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

EDIT 2:20: I misread the time stamp for the post that started the thread, didn't scroll down and thought I was like the second reply. LOL

Actually putting this into poll form seems a little unecessary after all the thorough responses, but that's how I answered it so here it be.

the-lyons-den.com said:
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. ... 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?
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how's this?

A good trailer strongly influences my decission to buy a DVD made by an unknown low budget filmaker.
strongly disagree 1 2 3 4 =5= strongly agree

A good website strongly influences my decission to buy a DVD made by an unknown low budget filmaker.
strongly disagree 1 =2= 3 4 5 strongly agree

A film's production value influences my decission to buy a DVD made by an unknown low budget filmaker.
strongly disagree 1 2=3= 4 5 strongly agree

knowing a films budget strongly influences my decission to buy a DVD made by an unknown low budget filmaker.
strongly disagree 1 2 =3= 4 5 strongly agree

Accessibility to the filmaker strongly influences my decission to buy a DVD made by an unknown low budget filmaker.
strongly disagree 1 2 3=4= 5 strongly agree

The amount of extra features strongly influences my decission to buy a DVD made by an unknown low budget filmaker.
strongly disagree 1 2 3=4=5 strongly agree

The sales price (within accepted precedents)strongly influences my decission to buy a DVD made by an unknown low budget filmaker.
strongly disagree 1=2= 3 4 5 strongly agree

The equipment used to make the film strongly influences my decission to buy a DVD made by an unknown low budget filmaker.
strongly disagree 1 2=3=4 5 strongly agree

Buzz strongly influences my decission to buy a DVD made by an unknown low budget filmaker.
strongly disagree 1 2=3=4 5 strongly agree

I am more likely to buy a DVD made by a moderator or more well know DVXuser, than a relatiuvely unknown DVXsuer
strongly disagree 1 2=3=4 5 strongly agree

I am likely to buy almost any DVD if it was shot on the DVX
strongly disagree 1 2 3 4 =5=strongly agree


the-lyons-den.com said:
After all this now you see the price tag...
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I would pay up to $20 dollars for almost anything narrative shot on the DVX, and above that depending on some of the factors above. I want to see as much narrative work as I can on this camera to learn from others successes and near misses.
 
terry, thanks for the support! whether you liked it or not i mailed you out BOGO as well, he he!

jdanstan, thansk for the rundown! what are your plans for your film you are working on now? are you going to go the self-distribution route as well eventually with it?
 
the-lyons-den.com said:
terry, thanks for the support! whether you liked it or not i mailed you out BOGO as well, he he!
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And me too right...Be-atch?

the-lyons-den.com said:
jdanstan, thansk for the rundown! what are your plans for your film you are working on now? are you going to go the self-distribution route as well eventually with it?
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Hmmm... I don't know. It's a 12 min short so I don't know what kind of "market"(if any) there is for that.

And as for the quality of the product, well we're all sitting around in dumb amazment saying "I can't believe this is only our first project originating from a 72 hour film contest...how did this happen?". BUT, while it's way better than most shorts I see, is it 100% pro? No. It's a great first at bat. Like getting on first base in the majors, having never swung a bat before. Not like hitting a home run. A commendable feat to be proud of, but wothy of an admission price ... not so sure... Would you pay money to go down to the baseball field just to watch someone get an at base, and then go home?

Maybe I'm wildy over or underestimating its quality; the associate director of the New Orleans Film Festival - no Sundance but stil an international - saw a the rough cut and said it was easily as strong as any in their top 15 shorts, but she'd had a couple of cocktails, so who knows? Rather than posting it, first I will probably email a link to a few people like you asking the question that's been on my mind regarding it -- is it better to get a short run of this and pass it out like candy as a calling card of a new film company? Or am I giving something away that has some (very small) market value. My suspision is that free candy will be the way to go, and will potentially reap way more than selling it for $5 a pop. -- "Hey I saw that DVD you gave So-and-so. That was cool. Nice DVD box. We're looking for someone to do a documentary for the SPCA. We can't pay much. Do you think you could do something like that?", etc.
 
jdanstan said:
And me too right...Be-atch?
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Of course! Sending you the Director's Cut once I get the disc done. I sent Terry the DVXfest version (with intro and credits) with his order because that's all I have on DVD at the moment.

jdanstan said:
Hmmm... I don't know. It's a 12 min short so I don't know what kind of "market"(if any) there is for that.
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I am seeing other people at our budget level sell their films at that length for MUCH more than you are probably considering selling yours for... Like Barry said, it's about the buzzzzzzzzzzz!

jdanstan said:
...email a link to a few people like you asking the question that's been on my mind regarding it -- is it better to get a short run of this and pass it out like candy as a calling card of a new film company? Or am I giving something away that has some (very small) market value. My suspision is that free candy will be the way to go, and will potentially reap way more than selling it for $5 a pop. -- "Hey I saw that DVD you gave So-and-so. That was cool. Nice DVD box. We're looking for someone to do a documentary for the SPCA. We can't pay much. Do you think you could do something like that?", etc.
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Part of this thread should include "When should I try and sell my movie on DVD? and also How do I get people to see my movie?" Because there are a lot of talented members here that could very well and should be trying to get their work out there, one way or another, if they aren't already.

