Indie Koala shows the way

Posted on February 5, 2014 by Michael Korican

From Canada’s capital comes a bold adventure in indie self-distribution.

“We are three Ottawa independent filmmakers who are passionate about making, watching and promoting indie films and indie filmmaking and we started this service in April 2013 because we couldn’t find a site that was artist-run and was a one-stop-shop for local independent content.”

Taking their cue from the belief ‘Think Global, Act Local,’ three Ottawa filmmakers have created an online exhibition space for independent films, boot-strapping VimeoPro‘s pay-to-rent capability.

Nevertheless, the majority of their shorts are free to watch.

My take: kudos for b(r)anding together!

The new 10 commandments of low budget filmmaking

Posted on January 8, 2014 by Michael Korican

Elliot Grove and the Raindance Film Festival have issued ten new commandments of low (no) budget filmmaking.

They are:

Thou shalt have a fantastic screenplay.
Thou shalt understand keywords and SEO tools.
Thou shalt secure some development finance.
Thou shalt spend proper time in pre-production.
Thou shalt understand the shoot and exploit it to maximum advantage.
Thou shalt not fix it in Post-Production.
Thou shalt clear all music in your film.
Thou shalt prepare professional publicity and marketing materials.
Thou shalt use film festivals to launch your film.
Thou shalt create a distribution strategy.

See the annotated version.

My take: I can get behind all of these except number nine. Seems to me that’s really part of number 10. Not having much, if any success, at film festivals, I’m not convinced. I guess what I really need is a paid-for-performance film festival agent. Any suggestions?

Microsoft’s Xbox Entertainment Studios orders first unscripted series

Posted on December 4, 2013 by Michael Korican

Microsoft is getting into Reality TV. Sort of.

The huge computer company has greenlit its first unscripted series for its Xbox platform, called Every Street Reunited, from Mandalay Sports Media, the US indie set up by Rain Man producer and La Dodgers owner Peter Guber, Smallville co-creator Mike Tollin and talent agency CAA.

“The show will focus on street soccer, with each half-hour episode shot in a different country — the U.S., Spain, Holland, France, Argentina, Brazil, Ghana, South Korea — featuring local, undiscovered soccer players across the globe.”

It is expected that the series will feature some type of global interactive component.

My take: the line between the TV and the console continues to blur as the boundary between passive content and live experience continues to shift.

Swedish cinemas to rate films on Bechdel Test

Posted on November 20, 2013 by Michael Korican

Cinemas in Sweden have begun rating films on the Bechdel Test.

Those that pass get the ‘A rate’ stamp of approval.

The Bechdel Test was created in 1985 by Alison Bechdel. There are three, simple, rules:

To pass, a film must contain two named female characters
who talk to each other
about something other than a man.

Not surprisingly, given the action-figure-orientation of Hollywood today, the majority of films fail.

My take: Thank you, Sweden, for, once again, leading the way and shining a light on the underrepresentation of women in film.

Maureen Bradley blogs about micro-budget feature production

Posted on November 6, 2013 by Michael Korican

CineVic recently invited Maureen Bradley to speak about her micro-budget feature project, Two 4 One.

She’s cobbling the $250,000 budget together from a number of sources: the Telefilm Micro-Budget Program, the BC Arts Council, the Jim Murphy Filmmkakers Bursary, an IndieGoGo campaign and private sources, for a February 2014 shoot.

She’s blogging about the experience at microbudget.org where she gives a more detailed answer to one of my questions on Saturday.

Regarding this year’s Telefilm Micro-Budget Feature competiton, Maureen’s advice was: have a great story and really think through an innovative digital platform strategy.

My take: Thank you, Maureen, for sharing your knowledge and experience and — your insights! It occurs to me that Telefilm is in the business of making million-dollar movies, so they’re really taking a flyer with eight to ten projects for one million, and hoping that one breaks out. In the old model, a film’s profile was amassed through festival exposure, critical reviews and box office, to be augmented by media coverage as it worked its way through the standard windows. Today, a project’s profile starts with the first online exposure, carries on through the pre-production, crowd-funding, production and post-production stages and hopefully snowballs when more people can actually pay for it. The old model was mediated by distributors, whereas with the new model, the producer does it all. I foresee more creative cooperatives coming together: teams of producers, each specialized in different parts of the new paradigm — concept, marketing, social media, production, exploitation.

Bell Media creates bravoFACTUAL

Posted on October 9, 2013 by Michael Korican

Bell Media has created bravoFACTUAL, becoming a major source of funding for short documentaries in Canada.

