Short Film Causing The Buzzzzzzz
by Jennifer Champagne

The Marketing Genius

Goldstein + Moniot then launched a grass roots marketing campaign to build buzz about the film in three waves: First, 500 naked baby dolls (A plot point from the film) were sent to Hollywood players with a card of quotes from notables such as Producer Sid Ganis, five- time Oscar winner Ken Ralston, Oscar, Grammy and Golden Globe winning Producer Giorgio Moroder, and CAA agent Jamie Waldron, hailing Taz and Rob as consummate filmmakers and all around good guys.

Movie 1 (1.7 MB)

M ovie 2 (1.8 MB)

Movie 3 (4.5 MB)

Click image to view QuickTime movies

This was followed a week later with 500 bottles of Dancing Cow steak sauce -- donated by the Chipotle Chili Company -- and a card with the film's web site address (www.DancingCow.com). (The steak sauce was such a hit that you can now order The Dancing Cow cheeseburger at Sony's Culver Studios commissary!)

The third wave of marketing was sent out in the form of 500 CDs of the Mark Snow score for the film -- which also included the closing credits song written and performed by Moniot and a bonus track written and performed by Goldstein (The CDs themselves were also donated).

The Homerun

The film was screened for cast, crew and friends on November 30th at Sony and was met with an overwhelming response. The filmmakers received a standing ovation and the movie had to be shown twice to accommodate the more than 500 people who attended. The buzz for the film is spreading around Hollywood, with several companies making arrangements to screen the print rather than waiting on a videocassette. Goldstein + Moniot are gearing up for a long round of meet and greets that they hope will lead to a feature film development deal.

The Wrap-Up

The duo's company name, Built-d, stands for But Ultimately I'd Like To Direct, and that has been their focus and direction ever since joining forces in 1994. With The Dancing Cow bringing them attention as "new" filmmakers, Goldstein + Moniot are busy developing several scripts and hope to be shooting at least one of them by the end of this year.

Over the next five years, Goldstein + Moniot see themselves switching off, with Moniot directing features while Goldstein produces, and visa versa... as well as co-directing if the project calls for it, under their Built-d Pictures banner. The team plans to make their mark in features initially, then add television and Internet programming to their slate as time allows. Built-d Media will continue to thrive as a true multi-media production entity, and as a proving ground for the next generation of young directors.

When in Cyberspace, please visit www.TheDancingCow.com AND www.Built-D.com

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The Scorecard

• Goldstein + Moniot = Freaky Filmmaking Geniuses
• John A. Alonzo = Renowned Director of Photography (Chinatown, Scarface, Lansky)
• Mark Snow = World Famous Composer (X-FILES, Disturbing behavior, Crazy in Alabama)
• Ric Wolfe + Executive Producer Title = Sony Lot, Grip & Electric, Wardrobe, Props
• 500 Naked Baby Dolls = Curiosity
• 500 Bottles of Dancing Cow Steak Sauce = Extreme Curiosity
• 500 Dancing Cow Soundtrack (Mark Snow + Chris Cox) = We Now Have Your Attention
• Sony Screening = 550 Attendees (CAA, Publicity, Agents, All-around Top Execs)
• Ordained Dancing Cow Cheeseburger
• Accepted into US Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen
• Full Page Ads in Hollywood Reporter and VarietyHardware:

The Tools

• Media100 XR - Editing System
• Micronet DataDock 7000 - disk array with 44GB of storage.
• PowerMac G3 (beige) running at 266 with 160MB of ram.
• 20-inch Sony Computer monitor and 13-inch NTSC monitor
• Mark of the Unicorn's 2408 - hard disk audio recording system.
• BetaSP and VHS video decks.
• DAT and audio cassette decks.
• Crown amp & Alesis studio monitors.
• 3000 feet of tangled cables.

Software

• Media 100 - editing software
• Slingshot - for creating film cut list from Media 100's EDLs
• Adobe After Effects- For effect pre-visualizations & end credit animation.
• Adobe Illustrator- Title design and layout
• Puffin Designs Commotion- Frame retouching
• Virtus Walkthrough Pro- used extensively for storyboarding.

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