Advice from Joel: Tools for Connecting with Bloggers, Twitterers, Superfans and Groups

Indie producer and editor Joel Heller ran a great lunch discussion at last month's Distribution U. event in Los Angeles, focused on developing a powerful online outreach strategy. Joel worked on the digital marketing strategy for the excellent doc "Winnebago Man," which premiered at South by Southwest in 2009 and was recently released on DVD and on iTunes.

Joel was nice enough to share the notes from his session, along with a collection of links that'll benefit anyone planning an Internet marketing campaign for a forthcoming film, especially as you think about finding existing sites and communities that are likely to be aligned with your theme — what I call "going where your audience is." (I learned a lot from Joel's notes; who knew it was possible to search people's Facebook walls?)

From Joel:

FINDING GROUPS & DISCUSSION FORUMS

Begin to identify your film’s potential “ecosystem” by searching these websites that host groups & discussion forums.

http://www.meetup.com/find
http://groups.google.com
http://groups.yahoo.com
http://www.facebook.com/search.php?&type=groups
http://www.facebook.com/search.php?&type=pages
http://www.ning.com/search
http://groupspaces.com/c/search
http://lists.topica.com
http://www.lsoft.com/catalist.html
http://www.freelists.org
http://omgili.com
http://www.dmoz.org

Tip: Keep an open mind when brainstorming groups that might be interested in your film. We discovered late in our release that pit bull owners were interested in WINNEBAGO MAN. The main character has a pit bull, but we didn’t think to reach out to pit bull owners until someone asked us for a flyer to promote the film to her local pit bull club. After that, we reached out to pit bull clubs in other cities and offered free tickets to the group leaders to come to see the film on opening night.

Tip: When approaching group leaders to work with you, be prepared with ideas of what your can offer them of value. Can you promote their cause? A joint fundraising screening? A poster giveaway or passes to see the movie?

GOOGLE’S “ALERTS MANAGER”

It’s easy to monitor who’s talking about your film and what they’re saying. Google Alerts can be set up to monitor everything from mainstream newspaper sources to blogs and websites.

http://www.google.com/alerts/manage

Tip: Set up Google Alerts, not only to monitor your movie, but for other recently released movies (with similar genre or subject matter). This will help you identify reviewers, bloggers, websites and groups that might also be interested in your film.

Tip: You can configure Google Alert Manager to deliver the results as an RSS newsfeed. I prefer this to getting a deluge of emails. (You must be signed into your Google account to access the alerts manager) My settings are: Everything / As-It-Happens / All Results / RSS Feed


SEARCHING FACEBOOK WALLS

Facebook allows you to search the wall posts of anyone who has not set up their wall to be private. It’s the online equivalent of standing outside a movie theater and listening to how people talk about your movie to their friends.

http://www.facebook.com/search.php?&type=eposts

Tip: This is a great way to discover superfans – who you can message and invite to join your street team. (FB is especially useful for messaging, since Twitter does not allow you to privately message someone unless they are already following you.)


FINDING OLDER TWEETS USING GOOGLE SEARCH “UPDATES”

While Twitter’s search function is limited to recent tweets, Google offers a robust historical Twitter search.

http://google.com
Enter your search term, click search, then select on left side: More > Realtime

Tip: Use the the timeline tool in the upper right corner to go back in time.


CAPTURING ONLINE WORD-OF-MOUTH

Row Feeder is a great tool to automatically archive Twitter and FB wall posts. For each search term you choose, Row Feeder will archive every related tweet and wall post, and save it into a Google Docs Spreadsheet.

http://rowfeeder.com

Tip: If you find yourself addicted to searching Twitter every hour, this is a great way to unplug - and know that you won’t miss anything. Google Doc spreadsheets can be shared, so your whole team can privately access the spreadsheet online.

Tip: You can sort the spreadsheet by any field, so for example, you can easily identify Twitter users with the largest number of followers.


