Month: February 2013

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Truly Free Film

Forward! Film Funding’s Future

By Rob Millis

Two changes in tech and finance are about to have a huge impact on independent film: crowdfunding and the JOBS Act.

We all know about Kickstarter and IndieGoGo, the crowdfunding platforms that have been helping independent creators launch projects. These platforms and others have already been hugely successful with DIY projects and direct-to-fan networking, yet even after years of growing popularity they haven’t come anywhere close to their full potential.

Last year the Slated networking and fundraising platform joined the market as well. Slated offers a system geared toward film professionals seeking (or supplying) investment dollars. Unlike previous crowdfunding platforms, Slated’s approach is less about DIY and more about professional partnerships. In short, they are taking crowdfunding to the next level.

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Truly Free Film

Diary of a Film Startup: Post # 21: Delivery Begins

By Roger Jackson

Previously: Video-on-Demand Sales Tips

Distributing the Betas
We’ve started delivering films to video-on-demand outlets. That may not sound like much — we could have done it 3 months ago by sending them a hard drive. But these are highly complex — and automated — deliveries, with literally hundreds of variables in the transcode presets, the type of poster image, the metadata fields, the trailer, the subtitles or closed captions…an error in any element will get the film rejected by the very rigorous Quality Control (QC) at the outlets. We’re impatient to get the films live so we can share some links with you — but we’re sanguine also. Even after a film gets to Amazon or iTunes or any other outlet it can take up to 90 days to go live — like it or not, that’s the reality we face.

Greek, Spanish & English
We decided to use a foreign film — the stunning Greek drama DOS — as our very first delivery. It looks stunning, every outlet has ordered it, and DOS is a great “use case” since it involves three languages. It’s a Greek film — set in Spain — with English subtitles.

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Truly Free Film

HBS Production Diary Part 2: Breaking Down the Numbers for Independent Films

By Kavita Pullapilly

 

Making an independent film profitable requires finding patterns of success in the numbers. For instance, only nine independent films between 2010 and 2011 managed to break $10 million in the box office without appearing on at least 1,000 screens at their widest release.  These nine films all were either nominated for Academy awards, based on best-selling books or directed by Robert Redford.

A team from Harvard Business School looked into some of these patterns as they analyzed the independent film market and searched for ways independents could be attractive to studios.

Fresh content and recognizable stars are the key to getting those box office tickets, air time, and downloads. And your strategy to approaching the theatrical run can also determine how a film does in other markets. Speaking with industry executives, it seems that a successful box office run is still extremely important in driving revenues in other windows.

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Truly Free Film

Forward! Facebook Advertising

By Rob Millis

Facebook ads are perhaps the most targeted promotional tool available to filmmakers on a limited budget. Instead of tying your ads to search terms, Facebook advertising enables targeting based on location, particular interests, even employer.

Let’s say you’re promoting a documentary film about the Boston Marathon. Instead of spending money to reach a million people interested in “running” (who may not really care about marathons), you can focus ads more accurately by reaching people who have expressed clear interest in specific races like Bay to Breakers or the Boston Marathon, as well as those who have indicated that they are training for a marathon.

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Issues and Actions

Just Because You Can, Doesn’t Mean You Should

Let’s say you are one of the biggest corporations in the universe, and you own the most successful company in a particular sector, and they in turn own one of the most popular purveyors of a particular type of product; and, well, in some ways there is no denying that each of you are revolutionary.  Between the three of you, you have provided an unprecedented structure that allows anyone to reach virtually everyone at what appears — on first blush — to be no cost, or at least very little.  On top of that, you give people a way to actually make a few cents on what they love doing anyway (pennies for your passion, pennies for your passion — we don’t even need a rallying cry in this world of win win).  Does this alleviate the need to work ethically or even just the need to do the right thing?

Not sure what I am writing about?  Well….   If you haven’t yet read or heard about the contracts that Machinima, Maker Studios, and other YouTube partners have evidently demanded their makers sign, you might want to.  

But be warned this knowledge may cause harmful

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Truly Free Film

The State Of Cinema (As Per Christine Vachon)

I totally dig that the San Francisco Film Society does these “State Of Cinema” Addresses.  Jonathon Lethem, Kevin Kelly, Tilda Swinton.  CHRISTINE VACHON.

Video streaming by Ustream

 

Who will it be this year? Some of you

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Truly Free Film

Blue Potato — Knowing the Film Market

By Kavita Pullapilly 
 
Following a successful and well-curated Sundance Film Festival, this is shaping up to be a great year for independent films. But in order to be financially viable, significant planning and business strategies need to happen in script development and pre-production to make indie films appealing to the global market. 
 
Last year, award-winning filmmakers Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly worked with a team from Harvard Business School to develop an innovative strategy for independent filmmakers and studios to work together successfully.  With their new feature film, Blue Potato, Aron and Gita have now begun implementing this road map that will allow both the filmmaker and distribution partner to limit their risk, increase audience reach, and maximize potential profitability.

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