Long time readers may remember my post from early January of 2007, The Secret Formula for Making Boring  Porn, Part 2, and may also remember that it ended up linked to a Boing Boing post entitled “Media overestimates porn industy’s girth.”

The reason we got that traffic-driving, google-rank improving link is because I spoon fed the information in the post to Boing Boing editor Xeni Jardin. I sent her the link to my post. I sent her the links to the ADT post she quoted, I sent her the link the the Luke Ford post she quote. I gave her the Forbes links. And I put them all in context so it would be easy for her to turn it into a news item. This is how the modern world of media works. You send out notes to gate keepers like Xeni Jardin or Andrew Sullivan, or Richard Corliss, and sometimes you get a mention. This is how a guerrilla operation like the Comstock Films public relations department (i.e. yours truly) monetizes expertise, experience and cunning. (more…)

My previous post was about DAMON AND HUNTER and ASHLEY AND KISHA appearing in the Tel Aviv International LGBT Film Festival, and how film fests do and don’t figure into our marketing and distribution strategy. In a nutshell, we put out the DVD so that we can take advantage of whatever publicity the film make generate at film festivals, on the internet, in magazines, etc. This runs contrary to the traditional film fest, theatrical release, then (finally) DVD release approach.

But who am I? And why should you listen to me? I’m just a ultra-low-budget filmmaker, and besides, my films are about sex, so the usual rules don’t apply to “regular films”, right? 

Maybe, but maybe not…

(more…)

Okay, I’m not actually going to be in Tel Aviv, but tomorrow night both DAMON AND HUNTER: DOING IT TOGETHER and ASHLEY AND KISHA: FINDING THE RIGHT FITare going to be playing in the Tel Aviv International LGBT Film Festival! Here’s the info:

Tel-Aviv Cinematheque, TLVFEST – Israel International LGBT Film FestivalYair Hochner2 Sprinzak StTel Aviv 64738 Israel
3:00 AM, theater L for ASHLEY AND KISHA3:15 AM, theater G for DAMON AND HUNTER

I don’t know why these films haven’t had more success in the US LGBT Festival circuit, no Reeling, no Frameline, no Philidelphia, none of the big gay and lesbian film fests. The whole film fest thing is a bit of a crap shoot, and after our submission blitz for ASHLEY AND KISHA, I decided that reaching for the film fest brass ring wasn’t the best place to put our money and energy.

Don’t get me wrong. We are thrilled thrilled thrilled when our films get a chance to play in a theater! And we’d never turn down a chance to be in a festival. But we’ve completely given up on the idea that first you do the film fests, then theatrical, the DVD. Both DAMON AND HUNTER and ASHLEY AND KISHA went out to the people first, then on to the film festival circuit. (We put the festival laurels on the second or third pressing.)

This is a contrariun marketing strategy, but it’s worked for us. Our DVD sales are on par with some of the most recognized documentaries of the last couple years. I think one of reason for this is that we don’t cannibalize our DVD sales with endless low or no paying festival appearances or a money-losing theatrical run. Apparently we’re not alone. From a recent Business Week article:

OPTING OUT OF THE FESTIVAL CIRCUIT
But like musicians who shun record labels (BusinessWeek.com, 10/10/07) to sell their music themselves, anecdotal evidence suggests documentary filmmakers—already an entrepreneurial bunch—are foregoing the conventional path of shopping their films to a distributor. They’re skipping such deals and using the Internet to get their stories in front of people who want to hear them.

But while DVD sales might be the financial backbone of Comstock Films, I still think there’s something special about seeing a film in a theater. I still think there’s something magical about the power of a film to turn a group of strangers, sitting in the dark, into an audience. And I because we’re inculcated in the notion that sex is a private, shameful act, I think that’s something wonderful and unexpected when that happens with one of our films.

So meet me in Tel Aviv, meet me there tomorrow night! If not in person, then in spirit!

“I want National Geographic color.”

That’s what I tell the colorist who does our telecine transfers from Super16 to tape. It’s short-hand for “The look I want is no look; natural, normal skintones, nothing affected, artsy, or edgy.”

(more…)

Some things came and went while we were away that would usually end up on the blog, so I’m going to be doing a few catch up posts.

 I met Dr. Jenn last October at a trade show in Las Vegas. She asked me if I’d sit for an interview. Somehow we ended up talking about the second time Peggy and I ever filmed a couple making love. We didn’t expect, (nor Dr. Jenn, I think) that was going to involve fisting and anal sex.

Okay, a bit of an over statement to make an eye-catching headline. The truth is right now DAMON AND HUNTER: DOING IT TOGETHER is ranked #2 in Amazon’s Gay & Lesbian Documentary DVD category, right behind THE CELULOID CLOSET.

Not quite the same as #2 on all of Amazon, but still pretty fuggin cool!

