HawkeyeKane
1284 posts
Dec 11, 2012
9:57 AM
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In August of 2011, I took a shot in the dark and messaged the production email address for Pocket Full of Soul, letting them know that my town of Springfield has a designated theater that screens indie films and documentaries. I got a response this morning:
"Thank you for your interest in the film. We are working on scheduling one-night only screenings in the US on February 21, 2013. Please let me know where you are and if you are interested in bringing Pocket Full of Soul to your city."
Well....I, for one, am still interested. Thought I'd pass this along to the rest of you who are stateside in case you still are as well. The email I received this from is:
todd at pocketfullofsoulmovie dot com
Just in case you wanna write to see about it screening "at a theater near you." (Yes...I still remember that catchphrase from the 1980's.)
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Hawkeye Kane
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XHarp
524 posts
Dec 11, 2012
11:24 AM
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.....interested in bringing PFOS to your city"
So they want you to be the promoter? R U Ready to sink some cash into that venture? Seems to me they haven't been able to get it off the ground themselves which leads me to question their business skills. I don't see to many rave reviews on it either outside of their own website. I'd tend to shy off that. Think it's a loss waiting to happen.
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"Keep it in your mouth" - XHarp
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HawkeyeKane
1285 posts
Dec 11, 2012
11:59 AM
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Well...I merely told them that I'd like to see the movie in my town. Gave them no commitment to be any kind of promoter. But if they do come back at me with that sort of deal, I'll just hafta tell them "thanks, but no thanks." I've got too much on my day-to-day to get involved in something like that. We'll see what comes of it. If it falls through, hoepfully there'll be a DVD I can get my hands on down the road.
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Hawkeye Kane
Last Edited by on Dec 11, 2012 11:59 AM
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SuperBee
692 posts
Dec 11, 2012
12:25 PM
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I think they just fishing. Seems they sent that message to everyone who ever showed interest in the project via email.
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slowblowfuse
58 posts
Dec 11, 2012
12:45 PM
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True. I got the same message today and I'm in The Netherlands, Europe....
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Skinny Dog
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pfos
1 post
Jan 22, 2013
9:17 PM
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Hello, I thought I would jump in to clarify or correct some misunderstandings. We have been working very hard to complete what we believe is the definitive harmonica doc. It has taken many years and we had to raise a significant amount of money so we could clear all of the music and historical footage. This process has not been easy. Now we have teamed up with a company called Tugg so we can bring the film to all of the people who have been asking for it. We are actually putting the film in theaters for private screenings. Anyway, yes we are asking for help, but not money. If you want to see the film you Request a Screening from Tugg.com and they work with your local theater and set it up. It take about 10 minutes, and its a no risk operation. If enough people in your town meet the attendance level, the film is shown, if not, the film is not shown. So, if you want to see the film. Please request it. Do not give us a hard time. This is a labor of love which I know you will enjoy. The film is awesome! If you have any questions email. My address is above. Thanks, Todd
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harp-er
321 posts
Jan 23, 2013
7:07 AM
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I'll provide some personal feedback to the producers, for whatever it may be worth to them:
I've been inquiring about the movie for a couple of years now it seems. Recently I received the invitation to be the "promoter" in my area, Santa Fe, NM. I contacted TUGG and started the ball rolling. They contacted me with the requirements for being the promoter, and after I accepted the offer, they would contact the most likely theater in town with whom they have some arrangement, in this case Regal Cinemas. My job would be to round up a minimum of about 60 people who would pay for their tickets in advance. This minimum number, more or less, is the requirement - set by who, I don't know - in order for the movie to get a "private screening". Then I would be responsible for collecting the tickets at the theater and pointing the viewers to the right screening room. For these efforts I would be awarded a stipend of 5% of ticket sales above the minimum number required to warrant the screening. Whew! I just want to see the movie. In the end I begged off. Way too much effort on my part. Not worth it, to me.
I wonder how successful this strategy can really be? Are there lots of people who would want to go to all the trouble? The system seems way too cumbersome. I think Kingley's idea makes a lot more sense. I'd buy the DVD, or pay the streaming fee.
For what it's worth, producers.
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HarpNinja
3126 posts
Jan 23, 2013
11:24 AM
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This would be a great Kickstarter campaign. I would for sure pay a premium price for a digital download or DVD.
