Press release from The Solid State
The trailer for Julia Leigh's debut feature film Sleeping Beauty has exploded across the web since its release last Thursday, being picked up by both industry and entertainment news sites across the globe.
During the weekend of Friday 15th – Sunday 17th April, the trailer campaign created by Sydney film agency The Solid State has been featured on The Huffington Post, Perez Hilton, The Sydney Morning Herald and Slash Film to name a few.
Since the announcement that Sleeping Beauty was accepted into competition at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival internet buzz for the trailer has been rife. Film fans and bloggers responded over the weekend with numerous uploads to video sites such as YouTube and Vimeo. News stories, millions of views and thousands of comments about the trailer have pushed excited fans to find out more about the film. It is estimated that the film has had over 250,000 hits just on Vimeo and YouTube.
"This is a fantastic response to the trailer for Sleeping Beauty," says Andrew Mackie of Transmission Films, the local distributor of the film.
"For the filmmakers to be recognised by the Cannes Film Festival is hugely rewarding, but to see audiences respond to the trailer with such passion and in such numbers is a tremendous validation. Our thanks to the amazing team at The Solid State,” says Mackie.
For an independent film, instantaneous and widespread exposure is no small feat in marketing terms. According to The Solid State in the lead up to its screening at Cannes and imminent Australian release on 23 June 2011, the building of a substantial audience is crucial to the film’s box office success. The Solid State says raising the online profile of a feature film is a critical part of the marketing strategy.
"With independent films on a limited marketing budget the campaign has to be well thought out and carefully targeted," says Danny Lachevre co-founder and Managing Director of The Solid State.
"The materials not only have to be great, they have to be launched at the right time and in the right places or they won't be seen," Lachevre says. “The public has a general interest in the Cannes Film Festival from a news perspective, but it takes a particular film or story to make the leap to the entertainment pages. With Emily Browning's growing profile and recent role in (the film) Sucker Punch, we knew the campaign would have a broad appeal, we just had to ensure the right people saw it," Lachevre says.
Within seconds of the film being announced as accepted into competition in Cannes, Transmission Films relayed the news to Twitter with a link to the trailer. It immediately gave fans and news sites something to engage with and talk about – proving how important timing is to launching trailers.
"We submitted the trailer to a number of key websites accessed by fans and journalists for reliable information. Then we fanned the flames by ensuring some well-known entertainment sites had access to high quality versions which they could embed into their own web pages."
"In our opinion a trailer is the most important marketing element in a film's campaign," says Walter Bienz the agency's co founder and Creative Director.
"It is important to not only reflect the voice of the film but to build an expectation in the audience of something new. With Sleeping Beauty we had a film unlike anything we have seen before and a director with a unique vision. Our approach was to position the film foremost as original and compelling cinema. To do this we needed to create a trailer that was as unique as the film itself to tease the audience into wanting more," Bienz says.
The Solid State specialise in marketing feature films including the development of trailers, teasers, posters and web design, and have worked on some of the world’s most successful independent films. Recent projects include Tomorrow When the War Began; Wasted on the Young; Beneath Hill 60; The Loved Ones and the acclaimed trailer for Balibo (Winner of the Best International trailer at the Golden Trailer awards 2010). Prior to forming The Solid State in 2007 both Danny and Walter worked with a slew of big name filmmakers including: Philip Noyce [Rabbit Proof Fence], Alex Proyas [I,Robot], Wim Wenders [Buena Vista Social Club], Jane Scott [Shine, Love’s Brother], and John Maynard [Romulus, My Father].