morgan_moore
Major Contributor
I scratch break and lose discs, and they dont fit in my Iphone
Id much prefer a HD/Cloud of my films, so I can watch any time on any of my devices, desktop, laptop, phone
S
The future of film distribution... The extinction of the studio.
- Thread starter harcourt22
- Start date
I scratch break and lose discs, and they dont fit in my Iphone
Id much prefer a HD/Cloud of my films, so I can watch any time on any of my devices, desktop, laptop, phone
S
We should be thankful that for now, the industry is looking to accomodate a decent majority of our needs (though I think we can all agree that Netflix, Amazon Instant, Etc. needs to boost their streaming content with newer and bigger titles, but that's not all their fault). Want DVD/BluRay? Great! You can have it! Digital downloads via iTunes? Gotcha covered. "Traditional Media"? You can have that too, and almost all of us have content libraries that span across all the various mediums.
You're right Kholi, a name is important, experience is important at a certain stage, and there is probably a lot of stellar content that gets overlooked every single day, and not-so-stellar content that probably gets a lot more attention than it should (I'm looking at you Real Housewives, "Friday", and the rest). There are people that love that type of content, but anyway...
Twenty years ago, an aspiring filmmaker with good talent would have almost needed a miracle to see their film grace even 1000 TVs. Now the possibility exists for even the most obscure production to get a fair number of views, and for those that stand out, whether good or bad, millions. There's still a fair amount of luck involved, but if you know how to work with the system, you've got a better chance than ever before. It's not even about what films/shorts you've made before, it's about what kind of digital social currency you have. If you've been active in forums, on social media sites, and the like, and you've given a good impression and built a loyal grouping, you're more than likely going to get exposure.
You're right Kholi, a name is important, experience is important at a certain stage, and there is probably a lot of stellar content that gets overlooked every single day, and not-so-stellar content that probably gets a lot more attention than it should (I'm looking at you Real Housewives, "Friday", and the rest). There are people that love that type of content, but anyway...
Twenty years ago, an aspiring filmmaker with good talent would have almost needed a miracle to see their film grace even 1000 TVs. Now the possibility exists for even the most obscure production to get a fair number of views, and for those that stand out, whether good or bad, millions. There's still a fair amount of luck involved, but if you know how to work with the system, you've got a better chance than ever before. It's not even about what films/shorts you've made before, it's about what kind of digital social currency you have. If you've been active in forums, on social media sites, and the like, and you've given a good impression and built a loyal grouping, you're more than likely going to get exposure.
dustylense
Veteran
It's not just movies though: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/str...l-with-time-warner-which-is-big-news-for-you/
Speaking of all of this, traditional distribution channels should kind of be a no-named low-budget/nano-budget features' first intent. I know that it was ours before we even started. The last three years (from the start of the project--meaning way before we shot) I've been doing research on this stuff, it's kind of a bad time to be in the feature world but a good time as well, depending on how you view things and where you are currently.
I kind of wouldn't want to be the guy trying to produce 300K-500K features without A-grade names and very ambitious concepts, but 75K and less? If you have the heart for it, it's not too bad. I say this as I wait for a screener DVD of Avery and Pete... two and a half years later. u_u
I haven't dealt with distribution (advertising is my mainstay for now). I'm not sure where I stand quite yet on indie feature distribution, I think this is a great time to be a documentary filmmaker though!
But look at it this way Kholi, today, you can get more bang for your buck tech wise than you could have ever dreamed of a decade ago. If you have that kind of dough, and a very solid cast and story line, I say go for it, because you still have decent odds. Maybe not for theater distribution, but perhaps for streaming services and online purchases. There are tons of online media outlets with large readerships that need content, and if you are resourceful, you can get your name before thousands will relative ease (as long as you have the work to back it up.). I think it was last week where over 55 million songs were downloaded digitally. Now, you're talking big name artists for the most part with big record labels with big marketing budgets, but even a fraction of that market at say, $2.99/$4.99....
