animatedbrooklyn

New Blog! Check it!

2008-04-14T13:38:00.001-07:00

I have a new blog! Get your fill of Amanda at: www.amandacurryrocks.blogspot.com

Blah Blah Blogspot

2007-10-02T08:46:00.000-07:00

So, I am going to shutter this blog.
1. I never write in it.
2. No one reads what I never write.
3. I have way to many other blogs/websites/etc... that I manage and this one ain't a priority.

Goodbye, Mom. If you ever get past dial-up connections you'll be able to read this!

Back from the World Premiere!!!

2007-05-01T09:57:00.000-07:00

I'm fresh back from the West Coast where we had the world premiere of Keep it Runnin'!!
Right before we left we received an invite from San Diego Children's Film Festival Director, Dan Bennett, to have an extra screening in front of 220 kids on Thursday morning! So, I jumped on a plane and headed out a day early to see it screen as part of a field trip day!!

The kids and their teachers were awesome and very smart, asking all kinds of questions:

How can I become an animator?
How long did it take you to make the Cool Beans?
Where can I see the movie again?
Can I be in a Big Wheel Race?

The screening went off without a hitch and was housed in the lovely Museum of Photographic Arts in beautiful Balboa Park in downtown San Diego.

We then used the next few days to promote all over town, handing out Cool Beans buttons and fliers to anyone and everyone!

On Sunday we enjoyed the Official World Premiere and screened it in front of a very welcoming crowd. We passed out Cool Beans t-shirts, buttons and invites to join our fan club!
(Which you should join too! www.coolbeansfanclub.com)

We are really looking forward to using this piece to get kids excited about the Beans and build our fan club and see smiles on faces wherever it is shown!

More pictures to come soon!

Keep it Runnin' to screen at Comic-Con!

2007-04-04T09:15:00.000-07:00

More awesome news!!! Keep it Runnin' will screen at Comic-Con in San Diego!!!
Comic-Con is the largest comic book and popular culture convention in the world, with over 114,000 attendees last year!
Comic-Con '07 takes place July 26-29 at the San Diego Convention Center.
Keep it Runnin' will screen on July 29th!!!

More information to come as soon as we can get it!

www.comic-con.org/cci/

Screening time for Keep it Runnin' at San Diego Intl. Children's Film Festival

2007-04-04T09:10:00.000-07:00

Keep It Runnin' will be shown as part of the short films for kids 5+ at the San Diego Children's Film Festival in Balboa Park!!

San Diego International Children's Film Festival
Program #7: Short films for ages 5 and older!
April 29th
11:45 - 12:45

Tickets on sale now at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/14271

Keep it Runnin' accepted to the San Diego Children's Film Fesitval!

2007-03-27T07:35:00.000-07:00

We wanted to share the very good news...
"Keep it Runnin'", our super-awesome short, will screen at the San Diego Children's Film Festival!!!!
It's the first festival we've heard back from, so we are quite excited.

The festival runs from April 22nd - May 5th. We'll have more details regarding screening times after April 1st!!!
www.sdchildrensfilm.org

We're looking forward to connecting with our favorite kids yoga studio Next Generation Yoga while we're out there too!
NGY just relocated to San Diego from the Upper West Side and we can't wait to share "Keep it Runnin'" with Jodi Komitor's west coast yoginis!
www.nextgenerationyoga.com

Stay tuned for more good news and screening dates & times!!!

Congratulations! It's a... MUSIC VIDEO!

2007-02-22T07:18:00.000-08:00

Over here at WFM we are expectantly waiting/slaving over our very first piece to ever ever go public.

We've been working on a music video "Keep it Runnin'".
It's been a wild and interesting ride. The music video itself has had a very very interesting life. A life that could only live within the walls of an independent studio. Never in a bajillion years would a large corporation ever consent to anything remotely as awesome as what we did.

Here is the story of the life of our music video.