Don't know if PFOS will be back to read this, but I would look at digital distribution - Netflix, iTunes, etc. You can skip the overhead of printing discs, and I can't imagine making less profit from PRIVATELY selling a digital download relative to the theatre.
Let's say all 60 people at the theatre pay $20...that is $1,200 minus the overhead of dealing with TUGG and the venues.
Charge $30 for the download and you make $1,800 with less overhead (you'd need a file hosting site).
Honestly, as someone who sells a service to harmonica players, the best thing to do with this labor of love is get people to see it however you can. Harp players are scattered all around. To find 30 in a town that will each bring a spouse is slim. I am in a town of $50,000 and can count on two hands how many harp players and serious harp fans there are.
I don't think a lot of "fringe" harp fans will be interested in seeing it in theatres. I would see more of them willing to use Netflix, for example to see it. The people who really want to view it are harp players themselves.
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Custom Harmonicas
Optimized Harmonicas
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Kingley
2245 posts
Jan 23, 2013
11:32 AM
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The problem I suspect is the "romantic notion" I mentioned earlier. My guess is that the producers are so set on doing it their way, that they will cut off their nose to spite their face. After looking on the PFOS website I saw that they have a DVD of out takes and a CD of the music for sale, plus some other merchandise, but not the actual movie. That seems pretty stupid to me.
Last Edited by on Jan 23, 2013 11:33 AM
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isaacullah
2278 posts
Jan 23, 2013
12:02 PM
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While I wish every success to PFOS I have to agree here. I have a little experience with independent film (my wife and I put together an indie film fest while in college. She also ran the independent theater on campus for 3 years), and I also have some experience trying to wrangle a group of local harp players to all be able to meet up at one place and time. Both are tough things to do! IMO, getting 60 harp players together for a movie, even a good one on the harmonica, is going to be as rare as hen's teeth. Digital downloads is where it's at.
Here's an idea: Why not talk to those folks who organize the big blues shindigs (IBC, Bean Blossom, HCH, etc.), and see if you can work a movie showing or two to coincide with those events? That's the only way I see this filling a theater for a "private screening". Do that, and do the digital thing as well. This is what the makers of that Bob Marley documentary did last year. I have to tell you, even with Bob Marley, I couldn't get a group of 60 people to book a theater for (and I tried!). I did get about 10 or 12 folks over to my house, and we paid for a digital rental of the movie, and streamed it through my computer to the flatscreen. That's where you are going to get your dough back gents!
I DO look forward to seeing PFOS, and hope to be able to do so SOON! :)
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mr_so&so
637 posts
Jan 23, 2013
1:51 PM
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Some great suggestions here. Netflicks, DVD sales. I love Isaac's suggestion of contacting blues fests and timing a special screening as part of the festival. I think you'd easily fill your theatres that way. In Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, there is the Kitchener Blues Festival, and a great local indie theatre, the Princess Cinema. It wouldn't be hard to put them together, I think. I'm just not sure I'm the one to do it.
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ReedSqueal
349 posts
Jan 23, 2013
3:43 PM
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Upcoming SPAH might be a good avenue too!
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Go ahead and play the blues if it'll make you happy.
-Dan Castellaneta
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HawkeyeKane
1418 posts
Jan 24, 2013
9:41 AM
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Well....I just put in for a local screening with Tugg. Maybe I can pull it off, and maybe I can't. I'll just have to see what they come back at me with in terms of my responsibilities and minimum ticket requirements. We'll see.
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Hawkeye Kane
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MrVerylongusername
2466 posts
Jan 24, 2013
10:22 AM
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Jehosaphat - hit the nail on the head
It's a niche film: an independent (niche) documentary (niche) about a musical instrument (niche). Still no distribution deal? not surprising.
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad they made this film and would love to see it, but it's the kind of film that gets made for artistic reasons; because someone has a passion for something. Was it ever economically viable? without knowing who the investors were and how much they put up I can't say, but I wouldn't expect them to get more than break even.
Get it on DVD or make it PPV online - cut your losses and get it out there!
