We announced my new job today. A review of the press yields a cornucopia of juicy tidbits.. um, TEDbits…:
Month: January 2014
It’s time for a collection of posts on what we can gain from others’ experiences in different fields. Last week, we examined the Music Biz, but why stop there?
Data shows that spending on indie films rivals the major movie studios
Entertainment Media Partners and Cultural Weekly are pleased to announce the release of an in-‐depth infographic exploring the state of independent filmmaking by looking at key data associated to The Sundance Film Festival. Although the info graphic is below on the post, you can also access the full analysis here:
http://www.culturalweekly.com/sundance-infographic-2014/
“This is the first time anyone has tried to quantify the amount of money spent producing independent films every year,” said Adam Leipzig, CEO of Entertainment Media Partners. “The numbers are huge— over $3 billion per year—even though each film is financed one at a time.” The infographic provides an eye-‐opening look at the importance of The Sundance Film Festival and the movies screened there, by visualizing data on films submitted, films accepted, financial investment, and how many people work on indie movies. It also offers box office data associated with films that have sold for the most money at the festival, and those that served as opening night premieres.
Leipzig identified these key findings:
• Over $3 billion is spent annually to produce independent films, rivaling the production expenditure of major movie studios.
• Less than 2% of that $3 billion will be recouped.
In a world saturated with screens and immersed in media, it is not just advisable to teach young people about film, it’s imperative. We all recognize the power of film to both inform and transform, and what better place to make that happen than inside a classroom (or inside a theater full of kids), where students are primed to be enlightened and inspired? As young people have become round-the-clock media consumers and creators, it has become that much more important for teachers to use media effectively in the classroom, for filmmakers to learn how to talk about their work in an educational context, and for students to be exposed to media professionals.
At the San Francisco Film Society, we’ve been working in the educational community for more than two decades, and it is some of the most gratifying work we do. As we’ve steadily built up our Education programs over the last few years, we’ve been trying to find a way to share that work—and the experience and resources we’ve cultivated—with the greater film and education communities outside the local Bay Area. So we are really excited about the great new web portal we just launched: FilmEd.
FilmEd. is
Have our filmmakers forgotten how to tap into the subconscious?
When three of the films this past year that do it best are
Building a better infrastructure for indie film is not going to happen over night. It takes the entire world to spin for one leaf to fall… That’s a zen koan that has always stayed with me, with it’s ability to beautifully encapsulate the struggle.
If you read this blog, there is a good chance you