INDIE DVDs: How much would you pay + what's it take?

John C Lyons

John C Lyons

Veteran
I wish I knew how to do this more clearly in a poll...anyhow...

OK, so a "no-name" independent filmmaker with a miniDV camera makes a low/no budget movie. Let's say the movie's budget is anywhere from $0 to under a million dollars (maybe even lower, but basically anyone on this forum, at this level). You've seen some footage or a trailer, maybe read a thread on a forum, or seen a review online. And now the DVD comes out. Chances are you don't know the filmmaker personally.


What does it take for you to spend your hard-earned ca$h on that movie?


The trailer? The website? The budget? The buzz? The accessibility of the filmmaker? The extra features and the amount of? The price? The equipment used? What combination attracts you the most?

If a "nobody" and a "moderator" both post a thread on their individual movies do you buy one because of name recognition? Or the other because the trailer looks better? Or neither because they didn't buy your movie last year? :grin:

How about this: There are 3 indie movies lying on a table, all with the same budget but one is made with the DVX and the others are different cameras... Will you pick the DVX movie because that's the same camera you use? Or will you go by cover art? By premise? Genre?

After all this now you see the price tag...

How much is too much to charge your fellow filmmaker for your work? What do you think is a good amount for a short indie movie? How about a feature length?

If the new Titanic 3-disc DVD set is listed at Amazon right now for $20. And that is a 200 minute long, $200 million dollar budget film with extra discs of features. Then if you could set the standard pricing for a "zero" budget indie on DVD what would it be?

As always thanks everyone for your honest feedback!



I am not trying to get more people to buy my movie, I seriously want to try and get a pulse though on what attracts us to each other's work enough to buy it, and then how much you think is too much for a DVD at our level.
 
This is interesting -- I'm working on a short right now that I'm considering selling on DVD solely through the web. Was wondering if there's much market for 12 minute DVDs / what the price point would be.

For feature type stuff I don't mind paying $10 a pop to check out an indie I don't know much about. I would have to see a trailer if nothing else. I feel that if a movie is listed at anything LESS than $10 people don't take it as seriously (mainstream audiences / buyers). For my fellow indie filmmakers I try to be fair in pricing, but that's such a small market that it becomes more of a networking tool than anything else. The most expensive indie I've purchased was $20 for a 30 minute film, and it was well worth it (I'll get more replay value out of that than a $20 3-Disc Titanic box set!) If possible I tend to rent, which is becoming slightly easier with the online rental places carrying a larger supply of indies.

On the retail side it's a whole different ball game, but I assume we're just talking about pricing amongst colleagues here. However, I don't think budget should have any correlation to SRP. I've set my SRP at $19.95 for the time being, and I sure don't have a Titanic-sized budget backing me up.

I haven't (as of yet) used format/camera choice to determine whether I'll watch a particular indie or not. If 3 indies are on a table I'm picking the one that most interests me story-wise. Good cover art helps, but not as much as bad cover art hurts.

That said, I don't think I've even viewed a DVX indie other than my own. Wanna trade?
 
I wouldn't bother buying a DVD of just one short film, unless it was made by someone I was friends with. In fact, I wouldn't by a compelation of short films either, unless it was something very interesting, like the Academy Award nominees or something like that. There are just too many places online to see short films for free that I can't justify paying for a DVD of one that I will probably only watch once. On the other hand, if the short film is interesting I might be interested in paying a couple bucks to see it in a theater.

As far as low budget features go, I will buy a DVD for up to ten bucks if the film's website, poster, and/or trailer are pique my interest.

Rob
 
I think it all comes down to:

Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Marketing and hype; great DVD Cover Design, Buzz and hype from the press....
 
Special features help a lot.

Open Water isn't a good film, but I still bought it for the features. Same with 28 Days later, only I like the film.

Didn't really care that it was shot on a VX2000/XL1, I know what a VX2000/XL1 is and what it can do already. It was interesting seeing 28 Days Later on the big screen though. I have to say it didn't look great!
 
open_water.jpg


"Oh... Blair Witch meets Jaws... Based on real events...eeekk!"

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ :shocked: $$$$$$$$$$$$$$
 
I'm with mrblue. I'm not likely to spend money on a short, especially if the price is more then ten bucks.

What would it take for me to buy? A great trailer, solid website, good buzz, positive reviews from people I know, and some dandy how-to extra features a la Robert Rodriguez.

The fact that the director was a moderator or not wouldn't have much of an impact. If I was going to purchase it would be based on the above. The equipment used wouldn't matter to me either. Finally, the price would have to be low - under $15.

Basically, it would have to be one kick ass production in order for me to buy it. If it was it would probably be doing well at festivals, too. Like mrblue said you can find no to low budget indies all over the net, why pay for them.
 
