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Marketing & Distributing Your Video

The arsenal of tools available to market your video is vast. From custom Web sites and trade magazine advertising to press releases and postering the town, there are multiple ways to bombard potential viewers and customers with your "marketing message." But how do you start this whole process?

This sure sounds like a simple and stupid question, doesn't it? Well, if your response to this simple question goes something like, "My video, Crystal Clear, explores the science of crystals, then showcases the leading crystal researcher, but turns dramatic with a government investigation..." then you better sit down and give it more thought. The project begins as an educational film, turns to a biographical documentary, only to end up sounding like a true crime TV program! Your video or movie project cannot be all things to all people. You must be able to define your video in one concise sentence. Think "sound bite" when answering the following questions about your project:

• Is it a documentary, instructional or informational tape, feature film or short?
• Is it educational, reality-based, children's, anime, science fiction, horror, western, drama, action?
• Does it entertain, enlighten, educate, inform, sadden, madden, scare or elicit pity?
• Does it call to action, prompt a purchase or change the viewer's way of thinking?
• Are the characters fictional or actual beings; historical, present-day or future beings; human, animal or other-worldly creations?
• Does the project deal with a current event, fad or popular culture phenomenon?
• Does it depend on realistic special effects or stunts?
• Is it set in the past, present or future?

Let's consider Crystal Clear again. This time, you may want to say, "Crystal Clear is the intriguing story of Dr. Lars Harman, the world's authority on crystals and his high-profile struggle to use his science in saving eyesight."

The above sentence identifies the major storyline (leading-edge scientific research), describes the settings (present-day worldwide healthcare environment) and even includes an emotional plea (struggling to improve l…