Distribution article

[Spatula]

Article on Digital distribution

I read this somewhat disheartening but informed article as I was perusing the internet for alternate distribution methods. It brings me to a couple questions.

Sometime this spring, the long overdue Macbeth 3000 (with Canadian Movie, the behind the scenes feature) will be finished and packaged on DVD. We'll have a short chance to distribute this DVD to an audience of hopefully 1000 people, and will be using the website as a base-camp for the sales.

So to anyone who has sold a DVD through thier website, manufactured (or paid for) the DVDs themselves, and ultimately been able to send/recieve payments/dvds:

1) What method of payment worked for you? Paypal, credit card, cheque?
2) Where did you find the bulk of your audience- through the crew/cast, through the internet, through marketing tactics?
3) Aside from the internet, what are some other no-cost methods to distribute a DVD?
4) Shipping and Handling and tax- do you bother?

I'm pretty much looking for the littlest amount of upright costs, without having to go to someplace like Customflix. Why? Because I think it will be a good learning experience, and really, that's what a first film is all about right?

Also, since we've had release dates as far back as Fall 2003, and the movie was shown in 2005 at 2 venues and 1 festival- is it still eligible for distribution? Or has the time for that passed?

Thanks for the help- appreciate it. There's so much research that goes into every aspect of filmmaking- sometimes it's a bit overwhelming, but at least it's never boring.

 

[CootDog]

This may not be proper for me to answer this since I have not sold a DVD of a film I've created but I have been doing marketing research.

I think distribution is still viable. One thing that I've been researching is being booked by NPR (National Public Radio). Many people have found a very sharp increase in sales after they've been interviewed on NPR. Most of the people in my office listen to it and it has a large following. Bigger than I thought. I don't know about opportunities in Canada, but I'm sure there has to be affiliates up there. If not, it doens't mean that you can't be interviewed over the phone. I hear it all the time.

 

[bugzilla]

A very good point

Everything this article points out seems to be true. Production values will always infuence an audience. The flood of cheap, poorly made films will do to the market what the same glut of product did to VHS home video rental back in the early 90s. The thing is, those same cheap genre films are still being made and marketed. Some of them are mildly successful. The article mentions Clerks as an aberration, but the success of Clerks is the key to all indie film success. Clerks presented on film a new aesthetic. It resonated with geeks and fanboys because it "got" us. Production values are not as important as that. Reservoir Dogs is another example. Sure, it had some well known actors in it, but the same script would have worked with unkown actors as well. It was a new aesthetic. It was a new voice. If you can produce a film that has that quality and get the word out, it should find it's audience.

(I included this definition not to look smart or talk down to anyone. I just hate it when people use catch-phrases without explaining what they mean by them)

aesthetic (noun)
1. A guiding principle in matters of artistic beauty and taste; artistic sensibility: “a generous Age of Aquarius aesthetic that said that everything was art” (William Wilson).
2. An underlying principle, a set of principles, or a view often manifested by outward appearances or style of behavior: “What troubled him was the squalor of [the colonel's] aesthetic” (Lewis H. Lapham).

 

[Loud Orange Cat]

"The internet will never be a viable method of distribution for music." --RIAA

I count 1 billion songs being sold by Apple.

As for video, Apple is now selling (and giving away) television episodes before their broadcast premiere.

iTunes has also raised the ratings for shows like The Office.

Apple just bought a new datacenter, rumored to host a movie distribution site for iTunes.

It's amazing how a lot of people poo-poo things before they're allowed to fly.

"I hope digital becomes the standard." --Kevin Smith speaking about the future of film.