We can’t officially announce it yet but HT will be coming to a living room near you. That’s right we are finalizing a deal that will have the movie on TV early next year. Can’t go into full details yet but can say it will place the film in front of a lot of people.
It’s been a bit since an update and a lot of behind the scenes stuff has been happening with HT. The big news is we’re prepping a release around the film for the UK this coming fall. The HT cinema ARG will be back in full force. We’ll be doing some live events combined with wider gameplay around the film. The field of play will increase to include theaters, living rooms, online and mobile devices. More details will be emerging in the coming weeks but the event will take place in time for Halloween.
Answering questions after the panel.
I’ve just returned from a series of speaking engagements. Last week I spent 4 days in Austin, TX at SXSW. During the festival I spoke on two different panels about the work that we’ve done around HT. The first panel was on “Digital Cinema for Indies” moderated by Scott Kirsner of Varitey and cinematech the panelists included
Ted Mundorff CEO, Landmark Theatres
Lance Weiler founder, Workbook Project, Head Trauma
Josh Green VP, Distribution, Emerging Pictures
Russell Wintner Pres, WinterTek Inc
Christian Zak VP Indepedent Feature Svcs, Technicolor
The second panel was entitled “Independent Film Distribution: It Takes an Online Community” Here’s a description from the SXSW catalog. “Tech-savvy filmmakers are redefining “Indie.” Learn how to use interactive technologies to distribute your film and build community. Susan Buice (Four Eyed Monsters), Arin Crumley (Four Eyed Monsters), Brett Gaylor (Basement Tapes), Micki Krimmel, moderator (Mickipedia.com), Lance Weiler (Head Trauma)”
Then yesterday I spoke to a number of delegates from the Canadian film industry at at the Canadian Consulate in NYC. It was interesting to revisit the various distribution and audience building tactics that we deployed while releasing the movie. One thing has become clear since we started rolling out HT in 2006, there is a DIY digital distribution movement growing around independent work.
The following interview was conducted by Christy Dena, a cross-media entertainment strategist, mentor, designer, writer and PhD researcher. In the detailed discussion we cover a variety of subjects with a focus on the creation of story worlds.
Filmmaker Lance Weiler is the special guest on this first video podcast at UC101. Weiler talks about the unique ways he has experimented with extending the storyworld of his feature films out to other media platforms and artforms, and he shares his insights into innovative digital distribution techniques he has been spearheading for years. To jump to particular topics, here is a short guide:
03:02 The Last Broadcast
14:32 Head Trauma
44:14 From Here to Awesome
54:53 Workbook Project
59:01 Random Future
Recently, I was asked about 2007 and I have to say it was a good year. The HEAD TRAUMA cinema ARG shows caught the interest of Wired, the Village Voice and a number of other press outlets, thanks in part to the two large ARG productions that we did in Philadelphia and New York. Through out the year HT played numerous festivals around the world with stops in Chile, Argentina, and Sweden. In the fall, Warner Bros released HT on VOD. It is currently available in various outlets nationwide. Below is a screen grab from Xbox Live.
“Hope is Missing” the online / offline cinema ARG that we created for the Warner’s VOD release racked up massive views / players and created quite a stir. The cinema ARG lead to a series of great meetings and new opportunities. I accumulated a lot of miles as I traveled to Europe and crisscrossed the US with speaking engagements at the Berlin Film Festival, London Film Festival, SXSW, various universities, film societies, ad agencies, and entertainment companies.
So far 2008 is off to a great start. There are some exciting things in the works for HT as it moves into the next phase of its’ release. More details coming soon.
DV mag ran a story about the cinema ARG
“No one is safe from the Net effect of Head Trauma, a horror feature film with a Web 2.0 twist, as Philadelphia-based writer-director Lance Weiler takes his self-produced “cinematic alternate reality game” on the road this weekend.
Weiler—whose first all-digital feature, The Last Broadcast, is currently distributed in over 20 countries, having enjoyed runs on HBO and IFC—looks to create what he calls “a new experience in horror” by engaging audiences on city streets as well as in theaters, then following them home with cell phone calls and social networking site posts from Head Trauma characters.”
