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Truly Free Film

On Indie Street: Social Causes Build Loyal Audiences

By Jay Webb

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Previously: What Are Films Without An Audience?

 Screen shot 2014-06-15 at 11.09.40 AMA large portion of our population has thankfully grown past the phase of only wearing bracelets to feel like we are agents of change in our world or society.  Today the world is small enough and access is great enough for every individual to truly make small changes that can accumulate to create huge impact on life and planet. Filmmakers are some of the most dynamic multi-taskers of our world society, and on top of that they already have a solid medium with audiences they can inspire to make important world changes.

With most all film projects, a director must envision some type of change he/she wants to inspire in the film’s eventual audience.  Whether it is changing their perspective, making them laugh, or giving them insight into the world around them, your story should have a designed emotional shift for those you share it with.  Having a grasp on this desired viewer transformation not only helps a filmmaker determine their core audience, but might also lead toward partners that will help to champion the film and build a larger base of fans for the future; not to mention it might do some good to your world. 

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Truly Free Film

IndieStreet Post #12: Making a Film? – Why?

By Jay Webb 

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Previously: The Rebirth of the Indie Video Store Experience — Why Human Curation Will Never Die

Being honest about your motives is the first step toward a successful film, and it’s a healthy habit for anyone entering a new life-consuming project; starting a new company, getting married, or in this case, shooting a film.

Screen shot 2014-03-25 at 12.01.31 PMDo you want your film to change the world?  Do you want to make money so you can make your next film?  Do you have something to prove to yourself?  An honest answer in the early stages can do wonders for a filmmaker in finding a workable distribution path, uncovering a forthright story, and figuring out an appropriate amount of money and energy to expend on the project.  (Please note: An answer like “I am creative and want to express myself” misses the scope. This is a reflective question for professionals or budding professionals who live in the reality of scarce resources and time who will express themselves creatively regardless of their path).

Human beings are motivated by different factors, but when I was only 19 years young, a drunk man who I was serving steak to explained to me that motivation could be broken down into the ‘4 Fs’.

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Truly Free Film

IndieStreet Post #11: The Rebirth of the Indie Video Store Experience — Why Human Curation Will Never Die

By Lindsay Blair Goeldner

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Previously: Sundance 2014 — a Microcosm of a Greater Divides

At Indie Street we are holding on to all hope that the interpersonal human elements of storytelling will never fade away into obsoleteness.  The following piece comes from one of Indie Street’s own curators.  While she is not programming a film festival or being one of the coolest computer programming chicks in the game, Lindsay finds time to work at one of the last Indie Video Rental Stores in Canada.  Who better to get a street level breakdown about the effects of technology on film consumer’s behavior…Enjoy!

Screen shot 2014-02-24 at 12.53.06 PMThe death of the indie video store is imminent. At least that’s what everyone tells me. Working as a video store clerk in one of a handful of stores (Queen Video) in Toronto is both a blessing and a burden. While the job remains interesting, I’m continually receiving remarks about how great it is that we’re still open. In the wake of the Blockbuster collapse, the independent video store flourished. Business seemed better than usual around late 2011 when the last Blockbusters were closing down in Canada. At that point in time, Netflix had already arrived, and streaming was still popular, but for some reason many people did not want to let go of the video store experience.

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Truly Free Film

IndieStreet Post #7: Navigating Potholes

By Jay Webb

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Previously: IndieStreet Post #6: Not Louder Mouths, Just More Ears

Facts of the Storytelling Street:

– Creating a new, unchartered path will never come without risk or potholes.

– Brilliant (even just good) storytellers innately take risks.

– Potholes usually create an even better story about your drive once you make it home.

– Learning more about getting your story out there (distribution) in order to ensure continual story telling through life will not add any potholes (or risk) to your path. It can only make your street wider and stories more easily heard.

 Screen shot 2013-12-02 at 11.40.45 PMAfter discussing Indieconomies of scale and the benefits of adopting a cooperative group approach, we thought it might be a good time to switch the charge and talk a bit more about the challenges (potholes) that we have come across to date.  If a pothole doesn’t swallow you, it makes your vehicle stronger. 

