IPF

The deadline for applications to the IPF Digital Marketing Workshop in Vancouver is fast approaching. This is an excellent opportunity for Vancouver producers to learn the fundamentals of audience building within a hands-on workshop structure.

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This February, the IPF Digital Marketing Workshop travels to Winnipeg for two days of presentations and case studies led by myself and co-facilitators Annelise Larson and Sue Biely.

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Applications are now being accepted for “Market, Motivate, Mobilize”, the second in a series of cross-Canada digital marketing workshops sponsored by the Independent Production Fund (IPF) and Telefilm Canada.

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I’ll be sailing into Halifax for two days in October to lead a digital marketing workshop for the local screen-based production industry.  “Market, Motivate, Mobilize” takes place October 23 – 24, 2012 at The Halifax Club.

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Another original web series funded by the Independent Production Fund (IPF) is slated to launch next month. Guidestones is an interactive thriller, which delves into the mystery of The Georgia Guidestones and the monument’s connection to the Illuminati and the New World Order.

The series was written and directed by Jay Ferguson and produced by iThentic and 3 o’clock.tv.

Described as “… a cross between The Da Vinci Code and The X-Files“, Guidestones is a fast-paced story of deception, duplicity and murder.

Sandy Rai (Supinder Wraich), an exchange student from India studying journalism in Canada, stumbles upon an unsolved murder while working on assignment with fellow student Trevor Shale (Dan Fox). She learns that the murdered man, a scientist named Harold Glenndenning (David Fox), may have had a connection to The Georgia Guidestones, a monument of unknown origin built in a farmer’s field and inscribed with directions for rebuilding civilization after the apocalypse. Following clues hidden within The Guidestones she discovers that Harold’s death was no random act, and is instead part of a cover-up hiding a global conspiracy of apocalyptic proportions.

Viewers can sign-up now to receive links to the episodes by email. Once the series launches, they’ll be able to follow those links to discover hidden clues in the video episodes and online.

All very mysterious but irresistible to anyone who is into interactive, ARG or transmedia play.

The Independent Production Fund (IPF) has committed to funding web series until 2014. The announcement was made yesterday.

The web series funding program will now become the focus of IPF funding support for the next three years.

The next deadline  for applications to the Web Series Program is March 1, 2012.

In 2010, the IPF launched a pilot program to support linear drama series created for new platforms. As a result, web series production took off in Canada.

In the past two years, 330 proposals were submitted to the IPF for web series funding. Twenty-six of these were approved for funding and can be seen on web portals around the world.

The IPF, along with several provincial funding partners, invests over $1.5 M a year in web series. They have been created for every demographic from pre-schoolers to adults representing nearly 2,000 minutes of drama in addition to associated interactive activities and social media.

Among those projects funded in the past two year by the IPF are GreenHAT Digital client productions: BunnyBop!, Guidestones, In the Rough and Ruby Skye, P.I.

Broadway meets YouTube with an added dash of interactivity in Prison Dancer, an original musical web series produced with the financial participation of Independent Production Fund Web Series Program.

The series was inspired by the viral Youtube phenomenon “The Dancing Inmates of Cebu”, and features a cast of Youtube stars and Filipino musical talent.

[pro-player]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMnk7lh9M3o[/pro-player]

The series tells the story of Matt (Matt Wells) an Internet pop-culture journalist who researches the origins of the dancing Filipino inmates who became video streaming sensations. Through interviews, security cam footage, and good old-fashioned investigative journalism, he pieces together the story behind the viral phenomenon.

Prison Dancer was created/written by Romeo Candido (Ang Pamana: The Inheritance, Lolo’s Child, Rolling Longaniza) and Carmen De Jesus (Ang Pamana: The Inheritance). Candido will also direct and composed all the original music. The web is produced by Ana Serrano (Late Fragment).

[pro-player]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jjz6Pa57FH0[/pro-player]

The nine person cast features Catherine Ricafort (Mamma Mia, The Sing-Off), Jeigh Madjus (Alter Boyz, La Cage Aux Folles, Glee Audition on YouTube), Mikey Bustos (Canadian Idol, creator of the viral YouTube sensation “Filipino Accent Tutorial”), Matt Wells (Host, Muchmore, Where You At Baby), Nicco Lorenzo (Degrassi: The Next Generation, Ang Pamana: The Inheritance), Norman Alconcel (MuchMusic VJ Search), Pierre Bayuga (Rent), Joseph Sevillo (Beauty and the Beast, Shall We Dance), and Ron Josol (Video on Trial, Comedy Now!).

Each episode of Prison Dancer features a special musical number that the audience can join in on.The audience will also have the chance to start “conversations” with the series’ characters, notably the main character, Lola.

The guide that I wrote for the Independent Production Fund (IPF) on web series marketing and promotion is available today for download from the IPF’s website.

How to Build an Audience for your Web Series: Market, Motivate & Mobilize addresses many of the marketing challenges web series creators face and provides a practical framework for launching a show and building an engaged and loyal audience.

The 74-page guide covers basic strategies integral to the development of a marketing plan — from organic search to content marketing, social media and online publicity. Each section of the guide addresses an essential aspect of digital marketing and provides specific tactics for building an audience. Sample budget, resources, links and timelines are included. There is also an in-depth section on video marketing for YouTube.

I encourage anyone who is developing or producing a web series to read the guide. I’ll be providing regular up-dates, here. A French language version will be available soon.

I’d like to thank my editor, Andra Sheffer, for her guidance and direction (and great proofreading skills) along with Jennifer Cowan and Richard Meech who reviewed earlier editions of the workbook.

Download the web series marketing guide.

Download and read the press release.

How to Build an Audience for your Web Series: Market, Motivate & Mobilize is a comprehensive workbook for web series creators interested in building their audiences and reach via online, mobile and social media platforms.

Written by Julie Giles and edited by Andra Sheffer, the guide has been designed to provide a practical framework from concept to launch and beyond. Each section addresses an essential aspect of digital marketing and provides specific tactics for building an engaged and loyal audience.

Whether you are interested in establishing a YouTube presence, building a video-enhanced website, or engaging Twitter and Facebook followers, the guide will take you through the necessary steps. Sample budget, resources, links and timelines are also included.

Published by the Independent Production Fund.

Release date: June 7, 2011
Download the English language version from the IPF Website