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Top Five Predictions for Films and Digital Distribution
The Independent Digital Distribution Lab –– IndiesLab for short –– is a joint initiative of ITVS and PBS designed to help filmmakers navigate the marketplace and to generate revenue streams while also having a social impact. Indie Labs Director Davin Hutchins shares his first of five predictions about the future of films and digital distribution. Be sure to visit Beyond the Box over the next several months to hear more predictions.
IndiesLab Director Davin Hutchins
As independent filmmakers proceed with their projects for 2010, I thought I’d take a crack at making some predictions for the New Year.
PREDICTION 1: Creative Destruction Will Continue… And That’s a Good Thing
Video site Veoh Networks imploded this month. Not Chapter 11, mind you; it was a Chapter 7 liquidation. Veoh was an ad-supported, user-generated video site aspiring to be another YouTube. Even though it wasn’t a player in the indie film game, its demise is significant in that the company had burned through $70 million dollars of venture capital and was co-founded by former Disney chair Michael Eisner. This begs the question: if a guy like Michael Eisner with $70 million can’t make a video site work, what can one expect from smaller niche sites that have raised considerably less funding?
Traditionally, there have been two ways for film startups to make money off independent films –– charge a rental fee to view an entire film or run ads against films that are offered for free. The real challenge going forward is this: data suggests few consumers seem willing to pay a rental fee for an independent film when there is so much free content available on the Internet or TV. And with the glut of video on the Internet –– from professional films to semi-professional shorts to user-generated video –– ad rates are driven lower and lower by an endless supply of video (and much of it mediocre). Both major film platforms and startups will face these same challenges. In the past ten years, many indie film startups have imploded, were acquired, or radically changed their focus in order to survive: Atom Films (re-branded as Atom.com), iFilm (re-branded as Spike), Jaman, and GreenCine. All promised more or less the same thing –– filmmaker and film lover nirvana –– but significant dollars haven’t really materialized.
Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr. and his Legacy
“Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. It is a sword that heals. [It] cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it.”
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
At the heart of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s was the use of nonviolent direct-action protest. Inspired by the example of Jesus, and the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi during India’s struggle for independence, black church and community leaders in the United States began advocating the use of non-violence in their own struggle. Beyond spontaneous and planned student sit-ins, several organizations were formed to fight for civil rights using Gandhi’s model of nonviolent dissent and action. Three of the most influential groups—the Congress of Racial Equality, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee—were pivotal in bringing about social change in America.
Read more about the life of King, Jr. on the Independent Lens website >>
Check out the PBS Indies page on iTunes where you’ll find these powerful films about the African American civil rights movement
Adjust Your Color: The Truth of Petey Green
The unlikely story of America’s original shock-jock — Petey Greene — who battled the system and his own demons during a time of civil unrest in the nation’s capital.
Banished
From the 1860s to the 1920s, towns across the U.S. violently expelled African American residents. Today, these communities remain virtually all white. As black descendants return to demand justice, Banished exposes the hidden history of racial cleansing in America.
Each film is now available for rent for $2.99 or for purchase at $9.99.
IndiesLab: Supporting Independent Filmmakers in the Digital Marketplace
IndiesLab Director Davin Hutchins
Happy New Year and greetings from IndiesLab! My name is Davin Hutchins and I am the new director of this exciting joint initiative of ITVS and PBS now entering its second year –– the Independent Digital Distribution Lab –– or IndiesLab for short.
What is IndiesLab? It’s an ITVS-PBS initiative designed to help filmmakers navigate this marketplace and to generate revenue streams while also having a social impact. Many independent documentary filmmakers are unfamiliar with the lab, but we think that’s about to change. We’ve had some great achievements in our first year in raising the online profile of independent documentary films. Today, we are looking forward to implementing some ambitious digital initiatives in 2010 –– all in the spirit of advancing the mission of social issue, public interest documentaries, and the independent producers who create them.
PBS Indies section on iTunes.
A few first-year achievements include:
- A dedicated “PBS Indies” section on iTunes where member filmmakers of IndiesLab offer their films for download-to-own or download-to-rent.
- Dedicated Independent Lens and Global Voices sections on Hulu –– a major ad-supported streaming platform.
- A dedicated ITVS channel on popular documentary platform SnagFilms.
- Competitive package for filmmakers.
The digital marketplace is complex and constantly evolving. We are taking these challenges head on. We have already opened the door for indie filmmakers on all major online platforms — iTunes, Amazon, NetFlix, Hulu, PBS Video, and SnagFilms — and we will constantly look out for new partnerships to generate audiences and revenue.
Rent Independent Lens and Global Voices Episodes on iTunes
Looking to watch something from the comfort of your home over the holidays?
Check out the PBS Indies page on iTunes where you’ll find more than 20 indie films from Independent Lens, Global Voices and other public television series and broadcasts.
Each film is now available for rent for $2.99 or for purchase at $9.99.
