CLUB PROMOTION

[Dave Watterson]

As the season gets underway again, most clubs are getting worried about lack of members. We know that worry will get stronger at the turn of the year, when bad weather and seasonal illness will keep some regulars from attending.

Can we try to assemble here some of the best ideas for making a club known and attracting members?

Please let us not stress the negative aspects (old grumblers put off young idealists) here. Let's focus on the positive. If we get enough good ideas there may be an article for 'Film & Video Maker' in it.

For a start: what about public shows? Would a show with some of the best, crowd-pleasing, winners from BIAFF and UNICA mixed with a few of strong local interest bring punters in?

[Frank Maxwell]

Firstly I did not know that the magazine still exist. Film& Video Maker. Clubs need to go out and video in the local town a project and have a poster saying. We are.........Club and feel free to talk too us and come and see our club on.......day.
That will be one approach which i will be using when we will video a 5 minute comedy at our local Bus Station.

[Dave Watterson]

Good idea. We know people are curious about any film-making crew at work ... so use that curiosity!

[Brian Saberton]

I would suggest exploring as many avenues as possible. Try and make contact with the editor of your local paper and see if they are willing to do a feature to promote the club. Put posters and flyers in local libraries and community centres. Some supermarkets will also let you put a notice on their community board or even a small display. A public show can help to raise a club's profile, but the films that tend to attract an audience will be subjects of local interest e.g gala days or archive material. Offer film shows to other clubs and groups.

[ned c]

1. Appoint a club member to be responsible for coordinating all the marketing/promotion efforts. A club stands or falls by the quality of its management and marketing is what will keep the club alive.
2. Brian has listed many of the methods available.
3. Have the marketing person contact all the "creative" clubs in the area with a view to co-operating on making films together. Painters; writers; still photographers; poets; third age; local historians; model engineers all have clubs/groups and although not interested in the nuts and bolts of film making are interested in the creative possibilities; become their film production unit. Involve as many members as possible. Make a club demo reel for showing to potential co-workers.
4. Run a well publicized script writing competition with the club making the winning script and a get together and review with all the entrants. I know this works.
5. A simple paper brochure about the club handed out all over; yes your website is important but how do you get people to it? The written word still works.
6. Carefully prepare for how you will greet potential members when they visit; this is the make or break moment. When I was a member of a club in the UK it was divided up into four "film units'; when I joined I was assigned to a film unit who made me welcome. There were competitions between the units which made for a flow of productions and quickly involved me in the club's activities at a manageable level of contacts.

However; marketing/promotion only works if it is sustained keep going through the failures and successes plan for the long haul; one season followed by exhaustion will not work.

ned c

[Frank Maxwell]

Yes, these are all wonderful idea's. But there is one issue? Younger people are working on their own in groups and use the internet for showing and advice. The video clubs are not increasing membership. I think all forms of club are a bit in the same situation.
I was thinking of finding out where the kids hang out, like I see a lot of skateboarding in Parks and perhaps asking if we could video some of the activity.
Any Public showing's got to be of interest to the community as stated in last post.
Its a hard situation to get the interest of people of all ages in this field of Amateur Video Making.

[Dave Watterson]

Frank ... I want to keep this thread positive, but sadly you have to be careful hanging round parks trying to get in touch with kids !

But it CAN be done. This example is from Luxemburg where Vito Cabalestra has made several award-winning films in this style.

[Frank Maxwell]

I try and stay positive. No I would not just go into the Park. I understand where you are coming from. This day and age one has to be very careful. In a few weeks I will be filming with the video club at a Bus Station and hope the public will be interested.

Anyway a few ideas have come forward, which is a good start.

[Lee Prescott]

Hi Folks, a very interesting thread.

Re approaching Young People [and anyone else as a matter of fact] - yes these days much care is needed the "media" have managed to engender a colossal amount of Paranoia, particularly here in the UK. (Reminds me of the Mcarthy commie witch hunts of the 1950s in the USA).

I and a colleague produced a drama video about skate boarding. To do so it was necessary to visit a Park where the ramps etc. were / are many, varied and some very high. The majority of the guys were around 16 with some older 'teens.
Two of our "stars" of the same age came with us.

First we arranged that our presence would be known in advance and obtained "permission" from the authorities and also informed the local police.

