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Can the Internet Save Indie Film?
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by kferaday | June 27, 2008 at 04:22 pm
412 views | 32 Recommendations | 7 comments
One night, shortly after the writers strike started, I was sitting in a bar with several actors (including my wife) who were lamenting the death of film in Vancouver. As we got into the conversation they became more despondent over the state of the film industry generally.
Given the dominance of a fewer and fewer films, it is getting tougher to make a living in film. I'm not an actor but what came to mind to me pretty quickly was that in order for film to survive and thrive for more than just a few you had to solve two problems -- financing and distrubution. I think that's part of the problem Matt Dentler of Cinetic Rights Management is trying to solve. But generally, there needs to be more willingness on the part of venture capitalists to invest in independant and documentary style films. I could find only one VC in Canada with a focus on film.
Distribution is "just" a technical issue, so in a way I think it's easier to solve. Certainly there are great HD servers out there that could be leveraged as infrastructure (Kaleidascape comes to mind). The more interesting problem beyond that is where to distribute to? YouTube maybe? Facebook? A site like NowPublic? Certainly for documentaries and short indie films (which Dentler doesn't really address, but which really are perfect for web and mobile consumption) they might be. But I also agree with Dentler that regardless of the length of the project or the subject matter quality will be the key.
There was a time in the indie film business when specialty houses from the major studios stalked the earth, reaching into deep pockets to acquire the rights to distribute the buzziest films at the coolest festivals -- notably Sundance.
Lately, however, the indie situation is so dire that industry savant Mark Gill bemoaned its fate in a keynote address at the current Los Angeles Film Festival. His talk has been linked to across a wide spectrum of blogs, less for its hopeful closing notes than for its array of forlorn statistics about tanking indies.
If part of the problem is the growing primacy of the Web in consumer culture, could that same Web be part of the answer?
Matt Dentler of Cinetic Rights Management insists it's so. He was to be seen recently in a crowded Starbucks a few steps from the indie-minded crowds populating the LAFF, explaining why the new digital film rights venture he's a key part of is being embraced by just about anybody -- internet portals, cable and satellite operators, wireless and telephone providers, etc. -- who's got an interest in purveying the content that has been flunking in the cinemas.
What is NowPublic?
NowPublic lets people work together to cover news events around the world.
Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (7)
at 16:33 on June 27th, 2008
kferaday, I like this story. It's good stuff.
Interesting post - you definitely pose some questions to ponder here. I think the Internet could definitely be a platform for films but of course it would have to be in the right context and from the right site.
at 20:05 on June 27th, 2008
Thanks. Agreed that the context and site would have to be right. CBC or PBS for example might be good vehicles for short docs (or long) but I think other sites might be as well. Some of these might want to be distributors and some just consumers but with the way technology is evolving for producing, distributing and consuming I think there's an opportunity here, which is what Gill and Dentler are suggesting.
at 16:34 on June 27th, 2008
kferaday, I like this story. Thanks for posting this!
at 16:46 on June 27th, 2008
kferaday, I like this story. It's good stuff. i think independent films should start using the internet as a platform to showcase their work. Most of the hit movies now are the hyped up Hollywood films that spend millions just to make millions back. Advertisements and major corporations are taking over these movies and we just don't see a movie that plainly illustrates the plot instead of trying to sell us a product. Nonetheless, great post.
at 18:32 on June 27th, 2008
kferaday, I like this story. It's definitely good stuff.
As filmmakers and composers, this discussion is top of our agenda.
Personally, we prefer to watch films on our Macs. We also download avi format films, which can only be screened on the computer, but if you have a good monitor, your set! (We have HD 30in monitors, –and homemade organic popcorn. :)
So, downloading films is the way to go, but you need a good computer monitor.
Vividas.com developed a great innovation here in Melbourne, Australia. E.g. they launched "The Secret". You pay 4.95 to see the film in HD on your computer, but you can't download it. So you can buy the DVD.
Re. marketing via film festivals, most big festivals screen 35ml film rather than digital / DVD films, and most indi filmmakers use digital only....
cinematech blogspot has a front page story "Sony Envisions a Whiz-Bangy Digital Download Future"
We recently uploaded the preview for our award-winning film TIME AFTER TIME here on our www.youtube.com/lyrebirdchannel
at 20:06 on June 27th, 2008
Thanks for the feedback. There are sites here that are also doing pay per view kind of scenarios as well. Most of these are focused on mainstream films.
at 08:40 on June 30th, 2008
kferaday, I like this story. It's good stuff.