So you make the best film you can possibly make. You’re rubbing your hands in anticipation of all the people that’ll see your pic. Except, getting distribution has reputedly always been a bit of a problem, especially for smaller studios. (I’ve known people in the biz, and there’s always personal politics, they say.) But what about online distribution?
IP Democracy had a post earlier this month, indie films caught in a technology transition, that bounces off of a recent NY Times piece about how the closure of outlets like Tower Records is hurting the DVD sales of artistic films. That’s because giants like Wal-Mart and others have certain quota rules that typically mean such DVDs get pulled off the shelves sooner.
Now IPD stated that the NYT piece barely mentioned online distribution, then rightly pointed out that that it’s still a technology in transition. Thing is, online distribution could be a small studio’s saving grace. I recall reading something about the Firefly TV series and how it got new life online, as well as advanced monies from fans. Here’s a very brief summary of online guerilla film/TV marketing and production, based on what a number of studios have done, both for TV shows and films.
- Establish a presence.
Setup both a website and a blog. The blog can be about the studio’s projects, the people, the biz, related films or TV shows, etc. - Tickle their fancy.
Show meaty trailers online, downloadable for free. Blog the heck out of the “product” to draw fresh regular visitors. - Bootstrap funding.
Pull a PR stunt like offering “co-producer” credits to each person that donates $200 (or whatever). Get a thousand people and you have a long list of credits, but you have an extra two hundred grand for promotions. Or a good webmaster and a blogger for a year, and web hosting costs. - Sell involvement.
For series with a small but loyal viewership (like Joss Whedon‘s Firefly), ask your viewers to buy a season’s worth of DVDs up front, before the season shoots. One million viewers is nothing for regular broadcast TV, but online, with each fan paying, say, $50-$100 to get early access, that’s $50-$100M in capital. How many episodes could you shoot with that? Don’t forget to thank your fans on the website. I’m sure that for the right show, loads of fans would be happy to participate in extending its life. - Invite criticism.
As a long-time amateur film and TV critic, I’m pretty sure that you could invite film/TV bloggers to “criticize” your content on their blog. It’d be incredibly easy to show them trailers, or even a copy of your content, possibly DRM’d. Bad or good, each review would get your website a link, building it’s presence. I mean, who the heck listens to critics anyway :) The real value of criticism is to create awareness of existence. - DIY distribution.
When the show or film is ready, distribute it online via your own torrent setup. Or for a few dollars in shipping charges, have DVDs dropshipped to fans. Of course, you run the risk that someone could post a copy online, but that might happen whether or not you dropship. - Alternate distribution.
With IPTV soft clients like Joost and Babelgum in the works (still betas), and with a dearth of content, you may be able to strike up a deal with one of them. There’s also Apple’s movie store, and their upcoming wireless iTV set-top box, which lets users stream video content from computer to TV set. Getting a packaging deal might be quite the marketing coup. There’s also mobile TV on cell phones, but despite being a TV junkie, I hold very little hope for mobile TV on stupidly small screens. (In case you throw video iPods at me, figuratively speaking, research shows that most owners don’t use the video functions. Though I’ll have to find that reference later.)
I don’t claim to have all the answers, but it seems to me that a determined studio can get around the politics of regular distribution by going online. Then the really good shows and films with a small viewership have a chance of surviving, instead of falling into oblivion.
Originally posted on March 13, 2007 @ 5:40 pm