Categories
Truly Free Film

Advancing Film Education, Media Literacy, & the Educational Market For Film

Let's shoot!By Joanne Parsont

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

Categories
Truly Free Film

Have We Forgotten How To Tap Into The Subconscious?

"Have We Forgotten How To Tap Into The Subconscious?"
“Have We Forgotten How To Tap Into The Subconscious?”

Have our filmmakers forgotten how to tap into the subconscious?

When three of the films this past year that do it best are

Categories
Truly Free Film

The Search For A Metaphor For A Total Systems Reboot

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.

Categories
Truly Free Film

IndieStreet Post #9: A 2014 Resolution 4 Independent Artists — Separate Your Egos

By Jay Webb

Screen shot 2013-08-19 at 4.51.06 PM

Previously: Screenwars

IndieStreet believes that 2014 is the year the cracks widen in the film distribution system. These cracks will make room for entrepreneurial artists to take back deserved revenue generated from their own content. In 2014, Filmmakers will begin to eliminate middlemen, customers will support more creative talent directly, and at least one studio will fall due to its lack of preparation for the cooperative artist revolution.  

Screen shot 2014-01-02 at 8.06.15 PMBy nature, an artist who looks to distribute their work is an

Categories
Truly Free Film

8 Things The Film Biz Can Learn From The Music Biz

If Only Reality Could Hit Us Like A Ton Of Bricks
If Only Reality Could Hit Us Like A Ton Of Bricks
There is a TREMENDOUS amount The Film Biz can learn from The Music Industry, and in particular Indie Filmmakers need to recognize.  Here are are a few observations I have gathered for you:

Categories
Truly Free Film

You Will Never Make Any REAL Money With Hollywood

how do you expect to get your money from Hollywood?
how do you expect to get your money from Hollywood?

Why did Mike DeLuca leave an incredibly successful producing career to return to the executive suite at Sony? After leaving the reigns of New Line, he produced Moneyball, The Social Network, and Captain Phillips among others.  It’s hard to match his track record.  Yet he too has given up producing.  Why?

One can only assume the autonomy of producing is more pleasurable than the pressures of running a studio.  One can also assume the confines of Sony are a hell of a lot more secure.  Rarely does one gets paid their value for producing a film, and if it is a project you love and is even a wee bit challenging you are going to watch that diminished fee take another cut or five. If you want financial security or wealth, don’t be a producer.

But there’s always the back end, right?

Categories
Truly Free Film

Brave Thinkers and Doers 2013 (Indie Film Division)

A Field In England” – The whole team behind Ben Wheatley’s movie deserves a big shout out.  They did something truly different and structured their business to do so from the start.  Day and Date? check.  Transparency? check.  Enhanced value beyond the feature film product? check. Sharing of knowledge for community benefit? check.  Social media engagement? check.  Revenue sharing? check. Read all about this truly innovative strategy here, courtesy of BFI (see below). I look forward to seeing how you apply it to your own practice.

line

The British Film Institute (BFI) – This institution makes the list of individuals not because I think corporations are at all like people (Repeal Citizens United!), but because they are taking the lead in heeding the call for greater transparency in film revenue reporting. We will not be able to build a sustainable global indie film culture or enterprise without such facts.  The BFI’s GREAT listing of films & case studies of how distribs are using new ways of reaching audiences, such as using new marketing techniques, new distribution platforms or innovative exhibition models is a must read for anyone interested in finding a way to support themselves or others by making films and taking responsibility for them. bit.ly/18p4i8M

line

Shane CaruthShane Carruth – Shane probably should make this list just for making another one of his movies.