Digital payoffs are scarce

Young folks dig digital but money's hard to find.

The frustrated majority at a Variety-sponsored panel at the Consumer Electronic Show agreed that young consumers overwhelmingly view all their digital devices as outlets for entertainment. Unfortunately, show business’ ability to make money off these new platforms is lagging far behind the quick changes in consumer’s behavior.

According to a survey, titled "State of the Media Democracy," almost two thirds of American consumers view their PC as a more important entertainment device than the TV and almost a third use their phone as a mobile device. In five surveyed nations the numbers are roughly the same in the U.K., Germany and Japan, but Brazil is the only country where digital engagement is significantly higher.

READ MORE by BEN FRITZ - http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117998350.html?categoryid=1009&cs=1

© 2008 Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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.