Speaking of Indie Filmmaking...

Paul Sweeting has an interesting profile piece in today's Content Agenda about how the web is "saving" indie filmmaking.

An interesting point from the head of Indiepix, Bob Alexander:

"Our business is totally DVD-centric," Alexander told Media Wonk. "Yes, you can download movies from iTunes, or you can stream your Netflix movies to your Roku box. But at the present time, the easiest way to get a high-quality presentation of a movie on your TV is to take it out of the sleeve and put it in your DVD player."

DVD sales are also more remunerative for all concerned.

"Our best titles at this point can sell 5,000, up to maybe 10,000 copies [on DVD] but the filmmaker can make $100,000 off that because half of what we get goes back to the filmmaker," because IndiePix splits the revenue with the producer. "Our focus is not on streaming, although we'll do some of that, or on rentals. It's on the sale of the DVD because half that money goes back to the filmmaker. We see that as the best way to build an economic base that allows independent filmmakers to make more films and allows consumers to enjoy a high-quality presentation of the movies."

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In other words - there's more than one way to skin a cat. As technology gets better and more accessible, there will be ways to consolidate the DVD end of the business so the producer is seeing even more than 50% of the revenue from a release. It will mean that the producer will also be a distributor - but that job, distribution - will be much easier for an individual or small company to handle.

And eventually, the internet will catch up to and surpass DVD.
It is inevitable.

I've Been Thinking ...

Very hard about what I am calling "Open Source Pulp" (1st Google reference!) and the whole "NewPulp" movement, especially as it relates to new media and production...

Apparently I am not alone in these thoughts. (referral courtesy of Warren Ellis's Whitechapel)

This is open for discussion.

Niche Players Will Have Their Say in DVD Future

In an article this morning from Content Agenda:

Consumers will spend $1.1 billion by 2012 buying DVDs manufactured on demand (MOD) in stores and online in the U.S. and Europe, according to a new report to be released tomorrow from research firm Screen Digest.

Almost two-thirds of the spending on MOD, $665 million, will be new revenue, while the remainder will replace traditional DVD spending, according to the report, “On-demand Media: Re-inventing the Retail Business Model.” MOD is also referred to as on-demand media.

What this means for those of us in the independent realm is that there will be a place for our movies and tv shows and other media in the marketplace of the future.

One of the problems the indies have always had is the fact they were squeezed off the shelf by the big studios and their big box sets. Now, with manufacturing on demand, the playing field is leveled and our audience - the pulpsters, the gorehounds, the Krimi-lovers, the creature feature afficionados - will be able to find our wares right alongside the bloated big budget blockbusters...

Because it's all a matter of ones and zeroes.

Read the article and start thinking about the implications: You make a movie, you upload a movie, your promote a movie (with free podcasts, magazines, message boards), you arrange to have a theatrical screening or gathering for your movie, you sell your movie online and as a DVD.

All from your home computer system, and with no manufacturing costs to you, the creator.
You are the creator, the producer, the marketer, the distributor, and the final say in how your movie reaches its intended audience.

That to me says "efficiency" and "purity of vision." The "Made-to-Order" system (which revolutionized computer sales) taken to its logical conclusion.

Gawd, I have a lot of work to get done so I can capitalize on this.

Care to join me here in the future?

More Fun Comics...

This sort of thing is why they invented the internet in the first place... no, it's not porn - it's comics!

If this sort of fun comic makes its way onto the computer screens of kids then I will consider my job done. If you remember Jonny Quest, The Mummy, Kamen Rider and a host of other fantastic Saturday morning entertainments then you'll love this:

It's Early...

And I've had no where NEAR enough coffee yet this morning.

I am cooking up a free surprise for later this year.

That is all.

Back to writing.

(The Knightmare is trapped by the Murder Legion and I have to get him out of it)

Proof of Concept...