The key thing is to know your audience, and give them what they want.

Would Jarred's "Art History" or "Sleepover Nightmare" stand a better chance of selling copies to DVXUser members than a "no-name" member's film? Of course -- because a) this forum is Jarred's 'house'; b) the members here all feel a connection to him; c) it was one of the first films most DVXUser members could actually buy, so a higher percentage of them did.

Would Neil Rowe's first DVD release here stand a good chance of selling a lot? Sure. Or P.K. Gillock's probably would do as well. Or John Hudson's. Because people here know these filmmakers, and have seen their work, and would likely want to see more, because a) they like the filmmakers and want to support them, and b) they've seen short works and know that they're very, very good.

Now, would P.K. Gillock's DVD sell like gangbusters over at DVInfo? Probably not. Nobody over there knows him, so they wouldn't care. He'd have to have some other angle -- like including Katie Holmes in his cast, or basing his film on a Tom Clancy novel, or something like that -- to attract the same level of attention.

Price, or special features, or any of that stuff -- none of that matters nearly as much as this simple premise: know your core audience, and give them what they want.

Write a column for MovieMaker magazine, one that people love and can't wait to read every month; get a following of 100,000 subscribers who all know you, and then tell them in the column that your latest film is now available -- and you'll have a great chance of selling a lot of copies.

Barring that, find an actor or actress who's at the top of their game, one that people can't get enough of, and put them in your film -- you create an instant fan base. Or, again, know your audience and give them what they want: make a zombie film starring Bruce Campbell and you'll tap into the huge Evil Dead fan base and get a *lot* more potential customers than you'd ever have gotten if that same identical film *didn't* have Bruce Campbell.

If a readily-available market doesn't exist for your film, that's where you have to buckle down and go CREATE that market. Like the Blair Witch people did, sending twenty-somethings into bars and clubs nationwide to talk about and brag about and pimp the film as the-scariest-thing-ever, etc. They created a grass-roots movement of people who wanted to see the film. Which is exactly what Gary Kurtz did with an unmarketable sci-fi-film that had no major stars and Fox was convinced would bankrupt them -- Kurtz & co. toured the country going to comic-book stores and sci-fi conventions, showing off the characters and the spaceships and whatnot, creating buzz among an audience. And when Star Wars opened, it had lines around the block. And instead of being the box-office disaster that Wall Street was predicting, it went on to become the biggest moneymaker in movie history.

Know your audience and give them what they want.

I entered a short film many years ago in a little film festival, and the scheduling was that they would show 30 minutes of short films followed by a 90 minute feature. We expected thirty people in the audience, total. I was shocked when I saw that there were about 300! I had no idea where they all came from -- this was a "traveling" festival, showing films nobody had ever heard of... other than the cast & crew we brought, why would anybody be attending? And then as I looked around the room, I saw that about 270 of the people in the audience were female. And not just female, but females who brought female companions. So I looked at the schedule again, and saw that the feature they were showing after our short was called "A Special Friendship" or something like that, and the description was some vague thing about "two women who journey across the country and learn about life, love, blah blah blah." Apparently someone put a notice in a local gay & lesbian newspaper, and it really piqued some interest, and this was probably the only film in that whole five-day festival that had a sellout crowd.

Know your audience and give them what they want. If you just throw your product out there to the wind and hope and pray that somebody will buy it, you can be pretty well assured that nobody will. But if you have a specific product that will play to a specific audience, and you take the effort to get the word out to that audience, you will do much, much better.
 
Excellent posts thusfar!

When I was a newbie here I quickly got ahold of a copy of "Art History" on DVD because:

1.) It was made with the camera (DVX100A) I had just bought and it was the first DVD I saw here for sale
2.) The opening clip and trailer looked beautifully shot
3.) Nick Bicanic and Jarred Land (and later Dominika) were very accessible and seemed to genuinely want to talk about their stuff as well as help me with mine (and other's on the forum)
4.) Dominika's flirty skirts
 
Definately it comes down to BUZZ! If I hear non-stop about a little film, especially if it was shot with camera in a similar price range to mine, then I get interested. I especially like when there are extras, so I can see new techniques for shooting with a camera like mine.

$10 seems about right for a low budget indie film. $5 for a short with lots of buzz, or $7 - $10 for a compilation of shorts. That's what I think. Just make sure you create lots of buzz. Other wise, I don't care. Peace.
 
