35 prints for festivals?

35mm prints...

Of course I can't speak for all distributors... However, I do know some people that work for distributors and I've been told that an offering price definitely goes UP if you have a 35mm print of your feature even if it was shot on DV. In fact, I've been told that if you have a 35mm print of your DV feature, your film (all things being equal of course) is taken more seriously. One friend of mine that works for a distributor has also told me that if the film is really good (and you already have a 35mm print) a distributor just might pop for a limited theatrical release but again, the film has to hit all the marks and be watchable.

So, from what I gather, if your film is good (meaning people can actually sit through it from beginning to end without getting bored out of their minds and can follow your story), having a 35mm print is a definite plus. Not to mention the fact that if your film is that good and a distributor is willing to take on the cost of a 35mm film transfer, they will almost certainly overcharge you up to 3 to 4 times the actual cost. One of my distributor contacts says that having a 35mm print definitely gives you, the filmmaker, more bargaining power.

Take it for what it's worth... 3rd hand information and all that...

As for festivals requiring a 35mm print... There are still some of these around although I don't know which ones. Having said that... I've also heard that HAVING a 35mm print available for festivals can often swing a decision in the filmmaker's favor of getting accepted.

Again, 3rd hand information...

filmy

Thanks, Filmy, some persuasive info in favor of a 35mm print there... Any idea what a reasonable cost is for a 35 print taken from a DV master?

$200 per minute of runtime is average price that I have found. That may change soon as realtime printers are around the corner, and print time goes from 3-14 days to well.. 90 minutes or about.

This makes it very impractacle for most low budget features to be scanned to 35mm.

Also check out this thread, http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=5538

darkavenger, one of our members is offering his DV to film services for 160/min maybe a little lower even.

My personal advice is if your film is that good the distributors will want to transfer it to a 35mm print. And don't assume because you don't go theatrical you can't make money from your feature or that it won't be seen. A good DVD marketing campaign could give you more control, more profit, and more exposure.

I will be doing my own DI on a s16 short and feature I will be shooting, then back out to D5, then HDcam to be projected. I doubt anyone will care that it is digitally mastered and projected.

We're planning on shooting in 24P, so we'd hoped to avoid a 35 transfer and get as much of a film-look as we could on a digital master. And not having to find $18K would be nice. I'm still trying to get a handle on how the bigger festivals feel about accepting/screening digital features... Any experiences to share?

well.. they didn't have any problems with Open Water did they? That was all digital..

True, and 'Pieces of April' too, I guess... I think we'll be sticking to the '1's and '0's.

On a related topic, what is the consensus on hiring a publicist for a low budget feature? Is it unrealistic to look for one who is willing to work for deferred pay? Is Mandy the best place to look?

35 mm prints for festivals?

I'd like to weigh in on the 35 mm question. I'm the programmer for the Bethel Film Festival. If a film is chosen for our festival, our first choice for exhibiton is a 35mm print. But let's be real here (or reel as the case may be) ...not everyone has the financial means (yet) to produce a print. And we'd rather screen a really good feature, doc, etc., on digital video, Beta SP, or 16 mm over a mediocre 35 film any day.

Thanks, Carol, good to hear that advice from a festival programmer. Good luck with the fest!

About

Hey guys and gals..Actually I read an article on the 2004 sundance ff and it spoke about the digital wave and the fact that 90% of the folks there couldn't tell the difference from a digital projection to a film projection ...Let's be serious, if the audience can't tell and you're getting rave reviews, the festival board(who hands out awards) surely won't care if it was digital or not....and the distributors go by audience response and accolades, not neccesarily the grain from the film print........Make a great flick, show it off, open your arms and accept the awards and cash..Nobody requires a film print, it's almost a mute point unless you get picked up for theatrical distribution and then the bill goes to the distribution company, not you...Let the film (or movie) speak for itself and let the distributors pay the check on the dv-film transfer...Just my 2 cents - Jared