A selection of films include: ADJUST YOUR COLOR: The Truth of Petey Green, THE ATOM SMASHERS, BANISHED, the Oscar-nominated DAUGHTER FROM DANANG, A DREAM IN DOUBT, LAKSHMI AND ME, THE LOSS OF NAMELESS THINGS, MAPPING STEM CELL RESEARCH: TERRA INCOGNITA, MARCH POINT, MILKING THE RHINO, OPERATION FILMMAKER, POWER TRIP, RED WHITE BLACK & BLUE, A SON’S SACRIFICE, STRANDED: The Andes Plane Crash Survivors and ESTILO HIP HOP.
In the News: The Latest on ITVS Programs
New York Post: Origami and the Art of the Process
“If you’ve ever found it impossible to properly fold a road map, you will be absolutely astonished by what the folks profiled in Park Slope filmmaker Vanessa Gould’s new documentary [BETWEEN THE FOLDS] … can do with a single scrap of paper.”
Read full review >>
Indie Wire: Must See IDFA Doc: LAST TRAIN HOME
“[LAST TRAIN HOME] is an exceptional observational documentary that charts a dramatic Chinese journey affecting just one family but representing the challenges facing a changing nation and a troubled world.”
Read more >>
The Epoch Times: NO SUBTITLES NECESSARY: Laszlo & Vilmos
“[NO SUBTITLES NECESSARY: Laszlo & Vilmos] is truly a cinematographer’s film. It looks great and will foster an increased appreciation of the director of photography in general with its many clips of the classic films shot by Kovacs and Zsigmond.”
Read full review >>
The Wrap: iTunes Adds Indie Films From ITVS, PBS
“The collection of films, put together specifically for iTunes, offers diverse titles from filmmakers pursuing stories not normally told via mainstream channels.”
Read more >>
ITVS and PBS Offer Indie Content on iTunes Store
Tired of searching for high-quality indie films? Look no further. ITVS and PBS recently collaborated to bring more than 20 independent films to the iTunes store. Curated specifically for iTunes, this diverse collection includes films from Independent Lens, Global Voices and other public television series and broadcasts.
Some of the groundbreaking films from Independent Lens now available on iTunes include: ADJUST YOUR COLOR: The Truth of Petey Green, THE ATOM SMASHERS, BANISHED, the Oscar-nominated DAUGHTER FROM DANANG, A DREAM IN DOUBT, LAKSHMI AND ME, THE LOSS OF NAMELESS THINGS, MAPPING STEM CELL RESEARCH: TERRA INCOGNITA, MARCH POINT, MILKING THE RHINO, OPERATION FILMMAKER, POWER TRIP, RED WHITE BLACK & BLUE, A SON’S SACRIFICE, STRANDED: The Andes Plane Crash Survivors and ESTILO HIP HOP, which premiered on the PBS WORLD series Global Voices. Each film is available for purchase at $9.99.
This initiative is part of the Independent Digital Distribution Lab, a project to expand distribution to broadband-connected audiences while exploring revenue-generating partnership models for independent filmmakers and public television.
“By offering content on iTunes, we are helping producers who want to experiment with online content gain access to PBS’s digital distribution outlets,” said Sally Jo Fifer, president and CEO of ITVS.
Watch IRANIAN KIDNEY BARGAIN SALE on iTunes
Last month, Community Cinema screened D TOUR, which chronicles musician Pat Spurgeon’s search for a living kidney donor and the challenges associated with finding a viable match.
The screenings brought awareness about the importance of organ donation in the United States. But what is the organ market like in other countries?
This month, check out the ITVS International film IRANIAN KIDNEY BARGAIN SALE, which follows young Iranians through the organ trade process, in the only country in the world where kidney trading is legal.
The Latest ITVS International Films on iTunes
Selected ITVS International films are now available on iTunes for download to rent ($2.99) or to own ($9.99). Check out the latest films now available:
SEEDS OF SUMMER: At an army base in the heart of Israel’s southern desert, two young female military recruits make the transformation from fragile, vulnerable young girls to confident soldiers and fierce fighters.
IRANIAN KIDNEY BARGAIN SALE: An inside look at the growing organ industry in Iran where every 10 minutes, a young person wishing to sell his or her kidney appears at the entrance of a kidney referral agency.
ITVS International Films now on iTunes
IRANIAN KIDNEY BARGAIN SALE, the first of many ITVS International films launching on iTunes.
Do you enjoy downloading your favorite films online? Check out IRANIAN KIDNEY BARGAIN SALE, the first of many ITVS International shows launching on the iTunes Movie Store, where documentary film fans can now rent or buy the movie at their convenience.
Against the backdrop of an official kidney referral agency, IRANIAN KIDNEY BARGAIN SALE follows young Iranians through the organ trade process: from their first encounter to surgery and kidney removal.
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A free monthly screening series, Community Cinema features films from the Emmy Award-winning PBS series Independent Lens.
In over 50 cities nationwide, screenings are followed by lively panel discussions that bring together citizens, organizations and public television stations to encourage dialogue and action around important and timely social issues. Last season, over 40,000 people attended 500 events nationwide.
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