1008indyfilms's Blog

How the Internet revamped my film career

packwagon — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 08:45:05 +0000

Once upon a time in the 1980s, I made 16mm short films. My first film, Louise Smells a Rat, was made from recutting snippets of other peoples’ films and borrowing a song. The total budget, just over $1,000, went to lab fees. In those days, I’d finish a film, put it in a “jiffy” bag, and send it off to a film festival. This was how you got noticed, and if you were really lucky, got some press. The brass ring, never assured, was a distribution deal with a major company. Today, thanks to the Internet, I’ve short-circuited this process — and transformed my work and my life. When I sent my first film off, I held my breath, and I got very lucky. Louise Smells a Rat was invited to the New York Film Festival and was mentioned in the press. In an effort to begin to make money, I determined to make a feature film, and did that for $77,000 (How to Be Louise). It was invited to the Sundance Festival and the Berlin Film Festival. International distribution seemed very likely. In the first 10 minutes of one of the Berlin screenings, the bulb blew in the projector, and at least one critical taste-maker got up and walked out. The distributors did not line up. The festival launchpad dream totally fizzled. It was back to the drawing board. I was going to write a feature film script distributors would find irresistible. Seventeen years and thousands of drafts later, it occurred to me that the Internet could save me from my life plan. To get a potential audience of millions, all I’d need is broadband, a consumer video camera, and some $3 tapes. And with venues like YouTube demanding short films, and some people even making a living from them, I saw a new light. Hey, maybe I could be a miniaturist, after all. My 17-years-in-the-making script fell to the knife. What am I doing, I wondered aloud, gutting my script of its juiciest moments and throwing them up on YouTube for free? Am I nuts? Bob Berney, who distributed My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Passion of the Christ, told me it sounded like a good idea: “You’ll get buzz.” Another sage announced, “If it’s good, you can give it away and still make money.” And still another said, “Make something that has an audience, and a business plan will follow.” Well, at least peace of mind has followed. I can snarl at “powerful” people. I can even spend an entire party with my back to the crowd, bent over the hors d’oeuvres. I hadn’t realized that my filmic need for a movie star to “attach” to my script, or my quest for a producer with access to financing, had warped my social life for years. Whenever I met someone, my mind raced to who they knew, if they’d be willing to help me, and, most urgently, how I could start a conversation with them when I felt so desperate and fraudulent. Recent articles report that people are making six figures doing what I’m doing, if they’re succeeding with the “outreach.” I haven’t mastered viral marketing, but there is an immediate audience for my work, and the rest is up to me. I kiss our modem with gratitude. Who wants to make work, in any medium, that goes into a drawer? Today, the Internet offers the potential to get to any and everyone — if you make good work and can figure out how to promote it online. — Anne Flournoy makes film and video. She is a Guggenheim Fellow and is currently producing The Louise Log, a comedy series on YouTube about the challenges of marriage, motherhood, and all of life – as narrated by an overactive inner voice.

Written by Anne Flournoy.

Taken from Internet Evolution http://www.internetevolution.com/author.asp?section_id=702&doc_id=170438

Scrounged by Matt

Is Youtube really crushing all competetion?

darrenhart — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 03:18:33 +0000

Apparently so!

Ive been doing some research on wether or not youtube is really ahead of all its competitors. Ive come across a few articles that have substantial evidence supporting this statement.

“A 60 percent market share that is 50 percent greater than the next 64 video sites combined makes for a dominant position in the online video industry.”

Could this be true? Surely another website has to be closer to the video sharing giant.

Data also supports this statement as the average cumulative views over 90 days was taken with a bunch of video sharing websites. Youtube ranked up a whopping score of 3092.2! Second place went to Yahoo videos with a score of 699.9, followed by Veoh, Metacafe, Myspace, DailyMotion and a few others respectfully.

But why is youtube so popular? Im sure other sites offer the exact same video upload/sharing options that youtube does. I know that a couple of them do claim to be higher quality, faster streaming services… But why do we stick with youtube?

I think part of the reason is the fact that youtube was really the first site on the internet of its kind. I remeber hearing about it in about 2006 and i know that it was definatley a one of a kind website. So i guess people chose to stick with it.

Also, it could be because of the fact the google bought out youtube in late 2006. SO due to this, traffic from the google search engine alone could crank up the visitors to youtube. And ive experienced this myself. How many times have you typed a search in google to have the first results come up as youtube videos? Exactly..

For Indie Film makers, I guess youtube is THE way to go. Youtube definitely takes your stuff to a broader audience than any other website on the market. More viewers? More Subscibers? More fame?

Turns out Youtube is the way to go for Indie Film Makers. No other site can compare.

At least for the moment…

Sourced from:

http://www.tubemogul.com/research/views_bycategory_study.pdf

www.webpronews.com/topnews/2007/06/27/youtube-crushes-all-video-competition

What Indy filmmakers really need?

