digital distribution, digital platforms

I created a wiki – digitalbootcamp.wikispaces.com – for the Shooting People Digital Bootcamp workshop conducted on July 4th 2009 at the Frontline Club – taught by James Mullighan, Harriet Fleuriot and myself. Like the workshop itself, most of these resources are aimed at documentary filmmakers but narrative filmmakers can find lots of good ideas here too. Please add to the wiki if you have additional links, tips and tricks to share – we want plenty of collaboration in the spirit…

You  can read a free version of Anderson’s Free: The Future of a Radical Price on this very blog! You can also download an audio version on his Long Tail blog. For a critical view read Malcolm Gladwell’s New Yorker review of the book. Gladwell concludes: “The only iron law here is the one too obvious to write a book about, which is that the digital age has so transformed the ways in which things are made and sold that…

I’m part of a Shooting People team teaching a workshop on how filmmakers can best use the web at the Frontline Club in London on Saturday, July 4th. The workshop will include case studies on films that have harnessed the power of the web, tips on using social media, and online strategy and resources for filmmakers. If you’re looking for help distributing and marketing your film online then Digital Bootcamp is for you! I’m working on some lovely slides for…

Below is the video from a talk that producer Ted Hope gave at the New York Foundation for the Arts about how the film infrastructure is changing as creators and audiences take on new roles. “We must accept that being a filmmaker means taking responsibility for our films all the way through the process. Building the new infrastructure is the first step towards real media independence” Producer Ted Hope Discusses the Future of Finding Film Audiences from Reel 13 on…

Brian Newman (CEO of the Tribeca Film Institute) gave this talk to the Tribeca All Access filmmakers yesterday. It’s a little odd looking at slide shows without being guided through them but this gives a good survey of the current online options available to you as filmmakers. Tribeca All Access – Online Tools, making money and building audiences for film View more presentations from Brian Newman.

Scott Kirsner’s CinemaTech blog is always a great place to find out about technical innovations in the film world and now he was written a book, Fans, Friends and Followers: Building an Audience and a Creative Career in the Digital Age, that compiles interviews with artists doing great and interesting things with their work and includes lots of useful content for filmmakers in search of an audience (yes, that means you!). In the introduction Kirsner introduces us to the New…

Scottish Screen have provided a very handy downloadable guide to the world of short film distribution. It covers all the bases from festivals to sales agents to digital distribution. If you are even considering making a short film you should read this guide. One of the things I am learning is that thinking about distribution AFTER your film is made is usually way too late. You should be thinking about the goals you have for your film from day 1…

The incredibly useful Workbook Project recently added another weapon to its creative arsenal. NEW BREED consists of first person accounts of the filmmaking process – you can read through all the posts or go straight to the filmmakers or projects that you’re particularly interested in. The site outlines some NEW BREED goals for 2009: With the dawn of 2009 comes some new additions to the site. NEW BREED: CRITICAL FOCUS will introduce a new series of interviews, special topics addressed…

This is the second and final part of a 2 part post on non-theatrical distribution by Rachel Gordon, a freelance marketing/distribution consultant specializing in the niche and educational usage of documentary films. Something to be aware of that many filmmakers don’t consciously think about when starting to get their work out is that it will take some time for your film to “hit” a place in the non-theatrical market – often up to a whole year.  You can’t count on…