Crowd Controls connects distributors to the grass roots level buzz

Crowd Controls connects distributors to the grass roots level buzz

The distributors and funders of a movie are always faced with the same question: how much interest there is from the public to see this movie in theaters? A new web service called Crowd Controls aims to answer this question.

Crowd Controls is a tool for filmmakers, musicians and other artists to find where the audiences are located around the world and to guide distribution. Crowd Controls consists of a map and a web form that can be embedded in the artist’s web site. The fans can leave their vote to see the artist in their home city easily, with no need to register. An easy-to-read map shows fans and casual visitors the locations of the other voters, and the system gives the artists a wealth of information and statistics about the votes. Since the users leave their votes using their e-mail address, Crowd Controls is also an excellent tool for sending out locally targeted news, promotions and other information about the movie.

Filmmaker and software developer Brian Chirls built a prototype of the system for the creators of the independent film “Four Eyed Monsters,” who succeeded in showing their film in dozens of cities around the United States. Chirls has since developed the system as a service, and it has been adopted by the upcoming science fiction comedy “Iron Sky,” which takes the concept a step further by mobilizing a large, international online community well in advance of production.

In the world of “Iron Sky,” the Nazis fled to the Moon in 1945, and in the year 2018 they are coming back. “Iron Sky” is the second movie project of the creators of “Star Wreck,” an internet hit that gathered over eight million viewers around the world. “Iron Sky” is a Finnish-German co-production, it has a budget of over five million euros and its cast includes Julia Dietze (1½ Ritter), Götz Otto (Schindler’s List, The Downfall). Tilo Prückner (The Neverending Story, Die Fälscher) and Udo Kier (Dogville, Dancer in the Dark). Since October, the fans of Iron Sky have been able to show their support for the movie using Crowd Controls.

“Filmmakers are beginning to realize that they can’t always count on a distributor to deliver an audience, ” says Chirls. “The ability to collect and visualize audience data eliminates much of the guess work in releasing a film, making it more valuable to distributors and exhibitors or enabling a DIY release. Crowd controls also empowers the fans to make themselves visible to filmmakers and each other, particularly in places that might have otherwise been considered too small or remote to justify a release.”

“Our movie Iron Sky already has a very strong net presence and a large and active fan base online”, commented the director of Iron Sky Timo Vuorensola. “Crowd Controls sounded immediately like just the kind of system that fits the way we work. It gives the fans a direct way to support the movie in a very concrete way. Having a map full of red dots, each of them a fan who has registered using his own e-mail address does a ton of good when talking with the distributors and sponsors. It’s also a great way to reach fans in a certain area and to contact them directly – for example, we are arranging a fan meeting during the Berlin film festival, and with Crowd Controls, we can reach out to our fans in Berlin with invitations. That kind of personal interaction gets fans excited about helping to spread the word and makes for a richer experience with the film.”

You can see Crowd Controls in action on the Iron Sky website: http://www.ironsky.net/demand/

A video introduction on how to use the system: http://www.youtube.com/energiaproductions#p/u/0/95dWsPU54nM

The Iron Sky team will attend Berlin film festival February 11 through 17 and will be available for interviews. Contact Janos Honkonen (+358-40-7475967), janos@ironsky.net, Skype: janoshon

Crowd Controls

Information and press materials: http://crowdcontrols.cc/
Contact: http://crowdcontrols.cc/contact/
Brian Chirls: http://chirls.com

Iron Sky Press materials

For press materials, such as photos and video, head over to http://www.ironsky.net/press/

Iron Sky in Social Media

Web: http://www.ironsky.net/
Blog: http://blog.ironsky.net/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/energia, http://twitter.com/ironskyfilm
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ironsky
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/ironskyfilm
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/energiaproductions/

Behind the Iron Sky

Iron Sky is a scifi movie that takes place in the year 2018, when the Nazis, who fled the Earth to the dark side of the Moon in 1945, return to claim the Earth. The film is Finnish-German co-production with a budget of over five million euros. It’s directed by Timo Vuorensola and produced by Tero Kaukomaa (Blind Spot Pictures), Samuli Torssonen (Energia) and Oliver Damian (27 Films). The cast includes Julia Dietze (1½ Ritter), Götz Otto (Schindler’s List, The Downfall). Tilo Prückner (The Neverending Story, Die Fälscher) and Udo Kier (Dogville, Dancer in the Dark), and the screenplay is written by the acclaimed sci-fi writer Johanna Sinisalo (Nebula Award nominee 2009, Finlandia 2000). The film will be released in 2011 and distributed by Stealth Media Group.

Information, photos and videos: http://www.ironsky.net/, http://www.ironsky.net/press/

The first film of Vuorensola and Torssonen was Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning – a fan-made sci-fi parody, which was published both as a free download and as a commercial DVD. The film has reached over eight million viewers all around the world and gathered a strong international fan base.

Information and photos: http://www.starwreck.com/

The Star Wreck project gave birth to a collaborative movie creation platform called Wreck a Movie, which offers the film creators a direct connection to their audience, and offers the fans the kind of chance to interact with the movie project that has never been seen before.

Information: http://www.wreckamovie.com/