WEBSITE REACH & INFLUENCE

With limited time and resources, how do you decide where to focus your online marketing efforts? These tools show you estimated website traffic. (But traffic should not be your only consideration... Most importantly, how good a fit is your film for a website’s audience?)

http://compete.com
http://alexa.com
http://technorati.com


TWITTERER REACH & INFLUENCE

Tools to make sense of who’s who on Twitter.

http://fflick.com
http://twitaholic.com
http://tweetmeme.com
http://www.twellow.com
http://listorious.com
http://twittercounter.com

Tip: Study how other people are using Twitter successfully. Helpful resources include:

http://mashable.com
http://oneforty.com/
http://140conf.com/


KEYWORD REACH & INFLUENCE

Popular key words and trends can provide a window into how people think - and what they’re looking for online. How can you make it easier for them to stumble upon your film?

http://www.google.com/insights/search/#
http://www.spyfu.com/
http://www.semrush.com/


FINDING RECENT UPLOADS TO YOUTUBE

Normal YouTube searching buries new videos in the results, so this is useful discovering fan reaction videos and mash-ups as they get posted:

http://youtube.com
Enter search term, click search, then select: Search Options > Upload Date

Tip: You can send a private message to any YouTube user by clicking on their username and then “send message”.


ANALYZING YOUR WEBSITE’S TRAFFIC

Google Analytics offers a wealth of data to help you identify how people are using your website, and how they found you.

http://analytics.google.com

Tip: Here are the analytics I find most useful:

Traffic Sources > Referring Sites
What websites linked to your site & how many visitors did they deliver?
Traffic Sources > Keywords
What search terms brought people to your website?
Visitors > Map Overlay
Visitors broken down by their geographic location. You can drill down by country, state and city.
Content > Top Content
What pages are popular on your site and what is the average time visitors spend on each page?

Three Quick Links for the SXSW Crowd

- For my session with ze frank on Saturday, March 13th at 3:30 PM, you can submit questions (and vote on questions submitted by others) right here.

- For my session with Gary Hustwit on Sunday, March 14th at 3:30 PM, you can submit questions (and vote) right here.

- Finally, here's some info about getting your free copy of the Fans, Friends & Followers e-book (a $12 value, as they say on teevee). (BoingBoing was kind enough to blog about the e-book offer, which only lasts for the duration of SXSW, earlier this week.)

(If you find me at the event, I may also have paperback copies of FFF with me [$15], which I'm happy to inscribe. Don't be afraid to ask...)

What I'll Be Up to at SXSW

I'm always psyched to go down to Austin in March for South by Southwest. Austin makes you feel hip even if you are not. I love seeing movies at the Alamo Drafthouse and the Paramount. I really enjoy the collision of interactive people and filmmakers in the same space. I always eat too much barbecue.

This year, I'm doing two sessions there.

One is an on-stage conversation with the pioneering Web artist, prankster, and videomaker ze frank, on Saturday, March 13th. I talked to ze for my book "Fans, Friends & Followers," and I've seen him speak, but we've never really met in person, so I'm looking forward to it. One of the themes we're hoping to explore is how do you really connect with people in the digital realm, get them engaged, get them participating in meaningful ways.

The second, on Sunday, March 14th, is a session with doc-maker Gary Hustwit. I'm going to share some of the tools and strategies from "Fans, Friends & Followers," and we're going to talk about Gary's experiences building awareness for films like "Helvetica" and "Objectified," and how he has handled his DVD and digital distribution.

Hope to see you there -- and if not, SXSW is great about getting videos of all their sessions online in the months after the festival.

SXSW Panel Highlights: Audience-Building for Creatives (Video)

The folks at SXSW did a nice job plucking six minutes of highlights from a really jam-packed panel I moderated this past March.

The panel featured artist Natasha Wescoat, politics blogger Markos "Kos" Moulitsas, musician Jonathan Coulton, filmmaker Brett Gaylor, and animator Burnie Burns. (Everyone but Markos is featured in some way in Fans, Friends & Followers.)



I posted an MP3 of the complete panel earlier this year.... and in the current issue of SXSW World magazine, I have a short piece about audience-building on page 24.

New approaches to audience-building are a big focus of SXSW each year -- and it's obviously an issue I care a lot about.

Two-Sentence Movie Reviews from SXSW

Continuing the CinemaTech tradition, I'm posting two-sentence reviews of the films I saw while at SXSW this week.

- "RiP: A Remix Manifesto"

Brett Gaylor's energetic and fast-moving documentary asks whether we need to rethink the way creative products are copyrighted, with the goal of fostering more creativity. The film has a strong point of view, and dissenting voices aren't really heard from, but "RiP" seems like just the thing to spark a very important conversation about the laws surrounding intellectual "property."

