Month: January 2014

Categories
Truly Free Film

Beer Buzz: Strong Bones Discovered in “Fragile” Cinematic Ecosystem

By Steven C. Beer

The state of the independent film business is a hot topic this week following the January 12 Manohla Dargis New York Times piece. The article cautions that an abundance of “lackluster, forgettable and just plain bad” films flooding New York City theaters distracts the entertainment media, overwhelms audiences and threatens to destroy the health of our “already fragile cinematic ecosystem”.  As we head to Park City to attend the Sundance and Slamdance film festivals, Dargis urgently requests that distributors stop buying so many movies. She proposes that we focus on curation, not consumption.

While the article makes some good points, it also raises some critical questions about the condition of the American Independent Cinema. How many films should be produced and released in theaters and on other platforms (cable, internet, broadcast, DVD) each year? Is it possible to have too many films?

Continue reading “Beer Buzz: Strong Bones Discovered in “Fragile” Cinematic Ecosystem”

Categories
Truly Free Film

Diary of a Film Start-Up: Post # 42: The Importance of Subtitles & Closed Captions

By Roger Jackson
KinoSmall

Previously: Blockbuster Trends

Many video-on-demand outlets require Closed Captions. This is true in the USA and increasingly elsewhere in the world, for example in the UK and Australia. And while it is not yet a mandatory requirement for all films submitted to Kinonation, we very strongly recommend it, not least because without captions a film won’t be eligible for delivery to iTunes. This has generated many questions from filmmakers, which I’ll try to answer here.

Why Captions Drive Revenue

Only 3 in 1000 people in the US are “functionally deaf.” But 17% of Americans report some sort of hearing impairment, which amounts to over 50 million people. That percentage is more or less reflected worldwide. Closed captions allow those people to enjoy your movie. Big potential audience. BUT – it’s not just about physiological hearing issues. Your audience will often watch films on a laptop in a noisy cafe, or a tablet on a commuter train, or a TV in a bar — or simply at home in the kitchen with the sound of cooking and kids. Closed Captions allow consumers in all these scenarios to watch your film comfortably…and therefore generate revenue for you.

Continue reading “Diary of a Film Start-Up: Post # 42: The Importance of Subtitles & Closed Captions”

Categories
Truly Free Film

Screen Forever 2013: The State of the Digital Union

by Andrew Einspruch

Filmmaker Andrew Einspruch attended Screen Forever 2013, the conference of Screen Producers Australia, this past year and wrote a series of articles for the event, which he’s kindly allowing us to reprint here. These articles originally appeared in Screen Hub, the daily online newspaper for Australian film and television professionals.

Video on demand (VOD), digital distribution, and the changes industry and consumers face every day were all over Screen Forever 2013. Andrew Einspruch digs through a piles of notes to find the jewels.

The world of screen entertainment and content is going VOD. That much is inarguable. Yes, there are issues, and yes, we’re not there yet (whatever your version of “there” happens to be). But it does not take much squinting to see that it won’t be that long before all content is delivered online, and it will be on demand for consumers to enjoy when, how and where they want.

Even so, you’d be forgiven for rolling your eyes, and thinking that, for now at least, it was more of a pain than it was worth. Or that it was too overwhelming. Or that it was impossible to make a decision about which way to go, or even if can do anything because of contracts signed long ago. Wendy Bernfeld, Managing Director of Rights Stuff, started a session called “Catching the Digital/VOD Wave” with the following common thoughts about VOD:

  • “Too complicated, time-sucking.”
  • “There’s no money in it.” or “I did a deal (once) and got a check for $100.”
  • “It’s OK for America/big brands, but doesn’t really apply in [insert country].”
  • “I can‘t get the [internet/mobile/VOD] rights” and/or “The [broadcaster/distributor/sales agent] took them/sat on them.”
  • “We’re blocked in [country] by [insert: legislation, tax, exhibitors, etc.].”
  • Who wants to watch movies on a [mobile/pc] anyway?