Last Edited by on Jan 24, 2013 10:24 AM
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harp-er
326 posts
Jan 24, 2013
2:57 PM
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I just had a nice half hour phone conversation with Todd Slobin, at his request I might add. He was eager, in a good way, to explain how he and the other people involved with making the film are trying to approach getting it out and available to us, the consumers. The TUGG campaign is a financially risk free effort for them to try to get a number of showings across the country. Their hope is that if they can do that, they might just attract the attention of a distributor who would be interested in getting the film out and into theaters, which is their first preference. It's a shot they want to try.
If this effort fails, they clearly understand the possibilities available through DVD's and some kind of digital download, and they will pursue these options within the year, according to Todd. As film makers, understandably, they would prefer to see the movie available in theaters first. Is it ego talking? Maybe. But so what. That's their first hope. Let them try.
The deals they've been offered so far for netflix or other digital download possibilities, according to Todd, are "horrible", with virtually no possibility of making any meaningful money. By "meaningful" I mean to say, again according to Todd, even breaking even on production costs. Will they eventually have to bite the bullet and accept the fact that their labor of love isn't gonna be a money maker? Maybe. That remains to be seen.
So we'll all have to wait a while longer, most probably, to actually see this film. Todd assured me several times - and why would I think anything different? - that they are not trying to "torture" us with delays, or trying to keep the film from us. They just have to go through the steps they have to go through.
You know the saying that "hunger is the best spice". By the time we actually get to see the movie, we'll be something like famished and will enjoy it all the more. Or so I hope.
To end, I'll just say that Todd very much appreciated the chance to speak with someone - me, as it happens - personally, rather than bounce back and forth in print, which he says he doesn't want to do. I appreciated the chance to speak with him,, too.
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groyster1
2142 posts
Jan 27, 2013
6:32 AM
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I have registered with TUGG for a showing in knoxville,tennessee on february 28....hopefully a public radio station WDVX will agree to do public service annoucements on air to promote it...I want anybody who is involved providing the opportunity to see this doc to do well,be it PFOS or carmike 10....I just want to see it and hopefully can convince others who dont play to come see it....
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Rick Davis
1226 posts
Jan 27, 2013
7:01 AM
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The Mile High Blues Society has registered with TUGG also, requesting a screening in Denver in early April.
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-Rick Davis
The Blues Harp Amps Blog
The Mile High Blues Society
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groyster1
2143 posts
Jan 27, 2013
7:01 AM
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would like to add that todd always answers emails re:PFOS...and appreciates my support...maybe after you see the movie you will appreciate his efforts more...
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shbamac
234 posts
Jan 27, 2013
7:37 AM
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I wanted, WANTED to see this film. After all this time and then this by harp-er:
"I've been inquiring about the movie for a couple of years now it seems. Recently I received the invitation to be the "promoter" in my area, Santa Fe, NM. I contacted TUGG and started the ball rolling. They contacted me with the requirements for being the promoter, and after I accepted the offer, they would contact the most likely theater in town with whom they have some arrangement, in this case Regal Cinemas. My job would be to round up a minimum of about 60 people who would pay for their tickets in advance. This minimum number, more or less, is the requirement - set by who, I don't know - in order for the movie to get a "private screening". Then I would be responsible for collecting the tickets at the theater and pointing the viewers to the right screening room. For these efforts I would be awarded a stipend of 5% of ticket sales above the minimum number required to warrant the screening. Whew! I just want to see the movie. In the end I begged off. Way too much effort on my part. Not worth it, to me."
Thanks but no thanks. Best of luck to PFOS. I hope you succeed in your endeavors. That way if it does get picked up for major distribution I'll be able to download a "free" copy at watch it at my leisure in the comfort of my home... Just kidding. Seriously wishing the best. But I wouldn't pay a penny to see this...
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Rick Davis
1227 posts
Jan 27, 2013
7:55 AM
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shbamac, I am good with all that. That is what Blues Societies are for...
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-Rick Davis
The Blues Harp Amps Blog
The Mile High Blues Society
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groyster1
2144 posts
Jan 29, 2013
9:36 AM
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from what I can gather,there must be 55 people willing to attend at $10 a head....hopefully I can get 54 others to come with the public radio and facebook annoucements...time will tell
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Rick Davis
1235 posts
Jan 29, 2013
9:51 AM
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Press release from The Mile High Blues Society:
POCKET FULL OF SOUL
We are excited to announce the Denver screening of this highly anticipated documentary film: Thursday February 28 at 9:17pm. The Landmark Esquire Theater, 590 Downing Street in Denver. Much of "Pocket Full of Soul" was shot in Denver during a harmonica convention in 2006, so there will be many familiar faces and scenes. Click on this link to buy tickets: http://www.tugg.com/events/2843.
