For filmmakers to create characters worth caring about, they have to make those characters real to the audience. Christopher Nolan directing Christian Bale in 2005’s Batman Begins was an unquestionable success that reinvigorated Warner Brothers’ Batman franchise by doing just that. In many ways the film’s sequel, The Dark Knight, due out mid-2008, is being taken a bit further. Not just in terms of developing the journey of the characters, but also in the way in which the studio is creating audience awareness, and in how fans receive information about the film itself.

The objective of making a film available to the public is to make it one which viewers feel an absolute priority to see. With Dark Knight, Warner Brothers has decided to employ a viral marketing campaign.

In May of this year, Warners set in motion plans to make the sequel available to the public despite, at the time, the film’s release was well over a year away. Things kicked off with one of the viral sites eventually releasing the first image of Heath Ledger as the Joker, as well as the line: “See you in December.” It implied that something big was to happen in December, but what?

As this month has panned out, December has seen the release of the film’s first feature length trailer, multiple one-sheets, and an IMAX prologue that introduces the Joker. But in the time between May and December, there have been viral sites devoted to unlocking promotional images and, with the help of anticipating fans, developing intricate scavenger hunts.

Cloverfield’s first trailer was released with screenings of Transformers over the 2007 summer. But the film’s title, Cloverfield, wasn’t even confirmed until fall with the release of the film’s second trailer. And similar to The Dark Knight viral websites, Cloverfield has a website meant to help audiences try to piece together a timeline of photos connected to the film.

Filmmakers on the independent level with limited resources must focus on making the film as good as it can be -- ultimately, the overall product is how a film is judged. Yet, while it is obviously not the prime objective of the filmmaker to market the film, it is important to not ignore the impact of making information about the film available. There is no set way to do so, but as The Dark Knight and Cloverfield have done, viral marketing is one very creative way to help spread the word that these are stories and characters worth caring about.