And the reason is because independent exhibition is even more seriously threatened. This is likely the last year of 35mm projection and the problem of that goes much deeper than whether you appreciate grain or not.
Sure the promise of digital projection & delivery is partially lower costs, but
Today’s guest post if from filmmaker Zak Forsman.
If you haven’t heard of CINEFIST yet, let me explain what it is: myself, Kevin Shah, Jamie Cobb, Neha Shah and Erik Reese — all members of the Sabi Pictures family — needed a new company to separate the production of our films from the distribution and exhibition of them. CINEFIST was born out of that need. When people ask, I say “it handles all things distribution and exhibition.”
If you were to visit the web site you’d see that in addition to an online store (selling DVDs, soundtracks and posters), there is a section for our Quarterly Los Angeles Screening Series and some tools and services on the horizon like our own VOD portal, a private invitation-only community forum, and a digital cinema census. For the purposes of this article I’m going to focus on the screening series, why we started it and what we’ve learned about live events.
In September 2009, I was reading this blog, Ted’s blog, and an new article entitled “18 Actions Towards A Sustainable Truly Free Film Community”. In that article he listed a number of areas where a member of our community could deepen their involvement through mentoring, collaborating, learning, evolving and more. As I went through the list, I was happy to note that we were doing each of these in one form or another with one exception — curating. We weren’t involved in supporting other filmmakers’ work or elevating our local community’s awareness of the works we admired.
Ticket prices for movies in the US keep rising. The LA Times reported that the average cost is now about $8.00. That’s what I pay for Netflix where I get WatchNow! movies for no additional cost. I have a typical NYC apartment where the width is about 15 ft wide; that’s enough to have a 8 ft projector screen and a good spread of sound. As much as I love to watch films with a crowd and great projection it is hard to justify spending more money when I suspect the films are not as good as the ones I get for $0 directed by Godard and Kurosowa.
As filmmakers, the question we need to ask is: what is the added value that we can bring to the live cinema experience that justifies the additional cost for our films over the ones others can easily get for free. The films I get at home offer convenience, comfort, quality sound & image, affordable & personalized refreshments, and no unpleasantries inflicted via strangers. The films I get in the theater are new; is that alone really worth the price? Can any price be justified just so they can get me out of the home and have another opportunity to sell me something?
I go to the movies far more often than most and pay 50% higher than the national average when I do so. Why do I go? I go to the movie theater for nostalgia factor and for political reasons (to support my industry and culture) — at least those are the reasons that make the most sense to me. I go to the movies also because I like to get out of the house, and it’s patterned behavior, but that doesn’t justify the price point.
Is the price point for theatrical exhibition justified by the distributors’ practice of manufacturing the desire and limiting the access for specific content? If I can’t get it at home, would I trade an annual subscription to a magazine or a month worth of unlimited access to catalogue titles (via Netflix) for seeing it in a theater? And since I prefer to see movies with my wife is the event worth two magazines or two months (or three if we want popcorn with those tickets)? Forget about piracy; sure people can steal it or copy it, but even when you consider the legal alternatives, the price point of cinema these days is not justified when we consider the superior value of other leisure time alternatives.
Hollywood Reporter reports on this distressing situation. You want to be sure your trailer is seen? Better cough some pretty green.
I ran into Chris Dorr last week and had a good conversation with him about the many different ways the film world needs to engage with social media. One of the ideas here offered was exhibitors and festivals utilizing FourSquare. I tweeted the genius idea and sure enough soon learned that at least one film festival was ahead of the curve. AMERICAN SPLENDOR created a soft spot in my heart for Cleveland and now learning what the Cleveland International Film Festival was up to brought a sweet pang of joy.
-What a producer does (3 posts)/what the credit means
http://trulyfreefilm.blogspot.com/2009/03/producers-contribution-part-1-of-3.html
http://trulyfreefilm.blogspot.com/2009/06/producer-credit-what-it-means-to-me.html
-38 Indie Film Biz Concerns
http://trulyfreefilm.blogspot.com/2009/05/36-american-independent-film.html
-“The New Model for Indie Film”
http://trulyfreefilm.blogspot.com/2009/05/new-model-ongoing-conversation.html