- Almost 2 years ago, Patrick and Bomber were at Giant Studios testing out their motion capture studio with our rigs for Streetch & Stylee. They plugged in a Cool Beans tune "Keep it Runnin'" and let the data fly while Bomber and Patrick got their groove on, all suited up. The footage they got was phenomenal, and the characters looked great. It was intended to be just a test, but the footage was just too damn good.

- About a year ago the studio decided that we needed to get some animation out there. So, why not use some of the dancing/mocap footage and release a music video?! We spent a few days making a really cool Saturday-night-fever-esque dance floor and rendered out the footage. It was awesome. But it didn't exactly qualify as a music video, and there wasn't enough animation to go for the entire song. We focused on our other projects, knowing we had a gem in the making, but didn't have the time then to concentrate on it.

- Cut to last spring. We decided we should finish the video. Seeing as the song was about a race between the Cool Beans and the Bad Seedz, why not film real-life kids in a race and cut that with the mo-cap dancing?!? Super cool idea, eh? Now, just where could we host a race? And what would kids race on?
We brainstormed for a few days, when it hit us: BIG WHEELS. Those awesome toys that we all loved as kids! We could stage a race and have kids on Big Wheels and tape it all!
But, where to have the race? Brooklyn! Yeah! We'd have it in our own backyard! But a little thing called street permits and insurance made it impossible to have our race in Brooklyn.
Then one of our interns said "Why not have it at a go-cart track?".
Bingo! Right ON! I had been to Myrtle Beach as a teenager and been to a crazy go cart track! So, we called the track and they were down! We booked it. We called Big Wheel.
We got over 20 sponsors on board.

-August '06. The entire WFM crew caravanned down to Myrtle Beach and by the time we got there, we were able to say "The World's Largest Big Wheel Race". We had t-shirts, banners, announcers, 1,000 prizes, food, water, and the Cool Beans themselves. We turned the entire race into a huge promotion for exercise and healthy eating!!! We only chose healthy partners and we talked to kids about nutrition and being active. The fact that is was over 100* didn't help us much, but we had a great turnout. The only problem was, while these kids were super awesome kids, for some it was their first time on a Big Wheel... the footage wasn't quite up to "Racing extravaganza" level...

- October '06. We got a group of fantastic kids from New Jersey through a really great guy, Greg Hildebrandt, to come to a green screen studio and ride Big Wheels. We filmed them up, down, over and around. The footage was rockin'.

- January '07. We bought a blue screen set it up in our studio and decided to film some pre-race footage with super-wacky characters, Skip Weatherall, Shotzee McPotzerelli and Sally Sue Shenanigans. The footage again, was phenomenal.

- February '07. We are now in final animation, compositing and editing stages on what is now not just a music video, but an entertainment piece! We like to compare it to "Thriller".

Now, a few of you may look at this timeline and at this project and think "oh man, they've been through it all". But, we like to look at this project and think "Oh! MAN! We learned it ALL!" We did all of this on a very very modest budget. Pulling in favors, working late nights and doing things like shooting blue screen in our studio. We did the impossible.

We learned:
Motion Capture
Green Screen
Live Action Shoot
Event Planning
Marketing & PR
Blue Screen
Compositing
Rendering
Animation
Voice Over
Acting

Each one of those phases of production we'll have to rely upon again, but next time we'll be old pros at it.
We got our feet wet.
We learned the ropes.
The best part?
The project rocks. Quite simply, it's a fantastic, fantastic piece of animation extravaganza.
And now, we are on to our next phase...
Sales & Distribution.

Wish us luck, though we know we don't need it.