Enjoy, and please feel free to link or embed this comic on your blog, Facebook or Myspace page, or website. Please tell us in the comments that you've linked up and where we can find you.

Let's see how far we can take this...

Forget the Past and say, "Good Morning, Future! "

Busy this morning "consulting" on a film (Hi Liz!) and finally got around to cleaning out the InBox when I found a nice little email from the folks at Content Agenda featuring two stories that speak not only to the past media business model, but to the future.

The first is an op-ed from Julian Lloyd Webber regarding the Price We Pay for Free Music. In it he discusses the fact that musicians will be putting more and more content up on the web for free and how this will hurt musicians overall - especially those without "name value."

I am certain Mr. Lloyd-Webber is a fine musician, however he knows little to nothing of the economics of the web. To be fair, not many people do know the economics of the web. That said, we all have to realize that programming on the web or television is designed to sell products through advertising. You aren't selling the programming itself, but that is the hook to get people to look at the ads and buy the merchandise.

That's the way it's always been, and people don't blink an eye at the idea of free television, yet somehow they blanch at the idea of giving things away for free on the web. People only pay for cable because it doesn't have advertising to pay for it (I'm talking HBO, etc... here), and in that case, waaaaay fewer people watch HBO programs than they do terrestrial broadcast programs.

Now understand that there is a huge fertile field of the internet out there to plant advertising. Doing an entertainment-to-ad spending comparison, there's a lot of room to grow the web.
A lot. Estimates are that right now only 14% of the web's potential is being used ad spending-wise. Already it's a multi-billion dollar business and it still has 86% more room to grow.
In light of that dollar potential for ads, is it so wrong to give music away for free?

The second article that caught my eye was the announcement by Damon Wayans that he is starting a web business called WayOutTv.com to, "feature videos produced by aspiring young comedians he handpicked. Wayans sees the free site as an online comedy club and production studio that could eventually change the way content is bought and sold in Hollywood."

Mr. Lloyd-Webber would do well to pay attention to Mr. Wayans. He is starting the online equivalent of In Living Color - the television series which brought us comedians David Alan Grier, Jim Carrey and others (including Jennifer Lopez. What? She's not a comedienne? Really?)... And like television and radio before him, he's doing it for free.

Gee, it's even happening in comics...

Are the economics that hard to understand?

I Have Issuus...

No, that's not a misspelling. Issuu (pronounced "Issue") is a new website where you can convert your PDF document into an interactive online magazine. You upload your document for free and create a magazine that is page-turning, embeddable and in looking at some of this stuff -- really cool.

This is Pulp 2.0, folks. Pure entertainment delivered digitally everywhere.

Hear that print comics? That is your freaking death cry. Seriously, you should be freaking wetting yourselves now.

(found by Warren Ellis, who manages to write 50 million comics a year and still comes up with this stuff from trolling the web)

Edit to add: This is the spike that will stop the bloodsucking distribution problems of print media. Digital magazines are being monetized.

Don't Listen To Me...

Listen to the New York Times report on the profitability (read: power) of DVD Premiere movies.

"The number of direct-to-DVD films has grown 36 percent since 2005 with 675 released last year, according to Adams Media Research. The business totals about $1 billion in annual sales. (All DVD sales came to $15.7 billion last year.)

So many studios and top-level filmmakers are flirting with the direct-to-DVD business that it risks mirroring the troubled theatrical landscape, where movies that were once sure-fire moneymakers are having a harder time breaking through because of a glut of releases. The producer Joel Silver, known for the “Matrix” trilogy, recently signed a deal to produce 10 direct-to-DVD titles. Ashley Tisdale, a teenage actress known for her roles in Disney’s “High School Musical” blockbusters, just completed a DVD movie called “Picture This.”

“Real stars and real filmmakers have started giving DVD exclusives a shot,” said Scott Hettrick, former editor of the trade publication Video Business, “but with more product hitting store shelves I think we’re going to see less consistency in sales.”

