Jesus Loves "Of Shark and Man" - Marching On Towards Release

Thanks mate - New trailer officially JC approved 

So, it's been two weeks since the second Teaser Trailer was released and thought I'd give you some stats on that and also catch up on how the first one is doing.

In the first fourteen days of release we have trailer 2 on:

•  6418 Vimeo Player and embedded player views
• Vimeo Player version viewed in 101 countries
• Facebook plays and other embeds unknown but likely c3000
• Top 10 views by country - USA, UK, Australia, Germany, Fiji, Spain, France, Canada, Italy, Norway
• Honourable mentions to views in the following far flung places - Burkina Faso, Laos, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, New Caledonia, Azerbaijan, Northern Mariana Islands

In regards to that last point, it was also interesting to see that in the wake of the fatal attack last week there was a spike in views that day and in the following two days in La Reunion, the first time I've got stats for views of anything in that part of the world.





In the six months since the first Teaser Trailer, the available stats show:

• 22,878 Vimeo Player and embedded player views
• Vimeo Player version viewed in 140 countries
• Facebook and other embeds unknown but likely c10,000
• Top 10 views by country - US, UK, Canada, Germany, Australia, Switzerland, Spain, France, Fiji, South Africa
• Honourable mentions to views in the following far flung places -Yemen, Reunion (as a result of the above), Cape Verde, Honduras, Mongolia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Bhutan  

All this is of course, with promotion from only social media sites and I must stress again, if you like what I do, please, please join the street team, you only get emailed when there is something cool to share, you don't get spammed, your details aren't shared with anyone and it is so easy and requires only the most basic effort but it really, really helps get the word out there and in order for this film to achieve anything, it needs an audience.

The feedback on the new trailer has been slightly different to the first in that where the first piqued people's interest and had them wondering what the film was really about (mission accomplished, go me...) this second one has seemingly encouraged genuine excitement for the film thanks in no small part to the "Shark Effect" phenomenon, which actually exists by the way, wherein simply putting sharks in stuff makes more people want to look at it.

It's not quite that easy though because we now live in a world where art isn't as valued as it used to be because everybody has developed a sense of entitlement whereby they automatically feel they should get everything for free.

You've probably seen on your Facebook, at least one person share the trailer for Blackfish, which, if it lives up to the trailer and promo campaign, could be one of the best documentaries in years.

It's a great story, looks very well made and carries an important message and as such, I am going to make a point, despite being broke, to pay to see this film and not download a pirated copy, simply because it deserves to be valued and this relates directly to "Of Shark and Man," in a specific way.

The fact the trailer keeps appearing on your Twitter feed and Facebook Timeline is because it's good, but mainly because it's had money spent on it, a lot of money. Promo campaigns as good as this don't emanate from Facebook shares and likes, nor do they come from out of nowhere. There is a team of creative and dynamic people leading this campaign, who will have been paid handsomely to do so and rightly so because the campaign has been very good.

Basic business follows the principle that you have an idea for a product, in this case a film, you then create that product to be absolutely the best it can be and when it's ready, in order to sell it to make money (to pay off your own cost in making said product, pay rent, eat food, feed your kids etc) you need to alert the consumers in your intended market as to its availability and all this costs money and this is a stage I am closing in on with "Of Shark and Man" now.

I can unequivocally state that, unlike "A Ray of Light," "Of Shark and Man" will not be hosted online to view for free. It simply can't be from a financial or realistic perspective, if I was a millionaire, I would make it available for nothing but I'm not so I can't.

One of the coolest things about this entire project for me has been the involvement and support of brilliant, talented and kind hearted people, friends and strangers alike. It's a big aspect of the whole production really, beating the odds and making something truly special with people volunteering and chipping in where and when they can, I really get a kick out of that. The animation team have blown me away with what they have come up with so far, there are people who regularly share and get involved with the promotion of trailers, Mark and his help with music and sound and of course, the commercial support I get from Novatech (especially Tim who is a dream to deal with), Fourth Element, Canon UK and of course, Tourism Fiji / FijiMe along with the continued support and encouragement from Mike Neumann.

So with that collaborative goodwill in mind here's a bit of a scoop on what to expect in the upcoming weeks and months with the release in mind, as such, let me begin with what my release plan is at present although, this could change dependent upon advice and suggestions from people with a lot more experience than I, so in order of what there is left to do...

1.  Finish the first cut with finished animation
2. Sound Design and Audio Edit
3. Soundtrack (composition, recording and collect third party submissions)
4. Colour Correction and Grade
5. Final touches to the look build

That will mean a final version first cut signifying the start of the final process before release:

1. Individual, Industry Test Screenings
2. Re-edits and adjustments based on feedback
3. Public theatre Test Screenings
4. Re-edits and adjustments based on feedback
5. Final Version DVD sent to handpicked VIPs and press
6. Premiere Screening Event
7. Submissions to Festivals
8. Fee Paid Screenings with Q&A session Nationwide
9. Secure distribution
10. Blu-Ray and DVD release

The above ten points are all dependent on various things but this film will have a "proper" release and the success of that is reliant upon two areas, how much I can spend on it and how many people are prepared to help along the way.

In the next few weeks there will be a new crowd funding campaign to raise the funds for the release of the film, stuff like screenings, Legal Documentation, Digi-Beta copies, merchandise, marketing support, promotional material, sound-design production, special edition DVDs, design work and so on and so on. I am working on the perks to offer and have some cool ideas but I just need to figure out how to offer them so in the event I don't reach target, I end up having to spend any money raised on the perks leaving me with nothing and the whole campaign rendered completely pointless! Incidentally, to those who donated to the first Indiegogo campaign, those perks will start going out (the physical object perks anyway) when the film has its premiere.

I also have some very cool ideas for things to promote the film which would go online for free, stuff like a Behind The Scenes look at the film, songs from the soundtrack, stuff like that and in order to actually present the film properly and give it the best foundation possible I am looking for the following people so if you think you can help, please get in touch at david@officetoocean.com or david@scarletviewmedia.com

• Distributor
• Graphic Designer (posters/DVD covers/merchandise etc)
• Promotional Teams
• PR Firms
• Marketing Consultants
• Independent Cinemas

It goes without saying that all well meaning people offering their services is always hugely appreciated and humbling but I would ask at this stage that if you want to offer your services that you be of a professional standard or a ridiculously talented and enthusiastic semi-pro looking to break into that field. The stuff I can't do, the stuff I just don't have a talent for (graphic design being a prime example) I need that to be really, really shit hot, the kind of quality you would expect from a major studio release.

Part of the point of the crowd-funding campaign is to raise the money to pay for exactly this type of thing and it's an uncomfortable truth that without the help of others and being left to do this on my own, this film will almost certainly fail.

You can actually be a part of revolutionisingg how we view sharks and their relationships with humans on film and that's pretty cool no? With Shark Week looming and the obligatory campaigns about how it damages the public perception of sharks, you have a chance to actually do something to change that so if you don't like it, do something about it and climb aboard the good ship HMS OSAM!

Thanks to everyone who has shared the trailers so far, if you haven't yet, please do so, if you have a blog, please write about it, if you think you can help with the release, please get in touch and most of all, keep talking about Fiji's amazing Bull Sharks.

Here's Trailer 1...



All you aspiring Film-makers out there, watch this beautiful and inspiring piece by Philip Bloom about Cinematography

Have a look at this old John McCosker doc that was linked on Facebook yesterday, I really enjoyed watching it again :)

Have a great weekend!