Orange Hunter's Cap

2007-01-17T19:09:00.000-08:00

You heard it here first, folks!
Over Thanksgiving, when I was walking around Tamarack Lake with my pup I found that my head was a little chilly. So I borrowed my father's florescent orange hunter's cap for my future walks over the holiday.
When I got back to Brooklyn, I had found the hat was tucked into my pocket! I felt guilty that I had accidentally pilfered my Dad's cap, but while I had it, why not make the best of it?!
So, I started wearing it. Wearing it EVERYWHERE. It seemed so out of place in Brooklyn, with it's worn hunter cap yarn softly spinning off and the deer hunting patch barely hanging off the edge. The more I wore it, the more I realized that no one had a hat like mine! I was sporting a one-of-a-kind!!! At least in these parts.
It hit me! I could start a trend! I could single-handedly bring the hunter cap to Brooklyn and beyond!
Could a country girl in the city really bring a trend about?
Well, I not only wear the hat every day, I also TALK about the hat alot. ALOT.
So far, I have told ALL of my friends and family. It goes something like this "Have you heard about the new hunter cap trend? It's all the rage in Brooklyn."
While at a Christmas cocktail party I happened to find myself talking to a man that worked for GQ magazine. I gave him my standard pitch, plus "Yes! IT's TRUE! You know how it used to be all about camoflage and blending in? Now it's flipped, man! IT's about standing OUT, being seen! Yeah, the hunter cap!! IT's HOT!!"
I estimate that I have told at least 100 people about the hat directly, and who can count the number of sightings?!?
Just the other day I saw a student at the high school across the street entering school in a brand NEW hunter cap orange hat! Coincedence? I think NOT!
So I thought I would also get all my 7 blog readers up on the latest! Start this trend in YOUR area.
I will also be bringing the hunter cap to SUNDANCE!! I promise to wear the cap out and talk about it with the Hollywood elite.
There are also levels of trend adoption for which I will describe in fuller detail at a later time.
For now, sport the orange hunter cap with pride, people.
It's IN.
You heard it here first!

Off to Sundance!

2007-01-17T19:04:00.000-08:00

Well, it's Sundance-eve and we're all ready to head out to Park City, Utah!
While the Cool Beans won't be in the festival, Walsh Family Media will be on the scene.
We're going to check out the Animated Shorts, meet with a few folks and also try to meeet up with some brands!
We've been hard at work on our own short, our music video and our t-shirt line.
Our first digital press kit was completed an hour ago and we're ready to hit Main Street running with our Macbook pro showing everyone the stuff we've got kickin' out of Brooklyn.

So, that's our plan for now. Meet with people, talk about the project and try to get some interest in The Cool Beans.
We'll let you know how it goes!!

We heart Letterman Fans!

2006-12-29T13:43:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post to say that the last month has been a truly exciting one for the Cool Beans project. We never expected such an amazing response from the Letterman show! We've been enjoying emails, phone calls and even a write-up in my hometown newspaper, The Meadville Tribune!
Everyone has been so enthusiastic and supportive of what we are trying to do. The outpouring of support from family, friends and complete strangers has only further convinced us that what we are doing is worthwhile.
We're in high gear over here, working on our short film, our t-shirt line and our music video. It's a lot for us to do, but if any group is up to the task, it's the gang at Walsh Family Media!!!
We're also getting ready to head to Sundance to hopefully meet with some folks who are interested in the Cool Beans! (We're not in the festival, but you'll see our Bean Heads bouncin' around!)
If you are going to be at Sundance and you'd like to meet with Walsh Family Media, drop us a comment and we'll link up!

Cool Beans!
Amanda

As seen on the Late Show with David Letterman!!

2006-11-29T06:26:00.000-08:00

Last night The Cool Beans had our biggest break yet, we had about a :45 mention on David Letterman, we even got to give our synopsis.

How did all of this come about?
As our friends, the Duffy Brothers, reminded us 'luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity'. Vague enough for you?
Well, here is a little more information. Always be prepared and always have a great attitude. You never know when opportunity is going to knock and you don't want to be the one who slams the door. I simply showed up at the show and when I was approached by a segment producer, I just chatted my little heart out. I smiled. I laughed. I made sure that The Cool Beans sounded as fun and as interesting at it genuinely is.
Before I knew it I was chosen to go on camera for a holiday skit "have your holiday photo taken with David Letterman" and giving the synopsis of the movie!!
And boy was I glad I already had my elevator pitch down! The last thing you want to do on live television is not get your pitch right!
But, it all went swimmingly and I got to run up on stage and not only meet Dave Letterman, but get my picture taken with him as well.
It was a fantastic time. We're already climbing the Google list as we speak.
Big thanks to the entire Late Show crew and Rupert. They were all even lovelier, funnier and friendlier in person.
The entire show was a class act and The Cool Beans are so very thankful to be on.

