90291

3) Wait patiently

We’ll randomly choose the winners from the qualified entries and inform the lucky fans on or around March 19, 2009.

Rules

By entering, you agree to abide by the complete MovieSet, Inc. contest rules including: Limit one (1) entry per person/email address/household per day. If more than one entry a day is received from any person/email address/household, all subsequent entries may be disqualified. Entries generated by script, macro or other automated or mechanical means are void. All entries become the property of MovieSet and will not be acknowledged or returned.

Prizes

The big truck backed up to the loading dock laden with unique memorabilia, including:

Grand Prize: 1 MyVu Personal Media Viewer – ARV $300

More awesome prizes:

• 1 WATCHMEN: THE ABSOLUTE EDITION by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (Hardcover) – ARV $75
• 1 WATCHING THE WATCHMEN: The Definitive Companion to the Ultimate Graphic Novel by Dave Gibbons, Chip Kidd, and Mike Essl (Hardcover) – ARV $40 (This book will be autographed by
  Dave Gibbons!!!)
• 1 WATCHMEN: THE ART OF THE FILM by Peter Aperlo (Hardcover) – ARV $40
• 5 WATCHMEN: THE FILM COMPANION by Peter Aperlo (Soft cover) – ARV $19.95
• 5 Watchmen Soundtrack CD – ARV $15.99
• 5 Women’s Tee – ARV $20
• 5 Men’s Tee – ARV $20
• 5 Cap – ARV $15
• 5 Tattoos – ARV $ .50
• 5 Button – ARV $ 1
• 5 Condoms – ARV $2

More Watchmen Stuff

Watchmen News:

• ‘Watchmen’ director Zack Snyder discusses his latest comic book adaptation
• Kevin Smith says Snyder pulled it off with Watchmen
• Watchmen Director Zack Snyder Discusses Challenges Of Taking Comic To The Big Screen
• Watchmen sneak preview screened to online press

The Soundtrack from the Watchmen features 11 classic artists and the new My Chemical Romance cover of Bob Dylan’s “Desolation Row”. Available for download & on CD and vinyl March 3rd.

About the Watchmen Movie

A complex, multi-layered mystery adventure, “Watchmen” is set in an alternate 1985 America in which costumed superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society, and the Doomsday Clock—which charts the USA’s tension with the Soviet Union—moves closer to midnight.

When one of his former colleagues is murdered, the outlawed but no less determined masked vigilante Rorschach sets out to uncover a plot to kill and discredit all past and present superheroes. As he reconnects with his former crime-fighting legion—a disbanded group of retired superheroes, only one of whom has true powers—Rorschach glimpses a wide-ranging and disturbing conspiracy with links to their shared past and catastrophic consequences for the future.

Their mission is to watch over humanity…but who is watching the Watchmen?

Watchmen” is directed by Zack Snyder (“300”) and produced by Lawrence Gordon, Lloyd Levin and Deborah Snyder. The screenplay is by David Hayter and Alex Tse, based upon the graphic novel co-created and illustrated by Dave Gibbons and published by DC Comics. Herbert W. Gains and Thomas Tull are the executive producers, with Wesley Coller serving as co-producer.

Playing the film’s core group of “Masks,” the adventurers at the center of the story, are Malin Akerman (“27 Dresses”) as Laurie Jupiter, aka Silk Spectre II; Billy Crudup (“The Good Shepherd”) as Jon Osterman, aka Dr. Manhattan; Matthew Goode (“Match Point”) as Adrian Veidt, aka Ozymandias; Carla Gugino (“Night at the Museum”) as Sally Jupiter, aka Silk Spectre; Oscar® nominee Jackie Earle Haley (“Little Children”) as Walter Kovacs, aka Rorschach; Jeffrey Dean Morgan (TV’s “Grey’s Anatomy”) as Edward Blake, aka The Comedian; and Patrick Wilson (“Little Children”) as Dan Dreiberg, aka Nite Owl II.

Joining Snyder behind the scenes were director of photography Larry Fong (“300”), production designer Alex McDowell (“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”), editor William Hoy (“300”), costume designer Michael Wilkinson (“300”), and visual effects supervisor John “DJ” DesJardin (“The Kingdom”). The music is by Tyler Bates (“300”).

Warner Bros. Pictures and Paramount Pictures present, in Association with Legendary Pictures, a Lawrence Gordon/Lloyd Levin Production, a Zack Snyder Film, “Watchmen,” based on the award-winning graphic novel.

“Watchmen” will be distributed domestically by Warner Bros. Pictures and internationally by Paramount Pictures. The film has been rated R by the MPAA for strong graphic violence, sexuality, nudity and language.