I am doing the final prep for tomorrows Delivering Your Film Seminar and I am delighted that we will have a packed house. I was afraid that as this is a stage at the end of production, most people would say ‘we will deal with that when we get to it…’ But it seems there is a lot of interest in this vital step between film maker and audience. People are really thinking forward in order to fix problems before theye even occur.
I have been wearing out my printer as I wanted to actually hand every delegate a physical example of every document (just a few in the pic!), legal statement and contract as an example – even the eleven page Errors and Omissions Policy, five page Dolby contract and loads of statements to be signed by various cast, crew and producers (even though it was not advertised, I am also giving delegates a CD of the relevant blank forms so they can just fill them out when they get to production).
Expert in this area, Sara Janazs, has been helping out with the real nitty gritty detail, and on the phone yesterday, she told me how, even on bigger films, the film makers are amazed at how much stuff is required by the sales agents. And having just closed a TV sale for ‘Gone Fishing’, I can tell you that you even need to supply some of this stuff for a short film too.
I am really looking forward to his new workshop now. It’s going to be a long day of mega detail though. I hope the delegates bring several notebooks!
If you want to come, there are still a few places left – you can sign up here.
Onwards and upwards!
Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
, which you can get at Amazon here. 
So now we have tow major steps to complete for Gone Fishing.
Here is the second and final part of Ivan Clemments report from the American Film Market… I like the picture here, it’s Ivan, a producer (left), being a grip! (from Gone Fishing).
Gone Fishing is still coming along well, but now I must turn my attentions to the BIG project, on eof the main reasons Gone Fishing was made. That is Rocketboy. Producer Ivan Clemments is now at the American Film Market working with a friend of mine, who for political reasons, has to remain anonymous. We will call him Charlie. Ohh how this sounds even more exciting. Here’s Ivan’s report so far…
I have spent the day designing the first DVD cover for ‘Gone Fishing’. This is very different to a feature cover in one major way – it will never act as a POINT OF SALE for a buyer. The only people who will get the DVD will either be given it, or come across it some other way, certainly not by pickup it up and thinking ‘This looks good, I must buy or rent it…’ Having received many short films on DVD in my office, I noticed how most attempt to look like a feature film in some way. I am going a different way with ‘Gone Fishing’ in the hope of standing out a little. 
I have been talking to Sales Agent and Author Stacey Parks
about running a seminar later in the year, with her new book on distribution.
She has her own subscription website too, 
I spent the weekend with my good friend Simon Cox, at a science fiction convention in Birmingham called Memorabilia, selling my books and his movie on DVD, ‘Written In Blood’, signed by him of course. It was an intense two days, but very rewarding, not least because I sold some books, but also because I was forced to sell DVD’s - and this is something every film maker should have to do. All to often we sit in our ivory towers, imagining how wonderful our movie will be, what the poster will look like, how the audiences will flock to it - and that dream is almost entirely based one WHAT WE LIKE, and not what the market wants or the audience finds attractive. 