So, keep a positive attitude and be ready for anything... you might just end up on David Letterman.

Cool Beans Article on Hollywoodmomentum.com

2006-11-08T07:41:00.000-08:00

Almost a year and a half ago now, we were tip tapping away at our computers in our old industrial garage space. It was summer, so we kept the big garage door open to get some breeze.
Sometimes we'd find people behind us unexpectedly, who had wandered in and thought we were having a garage sale. They'd make us an offer on one of our couches and we'd politely tell them, "we were just working with the door open, not for sale!"
This open door policy was how we met our very first Bean Team fan, Theo. Theo just wandered in one day when he was looking at our van and he's been our favorite Brooklyn kid ever since.
This is also how we happened upon and up and coming reporter, Antonio, (or he happened upon us). Antonio quicky pulled out his notebook and began asking us all about The Cool Beans.
The key to this story is, always keep an open door, whether it's physically or mentally. You never know where your next break is coming from...

Check out the article at: http://www.hollywoodmomentum.com/feature.htm

What some folks cannot contemplate is that you may not want to be in Wal-Mart.

2006-10-27T11:41:00.000-07:00

I read Ad Age because I like to know what's going on in the business, because it's good to know what brands are doing, and what kind of deals they are making. There is some really useful stuff in there. This past issue, there was an article about organic foods titled "Wal-Mart right in organic fight." The article can be read by going to AdAge.com (and then you'll have to search for "Wal-Mart right in organic" which will pull up the article and then you'll have to join).

There has been alot of talk around what is going to happen once Wal-Mart steps up it's organic offerings. The important thing to note is what happens to organic food. What happens to the little guy with standards once the big guy demands to play.

I wrote back to AdAge and it got in!

Organic is not about price.

Organic is not about mass production.

Organic is about a standard.

Wal-Mart can tout all it wants to that it is bringing organic to the masses, but the current infrastructure for organic foods cannot handle supplying 114 million Wal-Mart shoppers every week. Organic food cannot be grown on such a scale. It’s impossible.

That’s why Wal-Mart stepping into the organic game changes it all. They’ll lobby openly to allow un-organic practices to be allowed. They’ll bring in ‘organic’ foods from out of the country, where organic practices aren’t regulated.

You can celebrate Wal-Mart’s supposed “Win” in the organic fight, but all the organic groups are trying to do is keep things ORGANIC.

The sad part is, once Wal-Mart has changed the way Organic is defined, those beloved Wal-Mart masses are going to end up paying a premium for “Organic Wal-Mart” food that will be the same food that they’ve been buying all along. They’ll just be paying more for it.

So, I propose this to the people out there that love their pure pre-Wal-Mart organic foods: Wal-Mart can keep the term “organic” and they can do whatever they want with it. (Just think! Organic Doritoes! Organic Mountain Dew! Organic Ho-Ho’s!)

In the spirit of branding… let’s have a re-branding effort!

Let’s call “organic” something else entirely. Instead of trying to fight the mass consumption greed gorilla, just step politely over them and start calling it something else. After all, organic by any other name would taste just as pure.

Is CG Animation OVER?

2006-10-10T14:32:00.000-07:00

The New York Times predicts the golden age for CG Animation is over.
In the article from 10/3/2006 "Is Th-Th-That All, Folks?" reporter Laura M. Holson explains: "With more than a dozen computer-animated movies being readied for release by next summer, Hollywood is facing viewer fatigue worthy of Sleeping Beauty. Analysts and industry executives have long warned of a coming glut of computer-animated movies. That time has come."

