Anyone ever host a movie premier?

KilaTsunami

KilaTsunami

Active member
I'm hosting Level 1s new movie at my local shop in Yorktown NY. Does anyone here have any experience with this sort of thing? I could use some pointers/tips to make this the best event possible!
 
Connect with Level 1 to see what sponsors are supporting the film. Hit up the brand's local reps and see if there are any partnership opportunities, whether they want to set up a booth, send you some give-away swag, etc. Maybe even hold a shop clinic for the employees prior to the event if it's a brand the shop carries.

Are you fundraising for anything? Can sell tickets, or donations only. Are there local businesses, ski teams, clubs, etc that want to be involved? Can they piggy-back a fundraiser off this?

Most importantly, get the word out. Make sure you're ahead of this. Get flyers everywhere, Level 1 should be able to provide you the flyer, you'll need to print and distribute. Create a FB event, and slowly ramp up reminders on local "area happenings" groups as the date approaches.

This should be obvious, but make sure you have a big enough screen, loud enough PA system, etc. and be sure to test this all prior to the event...

Good luck!
 
topic:KilaTsunami said:
I'm hosting Level 1s new movie at my local shop in Yorktown NY. Does anyone here have any experience with this sort of thing? I could use some pointers/tips to make this the best event possible!
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I hosted a few premieres for my college ski club. It’s pretty easy, just bring the vibes! It’s always nice to have some music on or another edit playing while people are trickling in so it isn’t silent and hella awkward. I also generally would wait ~15min after the “start time” to actually play the feature film to make sure stragglers don’t miss it.

Dunno what your sponsor / shop merch situation looks like but if you have any merch or swag you can give away, running a raffle after the film has been super fun in the past. Anything from sun bum sunscreen and ski socks to new-in-plastic line skis (shoutout) is appreciated by all. Also if there’s a college near you you could hit up their red bull marketers and they’ll usually plug with a free can cooler with drinks.

Not much else to it tbh! Just bring energy and enjoy the film and I’m sure everyone else will too.
 
i went to a level 1 premier once at UVM and for some reason the film file was exactly 1 hour so it just abruptly stopped and we all went home. so just confirm you have the whole file first lol
 
Lol sick, I saw that license on their website and was pretty stoked that they were offering that up. Steep price but it's cooler than not offering it at all. Hope it goes well!
 
14625150:skierman said:
LOL they didn't send you anything to give out? How much did you pay for this garbage?
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It’s $500, i was gonna host the premiere with my ski club but we have a budget of $0
 
How many people can you fit in the shop? Will you be able to sell enough tickets for enough money to break even or make a profit? Can you get a one day liquor license and get extra liability insurance for a day so you can sell beer?

Is the shop throwing down anything to help? You're hosting a movie premier at their shop so they are getting exposure out of it. Maybe see if they will cover the liquor license and insurance.

Try and hit up the sponsors from the movie (local reps though) or even your shop for some prizes. Have sweet games to win prizes. Preferably disgusting, embarrassing, funny games.

As for the film, I assume you are using a projector screen. Raise it as high as possible so people can actually see. Make sure your sound system is loud enough. Test run the movie to make sure it works, with enough time to be able to run to a store to get whatever wires you forgot to get to run the show.
 
Put the most effort in promotion so people come to your premiere. Last year I hosed a street ski movie premiere, and when I posted the event on IG, a lot of people were commenting that they were hyped, and about 120 people liked my post, and I think 40 people total showed up. There was another premiere the same night so a lot of people didn't come to my premiere. Lesson is people will be hyped about the event, say they will come, but a lot of them won't. I should have put more effort into promotion. Hit up people you know directly and ask them if they will come, tell them to buy their ticket. A lot of people will buy their ticket last minute, so the more tickets you can sell in advance, the better it is. Have tickets available at the door, and make sure people that get in pay. I have a dude that I know well that finessed his way in, and unfortunately it's not like that that you're gonna be able to pay for the premiere. Hit up ski clubs, I should have done that, it's a good way to have a bunch of people from the same group come. And if you can, have some skiers that are in the movies come.

Also, I could have not done it without the help of my girlfriend and my friend Rob, who was the DJ and knew how to set up the projector, the sound and everything. If it wasn't for him, the premiere would have not happened lol. So plan some time as much in advance as you can to set up the projector, the sound and everything.

All in all hosting a premiere is a great experience, I'd do it again. I broke even, didn't make money didn't lose any, but I bought a projector and a screen of amazon and returned them lol, and they sent us a message that our return was sus lol
 
14625123:midwestcoast said:
Connect with Level 1 to see what sponsors are supporting the film. Hit up the brand's local reps and see if there are any partnership opportunities, whether they want to set up a booth, send you some give-away swag, etc. Maybe even hold a shop clinic for the employees prior to the event if it's a brand the shop carries.