I made a lot of shorts in High School. But I'm not gonna try and sell those things! Then 3 shorts after college on a borrowed XL1. The 2nd a homemade obviously for just friends, family, etc. It's a mess! he he! The 3rd made a couple tri-state area film festivals and a couple local video stores bought some copies as well. After putting up the website a couple years ago I still get the occassional order. Funny b/c I think I have made SO MUCH progress since then I feel a bit embarrassed when people want to give me $ for it.

The 4th was Hunting Camp and it was my first $erious investment into making movies (buying a $4k camera, ohh ahhh). My wife and I incorporated Lyons Den Productions and now it's moved from fun with friends to a 2nd job that is serious fun with friends.

After hand-making 100+ DVDs for the 3rd short I decided I was going to spend the money to get the DVD pro-made to pass out and sell and then once I got a lot of killer indie bands involved, it's now basically a calling card for everyone involved: actors and musicians (besides for myself). In case you're wondering I have given away over 100 copies (review sites, festivals, misc possible connections, people i meet at festivals, people that pointed me in the right direction when i got lost in NYC trying to find the theater it premiered in :grin: ). So I have went both ways on this one.

My advice would be get your 12 minute short as tight as you think it can get. Then show it to a few people on the forum, other filmmakers, and some friends, and see if there are some common issues that stick out that you're missing. Then tackle it again till you're REALLY sick of it. Then send it out to a few online review places, and submit to some good fairly-local festivals and maybe one biggie. See what the repsonse is and if it's pretty good send it to more festivals. And promo the heck out of it (without being rude) along the way. And then start working on your next movie and make it better then this one and spread it out even more. Oh and make sure you have a website, and submit it to all the free search engines!

Whadaya think?
 
excellent discussion!

i'm in the planning stages of making a tour diary/documentary and wondering the same thing. how much can you sell a DVD for?

i have a couple of friends here in DC who have sold around 10k of their first DVD "burn to shine vol 1" and pressed 15k for vol 2. i think they're selling it around $12 postpaid. (check it at: http://www.trixiedvd.com/about.html ) lots of dvx100 footage! they have yet to break even, but they're paying the bands well, and it's building steam. their pricing is very in keeping with the DC punk rock ethos. music for the masses.

then, i just bought the wilco doc for $25...

my guess is that it really comes down to specificity. (aka your tiny specific little target audience). so long as the piece hits a certain quality standard, the pricing can be anything. like fine wine. you'll spend $75 for a bottle that may or may not taste better than a $35 bottle. dosen't matter. you wanted to try both of them. you happen to be willing to spend money on wine.

no one is going to buy your movie just because it's inexpensive. you can get classic movies for $3 on dvd at walmart.

it's all going to come down to longievity.

p.s. i'd price it between $10-20...
 
the-lyons-den.com said:
Part of this thread should include "When should I try and sell my movie on DVD? and also How do I get people to see my movie?" Because there are a lot of talented members here that could very well and should be trying to get their work out there, one way or another, if they aren't already.
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Has anyone here looked into Microcinema?

Dan
 
No clue. But I saw it mentioned in Filmmaker Magazine, and took a quick look at the website. I was mostly looking at the itsy-bitsy movie theater aspect of it, rather than the DVD distro.

And I was just wondering if anyone here had ever done anything with them, distro or showing.

Dan
 
GenJerDan, I had Microcinema bookmarked as a potential, so they must have been referred to me from somewhere a year or so ago, but I just wasn't impressed by their presentation or catalogue.

I used CustomFlix for the replication but they had a package that would set it up at WalMart, Netflix, and Amazon (which I think recently bought CustomFlix?).

I HIGHLY recommend CustomFlix for quality of product and customer service. I haven't had a single disc (DVD or CD) returned to me, nationally or overseas. We had a strict deadline because we had landed a location and date to premiere the set's release and they delivered with a couple days to spare. DiscMakers, for example, couldn't promise me that. CustomFlix had to upgrade the shipping in order to make it on time, but they didn't charge me that amount and they ate it (which I recall wasn't cheap), very cool.
 
John, you've encountered the #1 problem of every indie filmmaker world wide, how do I get my work seen?

Enter every contest you can find, so people begin to hear your name, your work looks very good, so you should get attention it.

AFA DVD's etc, that's a tough one to crack without people knowing who you are, but I'd aim around $10.00, and go up from there over time.

Just get your work seen everywhere you can, and get your name recognized...
 
pookie said:
AFA DVD's etc, that's a tough one to crack without people knowing who you are, but I'd aim around $10.00, and go up from there over time.
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What's an AFA DVD? :huh:

A funny ass DVD? All features accessible DVD? American Filmmaker's Association DVD?
 
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