Film distribution in the digital age.
- Festivals! Conferences!
Just flagging some upcoming events I’ll be attending at which I hope to see you and give you one of my new cards.
Making Your Media Matter- DC, February 11-12 “Cutting-edge practices for making your media matter”
Free Culture X- DC, February 13-14 “Free software and open standards, open access scholarship, open educational resources, network neutrality, and university patent policy”
South By Southwest- Austin, March 12-18 (Presenting a panel about event screenings and attracting audiences)
The Conversation NY- March 27 “New business and creative opportunities” in film and media
- 5>50 - Who gets it in new distribution?
Recently I was honoured to be part of a list made by Brian Newman of 20 media people under the age of 40 whom he felt were leaders. What’s interesting to me is the frequency that I hear people who are young (on the list and otherwise) saying how older people “just don’t get it” and by virtue of their age, they will naturally be left behind in any digital revolution.
Even having crossed the big-3-oh-mark, I can feel a little anecdotal truth to the notion that the youth have a more natural, ingrained facility with technology and… [more]
- Copyright, docs, Lessig, licenses
Recently in The National Republic, Lawrence Lessig addressed the issue of copyright in documentaries and how it is keeping classic films like Eyes on the Prize out of commercial circulation. The problem is that filmmakers must clear copyright for archival elements in their work such as television clips and music, and generally the licenses for these clips is for a limited time period like 10 or 20 years. After that time, the filmmaker would need to clear (i.e. re-license) all of the archivals again in order to sell the work.
For most docs, this can be extremely onerous… [more]
- Lance Weiler, Peter Baxter, Saskia Wilson-Brown, Brian Newman and Paul Rachman in Park City
“The New Breed”
NEW BREED PARK CITY – AN OPEN DISCUSSION from Sabi Pictures on Vimeo.… [more]
- Sundance New Frontier’s Ian Calderon on Indie Digital
Interviewed by CinemaTech’s Scott Kirsner:
New Directions for Independent Cinema: Ian Calderon from Scott Kirsner on Vimeo.… [more]
- Disadvantaged? Or alternatively abled? Panel to decide.
On Tuesday (January 19), I’ll be joining a panel for New York Women in Film and Television to talk about gender, race and disability issues in the film industry. In particular, I’m tasked with commenting on women’s roles in distribution. Most people are familiar with the rather brutal situation for female directors in Hollywood as reported recently in the New York Times- last year just 3% of studio films were helmed by women. Cinematography is similarly imbalanced. In independent film the opportunities increase if not exactly balance. There are positions like editing and producing where… [more]
- The New World in the NY Times
Just like everyone else these days, the New York Times is onto the notion that distribution is a-changing. Manola Dargis profiles Peter Broderick tomorrow and positions him in the New World and all those turnkey distributors as the Old. No matter, I suppose, that Broderick has been saying the same thing (and possibly delivering the same Power Point- no offense, Peter) for many years at various festivals and seminars.
I’m guilty of being one of these people who are offering to help filmmakers develop a strategy if they choose to hoist the mast of their own Niña or… [more]
- 2010: Odyssey Two (Or, it’s my year)
The year is starting out with big news for me- I’m leaving my job as Director of Home Media Sales & Marketing at Zeitgeist Films, where I’ve been in charge of selling DVDs and the move to internet and VOD licensing.
I’ve decided to return to the equally if even less logical pursuit of making docs, consulting, and looking for a sustainable day job. I’m very excited and I hope I’ll be able to give readers of this blog an even more first-hand take on the challenges and opportunities for filmmakers today.
Stay tuned!… [more]
- What is the DVR of Indie Film?
On his Blog Maverick site, Mark Cuban addresses the illogic behind opposition of the DVR by big media companies like Viacom and Disney.
For some reason they want to kill off the DVR… Do you not realize that the DVR is the one device that can save all things traditional and holy to your business and stock price?… Let me ask a simple question, if everyone had a DVR that could record any and every series they liked, enabling them to watch the shows they missed immediately, why would they go to Hulu ever again?
When new technologies come along… [more]
- Real time, as it were
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