Are you fundraising for anything? Can sell tickets, or donations only. Are there local businesses, ski teams, clubs, etc that want to be involved? Can they piggy-back a fundraiser off this?

Most importantly, get the word out. Make sure you're ahead of this. Get flyers everywhere, Level 1 should be able to provide you the flyer, you'll need to print and distribute. Create a FB event, and slowly ramp up reminders on local "area happenings" groups as the date approaches.

This should be obvious, but make sure you have a big enough screen, loud enough PA system, etc. and be sure to test this all prior to the event...

Good luck!
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Great call w the fundraiser approach. Also thank you, lots of good shit here
 
14625210:hemlockjibber8 said:
How many people can you fit in the shop? Will you be able to sell enough tickets for enough money to break even or make a profit? Can you get a one day liquor license and get extra liability insurance for a day so you can sell beer?

Is the shop throwing down anything to help? You're hosting a movie premier at their shop so they are getting exposure out of it. Maybe see if they will cover the liquor license and insurance.

Try and hit up the sponsors from the movie (local reps though) or even your shop for some prizes. Have sweet games to win prizes. Preferably disgusting, embarrassing, funny games.

As for the film, I assume you are using a projector screen. Raise it as high as possible so people can actually see. Make sure your sound system is loud enough. Test run the movie to make sure it works, with enough time to be able to run to a store to get whatever wires you forgot to get to run the show.
Click to expand...

So were actually holding it outside the store, but keeping the store open late for a clearance sale. I'm the floor manager here, so this whole thing is under my control, and I've never done anything like this lol i really appreciate all the help I've received so far.
 
14625267:fredyferl said:
Put the most effort in promotion so people come to your premiere. Last year I hosed a street ski movie premiere, and when I posted the event on IG, a lot of people were commenting that they were hyped, and about 120 people liked my post, and I think 40 people total showed up. There was another premiere the same night so a lot of people didn't come to my premiere. Lesson is people will be hyped about the event, say they will come, but a lot of them won't. I should have put more effort into promotion. Hit up people you know directly and ask them if they will come, tell them to buy their ticket. A lot of people will buy their ticket last minute, so the more tickets you can sell in advance, the better it is. Have tickets available at the door, and make sure people that get in pay. I have a dude that I know well that finessed his way in, and unfortunately it's not like that that you're gonna be able to pay for the premiere. Hit up ski clubs, I should have done that, it's a good way to have a bunch of people from the same group come. And if you can, have some skiers that are in the movies come.

Also, I could have not done it without the help of my girlfriend and my friend Rob, who was the DJ and knew how to set up the projector, the sound and everything. If it wasn't for him, the premiere would have not happened lol. So plan some time as much in advance as you can to set up the projector, the sound and everything.

All in all hosting a premiere is a great experience, I'd do it again. I broke even, didn't make money didn't lose any, but I bought a projector and a screen of amazon and returned them lol, and they sent us a message that our return was sus lol
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Facts, the promo is huge. I just got the greenlight on friday so we're gonna hit the bricks this month hard. I thinking ill do it on 10/5 since thats sorta the last day of the official tour. Def gonna hit up our local clubs. Also ive got a A/V guy, so god bless
 
14625267:fredyferl said:
Put the most effort in promotion so people come to your premiere. Last year I hosed a street ski movie premiere, and when I posted the event on IG, a lot of people were commenting that they were hyped, and about 120 people liked my post, and I think 40 people total showed up. There was another premiere the same night so a lot of people didn't come to my premiere. Lesson is people will be hyped about the event, say they will come, but a lot of them won't. I should have put more effort into promotion. Hit up people you know directly and ask them if they will come, tell them to buy their ticket. A lot of people will buy their ticket last minute, so the more tickets you can sell in advance, the better it is. Have tickets available at the door, and make sure people that get in pay. I have a dude that I know well that finessed his way in, and unfortunately it's not like that that you're gonna be able to pay for the premiere. Hit up ski clubs, I should have done that, it's a good way to have a bunch of people from the same group come. And if you can, have some skiers that are in the movies come.

Also, I could have not done it without the help of my girlfriend and my friend Rob, who was the DJ and knew how to set up the projector, the sound and everything. If it wasn't for him, the premiere would have not happened lol. So plan some time as much in advance as you can to set up the projector, the sound and everything.

All in all hosting a premiere is a great experience, I'd do it again. I broke even, didn't make money didn't lose any, but I bought a projector and a screen of amazon and returned them lol, and they sent us a message that our return was sus lol
Click to expand...

Yo also how did you pre-sell tickets?? Online? how's that work
 
I've done a couple back in the day with TGR and a few bike films.

