At some stage in 2010 (hopefully sooner rather than later – depending on the number of high quality film productions that are put on the site) our plan is to provide access for film distributors to One Fat Cigar.com so that they can use us as a portal to find the best independent film projects which are currently in production.

One of the main intentions of the site is to allow you to promote your work from day 1 of script and provide your fans with daily updates as to your production progress, a behind the scenes look at your film making process as it happens, and an insight into your project.

With that in mind, our aim will be to provide regular updates to leading distributors on the highest quality productions on the website and felt that it was important to announce this early so that you can take it into consideration for your movies and production schedules. Here are some of the influencing factors that will be taken into consideration:

1. Production Quality – clearly this is the first on our list as we will need to look at each project to determine its quality, which will, of course, come across in terms of the behind-the-scenes footage production quality (although it doesn’t all have to be awesome quality, especially if it is a piece to camera) – this is a great chance to sell your film and showcase yourself to potential distributors.

2. Idea Quality – perhaps this could be number 1 on the list as fundamentally this determines whether a  film is good or not…does your film have something special about it which makes it stand out, and can you express this in your updates.

3. Star Names – although not the only exciting thing that gets distributors interested it goes without saying that the any decent names you have attached to the project the better, so make sure they are attached to your cast and crew, together with their filmography.

4. Fan Base – if you have a growing fan base and support then this will be important in terms of how distributors will view the possibilities to market your film. Although this factor will only be considered part of the overall possibilities for your movie it will definitely play a role in a distributor’s decision. A solid fan base will give an indication as to the marketing potential of your film.

5. The Pitch – what’s the opening description for your film… your pitch in a paragraph… we’ll attach this to anything available to distributors.

6. Buzz – How much buzz can you generate around your film… can you create interest and drive traffic to your One Fat Cigar page? Are you in the news? Create some traffic spikes on the site so we can understand why your film is generating so much attention. We’ll be monitoring it all. In your premium and pro welcome packs we’ll give you some ideas as to how to do this.

7. The Trailer – Create a killer trailer early in the post-production, ideally the first thing you do. The trailer is your visionary sell for the film. Excite us.

Our plan is to try to do as many things as possible to generate interest in your films. You’ll be able to help by making the content on the site as brilliant as we know it will be. It is difficult to market an average product. Give us something great and the speech is so much easier!

For more notes on Film Marketing check out Susie Tullett’s guide on our blog.