Film Distribution (Docs & Shorts)

Hollywood sets up a separate corporation for each movie with the intent that this corporation will take on losses. The studio then charges the "film corporation" a huge fee (which creates a large part of the "expense" that leads to the loss). The end result is that the studio still rakes in the cash, but for accounting purposes the film is a money "loser" -- which matters quite a bit for anyone who is supposed to get a cut of any profits.

When anyone puts our film online for free, we have a little celebration in our office. Because that means our content is good enough that people want to share it.

Re: distribution and marketing. Several online sites were cited, including vodo.net, goodscreenings.org, openindie.com, all trying to answer the question of how to monotize non-theatrical screenings. Flixster was mentioned as being not indie-friendly.
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A recent cable VOD success was HARVARD BEATS YALE which generated $100K gross revenue

You have to break up your rights fitting each right with the best possible distributor. You will retain the most control over your film this way. Don't make all rights deals unless you have no other choice. Most likely, one distributor won't be the best at everything and most distributors cross collateralize, shrinking your profit margin substantially. You have to retain the right to sell your film online in both DVD and streaming formats and at screenings, no questions asked.

Now that the extension is a whisker away from becoming law, all you film makers can start approaching investors and their confused accountants to tout the extradorinary tax incentive that is Seciton 181. Remember the tax dedcution that 181 offers is against passive income (although there are subtle nuances that allow active investors to take the deduction against active income). Also, musicians, videographers, web casters, 181 can be used for all qualifying films; which is to say it is not just for feature length films.

Bunch of links

But as changes have swept the indie world, service deals have become an increasingly popular option, one way to ensure the prestige and visibility that only a theatrical release can provide. With so many specialty outfits having closed their doors, and other companies limiting offers to video rights, producers are more willing to share in the costs of releasing their pics.

Under the service model, producers pay distributors an upfront fee and a percentage of boxoffice -- in many cases, that also covers the distributor's outlays for marketing and distribution. The upside is that they retain rights and future profits on the movie; the downside is they take on much greater financial risk. And new variations on the model are cropping up all the time, sometimes with distribs buying only partial rights.

With Distribber, now you can start selling your completed works on iTunes, Netflix and Amazon and:

* keep all your rights
* get 100% of your revenues
* submit once for multiple stores
* withdraw your earnings on demand
* track sales across stores

Below are the lists of the Alamo's top box office draws, with the national ranking, added by us, in parentheses.

SOUTH LAMAR
1. SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE (16, from 2008 numbers)
2. STAR TREK (7)
3. DISTRICT 9 (27)
4. HARRY POTTER & THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE (3)
5. ZOMBIELAND (40)
6. AVATAR in 3D (2)
7. 500 DAYS OF SUMMER (83)
8. WATCHMEN (30)
9. UP! (4)
10. PARANORMAL ACTIVITY (29)

VILLAGE
1. UP! (4)
2. STAR TREK (7)
3. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS (25)
4. HARRY POTTER & THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE (3)
5. MONSTERS VS ALIENS (9)
6. TAKEN (19)
7. AVATAR in 3D (2)
8. TERMINATOR SALVATION (23)
9. BRUNO (54)
10. CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS (24)

THE RITZ
1. THE HANGOVER (6)
2. THE WRESTLER (105, from 2008 numbers)
3. BRUNO (54)
4. INGLORIOUS BASTERDS (25)
5. STAR TREK (7)
6. FUNNY PEOPLE (58)
7. EXTRACT (133)
8. WHIP IT (128)
9. DRAG ME TO HELL (70)
10. SHERLOCK HOLMES (20)

If you like documentaries and mobile content, life is about to get much more interesting. CINELAN, a library of 3-minute films by award-winning filmmakers, just signed a mobile/Internet distribution deal with Babelgum.

CINELAN, launched the beginning of 2008, is a company founded by filmmaker Morgan Spurlock

"People would down an iPhone app and use them for awhile," said Tibbets. "With video, you have to provide something on a daily or near-daily basis to get people coming back."

Are people making money in mobile? Absolutely, said Fernando. But he added a caveat. "The industry is in an early stage," he said. He noted that Saffron Digital focuses on long-form programming. "In Asia and the Middle East where you buy a short-form TV program, it has to work across multiple access points-not just mobile but also the PC," he said. "A purely mobile conversation is shutting the gate."

One hindrance to making money is the fact that Apple has set the price point so low.

The following is a comprehensive list of all the film festivals for movies, animation, games, comedy, mobisodes, music videos and other content for the mobile phone or other mobile devices. It also includes festivals looking for content shot with a mobile camera.

In the New World, filmmakers maintain full control over their work from beginning to end: they hold on to their rights and, as important, find people who are interested in their projects and can become patrons, even mentors. The Old World has ticket buyers. The New World has ticket buyers who are also Facebook friends. The Old World has commercials, newspapers ads and the mass audience. The New World has social media, YouTube, iTunes and niche audiences...