Mini-Teaser 1 of 3 is now live! Checklist!

You're all invited to view the first mini-teaser, Checklist below and check out our YouTube channel.



It's a moment in the life of the TRAVELER just a few months after the outbreak.  Enjoy!

Take Care,
Chris Pluchar

Updates and a Quick Summary of Strategy

First off, thanks for all the support thus far! We've been getting a great response on Twitter (@PlucharC), Facebook (www.facebook.com/notomorrowthemovie), and a number of other film related blogs and sites.

YouTube Channel & Avatar design by www.likemoyd.com

We've also just created the YouTube channel (pictured right) that we'll be posting the videos to.  That's something I had hoped we could have created sooner and thus spent time networking in the YouTube community, but hopefully our time spent elsewhere will make up for that. So please feel free to get ahead of the game and subscribe to the channel and share it with your friends and family.

I've also had a few people ask me to sum up our strategy. While I'd like to direct them to the previous posts on that very subject and call it a day, I understand the need for explaining it in much briefer terms, so here goes.

Strategy

Several short films over the last year or so have been created and uploaded to YouTube where they then took on a life of their own as they went viral to one degree or another. Following this surge in popularity, many of them received deals with studios, producers, investors, or production companies. The result generally means their project is being made into a feature.

It seems that creating a dynamic pitch piece or proof of concept piece is another, perhaps more unique way of getting the attention of the right people. And that's what we've done.

Pictured: Actor Jasyn Jefferies as the Traveler

We have a feature film concept that we're essentially pitching with three mini-teasers to be released (one at a time) today, tomorrow, and Wednesday. They'll give you a small taste of a moment in the life of our main character, the TRAVELER.

Which brings us to Thursday. That's the big day. We'll be launching both our film website (www.notomorrowthemovie.com) and the main pitch piece which gives you a taste of how the film would start and what the TRAVELER would be like just a few months later after living and surviving on his own.

That's the one we'll need the most help in sharing. If we drum up enough support for the project with that video, then the possibility that this feature film will get made is quite good.

The only question is, will you help us?

Take Care,

Chris Pluchar

"Trust Nothing.  Trust No One.  There is No Tomorrow."

Website Launch

Our Web Designer/Resident Magician, Brandon Comerford (www.brandoncomerford.com), has been working hard day and night preparing the main site for the launch of the No Tomorrow teaser on December 9th. You aren't able to view all the work he's put in, but due to his extra efforts, there's now a splash page complete with the logo and a timer counting down to the launch.  Check it out here: www.notomorrowthemovie.com

It might not seem like much, but web design and coding are pretty much Spanish to me (I know a few sentences and words providing a rudimentary understanding of the language). Also, it's a nice touch that allows us to start spreading the word about the site ahead of time rather than telling people that something will be there eventually.

So check it out and spread the word!

A quick bit about other news. www.cinefile.com and www.terror4fun.com will be featuring No Tomorrow in their respective newsletters. We greatly appreciate their interest and support!

Take Care,
Chris Pluchar

"No Tomorrow" Marketing Strategy - Part 2 of 2

Hey everyone, Producer of "No Tomorrow" Chris Pluchar here with Part 2 of 2 in our marketing adventure. In Part 1, I discussed the logic behind our decision to create a teaser or proof of concept piece for "No Tomorrow" instead of a making a no budget feature. In this part, I'd like to take that a step further and discuss some of the methods we'll be using to try and take this viral. If only it was as simple as biting your victim.

Illustration Courtesy of: www.rylanclayne.com

If you're unfamiliar with the concept, it's essentially a legal pyramid scheme fan based strategy. The above illustration pretty much sums it up (Note: It's not essential that we all dress alike for this to work.). You have the content creator who initially shares the video/song/article/joke/etc. with their friends/family/coworkers/audience. Those people then turn around and share it with their friends/family/coworkers/audience. And the rest is history.  

Nobody knows exactly what makes some things go viral when others go nowhere, but we can assume that it has something to do with the perceived value of the content being shared. Is the joke funny? Is the information useful? Is the story exciting? If the answer is yes to these questions, then it's likely that your peers will also appreciate the content being shared and continue to share it.

What we do know is it's extremely important that you use everything you can to increase the likelihood of success. Here's a quick list of some of the online resources we'll be using.