Factor in the effect of more and more media moving around and you have a good idea of where the industry is going. Especially as now various organizations are seeing the potential in the web.

More movies and TV debuting in a variety of formats - DVD, internet, cable and theatrical.

Tools You Can Use: Sundance 2008 and Sony

Scott Kirsner from the very enlightened and knowledgeable blog Cinematech has posted important tidbits from his Sundance panel. Especially interesting business-wise are the lessons that Paramount learned when it released JACKASS 2.5 online.

What they experienced was something they call "scraping" in the online world - that is, someone scraped your content off your site and put it up on theirs. This happens all the time in the online world - I scrape and acknowledge this very story - and it is a methodology that the studios will have to understand and brand around. That means making sure everyone knows where the source of the media came from through url's, etc... posted through the content.

You can read it here.

There's also a discussion in Scott's story about grabbing the viewer right away - in the first ten seconds - or risk having them click off the window on their computer.

That means give 'em the pulp early, people!

Another quiet yet major bit of business that happened this week was Sony announcing its move to create a MOD (Manufacturing on Demand) component to its DVD business. What this means is that Sony will compete with Amazon.com's Createspace, LuLu.com and others for the niche DVD business. What it also means is that you have the marketing power of a major studio behind you if they acquire the rights to manufacture your DVD. This has major implications as to how the business will shift in the coming years...especially since Sony is pacting with HP.

All this has major implications for those of us building our online studios. Yes, I am building an online studio and other folks you and I know are doing the same.

Welcome to the future. Learn it. Live it. Love it long time.

StrikeTV

When television came to prominence in the late 40’s and early 50’s there was a heady feeling in the air that they were doing something that was entirely new and wonderful:

Pictures and sound together! Live! How wonderful.
Wait, how are we going to make this work?
Aw crap.

What many of the pioneers of early television ended up doing was sucking the marrow out of, errr… emulating, , older forms of entertainment that worked - theater, vaudeville, concerts, and yes radio programs. Your Show of Shows, Playhouse 90 and The Lawrence Welk Show followed the safe and narrow as Television found its legs.

It was after awhile when innovators like Ernie Kovacs and others (who you can see on the PBS program Pioneers of Television) were able to grab hold of the medium that it began to grow muscles and strengthen its character into something distinctive. It was only after they figured out how to pay for television via commercials that it became a truly separate means of telling stories.

It’s with that in mind that I recount my experience yesterday at the WGA Theater attending the first ever Strike TV meeting. I warn the dear reader now that this is going to be something of a bipolar series of posts as there were many things to applaud about this first effort by the WGA to lay the tracks for the internet revolution to arrive (thank you Mr. Deitchman for the metaphor), as well as shake your head at the directions the tracks seem to be heading -- straight into “Indian Territory.” (more on that in my follow up posts).

To start things off here is Ian Deitchman on the history and philosophy of Strike TV. Ian is the video coordinator for United Hollywood and a screenwriter.

More in following posts....

Holiday Chores...

Whenever I go to my parents house for the holidays, I wind up helping around the house with some "chores" that need doin' here and there. Things like cleaning out the gutters, moving a piece of furniture downstairs or up, or cleaning out the garage. Simple things that help a household run smoother. I am happy to do these things for my folks even though my brother and I kid each other about it.

Anyway, I have a few chores to handle around my own "house" that will see some changes for readers of the old blog. Think of it as a new coat of paint, replacing a few worn floorboards, cleaning the windows and airing out the attic. As you check in over the next week or so, things may be a little "wonky" as some links will disappear and new ones re-appear, colors will shift as will type fonts.

This is all by design.

As I posted earlier I am redesigning the focus of this blog to better reflect my work and interests. I have also started another private, invitation-only blog that will house some short, raw fiction and media that I'm going to later bring to print and elsewhere. More details on that as it develops.

Have a Happy New Year. I will be here with The Knightmare living the dream...

