A few weeks ago we received an electronic press kit, which at first glance seemed quite ordinary but nevertheless proved to be quite intriguing. In short, a handful of Vienna film students are shooting a Freestyle Skiing Zombie Splatter movie in the Austrian Alps. Furthermore, according to the release, it is; "a project with a clear target audience, [aiming] to bypass the outdated Austrian film-funding system via new distribution and marketing channels." 

The Plot - genre mix at its best

Considering the strange mix of content, it is probably best if we leave it to the filmmakers to explain the plot:

"Winter in the Austrian Alps: The bite of a killer deer causes four hunters and a group of ski tourists to mutate into bloodthirsty, barbaric zombies. At the same time, five teenage skiers and boarders are surprised by a snowstorm. The only safe place within reach is buxom Rita's ski hut. There they run into the undead and the fight for their lives begins - a battle that will ultimately be decided by their freestyle skills..."

No need to search for audiences

Currently the team, led by screenwriter and director Dominik Hartl, are working on securing the film's financing, while arranging some deals with international freestyle ski and snowboard stars. This no doubt will have an extremely positive effect on further marketing activities, because such sports and freestyle communities have large networks that constantly share information via various forums, blogs and online magazines. Plus, they are a group used to exploring the web, espescially YouTube, for news, upcoming trends, not to mention cool tricks and stunts, such as those of snowboarder Marc Swoboda.

On the other hand, the film makers have also realised that zombie, splatter and horror film fans are also: "a sizeable and devoted audience, primarily characterised by their passion and desire for bloody new productions". Like the niche sport's communities, these are fans are very loyal to their dedicated interest and will often meet and discuss films online as sites such as Splatter Movies. In turn, they also use other online areas including Meetup groups, Facebook pages and Twitter to communicate or share news.

Titled Attack of the Lederhosen-Zombie, the film's crew seem to have a strong understanding of their potential audiences. 

"Both viewerships share the point that it's not only about the consumption of movies, it's about a certain lifestyle! A lifestyle mainly distinguished by intense trafficking via forums and word of mouth."

In addition, they highlight the fact that there are even more niche communities, such as gaming or even gothic groups, who could be interested in the film and can be reached directly via the web.

The film's soundtrack could also a potential area for further promotion, as it will see the internationally renowned band The Staggers providing a large part of the movie's score. It was a sensible choice, with the band having around 18,000 friends on their Myspace page alone.  

And then there is Nicholas Habjan, their make-up artist, who has built quite a reputation as a puppeteer via his youtube channel.

As you can see, this a film with plenty of potential interest groups everywhere. For the film makers the challenge now is to draw their attention to the project.

How and when?

When FilmTiki caught up with Dominik and his cameraman Arnold the main question that seemed to arise was: "When should we start with online marketing?".

The answer is in fact fairly straightforward - now! The sooner they begin the more exposure the film is likely to get.

The most important thing for the team is to build a website, which in any case should include the following areas:

• a blog or news section
• a presentation of the project
• a presentation of the crew and cast
• an electronic press kit
• a multimedia area for embedding videos, audios and images
• common community features, like sharing, social bookmarking and RSS

Free publishing systems such as Wordpress can be quick and easy to set-up, so your own movie website is just a few clicks away.

In this context it is also important to think about buying a suitable domain, something which is crucial to ensure the film appears across different search categories.

Constantly updating the website is also essential, and this can be done simple through a common content management system, which will also allow them to style the website to suit the film's design. In the meantime, uploading a set photo as the background image is a good way to start.

Once the website is launched, it should become a central point for all other (online) marketing activities; and updated regularly. Of course, creativity is a must, and if the website and its content is innovative, it can become surprisingly popular in short time. On that note however, it always pays to remember that to build a community takes time, so do not be disheartened if people don't rush immediately to your site. It is hard to get famous within a few days!

The next steps

Currently the Attack of the Lederhosen-Zombies' team has successfully finished shooting a teaser (see pics) on the Dachstein mountain and is now focussing on its completion and presenting it to potential financiers. They hope to hear back from their funders in autumn, and as soon as financing is secured it will be straight back to work. The eventual plan is to start casting and location scouting in October, and to prepare for shooting in winter.

They are also filming some interior scenes in the studio at the Filmakademie Wien along with their first outdoor scenes featuring The Staggers at a contest in January 2010. They hope to finish the exterior shooting by spring next year and can go into post-production in summer 2010, with the aim of submitting the movie to a range of festivals in autumn 2010.

Further down the track, a DVD release is planned for winter 2010 in time for the beginning of the ski and snowboard season, which they believe should increase the likelihood of: "distribution via trend-sport shops, where DVD racks with roasting ski, snowboard or surf movies have become a permanent fixture."

Of course we will be staying in touch with the team, and will report about the project's progress on the FilmTiki blog!