Theater should probably be the last thing anyone's thinking about today. There are a lot of venues to push your content to and you may not hit them all, or be accepted to all, there's just more opportunity to black your project than before, but in small doses versus one big hit. If you look at Netflix and REdbox as prime examples, you can find the same material on both most of the time. That's two payouts for Producers there, and you still haven't hit Amazon, Hulu, Vudu, so on and so forth.
But yeah, anyway, I don't have a grim outlook on things... not yet, anyway. I'll be able to really speak on this stuff within the next two to three months, from aplace of real experience versus just research. That'll be the deciding factor of how I carry on from here on out.
dustylense
Veteran
It's not just so easy to get your flick on Netflix or such. It's still a good idea to enter into film festivals. Itunes and netflix try hard to not become content dumps. http://www.lightsfilmschool.com/blog/how-to-get-your-indie-film-onto-itunes-netflix/1817/
David G. Smith
Steak Knife Member
To paraphrase Mark Twain, the reports of the death of the studios are greatly exaggerated. The 2012 total theatrical receipts for theatrical cinema, world wide as reported by Box Office Mojo, was $10,382,253,521. This yearly total is, in absolute dollars, the highest in history. While the total tickets sold in 2012, 1,364.6 Million, is 14% less than the highest year tracked by Box Office Mojo, 2002 with 1,575.7 million, it is 6.5% higher than 2011. Anyway you look at it, $10.4 Billion in total revenues represents a major industry.
This major industry is still dominated by the major studios. Yes, the viewing of content has been expanded to many, many more platforms, but it still remains that the majority of content consumed on alternative platforms is the studio produced content. Yes, I do also think that these days are the dawning of great days for independent filmmakers, but do not for a minute think that this somehow represents the demise of the established motion picture studios.
This major industry is still dominated by the major studios. Yes, the viewing of content has been expanded to many, many more platforms, but it still remains that the majority of content consumed on alternative platforms is the studio produced content. Yes, I do also think that these days are the dawning of great days for independent filmmakers, but do not for a minute think that this somehow represents the demise of the established motion picture studios.
dustylense
Veteran
Make you wonder why the fiscal cliff bill has tax breaks for the industry? Also keep in mind that theaters are charging what, $12 for a ticket? Then movies like Battleship, that completely erases a studios quarter earnings?
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xD Creative accounting. Read: Harry Potter not recouping money. lol
netflix seems to be the third tier solution
tv shows appear on tv and internet services(next day) and later on blu-ray and dvd and then lastly on netflix(maybe a season later depending on the deal).
movies appear in theater then internet services and netflix.
it's a last resort, when the product has exhausted it's other options(it's not selling as strongly), people consider it the same as watching something when it comes on tv(they don't associate Netflix with brand new product, they might consider it lower than straight to video quality).
tv shows appear on tv and internet services(next day) and later on blu-ray and dvd and then lastly on netflix(maybe a season later depending on the deal).
movies appear in theater then internet services and netflix.
it's a last resort, when the product has exhausted it's other options(it's not selling as strongly), people consider it the same as watching something when it comes on tv(they don't associate Netflix with brand new product, they might consider it lower than straight to video quality).
This is the old and tired way of thinking. A 2009 mindset that really only applies to major productions. Netflix may be the last road you tread as a micro budget but it should've be a part of your VOD attack plan.
rical is a side goal. somethin that you plan on doing on a very limited scale or not at all.
This again is for the micro budget product. One without names and the marketing budget to back it.
dustylense
Veteran
Kholi bought John Carter on blue ray after seeing it twice in the theatre :thumbsup:
john carter, conan the barbarian(the newer one), prince of persia <- the definition of netflix movies(older times: i'll catch it when it's on tv). but netflix will kill most potential itunes or blu-ray sales. they have 30 million users+ watching your potential movie for whatever netflix skimmed you for. but i would say itunes and instant watch and blu-ray are more viable than VOD(if you consider internet services like itunes and amazon instant watch not VOD per say, VOD just scream bad quality straight to video or .99 bin).