This Looks Promising...

Zuda Comics is going ahead with their second webcomics contest, and amongst the featured is this pulpy bit of business that caught my eye. Go check it out.

What's interesting is that Zuda (a division of DC) is taking an old format (comics) and adapting it to the web. Most of these comics are not to my taste at all (thanks to the cartoonish drawing style), but I do like THE CROOKED MAN and got a chuckle out of THE NITE OWLS.


That's what the internet gets you kids - a new way to deliver classic stuff to your audience. Just ask Gregg over at Decoder Ring Theatre. (More on that later), Francesco Francavilla at Pulp Sunday and Tom Floyd at Captain Spectre.



*** and not to forget our own Geekerati Podcast in which we discuss all these things ***

Post Tryptophan Hangover...

So, still feeling stuffed after the big bird blowout yesterday. Now as the serotonin levels in my brain begin to lower I am left with a desire to get to work on some projects that I've been juggling lately, and yet here I am blogging...and here you are reading.


(You enablers! Damn you all)


The holidays are now officially in full swing and we will be addressing this in an upcoming Geekerati podcast with our "What I want for Christmas this year" episode. I am taking suggestions now.


John Rogers (who is experiencing the cold up north for the first time in a long time I wager) has a discussion about short online fiction and the death of the anthology following a post by Warren Ellis on the same subject. I'm also wondering what happened to our series paperback characters that seemed to dominate the drug store spinner racks when I was a kid. Does anyone here besides me remember the Richard Blade series of books?


Warren Ellis reminded me the other day about Createspace - a division of Amazon - where you can publish on demand and videopost on demand and monetize the whole thing - including selling DVDs on demand. This is an excellent step toward self-sufficiency for filmmakers. It's possible that there could be a shift toward "regionalism" with something like this set up. Imagine a group of mediamakers who aren't in LA, New York or Chicago who have their own local programs and "stars" and are able to create content for a local market that pays the bills. Possibly similar to where Quebec is in the Canadian market - separate and distinct, but accesible to those who look for that programming. Then, as an afterthought the rights to the programming is sold elsewhere as added revenue not necessary for financial solvency.


(Yes, these are the things that run through my head as the serotonin dips)


Congrats to Denis McGrath whose THE BORDER premiered in Canada last night. I will be searching the webs for it.

I've been searching the web looking for a new blog template that reflects my pulp, movie-making and new media sensibilities. If anyone has a suggestion that seems to fit the bill, please send me a link. The template must be compatible with Blogger, easily adaptable and rockin'. I'm going to be breaking things up into better categories for navigation's sake as well as providing links to my other digital shadows - message boards, networks, business related matters.

I set aside my short story for Astonishing for a week so I can go back to it over the holidays and polish it up. I wrote down a lot of notes and put the file away so I can read it with fresh eyes right before I polish it. The twist doesn't work yet as I haven't set it up properly in the story. It has to be obvious when it happens, but not so obvious that the reader gets it before I give it to him in the story. A delicate touch to be sure and I'm a freakin' sledgehammer...

Later...

The New Hollywood Business Model Has Arrived...

Marc Andreesen has an excellent very well-thought out post on how Hollywood and Silicon valley are converging.
This is a must-read for those of us affected by this convergence (meaning everybody).
The days where you are "just a writer" are over, Bartleby.

"Drive!" He said...

DRIVE, FIREFLY, BUFFY and ANGEL scribe and all around media mensch TIM MINEAR will be our guest in a special podisode of the GEEKERATI PODCAST this friday evening at 7pm PST. The subject of our discussion?

Fans4writers.com and how the fans have come out to support the WGA writer's strike.

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Have a question for Tim? Have an issue you want to see covered ? Then post your questions in the comments and we'll try to cover it. Can't guarantee anything, as our time will be limited, but we'll be putting the show outline together and we want your input.

Studios! Your Attention Please!

