Thom Powers Says Filmmakers Need to Build a Database of Followers

Thom Powers is the Documentary Programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival as well as Artistic Director of DOC NYC and a Curator at SundanceNow.

In a conversation that appeared on PBS's MediaShift website on Nov. 19th, 2012, Amanda Lin Costas asked Thom Powers about how social media is changing film marketing.

According to Thom Powers, 21st century filmmakers must learn to use the new digital and social tools: "It used to be two tools you needed as a filmmaker: a camera and an editing machine. Now there’s a third tool, which is a database of your followers, and not just for one project but as something you’re going to nurture and grow for your career. I think this is a new approach, because the old approach was to think about this as film-to-film."

Thanks to an insightful Nov. 20th, 2012 article by Chris Dorr for sharing the link.