By Lisa DiCarlucci, Entertainment Editor
What do two years of planning, 10 days of production and $2,000 get you? Well, if you’re Hofstra film majors Chris Blakeman and Ben Mehlman, it gets you a pretty high quality movie about man-rape. “The Legend of J.J. Jefferson,” which the two co-wrote, directed and starred in, premiered at the Hofstra Filmmakers’ Club fall film festival. Now, it’s about to go viral.
Now it’s just a matter of real results and taking advantage of new technology to get the job done. Currently, the only way to get large-scale attention for a student or indie film is to pay money to enter a festival and hope for the best. Maybe you take the time to put it on YouTube.
What Blakeman and Mehlman are doing is taking it one step further, creating a viral campaign. The have created a website: www.legendofjj.com which will be launched on Saturday at 5pm.
“‘J.J. Jefferson’ is being used as a subject for experiment,” according to Blakeman. The experiment is his independent study with RTVF professor, Jamie Cohen. “It’s looking at how the Internet can be used as a platform for student and indie film makers to get their work out there.”
So far, “J.J. Jefferson” has a Facebook page and a YouTube site promoting the launch of the film’s official website. The YouTube page features promo clips and videos, which have had over 700 hits just six days after being posted according to Blakeman.
What they hope is that someone like Will Ferrell, who runs the Funny or Die website, will see their work and open up other opportunities. They plan on submitting their video to Funny or Die and College Humor.
While the thought of potential fame and fortune is a draw, this experiment is really a way to make all of their time and money count for something.
“I would say I’ve spent about $6,000,” Blakeman said, in regards to the money he has spent producing his Hofstra films. Mehlman estimates closer to $10,000 for his own expenditures.
This covers the cost of film, transfers, transportation, extra equipment and feeding an entire cast and crew.
Along with money comes priceless hours of personal time spent making their own movies and helping others. Blakeman and Mehlman estimate spending about 9-10 weekends each semester, at 36 hours a pop, working on film projects.
They certainly don’t seem to mind it though. “We’re doing what we love,” Mehlman said, “I’ve met some of my closest friends doing these shoots.”
Their website is set to launch on Saturday, March 13 and then it’s just a matter of drawing traffic. If successful, the experiment proves that the options for lesser-known filmmakers have been broadened by technology. Some cheap P.R. on a facebook ad, a free host like YouTube, and their website could eventually bring “J.J. Jefferson” the success and attention they hope for without paying a hefty price to take a chance entering a film festival; success well-deserved considering the time, money and passion put into this project.
After all the time lost and money spent the only question left is “Was it all worth it?” “Ask me in 10 years,” Mehlman said.
Left to Right (Photo courtesy Justin Beach)