By Jay Webb
Previously: IndieStreet Post #2: “Word on The Street”
The “Word on the Street” is: Cooperation
Indieconomies of Scale Part 1 (of 3)
How can we apply the word “cooperation” to an industry whose namesake automatically pushes us away from the very notion? At IndieStreet, we are hoping to bridge the conceptual gap from “artistic & independent” to “business-minded & together” through a simple explanation of what we call Indieconomies of Scale.
We hear a lot of buzz in the Independent film academic space about how filmmakers must start cooperating for the industry to survive, but we have yet to see many examples of execution. This post will not express a concern about the “industry” as an abstract whole, but is more concerned about you as an individual filmmaker. I love great storytellers, and there is a threat to individual independents who do not start grasping technology advancements that can uncover the benefits of community and emerging markets. You are a hard worker who makes a film and tells a touching story with all of your heart, but you can’t figure out the best way to navigate the transitional market in a way that will maximize your film’s potential reach or return. Well you are in luck! You (single frowning Indie filmmaker) are not the only one with this dilemma…and you are also not the only one in the world with a quality story told in an innovative way. There are others just like you. My bet is that you can find at least one other like-minded filmmaker (or better yet another filmmaking team) from somewhere on the globe who you admire that has a similar passion, energy, niche target market, and can mutually agree that you are at the same career stage (which, let’s admit it; the level of “Struggling” encompasses at least 90% of Indie filmmakers).