I know this is hard for you to fathom, what with you having a chokehold on most everybody's entertainment choices for decades, but I really have to let you know:

You're not the only game in town.

Now some of you own pieces of this new media. Good for you. However if you insist on not paying people for their intellectual property and craft, you surely have to understand that the creatives are going to go find venture capital and...

DO IT ON THEIR OWN.

(Just like Marvel Entertainment, or Sacha Baron Cohen or Zwick & Herskovitz or Eisner or Iron Sink Media...)

Welcome to your future. We really don't need you.

Run along now.

What's It Worth In Today's Market?

Every annual AFM issue of The Hollywood Reporter has a column called "The Going Rate" which estimates prices various territories are paying for "all rights to theatrical films in Overseas Markets."

***Disclaimer***

Per THR, this list is only meant as an approximate guidleine to launch negotiations and are not sanctioned by any industry organization. Per me, I am only listing the information related to films made for $750k - $1M as this is closer to budgets for first timers than any other. THR also lists information on budgets from: $1-3M, $3-6M and $6-12M.

So, if you produced a movie for between $750K -1M then you could expect to negotiate for the following for all rights in that particular territory:

EUROPE:

France $30-60K
Germany/Austria $30 - 75K
Greece $5-10K
Italy $30-60K
Netherlands $10-25K
Portugal $5-10K
Scandinavia $30-60K
Spain $30-60K
UK $40-80

ASIA / PACIFIC RIM:

Austrailia/New Zealand $15-30K
Hong Kong $3-5K
Indonesia $5-10K
Japan $40-80K
Malaysia $3-5K
Philippines $3-5K
Singapore $3-5K
South Korea $20-50K
Taiwan $5-15K

LATIN AMERICA:

Argentina/Paraguay/Uruguay $2-5K
Bolia/Ecuador/Peru $1-3K
Brazil $15-30K
Chile $2-5K
Colombia $2-5K
Mexico $15-30K
Venezuela $2-5K

EASTERN EUROPE:

Czech Republic/Slovakia $5-10K
Former Yugoslavia $2-5K
Hungary $10-20K
Poland $5-10K
Russia $20-50K

OTHERS:

China $3-5K
India $5-10K
Israel $2-5K
Middle East $2-5K
South Africa $5-10K
Turkey $10-20K

What the list isn't telling you how to sell the territories and in what order. For example, you can't sell Japan before Korea because the discs will mysteriously end up in Korea and Taiwan and selling on the streets.

Same goes for Turkey and Greece. If it goes for sale in Greece, it will be bought and copied and on the streets in Istanbul within a week.

The trick is to always sell for the best possible return, which doesn't mean selling all rights (DVD, cable and free tv) right away. You should sell according to the territories demand. Free TV in India doesn't get you anything (or it didn't used to), but VCD and DVD does.

There's also the taste factor to include in the sales plan. Certain territories buy more of a certain type of film. Example: India and the Middle East don't buy a lot of porn.

Now there's a few smart ones out there who are asking, "Why are you showing us this, Bill?"

I'm showing you all this because this system, these rates, the distributors, salespeople, sell sheets and posters and a whole ton of other "middleman" factors are all going the way of the dinosaur.

More later.

Joss Kidding...

By now the whole of geekdom is reeling over the announcement that Eliza Dushku (do I really need to spell out her credits?) and Geek TV's God of Thunder Joss Whedon (ditto) are teaming up for a new show called DOLLHOUSE.

You can read details here.

This will be covered ad infinitum by the geekosphere, analyzing the most minute points in Joss's every word to the point of assigning numerical values to his speech in the hopes of unlocking the gates to some cyber rosetta stone of masturbatory material...

For those of you reading this who know Mr. Whedon or Ms. Dushku personally (and I don't mean in a "I beat off to their pics during my coffee break in my cubicle" sort of way) please pass along these words:

- You're doing new stuff. Very cool.

