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.

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.

.

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.

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.

Heading Out...

Later this afternoon to the AFM in Santa Monica. The ASC is conducting a seminar on how to get the best look for your low budget film.

From Sunday onward, I will be there in SM attending seminars, shaking hands and "hawking my wares" (or is that hocking?).

I'll come back with news and pictures of what I see there at the Loew's. I am hoping to capture some of the "players" on video and sit them down for short interviews.
We'll see what happens.

Get Used To This...

MySpace announced they are going to air their first exclusive show. This isn't the first web serial they've "aired" but it is their first exclusive.

It will be brought to you by the guys we've talked about before.

(What's that? Do I hear the sound of network TV clutching its chest?)

Must I Shout...

That the future is already here? Must I rant and jump up and down on the furniture of the DISContent Headquarters telling everyone that the new media has been within everyone's grasp for awhile now?

No. Not anymore.

TV Guide is doing it for me.

An official consumer-oriented magazine is holding a contest for best web series. In other words:

Web Video Entertainment has arrived.

Granted, many of the nominees are webisodes based on content created to promote regular television series, but the fact remains that original content and creators have been nominated.

Look over the nominees. Screen samples of their work.
But more importantly - vote.
Let TV Guide know that web entertainment matters to you.

Then, get inspired to do your own stuff.
We need ownership right now.

The Times Are A - Changin'

If you haven't heard already there is a pending Writer's Strike here in Los Angeles. That means that for the most part, those writers who belong to the WGA will soon be manning the picket lines, and spending the rest of their time working on spec scripts and other writing work.

I was reading Kay this morning and "Anonymous" commented on what other sorts of work he/she should be pursuing...

And here's where the axe falls on some writers' necks.

See, there's ton of work out there that's available if you are entrepreneurial enough to pursue it. No one is going to hand you a contract for a first novel. No one is going to say, "Come write a graphic novel. Here's a check." You aren't going to be flooded with people saying, "You're a tv writer so you can write for me while the strike is on."

That is unless you already have experience in these fields. (Hello Messrs. Whedon, Straczynski, Grillo-Marxuach, Vaughn).

But all is not lost. There are opportunities out there, but you'll have to set them up yourself. Be your own producer or publisher, your own marketing director, your own cameraman, director, art director and publicist.

The great thing is that the tools are already available. Free blogs. Free photo archives. Free editing software. Free publishing services. Free merchandising and marketing.

You could do this, and create an online novel series.

Or just create the novel.

You could create a web serial.

You could create a podcast.

And you can create all the merchandise for free.

You CAN do all this stuff, and the cool part is:

YOU OWN IT. YOU CONTROL IT.

I think this is the opportunity that many of the "lower earning" writer's in the union have been looking for - the opportunity to be their own boss. To own the store. To quit just being an employee. To quit having to take a stupid note because your job's at risk.

And that's when the studios are going to be afraid. That's when they are going to understand that the rules are changing and they HAVE to change with it. They are going to have to understand and look at this with new eyes...

As will all the writers.

Times are changing. Wear a cup.

Comics Are Universal...

And now even more so thanks to these forward-thinking people.

From the article:

Comics are more popular than ever, and interest in Japanese manga is soaring. International sales in 2005 (excluding Japan) stood at $245 million (approximately Yen 29 billion), a more than three-fold increase over 2001's $75 million, and manga accounted for over 60 percent of the market, generating sales of $145 million (approximately Yen 17 billion).(a) This is despite the fact that only a few titles are released in the overseas market, where sales are undercut by delays in getting titles to market--a month's delay is typical for paperbacks--and relatively high prices. "Manganovel" will end these problems and meet pent-up demand for an instant, low-cost service for manga. With cooperation from major comic publishers, "Manganovel" will make Japanese comics globally available and create an innovative mode of translation supported and driven by lovers of manga.

Zwick Goes From 30-Something to 4GM...

Yahoo news has the announcement that Edward Zwick and partner Marshall Herskovitz - the creators of the TV drama Thirtysomething - are moving to the web with a show titled Quarterlife.

Citing that they are "hoping to find the artistic freedom online that they say is lacking on broadcast networks," Zwick and Herskovitz will premiere the show on Myspace.com as well as link it to their own social networking forum.