From our slightly biased IndieStreet POV, there should be no reason for any story teller to be scared of exploring self-distribution, and more specifically, some type of cooperative distribution.  The following potholes have busted a tire or two during our journey, but in no way have they strayed us from our mission.  Starting a business is not for the faint of heart…A simple rule of thumb: If you want to succeed as much as you want to breath, then it won’t be hard at all.  

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Truly Free Film

Indie Street Post #6: Not Louder Mouths, Just More Ears

By Jay Webb

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Previously: Indiestreet Post #5: Indieconomies of Scale: Distribution

Indieconomies of Scale, Part 4 (of 4): Marketing 

The DIY marketing of an Independent film has always been an overwhelming, and somewhat foreign prospect for an artist.  For me it’s one of those things that seems to be more of a “Where do I even start?” type of problem, especially in today’s fast paced environment.  There are new free to use marketing/networking platforms that pop up everyday, but how do we know what will work?  And even more importantly, what will work for our film specifically?  While the internet, social networking, data mining, and targeted ad networks do make it possible for Indie filmmakers to market their own films more effectively, they surely do not make the marketing process any less complicated.

So let’s try to simplify the idea of transitioning from filmmaker to film-marketer, and then we will talk about why a group mentality can make all the difference in this transition.

1.  Marketing = a cousin of storytelling

Sure storytelling is your born talent and passion; not commercial exploitation.  Well the best marketers are the ones that can tell the story of their company in a brief, memorable and entertaining way.  So before you run and hide during the marketing phase of your film, just realize that a filmmaker and a marketing professional are actually some type of bizarro storytelling cousins.

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Truly Free Film

Indie Street Post #5: Indieconomies of Scale: Distribution

By Jay Webb

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Previously: Indie Street Post #4: Maximizing Your Story-telling Capital

Indieconomies of Scale, Part 3 (of 4): Distribution

Distribution and marketing are the business areas where we at IndieStreet are really getting excited about the great potential effects of Indieconomies of Scale.  Empowering a group of Independent artists to unite and grow together as a trusted brand has not been a realistic option until recently.  Indie filmmakers didn’t even have great ways to find each other before the rise of social networking. And now, just by cooperating with one another and utilizing some emerging technologies, a small group of artists can gain negotiating power, release momentum, and expand customer reach in ways comparable to a larger distribution company.

Xindieconomies

As human beings we are each looking for our own path and purpose, and through our journey we will surely run across successful people or companies out there that we don’t “like” or may not agree with.  The mistake that many of us make is to take these entities as a whole, and not try to absorb or learn from different aspects that makes them successful.  

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Truly Free Film

Indie Street Post #4: Maximizing Your Story-telling Capital

By Jay Webb

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Previously: IndieStreet Post #3: “Indieconomies of Scale Part 1”

Indieconomies of Scale, Part 2 (of 3): Production Benefits & Vertical Integration

There is one aspect of business that seems to remain constant no matter the advancements in technology: the pressure placed on producers to create better products for less money…the story telling business is surely not immune to this stress.  In my opinion, there is no better way to accomplish greater story-telling on smaller budgets then by having a group of filmmakers that are cooperative, competent, but most importantly, alarmingly passionate about the stories being told.

Screen shot 2013-10-01 at 10.14.09 PMWhen considering how to apply business concepts like economies of scale to Independent film, in the case of production we have to reorganize our thought process a little.  In this post, we start by treating a small group of Indie filmmakers as a story producing company with each member having both objective story telling capital (skillset, equipment, etc.) and subjective story-telling capital (interest in project, loyalty, emotional connection to material).  The more story-telling capital that can be attained through cooperation, the more a group can benefit from production Indieconomies of scale.

Traditional Production Economies of Scale

Decreasing Costs per unit:  When companies look at production economies of scale, they find a wide range of advantages that stem from increasing their production to a certain level.  With the growth of a company’s operation, cost per unit will decrease so per unit profit increases.