- Lance Weiler Inflicts Head Trauma No one is safe from the Net effect of Head Trauma, a horror feature film with a Web 2.0 twist, as Philadelphia-based writer-director Lance Weiler takes his self-produced "cinematic alternate reality game" on the road this weekend.
- Head Trauma Movie Review by DemonToSome This is a must see film for any indie horror fan and basically anyone who wants to see an awesome psychological freaky movie.
- Head Trauma review 9 out of 10 There's a genre of film you won't find in your typical Film Lovers 101 book that I like to call the "Mindf*** Film". Generally we have our protagonist who is in some sort of delusionary state (I looked it up, that's a real word) and, since we're going thr
The Escapist Magazine covers the HEAD TRAUMA cinema ARG
“Today is Hope’s birthday,” writes Richard Chambers on his blog, Hope is Missing. “She is 23 today. I sang happy birthday this morning to a picture of her and couldn’t get all the way through.”
“Hope” has been missing since June. Chambers started the blog out of frustration shortly after her disappearance. Police had no leads; Hope’s mother, one of the last people to see her alive, wasn’t any help; and his wedding date was fast approaching. The feeling of helplessness in his posts is overwhelming. It’s also false.
- The Escapist : Horror 2.0: Lance Weiler's Cinema ARG Weiler is an old-school media manipulator for the new media age, a post-modern P.T. Barnum. I've managed to catch half an hour with him on the phone, delayed a week because he was traveling to LA for a "mash-up" screening of Head Trauma. Next week he's of
The Philadelphia HT cinema ARG that I co-produced with Joseph Gervasi was recognized with a Citypaper Choice Award.
Best Argument That Film Can Still Be an Experience …new cult-in-the-making films presented in imaginative settings. That includes the multimedia expansion of Lance Weiler’s Head Trauma, which incorporated live music, characters and even cell-phone interaction.
HEAD TRAUMA is now on VOD and can be found on various Warner Bros VOD outlets nationwide. For cable and satellite check local listings.
For online outlets or 3rd party services here are a few of the featured outlets
For those who are looking for a physical copy -
DVDs can be purchased at Lance Weiler’s store
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CINEMA GAMES
The HOPE IS MISSING cinema ARG has concluded. Over the course of two and half weeks more than 2 million people viewed elements of the game over myspace, stage6, eyespot, xbox, twitter and myopera. Players setup blogs, wikis, forums, and chat rooms. The game attracted some interesting reactions and was covered by a number of press outlets.
For more on the game:
Filmmaker Magazine article
ARG network podcast interview
HEADED TO LONDON
Tomorrow I head to London for the Power to the Pixel conference on digital storytelling and distribution. I’ll be giving a case study around HEAD TRAUMA and the HOPE IS MISSING game.
A NEW STORE
In other news we’ve launched a new store on the site. So for those interested in picking up a copy of HEAD TRAUMA or my first film THE LAST BROADCAST visit the store. We have a number of cool bundles that include posters, t-shirts, dvds and soundtracks. In the coming weeks we will be expanding elements of the store. Special thanks to bside.com for creating the store and managing it!
- ARG Netcast, Episode 39: Lance Weiler | ARG Netcasts Thanks to regular panelist Marie Lamb, the associate editor at ARGNet, we are honored to be joined by Lance Weiler for an hour of captivating discussion.
- Filmmaker Magazine | Fall 2007: PLAY AGAIN Over the last six months, I‘ve been experimenting with a collision of gaming, movies, music and technology know as a MIG (media-integrated game play). The MIG is a way in which the audience can experience a story across multiple platforms and devices.
SPECIAL SCREENINGS THIS SAT. 10.20.07
HORROR MOVIE MADNESS:
Free Interactive Drive-In Experience
One night only in 4 select locations across the country. Come and view Lance Weiler’s newest dark and twisted independent feature film “HEAD TRAUMA.” Audience members can interact with characters form the film via their mobile phones. Preceded by the award winning Ray Harryhausen produced stop motion short “THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM.” directed by Marc Lougee
SPACE IS LIMITED so please arrive early. Bring chairs and battery operated FM radio to ensure comfort during screening.