For an indie movie that I dont know too much about... I wouldnt buy it unless specific genre like Barry said. I love WWII movies and that is pretty much the only DVD's that I have with a few exceptions. If someone had put together a bunch of shorts or a feature together that focused on WWII I might buy it if the price was right. Sadly, Im a cheapo so $5 would be the most for me.. I guess it depends on the budget of the movie as well. Saints and Soldiers was made for under a million, and it was pretty good, but It wasnt a blockbuster or anything fantastic. It basically just told a story. If the movie costs $5 to make I might not be so interested in seeing it. So budget, genre and recognition make a difference for me.

saintsandsoldiers.com
 
Good thread, and interesting question.

Well, I've pre-ordered the Broken DVD, mainly the enormous amount of special features (interest sparked from the web docs and the trailer). I think for me independent movies are split into two categories for me

1) Ones shot on the DVX (or any other camera I'm interested in) that look great aesthetically and have alot of good special features about how it was made.

&

2) Ones shot on any format that I am more interested in the story than the technical side (eg. Formosa).

About cost, it would depend how much I want something, but for me (living in Australia), with our dollar buying roughly US70 cents and the postage costs, I would ideally want to pay around US$10 w/o postage for it to cost me a reasonable amount.

So I think Special Features are what it takes for me. And actually, even for movies in the Formosa category, if there were special features, that would make me want it even more. So ok, after all that 'thinking-while-typing-thoughts'....Special Features. :)
 
Everyone's pretty much covered all the good points and worded them far better than I could.

Although I would like to thank Barry Green for using my name in his example. I'll take all the cameos and extra screen-time I can get! (Note to Self: Start posting at DVInfo and, after a few months, ask for donations. ...Oh, and don't forget to buy deodorant.)
 
pk.. you coulda made a doc on your helmet crusade.. sold it to 60 minutes and fund your first low budget feature. I promise I would buy it.
 
PK Gillock said:
Everyone's pretty much covered all the good points and worded them far better than I could.
Click to expand...

You think my post is worded far better than you could have done it. All that was to be gotten from my post was "Special Features", I just included 174 pointless words with it. :laugh:
 
Barry_Green said:
So I looked at the schedule again, and saw that the feature they were showing after our short was called "A Special Friendship" or something like that, and the description was some vague thing about "two women who journey across the country and learn about life, love, blah blah blah." Apparently someone put a notice in a local gay & lesbian newspaper, and it really piqued some interest, and this was probably the only film in that whole five-day festival that had a sellout!
Click to expand...
Barry LMAO... :grin: :grin: :beer:
I too am pondering this issue, with the sooner than later release of Heroes4Hire...I'll ponder some more...Barry's sound advice is true, thanks for mentioning me Bazza! :cry: Heroes is going down very well with the UK audiences...I think it works because it's every british guy aged around 23-35...DVD's over here sell (latest) at $30-35. I intend to do a PAL and NTSC version with extras, directors-cast comm. ect, ect. I'm going to send you guys one...tell me what you think...

Jp
 
..ive bought a few DVD's from members of the site here- Art History, The 4th beast- MAsk of the Antichrist. ect.. pretty much it comes down to

1. who made it
2. does it look worth watching
3. does it interest me specifically in subject or nature
4. how much spare cash is lying on my dresser

if the price is decent and the film looks decent.. im happy to support people and be entertained. but if the marketing is poor. IE: "hey come and look at our film.. its the coolest thing ever since sliced bread and we are so awsome that you will eat our dust..
..cross posted in every forum and section in an annoying fasion. well, thats enough right there to make me not want to buy anything from them. but promotion seems to acurately reflect the product is always nice. and if the filmmaker is a cool person id love to buy from them or help them out somehow. sometimes theres stuff i dont get around to buying till i see it a few times though..

..for example id like to buy Steven Dempsey's (disjecta) DVD when its ready.
Why? cause hes a nice guy and he does very excellent work that i like to watch. and his head still fits through a regular size doorway.
 
iamloser,
I seem to be in the same place as you on the subject of "why I would buy someone's work"... I weigh the personality of the filmmaker up there too. I can't stand when someone is all promo on every board in existence and it's waaaay obvious they could care less and just want your $, once that stuff outweighs the material itself it turns me off to it.

Constantine and Hectorxd,
$5 to $10 seems reasonable to me for pricing a short film on DVD, the only problem with $5 or so is you can't really expect much in the way of packaging and presentation (outside of the movie itself I mean). I know that my first run of DVDs cost me around that per unit because of having them pro-made at CustomFlix. But yeah, throwing a fresh burned DVD-R in a nice mailer and sending it your way, definitely.

I just want to add it's nice to hear and see the support of one another here. We really do "live" in a cool place at DVXUser when you can see, talk about, and buy each other's work. We got it good! :thumbup:
 
There's nothing I can say that would add much to the great comments already posted here. So, instead I say... I just ordered "Hunting Camp". :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top