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-Rick Davis
The Blues Harp Amps Blog
The Mile High Blues Society
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LSC
361 posts
Jan 29, 2013
5:10 PM
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I just had a wander around the PFOS website and learned a couple of things. I would like to qualify my comments that from the trailer it looks like something I would very much like to see and I applaud the efforts of the producers. However...
First, the film was shown at the Austin Film Festival where the makers are also trying to get a screening. I'm not sure what year it was shown. I'm fairly up on happenings around Austin and had no idea. Which begs the question as to how much publicity/marketing was done. I'd be curious to know the attendance figures and whether or not that would indicate the potential audience for any screening.
Second, the film is all of 45 minutes in length, which surprised me. I would have expected at least 90 minutes.
My impression, right or wrong, is that the producers have a love of their subject but perhaps are not the best marketers in the world, a common failing amongst artists. I can understand the idea of theatre screenings being very attractive but I was once taught that when making decisions start with deciding the goal. With PFOS I'm not sure what the ultimate goal is. I'm going to assume that is is the promotion of the harmonica to a wider audience as well as providing a bit of entertainment and education to those already interested. In either case one would assume that would entail a desire to reach the largest possible audience. Seems like 50-60 souls on a one shot in a few towns ain't a very large audience or even close to a decent percentage of those who would like to see it.
I have a friend who produces independent documentary films. Her latest has to do with women who give birth having made the decision to put the child up for immediate adoption. She's also done documentaries in a men's prison in Texas (BTW she is one hot lady) as well as filming in the Middle East. She does these films to support a career as a singer/songwriter, where she has also had some success. Her last film was recently picked up by the Discovery Channel. Her others have been shown on television all over the world.
Now it seems pretty obvious that television is going to have the largest audience. If this little girl out of NYC can get her films on TV I would have thought it not much of a stretch to get PFOS picked up. Both the Discovery Channel and the History channel would be obvious candidates. I'm sure there are others both in the US and abroad. Holland shows a lot of English language documentaries. There is Channel 4 in the UK as well as cable. Seems like the amount of energy expending with trying to get into the one off theatre showings would be better directed.
If all that fails, I can't imagine producing DVDs for sale is all that much more expensive or involved than producing CDs, which they have already done. Discmakers, for example will do 1000 DVDs in blackbook cases, the most expensive packaging, with most all the bells and whistles for under a $1000.
As someone has mentioned earlier, know your market. Harp players are in the main older and hard to get out of the house. I know the idea of going on my own to a theatre and spending 10 bucks for a 45 minute film is not particularly attractive. On the other hand I'd pay up to $15 for a DVD. If I saw the film at a blues festival or blues society event and the DVD was for sale, I'd still probably plunk down cash to take a copy home.
I suspect the producers will eventually go the DVD or some other route. It's just a pity they are loosing a lot of buzz trying to do something that seems pretty plain does not have great chances for success and it would appear is losing them some credibility, and they do deserve all credit for their efforts.
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LSC
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Rick Davis
1237 posts
Jan 29, 2013
5:16 PM
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The film is 82 minutes long.
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-Rick Davis
The Blues Harp Amps Blog
The Mile High Blues Society
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LSC
362 posts
Jan 29, 2013
7:45 PM
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"The documentary is short clocking in at just 45 minutes, and I would have loved to have seen longer cuts of Paul Butterfield or Howlin' Wolf in their prime wailing on stage" - Brandon Cobb, Austin American Statesman. The entire American Statesman piece is in the "Press" section of the PFOS website and is mainly favorable.
If the film is now 82 minutes that would be more like it but then they showed a shorter version at the film festival, which also doesn't seem like the best of ideas. The Austin Film Festival is a fairly major deal with loads of distributors and other such folk that one would like to sell to. I don't really mean to be critical of the producers but it's hard to avoid sometimes even when simply making an observation. It's nothing to do with the work, only the way they are trying to sell it. "Shows effort but could do better," as they used to write on my school reports.
I wanted to see this thing from the first time I heard about it. The trailer looked quite good. I just wish they'd get their business act together a bit so that we can see it and enjoy it.
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LSC
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