"The TV veterans were also attracted by the chance to have full creative control of the project and retain ownership, which could produce greater profit for them if the show becomes popular.
"It's a gamble," Herskovitz said. "We want to prove there is another way to independently create and distribute content."

The show's 36 episodes will air exclusively on MySpace, which has more than 110 million users worldwide. Additional content, including character profiles, will also appear on MySpace, which is owned by News Corp.

Each episode will be about 8 minutes long with two episodes debuting each week. The producers and MySpace will share revenue from ads that will run in the video. Additional revenue will come from product placement deals, Herskovitz said."

------------------------

These are the kinds of things that are going to open up the opportunities for folks like you or me to create content with the backing of both an audience and advertisers. Further down the article a researcher says we are "decades" away from the net overtaking television in terms of numbers and dollars.

I take exception to that because there are more revenue streams that go directly into the producers' pocket with the internet rather than with television. Besides ads we have product placement, merchandising, marketing info, other media and the ability to quickly add more websites that also have these above capabilities. Producers with a following will develop their own "networks."

Networks are now "middlemen" between the audience and the creators. Just like the fact that many people in the music industry - retailers, rack jobbers, distributors - are losing ground to the internet, so too will people in the television industry and...

I think it's all happening sooner than everyone thinks.
The (r)evolution won't be televised, it will be streamed.

This is Something I Could've Used When I Was a Young Pup

Warner Bros. makes the announcement of T-Works.

T-Works is a cross-divisional and companywide initiative designed to take the Studio’s wealth of animated characters beyond the media where they have an extremely rich history (television, film, home video, consumer products) and make them accessible to fans in a fully immersive and customizable online world. T-Works, which will be ad supported, also marks the first time that all the key characters from Warner Bros. Entertainment’s unmatched family of animated icons, including Warner Bros. Animation, Looney Tunes, Hanna-Barbera and DC Comics are brought together in a single site and tied to a user rewards system.

Thanks, Folks!

Dad is home and good.

I am picking up where I left off, and getting back to work. Thanks everyone who sent a note of well-wishes. I appreciate it.

I have two stories to finish this month and a ton of other stuff to get accomplished. I've been shooting some footage here and there (and deleting most of it) with the new camera. It's perfect for some ideas I've been percolating. I just need an actor...hmmm.

You should run over here where Jill Golick and I have been discussing JEKYLL. Great show and a great format - the six pack. I have discussed my plans with the format before (with DMc as I recall right before he did ACROSS THE RIVER TO MOTOR CITY - and no, it's just coincidence). I truly think it's a way to generate the kind of television that the medium needs right now. That is, a novelistic approach to a story with a beginning, middle and end. It's event television and a good TV DVD set.

At the very least it would be interesting to do something like the six-pack for the web, where the medium could add in backstory through text (blogs, interviews), images, audio and video. Attach free forum software and you're off and running.

Course, a lot of people are doing that very thing.

I am Drunk...

and filled to the brim with margaritas and fajitas (courtesy El Conquistador on Sunset Junction). I have spent most of the day moving with Firebrain Inc. into our new, industrial strength offices. I say that with a wink as we are now perched in an industrial, heavy-machinery neighborhood in Los Angeles. Big trucks, semi-trailers and stakebeds roll by as we moved our boxes of design genius into the new headquarters.

I have to laugh as I type this because there was also a local ice cream truck that came by the office - bell ringing and music playing. It instantly reminded me of my childhood when the local ice cream truck driver wasn't a pedophile; when you could trust your neighbors; and whenever you did something wrong and were chastised for it by a neighbor, you would definitely get it worse when you got home because there would be a phone message waiting, telling your parents what trouble you got into.

It's a good fit.

And being in a new office means I can invite various members of the industry over for coffee to chat about how things are going and how we can help one another. God - isn't that why lunch and coffee was invented?

Being in a new office also allows for renewal of some sort - whether physical, mental or spiritual. I have paperwork there - safe and sound - and not scattered around the floor of the mad pulp pad. Gawd I can breathe!

