Movie Club Revival - Promote and Publicize

You know your club exists ... do your neighbors, colleagues, friends in other clubs?

Take a look at some club websites (I've deliberately avoided North American ones) and see what ideas you could borrow and adapt for yours ...

VideoAktiv Regensburg ("VideoAktive" is a great club name!) is led by Oskar Siebert. He is very good at making the most of every piece of good fortune that comes his way. See how the club website includes news stories that have appeared in the local and national press. The site is in German, Czech and English - click the "stars and stripes" for the English version. Don't worry if you cannot read the newspapers clippings in German ... you will quickly get the idea. He sends films to festivals all over the world and if one receives any recognition he makes a story out of it for the media.

Surrey Border Film & Video Makers is an English club - and you know how bashful the Brits are - but click the "About" menu and take a look at their Press Releases. Most months they send out newsworthy stories to local media ... and see how they make it seem attractive.  Try the September 09 release for example. If you look at the "Our Filmmaking" menu you can quickly see how they work with local charities to make videos which help those charities ... and keep club members actively making movies ... and spreads news of their club around.

Sydney Video Makers Club until recently was famed as "North Side Camcorder Club". Scroll down the home page to the video. Watch that and you'll be keen to join even if it means return trans-pacific air journeys twice a month! At one point they had 150 members and had to split into special-interest groups. One idea others could adopt: their November meeting is billed as: "End of year drinks and discussion on ways to improve the club."

AMPS Newsletter Editor, Ned Cordery, made Living With Fire In Dammeron Valley a video a couple of years ago for his local fire department. Not only did it do well in contests around the world, it had been seen by many citizens in the region. Recently your webmaster attended a charity fund-raising screening of Buster Keaton's The General with live musical accompaniment. Video projector and screen were provided by the local club ... who screened their own short promo film too. Lessons Make your web site a "come on" to attract people not a corporate statement or a description for the history books. Keep the front page exciting and not too cluttered. Make sure that you have a cheerful, action-filled picture - ideally with someone who is not the oldest club members - on the front page. You might consider a little promo video. Why not make that a club competition: a commercial to "sell" the club to the public in less than 60 seconds? If you have several good entries rotate them once a month on the website. Notes on how to put video on a website are here. And if you don't have a website make one quickly, because that is where most people today look for information. Some help is available here.) Make Movies for the community.  Shoot films for other types of clubs and organizations - each of which will have a mention of the video club in its credits. Make sure everyone in the sponsoring club knows about the video group and offer to put on a show of work by yourselves and other amateurs one evening. Consider putting "club idents" on any visible microphones just as tv news stations do. Put the club name, logo and website on all your bags, cars and kits - there are always people gawking at a video shoot. Stock footage details here. Brainstorm promotion ideas. Send press-releases to all local media whenever you have anything at all to cheer about. A club exercise might be on interview techniques ... covering how to shoot them and also how to be a good interviewee who gets over her or his message. Yes you can work in a plug for the club every time, just be quick and subtle about it. If there is a holiday fair for kids try to set up a magic-carpet ride with a small, strong table, oriental-style run, green-screen behind and some free stock footage. You might even offer to make DVDs of the results - each of which would include a promo video for the club too. Put on shows for the community - mix your own work with other pieces from amateurs or commercial movies. Each show, naturally, includes a plug for the club. Ideas and notes on using commercial movies here. Think outside the box. Would a local business allow a display in their window ... portable tv screen, cheap player and DVD with a "menu" system that simply repeats. Guess what would be on the DVD? (Make sure the system can run reasonably cool for hours on end and have someone from the club check it daily to be sure all is well.) There are a few other ideas here.