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- You're working together. Again, mark a 'win' in the cool column.
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- Joss, please make these 7 episodes you get from Fox a self-contained story. An American variation of the six-pack model of Television Storytelling we've enjoyed with shows like JEKYLL. Good for television, GREAT FOR DVD. This is an opportunity for you to explore the business model of television and stretch the limits. You been quoted as saying that the D2DVD model is an interesting way for an artist to get his material into the hands of his audience. Well kid, here's your chance.

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(And just to let you know people want more material from you. In whatever form they can get it. They are wondering how to make it work for you so that everybody gets what they want. How often does a creator hear that from his audience?)
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- Eliza, any day we get to see you, whether it's onscreen or at the local Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf is a big win. We are really glad you're back (not that you went away or anything). Think about doing a DOLLHOUSE (web)comic.

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- NBC, read the premise of DOLLHOUSE. You could have had something just as cool with this beautiful lady here:

But instead, we have a very pedestrian show that doesn't fulfill the promise of BIONIC WOMAN. You need to fix that, pronto.

Seriously. Demos are only going to get you so far, and then it comes down to numbers (at least for television).

(Don't get me started on how I would reboot this show. I don't need the stress...or maybe I do. I don't know. That's how ambivalent I am about the show at this point)

Edit to add:

This here where Joss talks about titles and how if something has a title... well, read it. It was as if he read my mind. That Whedon, watch him. He has powers.

We Now Return You To Our Regularly Scheduled Podcast

So last night I had some technical difficulties joining the gang over at the Geekerati Podcast (see sidebar player to your right). We were supposed to discuss Scary Television - horror television shows of exceptional quality...

So in the interest of my keeping up my end of the conversation, why don't you go over to the podcast and listen and wherever appropriate insert my comments:

My list of scary television (in no particular order):

KOLCHAK:
The grand-daddy of horror television. From the 2 pilot movies to the regular series, Kolchak was a monster-of-the-week show that was a reflection of the writers and directors as well as star Darren McGavin. I only wish the remake had half the genius this show had.

THE OUTER LIMITS (original B/W series):
Another monster of the week show with overlapping scifi elements. Great stories with real emotion and superior production value and featuring great television and movie stars who sold the story to the audience. They also used the writing of renowned scifi and horror authors - Matheson, Ellison, Binder, etc...

DARK SHADOWS:
A Vampire as the hero of a soap opera that played for five days a week. Barnabas was evil and ruthless but you understood his agony as we relived how he became a vampire. Groundbreaking.

FRIDAY THE 13TH - THE SERIES:
A brand name that expanded beyond the hockey maskand machete movies. Great late night television.

TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED (based on stories by Roald Dahl):
Clever stories that fulfilled the promise of the series' title. Because it was syndicated late night it could "get away" with more horror.

NIGHT GALLERY:
Horror on Primetime network tv. Who'd a thunk it? From prolific genius Rod Serling who wasn't afraid to scare the pants off the adults.

ULTRAVIOLET:
Vampires are here and we have to do something about it - because they want to control their food supply. You couldn't see them on video nor hear them over the phone (a great continuation of the idea Vamps can't be seen in a mirror) but they can and will do whatever they have to in order to survive. A six-episode series from the UK that should have gone on to several more series, but didn't. What a missed opportunity.

WEREWOLF:
"The Fugitive with fangs." Excellent makeup FX wrapped into a cheaply produced show that premiered on the fledgling Fox network back in the 80's. From Frank Lupo who was part of the whole Cannell explosion of the 80's tv. A lot of fun that played with the werewolf mythology.

THE X-FILES:
Mixed elements of Kolchak with Werewolf , but set in a format/premise that allowed not only horror, but scifi thrills. One episode about an inbred family that kept reproducing throwbacks by tying the mother under the bed with chicken wire so she could "service" her boys was never broadcast on Fox again as it was deemed too gruesome and horrifying.

Yah gotta love that...