Usually, before a film is selected for presentation, basic parameters must be considered. These guidelines can be applied to a variety of film subjects, and establish the foundation from which the film screening, series or festival is built:
What is the subject chosen for programming?
What venues and projection equipment are available?
How much time is being allocated for this film event?
What is the demographic of the audience?
What are the budget constraints?
Further considerations include: venue capacity; admission or registration price (if any); time of day / night; proximity to parking, food, restrooms; disability access; and other events that might interact such as exhibitions, guest speakers or panels.
Once the organizational information is determined, scheduling grids can be designed. A few different screening approaches should be determined (series of weekends, marathon, one night a week for example) and presented to the event team. With the scheduling components set, the search for, and selection of films can begin to see what films are available. The programmer might collaborate with theater managers, festival directors, museum curators, performing arts staff, filmmakers, distributors and others to make programming choices. It is helpful to build in a period of time to preview the films to check quality and appropriateness to the subject.
After the films are chosen, the programmer will work with the distributors to schedule delivery and return of films, or purchases if desired. Confirmation letters should be sent out to the distributors with the correct screening dates, titles, format, sound or silent, number of reels, fees, length and any other verification information to insure smooth delivery of films, cassettes and DVD’s. It is also useful to request the tracking numbers be sent to you after the films are shipped.
The programmer will develop distributor relationships, match film formats to projection equipment, track shipping, maintain the budget, while also assisting in program notes, movie stills and publicity. Occasionally, the system reverses when a particularly appealing film attracts the need for public viewing. Then, the film is in place first, before the search for a venue and support commences. Susan Delson describes the process as follows:
"Programming films is a highly specialized way of thinking about art and about film. The art of programming consists in setting films in dialogue with each other, increasing the resonance and clarity with which they speak. It is part of the cycle of insight and discernment that originates with the work of art and continues through the process of filmmaking; as the link between films and audience, programming is key to ensuring the completion of the cycle in the minds of audiences and in their subsequent encounters with art."
Delson, Susan. 1994. The Art of Screen Handbook: Practical Guidelines for Using and Producing Films, Videos, and Interactive Programs about Art. New York: Program for Art on Film. Designed for museum professionals, educators, and media producers, these guidelines for evaluating, commissioning and programming film/video and interactive multi-media productions are presented in the form of questions to consider in working with media. Includes selected bibliography.
Susan Delson is editor-in-chief of Museums Magazines, a group of city and regional publications for active museumgoers. She is a former film and video programmer for The Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she also served as a senior staff member of The Program for Art on Film, a joint venture between the Met and The J. Paul Getty Trust.
Click here to read the entire Delson essay, "Programming Films on Art in the Museum - An Introduction."