See, folks, for a while (the last 10 years) CG Animations were a phenomenon, a "build it and they will come" business model.
Why? Well, the technology was SUPER cool for one. And, there are very few family friendly films these days. Hollywood LOVES to make R movies. Out of 900+ movies made in '05 only 24 or so were G rated. That means over half of the weekends in that year, there wasn't a new movie for kids to go and see with their parents or grandparents. So, when a Super cool looking and family friendly movie came into play, BANG! Tickets SOLD! And then the DVD's sold, and the toys, and the clothes and everything else...

Everything was going along smoothly until people started stampeding over the golden goose. The animations stopped having heart. People started just pumping them out and cashing in.
The similarities in the movies were ridiculous. Madagascar & The Wild were the exact same plot! (Animals from Central Park Zoo end up in the wild and there is a BIG dance party).
The characters stopped being witty and started to just have bad humor.
The animation started to worsen.
The plot started to unravel.
There was a complete and total breakdown of moral values and characters started romanticizing everything from junk food to prescription medicine.
Most of the people making these movies quite simply forgot or disregarded the fact that kids would be staring up at the big screen, wide-eyed and waiting to be entertained.
Parents, critics and probably even the kids are now bored. Who would blame them?

But, it's important to remember, that this is not CG's fault! CG is not to blame.

Hasn't this happened once or twice before?
I couldn't look up the stats on boxofficemojo, but I am willing to bet the very first movies that had sound sold like hotcakes! That when the public heard voices in a theatre, the next batch of movies that could deliver the technology went gangbusters! And I am willing to also bet that after a while the novelty wore off and people demanded more. They started to want an actual plot.

So that's why, after the recent skepticism surrounding CG people might think that as a small independent CG Animation company we'd be scared out of our pants! That would be true if we had a film about a raccoon/bear/hedgehog who needed to find their dad/son/brother in the big city/country/wild.
But we don't.

We have a beautiful, original and completely unique story. We're not sacrificing our morals for a joke. We're not going to skimp on our animation quality. We will only glorify things that are actually GOOD for kids.

So, we welcome the next phase for CG Animation with open arms, because we've got the proverbial 'goods'.

Kids, feel free to stare up wide-eyed at The Cool Beans. It'll be something you've never seen before and it will make you genuinely laugh.

Establish yourself as an expert!

2006-09-28T11:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday our Director, Patrick Walsh, spoke at his alma mater, Lawrence High. A BIG thanks to Ms. Schneck for bringing Walsh Family Media in! Patrick lectured for 3 classes: Entrepreneurship, Sports & Entertainment, and Marketing (I'll admit, I had to jump in on that one!). It was amazing to us to see such forward thinking and savvy sophisication at a high school level. These kids were making business plans, dissecting news (how would YOU handle the PR Spin of T.O.'s supposed suicide attempt?) and took products from concept to market.

Why do we think it's important to arrange public speaking opportunities such as this?
Here is why:

Begin to establish yourself as an expert on [insert what you DO here].
High school kids that know about your project will TALK about your project = can't buy that kind of buzz.
Learn what the "kids" want these days (they do have most of the spending power and are beginning to influence more and more of household purchases these days).
Give back to the places that educated YOU.
Lance Weiler, Director of Head Trauma explains that he funds a lot of his travel to his screenings by arranging lectures. We always like ways to offset costs.

We hope to do more things with Ms. Schneck's class, they were some great brainstormers!

The extremely UNOFFICIAL Guide to Sundance 2006

2006-09-26T15:15:00.000-07:00

So, I went and made a GUIDE...

The extremely UNOFFICIAL Guide to Sundance 2006!

The guide is to serve to educate independent film makers on who is doing what in the world of independent movies. It all came about after going to an IFP Panel entitled "Show and Sell: How to Position your film for festivals, press and buyers." The panelists all had one piece of advice they all agreed on... making your movie is half your job. The other half is knowing what to do with it when it's done. Who makes the deals? What distributor likes docs? Who is a reputable sales agent? How much did "Little Miss Sunshine" go for? How do they want to be pitched? What kind of release does Lionsgate typically do?
Well folks, no one place puts all the information together (trust me, I looked!)... so I tried to.
I'll keep updating it as I find out more and you are welcome to post updates in the comments section.