- "Luckey"

Tom Luckey is a Connecticut architect who is paralyzed when he falls out the window of a house he designed. Laura Longsworth's near-perfect documentary explores in a deep and touching way how the accident changes his relationship with his wife and son, who steps in to help with Luckey's architecture practice, and the only flaw is that this very engaging film comes to a bit of a screeching halt at the end, stopping just before two very crucial events happen.

- "Observe & Report"

If you imagine Travis Bickle as a mall security guard, and "Taxi Driver" as a comedy, you'll have a bit of a sense of the weirdness that is "Observe & Report." Maybe Seth Rogen is so popular he can do no wrong, but I found the lack of consequences and one-dimensional characters to be dull and unfunny, and I stopped caring what would happen next about half-way through.

South by Southwest: Panels on DVD, Digital Distribution, and Audience-Building

I'm looking forward to South by Southwest next month, in Austin.

I'll be doing two panels, and also hoping to see two docs made by people whom I've gotten to know: 'RiP: A Remix Manifesto' and 'Winnebago Man.'

I'll also be doing two panels...

On Sunday, March 15th: 'Building Your Audience Online.' The theme here connects directly to my next book, 'Fans, Friends and Followers': how do you build an audience for your work, and ideally get that audience to support you? Panelists include:

Natasha Wescoat, Artist/Blogger, Natasha Wescoat Inc
Jonathan Coulton, Musician
Brett Gaylor, Filmmaker, 'RiP: A Remix Manifesto'
Burnie Burns, Rooster Teeth Productions ('Red vs. Blue')
Markos Moulitsas, The Daily Kos

Then on Monday, March 16th: 'The Future of DVD and Digital Distribution. How long will physical DVD sales remain a viable business (and will Blu-ray help prolong their lifespan)? How are filmmakers selling digital downloads and rentals on iTunes and other outlets, and how do digital revenues stack up? Panelists include:

Matt Dentler, Cinetic Media
Rick Allen, CEO, Snag Films
Gary Hustwit, Director, 'Objectified' and 'Helvetica'
Steve Savage, President, New Video
Morgan Spurlock, Filmmaker, Warrior-Poets

Of course, I'll try to post notes and/or audio afterward. The full SXSW Film panel schedule is here.

I will also be doing the pre-release for my new book, 'Fans, Friends and Followers,' at SXSW. I'll have a few early copies for sale, and will be doing a signing at the SXSW Bookstore on Monday, March 16th at 1 PM.

Hope to see you in Austin!

Worth a Gander: Web site for 'Objectified,' Gary Huswit's New Doc

Gary Huswit made a splash in 2007 with 'Helvetica,' a documentary that told the story of the world's most influential typeface. (It's airing on PBS this month.)

His new doc is 'Objectified,' about product design, and it'll premiere at SXSW this March.

The site is here. Hard to think of what else you'd want from the Web site for a film that has yet to be released: there's a trailer, a list of some of the better-known interviewees, a newsletter you can sign up for, a blog, and products you can buy. Most interesting option: for $500, you can become an "Objectifier." What do you get?

- An Objectified T-shirt
- An Objectified limited-edition silkscreen print by Build
- A “Helvetica” Blu-ray special edition by Experimental Jetset
- An invite for you and a guest to either the New York or London private sneak preview (whichever’s closer to you) of Objectified in early 2009, before the general public sees it
- A copy of the DVD of Objectified when it’s released
- Your name (or your company’s name if you prefer) will appear in the “thank you” section of the film’s credits
- More perks as we think them up

Also interesting that the first place Huswit released the movie's trailer to was Gizmodo, a site for techies and gadget hounds. That spawned dozens of comments, including, "Wow! That movie looks amazing. I had never heard of Helvetica before, I'm going to be checking it out."

A great way to tap into big audiences online that will likely be interested in the film...

IFC, SXSW Experimenting with Festival Releases

IFC continues to tinker with release windows, trying to expand the audience for indie films. The latest experiment involves releasing Joe Swanberg's 'Alexander the Last,' along with films from Javor Gardev and Matthew Newton, on cable video-on-demand the same time they play the South by Southwest Film Festival in March.

Here's the Variety coverage.

