You know, that is far more likely to work than starting from scratch and building an audience from zero..
I was thinking this morning of combining my ideas - first, use the webisode and social media to build an audience, and then launch my magnum opus. This, along with going on the convention circuit, would build that audience. I understand, for Star Wars, they did hit the science-fiction convention circuit.
With feature films you always have a sellable product -- if you put it on a shelf after the festival circuit, of course it won't make money, but if you market it, it'll bring in some money and as long as you market it, money will continue to come in. With a short, you can't sell it at all to anyone.
Oh, right, I didn't know that - but Rik has been telling me to make a feature film for ages.
Let me note here that it will take a LOT of effort to earn back a sizable amount of the production cost. I'm not selling a get-rich scheme.
You ain't whistling Dixie, bubba.
Some people say that but I disagree. Whether you make a $500,000 feature with sizable crew in two months or spend $15,000 and a few years with just a PA or two to make a feature, the most you can sell a DVD for is $15 bucks, and whatever the current download/stream cost is. You need to sell far fewer copies of your film to recover your expenses with the $15K film than the $500k. Social media, PR and personal hawking of your film at very little expense will work for the $15K film. For the $500k film, to make any kind of dent at all, you'll likely need to pay for some PR (advertising) and that's a gamble and you don't have the money anyway.
Interesting. Yes, you can recover your cost for a $15K film more easily, but I didn't know you could sell a $15 K film. I guess the Blair Witch Project is the perfect example. I'd like to see hard numbers, because we're just speculating as to the rate of return.
As for your other ideas, who knows if it'll really work. The horizon is WIDE OPEN for new ideas for film distribution to succeed -- it's going to take some smartness, risk and a whole lot of luck.If you figure it out, you'll be a mogul for sure.
I've been saying that the internet would disrupt the entertainment industry, and, as Directorik will tell you, I have given myself a timeline of a decade to BEGIN filming my movie, but, with all the encouragement, I may begin my webisodes sooner. And, don't forget, there are economies of scale - if I build the sets for my webisode series, the cost per webisoide/movie will go down, though total cost will go up. IOW, if I start slow, building my capital, expertise, and audience, I will have a lower fixed cost when I start my movie.
