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Showing posts from February, 2011

Why Mass Digital Distribution Calls For Even More DIY Marketing & Self Promotion

  It was only a matter of time before the big fish in the pond began seeing the incredible potential in digital distribution and new media exhibition platforms. It's more than just iTunes or iPads or online streaming. The potential comes in the revival of niche programming, a renaissance in avant garde indie content. Up until now, any indie auteur relied solely on festival exposure to have any chance at reaching a targeted audience; this would often prove to be a nominal gesture for said filmmaker because big wig marketers usually catered to the wrong crowd. We know now, with web 2.0 and filmmaking 2.0, that free online tools help content creators curate their targeted audience .  So when you add aggressive self promotion, free online platforms and sophisticated tools for distribution (tablet devices, small digital cinemas), you have a new wave of moviemaking and thus a resurgence in the cinephile moviegoing community . And for any exhibitor or distributor, a revived co

"I Just Like To Make Things"

The need for neoauteurs is great. Probably more needed than ever. And not for conventional reasons of industry argument either (e.g. to exist as the antidote to such Tinseltown dreck as Avatar or The Ugly Truth ) but because this recent democratization of film has given birth to a wave of faux novice filmmakers who are more in love with their camera--and not their content. Our indie cinema needs more narrative risk takers and more artists challenging our perception of the world. I'm not saying that there aren't any neoauteurs around right now but with filmmaking 2.0 being available at every corner, it seems that now is the most opportune time to really experiment with conventional form, delivery and method . A few years back a colleague of mine, James Choi , managed to get a few questions in with one of my favorite filmmakers Harmony Korine down at the SXSW Festival. It's a gem of an interview because Korine plays his usual role as a subtle prankster, challen

Filmmaker 2.0 Gameplan -- Get Your Project To Your Audience

The beautiful and elusive aspect to the golden Hollywood exhibition model is that the work you create could actually be projected on thousands of screens across the country. How about that? But if you're not at the helm of Just Go With It or The Green Hornet or any studio-backed production, chances are you are also amidst the undefined the landscape that is new media independent moviemaking. So where do you go? How do you begin to stake your claim in this market ? For a while now, many of the articles I have published on Cinefile.com have marched to the same beat: Today the notion of DIY is less novel and more necessary. The Do-It-Yourself mentality has (luckily) grown into more of a business mindset and less of a "renegade" or "guerilla" mentality . It was inevitable. When an industry like ours sees less opportunity for independent film to flourish--albeit through domestic sales or production capital--on a mainstream scale, doesn't it seem n

Why Free Is Good

Focused platforms and niche dial tones are the future. They will integrate networking and cross-channel viral promotion. It's the future of social media. Cinefile.com is prime example of this -- and yes, it holds a dear place near my heart of course! Cinefile.com: The Movie Industry Network from Cinefile.com on Vimeo . And what's the great thing about all of these tools? THEY'RE FREE . Seize the moment.

How I Learned to Love the Reshoot (Learning Lessons in DIY Filmmaking)

Independent filmmaker  Gary King  produced this terrific and insightful video on the trials and tribulations of new age moviemaking. Enjoy.

The New Independent And The Vitality Of A Liquid Network

Maybe it started with the Democratization of film . Maybe the Internet was destined to be the revised distribution and exhibition system . Whatever the case, one thing is certain: This is the most exciting and daring time for independent cinema. This Steven Johnson video has been circulating the net for a bit and its content should resonate with every independent artist, content creator and financier. The notion of having a "liquid network" is quite radical when you consider how much we believe in guarding our secrets. Even social networks like Facebook, tend to be more competitive than collaborative -- I have more fans than you do! or My trailer link got more 'Likes'! The bottom line is this: Moving forward in this wild west landscape, known as "independent moviemaking," I feel it is vital that we not only continue to work together but we must also be open to fucking up in front of each other. Drop that iron curtain. Say whatever is on the tip