Promote, promote, promote!! Make sure people know about this (flyers, PAID social media ads, etc...). Get local brand reps involved (get $$ or product to help cover costs), talk to breweries, etc... make this more about the local skiing community than about just the film and you will be successful.

In today's digital age, there's a ton of free content on the internet so selling people on "Level 1's new film" won't necessarily get people hyped. If you sell this as a "Kick off to ski season feat. Level 1's new film" you'll likely get better engagement and attendance.

Not sure what the Level 1 team is charging for licensing but I know TGR used to be about $600USD which was straight out of pocket. Sure it came with a small box of swag but you'll need to get more to really get this thing rolling. Make sure you can sell enough tickets to cover your costs or get support from brands, the shop, other businesses that want to be involved.

Film premiers are a blast if done right. If not, they can be a money pit.
 
14625443:Pipe_Munky said:
I've done a couple back in the day with TGR and a few bike films.

Promote, promote, promote!! Make sure people know about this (flyers, PAID social media ads, etc...). Get local brand reps involved (get $$ or product to help cover costs), talk to breweries, etc... make this more about the local skiing community than about just the film and you will be successful.

In today's digital age, there's a ton of free content on the internet so selling people on "Level 1's new film" won't necessarily get people hyped. If you sell this as a "Kick off to ski season feat. Level 1's new film" you'll likely get better engagement and attendance.

Not sure what the Level 1 team is charging for licensing but I know TGR used to be about $600USD which was straight out of pocket. Sure it came with a small box of swag but you'll need to get more to really get this thing rolling. Make sure you can sell enough tickets to cover your costs or get support from brands, the shop, other businesses that want to be involved.

Film premiers are a blast if done right. If not, they can be a money pit.
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Thats a great way to look at it, a season kick off shindig.

So far for extras i got:

-Huge open Lax field that we own, showing the movie out there. (Cornhole, Etc.)

-Store open after hours with great sale deals

-Local Food Truck. He does dope hot dogs, sausage, burgers n what not. We cant serve booze, but we aren't saying "No"

-Big blow up projector and big sound system.
 
14625426:KilaTsunami said:
Yo also how did you pre-sell tickets?? Online? how's that work
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I sold tickets on this site we have here in Quebec called thepointofsale.com. I think it only works for Quebec based event, but there's definitely other sites like this. I only had to upload a poster for my event, a description, and then set a price. Then I had a list of everyone that purchased a ticket. And for those who bought it at the door, we asked them to buy it on their phone.
 
A good screen and seating is a must, we have had big premieres at the skateshop i work at, showing a video for 30+ people on a tv screen doesn’t work.

also some snacks and refreshments are nice. Maybe trying to expand the night and take over a bar or just drink beers at the shop and have some ski talk. Best of luck to you!
 
14625947:lil.Boye said:
A good screen and seating is a must, we have had big premieres at the skateshop i work at, showing a video for 30+ people on a tv screen doesn’t work.

also some snacks and refreshments are nice. Maybe trying to expand the night and take over a bar or just drink beers at the shop and have some ski talk. Best of luck to you!
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So we got a big ass projector screen outside in the field, were having the local farm drop off some hay bales for extra seating. Telling people to bring a chair if they want their own. Were tryna get a food truck on site.
 
14625952:KilaTsunami said:
So we got a big ass projector screen outside in the field, were having the local farm drop off some hay bales for extra seating. Telling people to bring a chair if they want their own. Were tryna get a food truck on site.
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Sounds fucking mint! Wish i could be there
 
Fred was on the money. From experience, a bunch of people who express interest and say they'll pull up will end up not coming. That shouldn't be a problem but important to factor that in when you're trying to figure out what your turnout might look like. Last premiere i helped put together I thought we'd have too many people and then we ended up getting the perfect amount. So promote as much as you can. Make sure the event details are as clear as possible, cuz people will always have questions and struggle with reading comprehension lol. I'd also recommend reaching out to individual people who you know are somewhat connected and they can bring more people and spread word to people that they know.
 
14625443:Pipe_Munky said:
Not sure what the Level 1 team is charging for licensing but I know TGR used to be about $600USD which was straight out of pocket. Sure it came with a small box of swag but you'll need to get more to really get this thing rolling.
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$697. I just checked, it includes digital download, digital graphics and info package, and license
 
14627848:Christian_Bale said:
$697. I just checked, it includes digital download, digital graphics and info package, and license
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Oh damn price went up i guess, only cost 500 when we grabbed it.
 
14627977:Christian_Bale said:
Nah I was talking level 1 lol, TGR not worth talking about let alone paying to rent
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I was hoping that was the case, that’s why I didn’t scroll up n fact check.. although sadly TGR might be more familiar to our audience.

im not gonna be at this store forever tho, might as well put these ppl on while im here. lol
 
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