1008indyfilms — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 01:44:43 +0000

Over my past couple of blogs I have looked at advantages and disadvantages of YouTube, YouTube’s screening room and other problems associated with them. I have also looked at other video sharing websites (i.e. Atom films). From all the articles read and all information gathered I realized there is no one sole outlet for independent filmmakers to showcase their talent. Yes YouTube’s screening room is trying to do this and hopefully it works. However what I mean to get at is from the countless video sharing websites that are out there, not one truly houses everything an Indy filmmaker needs.

Independent film makers need a couple of things to get the right exposure.

1. A good overall film (this means good storyline, editing, etc.)

2. An outlet to showcase their pieces of art (i.e. film festivals, video sharing websites)

3. Most importantly genuinely interested viewers to whom their film appeal to.

Now there is countless video sharing websites that can be used as a platform for the World Wide Web to see, but are any of the films uploaded are quality?. This is where the film festivals come into play. Look at the St. Kilda film festival, a combination of good films being judged by a panel that knows the industry in and out. Thus only the top films are chosen for the majority of the public to see. So what should be done is to create a website that allows filmmakers to upload their films and have a sort of film festival feel by having a panel judging which ones will appear. Also it will need to have strict guidelines that would need to be adhered to. This would be great for the many talented people as the website would solely be dedicated to their cause.

Posted by Kenny Gonzalez

Youtube Screening Room, another ATOM films?

1008indyfilms — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 02:59:12 +0000

YouTube’s screening room yes is a genuine outlet for independent film makers to get their films the exposure they always dreamed of. However if this concept does sound familiar that is because another site has tried this and failed. Atom films was a site before YouTube’s screening room that allowed film makers to upload films, however they found out soon that the millions of people surfing the web were not interested in art house films that were available. They realized that viewers were more interested in comedy films, animation films and films that hint nudity might be involved.

Is that not what the most viewed videos on YouTube are about? You Tuber’s are used to videos that are only a couple of minutes long, how can 15 minute length art house films compete with a laughing baby only going for at most a minute. This was the downfall of atomfilms.com a site that was a genuine outlet for film makers but then died. Now there is atom.com, a re-launched atomfilms.com, however they are now only dedicated to comedic videos. This now begs the question: What makes YouTube different?

Firstly YouTube has already laid the platform. The largest video sharing website, ease of use, the millions of people that are members who upload videos and the millions more who watch these films. They have helped a lot of film makers score DVD distribution deals, they helped Susan Buice and Arin Crumley get one of these deals for their film ‘Four Eyed Monsters’. This short film had hints of voyeurism and some people argue that this why they scored this deal. A Clark University professor in the field of screen studies said “We are a culture of voyeurs”. He further added “We love to look, and we especially love to look at other people”. This fascination of watching people is what strikes us most, someone bearing their souls for the whole world to see this is why YouTube has had the success it has had. We just need to hope now that YouTube’s screening room does not take the same approach of atomfilms.com but instead continue to aid Indy filmmakers. But the same outcome is still viable the screening room being turned into a glorified YouTube.

Posted by Kenny Gonzalez

Information sourced by :

http://newteevee.com/2008/06/19/youtube-screening-room-atomfilms-redux/

http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/06/youtube-screens.html

http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060611/NEWS/606110552/1011/FEATURES

Youtube: Friend or Foe to Indy film makers?

1008indyfilms — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 02:13:40 +0000

Youtube is one of the webs most popular websites. On this video sharing website one must simply register to begin uploading videos however by simply visiting this site you will be able to get access to view the millions of videos. With 100 million video clips seen daily and an estimated 65,000 new videos uploaded in a 24 hour period. No wonder in the past 5 years it has been a hit amongst users, due to the ease of use and simplicity of the site. With so much video content available and seen daily the question needs to be asked, will independent film makers have the masterpieces viewed or simply put into yesterdays rubbish pile?

Before youtube and video sharing sites, independent film makers would have to get their films entered into a film festival to be viewed. However through this new outlet they can make their films and upload them for the world to see. However will the world see? For their videos to make it on the front page of the site, it must be viewed 50,000 – 75,000 with the first 48 hours of your video being uploaded. This will be fine for most film makers who already have exposure out their already, but for beginning film makers this will be hard to do.

However there is a light at the end of this tunnel with youtube creating a virtual screening room for Indy filmmakers. This website has already had major success with some filmmakers already scoring a TV and DVD distribution deal. What makes this site so unique is that all films are welcomed however there is a panel who will judge the films and only four new films will be up weekly. This panel will also work with the Sundance Channel to find talent. The film makers will also share in the profits of their work as their videos will have a ‘buy now’ option. The way this will work is by selling DVDs or digital copies of their work.

