Film Arts Workshop on Digital Distribution + Marketing

Thursday's workshop at Film Arts Foundation in San Francisco was a lot of fun. We had a dozen participants, and two guest speakers: documentary filmmaker Jim Kerns, and distributor Alex Afterman of Heretic Films. Both were *hugely popular* with the students.

Jim talked about his experience selling DVDs of his doc "Destination: Bangalore." He has targeted universities, since the movie is about outsourcing and globalization. He has been disappointed by an arrangement that has put his movie on Jaman, where it is one of the most popular titles; he has seen no payments so far. His next movie is about Shell Oil's attempt to build a pipeline in the northwest of Ireland, and the towns that aren't wild about the prospect.

Alex said that shelf space for indie DVDs at big retailers like BestBuy has been getting "tighter and tighter." But he said he is optimistic that "digital distribution is the future of independent film." Selling DVDs involves manufacturing costs, graphic design, the risk of returns. A $19.95 DVD might generate $8.50 for Heretic, which then takes out its operating expenses and does a 50/50 split with the filmmaker.

Digital may produce more, even at lower sticker prices, he said. "I call it 'closing the loop.' There are all these social networks where people congregate who might be interested in your movie. They can immediately click and buy the film [digitally], and it's easy and affordable. That is where the future of independent film is going."

One movie Heretic distributes is Joe Swanberg's 'Kissing on the Mouth.' He said that an Internet video series that Swanberg made for Nerve.com, "Young American Bodies," was watched by more than half a million people. That helped to propel sales of the 'Kissing' DVD.

I'm talking with people now about doing the workshop in other places; let me know if you'd like to bring it to a town near you. Here are the slides (if you re-use them in some way, please credit CinemaTech and include the site's URL):

Film Arts Foundation Class on Digital Distribution & Marketing

The Film Arts Foundation in San Francisco has just released their fall course catalog (it's here in PDF form).

On October 11th, I'm going to be teaching a session on Digital Distribution and Marketing, featuring lots of case studies. I'd be grateful if you'd help spread the word to creative folks you know who are interested in this topic.

Here's the course description:

DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION + MARKETING
Thursday, October 11, 7-10pm

Once you’ve finished a film or video project, how do you get your work seen by millions, and ideally make some coin in the process? In this workshop, we’ll examine some of the new opportunities (and challenges) the Internet presents to next-gen creatives, whether you’re making short videos, features, or docs What are the on-line options for selling DVDs-on-demand or digital downloads? This workshop will provide constructive answers and case studies and address your specific issues.

Attendees will receive a free copy of the e-book The Future of Web Video: New Opportunities for Producers,
Entrepreneurs, Media Companies and Advertisers.

To register: online registration is here, or you can e-mail education@filmarts.org, or call Film Arts Foundation at (415) 552-8760 x311. It costs $50 for Film Arts members, $115 for everyone else. (A filmmaker-level membership is $65, so for $115 you can take this class and have a one-year membership.)

i-Caught: Internet videos on primetime TV

Back in June, I spoke with Jason Schlosberg, a Washington, DC attorney who occasionally writes for the Film Arts Foundation magazine. We talked about some of the options for monetizing an incredible safari video shot by a friend of Jason's, which had achieved viral success on YouTube (13 million views and counting.)

Now, Jason has licensed the clip to ABC for a new show called i-Caught; it's reviewed in the NY Times today, and airs on ABC tonight. We'll see how well Internet videos work in this broadcast context; it's an idea that has been tried before on cable, but never on primetime TV.

And it'll be tempting, tomorrow morning, to see whether Schlosberg's clip on i-Caught attracts more viewers on TV than it did on YouTube -- even though it'll clearly generate more money for him and his friend.

(The safari clip, "Battle at Kruger," is below - if you're squeamish, you may want to skip it.)

From Release Print: 'The Still-Unsolved Riddles of Digital Distribution'

Michael Read over at the Film Arts Foundation has put out another great issue of Release Print, their every-other-month print mag. This one is dubbed the "Distribution 2.0 Reader" -- a collection of stories, case studies, and profiles focusing on the new rules of movie distribution.

There's lots of good stuff in there, including stories about Adrian Belic ('Beyond the Call'), Lance Weiler ('Head Trauma') and Luke Wolbach ('Row Hard, No Excuses'). I also contributed a piece headlined, "Mystery Cyber Theater: The Still-Unsolved Riddles of Digital Distribution."

The PDF of that story is here, with Michael's permission. The opening:

Digital distribution, circa 2007, resembles a high-concept science fiction script: conceptually intriguing, potentially feasible, but not quite part of the fabric of reality.

Many of the elements required for a direct connection between filmmaker and audience are already in place. The average internet user in the United States now watches more than 100 minutes of video per month, typically over a high-speed connection. According to Apple, iTunes customers have so far purchased more than 1.3 million movies and 50 million
television episodes. Several websites, including GreenCine, CustomFlix, and Dovetail, provide free hosting for full-length features, and cut the creator in on the revenues each time a movie is viewed.

A few filmmakers have experimented with making their work available through these new channels. Despite these forays, digital distribution still hasn’t arrived as a viable, financially sound option for independent filmmakers. This may be a transitional year, however, as more consumers rent and purchase mainstream studio movies in digital form, and install the technology necessary to view them on a TV screen. Wider consumption of digitally delivered indies may quickly follow.