Dear Audience...How Can We Help You?

So as bloggers and filmmakers continue discuss ways of reaching and connecting with their audience, "Think Outside the Box Office" author Jon Reiss actually has written a piece that extends a hand to the audience, and presents them with ways to connect with filmmakers! Check it out below:

"Much has been written about the collapse of the distribution model for independent films in this country and around the world. There seems to be a general consensus that an audience for independent film (and independent voices) still exists (and much of that audience is you!) What seems to be broken is the connection between these audiences and the filmmakers. This connection used to be filled by various versions of the studio delivery model, which for some people never really served either the audiences of independent film or the filmmakers themselves. By being reliant on the studio model, these people felt that independent film skewed to supporting films that were studio wannabes, not real independent voices (with some wonderful exceptions of course).

There is a new generation of filmmakers who want to engage directly with their audiences (many older filmmakers are embracing this model as well -- some kicking and screaming).

The purpose of this article is to encourage audience members to reach back to filmmakers -- and provide ten concrete ways to do so.

1. Join Filmmaker's Email Lists. This email list is essential to filmmakers. It provides them with the most direct way for them to communicate with you, their audience, and the only means of contact that they control independently of other companies. Facebook owns all of the information about you, including your "friends," e.g. you cannot access this fan information directly. You can easily unsubscribe to any filmmaker's email list that who abuses the gift of your email. (Note to filmmaker's -- don't bombard your fans with constant updates. When you are not in release once a month is plenty. When you are in release you should target screenings to zip codes so you don't blast your whole list for a screening in Amarillo.)

2. Join Filmmaker's Facebook Pages/Groups/Twitter Feeds. Even though the email list is most important, it is also good to join a filmmaker's Facebook page or Twitter feed, especially in the beginning. This early joining helps the filmmaker get some traction in the social web space. It encourages others to join if they see the space populated by others. And then again -- you might actually be interested in what the filmmaker posts and tweets about! This is one of the best ways to engage a filmmaker in a 'conversation.'"

Read the rest of this list HERE.