Silicon and Celluloid
An Interview With Peter Jacobson
Today, “synergy” isn’t just a word for Hollywood-type rabid gum chewers looking to integrate vertically. It’s a concept that means a lot to both savvy Web designers and independent filmmakers. A film’s first run isn’t so much on the silver screen anymore. Silicon and Celluloid panelist Peter Jacobson of the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival explains why a Web premiere can rival the red carpet.
Austin Chronicle: So, you’re an expert at the movie-Web thing?
Peter Jacobson: That’s my background, really. I have a background in film production also. Out here in the San Francisco Bay area, docs are big, and, of course, Web design and computers. Since about 1997, I’ve been doing Web designs for independent films. A lot of filmmakers don’t know what’s involved. A lot of independent filmmakers tend to be do-it-yourselfers and don’t always understand the differences in the media.
AC: Should the Web site have a life of its own before the movie comes out?
PJ: I would say yeah. In my experience, again with independent filmmakers, they generally want the Web site to be up along with the premiere of the film at a festival, or if it’s premiering on TV, at least by that time. To my mind, the sooner you can get it up the better, because you can start getting people interested.
AC: Why do you think Web sites for movies are so important? Do you consider them to be mostly marketing tools?
PJ: Not always. Because I work mostly with documentaries and issue-oriented films, I see Web sites often times as more than that because they end up being kind of a community space or a focus point for communities around particular issues. But it’s really different for every site. It depends on the film and what the nature of the film is. One of the sites I did was for a film about a ritual for women when they reach the age of 60. That’s really not the ideal demographic for a forum, because women 60 and over are really not that Web-savvy for the most part. In that case, the site became more of an information resource. One of the sites that I really got a lot out of was Michael Moore’s Web site for Bowling for Columbine. That, again, was kind of an information resource. The key is always to find out what interests people about that particular topic and then provide them a way to help them access information or other people who relate to that topic. Another site I did was about a community for chicken farmers back in history over the last century. Again, it was a somewhat older demographic, but people who responded to the film could then go to the site and get more information about the topic, see photos and things that didn’t get into the movie, and send in their own stories. They may have some connection to somebody in the film, or they may have a community that had a similar history but in another part of the country – so they can either post that information online, or they can maybe send a line into the filmmaker.
AC: Do you have any advice for these more commercial film Web sites?
PJ: In general, my feeling is that most commercial Web sites are pretty shallow just in terms of the content they have. They’re somewhat formulaic. They’ll have some screensaver downloads, imagery, and basic information about the film. The studios have been somewhat slow to pick up on the medium, and they go a little bit more for glitz than they do for content. For the most part, independent filmmakers don’t have that kind of dough. So I want to focus on what you can do with a limited budget because there are a lot of things you can do that don’t necessarily cost so much money. The great thing about the Web is that it’s a kind of leveling ground. I want to get filmmakers excited about how they can use the Web to extend what they’re trying to do with the film. Independent filmmakers are making a film because they have a bee in their bonnet about something, they’re inspired by something, and they can just as well use the Web to do whatever they’re trying to do as they can with film, although it may not be their particular medium of choice as an artist.
This article appears in March 19 • 2004.