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 Vimeo.

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.

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 Rules:

We’ve entered into what I call the era of digital creativity. In this era, artists have the tools to make anything they can envision, inexpensively…They can build teams and collaborate across great distances, bridging divides of language and culture. They can cultivate an audience and communicate with it regularly, carrying it (or at least a segment of it) with them from one project to another. And they can take control over the transaction, whether it is selling a work of art on eBay, a book through Amazon, or a ticket to a live performance via Brown Paper Tickets.

If you are a glass-half full type, you’ve already realized that the era of digital creativity presents incredible opportunities. You can do what you love, reach an audience, and earn some money. What starts off as a small fan base can quite suddenly go global, enabling you to quit your day job and earn a solid living.

The flip side is that there has never been a noisier, more competititve time to try to make art, entertain people, and tell stories. Everyone is doing it, and so there is an incredible surplus of content in every art form.

In 2000, 973 full-length films were submitted to the Sundance Film Festival, generally considered the best platform for launching a new indie movie. By 2008, that number had risen to 3,624. (Just 121 were accepted.)

And to that I would add that most of those 121 did not receive any kind of traditional distribution offer!

Kirsner includes a list of useful strategies, things he learned while interviewing people for the book (eg. Create Opportunities for Participation, Understand the Power of the Link, Choose the Platforms You’re Going to Use). Some of these strategies may sound obvious but it’s one thing to say them and quite another to actually do them.

The interviews are divided into five sections: Film & Video, Music, Visual Arts, Writing, and Comedy & Magic. The Film & Video section includes interviews with a diverse range of people including: Sandi DuBowski, Robert Greenwald, Ze Frank, Steve Garfield, and Gregg and Evan Spiridellis (JibJab Media).

There’s also a useful reference section in the back with a bunch of great links and some supplemental reading, including links to smart people like Kevin Kelly, Lance Weiler, and Clay Shirky.

You can download a 35-page sample of Fans, Friends & Followers on Kirsner’s website and order the book there too. Or buy it from Amazon using the link below.

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 of pre-production. It saves a lot of headaches in the long run and it actually makes the whole distribution process more empowering and creative for you, the filmmaker. So get reading!

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 by site regulars and more articles from guest contributers. Look for upcoming conversations with filmmakers Hunter Weeks, Ondi Timoner, Barry Jenkins, Lynn Shelton and Joe Swanberg, as well as a new series of articles by site regulars sharing insight into lessons learned… the hard way. And in a few days we will introduce a prolific filmmaker of short films, Jack Daniel Stanley, who takes his southern gothic horror film, A Little Mouth To Feed, to Slamdance 09 and offers insight into his preparations, planning and experience at the festival.

If you’d prefer not to learn ALL your lessons the hard way, read NEW BREED and hear from filmmakers who learned them for you!

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 this to be your only source of income because, while there are people who have made a year’s salary on one film, that is not the normal shape distribution takes – whether it be partnering with a distributor or a solo journey.

It is absolutely impossible to promise or estimate how much money you will gain.  I get this question a lot and I try never to give an answer because there simply isn’t one.  Some films do better because of controversy or timeliness of their content, others do better because the information they include is unique and nobody else has captured it yet.  There is no way of knowing how a film will fare until you start sending it out into the world.  There is a lot more to choose from than there used to be and sometimes it all comes down to a matter of timing.  The key point being, however, that you have to send out information repeatedly because nobody will know or remember that your film exists unless you tell them.

Educational distribution is a hefty time commitment.  It means researching organizations that might show your film at a conference.  It requires collecting quotes to use in emails and promotional sheets.  It involves taking the time to collect, or buy, email or mailing lists to send out information to parties that would be interested in using the material you have to offer.  It means having the nerve to ask people to be supportive and either provide advice on other people that would benefit from your film, or include a link to your website.

So if it is not easy, why do it?  The non-theatrical world is a wide, enthusiastic, supportive environment for consuming media.  Professors, social activists, non-profit organizations, journalists, etc, talk on listservs every day.  They give each other advice, they program fascinating conferences, webinars and discussions.  They also love media, and they will continue to be repeat customers when they have found reliable sources to obtain it from.  They know as much about a filmmaker’s work as the average film critic in New York City.  Yes, what I just said is true.  Every time I’ve exhibited at an educational marketplace, customers come into my room to specifically view the latest film from one of the independent filmmakers I represent.

Rachel Gordon is a filmmaker and freelance marketing/distribution consultant specializing in the niche and educational usage of documentary films.  Her short film, Loose Ends, is currently at festivals while she finishes writing the feature version of the story about feminine fear of commitment.  She is also in production on a documentary series about alternative medicines.  She can be reached through her website at www.energizedfilms.com

This is the first 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.

Disclaimer – This article assumes that you are self-distributing and not working with a distributor.  The narrative below is solely from the perspective of educational, also known as “non-theatrical,” usage of film and does not refer to theatrical or home video distribution.

Independent documentary filmmaking continues to rise after several years of growth, alongside increasing use of the internet for both advertising information about how great your project is, and providing media delivery options.   Where do, or should, or can, filmmakers go to get their projects out to viewers?

Get an idea of who your target audience is:  Figure this out by looking at the film from such perspectives as – are you following families, advocates or cultural figures? What culture? What age groups? Any gender-based or sexual issues explored?  Do you see people helping other people, and if so, how and to what end?  What is it you think you are showing people that they were not shown before?  Why are the subjects involved with your film, and who do they wish to communicate with?

