digital distribution & marketing for filmmakers
DESCRIPTION
Slides for a workshop on how filmmakers can use the Internet (and other new technologies) to market and distribute their work. This is a talk I've been giving at film schools, and most recently, the Film Arts Foundation in San Francisco. Related blog: http://cinematech.blogspot.comTRANSCRIPT
Digital Distribution & MarketingFilm Arts FoundationOctober 11, 2007
Scott Kirsnerhttp://[email protected]
Digital Distribution: The Opportunity
• A direct pipeline to the viewer• Fewer middlemen• Niche content can reach its rightful
audience, efficiently• More profit in pockets of
filmmakers and their financiers
Workshop Overview
• Discussion of digital distribution strategies• Exercise: Sample distribution contracts• Guest speaker: Filmmaker Jim Kerns• Exercise: Building audience for your project • Discussion of digital marketing strategies• Guest speaker: Distributor Alex Afterman
Digital Distribution, Defined
• There are two kinds of digital distribution:
1. Digital distribution over the Internet2. Digital distribution to a network of
digital cinemas (Christie/AIX, Technicolor, Emerging Pictures)
Who’s Watching Video on the Web?
• 75 percent of US Internet users watched an average of three hours of online video in July 2007, according to comScore Video Metrix
• Apple’s iTunes store has sold over 50 million TV episodes ($1.99 each) and 1.3 million feature films ($9.99 to $14.99 each), as of January 2007
• On YouTube, the most popular video, “Evolution of Dance,” has been seen 60 million times, and the average viewer spends 26 minutes per month on the site, according to Nielsen/NetRatings
What are They Watching?
“Evolution of Dance” - 60 million views,$0 on YouTube
What are They Watching?
“Extreme Diet Coke & Mentos Experiments”7.5 million views, $35,000 on Revver
What are They Watching?
“Matrix - For Real” by Joe Eigo5.5 million views, $27,000 on Metacafe
What are They Watching?
“405” on iFilm5.3 million views, $??
What are They Watching?
“Ask a Ninja”$20,000 on Revver in 2006
What are They Watching?
“Back Massage Techniques”1.4 million views, $7277 on Metacafe
Commonalities• Videos making money on the Net
so far are:– Short (typically 10 mins or less, 2.7
mins on average)– Entertaining or instructive– Not reliant on dialogue
Consumption HabitsA September 2006 AP/AOL survey of 1,347 online video users reported on the types of videos they
were consuming
News: 72 percentTelevision or movie clips: 59 percentMusic videos: 48 percentSports highlights: 44 percentAmateur videos: 43 percentConcert highlights: 23 percent
Full-length movies or TV shows: 22 percent
Live sporting events: 17 percentVideo podcasts: 17 percentLive concerts: 9 percent
Where Consumption HappensTop U.S. Online Video Properties
by Videos Viewed July 2007
(Source: comScore Video Metrix)
Videos Share (%) of Property (MM) Videos
Total Internet 9,077 100.0 % Google Sites 2,454 27.0 % Yahoo! Sites 390 4.3 % Fox Interactive Media 298 3.3 % Viacom Digital 281 3.1 % Disney Online 182 2.0 % Time Warner Network 181 2.0 % Microsoft Sites 149 1.6 % ESPN 75 0.8 % Veoh.com 53 0.6 % Comcast Corporation 51 0.6 %
Filmmaker Experiences
$7 million budget….Digital download on AOL in October 2006: $2.49 for 5-day rental, $7.99 to own…AOL committed millions to promotion…Later released by Sony Home Entertainment on DVD
Filmmaker Experiences
Budget under $1 million…Director turned down $125K distrib offer…Debuted on Google video in Jan. 2006, with 70/30 revenue split at $3.99 per download…300 downloads, not 3000…About $1000 in revenue, but 22,000 DVDs shipped (MTI Home Video)
Filmmaker Experiences
Budget under $10 million…Distributed on Net two weeks after theatrical release, in December 2006 … $9.99 for rental, $19.99 for download to own…Released on DVD in February by First Look.
Filmmaker Experiences
Doc made by two first-time filmmakers…Self-distributed to theaters and on DVD…Filmmakers have sold 4000 DVDs, 700 downloads through their own site (powered by E-Junkie) and Amazon Unbox, as of September 2007.
Economic Models• Paid download or rental (Brightcove,
Amazon/CreateSpace, Jaman, eventually iTunes?)
• Ad-supported (Revver, Metacafe, YouTube)
• DVD purchase (Amazon/CreateSpace, IndieFlix, IndiePix, FilmBaby)
Challenges• iTunes not open to indie content• Aside from iTunes, no obvious second-tier player for
paid rentals or downloads• No widely-used connection yet between Internet
and TV (Apple TV, TiVo/Unbox, MSFT Xbox all candidates)
• “Snacking” behavior; preference for short videos• Windowing issues• Deal terms (varying splits…some traditional
homevid distributors want to lock up digital rights)• Marketing in a noisy environment with near-infinite
choice
*A Note on Aggregators• iTunes, CinemaNow, and some other
sites won’t buy from lone filmmakers• FilmBaby, IODA, MediaStyle angling• How much will they take?
Challenges of D-Cinema Distribution
• More than 10 percent of all screens in US can now play digital content
• Most of these are operated by Christie/AIX (aka AccessIT), though Technicolor, Dolby, and DCIP plan to be players, too
• Cost of encoding your movie in the DCI-approved format is still high… do you want to both create a digital version and also a film print?
• Today’s digital screens tend to play mostly studio content, not self-distributed movies
• Exceptions: Landmark Theatres, Emerging Pictures
Reinventing Distribution:“Four Eyed Monsters”
1. Played SXSW2. Didn’t get picked up3. Video podcasts 4. The importance of e-mail addresses and ZIP codes5. Demand-based theatrical showings
Reinventing Distribution:“Iraq for Sale”
1. Made to influence the 2006 mid-term elections2. Online financing3. House parties/DVD sales
Reinventing Distribution: House Parties
Distribution Deals: Exercise
• Fine print matters
Marketing Exercise
• Marketing (let’s call it “audience-building”) begins the moment you decide to make your movie
Marketing
• What is your movie about?
• Who is the audience for your movie?
• Where do they hang out online?
• What can you give them / how can they help you?
Where Film Fans Hang Out
Where Film Fans Hang Out
Where Film Fans Hang Out
Marketing: Pre-Release
Marketing: Pre-Release
Marketing: Pre-Release
QuickTime™ and aMPEG-4 Video decompressor
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Marketing: Pre-Release
Documentary: “Half a Soulja”
Marketing: Pre-Release
Marketing: Pre-Release
Marketing: Release Time
Marketing: Release Time
Marketing: Release Time
Feature: “Head Trauma”
Marketing: DVD & Post-Theatrical
Marketing: DVD & Post-Theatrical
Marketing: “Embed and Spread”
How Can You Get the Audience Involved?
• Auditions/casting
• Music submissions
• Research
• Scouting locations
• What else?
Video: M dot Strange
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Q&A
• Thank you for being here!
• Scott Kirsner / [email protected] / http://cinematech.blogspot.com