Writing

Brian writes a weekly newsletter about film, branded content and new media. You can read it here, and subscribe here.

Brian writes for various publications, including IndieWire, Filmmaker Magazine and the BrandStorytelling Newsletter. Check out a past interview with Brian in the  BrandStorytelling’s Newsletter. 

Excerpt: What is the secret to generating and distributing a great piece of branded content?

The secret is having a great story and a great storyteller. Every aspect of the distribution is made 100 times easier when you’ve got a great film. We spend a lot of time as story-editors – not adding more brand messaging, but making sure the filmmaker tells the best possible story. We start as early as eighteen months before the film launches, building an audience for the film, positioning it with the top film festivals and finding the best way to leverage the brands other marketing assets to bring the film to the largest, organic audience possible. And we work with lots of partners for every launch- film publicists, theatrical bookers, nonprofit’s working on related causes, and others who can help us make sure the film finds its audience in the marketplace.

Brian authored the White-Paper on the Transparency Project for the Sundance Institute.

Brian is the author of “Inventing the Future of the Arts: Seven Digital Trends that Present Challenges and Opportunities for Success in the Cultural Sector” for the peer-reviewed book 20 Under 40: Reinventing the Arts and Arts Education for the 21st Century. He is also the author of “Innovation in Storytelling and Audience Engagement,” for Insights, a journal of the Torino Film Lab. He has published numerous commissioned film festival reports for Creative Loafing, Atlanta, Charlotte & Tampa editions; provided coverage on film, video and new media for Mix Independent Art & Culture Magazine, Toronto, Canada; written for IndieWire; and his article “Indie Exposure: A Curator Uncovers Five Hot New Trends in Independent Film,” was published in Utne Magazine. He also writes about film and new media on the Sub-Genre blog.