Digital Neanderthals! The Evolution Has Already Happened!

Recently I posted a couple of rants regarding the lack of urgency on the part of several indie clients to reformat their key art for the 21st century's wired world. You can read them here and here.

In response, I received a couple of emails that can be summarized thusly:

'We're not going to be doing any reformatting in the near future as A) we really aren't required to in our delivery packages we provide our digital carriers, and B) we're still a few years off and have plenty of time to reformat everything.'

Guess what?

You're not a "few years off."

It's. Happening. Right. Now.

Widescreen images are being used on Hulu and elsewhere.

Now ask yourself:

If these were indie movies with few or no stars in them, would they sell the movie we've made?  (I included the STARSHIP TROOPERS image as it seems to exemplify the movie, and gives you a direction toward what I'm talking about)

If you didn't know who Tom Cruise is (was?), or that DR. STRANGELOVE is a classic, these would be - and I am using this term lightly - lackluster sales tools.

Add to this the idea that someone else who doesn't really give a damn either way (the web designer makes the same rate per hour) has an impact on how your movie is seen and it's not a rosy picture. People judge a book by its cover and a movie by its key art.

And in our wired world of tomorrow TODAY that affects your sales. Especially when its all done on a royalty basis.  Screenwriters and Directors and Actors who struck for a slice of that digital pie?

You are getting hosed because someone can't be bothered to protect their investment (and yours). It affects your bottom line because this sort of short-sightedness leads to added expenses later on (which of course, will be charged back to the film and affect your royalties / residuals) 

And just like when movies' key art was reformatted for DVD covers this will happen, excuse me, IS HAPPENING. Be the one to take control and present your movies to the audience with the most sales value.

Next time: What properly formatted key art gets you. 

Microbudget Filmmaking Sucks Because You Are Doing it Wrong!

Recently, there was a list by filmmaker Mynette Louie that has made the rounds of the film web called "Why Microbudget Filmmaking Sucks" . The list is one where Louie recounts all of the disadvantages and advantages of microbudget filmmaking.  Many of those  disadvantages are also listed as advantages in the list so really it's a matter of attitude and approach that seems to make the difference...

And that seems to be a problem for some people.  They can't redefine 'film' to fit their own needs and wants or the needs and wants of the audience. In many filmmakers' heads, film exists only at the local theater where someone has to pay 8-10 dollars or more to see and experience it.  If media history has taught us anything it's that film is far more flexible than we give it credit. If film were as inflexible as many would make it seem then we would never have had the TV movie, the Direct-2-Video or the DVD Premiere.

Film is fluid. It fits into the glass you place it in... and just like beer or soda you can sell a lot of it.

But again, short-sighted filmmakers are putting up a huge cover charge at the door when they seek theatrical only.  I call "ego at work." It's not good business sense.  It's not good marketing.  It's outdated - especially for microbudget filmmaking.

True story:  When we launched SCARECROW it was with the idea that we were going to make most of the money back because it was A) made inexpensively ($100K +/-);  B) we were staying as far away from theatrical as possible, and C) we were going to sell it internationally prior to its having any sort of domestic DVD release.

No festivals. No reviews. No retailer support.  We had a great concept, a great poster, a good trailer and a movie that was still in post-production. Our goal was to get half the production budget back at AFM, and then the rest at Cannes...

On Day Two of AFM,  I got a call at my office telling me to start work on a sequel idea.  We were 3/4 financed and had more people interested for other territories.  By the end of the market, we were in the black and had many people interested in a sequel.

Then we used the response to promote the film stateside. We made these great folders with screener discs in them and sent them to the retail buyers.  There was discussion of trying a screening but in looking at the expenses we nixed it.  Too expensive.

Then we got a deal at Wal-Mart. It was a tight squeeze on the profitability (they strike a hard bargain) but the order was huge. We shipped a ton of discs to Walmarts around the country, and the discs were placed on the shelf at a price of $8.99. Fangoria ran an article on the movie, surely the fans would rush the shelves.

But the DVDs?  They sat there. Some went off the shelf to be sure, but overall we were looking at some big returns.

Then WalMart had a bright idea.  They placed Scarecrow in the bargain bin at $4.99.

And people picked it up... a lot.

WalMart was happy - they were making a profit on their purchase. We were happy - we were making a profit on their order.  Fans were happy - they got their film and took it home where they could enjoy it (with a six-pack)...

They were so happy that WalMart renewed their order and asked about the sequel which by this time we were promoting domestically and internationally. We also discussed making it a trilogy (which I didn't contribute to except for some artwork direction)

By the time it was all over with the distributor had made over $1,000,000 on a $300k investment that never went theatrical. These movies were also shown on the SciFi Channel as a double feature which inspired us to release them again as a 'Double Creature'  (though I was overruled on that bit of title business and they were released as a 'Double Feature') which made some more money for the company.


