| Uday Singh, MD Columbia Tristar Films (I) Ltd.
who presided as the moderator set the ball rolling, saying,
"There is a growing reality that the overseas market calls
for different and innovative content and marketing. Gone are
the days when a film could depend on only the publicity generated
on the sets. Those were the days when films were released territory
by territory, in phases. Things started changing slowly since
1971. Today in 2003, films are far bigger. In this context,
the positioning of the film is very important. You need to identify
the target audience. The publicity begins from the script stage.
The trailer of the film needs to be made on selling points.
A certain amount of hype is needed for the landing (release)
to make a noise (impact). If adequate care in this regard is
taken, low-budget films can recover the cost in three days,
or say, a week's time. Of course, a lot of research is needed.
This is where the marketing professionals come in. If a film
does not create an impact in its first three days, more often
than not, it bites the dust. It then becomes a train hurling
down from a mountain at breakneck speed. Furthermore, filmmakers
need to know that the language is not a barrier if the film
is good. 'Crouching Tiger...' is a classic case in point."
Scott Rosenberg, MD, Asian Movie Works, who had patiently
waited for his turn, then began his thrust. His main content
was, "We are big names in Hollywood. We identify what
the audience wants. One thing is for sure. If you guys want
to sub-panel your project, all you need is a good script and
a fairly correct amount of English. There is so much you'll
have here, why don't you'll make it travel?," he quipped.
Robert Jones, Film Council, stated, "You people need
to interact more. You'll have a rich heritage; period films
have a great international market. I have been to several
international festivals, and I rarely see any Indian out there.
Why? Come up with informative and eye-catching press-kits.
Rope in your stars to travel and promote the movies. You have
big names in Bollywood who have immense charisma. And hey!
They speak good English! That helps a great deal. Acquaint
yourself with the process, on who is selling what and how.
Explore and you stand to only gain."
P.Parmeshwaran, NFDC, Finance, concentrated on the DVD and
television market. He said, "You have a market for DVD
and satellite television. If your film is popular, there is
a good demand for your movie if you go for sub-titles. You
will encompass a larger audience.".
Manivel Malone, FTV, emphasised that the success of FTV was
solely due to their excellent market strategy. "We have
a sure success formula- lovely girls and feet-tapping music.
Who doesn't want that? Today, we are a world brand, a reference
ofor beauty. Fashion is a universal phenomena. So, Fashion
deserved its channel. Importantly, please note that we avoid
superfluous comments and cater to both genders actually. We
have shown Fashion Weeks from the hottest Milan, Paris, London,
New York to the most exotic Mumbai, shangai, Sydney, Cape
Town, Sao Polo."
Muthuram, Shringar TV Films, stressed, "Firstly, trailers
need to be marketed very judiciously. Unfortunately, no importance
is laid on this in India. sometime ago when I was working
with Columbia, we had released 'Godzilla' with a trailer which
was made even before the production had started. That trailer
had caught the public fancy so much that though that scene
did not exist in the final copy, it had managed to create
enough hype. Going to 'Lagaan'. One reason why it scored was
that the marketing strategy was not to reveal anything about
the fact that it was a cricket film. A lot of good products
get in, cannot sustain, and get washed away. A lot of mediocre
products, get in, and reap profits. It's all marketing that
does the trick. If you say that my film is for youngsters,
do you take care to see that you release it in areas where
there are sufficient colleges. As a company, we are now releasing
a 3-D film called 'Chota Jadugar'. We started working on it
six months ago. We are running school programmes to create
awaremess about the film. And we have tied up with some kid
brands. Lastly, remember that if you are making a Hinglish
film like 'Leela', 'Let's Talk',etc, we need more time on
this. These type of films need more hype than those wherein
you have big names in the cast."
J.C.Sharma, Secretary, PCD Ministry of external affairs,
winded up by a few words on the strength and significance
of Indian Diaspora, saying that it was 20 million strong,
the second largest in fact, and possessing extraordinary diversity.
The audience got little time to throw up their questions,
for the session had gone 30 minutes too far. All the answers
to the queries eschewed similar sentiments, yet again. Candidly
speaking, the session was a direct address to the Indian film
producers. Wish there were many around!
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