Duct Tape Films
Well-known member
This is a business model actually based on the ideas of another site, to remain unnamed out of respect for the rules of DVXUser, and it could REALLY benefit many users here, whose screening opportunities can sometimes be limited to ONLY of renting a theater ($$$), submitting festival application after festival application ($$), or dwindling on the vine online somewhere ($).
Here's the central idea that needs to imported to the greater independent film community as a whole - let your movie be screened without getting paid for the door. WHAT THE MONKEY?!? you say. Here's how this actually is a GOOD idea.
Broken down by genre, (example - I'd host documentaries) each one of us DVXUsers say we would be willing to host a screening of another DVXUSer's film, preferably from across the country, as either a house party or what have you. Really, who among us either....
a) doesn't own a decent screening setup, even a projector and screen, good enough for fifty to hundred people to watch.
b) know someone who does - get ten people together and SOMEBODY'S got the best set up.
c) can't afford to fork over the $60-$70 it costs to rent a screen and projector for a day.
Now, the host can charge a small door, which they would keep in exchange for getting your movie some eyes & buzz across the country; the host would also be required to provide a laptop where anyone can order the DVD directly from the filmmaker's website. Host gets to keep their screener copy (just a coverless DVD-R one-off), and have some good times with friends over some beer and movies. Filmmaker gets movie seen by people who would have NEVER seen it otherwise, and maybe some DVD sales taboot. Now compare that with a screening of maybe the same amount of people at a theater, which just to get in the door can run anywhere between $300-$1200 for a buy out, depending on what city you live in - not to mention the advertising you've got to do just to be sure you won't lose your shirt. By showing it in a grassroots way, and eliminating nearly ALL overhead, you've just actually MADE money if you even sell just one DVD. Maybe Jimmy's house isn't as prestigeous as Mann's Chinese, but you just made $$$ making movies.
It's a whole new method of getting a movie out there, far less expensive than the other methods, possibly more profitable for all, and it's kind of a bummer to me that the greater indie community is kind of missing out on this one.
Here's the central idea that needs to imported to the greater independent film community as a whole - let your movie be screened without getting paid for the door. WHAT THE MONKEY?!? you say. Here's how this actually is a GOOD idea.
Broken down by genre, (example - I'd host documentaries) each one of us DVXUsers say we would be willing to host a screening of another DVXUSer's film, preferably from across the country, as either a house party or what have you. Really, who among us either....
a) doesn't own a decent screening setup, even a projector and screen, good enough for fifty to hundred people to watch.
b) know someone who does - get ten people together and SOMEBODY'S got the best set up.
c) can't afford to fork over the $60-$70 it costs to rent a screen and projector for a day.
Now, the host can charge a small door, which they would keep in exchange for getting your movie some eyes & buzz across the country; the host would also be required to provide a laptop where anyone can order the DVD directly from the filmmaker's website. Host gets to keep their screener copy (just a coverless DVD-R one-off), and have some good times with friends over some beer and movies. Filmmaker gets movie seen by people who would have NEVER seen it otherwise, and maybe some DVD sales taboot. Now compare that with a screening of maybe the same amount of people at a theater, which just to get in the door can run anywhere between $300-$1200 for a buy out, depending on what city you live in - not to mention the advertising you've got to do just to be sure you won't lose your shirt. By showing it in a grassroots way, and eliminating nearly ALL overhead, you've just actually MADE money if you even sell just one DVD. Maybe Jimmy's house isn't as prestigeous as Mann's Chinese, but you just made $$$ making movies.
It's a whole new method of getting a movie out there, far less expensive than the other methods, possibly more profitable for all, and it's kind of a bummer to me that the greater indie community is kind of missing out on this one.
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