Any of those sound familiar? If you are a producer, the odds are good you’ve muttered at least one of them.

And yet…

Continue reading “Screen Forever 2013: The State of the Digital Union”

Categories
Truly Free Film

Who Will Sell Your Film Internationally?

I would like to go to the site of one of the many organizations dedicated to supporting filmmakers and easily find links to a list of foreign sales agents.

For that matter, I would like to be able to find such links to US Distributors, Worldwide Distributors, Distribution Case Studies, Funders, Agents, Crew, Platforms, Legal Documents, Production Forms, Tech & Equipment Recommendations, Recommended Best Practices, Expert Opinions, Ideas & Inspiration, Recommended Reading — and that’s just off the top of my head.  You know, I would like it to be clear that that these organizations were driven to help filmmakers, and not just “furthering their brand”.

Continue reading “Who Will Sell Your Film Internationally?”

Categories
Truly Free Film

Your Investors Know You Are Not Serious About Making Their Money Back.

I am talking to you. Or at least 98% of you folks who are trying to raise money to make a film. 

You know how in poker it always pays to look for other players’ “tell”?  A “tell” is the subconscious gesture most people make when they are not sure of themselves.  The “tell” helps to show when people are bluffing — or in everyday terms, when they are lying.  The most common ”tell” is

Continue reading “Your Investors Know You Are Not Serious About Making Their Money Back.”

Categories
Truly Free Film

MyFrenchFilmFestival

By Isabelle Giordano of Unifrance

World is moving, faster and faster. People all over the world continue to see movies in theaters, but we can no more ignore the power of Internet. We live in a time where people spend a huge amount of their time online, on blogs, social media and watching films on different platforms. 

This is the reason why our duty is to have French films online. For those who don’t live in big cities such as New York, Paris or Tokyo, for those who don’t have access to European culture, MyFrenchFilmFestival is a great opportunity to discover France new talents.

There’s a big appetite for French cinema and all these films can simply not be distributed due to economic reasons. Our goal is to offer visibility during a whole month to this new generation of filmmakers to a broad audience in a different way than a traditional release in theaters. 

The 2013 edition was a success, with more than 750,000 viewings in 189 countries and a 25% increase in paid viewings. Countries like China and Canada did exceptionally well.

Continue reading “MyFrenchFilmFestival”

Categories
Truly Free Film

Too Much Too Fast: The Seductive and Devastating Effects of Early Celebrity

By Morgan J. Freeman

This story won’t shock anybody who knows me — but I’m hoping it might help some who don’t.

When my debut feature, Hurricane Streets, won an unprecedented three awards at Sundance in 1997 (Audience Award, Best Director, Best Cinematography), I thought I’d arrived at the age of 27. I was sure of it. All my hard work had paid off and I was, as they said, “set.” With the struggle behind me, it was time to celebrate, to bask in the glow of my crowning achievements and settle in as one of our industry’s top directors.

EPSON MFP image

But early success went straight to my head. Bigtime. Something shifted when I won those awards — my ego was fed a huge dose of You Rule Pie — and I was consumed by it. I became completely self-absorbed with my achievements and couldn’t celebrate them enough. Fueled by a false sense of my place, I lost sight of my way — and had zero ability to capitalize off the moment in a sane, strategic way. I skipped key industry meetings, canceling last minute if at all; refused a meeting with an A-list actor because a producer wanted to be present; boycotted a critical on-set budget meeting with a financier so I could watch X-Files (he now runs a studio); was more interested in dating the lead actress than directing her; and showed up on set with last night’s party all over me.

When my agent, manager or lawyer advised me to clean up my act, I fired them (usually over vitriolic late night emails). Without really grasping what was happening, this small window of opportunity — one I perceived as permanent, as “mine” — slammed shut. And by the time I came to six years later, it was as if it had never really been opened at all.

I was 33, scratching my head, wondering what the fuck had just happened?

Continue reading “Too Much Too Fast: The Seductive and Devastating Effects of Early Celebrity”