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Current Distribution for Indies - Something to Think On

post #1 of 4
Thread Starter 
Thought I would share this piece:

Quote:
why are filmmakers still holding out for the legendary promise of a theatrical release? When the likelihood of success for films made on spec (that is, a film made with private money on the hopes of selling it to an established studio or distributor) approaches the same statistics as the chances of winning the lottery, why do so many filmmakers persist? Why do they essentially follow the same established patterns? Why, for instance, are otherwise intelligent people still playing by the studio rules? The whole (to oversimplify) festival-circuit-followed-by-theatrical-release-followed-by-video-debut-followed-by-television-sale - the notion of cascading windows of availability - was created to benefit the multiple-sales cycle of the studios, in essence carving out different periods of time to sell the same "product" again and again. Conversely, this process rarely benefits independent filmmakers at all. For just-starting-out directors, playing by these tired rules generally does more harm than good. Don't expect to hear this angle from the old hands of the business because they've often bought in to the basic storyline.


He goes on to talk about some of the services which help to distribute indie films through DVD and other ways.

Something I am thinking about tonight. With the rise of trained crews in various states around the country, I can see the rise of the indie filmmaker also becoming the indie distributor, basically going door-to-door at movie houses in his or her region getting them to play the film while releasing it to the public through other means.
post #2 of 4
I don't know if it's business stupidity that keeps people clinging to the old system but more of a (at least perceived) sense of legitimacy.
post #3 of 4
Thread Starter 
I think its a bit of this whole idea people want to make their indie film and then get their Hollywood deal which opens the floodgates to "all that money." I think filmmakers are going to have to start thinking in new terms and realize the the studios aren't always going to just throw a ton of money at them to go make some big budget pic.

New filmmakers are going to have to learn something about distribution as well as production in addition to making a moive.
post #4 of 4
I totally agree, the problem is that's not the dream, and people want the dream.

Maybe this should be a topic for another thread, but I've also noticed a certain hypocritical attitude when it comes to a lot of the wannabe indie filmmakers I know, in that they'll bemoan the lack of funding and support local indie film gets, but then whenever an opportunity presents itself for them to support the local scene they'll avoid it at all costs.

The other day we had the screenings of heats 1,2&3 of the 48hr competition, we were in heat 2, after it was done I asked the rest of the team if anyone wanted to hang around for heat 3, all this would have taken was getting back in line, the screenings were free, but no one else could be bothered, we get a free dvd every year of all the regional finalists and no one ever wants to watch it. It just seems like some people like to think of it as a film making community but unless there's an immediate personal gain nobody's really interested in pitching in.
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