I've tried to do my best to make it known that my comedy short The Gizmo Tree is currently one of 30 movies up for a first prize of over $10,000 in the Yobi.tv Film Contest. What makes this such a unique competition is that the semi-finalist's videos are as varied and unique as the movie makers themselves. Animations, comedies, dramas, experiments; There's really no way of knowing where I stand until the first set of films are eliminated this coming monday.
So, I'll make this short and sweet. If you've happened across my blog in the past, if you've visited from BlogExplosion or Entrecard, if you've clicked over from YouTube, if you've taken any interest in my shorts or musings at all, or been witness to my struggles and growth as an independent filmmaker - please take a moment to just check out my short and consider voting for me HERE.
I can't emphasize enough how few and far between opportunities like this come up. It's taken 4 months since joining Yobi.tv for this vote to begin, and it's been well over a year since the short was made. Your vote could literally make the difference in a film contest that's all about word of mouth. The sole judges in this competition have been viewers; people just like you who have clicked a thumbs up or thumbs down based purely on what they like. I've made it to the semi-finals, so that's something, but I don't want to sit back and hope things pan out. I want you to know how much I care about this.
To vote, click here. Sign up with your email address, and give the Gizmo Tree a thumbs UP. That's it!
If you'd like to see more, I've created a promo video for my short and the contest. You can check it out below. Thanks for your interest, your time, and your support. It really does mean a lot to me.
The Semi-Finals for the Yobi.tv Film Contest have begun, and in order to win I need your vote for my short film, The Gizmo Tree. To skip ahead and cast your vote on the site, click here.
WEEK ONE: Voting Begins (April 13-19)
In December 2008 I was voted into the semi-finals for week 17 of the 30 week Yobi.tv Filmmaking Contest. I'm now one of 30 independent filmmakers in competition for over $10,000 for 1st place, and it's been a long road to get here.
The way the contest works, is that each week (Monday-Sunday) you are allowed to cast ONE vote for a single semi-finalist's entry (thumbs up or thumbs down). That means if you choose to help me out, you only have to place a single vote for the entire week. Each following week, the 5 films with the lowest number of votes are eliminated from the contest and the cycle repeats. You'll be able to place another single vote each week until there are 5 remaining films - the Finalists. Also important to note, is that the votes never reset throughout the competition, so having as many votes as possible each week is key because they add up.
To cast a vote for the Gizmo Tree is easy and fast.
1. Visit Yobi.tv and use your email address to join the site. 2. Once logged in, simply visit my Gizmo Tree semi-finalist page. 3. Click the THUMBS UP under my movie. You've just voted for the week.
I can't express enough, how with each film contest or competition that I take part in, I'm always humbled by the support many of you show me. Because I'm working as hard as I can to get the word out about my short and campaign for votes, I want you to know that I wouldn't be able to have these positive experiences were it not for you taking the time to help me out.
I want to make this as easy for you to do as possible, so if there is anything I can do, or anyone else you can think of who might be willing to vote - don't hesitate to get in touch with me personally and I'll spread the word. My email is fandrix@hotmail.com
OR, if you'd like to forward my message to help me campaign and reach the YobiFILM finals, I've tried to make that easier too. I've created a promo clip and posted it on YouTube to introduce myself, showcase my short, and explain the contest. Spreading the word is as easy as forwarding the promo clip to your family and friends. Here it is below:
Again, I want to say thank you for your help. If I make it through a few rounds, this is going to be a long contest as the weeks roll on. However, because each person can only cast a vote a week for my short, the challenge really becomes reaching as many people as possible. If you've got a few minutes, please check it out - Vote for the Gizmo Tree.
Generally speaking, I'm not really the kind of guy who goes around touting web tools or resources, but seeing as my blog is as much about promotion as it is my work I thought it might be nice to share the handful of sites that I use to help get a bit more attention.
BlogExplosion - A site I've used for nearly 2 years now, it's been a great way of meeting and interacting with a variety of bloggers from around the world. It works on a 2:1 credit ratio, for every 2 sites you visit you earn 1 credit. You can use your credits in exchange for visits to your blog, for blog battles/competitions, or on the blog rocket. To say the least, it's the blogging site I've benefited most from since starting Editing Luke.
EasyHits4U - A site I'm fairly new to, but one that I saw immediate results from. Like BlogExplosion, EasyHits4U works on a credit system. The ratio is 1:1, for every blog you visit you earn a credit which means you can acquire more traffic faster than on BE. The big difference is that EasyHits4U isn't limited to blogs, so there's actually a lot of variety . . . but also a lot of ad sites. The real upside is that you can use this resource to promote multiple sites - your blog, a YouTube page, a flickr photo page, etc. all through the same account using the same credits. So in that respect, you can focus your traffic more directly by selecting a specific page on your blog or any of your other sites that you'd like people to visit - and more unique hits are more potential readers/viewers, right?
Entrecard - Since Christmas I've used this resource, based on 'dropping' your card on other blogs to earn credits to buy ads or services. With the new market on Entrecard you can now use your credits to purchase blog reviews, comments, etc. on top of buying ads on other blogs. It's been an effective way to get feedback on certain things when it's not happening as often as you'd like. While the dropping is time consuming, the Entrecard market has made this site relevant to me again.
So those are my big three. The goal has always been to spend more time on my own site than any of these other ones, but at the same time, a little effort on different traffic-based sites has allowed me to see steady growth in viewership and interest. It's not a perfect system, but there have been a lot of noticeable results. Happy blogging!
I've tried to do my best to make it known that my comedy short The Gizmo Tree is currently one of 30 movies up for a first prize of over $10,000 in the Yobi.tv Film Contest. What makes this such a unique competition is that the semi-finalist's videos are as varied and unique as the movie makers themselves. Animations, comedies, dramas, experiments; There's really no way of knowing where I stand until the first set of films are eliminated this coming monday.