Yes youtube is a giant website that will only continue to grow, however with the introduction of the screening room it is now aiding new talented film makers find an outlet for the world to see

Posted by Kenny Gonzalez

Information sourced by :

http://ezinearticles.com/?History-and-Detailed-Overview-of-Googles-YouTube-Video-Sharing&id=757432

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,369284,00.html

Article from the WorldChanging website

packwagon — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 08:43:04 +0000

This article mentions the huge advantages with using YouTube for up-and-coming film makers.

http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/004260.html

Scrounged by Matt

Will anyone ever see your film?

packwagon — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 08:28:26 +0000

Looks like even when you do get your short film on YouTube, there’s no guarantee anyone will ever see it.

Scrounged by Matt

YouTube offers free films from acclaimed independent filmmakers worldwide

packwagon — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 07:33:28 +0000

Internet search engine giant Google’s popular YouTube video sharing Web site has begun offering free films from acclaimed independent filmmakers worldwide, with the Wednesday evening Los Angeles launch of its new Screening Room program, the San Bruno, California-based company announced.

Longer Format For Independent Filmmakers

The Screening Room section of YouTube’s Web site will initially make four new films available each Friday, many of which have premiered at film festivals worldwide, viewable using a special video delivery system that offers better image quality than the company’s standard video clip player, YouTube said in a statement announcing the platform’s launch.

The films generally run substantially longer than YouTube’s standard ten minute limit, pushing towards more traditional full-length running times, a move the company has hinted at over the past several months.

Up-and-coming filmmakers have used YouTube in their efforts to market films in the past, placing preview clips on the site in order to draw attention to their films, however the ten minute limitation has prevented the type of widespread exposure for entire films the new Screening Room program may eventually usher in.

Seeking To Help Independent Films Gain Audience

Musician Moby, whose MobyGratis program helps filmmakers by allowing some of his music to be used in their films, said the new YouTube program would help film artists. “The YouTube Screening Room is about empowering filmmakers and helping them get their work seen,” Moby said in the Wednesday statement. “What drives good artists, both filmmakers and musicians, is to create something they love and have other people experience it,” Moby added.

An editorial panel at YouTube will select the new weekly Screening Room films from partners such as the Sundance Channel and from various film festivals, beginning with a first month that will include films from Norway, Canada, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States, YouTube said.

Films from Ireland, Kenya, Germany, Australia, France and Austria are planned for inclusion in the Screening Room program over the next several months, as well as films from notable artists in the industry, such as “Juno” producer Daniel Dubiecki.

To Provide Feedback For Directors

“Having produced over 25 short films and having watched hundreds, if not thousands, I know that The YouTube Screening Room will be a great forum for watching shorts and discussing them,” said Dubiecki, whose short film “The Big Empty” will see its debut in the program on July 4.

“It is a very fair and democratic way of allowing people all over the globe to watch films, rate them, and have the opportunity to speak about their feelings. I love watching films in theaters, but I now find myself watching more shorts on YouTube. I’m really looking forward to seeing the community’s feedback on our film,” Dubiecki added.

Some of the films to be shown using the new Screening Room program, such as Dubiecki’s latest short, will be seen for the first time by the public, YouTube said.

Just as they may when using YouTube’s general site, visitors to the Screening Room will be able to comment on films, and rate or share links to them, the company said.

Advertising Revenue Sought

Each film chosen for the new program was to appear with the permission and involvement of its filmmakers, helping them to “find the audiences they deserve” in a “new generation of filmmaking and distribution,” according to YouTube.

“YouTube is a natural place for filmmakers and audiences to connect,” said YouTube film manager Sara Pollack. “We are excited to offer filmmakers around the world a new distribution opportunity and to encourage more conversation within our community around film,” Pollack added.

That distribution on the new YouTube site was to be done without changing the company’s policy of not paying filmmakers for video material, instead offering them a portion of advertising revenue earned for allowing the Screening Room to show their films. The ability to generate revenue through advertising has long been a goal at Google, which purchased YouTube, the world’s largest video sharing Web site, for $1.65 billion in stock compensation in 2006.

YouTube Opens Screening Room For Independent Filmmakers

YouTube hopes to lead consumers from watching the films shown in the Screening Room to buying them on DVD or as digital downloads through “Buy Now” links on the new site that can be set up by filmmakers, a feature that could provide a significant number of viewers should the program take off for YouTube, which drew some 69 million visitors during May, according to Web traffic measurement firm Nielsen Online.

This method of generating revenue may draw independent directors, however major film studios and large broadcast networks have increasingly turned to streaming their own video content online, such as Fox and NBC with video firm Hulu, and ABC with its Web presence.

One of the Screening Room’s offerings was the short film “Are You the Favorite Person of Anybody?” directed by “Chuck and Buck” filmmaker Miguel Artega and written by performance artist Miranda July, who also directed of the 2005 film “Me and You and Everyone We Know.” The film also features Academy Award nominated actor John C. Reilly.

Taken from: http://www.searchengineworld.com/advertising/3457918.htm

Scrounged by Matt