digital distribution & marketing for filmmakers

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igital Distribution & Marketin ilm Arts Foundation ctober 11, 2007 ott Kirsner tp://cinematech.blogspot.com [email protected]

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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.com

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Digital Distribution & Marketing for Filmmakers

Digital Distribution & MarketingFilm Arts FoundationOctober 11, 2007

Scott Kirsnerhttp://[email protected]

Page 2: Digital Distribution & Marketing for Filmmakers

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

Page 3: Digital Distribution & Marketing for Filmmakers

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

Page 4: Digital Distribution & Marketing for Filmmakers

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)

Page 5: Digital Distribution & Marketing for Filmmakers

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

Page 6: Digital Distribution & Marketing for Filmmakers

What are They Watching?

“Evolution of Dance” - 60 million views,$0 on YouTube

Page 7: Digital Distribution & Marketing for Filmmakers

What are They Watching?

“Extreme Diet Coke & Mentos Experiments”7.5 million views, $35,000 on Revver

Page 8: Digital Distribution & Marketing for Filmmakers

What are They Watching?

“Matrix - For Real” by Joe Eigo5.5 million views, $27,000 on Metacafe

Page 9: Digital Distribution & Marketing for Filmmakers

What are They Watching?

“405” on iFilm5.3 million views, $??

Page 10: Digital Distribution & Marketing for Filmmakers

What are They Watching?

“Ask a Ninja”$20,000 on Revver in 2006

Page 11: Digital Distribution & Marketing for Filmmakers

What are They Watching?

“Back Massage Techniques”1.4 million views, $7277 on Metacafe

Page 12: Digital Distribution & Marketing for Filmmakers

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

Page 13: Digital Distribution & Marketing for Filmmakers

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

Page 14: Digital Distribution & Marketing for Filmmakers

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 %

Page 15: Digital Distribution & Marketing for Filmmakers

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

Page 16: Digital Distribution & Marketing for Filmmakers

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)

Page 17: Digital Distribution & Marketing for Filmmakers

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.

Page 18: Digital Distribution & Marketing for Filmmakers

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.

Page 19: Digital Distribution & Marketing for Filmmakers

Economic Models• Paid download or rental (Brightcove,

Amazon/CreateSpace, Jaman, eventually iTunes?)

• Ad-supported (Revver, Metacafe, YouTube)

• DVD purchase (Amazon/CreateSpace, IndieFlix, IndiePix, FilmBaby)

Page 20: Digital Distribution & Marketing for Filmmakers

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

Page 21: Digital Distribution & Marketing for Filmmakers

*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?

Page 22: Digital Distribution & Marketing for Filmmakers

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

Page 23: Digital Distribution & Marketing for Filmmakers

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

Page 24: Digital Distribution & Marketing for Filmmakers

Reinventing Distribution:“Iraq for Sale”

1. Made to influence the 2006 mid-term elections2. Online financing3. House parties/DVD sales

Page 25: Digital Distribution & Marketing for Filmmakers

Reinventing Distribution: House Parties

Page 26: Digital Distribution & Marketing for Filmmakers

Distribution Deals: Exercise

• Fine print matters

Page 27: Digital Distribution & Marketing for Filmmakers

Marketing Exercise

• Marketing (let’s call it “audience-building”) begins the moment you decide to make your movie

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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?

Page 29: Digital Distribution & Marketing for Filmmakers

Where Film Fans Hang Out

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Where Film Fans Hang Out

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Where Film Fans Hang Out

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Marketing: Pre-Release

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Marketing: Pre-Release

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Marketing: Pre-Release

QuickTime™ and aMPEG-4 Video decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Page 35: Digital Distribution & Marketing for Filmmakers

Marketing: Pre-Release

Documentary: “Half a Soulja”

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Marketing: Pre-Release

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Marketing: Pre-Release

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Marketing: Release Time

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Marketing: Release Time

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Marketing: Release Time

Feature: “Head Trauma”

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Marketing: DVD & Post-Theatrical

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Marketing: DVD & Post-Theatrical

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Marketing: “Embed and Spread”

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How Can You Get the Audience Involved?

• Auditions/casting

• Music submissions

• Research

• Scouting locations

• What else?

Page 45: Digital Distribution & Marketing for Filmmakers

Video: M dot Strange

QuickTime™ and a decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Page 46: Digital Distribution & Marketing for Filmmakers

Q&A

• Thank you for being here!

• Scott Kirsner / [email protected] / http://cinematech.blogspot.com