Month: December 2013

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Truly Free Film

What Do Film Investors Need To Become A Sustainable Class

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By now I think you know that creating a Sustainable Investor Class For Indie Film is a priority for me.  I have been sharing my thoughts on a weekly basis in this regard for some time now.  Today is a good time to collect those thoughts and take stock as to where we are. Our future depends on us.

If you want to make films for the rest of your life, you not only need to help increase the pool of capital for such creative practices, but you also have to make sure that the money behaves in a smarter fashion than before. You can’t expect people to just do something because it makes sense.  Knowledge rarely influences behavior. To make change, you need to create a system.  That is the next step.

Right now, we can improve the knowledge base, and it is time we focused on the investor base.

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Truly Free Film

Towards A Sustainable Investor Class: Significant Share Of Equity

When you discuss an investment strategy of small bets with many people considering employing this practice of putting a little into a lot in terms of film investment, the word “small” seems to confuse many.  Small does not have to be insignificant.  When investing in a passion project or something that you dream can make the world a better place, most serious investors don’t want to be one of a hundred and certainly not less than that.  They want to be part of the team that makes it happen.

And if the film actually goes on to make significant returns, one hopes that you have enough skin in the game to share in the wealth generated.

How much is enough?  

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Issues and Actions

Direct Distribution Digital Platform List

Courtesy of PBS, and complete with financial splits.  Let’s hope all continue the movement towards a 90% share for filmmakers!

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Truly Free Film

I Am No Longer Going To Produce Films For My Living

Sketch by Richard Ellis
Sketch by Richard Ellis

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I have decided I am no longer going to produce films for my living.  To do so requires me to deliver quantity over quality. Or to not contribute as fully as I like since I won’t be fairly compensated.  Or to make something that is virtually guaranteed to not have the cultural impact it warrants.  Those are three things that I am refusing to be part of.

When I resigned recently from running the San Francisco Film Society, I said

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Truly Free Film

Towards A Sustainable Investor Class: Recognize Non-Financial Returns

In my quest to create a Sustainable Investor Class for Indie Film, it is easy to get bogged down in the numbers.  When one says “investor” hopefully we think first of “profits”, but that is not the only thing that positive choices can generate.  After all, we are talking about investing in culture, right?

American art film is under threat.  Independent film that is not based on the “Oops, I Farted!” template (thanks again to Mike Ryan for naming this category for me) is currently at risk.  That which has been deemed commercial is not only what gets the most traction, it often seems all that people want to talk about. Generally speaking, the industry aims to create what will sell; the harder that get,s the lower they reach.  Independent film was once about what we aspire to be; now it frequently seems to be focused on what we wallow in.Do you really want to be part of that?  It is not just about the money, is  it?

I remain convinced that we all entered the film biz driven to make something great.

How do we

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These Are Those Things

Pressure, Competition, Disruption, Change, Betrayal, Unity, Community, Collaboration, Creation

One of my favorite creation tales is the story of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s & The White Album.  I am no expert and I am sure I get the details wrong, so please feel free to correct me, but in my version it is a great example of the conditions that can lead to creative output (Note: since writing this I have made some amendments)

We all are told that Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is the great album of the rock era, the first true exploration of the art form.  Whether that’s true or not is open for debate, but what it is the first album that The Beatles had no back catalogue to exploit.  

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Truly Free Film

How Much Should I Charge For My Work?

Reprinted from blog.vhx.tv 

You just put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into making a movie – that was hard! Selling it shouldn’t be. But how much should you charge? Can you really put a price on genius? Probably not, but here are some tried-and-true guidelines based on our research that will make the decision to purchase it a no-brainer. Short on time? Skip to our quick guide. 

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1. Single videos (without bonus content) perform best when priced between $4.99 and $9.99.

  • Chalk it up to our mysterious brains: When people see a film for below $4.99, transactions don’t increase. Why undercharge for no reason? On the other end of the spectrum, films exceeding $20 drastically underperform, so it’s best to stay away from that territory.
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