Jon Reiss

Free-to-share documentary highlights alternative distribution methods for the digital age

British production company VODO utilizes an alternative distribution strategy using filesharing sites and free-to-share networks.  The strategy immediately engages a worldwide audience.

From ScreenDaily.com:

100,000 downloads for first VODO release

19 October, 2009 | By Sarah Cooper

Ivo Gormley’s documentary Us Now has achieved 100,000 downloads in its first five days of operation, through its release via free-to-share online distributor VODO.

Us Now tells the stories of online networks – such as a football club owned and run by its fan and a bank in which everyone is the manager – whose self organising structures promise to change the fabric of government.

Founded by Jamie King, who made file-sharing documentary Steal This Film, VODO distributes films Continue reading →

Ted Hope Speaks at BFI London Film Festival

Seasoned Indie producer Ted Hope (21 Grams, The Hawk is Dying, TrulyFreeFilm) speaks in London on the future of Independent filmmaking.  How will digital technology make films more accessible?

From Screendaily.com:

Film industry should be more accessible, says Hope

14 October, 2009 | By Sarah Cooper

Veteran independent film producer Ted Hope called for new film business models built on “access and transparency” in his keynote speech at the Power to the Pixel Cross-Media Forum, held in London today (October 14).

The New York based producer told the audience at the event, which is part of the 53rd Times BFI London Film Festival, that the current business models for creation, financing and distributions were based on “exclusionary practice of isolated control” and that they were “running on fumes these days.”

“How long can the controlling studio model survive Continue reading →

Jeremy Thomas Speaks of Creative Pre-Sales Strategies at FIND

Financing production with US pre-sales is becoming more and more rare, if not non-existent.  As US indie distribution faces a crisis, filmmakers must look to other sources of investment.  International pre-sales are a good start.

From ScreenDaily.com:

Don’t waste time looking for a US pre-buy, Jeremy Thomas tells film-makers

11 October, 2009 | By Jeremy Kay

Independent international film-makers who come to the US in search of financing are making “a wasted trip”, the Oscar-winning producer Jeremy Thomas said over the weekend.

Speaking at the launch of the FIND Filmmaker Forum in Los Angeles, Thomas told an audience that the stricken economy and the demise of numerous US distributors had left the US independent sector “screwed up”, although he fully expected the market to bounce back. Continue reading →

How will the studios adapt to changing distribution markets?

At ScreenDaily.com, Mike Goodridge suggests it’s decision time for studios’ distribution strategies.  How will they adapt to new digital markets?  Will they embrace transmedia?  Food for thought:

Mike Goodridge

Would you pay $250 to have Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen delivered to your living room on the same day it is released in theatres?
D-Day for US studio model

8 October, 2009 | By Mike Goodridge

That is a new technology scenario being touted to the major studios as they struggle to cope with the fast-collapsing distribution windows that have been the bedrock of their business models for decades.

Then there’s a premium VoD option that could come in just four weeks after theatrical release in the $30-$50 price bracket.

“US films still dominate, but within a very short period, studios won’t be able to monetise their expensive product the way they are used to”

Exhibitors may not be thrilled to hear of these developments but with the contraction of the DVD market and the dramatic erosion of income from pay-TV deals, the studios are desperately trying to carve out new windows and revenue streams.

Ultimately, new windows might just be a stopgap before the studios’ movies are released day and date in all media and all markets. That sounds like an option with terrifying consequences if the film doesn’t work – ie, it is immediately dead in the water with no chance of compensation from ancillary platforms – yet some would argue that we are already at that place. If a film disappoints in its opening day in the US, the global industry has decreed whether it is a flop by weekend’s end. Continue reading →