Digital by Design at Tribeca Film Festival

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...

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.

Don't Give Your Film Away for Free

Many filmmakers, consultants and distributors are changing how people think about film and not for the better. While audience members were previously conditioned to pay for films, the new train of thought (seeminly forced upon audience members) is to give it to them for free and without profit to the filmmaker.

The thinking is that the money will come. The reality is that the money isn't coming, didn't come for the music industry, and soon will not be there at all for filmmakers if filmmakers don't start acting responsibly on their own behalf.

The problem is simple.
a) If you give it away for free why should someone pay for it?
b) If you give it away for free how are you going to make money off it?

Simply put, filmmakers are destroying their ability to create profit from their own work. Independent filmmakers seem to be the first to jump off this cliff and into the arms of poverty. Why? Perhaps, in part, out of desperation. It is important for filmmakers to share their work with others. But at what cost? The price of impoverishment is too high. Indie filmmakers put everything they have (heart, soul, time and money) on the line to make their films. For them to give their work away for free is not acceptable and filmmakers need to stop doing it.

Filmmakers need to have faith in their work and faith in their audience. History shows that people are willing to pay for films. If your film is worth seeing then it is worth paying for. If not, please don't waste anyone's time with it and try to do better next time or find a new profession. If you believe in your film then you need to believe in yourself and your audience, as well. You need to trust your film and believe it will make money over time. Reservoir Dogs was not an immediate hit. It gained word of mouth, grew feet and moved forward. Tarantino was not in a position where he could have given his film away for free online. One wonders if people would have been less interested in it if it were that overly available. If that sort of access would have decreased it's overall word of mouth and appeal.

The Problem with Online Ads
The problem with online ads is that there simply isn't enough ad money to go around and those who are creating the sites need that money to function and pay their own expenses - not to mention it's just not enough money on a per film basis to equal the value and worth of your project. I recently visited a beautiful site called, OpenFilm. I love the look of it. It's cool. The problem is that a filmmaker will be hard pressed to ever make more than a couple bucks every couple of months off it. (OpenFilm offers a 50/50 deal on ad revenue for films that get advertisting.) Another problem is that most filmmakers won't know that upfront so they might think it's a good deal, put their film up, and only later realize it isn't profitable for them. In the meantime, this online venue just gave away your film for free... along with tons of other indie films. None of you made any money and you just taught the audience not to pay for your work. Tell me how that benefits you? I'm not looking for enemies here, not meaning to bad mouth the site, but do want people to start thinking about what they are doing and why. Even if OpenFilm has the best intentions, it's not a sustainable option for indie filmmakers. Where's the money? If you are a filmmaker making money on OpenFilm, then leave a comment telling us how much you are making monthly of the site and the name of your film. I will be happy to be wrong. The project has some very cool people attached to it whose intentions are undoubtedly to help the indie film world!

Honestly, if you don't think your film is worth paying for, why should I... or any other audience member. If you think it's only worth seeing if it's seen for free then it's probably not worth seeing at all. Now that may not be true, but I'd guess a lot of people think that way.

As an audience member, I just want to see good films. I don't want to see just anything. My time is limited and valuable. I have a saying, "Not everything free is worth having." Therefore, I'm skeptical of things that might be offered to me for free. The question is, "Do I really want this?" The answer is unknown when it comes to films. But my immediate thought is that they're only going to give me the crap for free. The other stuff I'll need to pay for. How do you want people to think of your film? Crap? Or worth seeing?

That being said, there are tons of really good films offered for free online. This is a shame and will hurt both those films and the film industry in general - both for studio films as well as independent films. Independent filmmakers need to stand up, be counted and lead the way. Do not expect someone else is taking care of you. It is not happening. Middlemen can't even figure out how to take care of themselves, they sure can't figure out how to take care of you. That's okay, but know it and take charge of your own destiny and the destiny of your film.

Why Filmmakers Cannot Depend on Online Ads
I will share my personal experience. I have a few websites that bring in approximately 30K hits a month. On average the sites make $65 per month combined as a result of online advertising. All but one of the sites brings in money through other means. Therefore, the online ad money pays for the site, but nothing else really. The money is made through actual money made from sales made from the site. For example, let's say you have a dog grooming site where the site makes $5 a month from ad revenue and $800 from revenue generated as a result of what you actually sell on the site (such as grooming services, dog collars and doggie travel bags.) This is where the money is made. Trying to live off the $5 is never going to work. Waiting endlessly for the $5 to increase to a decent revenue probably isn't going to work either. Selling products that generate income works! Filmmakers aren't doing this, but they need to start.

How Can Filmmakers Make Money Online
Sell your film(s) for a profit - a reasonable price, don't scalp the consumer or their look for a better option generally a free one (think of the problems the music industry ran into as a result of overcharging). Additionally, sell merchandise. Cool merchandise is best and will vary from film to film. Pencils, magnets, t-shirts, note pads, stickers, posters, messenger bags, etc. You have something cool. Let people who like it buy more of it. By the way, isn't that exactly what the majors do? So do it. Act like a filmmaker. Sell your film and make money!

Allow the indie audience the opportunity to buy your film and merchandise and show it off to their friends... yes! they truly are the coolest indie film lover they know and are willing to prove it by wearing your t-shirt of the coolest film they've seen in the last 5 years, etc. Remember, as they show off their cool buys they are also selling your film to a much larger audience. Trust your film and your audience. Embrace your passion and allow it to work for you and your audience. Don't be cheap and sell yourself short by giving it away for free.

When it is time, put your film online for a profit. If a venue is not available yet, wait. It will be. Respect your audience. In doing so, they will respect you. Trust yourself. In doing so, your audience will trust you. Help the independent film world become self sufficient simply by trusting the field you've devoted so much of your life to. It's that simple. Now do it!

Buyers at the Short Film Corner

If you are a filmmaker attending the Short Film Corner at the Cannes Film Festival than you should know who the buyers are that will be present. The SFC was kind enough to set up a handy dandy page with videos from each of the buyers.

I strongly recommend spending a little time watching each of the videos which will acquaint you with the buyers, what they are looking for and what they are willing to pay for shorts. Guadalupe ARENSBURG with Canal + Spain pays $150 mins up to 15 mins. Mary Lampe of PBS, Texas pays $60 min up to 26 mins, non-exclusive. Jean Charles MILLE is a manager who wants a three-year exclusive and 30% of sales. Roland NGUYEN pays $500 a min up to 20 mins w/3 runs over a three year w/only the first run exclusive. Betcha wanna know what he looks like, huh?!? Each buyer has a different set of rules they follow. Some buyers purchase a lot, some don't. Some want exclusives. Some don't. Figure it out. This is your business. Mind it!

If you're going to Cannes' Short Film Corner then do your homework. Know who these twenty-five buyers are and what they have to offer. Know what they look like. Basically... be prepared.

One thing that was painfully obvious last year was that no one knew who anybody was. I had several buyers ask if I was a filmmaker. Buyers and filmmakers couldn't seem to hook up. So really, take the time to learn these faces. It's as simple as hearing their 2-3 min video pitch. Don't get lost in the crowd. These people are there to find fantastic films. It's their job! Set up screenings and invite them. Do a two person booth session with them.

I have often heard it said that a short film is your calling card. I would say that is true only if it is good enough. If it is good enough, then it might very well be what these buyers are looking to take back with them. You can make money off your short film and the Short Film Corner at Cannes is an excellent place to start!

Best of luck to all of you! May you make fabulous work and prosper from it!