Bottom line to all of this is: Don't think that there's only one way to write, produce, distribute and screen your film. Rules were made to be broken and if you're insightful and entrepreneurial about it - the opportunities are endless.  If I were to make a microbudget movie tomorrow, I would never think of a theatrical release until way after the film has been released elsewhere - like torrents, IPad, IPhone, Playstation Network, VOD, Netflix, Amazon, MSN, Hulu or elsewhere (or all at once). 

That's where the audience is growing, evolving, and business-wise it makes cents... which is more than you'd make if you did it the old way because at internet speed those pennies add up quickly.

BROTHER BLOOD 99 CENTS FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY!

Pulp 2.0 Press Announces Limited Time Offer Vampire Fans can
Sink their Teeth into:  Pulp for Less Than a Buck.

Company launches digital initiative with PDF version of its premiere pulp
vampire novel BROTHER BLOOD by Donald F. Glut. 

Los Angeles, CA:  Pulp 2.0 Press MPB (that's Mad Pulp Bastard) Bill Cunningham announced today that the company has launched its digital initiatives by offering readers a special limited time offer to purchase a PDF download of Donald F. Glut's blaxploitation horror classic BROTHER BLOOD for only 99 cents.

This offer is for a limited time only and ends at 12 midnight on Saturday  May 1st,  2010. 

BROTHER BLOOD is the story of an African-American vampire who haunts 1969's Sunset Strip. Written in a style that echoes the classic DRACULA, this groovy ghoulish novel has been described by readers as "earning a spot on the shelf next to Robert E. Howard and H.P. Lovecraft," and  "classic badass vampire horror."  It is currently available in print from P2P's website www.pulp2ohpress.com.

"This is Pulp 2.0 Press dipping our toe into the digital water and fulfilling our company mandate to deliver great pulp entertainment to as many people as possible as inexpensively as possible," says Cunningham.

"By making our first digital book an Adobe PDF we are able to ensure that readers could enjoy the 354 page novel on their Macs, PCs, Kindles and IPads and see the same design that print readers enjoy.  Again, more pulp in more people's hands.  We topped that off with a 99 cent price and a color cover.  While we are designing and coding EPub and Kindle ebooks for our future, this low-cost PDF provides readers a unique introduction into the world of Pulp 2.0.

At 99 cents it's a pulp bargain that can't be beat."

Cunningham had this to add, "It was important to me and to everyone here at Pulp 2.0  to get this book out there as quickly as possible and to people who may not yet have purchased a Kindle or IPad.  Ebooks are the future, but in the meantime it's important to use the tools and systems that are available now. Tools like PDF's and online affiliate marketing can reach that  growing audience out there for fun, low-cost, high-value entertainment. Pulp 2.0 aims to be first in people's thoughts when it comes to that pulp entertainment. "

The PDF download will be available directly from the Pulp 2.0 Press website, and linked to the company's other online assets:  its Facebook page, Twitter feed and blog. P2P is utilizing the services of E-junkie and Paypal to provide readers with an easy-to-use, secure download experience.


The download can be found here:

http://pulp2ohpress.com/pulp/brother-blood/

Oh, and FYI - Comic fans will be interested to know I just found out Dark Horse comics will be releasing Don's work with Jesse Santos on THE OCCULT FILES OF DR. SPEKTOR.  

But those 4 volumes are going to cost you a hell of a lot more than 99 cents!   

From the Pulp Factory Floor

I  just posted this on the PULP FACTORY Yahoo Group, and thought I'd share. This is in response to a discussion on ebooks, pulp and digital distribution formats:

Absolutely.

This IS the era of Pulp 2.0 -- where fast, cheap entertainment anywhere and everywhere is truly possible.

And not just text/print, but video, audio, games and a whole host of other media going straight from the source to the audience with few "middle men" in between.

This is the future happening right now.

B

PS. Better profit margin, fewer expenses, better distribution.

Gemma is there, just because she has caught my fancy of late...

Pulp Legionnaires! Atten-hut!

This is to inform you that the latest edition of the Pulp Legion Electrogram has gone out via the interwebs.

It features my take on Mike Curtis's wonderful notes from the 2009 DGA Digital Conference from awhile back. (Yeah, I finally got it out the door...)

For potential recruits into the Legion - if you sign up (see sidebar) and email me with your name, I will forward you this latest issue outlining some of the ways entrepreneurial pulpsters are overcoming the distribution hurdles facing us in the 21st century. If you jump on now you'll be in line to benefit from some of the changes we will be undertaking leading us into the new year.

