TFF 2011 put out a slate of several free talks geared toward discussing the current and future nature of the film industry. Digital by Design was one of them...
Digital by Design was broken down into three parts - funding, rights and distribution - each to be tackled separately by the five panelists - Eugene Hernandez (EH - Director of Digital Strategy at the Film Society of Lincoln Center), Michael Lang (ML - CEO of Miramax), John Sloss (JS - Founder of Cinetic Media and Sloss Eckhouse LawCo LLP), Trevor Kaufman (TK - CEO of Possible Worldwide), and Tom Lesinkski (TL - President of Digital at Paramount)- and moderated by Richard Whittington (RW - Senior VP of Media and Entertainment at SAP). The panel was strong coming from diverse fields and viewpoints within the industry allowing for a wide variety of opinions on topics and a wealth of information for audience members. A gift from Tribeca to help inspire, educate and move our industry forward.
Most of what I’ll write below will be snippets based on my utter lack of time and my attempt to keep this article below 5 pages which has proven an attainable feat as of late...
Digital by Design was broken down into three parts - funding, rights and distribution - each to be tackled separately by the five panelists - Eugene Hernandez (EH - Director of Digital Strategy at the Film Society of Lincoln Center), Michael Lang (ML - CEO of Miramax), John Sloss (JS - Founder of Cinetic Media and Sloss Eckhouse LawCo LLP), Trevor Kaufman (TK - CEO of Possible Worldwide), and Tom Lesinkski (TL - President of Digital at Paramount)- and moderated by Richard Whittington (RW - Senior VP of Media and Entertainment at SAP). The panel was strong coming from diverse fields and viewpoints within the industry allowing for a wide variety of opinions on topics and a wealth of information for audience members. A gift from Tribeca to help inspire, educate and move our industry forward.
Most of what I’ll write below will be snippets based on my utter lack of time and my attempt to keep this article below 5 pages which has proven an attainable feat as of late...
Funding
ML - feels that creating fewer films for less will bring about better quality
JS - didn’t think this year’s Sundance films were as good as in year’s past
-felt that films sold for ‘roles’ (who was in the film) rather than quality of film
-felt that up to 80% of the films sold at Sundance in 2011 sold for VOD
EH - technology is great for films but not the business concerned with the economics
TL - there are only 3/4 as many beans in the jar digital distribution is mainly via piracy and free films
-videos are 30% down while digital has seen an overall 5% increase in the business overall
-not a huge fan of crowd-sourcing suggesting using an ad supported model instead
TK - brands and independent filmmakers have not figured out how to get together, yet
- challenge is online advertising vs online sponsorship
-online advertising is very low end money, very low CPM
EH - supports using crowd-sourcing entities such as Kickstarter
RW - Aisan online $4 billion
JS - Kevin Smith has 1.8 million followers on Twitter, markets film directly to public
ML - lack of innovation protects jobs
-it is safer to blame the ad agency (safe bet) then to try something new (risky)
JS - art is truth, film is storytelling - mix both
TK - brands comfortable with TV level budgets
ML - Premium ad space with little-to-no user generated programming
JS - Kickstarter does not necessarily translate to mass audiences
Rights
ML - Rights are hard to define
- presell at the Cannes Film Festival
JS - limited rights as only one protal at a time
- he sees himself as a bit of a Pollyanna
ML - endless inventory online, positive
EH - advises indie filmmakers speak with John Sloss (JS) before the others on the panel, thinks JS has good advice
- if you were in Tribeca Film Festival this year speak with TFF filmmakers from last year
ML - Theater exhibition is not over, find balance
TK - video games make more money than movies
- Microsoft says they are the biggest cable company in the world (because of games)
TL - Transmedia not worth investing in upfront, can't plan for it but it is a great experience when it works
EH - Shorts are not worth getting into theaters when it is easier to just put them on YouTube
JS - packaged short content will work in the future
ML - just get your product out there
- ESPN paid to be on cable in the beginning now it gets something like $4 per subscriber
- don't overprice your online content
EH - prefers free, loves various devices
JS - SVOD and ad driven models are the way of the future
ML - consumer product is terrible
- why buy when you can rent
- need better clouds
- better price points are needed
- a huge number of people love to own content
JS - hates product placement but loves Brands
head-on branding is fine if it entertains
TK - branding films is a good idea but hard to execute because bad is bad so you must be careful
Where will we be two years from now?
TL - films on Facebook
TK - says there may be a demise of cable in two years
- says that in AOL's old model it has assess, content and advertising but then audiences started expanding their reach and moving off that one source for what they wanted
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My notes are limited. The entire talk is available online via Tribeca Film Festival.
Digital by Design was a valuable conversation which can be viewed in its entirety via TribecaFilm.com. The panelists are forerunners in their fields. Whether or not you agree with them it is invaluable that you understand what people are thinking and saying in the industry. Such knowledge allows for more informed indie filmmakers which will give you an inevitable edge in the industry when it comes time to promote, sell and make money off your work.
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