Corrado Part II

[pekar1876]

Would you consider going down this route?

Would you consider going down this route?

very cool!

No, it's hurry up and wait over here. At least they're nice about it - I've got several e-mails politely stating the film has not been watched or the person is away and it will be watched soon. I don't expect much will transpire until January.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/23/movies/23appl.html

The producer of the film has said they've done very well, a lot better than if they had gone the traditional way. It's still at number 52 in the rental charts after a year on release.

 

[taormina]

That's pretty interesting. I'm not sure if they want to do this again, though. I am trying to build a blueprint / model for my future movies so I'm kinda committed to the "traditional" way.

More updates soon.

Merry, Merry Christmas to all of you!

 

[filmman]

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukah!

Let's all hope iTunes will make offers on our movies in 2009. I have two movies up for distribution. I don't mind an iPod World Premiere as long as I get an advance

But the traditional forms of distribution are better at this time. The only problem is that few movies are finding distribution, and the wait time is ridiculous.

Hurry up and wait is ok with big budget movies, but with indie movies it's hurry up or make me an offer I can't refuse. LOL

 

[Zak Forsman]

iTunes uses select aggregators for motion picture content right now so there are "gatekeepers", just as there is for traditional distribution.

 

[filmman]

Maybe we can exchange links and or banners and create an indie distribution network for selling our DVDs online. We need to arrive at a standard size banner. What do you think, Zak?

 

[pekar1876]

This looks cool

This looks cool

iTunes uses select aggregators for motion picture content right now so there are "gatekeepers", just as there is for traditional distribution.

http://www.tunecore.com/index/promotion/99

 

[filmman]

what about the ten thousand films a year that don't get picked up? Will iTunes pick them all? There has to be a better way...

 

[Zak Forsman]

http://www.tunecore.com/index/promotion/99

it looks nice, but it isn't a sure thing. your film still must be selected by the content aggregator (which they refer to as "itunes staff", but its actually a third party). you could go directly to the aggregator/distributor and bypass tunecore's submission fees. i've gone thru this process with my sales agent and my short film, I F*cking Hate You, will be on iTuned early next year.

 

[pekar1876]

it looks nice, but it isn't a sure thing. your film still must be selected by the content aggregator (which they refer to as "itunes staff", but its actually a third party). you could go directly to the aggregator/distributor and bypass tunecore's submission fees. i've gone thru this process with my sales agent and my short film, I F*cking Hate You, will be on iTuned early next year.

Could you give us some more details on the process of getting your film on itunes?

Is it the case of submitting it to www.newvideo.com for example?

 

[Zak Forsman]

yes, new video, mediastile, indieflix, IFC, shorts international. some who might already be or soon will be are film baby, cinetic (thieving crooks), and IODA. tunecore might actually be one of these. but because they say there is an approval process, i'm skeptical that they have a direct link to itunes for movie content.

 

[Will Clegg]

cinetic (thieving crooks)[\quote]

Please explain... Did you have a bad experience with them? Or maybe somebody you know did?

 

[Zak Forsman]

no i've avoided them. their current deal for filmmakers is pretty bad compared to others. 50/50 split on revenue and "exclusive" rights for 10 years, with no advance. they are buying up films left and right to build a library and paying peanuts. beware. i would rather go with someone like indieflix who only takes 30%, promotes the film and creates opportunities and is "non-exclusive".

 

[filmman]

Thanks, Zak.

One of my feature films is only with indieflix and amazon right now. I'm going to submit it to New Video also. It looks like these companies are springing up everywhere and that non-exclusive digital distribution is beginning to generate more money for indie filmmakers.

 

[Zak Forsman]

if you are already at indieflix, mike and scilla can get you on itunes. but shop around, spend a little as you have to. whats the title of the feature?

scroll to the bottom of this page... https://www.indieflix.com/ssl/Filmmaker/HowItWorks.aspx

 

[Nathyn]

I'm going to drop all these guys a line.

-Nate

 

[filmman]

Thanks, Zak. My movie is Butterflies in the Wind. I have a clip and a trailer at:

http://www.releasing.net/

On indieflix the movie is at:

http://www.indieflix.com/Films/ButterfliesintheWind

If the movie goes on iTunes it might do more business. Someday we might make more money for our movies online than from DVDs.

 

[pekar1876]

Thanks, Zak. My movie is Butterflies in the Wind. I have a clip and a trailer at:

http://www.releasing.net/

On indieflix the movie is at:

http://www.indieflix.com/Films/ButterfliesintheWind

If the movie goes on iTunes it might do more business. Someday we might make more money for our movies online than from DVDs.

Has it been worth putting your film up on those two sites?

 

[filmman]

indieflix was okay for the first month or two, but then the income dropped.

amazon was very slow the first three months but now is increasing and I'm thinking of putting all my five features on amazon.

of course amazon is a non-exclusive distribution deal, so I can still go with other web sites for more non-exclusive deals.

eventually it will be okay; but what Adam is saying is also true: you can't put a new movie on any of these website; it's not enough money.

online distribution is ok for older titles after they have been distributed in the foreign and domestic markets.

online distribution is ok for short movies and for quirky stuff too.

unless a distributor like Blockbuster comes along and does big numbers online, it's not going to make sense to spend $500,000 on an indie movie and put it online from day one.

I heard that iTunes picked up some film at the Sundance Film Festival and paid a few million for it. I think they lost money on it too, but it was great for the filmmaker.

But that's just one film...

 

[Steven2885]

What if the budget is under $50,000? Would online distribution from day one be viable? Would it be possible to make your investor's ( or your own) money back and maybe even a profit? I realize that the quality of the project would be an important factor.

 

[Zak Forsman]

part of that budget would have to go to promotion. remember, online distro is self-distro. which means you have to be your own marketing team. some successful examples have been tiffany shlain's "the tribe" a short that made over a million on itunes. "broken" a short that filmmaker alex ferrari sold 5000 units of over the course of two years. head trauma and the last broadcast, two features by filmmaker Lance Weiler that have grossed over 4.5 million. these are all filmmakers who did it themselves.

I have three features and two shorts and have only released one of the shorts so far (IFHY). the reason is that I'm concentrating on building the brand of my name and that of Sabi Pictures as well as building an audience before trying to sell anything. if I debuted the films today, who would i sell them to? i could do maybe 1000 units in sales. that's nothing. but i've got things lined up so that this time next year you wont be able to turn around without seeing Sabi Pictures somewhere online. the plan is to be appearing in filmmaker magazine, on indiewire and to be nominated for an independent spirit award (which has a $450 submission fee).