One of the things you get to do when your an independent filmmaker is scour the internet to see who’s saying what where about your films. This is mostly pleasant work, dipping into a blog or bullettin board to say “thanks”. Sometimes you find something disappointing. From the forum at Talk Sex with Sue Johanson:

Posted by P. on March 20, 2007 at 07:12:27:
My husband and I wanted to try an adult video. There is a new dvd I am hearing about “Matt and Khym: Better Than Ever” (Real People, Real Life, Real Sex series) by Tony Comstock (DVD - Jan 3, 2007). I am interest in finding a dvd that is not a sleezy/cheesy porno, Something that is couple friendly with nothing ‘fake’. Do you recommend this dvd? Or could you let me know of some you do recommend?
Thanks!

Webmaster Reply:
I don’t know this DVD, but last season, the crew did try to find couple-friendly videos and really only found one they liked - “Pirates”. It is in our Bookshop. The most consistent producer of non-sleazy erotic films is Better Sex. Their videos, which are instructional and use real couples, are beautifully produced, totally explicit, and very erotic. There’s something about watching people who are actually in love (as opposed to “hired hands”) that is very, very sexy. Go to bettersex.com and peruse their catalogue.
Randy

I don’t take the Better Sex recomendation too hard. In fact, our films are well liked by the people over at the Sinclair Institute and available on the BetterSex.com website. Unfortunately, because of the size and inertia of their marketing machinery they have a very long acquisition process, and MATT AND KHYM won’t be available from them until this Summer.

But PIRATES? PIRATES? Randy, how could you do us like that? Well I guess there’s no accounting for taste.

But the thing about this that really gets my panties in a twist is that we’ve been sending screeners and e-mail updates to the Sue Johanson show for three years, and have never had as much as a “thanks, we’ll have a look.”

This is the not so much fun part about being an independent filmmaker. Even when you send your stuff out to a person or organization you think will be really receptive, usually they’re not. It’s a noisy crowded world, and places like Sinclair/Better Sex or Digital Playground have the muscle (money) to cut through the noise and get noticed by people like Sue Johanson. Meanwhile here at Comstock Films, we live by our wits and (hopefully) the quality of our films.

Also peeving me is that there is no way to respond directly on the Talk Sex with Sue forums, so for the time being, “Canada’s foremost sexual educator and counsellor, recipient of the distinguished Order of Canada” will continue to be unaware of Comstock Films, and continue to offer PIRATES (available in Sue’s online store) to people looking for something that is “couple friendly with nothing ‘fake’”.

Grrr.

I’ve just finished reading THE CONVERSATIONS: WALTER MURCH AND THE ART OF FILM EDITING. Murch is wonderfully eloquent in explaining the role that chance or serendipity can play in making films, without coming off as some sort of flake who leaves things to chance because he’s not creative enough or craftsmanly enough to control his projects.

Well thanks to the serendipitous combination of Violet Blue’s writing, The Chronical’s mainstream status, and the ever mysterious Googlebot, I’ve learned about things today that I never would have imagined.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Filtering DVD Player

The combination of Violet’s copy, mainstream placement, and the Googlebot is some sort of idiot savant uber algorythm for data-mining for everything that is wrong with how our culture thinks about sex. I just called Purity Solutions to ask how I could submit my films to become a part of their filtered films database.

No one was there, so I left a message.

Amazon.com has just decided to pick up MATT AND KHYM: BETTER THAN EVER, complete with kind words from Violet Blue, Thomas S. Roche, and Fleshbot.com. Now all the listing needs is some great customer reviews.

So if you’ve seen MATT AND KHYM and have some nice things to say about it, please head over to Amazon.com and let the world know just how much you enjoyed watching our movie!

http://www.amazon.com/Matt-Khym-Better-Than-Ever/dp/B000NA1NXA/ref=dp_return_1/103-6000559-6764636?ie=UTF8&n=130&s=dvd

Thanks!

Okay, so I can’t get ‘romantica’, so I thought I’d try ‘romantic erotica’ and ‘erotic romance.’ Here’s what the dictionary says about these words:

Erotic: 1: of, relating to, or tending to arouse sexual love or desire
2: strongly marked or affected by sexual desire

Romance 1: A feeling of excitement or mystery associated with love.
2: Love, especially when sentiment or idealized.

Sounds like a good match for Comstock Films, no? Looks pretty Relevent right? Not according to the Googlebot:

This keyword has a low Quality Score, so the minimum bid exceeds your current maximum cost-per-click (CPC).

If the minimum CPC bid for a keyword is greater than your maximum CPC bid, your keyword becomes inactive and your ads stop showing for that term. Learn more about monitoring your account performance.

Here’s a site that seems to have a better Quality Score for ‘erotic romance’ than Comstock Films. The Googlebot does think we’d be a good match for ‘cum guzzling sluts.’ Says we’d get a low CPC on that one. Thanks, but we’ll pass.

You know what I think the problem is? I think the Googlebot needs to get laid!

Back to the drawing board…

P.S. It looks like Google is serving anti-porn advertisements onto Violet Blue’s San Francisco Chronical Column. And here’s another site advertising using the Adword keyword ‘erotic romance’ that apparently has a higher Quality Score than Comstock Films. I think the Googlebot is conflicted about sex!