Cover Art and Marketing

So I thought I’d write a blog about some of my experiences on the creative side during the distribution phase. Let me preface by saying that making the film was the easy part… navigating distribution is very much the hard part.

From a creative standpoint distribution has been very interesting because PALO ALTO, CA is a very tricky title to work with. The film is half teen comedy and half indie drama. Fortunately / unfortunately it doesn’t exactly fit into either category which means that it’s a wild card for distributors. After months of searching for the right distribution deal we finally found our home with Image Entertainment. Image is a pretty cool company because they do a lot of diverse stuff all the way from playboy TV to the Criterion Collection.

After the deal was the task of devising how to market PALO ALTO, CA. Most of the promotion that we did for the film in festivals and random screens was targeting the young indie filmgoer with a cool indie film, kind of a realistic cinema verita feel, made by kids, for kids. This is the poster we made and used:


Image was very happy with the grassroots following that we established through our little marketing efforts, but when they took over the angle changed. This is the poster that Image made with a bunch of photoshop from images that we took at a photo shoot:



Mind you, it’s the same film being sold with both of these posters although it very much doesn’t look that way… Our old poster is much more in line with the tone of the film but we’re told that the new one is going to sell more copies… aw yes the artists dilemma. Well actually this one wasn’t too much of a dilemma for me because I didn’t get much of a say. Image being the distributor handles the marketing and does what they want. As much as I disagree with their direction it’s hard for me to argue with their track record. We’ll see how it plays out. In conclusion if you like either poster please buy the film, you’ll probably like it and we’ll like you for watching it.

-Brad Leong

PALO ALTO Release!

Happy holidays!

Thanks for following the progress of 'Palo Alto.' Sorry we have been out of touch and our online updates have been limited to non-existent. We have been very busy over the last year planning for the release of the film. Going into this project we thought getting the movie made was going to be the hardest part, but it turns out distribution is an even bigger challenge.

The website will be updated over the next week with all of our plans, but in the meantime we wanted to give you a brief breakdown. 'Palo Alto, CA' (the title was changed for distribution) will be receiving worldwide distribution through Image Entertainment domestically and G-Machine, an international sales agent, for territories outside the U.S. Needless to say, we are very excited to make this announcement.

Through our partnership with Image the 'Palo Alto, CA' DVD will be hitting shelves on February 17, 2009. At first it will be primarily available for rent through Netflix and Blockbuster, but over the proceeding months major retailers will be adding the title to their shelves. For now, it can be pre-ordered on Amazon here. If you are feeling generous this holiday season, we would greatly appreciate it if you pre-ordered the DVD as it will have a meaningful impact on our sales to places like Best Buy.

In addition our home video release we will be screening the film on college campuses. Please send us a message if you would like us to visit your school. We are in talks with several schools around the country. The website will be updated with screening dates so you can attend showing in your area.  

As you know this is a small movie so any help you can provide in promotion would mean a lot to us. The possibilities are endless, but a few things that would be particularly helpful would be sending messages about the film to your friends on Facebook (and telling them to join our group), getting friends to attend screenings that are happening near you and helping us to set up showings at your college. Also, saving the film to your Netflix account and giving us positive comments on Netflix, Amazon and IMDB would go a long way.

We've just activated a Facebook Fan page for the film that will be another good resource for updates on the film.  Become a fan to make sure you don't miss any information on important events, or screenings of the film in your area.

We are very grateful for your interest in the movie. As young filmmakers, it is absolutely surreal to be announcing we have closed a distribution deal… the film's success moving forward is very much in your hands. We hope you enjoy this labor of love! 

Best wishes for the New Year,

The 'Palo Alto, CA' Team