(Image courtesy of Golden Age Comic Book Stories)

Manga Is Mobile In Japan

Heidi MacDonald over at THE BEAT links to a great article in the NY Times that points the way for comic and book publishers here in the United States (okay, the West).

And gee, look at that - women are driving the turn to mobile comics:

But perhaps the most crucial driver behind the cellphone comic boom is its attractiveness to women. You can tell just by looking at the best-selling titles on mobile comic sites — all involve romance. “It’s a bit hard commenting publicly on this, but the most popular comics on the mobile are adult-oriented ones for women,” including love stories with sexually explicit content, Mr. Nakabayashi said. Translation: Women who do not want to be seen reading these titles in public places like the train helped create the market for manga on the cellphone, which accords them privacy in ways that magazines and books do not.

But of course, it's those silly publishers that are holding things up by only placing reprint material up for mobile phone consumption. No, I get it... they are moving slowly and surely to transition to a digital first environment.

But you don't want to move too slowly either.

Here in the west we have a lot of catching up to do in terms of digital comics and books. The more I read though, the more excited I get about the possibilities. The fact you can now read Kindle files on an IPhone is a great tool to get more books into the hands of people.

Comics and books aren't just for collectors. They aren't just for wrapping in plastic and storing away with the hope that they will increase in value. Their value is in the entertainment they provide and the ideas they impart.

Comics should be good.

Comics should be cheap.

Comics should be everywhere.

Use All of the Chicken...

If you want to make money in these rough times. DirecTV is doing just that:

THE TRIO CABLER won praise from TV critics a few years ago by showcasing acclaimed but short-lived series under the banner "Brilliant but Canceled." In essence, it marked a resourceful way for a channel with a meager budget to make its dollars go further by using every part of the chicken.

Now DirecTV's 101 Network is doing much the same with a bonus, offering all the episodes of axed programs -- including those that never saw the light of day -- billed as "The Complete Series." The satcaster's digging through TV's dearly departed began with the 2000 drama "Wonderland" and has expanded to include three recent Warner Bros. programs: "Smith," which begins this week, with four of its seven episodes never having aired on CBS; "The Nine," with 13 hours, four not shown by ABC; and "Eyes," which shot 12 episodes, though ABC aired just five of them.

We can only hope that this idea takes off and migrates further onto the internet.

BACK IN THE 1990s, late programming guru Brandon Tartikoff advised development execs that "Every show should be somebody's favorite show" -- a maxim that has evolved now that episodes can be bought and downloaded, creating a relatively new facility to translate cult followings into incremental revenue.

Because seriously, I want GLOBAL FREQUENCY to have an airing...and let me put this out into the universe -- this is a web serial I would want to see ala ANGEL OF DEATH. Perfect format on the perfect distribution platform for that show.

The Future of Pulp is a Double Espresso

From Legionnaire Extraordinaire Jim Henshaw comes this post regarding book rights, authorship and the future:




Don't be a monkey. Be an 800 lb. Gorilla (or is that Guerrilla?)

Addendum to the discussion.

News You Can Use: Razorfish Digital Outlook Report 2009

In setting up any business - media or otherwise - it's important to find out what the "experts"*** are reporting. Below is a link to the Razorfish Digital Outlook Report for 2009.

It promises to be an interesting future.

Download PDF report here.

*** Note: My quotes around the term experts isn't a jab at them. It's a comment on the fact that many of these reports are sales tools and you have to take them with a grain of salt. As with ANY report YMMV.

Get Your Sex Machine On!

Awhile back I posted this regarding Netflix and Christopher Sharpe's pulp feature debut SEX MACHINE...

and you responded by putting this pulpy picture into your Netflix queue (for which we thank you sincerely). HOWEVER, many of you emailed back saying that Netflix had this label on the movie:

Very Long Wait

(In red no less!)

So I put an email into the distributor right away and I'm pleased to report they were already on it. They have sent another shipment of discs out to Netflix and they will be winding their way to the Netflix distribution centers shortly. Soon, "Very Long Wait" will become "On Its Way."

But of course, you could always download the movie and watch it direct from Netflix too!
(Hey - I'm just sayin...)

And I'm also pleased to announce that SEX MACHINE is available to users on Vudu.com

Extry! Extry! Read all about it....

Curt Purcell over at The Groovy Age of Horror did me one better when he went about helping me prove the concept of digital comics and distribution. He uploaded a PDF he had of the infamous ADVENTURES OF PHOEBE ZEITGEIST by Michael O'Donoghue and Frank Springer.***

There is a change a'coming and it is going to make headlines.

Going to run off - have a photo shoot this morning for a DVD cover that I have to consult on... I'm taking my video camera along to shoot what goes into the making of a pulpy movie keyart.

*** I am not certain of the legality of this comic in terms of copyright. It is posted here in the interest of demonstration and discussion.