article: changing landscape of film distribution

[steve hyde]

...this is a timely essay - and worth-reading heads up for those in the profession:

http://daily.greencine.com/archives/006104.html





-

[downix]

It is far too true in this day and age. We have the power of the internet, yet we continue to think in the old methods.

[steve hyde]

..the internet is great for promotional efforts, but still not a cinematic way to view films - in my opinion. I think the future is in microcinemas. An important part of the cinema experience is getting people together in the dark to marvel over the magic lantern.

In some ways the cinema arts are in a transition that reminds me of rock music back in the late 1970s / 1980s. There was no entry point for rock musicians back then - All the music promoters were working on a Rolling Stones type arena-rock model. It was a Fordist mentality built on bigger is better.

Then bands like Black Flag and the Minutemen tried something different - traveled around the American West in a van and played small venues that held 70 people or maybe 200 on a big night. It was a more flexible post-Fordist approach. And of course these bands never made any money and often had to resort to dumpster diving for food - but they did get their work out there and of course it was great.

Point is that the punk bands created their own space. They gave up on trying to get played on the radio - they gave up on trying to get a gig at the big stadiums because it was a lost cause - hopeless. Out of necessity ,as an alternative, an underground culture emerged that created a functioning network of bands and venues to support the work.

As an alternative: microcinemas (build your own)
BetaSP decks are getting cheap and is a great exhibition format. HD projectors can be rented or purchased. The equipment is mobile, which makes it possible to start traveling road shows.

Why? Getting into film festivals is competitive - yes, but even if your feature is a festival success, you can still be 98% certain that your feature will NOT get theatrical distribution. At this point there is about a 2% probability of an award winning feature getting picked up for theatrical distribution.

...anyway - some notes from the festival circuit.

[Scotness]

I like your band analogy there Steve - it reminded me of the early days of Nirvana - and then they break through - probably the best and worst thing that could have happened to them

Reminds me of that Spike Milligan quote - all I'm asking is just for the chance to prove that money can't make me happy

- Me too!

Scot

[downix]

As an alternative: microcinemas (build your own)
BetaSP decks are getting cheap and is a great exhibition format. HD projectors can be rented or purchased. The equipment is mobile, which makes it possible to start traveling road shows.

I happen to own a mobile 8mm and 16mm projector, my issue then is in finding material for it.

[Wade]

.. The equipment is mobile, which makes it possible to start traveling road shows..

Would getting the year's festival winners into a four-wall situation -- maybe in several cities -- make any money?

[aj]

While it evolves into mobile projecting check this:


Newspaper snippet. All rights with the photographer there.

Crash somewhere in a dark enough place, unfold the projector gear and run it from the power of this 5ftx5ft very small car (no driverlicense required).

[steve hyde]

...it's always a money problem because a successful 4-wall requires a substantial promotional effort and that means spending time courting the press and hiring a great graphic designer to make posters that every teenager wants to hang in their bed room. That costs a lot of money and it's hard to find someone who is passionate about promoting art that they didn't make. This is why professional filmmakers that want to survive in the profession have no choice but to become marketing and promotion experts. (by the way this is how Werner Herzog got by over the decades) As a filmmaker you have to find creative ways to get people talking about the films: you must be willing to eat a shoe.

I know people who are working on traveling film festivals, but truth be known I have never heard of one making a profit. All of them operate at a loss and this means no revenues to pay-out to filmmakers. Good news is people get to see the films and local businesses benefit from people buying consumables when the fest is in town, but no benefit paid to the filmmaker unless there is a way for the filmmaker to sell DVDs directly to audience.

I'm attending an industry conference next week at Silverdocs and distribution will be much discussed as many distribution companies are filing for bankruptcy in recent weeks.. I'm just glad I'm not trying to sell a feature right now.

I've met filmmakers with features that won awards at Sundance, had great festival runs and still didn't get theatrical deals. Winning at Sundance isn't enough anymore. As that article states: chances might be better playing lottery tickets. When we are faced with a 2% probability of an award winning film getting a theatrical release, it becomes hard to ask an investor to get on board with the project because the theatrical release is such a critical part of marketing for DVD sales and network television becoming interested.

filmmakers can no longer plan on the current distribution system supporting their work (not that we ever could- but now it's even harder - near impossible)

One thing is certain - great films keep getting made. You will rarely find them at the megaplexes, but at film festivals I marvel over all the great works that distributors have no idea how to sell. In defense of distributors I will say that It's not easy to find an audience for a film and it is no small task to succeed at doing that. It's a full time job+ and it requires a big gamble.

What do I think? Independent, Independent, Independent. I think independent production companies need to have in-house distribution experts who are committed to working full time at the work of distribution and promotion. That is something substantive that a production company can rely on. Right now it is foolishness to rely on good showing in the festival circuit to yield a distribution deal. It is almost a guaranteed failure statistically speaking...that is how I'm seeing things now, maybe I will encounter some evidence that suggests otherwise at AFI next week. If there is interest, I'll keep posted.

[steve hyde]

....here is a link to the documentary festival that I'm attending next week. It's a great one.

http://www.silverdocs.com/

I don't have to worry about selling my film. I'm just going to take in the experience and get ramped up for my next short film production later this summer.