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Or for that matter, what do you think can really change and move things forward in both the near and distant future? If we could ask five key people what they saw on our various horizons, what would they show us? Who should we ask? One of the great things about being pointed in a direction, is that it is almost a path. Could we have walked down that road when Francis Ford Coppola predicted YouTube in 1991:
It is not easy to just boil down to one specific all the various change that is swarming over us at this point. I see major shifts coming in so many different aspects of cinema: discovery, consideration, value/return, participation, collaboration, transitioning, immersion, and many others. [...]
Make no mistake: The Entertainment Economy can no longer be predicated on scarcity or control — as it has been for the last 110 years. We need to rebuild it around concept of super-abundance & access.
“YouTubers Upload 72 Hours of Video Every Minute” That’s up from 48 hours a year ago. At what age do we reach Saturation Point? I already have: I have identified every film I would like to see — if I am able to maintain my maximum rate of consumption — to carry me 5 years past my life expectancy. The very nature of technology indicates that in less than ten years, a twenty year old cinephile will have done the same. I expect that to happen much sooner though. Audiences will have no “need” for the new. We have so many cute animals and children doing silly things after all. Who really needs an ambitious and relevant cinema? So why do anything to preserve it (let alone advance it)? Let’s just bury our heads and try to hold onto what is left of our jobs. Right?
I am glad there are those that know otherwise.
Okay, okay. I stand corrected, but it was a good headline, wasn’t it? And I am not sure if $385Million per year in the US of online renting and downloading is cause to rejoice.
Besides, if you noticed, my post was really a jumping off point to try to address how we want to watch, or at least like to watch. We do have to offer our work for single transactions, but we have to recognize that is not how most people are choosing to watch. And yes, as many noted, we should not judge the lack of traction on YouTube for online rentals as representative of much. As Scilla Andreen pointed out, you need to honor your work with appropriate placement. YouTube has done so well building a community of generators and viewers accustomed to watching for free, it may be antithetical to the experience to pay anything ever there.
As I write this The Weinstein Company’s top rental on YouTube is Michael Moore’s SICKO, with a whopping 151 views. In reading PaidContent’s article on the TWC/YTube alliance, you can’t help wonder if there IS any business to be had in online rentals. Is the online one-off transactional content-rental business completely non-existent? And if so why?
I think we are starting to move away from the impulse buy mentality. [...]
Today’s guest post is from IndieFlix founder and CEO Scilla Andreen.
What is the #1 most important thing you can do for your film aside from telling a good story?
It’s not what you think and it’s often taken for granted. I believe the answer is to honor your film and the people who support it by having meaningful engagement in everything that you do.
Yes, it sounds broad and vague and it falls into the category of listen to your gut, but when applied to each and every action you take it becomes a highly, customized, sharpshooting tool that prioritizes your time and money. It will act as your compass on your filmmaking journey.
I am a filmmaker turned distributor out of pure necessity. I had to start IndieFlix because [...]
Guest post by filmmaker Hunter Weeks.
I’ve now produced, directed and distributed three documentary films. It’s been exhausting, time-consuming, super-challenging, but all the while, the most enriching collection of experiences I could ever imagine. I don’t know how Ted’s done what he’s done, but I’m pleased to have met him a year ago at Power to Pixel and to now be a guest on his blog.
Yesterday, I released my 3rd film on YouTube free for approximately two days (2711 minutes to be exact). 2711 minutes because the focus of this documentary is about the world’s longest mountain bike race – the Tour Divide – which crossed through 2711 miles of the rugged and beautiful Rocky Mountains when I filmed it. I’ll tell you the path that led to this strategy down below.
With each of my three films, I’ve learned a ton about how to market and distribute independent films (and by that term, I mean truly independent or as I like to say baby indies). I’ve had to learn these things because I’m not part of the elite establishment in film (and with the competition that exists to get there, I’ve found it easier to go solo and build my own audience, thereby increasing my chances of survival and growth within this industry). Looking back on the marketing of each film, I’ve gone away with one key learning from each effort. [...]
This site could not have been built without the help and insight of Michael Morgenstern. My thanks go out to him.
Help save indie film and give this guy a job in web design or film!