LOCATIONS:
Milwaukee, WI
64th St. and Mount Vernon Juneau Playfield parking lot Screening starts @ 8pm arrive early space is limited
San Rafael, CA
3773 Redwood Highway near Mount Olivet Cemetery sanrafelmovies@gmail.com for more info Screening starts @ 8pm arrive early space is limited
Los Angeles, CA
3191 Casitas Ave
Atwater Village -
Screening starts at 11pm arrive early space is limited For more info visit http://www.hollywoodmobmov.org <http://www.hollywoodmobmov.org/>
San Francisco, CA
1900 3rd Street - Drive east on 16th Street. The lot is right across from the new UCSF campus - on your right about 100ft from 16th and 3rd. You’ll be able to see the lights and cars from the street.
The web series is set to go live on October 1st and tomorrow we’re doing the online and final transfers. I’m excited to have the series roll out over the various partner sites and outlets (myspace, stage 6, xbox, eyespot, twitter, and opera). We’ve pulled together an amazing amount of promotional support. A new episode will be released each Monday as we work towards the Warner Bros’ release of HEAD TRAUMA on Oct. 23rd. That’s right Warner Bros is releasing HT on VOD!
In other news:
This coming week we’ll be in British Columbia for the Vancouver International Film Fest. I’ll be doing a case study on the HT cinema ARG for a special industry section of the festival called “Fast Forward: Filmmakers Seize Control”
- Head Trauma an unsettling and masterfully directed movie that disturbs the audience in the vein of the great psychological thrillers that are so lacking nowadays. Expertly shot, the film also boasts an equally shocking soundtrack
This fall the HEAD TRAUMA cinematic gaming continues. Players will interact with the film’s characters; offline, online, and via mobile devices in what is a cross between flash mobs, urban gaming, and ARGs. The game starts in late September with the airing of a special web series. The series will run across a number of outlets such as myspace, xbox, twitter, eyespot, stage 6 and opera. Then on Oct. 20th, live cinema games will play out in 10 cities across the country. Within the series are clues aka rabbit holes that lead to hidden sites, blogs, social networking pages and media. A full list of cities will be released in the coming weeks.
- The Movies Meet Web 2.0 Producing a feature-length motion picture is a daunting task. All the more so if you do it without the support of a major studio using money you have raised yourself. But according to independent filmmaker Lance Weiler, "the real struggle" comes after the
This page is a collection of RSS feeds that have something to do with the new motion picture HEAD TRAUMA from the co-creator of THE LAST BROADCAST, Lance Weiler
Seriously creepy and deeply unnerving, HEAD TRAUMA explores the uncomfortable notion that just because a person may be paranoid, doesn’t necessarily mean that someone – or something – is not actually out to get them. In this engrossing chiller, drifter George Walker returns after many years to stake a claim on his deceased grandmother’s abandoned house. Struggling to build some semblance of a normal life for himself, George tries to clean up the place by day. But his nights are uneasy and plagued by troubling visions of a mysterious hooded figure. Despite his best efforts, things grow worse as the house is condemned and his nightmares refuse to remain in the dark.
Propelled by a wildly implosive lead performance by Vince Mola, who alternates between tenderly sympathetic and bullishly repellent, HEAD TRAUMA is the latest unsettling entry in the revitalized independent horror scene. Writer / Director Lance Weiler and co-writer Brian Majeska have crafted a film that is difficult to pin down, making every twist a slippery and unexpected surprise. Combining much of the spooky imagery from the recent Japanese horror explosion with a distinctly 70’s horror feel, HEAD TRAUMA is a disturbing look into the dark corners of American small-town life.
LINKS OF INTEREST
Official HEAD TRAUMA site
Official HEAD TRAUMA blog
HEAD TRAUMA radio
LANCE WEILER's official site
HEAD TRAUMA on mySpace
HEAD TRAUMA startpage - NEW!
HEAD TRAUMA on TagWorld
HEAD TRAUMA on indieLOOP
HEAD TRAUMA on iKlipz
HEAD TRAUMA on youTube
SUBSCRIBE
ORDER
a special edition
HEAD TRAUMA DVD today!
Over 2 hours of bonus footage detailing the making of HT. DVD includes a speical collector's edition 8 page book with original artwork and behind the scenes photos.
HEAD TRAUMA photos
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