From that piece:

"It's our job to connect talent with audiences," said SXSW's [Janet] Pierson. "Conversations are getting louder about how festivals can and should aggressively help filmmakers."

"It's a smarter way to make the release an event," added Swanberg. "Better than just sitting in a theater, waiting on people to come."

..."At a time when the U.S. marketplace for truly American independent and foreign films is rapidly changing, and many films are having difficulty getting exposure, IFC Films has created opportunities for a wide range of films to find an audience," said [IFC president Jonathan] Sehring.

Podcast Conversation with Me & Peter Broderick

To help SXSW launch a new podcast series, Studio SX Online, distribution consultant Peter Broderick and I recorded a conversation last month... focusing mainly on my book Inventing the Movies, but also discussing the broader topic of technological change in the movies -- and the opportunities it creates for filmmakers.

The SXSW site has a 17-minute version of the chat. I've also posted the full, 28-minute conversation (in MP3 form).

Here's the description:

In our first podcast Indie film guru Peter Broderick interviews Scott Kirsner about Scott's new book, "Inventing the Movies," which tells the story of Hollywood's love-hate relationship with new ideas and new technologies, from the days of Thomas Edison to the era of YouTube and the iPod. Peter and Scott also discuss digital projection and cinematography, emerging opportunities for indie filmmakers today, the initial reaction to Dogma 95, experiments by filmmakers like Jonathan Caouette and Robert Greenwald, and how festivals are changing.

Dentler, Cinetic, and Deal Terms

SXSW Film Festival head Matt Dentler is heading to New York to help run the rights management division of Cinetic Media. Here's the Variety coverage and here's IndieWIRE's report. Dentler posted just a short note about the new gig on his blog.

Cinetic Media, founded by attorney John Sloss, is one of the best-known rep firms in the independent film world. They've handled the sales of titles like 'Supersize me,' 'Bowling for Columbine,' 'Little Miss Sunshine,' and 'Napoleon Dynamite.'

Dentler and Cinetic have an interesting challenge ahead of them. Their mission is to find the best indie content and sell it to portals, VOD services, and other aggregators who'll produce revenue through advertising, subscriptions, or paid downloads. (A deal with iTunes, which Cinetic doesn't yet have to my knowledge, would be key.)

But they're also gonna keep 50 percent of the gross receipts from those deals, according to a Cinetic contract given to one filmmaker I know last fall. That isn't a bad deal if Cinetic is creating eye-popping revenues from a film that wouldn't have otherwise had them, but some download sites and DVD-on-demand services will pass along 70 percent or more to a filmmaker, if a filmmaker chooses to go the do-it-yourself route. Through Cinetic, that same take gets split in half. And Cinetic's contract -- at least the one I saw -- appoints Cinetic as the "sole and exclusive agent" for the work for ten years.

From IndieWire's blog report:

Monday's announcement stirred greater interest in Cinetic's new division, which company founder John Sloss said Monday is aimed at working with just the sorts of independent filmmakers for which SXSW has become an important home in recent years. In the words of an announcement, Cinetic noted that CRM will "aggressively exploit content opportunities" in the digital market, ranging from sales negotiation and strategy, organization of digital encoding logistics, marketing support, as well as accounting and reporting. Dentler will work closely with Janet Brown, CRM's chief operating officer, to program titles for various new media platforms (ranging from VOD outlets to online distributors like iTunes, Netlix or Amazon). Core aspects will include marketing and montezing the relationships between the filmmakers and these emerging distributors.

"I've been saying for awhile now, seeing the worlds of new media and film overlap at SXSW, that there is a whole realm of possibility that the industry has yet to define. Young up-and-coming filmmakers are not finding a tradtional distribution deal, and I hope to help service that," explained Dentler, who joined SXSW as an intern more than ten years ago, rising to become head of the film fest back in 2003. "I was tired of watching great films come and go, and I'm excited to be at Cinetic so that I can put my money where my mouth is."

A Multimedia Buffet for You

Just finished having a late lunch in San Jose with bicycle-riding auteur/sage/animator M dot Strange.

One of the topics we touched on was artists (whether they're musicians, filmmakers, writers, photographers, whatever) who've been pioneers, in terms of cultivating an audience online. (If you have thoughts, post them in the comments here -- this is for my current writing project.)