Being able to answer these questions is crucial to getting your media used in any classroom setting, be it grade school or college.  Teachers and professors alike are media-savvy professionals so they don’t need to hear you say how great your film is. They do need to hear you say how it should be used, what a student learns from it.  The more work you do for them in providing such information (i.e. the ever-useful study guide), the easier you make it on them to use your work in their curriculum.

Study guides are normally established through the grassroots question and answer sessions that you might have with a film.  If participants or a public screening effect a useful dialogue, this is something to take note of and flush out on paper.  Study guides usually come free, as a bonus material, and it is preferable if someone in the field you are trying to reach is actually collaborating with you on it.

This then begs the question of how to deliver said media itself to the classroom.  Unfortunately, though we’d like to think you just make a DVD and start shipping them, the choices you provide the end user can dramatically affect your ability to sell product.  It is very useful if you are providing the option to stream, either through your own means or by allowing the institution to do so with a license.  But streaming and DVD are still only 2 options of the many that are cropping up with new technology on a daily basis and it’s worthwhile to be flexible about content usage.  If your content isn’t available the way that someone can use it, they won’t necessarily make-do with what you give them, as it is easier to pass you by and not spend the money at all.

A uniquely useful new option for filmmakers, which I should explain I have been assisting recently with outreach to colleges and universities, is submitting your work to the Reframe Collection.  I have recently done this myself so I can now say I take my own advice.  I bring this initiative up, not just because I work with them, but because of the usefulness of being a part of something larger while still retaining your own identity as a filmmaker.  They have several technical options you can sign up for in terms of delivery, and your film is placed alongside films of similar themes, which makes it easier for educational librarians to find you when they are looking to program a semester. Using one website instead of visiting 10 filmmakers’ websites makes their jobs easier.

Links/Resources:

Reframe Collection – www.reframecollection.org

Educational publications to get work reviewed – Take a look at the American Library Association website – www.ala.org.  The ALA has caucuses and groups that discuss research on certain themes.

Email/mailing list – Richard Dill – rjdill *at* gmail.com – looks at your website and helps you define the librarians who look at and purchase your genre of film.  Charges affordable flat rate per 1000 contacts that includes the ability to re-use the list you are given.

Rachel Gordon is a filmmaker and freelance marketing/distribution consultant specializing in the niche and educational usage of documentary films.  Her short film, Loose Ends, is currently at festivals while she finishes writing the feature version of the story about feminine fear of commitment.  She is also in production on a documentary series about alternative medicines.  She can be reached through her website at www.energizedfilms.com

Part 2 will be published tomorrow.

Another great event from Own It – The Creators Guide to Going Mobile: a Digital Revolution Made Simple.

If you can get to it, this looks like it will address a lot of the questions that we all have about mobile content and how it will pay…
Are you thinking of joining the next revolution in digital media and distributing your work through mobile phones or inventing software applications?

This seminar will give you an overview of the legal framework including licensing, royalties, data protection and more.

Wednesday 12 November 2008, 6.00-9.00pm (6.00-8.00pm presentations and Q&A followed by drinks/networking until 9.00pm.)

Location: Conference Room Suite, Accelerator, London Metropolitan University, Shoreditch Building, 35 Kingsland Road, London, E2 8AA.

To book your free place to attend, please visit: www.own-it.org/events

Topics covered include:
- All about contracts, from licensing to copyright assignments.
- How can you get paid? Various payment models explained.
- Moral rights.
- How can you protect your work from being copied or distributed beyond the terms and conditions of your agreement?
- How can you protect your work from being deemed ‘orphaned’ – meaning it’s distributed to so many users that nobody has any idea who the copyright holder is?
- What’s the value of your work? Is there a difference between music, games, characters, photography or writing?
- Data protection.

I’ve just added some links to the blogroll on the right hand side of this blog that link to sites working to protect our digital rights. The more excited I get by the possibilities for filmmakers in the digital age the more aware I am that we need to fight to continue to exercise our creativity (flexible copyright law is key here) and keep the channels of distribution open (if you don’t know what net neutrality is I really urge you to go to Save The Internet now). This is our video republic, our commons, our future.

With regards to copyright, watch this TED video from last year in which Lawrence Lessig, a well-known expert on copyright issues, explains his vision for reconciling creative freedom with marketplace competition.

Scott Kirsner of CinemaTech was commissioned by ITVS to investigate how indepedent filmmakers are working with new technologies and to answer the following questions:

Opening Up Production to Participation
During pre-production and production, how are filmmakers communicating with audiences, widely dispersed teams, funders and prospective subjects in new ways? What new opportunities for involvement and participation are they exploring?

Finding New Audiences
Once a project is completed and ready for release/broadcast, how are filmmakers using blogs, social networks, games and other technologies to reach audiences that will care about their project?

New Distribution Opportunities
How are filmmakers presenting their work on websites, cell phones, iPods and the new generation of Internet-connected TVs and set-top boxes? Do these distribution avenues create conflict with more traditional outlets? Are there substantial economic benefits or simply promotional positives?

You should check out the suggested strategies for connection-creating, marketing and promotion and distribution.

Case studies include:

Byron Hurt:HIP-HOP: Beyond Beats and Rhymes
Katy Chevigny: ELECTION DAY
Curt Ellis: KING CORN
David Iverson: STILL LIFE
Hunter Weeks and Josh Caldwell: 10 MPH
Tiffany Shlain: The Tribe