INCEPTION as a Metaphor for What a Producer of Marketing and Distribution Does:
This was an awesome post in Fast Company and I have to share it here. In the quest to either find a PMD to work with or to become a PMD, it may not be possible to find all of the qualities or work experience needed from just one person. It is reasonable to expect just as corporations have multiple marketing team members responsible for the myriad of duties that need to be fulfilled, a full marketing team will need to be assembled under the careful guidance of a PMD. Here is how the article explained as it related to INCEPTION:
Cobb, The Extractor, (The PMD): Executive responsible for the film brand in large. This person is also required to not only extract ideas to form the messages about the product (the film and related content), but also introduce the new ideas that empower consumers to relate to it and pass along the message. He/she may also lead teams or individuals into each social intiative. Will also be responsible for plotting the distribution path.
Ariadne, the Architect, (Graphic designers, web developers, applications developers, writers): Build and define the online experience as well as the bridges (and Penrose stairs) that connect the dots. This might include transmedia story extensions and building those worlds around the original content.
Arthur, the Point Man, (web analytics, message analysis and propagation): Data and research analysts who gather information and intelligence and present it to the various teams for incorporation into strategies and supporting tactics.
Yusuf, the Chemist, (more technical skills, but could be done under the Architect): Social technicians and alchemists who bring architecture to life through apps, landing pages, interactive media platforms, custom tabs and the like.
Eames, the Forger, (the voice of your production that the audience responds to): Brand representative who serves as the personality and voice on the front lines in communities.
Mr. Saito, the Tourist (the influencers your team attracts and builds relationships with): Symbolic of the influencers who serve online communities as overseers and moderators.
Miles, Cobb’s mentor (the mentality the team must have to form meaningful and lasting relationships): The ethics that serve as the inspiration for meaningful social media programs and engagement. If the mentality is purely selfish, there will be no meaningful relationships.
Fischer, the Mark: The audiences and people with whom the film’s brand hope to connect and convince to see or purchase the film.
Needless to say, there is more than enough work here for one person to handle full time for a long period of time. It could take a team of people working tirelessly to bring attention and build community around your film. Still think the person heading this effort up doesn’t deserve a producer title?
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ACTORSandCREW is fully psyched to be featuring Sheri Moss Candler’s 411 for the PMD. PMD stands for Producer of Marketing and Distribution and this is the person in a production whose sole job is marketing and figuring out the distribution path for the film so the producer and the rest of the production crew can get on with their work. Sheri is an expert inbound marketing strategist who helps independent filmmakers build identities for themselves and their films. Through the use of online tools such as social networking, podcasts, blogs, online media publications and radio, she assists filmmakers in building an engaged and robust online community for their work that can be used to monetize effectively. She collaborates with filmmaker/author Jon Reiss (who coined the term PMD) in his TOTBO workshop series by teaching filmmakers about utilizing social media and building personal brands. For Sheri’s complete bio visit her site, here.
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