The Right Way to Do It!

A week ago, a filmmaker posted the poster of her short film "FIREFLY". I thought the poster was eye-catchingly beautiful, save for all of the film festivals laurels (nice problem to have, I'd say); and yes- I'm shallow enough to be attracted to poster art. I think it is HUGELY important in the marketing process to have great poster art.

A few days later, she released the "short film teaser trailer"(https://lnkd.in/egarbxjw); was it a short TRAILER or a trailer for a SHORT film, I asked her. Turns out it was both (but keep in mind in the future, trailers are "short" so that's redundant). It had an interesting look to it and was only two minutes out of my life, so I watched it.

I was quite impressed.

As trailers go, it was beautifully done. I made a point of telling this to the filmmaker- who also directed, produced the film after having written the short film script.

(now, my opinion of short scripts in general is well known, and I told her that).

She informed me that she has now written it AS a feature and is shopping it as a full-length film, while this short "proof of concept" film is getting exposure on the film festival circuit.

I told her she was doing everything the right way, at least in MY opinion. She then shared with me the link to the short film, which I can't share here because of upcoming festivals, etc. I watched it and thought that the film not only lived up to the expectations of the trailer but exceeded them. The story was sweet, but emotional. The acting was sublime; the cinematography was beautiful. Mind you, I don't know this filmmaker, and I have no investment of emotion in the story topic itself. I have very little real-life experiences with the topic in general.

I immediately became a "fan" of the filmmaker and the film, "FIREFLY". I promised her I would reach out to some contacts who should be able to help get her to the next level- getting the feature film project shot and distributed. She is based out of the UK, by the way.

As a result of a trailer- of a short- and then, the short itself- she has gained one more supporter; a "rocketeer", which is someone who could potentially rocket someone's career to that next level. The trailer was pulled from the short film, and the money used in the film was used ON THE FILM itself. The production value seemed ten times over what I know to be the initial investment.

I will work some contacts for her to help generate interest in the film, but I am NOT involved in it in anyway. I would urge YOU to reach out to this filmmaker, discover this rough gem of a film, listen and see how she promoted it by pretty much letting this quality story sell itself, then garner her personal cheerleaders.

She did it the right way.

WRITER'S BIO: Mr. Scala spent 22-plus years in the Hollywood community and was the?Executive Director?for the 72nd Annual Academy Awards, as well as The Soul Train Awards,?The Grammys,?The Blockbuster Video Awards Show?and?The Saturn Award Show.

He is completing his 51st adaptation- the fascinating autobiography?"CALL ME ZENA", by Sally Barnard, and developing biopic projects of rock pioneer Jimmie F. Rodgers,?Motown star?Tammi Terrell?and iconic folk singer?Harry Chapin- all while continuing to mentor over 600 hundred new writers and self-published authors.

Their current published work by author W.T. Sanders; "THE ROSTRUM", is setting personal sales records every day. This timely novel involving Presidential assassins and political intrigue is the perfect holiday gift for you or your politically inclined family member.

NOTE: You can get one-year of screenwriting mentorship from "The Script Mentor" ABSOLUTELY FREE (a $1499.00 value) by purchasing the soft or hardcover book and leaving a review! Get your copy of "THE ROSTRUM" today at Amazon and at other book retailers.

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Geno has three screenplays produced and currently on Amazon Prime; "Black Easter", "Assassins 33 A.D." and "The Tombs", and - at present -?is the?Executive Script Consultant?of a $16.4M?major motion picture?("Fight Fire with Fire") scheduled to begin filming Spring, 2025.