The semi-annual competition promises up to $50,000 for 15-minute “micro-docs,” which must be completed within six months.

“Budgets must reflect the story’s complexity, specific production elements, any special production techniques, required archival footage and/or, music rights, E&O insurance and any other requirements which result from the creative materials.”

New filmmakers, take note:

“…preference will be given to emerging filmmakers with limited experience who are trying to enhance their skills and credentials”

The first deadline is Thursday, October 31, 2013.

My take: kudos to bravoFACT for stepping up to the plate and funding short docs in Canada. When the Harper Government spiked the Canadian Independent Film and Video Fund, they created a funding void. Now this program promises to replace the CIFVF.

Digital conversion threatens indie theatres

Posted on September 11, 2013 by Michael Korican

On the heels of my shares on exhibition formats and DIY DCP, comes a Rolling Stone article discussing the collateral damage of digital conversion.

“The National Association of Theater Owners, the trade organization that represents exhibitors, has estimated that as many as 10,000 screens – one in every five screens in North America – could go dark because they can’t afford to convert. Among those venues most in danger are independent theaters.”

Gary Susman hints that this might actually be a Hollywood plot to lessen competition.

“Hollywood studios don’t much care about the possible demise of the independent theater. (It’s not showing their movies anyway.) Besides, the potential loss of thousands of screens will only hasten the day when Hollywood doesn’t have to deal with those pesky exhibitors anymore and can go directly toward home distribution on disc or video-on-demand, where most of a film’s money is made.”

My take: if progress is gradual and change is sudden, the demise of ‘film’ exhibition is change that we may not be able to fight. If you’ve ever had to lug two heavy ‘cans’ of 35mm film up to the projection booth at the very back of the balcony, you may not care. But I’m not in favour of this if it means a restricted number of movies.

Kickstarter comes to Canada!

Posted on August 14, 2013 by Michael Korican

Leading crowd-funding platform Kickstarter is coming to Canada.

They say new projects will go live on September 9, 2013.

It’s taken three years but it looks like Canadian filmmakers and other creative folk have no more excuses. It used to be that you needed a bank account and address in the States to list on Kickstarter. Now Canada joins the US and the UK.

Need help with your campaign? See Kickstarter and crowd-funding advice from someone who work(s/ed) for one of their competitors.

My take: sure you can raise funds on Kickstarter but more valuable is the audience you’re building. In a sense, you’re pre-selling your film to hundreds, maybe thousands, of viewers. Just remember to budget enough time!

Exhibition Formats 2013

Posted on July 31, 2013 by Michael Korican

You’ve written a killer script.

You’ve cast an excellent cast.

You’re shooting with an HD camera.

But have you planned out your full workflow? For instance, how are you going to show your film to your audience?

If your answer is, “On the Internet,” then carry on and use whatever compression format Youtube or Vimeo recommends.

However, if your answer is, “In theatres and at film festivals,” carry on reading.

Keep your digital intermediate (your DI) at a sufficiently high quality so that you don’t sacrifice anything as you edit.

When it’s time to deliver for exhibition, things can get tricky fast. Do you need a DCP? Can you get by with one Blu-ray disk?

Luckily, The Independent’s Guide to Film Exhibition & Delivery 2013 has is all figured out.

Their conclusion:

“Given the volatility of the current delivery landscape, it may be actually best to NOT commit to any particular exhibition format, and instead finish your film in a digital (hard-drive) format that you can keep as a master at a trusted lab for future needs down the road. It is advisable to have your film in the most flexible format possible, until you are forced by circumstance to deliver a specific format for a specific purpose. The most flexible and useful format to initiate most exhibition/delivery formats at the moment is the Apple ProRes 422 digital file.”

My take: Well worth the read, if only for the assertion that, “DCPs were invented to put independents out of business.”

Infographic: The History of Film

Posted on July 17, 2013 by Michael Korican

From HistoryShots comes this fantastic infographic of 2,000 films from the last 100 years categorized into 20 genres.

“Films are organized by genre represented by streams that grow and shrink over time. The starting point is the early 1900s when the first feature-length films were released in the drama genre. The number and sizes of streams quickly grow as filmmakers expand their creativity by moving into such genres as action/adventure, westerns, war and comedy.”

How did they choose 2,000 films from approximately 60,000? These were the criteria:

Critical acclaim
Was it a key film
Awards
Box office success

Click on the infographic to zoom in.

My take: this is a fascinating visualization of the history of feature films and their genres over the last century.

Michael Korican Thinks

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Category Archives: The Mediascape