DISTRIBUTING YOUR INDEPENDENT FILMS

Strategies for distributing your independent film must take into consideration the fact that traditional distribution is completely changing with the emergence of digital "new media" production.

With an abundance of great product flooding the marketplace, all the time-tested methods no longer apply. Digital outlets see the rise of digital aggregators, reversed windows, collapsed windows, and DIY options. We have a whole new ballgame with an entirely new set of rules, especially for the most lucrative plum of all: theatrical release.

And proper theatrical release will GUARANTEE a film's credibility and profitability today more than ever before. One has only to look at WALL-E and DARK KNIGHT for testimony of the remarkable potential of what is possible for any well-made film in today's market.

As the people in charge scramble to figure out what to do, Picturehouse (a venture of New Line Cinema and HBO Films) and Warner Independent is no more. Massive layoffs plague New Line Cinema and Paramount Vantage along with the financial crisis at ThinkFilm. The field opens wide to innovation and new technology with solutions that few understand as the future of traditional feature film distribution changes forever.

In an effort to stay afloat, every company jumps on the same tired horse only to find that there can be but one rider. Even great well-made films with star power have difficulty in today's marketplace as Mark Gill recently observed in his recent address at the L.A. Film Festival Financing Conference, “Yes, The Sky Really Is Falling”.

READ MORE by Mark Gill at http://www.indiewire.com/biz/2008/06/irst_person_fil.html


©2008, Stanley N. Lozowski. All Rights Reserved.

OPTIONING A SCREENPLAY

One of my ex-students read a great screenplay recently. He thinks it could make a fantastic ultra low budget independent new media film (for under 400k). He asked about the process of showing the script to two potential backers but he’s afraid he might get cut out of the loop.

He wants to try to produce the script himself. He plans to option the script before he shows it to his potential backers. He then plans to give them the general idea about the story but when it comes to optioning scripts, he doesn’t really know how to go about it.

The writer of the screenplay is non WGA and she has not sold anything prior to this. My ex-student wants to be fair to the writer, but also doesn't want to tie up much of his own money if the deal fails to go through.

To maintain control of the project before he shows it to his backers, he will option the script for six months by paying a nominal fee of one dollar. The option for the script (for this or any other price) will be a contract stating the purchase price the writer will accept as the price for the screenplay.

With a planned budget of 400k, if the deal is acceptable and if he obtains the financing, the usual fee to purchase a script is 5% of the budget. Because he wants to pay as little as possible, he plans to try to get the script for 2.5% or 10K but this agreement will be subject to bargaining with the writer.

©2008, Stanley N. Lozowski. All Rights Reserved.

Hong Kong announces mobile TV plans

Mobile TV stations seem to be in everyone's future as TV goes small screen as well as high-def.

The recent announcement concerning Mobile TV for Hong Kong is good news for the Broadcasters and listeners / viewers in HK. Three mobile TV licenses for the territory will be put up for auction in mid 2009, according to the Commerce & Economic Development Bureau.

License holders will be required to start broadcasting within 18 months and the licenses will be valid for 15 years. They will allow operators to broadcast up to 20 channels via the European Union-endorsed DVB-H standard. There will also be six channels through the Korean T-DMB standard.

"Mobile TV exemplifies the technological advancement and media convergence," Duncan Pescod, the permanent secretary for Commerce and Economic Development said. "The market world wide has called for timely response from governments and regulators to facilitate the launch and growth of this innovative service."

LEARN MORE Written by Marcus Lim - http://varietyasiaonline.com/content/view/7735/53/

© 2006-2007 Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Santa Claus (1898)

Made in 1898, G.A. Smith's 'Santa Claus' is a film of considerable technical ambition and accomplishment for its period. It uses pioneering visual effects in its depiction of a visit from St. Nicholas.

A former magic lanternist and hypnotist, Smith was one of the first British film-makers to make extensive use of special effects to create fantastical scenes. It comes as little surprise that Smith corresponded with the French pioneer Georges Méliès at about this time, as the two men shared a common goal in terms of creating an authentic cinema of illusion. (Michael Brooke)

You can watch over 1000 other complete films and TV programmes from the BFI National Archive free of charge in the Mediatheque at BFI Southbank, London and from October 2008 at the new QUAD centre for art and film in Derby -- http://www.bfi.org.uk/whatson/bfi_southbank/mediatheque

$99 copy of SHOWBIZ PRODUCER for TEN CENTS

SHOWBIZ PRODUCER is a top-of-the-line project planning software and you can download Showbiz Producer v6.3 for only one dime.

Go to http://www.showbizsoftware.com/category_s/66.htm and download a $99 copy of SHOWBIZ PRODUCER (it's marked as v6.2) for either PC or Mac. Your cost? Two minutes; and ten cents.

Enter the discount code SBP10 as you check out (that's Show Biz Producer One Zero). It's terrific software and the price is even better.

Happy Holidays!

Beware the fake “ANGEL INVESTORS” and Representatives

A filmmaker wrote me yesterday to report that he lost $250.00 to a
"representative" for "investors". After that lesson he was wondering if he should give 10% of the money to finance his film to give to someone else, who would arrange to finance the full film.

There are many legitimate agents and representatives. These people need to get paid. As a general rule these professionals will not ask for money upfront. That does not mean there could not be real expenses in promoting your project. However they are not compulsatory.

Isn’t it great when you are trying to raise money for your film project and people say, "I MIGHT give you a lot of money for your project if you give me a little money first!"

BE FOREWARNED: Angel groups NEVER charge a fee. By nature, these groups are looking for places to invest their money and they are very open to looking at what you have without any advance on your part.

If someone representing you to any group has to "approve" you by charging you money up front to cover due diligence, to make a presentation to the investors, to submit your application, to preview your project or for any other reasons, understand that without a contract that specifies what will happen and when, it is impossible to know what you are getting or if and when your project will ever move forward within any group.

If you insist on paying money up front, everything must be spelled out in a legal binding CONTRACT. If a contract or retainer agreement doesn't say what will happen and WHEN IT WILL HAPPEN, NEVER PAY MONEY to ANYONE UP FRONT whether they are a "reputable" attorney or not.