ALL of the information I pulled off the world wide web and then I smushed it all together in one big user-friendly document.
BIG THANKS TO:
indiewire.com
boxofficemojo.com
imdb.com
wikipedia.com

Section One: All Feature Films at Sundance 2006 as well as all the info I could find on awards, production company, PR reps, Sales Agents, Acquisitions, Amount Paid, International Rights sold and MORE!

Section Two: The Sellers (those folks who will rep your movie and sell it!)

Section Three: The Buyers (they got a hankerin' for some indies)

Section Four: Distribution Tracker (know how these distributors put movies out! See how many theatres! How long they are in release!)

You are free to have it, all you have to do is email me and I'll send you a PDF or EXCEL file of it.
Just tell me which you prefer. The excel file could be cool for you, so you can fill in info as you find it.

acurry@walshfamilymedia.com

Making a Plan for Park City!

2006-09-21T10:18:00.000-07:00

So, I promise to post all my notes from the conference, as I have quite a few pages.
But I wanted to first say that yesterday's panel "Show and Sell: How to Position Your Film for Festivals, Press and Buyers" lit a fire under my ass. Their advice was clear. Making your film is half your job, the other half is how you handle getting it out there and selling it.
Therefore, I will be coming up with my festival plan and sharing it with you all.

So, I am setting out to specifically make a plan for Sundance and Slamdance.
We submitted a short film for Sundance (9/18) and will also be doing so for Slamdance (10/10).
Because we at least know we are definitely physically going to Park City that week (whether or not we'll be accepted), I will be planning an entire marketing & PR campaign around our short. I will have plans for Sundance, Slamdance and also a guerilla campaign if we aren't accepted to either.

Should be fun!

How much is product placement worth?

2006-09-19T17:27:00.000-07:00

How much is product placement worth IS the quintessential million dollar question. I have looked high and low for how to quantify this, usually piecing together bits of wisdom from here or there, or basing it off of old ad models I knew. I could never find anything concrete.
But! In this past issue of NYTimes Magazine (9.17.06) I found a FORMULA!
"Free Ride: What a movie can do for a venerable brand - and vice versa" by Rob Walker

The article talks about the Wonder Bread/Talladega Nights tie-in. While Wonder Bread didn't pay for the integration, they did support it with MEDIA.

Exposure = CASH!!!

In paragraph one the article reads "a marketing cosultancy called Joyce Julius & Associates issued a press release saying that " 'the Wonder Bread logo appeared clear and in focus for 11 minutes and 32 seconds (11:32), while the brand was also mentioned on two occasions by the actors,' and that, it asserted, added up to media exposure worth $4.3 million."

This, my dear independent filmmakers, is a FORMULA for product placement.

When you go to their press release, they do a really handy little chart!!!

But, basically, they value product placement as follows:

1 second of clear and distinct logo = $6,000
Brand Mention = $60,000

Go check out the press release and, Thank You, Joyce Julius!
http://www.joycejulius.com/PressReleases/pr_Aug_7_2006.htm

The Soul of this Blog = epiphany!!!

2006-09-19T15:10:00.000-07:00

So, I had been struggling with what to talk about on this blog.
I had the plan all worked out a while back:
1. Someone finds this interesting
2. Everyone loves me
3. Everyone links to me
4. I'm featured in the Top 30 under 30 in Business/Forbes/Time
5. My mom can stop sending me year-round birthday checks (please make out to "Cash" Mom!).
6. I can stop giving my Mom Birthday Gift Certificates.

The plan was good. But I was missing the KEY thing! What am I going to write about that people will actually want to hear about!?
Well, it struck me today on the subway -ride home from the IFP Filmmakers Conference in Manhattan, where I had just attended a session called "Consumer Brands and Entertainment."
The panel was made of very respectable people in the field:
Woman A - Branded Entertainment Company.
Man B - Entertainment Media Company.
Woman C - Production Company.
Man D - Brand Manager, Large Auto Company.