He pointed me to the video of this talk he gave in Berlin recently, "Adventures in Self-Distribution." (In his usual humble way, of course.)

Then Jarod Neece of SXSW e-mailed to let me know they've just posted a mess of podcasts from this year's panels, including "Video Production for the Web and Mobile Devices," "Quit Your Day Job and Vlog," and two I moderated, "Digital Cinema for Indies" and "Animation and Digital Effects on a Budget."

That's a lot to watch and listen to...

Digital Effects and Animation Panel from SXSW

Some belated notes from Sunday's SXSW panel on 'Animation and Digital Effects on a Budget'...

We talked a lot about the importance of pre-visualization (what used to be called simply 'storyboarding.') The panelists agreed that pre-viz, in whatever high-tech or low-tech form, is probably more important for independent filmmakers working on a tight budget than it is for the studio-backed big guys.

Alex Lindsay recommended Google SketchUp. Stu Maschwitz said he'd pre-vizzed national ad (for Toshiba's HD DVD gear, alas) using video from his Panasonic DMC LX2 digital camera; the camera costs less than $300. Others said that even pencil sketches of stick figures can work well, edited together in FinalCut or not. Stu said he'd also recommended that a friend use a PlayStation 2 game called 'Driver 2' to pre-viz a car chase he wanted to shoot. Stu said there's lots of potential in using videogames (and videogame controllers) to pre-viz quickly.

I asked about some recent work that might be encouraging to people working on tight budgets. Among the stuff mentioned was Don Hertzfeld's animation, the Galacticast podcast, 'Persepolis,' and 'Hoodwinked.'

Geoff Marslett showed some early footage from his new feature project, 'Mars,' which he's making for under $200K. It involves some pretty stylish rotoscoping. Mark Forker showed some work done by his new Philadelphia visual effects studio Dive, for an indie director.

And Stu offered a break-down of how he made a quick-and-dirty, but very impressive, ad for a Southwest Airlines "Wanna Get Away?" Internet contest (he didn't win, but should have). It's here.

'Digital Cinema for Indies' panel at SXSW

The big challenge of today's 'Digital Cinema for Indies' panel at SXSW was explaining both the technical intricacies and the business parameters of digital cinema. But we tried.

The big challenge right now is that most of the 4000 or so digital screens in the US show studio content, delivered by AccessIT. Those screens aren't very accessible to independent filmmakers and small distributors. And the cost of mastering completed movies to the DCI standard, a file format designed by the major studios, is still quite high. Right now, panelist Russ Wintner said, "there are four labs in LA -- a virtual monopoly -- that can turn out a DCP." (The DCP, or digital cinema package, is the term for the final DCI file that's sent out to theaters, whether via satellite or hard drive.)

So what's the answer for an indie filmmaker looking to get her movie out to theaters in digital form? You could master the movie yourself, commandeer a hard drive, and tote it around to theaters, as panelist Lance Weiler did in 2006 with 'Head Trauma.' (Lance is something of a technical genius, so you may not want to try that yourself.) Or you could work with networks like Emerging Pictures -- which is fairly selective of what it picks up for distribution but has a nice network of digital venues around the country. (Emerging doesn't do four-walling, or screenings paid for by filmmakers that allow them to keep the entire box office take.) A somewhat more open option is Truly Indie, part of the Landmark Theatres empire.

Both Emerging and Truly Indie say that the costs of digital cinema distribution through their networks is usually cheaper than striking a film print.

(Update: This Hollywood Reporter piece, focused on the ShoWest trade show in Vegas, talks a bit about how the three biggest chains are approaching digital cinema.)

The Future of the Movie Trailer

An impromptu dinner at SXSW last night brought together an interesting group, including Arin Crumley ('Four Eyed Monsters'), Lance Weiler ('Head Trauma'), Brian Chirls, and producer and Filmmaker Magazine editor Scott Macaulay.

One topic we talked about over barbecue at the Iron Works was movie trailers: is it time to retire the idea of the trailer? Or just radically revamp it? (The very word 'trailer' is archaic; coming attractions used to play after the feature..."trailing" it.)

Here are some questions to think about:

- In an age when it costs nothing to distribute clips and promotional material from your film, why have just one trailer?

