And now, with Google’s new implementation of OpenSocial program and the social networking sites listed above (including many others, and excluding Facebook) adapting to and embracing the new idea, you can even get a developer to create some small social applications (a gift-giving application related to your film in some way, for example) that will work on all the social networks you’ve become a member of. So you could not only have pages on all of them that are generally the same, all with links to your film's one central site, but you can enhance the user experience by giving them these kinds of tools (or toys) to play with and tell their friends about the film while interacting in a fun way, increasing their enjoyment and interest in your project and your possible fan-base, simply by their using the application on their friends who might use it as well and promote your project. Social networking is like a snowball effect of costless self-promotion through the wonderful interactivity of the internet. And it’s a beautiful thing when it all comes together.
So now that I’ve covered some of the methods you can pursue on your own (yes, only some), I’m going to move on to how you can get others involved in the project at little or no cost. The best way to go about this is to get reviews, praise, feedback from people in the industry, doing similar things as you, or just anyone you can get to say something intriguing about your film. One great place to do this is Videomaker.com, since they've got a certain status and reputation in the filmmaking and videomaking community, and are a great resource for amateur filmmakers like us. They'll take certain short films and watch them, review them and give feedback. The only problem is that they're so large and get so many films sent to them, that they have to pick and choose out of those. They also only take short films, because they often show the films on their podcast. (Hey, why not start up a podcast for your film?)
If your film's longer than 5 minutes or if you want a site that’s guaranteed to critique your film, then you're going want to think about another place to send it in. Not to toot the horn of the magazine publishing this article, but one place that's a great resource for this is here at MicroFilmmaker Magazine. While MFM isn’t as large a site as the older Videomaker.com, MFM will take any length of film and has a large enough staff to keep up with all of the films sent in, so they don’t pick and choose but will critique all films sent to them. Whereas sites like Videomaker, FilmThreat, and MicroCinemaScene will provide short reviews for your films for a general audience, MFM is one of the only sites that offers a truly detailed critique on what your film does right, what it does wrong, and, because actual low budget filmmakers are the critics, they give you practical, in-depth ways to improve your film or future films. (Now, because in-depth critiques take more time and detailed scrutiny than a general review, MFM does have a small charge for these critiques, which is less than the cost of submitting your film to most film festivals.) While their main goal is to help make you become a better filmmaker, the critiques are detailed enough that many distributors have become interested in films based on them. Obviously, the exposure you get in MFM helps people recognize your film’s merits and you can use quotes from the critiques to promote both you and your film, as well as for use in your cover art for your final product.