• Facebook
• Film Website (under construction)
• Twitter
• Digg
• Reddit
• Blogger
• YouTube

There's also a load of blogs and websites dedicated to film and zombies which we're also working to actively engage. Add in some traditional marketing (email blasts, local press, alumni networks, etc.) and we're covering quite a few bases.

Poster Courtesy of: www.likemoyd.com

We've also decided to create three mini teasers that we'll post each day leading up to the posting of the main teaser. We hope this will help increase interest and encourage our followers to spread the word before the final launch. Additionally, you can expect that we'll be loading all kinds of content onto the Facebook page, this blog, and the website (when it's ready). That means stills, looks behind the scenes, concept art, storyboards, posters (like the one to the right), crew posts, and more.

Now you're probably asking yourself, "How do you know if you were successful?" There's no clear answer, but there are a few milestones. Over the last year or so, the videos that have gotten the most attention are the ones that reached 10,000 views in a couple of weeks or so. It's true, the faster the better, but there are no hard and fast rules regarding a minimum number of views before someone who can provide funding for a feature takes notice.  

This is where you come in. We have no hope of being successful without the wonderful support of our friends, family, coworkers, fans, casual acquaintances, and people we've never met. Getting "No Tomorrow" to the finish line is going to be a massive group effort. From now until the main teaser is posted, we need you to spread the word, invite people to join the Facebook page, and share the blog link. When the main teaser is posted on 12-09-10, it's imperative that we spread it like a virus and/or wildfire (whichever you prefer).

And that's the gist of our plan (summarized to spare you the painstaking details). If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to let me know. And if you want to help market in a more direct way, we'd be happy to find a way to get you involved.

Take Care,
Chris Pluchar

"No Tomorrow" Marketing Strategy - Part 1 of 2

Hey everyone, Producer of "No Tomorrow" Chris Pluchar here.

As you're all likely aware, it's rather expensive to shoot a feature length film. As a filmmaker, you're left with only two basic choices. A.) You get a studio to back your project. B.) You secure independent financing. With the economic downturn, studios are choosing to greenlight less films and are increasingly relying on established material with a built in audience to (supposedly) help guarantee some kind of return at the box office. Financing independently has also grown more difficult as investors remove their money from the risky game of film and either save it or put it into more reliable, but lower performing investments.

So what's a guy (or girl) to do?

In October of 2009, a short five minute film was posted on YouTube by a group of filmmakers in Uruguay. "Panic Attack". It was a labor of love that they worked on during their downtime and for which they found themselves calling in all the favors they could to get it done. Just a week or two later, the video had received tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of views. Within a month, they broke the one million mark. Another month goes by and a bidding war starts between several entities in Hollywood. The winner? Sam Raimi's production company with an offer to the filmmakers to finance a$30,000,000 feature film. Not only did they get the cash, but they also are getting Sam Raimi's support and guidance throughout the process. That alone is priceless.

Fast forward to Summer of 2010. The same thing has happened to at least a half a dozen filmmakers ("Azureus Rising", "Cup of Tears", "Nuit Blanche", "The Raven", "Pixels"). Some are getting their films picked up to be adapted into features, others are being offered representation, etc.

It used to be that you never wanted to post your short online until you had exhausted every film festival and screening option you could find. Now, films like the ones mentioned above are invited to screen at festivals because they were popular online first. The process, which is particularly volatile at the moment, has flipped entirely on its head.

So rather than trying to eek out a feature film with no money, we decided to strike while the "iron of short films succeeding in getting Hollywood's attention" is hot. We can drop a few hundred dollars or a few thousand dollars on a project and shoot it on the Red over a couple of days (similar to the strategy for "The Raven") and create something dynamic enough to go viral and get some attention. It requires a fairly minimal time commitment for the bulk of the crew, it costs significantly less, and it's easier to focus on a five minute proof of concept film as opposed to a feature.

Worst case scenario, we have a solid five minute piece that we can use to pitch the concept to investors when the time comes.

That's the basic logic behind why we're pursuing this strategy. Stay tuned for "No Tomorrow" Marketing Strategy - Part 2 of 2, where I'll discuss how we are attempting to make sure we're one of the success stories for small films doing big things.

Take Care,
Chris Pluchar