I've also decided I'm going to start biking to work. Many of you know I take public transport whenever possible - not only because I hate driving in Los Angeles (gasp!) - but because I am able to get some work done in the process: Reading, writing, emailing, etc...
Now has come a time when I have the opportunity and the gumption to bike to work and get this size 4_ waist down to its original 34. I have pants inside the closet cheering me on, shouting, "we want to hug that tight ass again, you bastard! Get in shape!"

Okay, maybe that's the margaritas talking...

A fresh start is good. Even better with margaritas afterwards.

There's a lot going on right now that I can't speak about - but this new office and resources promises more mad pulp bastardry in your future. We have already landed a new client, and I have taken steps to implement a 4GM plan for several projects I've been working on. It feels good to be progressing toward independence and opportunity.

Okay. That's it.

How I See It...

Scott Eggleston commented on my previous post below:

Do you see digital downloads yielding more profit than DVDs, even for microbudget indies? How soon do you see it happening?

(Takes off glasses, cleans them)

From a very practical point of view, yes I think digital downloading will be more profitable than DVDs. It's a simple matter of there being fewer expenses, more inexpensive marketing opportunities, and a wider distribution field. Let's break that down:

Fewer Expenses:

There are all sorts of expenses for DVDs - mastering, authoring, replication, packaging, and shipping. This adds to the cost of the DVD, and delays getting that disc on the shelf for the consumer to buy it. That means for a disc that costs $3.00 to manufacture, it is sold wholesale to a retailer for $8.00 then sold to consumers for $14.99.

For digital downloads, all I have to deliver is a master to a server, create links to the download and I'm pretty much off and running. The consumer - no middleman really required unless desired - pays a couple of bucks to either buy or rent the movie. That means that if I were selling my download online for $3.00 then about $2.50 of that cost goes back directly to me to defray the cost of production. That $.50 goes toward...

Marketing Opportunities:

That money goes toward banner ads, press, and other expenses. No need to buy ad space in industry catalogs to the tune of about $5,000 each. You can reach your audience directly and by establishing a talkback forum online (the software is free) you can generate all sorts of PR and other opportunities.

People can sign up to get updates. Your can do co-op advertising and marketing with other like-minded websites, phone companies, etc... (example: Spout.com)

And let's not forget the merchandising opportunities as well. Establish a CafePress stor for no cost and design your merchandise. Sell the script as an e-book with production notes and pictures. Get the T-shirt, coffee mug, etc... No cost to you.

A Wider Distribution Field:

The net is everywhere as are cell phones, and ipods. More of these than there is shelf space available for your DVD. With the web your "store" is always open, and can be available around the world. No expense of selling deals territory by territory.

When it's Going to Happen:

It is happening now. Right now, and building all the time. The studios aren't TOO involved yet, but they will be involved. Very involved, and on a variety of fronts - content, infrastructure, acquistion of social networks to market from, and physical things like satellites and fibre optic cable delivery systems.

Welcome to the future.

Maybe I Should Consider a Name Change from DISContent to..?

Content Agenda (which you should be reading by the way) has an interesting article today regarding the growth of the entertainment industry due to convergence.

Highlights from the Pricewaterhouse Coopers Report (which, if someone has access to a PDF copy of it, I would be very grateful!) include:

• Content, distribution and technology companies need to aggressively seek out new relationships to accommodate the shift toward convergence," said Jim O'Shaugnessy, global chairman of PwC's entertainment and media practice. "Companies will need to test new business models to address increased fragmentation and intellectual property in a digital era.
• Brazil, Russia, India and China will account for 24% of global growth in that period.
• The U.S. will remain the single largest market for entertainment and media, but is growing at the slowest rate -- just 5.3% a year to reach $754 billion in 2011.
• The fastest-growing region will be Asia Pacific, ramping up at 9.6% a year to reach $470 billion by 2011.
• Filmed entertainment is predicted to rise globally by 4.9% a year to $103 billion. TV network revenue will grow by 5.8% a year to $228 billion, but TV distribution will power ahead by 9.3% a year to $251 billion.
  Even that growth rate will be dwarfed by spending on Internet advertising and access, which will grow by 13.4% a year to $332 billion by 2011.

Back in 2002, I got into D2DVD because I could see where the market was going... I am now envisioning another business model, and while it includes DVD -- that media is further down the food chain. I don't even think it's a chain anymore...

A web perhaps?