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MillimeterThe Distribution Beat
Dec 16, 2009 12:00 PM, By Eric Melin
Distribution strategies for indie filmmakers.
Jon Reiss has produced and directed features, documentaries, shorts, and music videos for the past 30 years.
Jon Reiss has produced and directed features, documentaries, shorts, and music videos for the past 30 years. The Los Angeles-based filmmaker's new book, Think Outside The Box Office: The Ultimate Guide To Film Distribution And Marketing For The Digital Era, covers the wide spectrum of new media opportunities available for indie filmmakers today.
On your Facebook page, you wrote that the "indie world and studios [are] converging faster than anyone thinks." What are some recent examples and how does this benefit the indie/DIY filmmaker?
Reiss: Studios are starting to use CreateSpace for their obscure titles, just to get them out. Comcast is buying NBC Universal and has been rumored to be interested in experimenting with creative windowing in their releases—video on demand (VOD) will have much more prominence. This will benefit indies by getting consumers experienced in and used to using alternative sources and models of distribution.
Reiss' book, Think Outside The Box Office: The Ultimate Guide To Film Distribution And Marketing For The Digital Era, covers the wide spectrum of new media opportunities available for indie filmmakers today.
You started posting questions and ideas/tips on Twitter about film distribution and marketing. How important is it for a filmmaker to have a Twitter account and how can they use it effectively?
I feel a Twitter account is important for building up a fan base, especially if there is a link and consistency to your work. Twitter is one way to have your fans help you promote your work to their followers and help spread the word. It is also an easy way to communicate and get feedback from your fans. It does take some time and effort to keep up with it, and it especially takes some start-up time. It takes about a month to get used to it and start building up a regular base. TweetDeck is [a] helpful [application] for keeping track of your feeds, mentions, and follows. Bit.ly is helpful for posting items from the Internet to your account, although TweetDeck will compress [URLs] as well.
How can filmmakers leverage giving away certain free content against a paying model for their features? Or should filmmakers look at turning that idea on its head? Can income be generated in other ways while the film itself is given away for free? I'm thinking specifically of musicians who have their music downloaded illegally but make their money on touring and merchandise.
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I think giving away your film for free needs to be coordinated with your overall release strategy and should be limited, if you can control it. Companies have been doing free giveaways forever, but if they gave everything away for free, they would cease to exist. Perhaps I sound like a corporate tool, but if people don't pay for this content, independent filmmakers will go away as well. I think the pirate community needs to recognize a fundamental difference between corporate and independent work. I feel that there needs to be more collaboration between the pirate community and filmmakers, similar to what Vodo is doing [allowing users to download and share releases for free under a Creative Commons license]. There is a fundamental problem in the independent film world: How will filmmakers continue to make films and earn a living if people continue to watch the work for free and don't contribute to the filmmakers?
While the music comparison works to some extent—and I support and encourage filmmakers to make merchandise that their audiences are likely to purchase and to tour with their work—the work of film has some essential differences from music. Repeat listening in music is quite different from that of film, and I would venture that the fan relationship between films and audiences and musicians and audiences is a bit different. In general, it is much less expensive to produce a piece of music than it is a feature film, so the amount needed to recoup is a bit different as well.
If filmmakers don't have the time or inclination to devote to distributing and marketing their films can you give any recommendations on some new media companies that have helpful or affordable models to do that for them?
There are a number of interesting companies, but filmmakers still need to be involved. Why would you not be involved in your release? Why would you just hand it off completely? Filmmakers have never done that completely—neither have musicians, artists, authors, or any creative artists. Also, any new company will want to work collaboratively with the filmmaker. But I do feel that it is important to work with experienced, reliable companies since they have established relationships and are in the business of marketing and distribution. Here are some interesting folks doing interesting things who have an understanding of the new media landscape:
- Bside (for all)
- Indieflix (for DVD and digital)
- Cinetic (for digital)
- New Video (for DVD and digital)
- The Collaborative (for digital)
- Fox Lorber (for DVD)
Continue the discussion on “Crosstalk” the Millimeter Forum.