- Why are trailers only made once the movie is done and ready for release? What about sharing material (even, heaven forbid, non-polished material) while the film is in production, or post?

- The trailer genre is unabashedly sales-y. "Let's show you some great moments to try to convince you to go see this movie." What about more authentic approaches to introducing the audience to your story, your characters, your issue?

- Why not explain, as the filmmaker, what attracted you to the material, or why you wanted to tell this story, or playing a character of your own devising? (Alfred Hitchcock used to introduce his movies in the trailers. Check out Hitch promoting 'Psycho.') If you're a documentary filmmaker, maybe you could provide an introduction to the issue your film is about... with some stats, background, and images.

- Could a trailer (or series of trailers) offer 'entry points' into a movie, as Wes Anderson did with his 'Hotel Chevalier' short? Rather than excerpting the movie in a trailer, why not tell a story about one or more of the characters that pulls the viewer into the full-length film?

Scott Macaulay pointed out that many directors aren't good at cutting their own trailers. And he said that some filmmakers might worry about posting material early in the process: that can make it clear just how long it's taking to get your movie finished.

Brian Chirls and I talked a bit about using clips on sites like YouTube not just to generate buzz, but to get potential audience members to give you their e-mail address, or subscribe to an RSS feed of updates. (That's helpful later, when you want to try to get them to show up to a theater, or buy a DVD or download.) Chirls said the best solution is to use sites like YouTube to bring people over to your site (via a link in the "About this Video" box), and explain to them really simply how to sign up for your RSS feed, add your Facebook group to their profile, or enter their e-mail address to get occasional updates on the film.

In general, we agreed that most filmmakers are just so focused on making the feature, and then making the next feature, that they don't spend enough time exploring innovative ways to market and promote their work.

SXSW ... 1,000 True Fans ... HBO's 'In Treatment' ... Movie Production Costs Keep Rising

Just a few links before I head to Austin on Friday morning for the SXSW Film Festival.... I'll be heading up two panels, one on Saturday called Digital Cinema for Indies, and one on Sunday called Animation and Digital Effects on a Budget.

- Kevin Kelly, one of the founders of Wired, has a wonderfully thoughtful essay titled '1,000 True Fans.' Here's part of the opening:

...the long tail is a decidedly mixed blessing for creators. Individual artists, producers, inventors and makers are overlooked in the equation. The long tail does not raise the sales of creators much, but it does add massive competition and endless downward pressure on prices. Unless artists become a large aggregator of other artist's works, the long tail offers no path out of the quiet doldrums of minuscule sales.

Other than aim for a blockbuster hit, what can an artist do to escape the long tail?

One solution is to find 1,000 True Fans. While some artists have discovered this path without calling it that, I think it is worth trying to formalize. The gist of 1,000 True Fans can be stated simply:

A creator, such as an artist, musician, photographer, craftsperson, performer, animator, designer, videomaker, or author - in other words, anyone producing works of art - needs to acquire only 1,000 True Fans to make a living.

- Michael DiBasio is cheesed that HBO seduced him with free episodes of 'In Treatment,' then turned off the tap. I'd argue that HBO is going to have a very hard time offering its content online in any form ... whether paid downloads at iTunes, or ad-supported streams ... because its biggest revenue stream is cable and satellite companies, who want that content to be their exclusively. (Why else do people pay $100 a month for cable, except for HBO and Showtime?)

- The average cost of producing and marketing a studio movie in 2007 hit an all-time high, according to the Wall Street Journal (based on data from the MPAA): $106.6 million. Releases from studio "specialty" divisions, like Fox Searchlight, was $74.8 million, a big jump from the prior year. But it was also the best year ever for the US box office, led by Sony Pictures' 'Spider-Man 3.' The studios raked in almost $10 billion (and that's ticket sales only -- no home video.)

Eisner's Next Online Series: 'The All-for-Nots'

The NY Times explores Michael Eisner's online video ventures, in advance of Eisner's appearance next week at SXSW to promote his new online series, 'The All-for-Nots.' (Eisner will be interviewed by Mark Cuban -- sure to be news-making.)

So now the question is: who'll crack the creative challenges of Web video (and figure out the right economic model) first.... Eisner, or his former employer, Disney?

Two Great Podcasts for the Price of None

Remember podcasts? Those great audio files you can listen to on your computer while you're doing other stuff -- or transfer to your iPod? They're free?