These executives all got on a panel to talk to Independent Filmmakers about how to sell/integrate/cross-promote their movies with big brands. Huge Brands. And they all were very adamant that we needed THEM to do it. They held the keys! Man B even went so far as to stress "DON'T PISS OFF A BRAND, THEY'LL NEVER GIVE YOU A SECOND CHANCE. Seek a Professional" he said. He then very thoughtfully advised to call him at 673-HUGE.
Seriously. (These are the kind of people that thankfully gave me the courage to QUIT advertising).

Anyway, the whole panel went on and on for over and hour and a half, stumping all these independent filmmakers, leaving us all wondering, "just where do our heartfelt, and non-Supermanny movies fit in? How do we not get swallowed up by a guy in a pinstripe suit referencing his penis & his love of drinking in a panel? Isn't he the embodiment of what we are setting out to NOT be about?."

So, I stood up, I cleared my throat and said the following:

Unfortunately I don't have a question. I have advice.
As a recovering Advertising Executive, I wanted to share a little of my experience. I now work for an independent movie. I am now in the unique position of sitting on the other side of the presentation table and this is what I have found:
This panel is talking about LARGE brands.
The first question any large brand is going to ask you is "What is your distribution?" and none of us have any distribution yet!
Not all deals need to be done with a Coke or a Burger King. Find the right sized brand for your movie and find a brand that fits. There are plenty of small brands out there willing to work with you.
Secondly, you CAN contact them yourself. You need not go through a middle man.
Simply find the brand you want to talk to and google the brand name + a title. (Such as "Morningstar Farms Brand Manager" or "Morningstar Farms Product Manager"). You can usually find their email or phone number and just contact them directly.

I know this works, because I recently produced a music video and needed some branded partners.
I approached over 80 brands.
I estimate about 50% I pitched through agency partners, and 50% through the brand directly.
I landed 12 brands, for which I was very proud of.
100% of those brands that accepted were pitched to DIRECTLY.

Why? I found 2 reasons.
1. The agency partner will require a completely thought out pitch when you approach them, the same exact level of thinking you'll need to approach a brand yourself. Why would you waste the time pitching to them, when you can take the same presentation and pitch directly?

2. No agency partner will ever ever pitch your project as heartfelt as you will. You will do a better job.

And lastly [referring to a question a man posed earlier about what should he charge in dollars for product placement], in reference to the money question earlier... You need people to know about your movie and brands have products and media. Ask them to include mentions of your movie with their product, maybe even on packaging.
Always ask for co-promotion, have them send out a press release.
If you get a brand to do these things for you, they are essentially getting the word out about your movie, which is $$$$. If people know about your movie, THAT is currency.

---------

I received some clapping for this, which I didn't expect and Man B made a remark that I may be sought out more than him after the panel was over. I was.
I was approached by these lovely and heartfelt filmmakers who had no advice on how to tread through the murky waters of product placement and branded integration.
I gave some advice, I listened to their problems and I was extremely flattered that some wanted to work with me.
Well, that is why I am writing this blog today. Because I don't want to pretend I have all the answers. I am trying all these ideas out for myself on this movie I am working on called "The Cool Beans", and quite frankly, I am swamped doing it.
BUT!
Here is my plan...
I am going to post my endeavors on this blog. I will openly share what I do, how I do it and how it all works out. I will post what I find as research. I will be open to fielding questions. I will be an open book on how to market, PR and brand integrate YOUR movie by YOUR self, so you never, ever, ever have to find yourself across the table from Man B....

I ask in return that you link to my site from yours, if you have one. Or you embed my URL in your myspace, etc... And this is my first try at web-based promotion. This blog.

Hopefully we'll all crack the code together and make our movies, make some money and retire with our puppy on the beach (My dream).

Happy Movie Marketing and hope to hear from you soooooooon!
Amanda