We also have a habit of wearing our IAC Membership Cards encased in a plastic cover dangling on ribbons around our necks! Exactly like you often see with company security /staff etc. (We do this no matter where we are videoing)! Frankly we have always found it works wonders because the info. thereon is easily checkable with the IAC Office or other sources if anyone so desires. - In other words we are who we say we are!!!

Now perchance, it so happens that our local authority here is building a new youth centre - in the "Park" and sports field together with, eventually, skateboarding facilities. --- some of the Young People we have retained in our new Unit, (NOT club), as part of their activities are being shown how to edit footage along with some new footage.

One other thing I do in such circumstances is to use my large (semi) pro Sony Video Camera instead of the little pokey things that now abound - it's always absolutely amazing the difference in reactions that produces. Ohhh look, the TV people are here ridiculous but true! Grateful now though at my advancing age that 17 years old Ryan humps it and my tripod about for me.

I thought that I'd mention these modus operandi. Certain aspects may prove helpful.

The hard work though is keeping interest up and alive with Young People. Other things happen in their lives and off they whizz to some new interest - motor bikes etc. being just one, cars and la femmes two others. I often wonder why it is that the latter never seem to be interested.

(Applying "historical" hind sight, I remember I was the same at their age)!

I also organise and run charitable public shows that to date have always been sold out..

Cheers: LEE..

[Michael Slowe]

Very interesting thread this, and very relevant.

One point though, Frank, you say you didn't realise that the IAC magazine was still being published. It goes out automatically to all members, you are a member aren't you? You often post here, contact the editor and write something, he would be delighted.

[Lee Prescott]

Hi 1 and ALL,

Just thought I'd add the following to this thread.

Quote from Barry Norman CBE our esteemed Patron!

“TOO MANY FILMS ARE MADE FOR A GENERATION
WITH THE ATTENTION SPAN OF FRUIT FLIES” !

Surely he's not referring to our Yoof ?

Cheers: LEE.

[Frank Maxwell]

Now that I have settled in at the new video club and I can see why some clubs are loosing members or not getting any.
I wont go into details, but it all revolves around members working as a unit.When you have members telling you in a nice way they don't like doing this or that for a production shoot in the club on the meeting night then something is not correct.
If one had enough members then yes one could pick or ask who would like too get involved.
I find it irritating and frustrating that members tell you what they wish or dont wish to do. Specially when you have a very and i mean very small membership turn up.
I guess it may be the wrong attitude by me but I always believed it is the members who can make or break a club.

[Dave Watterson]

Jan and I recently visited Bristol Film & Video Society ... the room was packed ... long-standing club officials were not sure why they have become so popular that some people travel up to 60 miles each way to attend their club and do not go to clubs that are much nearer.

Officials then asked us for ideas for future events, "because when people are making this much effort to attend, we must make sure we offer them the best possible programme." That attitude seems to me to be part of the reason for their success. It would have been easy to assume that they did not have to change at all, if they are attracting new people.

Many of their new members are not specially keen on camerawork ... they have so many writers that they are considering script-reading sessions along the lines of writers' clubs.

But there was one less obvious point which struck us. After the club competition, we chatted quietly with a couple of officers and touched on a member who was committed to helping a good cause with a series of short films about their work. Her dedication and enthusiasm were undeniable, her film making had flashes of brilliance and many mistakes. "Oh yes, one person said, we've already arranged to get together and help with her editing and planning ... " Without fuss or formality these experienced and very able film makers were treating it as a matter-of-course that they would give freely of their own time and knowledge to help another member.

There are probably lots of ways to build a successful club, but such supportive attitudes clearly help.

Oh - a sideline that may be significant - their annual members' competition included both one-minute and 45-minute entries ... but not one holiday film, not one one-line joke from the internet, not one documentary about a relatively trivial and commonplace event. Sometimes club and even regional competitions seem to have nothing but that sort of film.

At Bristol people seem to like ideas and challenges.

[Frank Maxwell]

Thank You for that. I hope the chairman of our club reads that and acts accordingly.

[col lamb]

I have just had a look at the Bristol club programme and nothing seems radically different from other Clubs programmes

Ergo, its down to the Club members and officials to make the most of their activities.

Well done Bristol.

But at a probable 4 hour one way trip of over 190 miles it is a bit to far for me to attend, alas.

I am in the North West, the region is dying, club membership is either static or falling, there is no other way to describe it.

We at Preston Movie Makers are now down to 12 members, and no matter what we cannot retain newbies.