- Back in March, I moderated a really informative panel at South by Southwest on "Building an Online Fan Base." The MP3 audio is here, and for context, there's some textual coverage of the panel here. Panelists were:

> Scilla Andreen, IndieFlix
> Jim Miller, Brave New Foundation
> Ian Schafer, Deep Focus
> David Straus, Without A Box
> Joe Swanberg, Filmmaker
> Lance Weiler, Filmmaker and Editor, The Workbook Project

- Speaking of The Workbook Project, Lance has just posted an interview with Nicholas Reville of the Participatory Culture Foundation, which is trying to ensure that the medium of Internet TV stays open and independent.

Roundtable on the Future of Indie Filmmaking, from SXSW

When I was at SXSW over the weekend, the film Web site Spout.com was nice enough to invite me to a dinner roundtable with filmmakers Ry Russo-Young ('Orphans') and Lance Weiler ('Head Trauma') and film blogger Alison Willmore from IFC.

We talked about marketing, distribution, and whether the tiny cell phone screen represents the new face of cinema. They had a couple cameras there to record the conversation... which I think taught all four of us a very important lesson: never let them film you while you eat.

Here's Part 1:

Part 2:

At SXSW: Robert Rodriguez, Harry Knowles, and 'Grindhouse 101'

Here at SXSW...lots of good panels yesterday about Internet video, next-gen TV, and other digital stuff. Will try to post some impressions...

But this morning, I'm at the 'Grindhouse 101' session. Robert Rodriguez and Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News are reminiscing about the movies of their youth. Harry remembers seeing lots of blaxploitation films as a kid -- his parents considered him some sort of psychological experiment, apparently. Robert recalls going to a drive-in with multiple screens, and watching snippets (without sound) of movies like 'Aliens,' 'Boob Tube,' and 'Jaws.'

Rodriguez says the clips he's showing today haven't yet been reviewed by the MPAA -- that happens next week. So everything could change.

Harry and Robert agree that Quentin Tarantino has seen a lot more grindhouse movies than the two of them -- and owns prints of many of them. They plug the QT Fests, held each year in Austin, with Hillbilly Night, Revenge Night, White Trash Night (all Burt Reynolds films), Sexploitation Night. Robert does a pretty good Quentin impression.

Harry credits Quentin and his fests for literally "changing the taste of cinema in Austin."

Robert says watching Quentin's scratched-up prints of old grindhouse movies was a totally different experience from seeing the plain, bland, cleaned-up DVDs of the same movies. He tried to emulate the authentic aesthetics with 'Grindhouse,' employing a red wash, for instance, when Quentin's character goes nuts. "Any time you can put something new in your tool box as a filmmaker...it gave me a whole new paintbrush." They used red washes, emulating an old red faded print, the red creeping across the screen. "In some sections, I turned it green. It looks like the print went bad, but it looks really great -- what a fantastic accident," Robert says.

"I used the digital to make it look like what I thought it should've looked like back in the day."

They also played around with dropping out the soundtrack, and then bringing it back in to accentuate a dramatic moment. Rodriguez talks about the "missing" pieces of his film's second act -- he never filmed that part, because it has always bored him. It's the "missing reel." Let the audience figure out what happened...

Rodriguez says he started writing 'Planet Terror' (his half of 'Grindhouse') 11 years ago, and showed it to Harry -- but the script never went anywhere. He always thought zombie movies would come back -- and of course, they did -- but he never got a chance to make his... until now.

They show some trailers from grindhouse movies, like 'Green Slime' and 'Crippled Masters'... and then an exerpt from the 'Planet Terror' half of 'Grindhouse,' which looks wonderfully aged -- and gory. Afterward, Rodriguez jokes that the gruesome demise of a dog might not make it past the MPAA, even for the R rating he expects to get.

"Grindhouse cinema to me now just means freedom," Rodriguez says. "That became the catchphrase on the set... at some point, you've got to shoot. Someone would say, 'The light's in the shot.' We'd say, 'It's a grindhouse movie, so what. We'd just keep shooting."

Sorry, but I have to duck out, just as they start showing the trailers that were submitted for the 'Grindhouse' trailer contest... but the first, 'Hobo with a Shotgun,' is hysterical.