Dive into the archives.
- The infinite future of film
Today I began reading two entertaining books, Everything and More: A Compact History of Infinity by David Foster Wallace and The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. Quite coincidentally, the books share the thematic point that there is a great deal of value in what is unpredictable, or as DFW puts it, “our only real justification for the Principle of Induction is the Principle of Induction, which seems shaky and question-begging in the extreme.”
In film, a technology that in its “old fashioned” celluloid form is only a little over a century old, the future is unpredictable— but… [more]
- Digital Doc Distribution- San Francisco Ed.
I’ll be presenting a workshop on Digital Doc Distribution at SFFS on June 7- discussing how doc filmmakers can reach their audiences in the current environment. There are great new opportunities as well as some challenges but overall, the changes can be a little confusing and it’s good to know about tools and resources to make it easier to manage.
Filmmaker Jen Gilomen will be on hand to talk about her film DEEP DOWN and we will talk specifically about projects in the room as well as about digital marketing and distribution tools doc filmmakers can use today… [more]
- Think Outside the Box Office Workshop NYC
Jon Reiss, furthering his bid to unseat Peter Broderick in whatever category they’re competing in, will be doing a 2-day workshop in NYC June 5-6 for filmmakers which will cover distribution & marketing, transmedia, and Jon’s many unique and insightful approaches to indie film dissemination. It’s $150 for members… [more]
- 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]
- 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]
- 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]
- Will the MPAA destroy theatrical? Selective Output Control and the FCC
News from Washington- the MPAA filed with the FCC to encourage the approval of technology that would allow Hollywood studios to transmit theatrical films directly to consumers hi-def before their video or broadcast windows begins. Called Selective Output Control (SOC), this would compete with piracy but would supplement or undercut theatrical runs depending on your viewpoint. A take on this seems to be that this will destroy the theatrical system and put exhibitors out of business.
I’m not one to defend the MPAA, but this seems a little silly in a number of ways. For one thing, theatrical… [more]
- MoMA Indie Summit: Major players, making the future
A major cadre of players from the independent distribution world net up on Friday to discuss the state of things, primarily in relation to how the new tools and technology are shaping the future of the industry. (Disclaimer- my company was a part of the MoMA conversation, though I was not in attendance).
Among the players there are some significant gaps in approach and experience, ranging from the technology-forward Magnolia and IFC to very traditional players. The resource differences among the attendees were also marked, ranging from tiny to well-capitalized. Producers and distributors were in attendance.
What strikes… [more]
- The Free North- Fun stuff from TIFF
Some cool stuff from the Toronto International Film Festival last week:
Liesl Copland, formerly of Netflix and now with William Morris Endeavor’s Global Finance & Distribution Group, gave a keynote at the Doc Conference about the state of digital and what it means for the industry. The takewaway: theatrical still has life; filmmakers need to learn about metrics; crowdsourcing is the new focus group.
Ted Hope, as captured by indieWIRE’s Eugene Hernandez, about Hope’s Doing It With Others (DIWO) philosophy. The takeaway: Blog, tweet, Facebook your whole life- or at least your projects and… [more]
