Lightning strikes twice in Victoria!

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Telefilm Canada has just released the results of their Micro-Budget Production Program competition for this year.

And the staggering news is that lightning has struck twice in Victoria, BC! (Three times if you include Maureen Bradley from last year.)

Congratulations to these winning teams:

  • The Devout, by Connor Gaston (director) and Daniel Hogg (producer)
  • Shadow in the Woods, by Jeremy Lutter (director and producer) and Robin Chan (producer)

Along with the other 13 winning teams, these filmmakers will share $1.5 million to produce their first features. That’s approximately $100K each.

My take: when CineVic was overlooked as one of the recommending partners last year, we lobbied to be included. So I feel very gratified now that Victoria has been so fortunate. You’re welcome, guys! (Disclosure: I sit on the CineVic Board of Directors.)

How to build a rabid crowd-funding audience

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Matthew Sherrington believes successful crowd-funding campaigns are all about winning.

Win-win — for both filmmakers and crowd-funders.

“A good fundraising story — and I mean your whole organisational story — needs to give the supporter the feeling they are the key to winning. You need to make supporters feel special. You need to help them know they make all the difference. You need them to know you can win, against all the odds, but that you need them on your team to do that.”

This is something to keep in mind when you pick your project, devise your pitch and design your perks.

My take: Sure, crowd-funding is about raising money. But more importantly, it’s about creating fans — fans who essentially buy tickets before your film is finished. Just as market research on titles and poster art drove Roger Corman’s decisions on what films to produce, your crowd-funders validate your project.

The State of Online Streaming Today

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Qwilt has just released a very interesting report.

Ignore the headline touting Amazon Instant Video.

The real takeaways are here:

  • Online Streaming grew by 54.9% last year.
  • Netflix grew their share by 5%, rising from 52.5% to 57.5%.
  • Youtube dropped 11.3% while Xbox remained flat.

From Qwilt:

“The source of data for this report is total volume of online video traffic from US cable operators where Qwilt video delivery systems are deployed. Our video delivery systems are inserted in operator network where we can see all online video traffic, both On Demand and Live, from any content provider. We measure traffic based on the source content provider such as Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, Twitch, Apple or Amazon. Our reporting of content provider volumes is independent of the device consuming the video. So, if a consumer is watching Netflix on their Xbox, we record the event as Netflix traffic not Xbox. The same is true across Roku, Chromecast, SmartTVs, Desktops and mobile devices.”

My take: Netflix is pulling away and winning this race!

Women are bankable

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A recent study refutes the common belief in Hollywood that women are not bankable.

By cross-referencing box office numbers with the Bechdel Test, Walt Hickey at FiveThirtyEight has proven that films with two women that talk to each other about something other than men make more money than those that don’t.

“The total median gross return on investment for a film that passed the Bechdel test was $2.68 for each dollar spent. The total median gross return on investment for films that failed was only $2.45 for each dollar spent. And while this might be a side effect of films with lower budgets tending to have higher returns on investment than films with higher budgets, it’s still a strong indicator that films with women in somewhat prominent roles are performing well.”

Although the article is long, it makes very interesting reading.

My take: Why consistently ignore half your audience?

Web Series Best Practices

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Canada’s Independent Production Fund has just published the Guide to Web Series Best Practices.

In many ways, this 30-page PDF is a good primer for any digital production: web series, short or feature.

The dozen chapters range from financing, to working with micro-budget crews, to marketing and to distribution platforms.

The tone is even-handed and not sky’s-the-limit. A sample:

“Always think of your audience and what makes sense for them – will this be interesting for them? Will it be a positive addition to their overall consumption? Will they share it? If it doesn’t make sense and there isn’t a “yes” to these types of questions, it may not be a good use of your time, money and resources.”

My take: listen to this IPF advice; they fund web series!

 

Top VOD Platforms for 2014

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Short films have always been a tough sell.

In the past, specialized distributors might take them on for institutional or foreign markets. Perhaps they might get bundled into feature-length anthologies. But the money never seemed to flow back to the filmmakers.

In short, short films were destined to remain in the art realm. Starving artists practiced their craft, never expecting to be compensated for creating their art.

Now, however, we are witnessing the emergence of a new model. iTunes has paved the way, proving that the public will pay for music, track by track. Video On Demand may be the equivalent mechanism for the independent filmmaker.

VOD lets filmmakers exhibit their films directly to their audience, at a price they choose. It promises to be the means of monetization for indie films of all lengths and genres.

Douglas Horn has researched the top five VOD platforms. He scopes out the problem, charts the top five and reviews their services.

My take: well worth the read! I’ll be following his real-world tests. Good luck, Douglas!

VHX Out of Beta

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VHX is out of beta, and has lowered their fees to 10% plus 50 cents per transaction.

“Anything that used to be sold on DVD can be sold on VHX. Our platform works for a lot more than just film and TV. Faith, fitness, lifestyle, education… the list goes on. VHX also works for organizations both big and small: individuals, distributors, studios, networks, and more. Make a site, sell your work, and own the relationship with your audience. VHX is the technology platform that lets you run your own iTunes or Netflix. Your digital copies replace the old physical, anywhere in the world.”

Of particular note to international filmmakers, VHX will pay out through PayPal.

Nofilmschool has a very nice summary of all the direct distribution players here.

My take: I applaud any service that helps filmmakers interact with their audience. VHX keeps the costs down, which is appreciated. Nevertheless, we can’t ignore the law of supply and demand: supply is way up, diluting demand. Therefore, increasing demand remains filmmakers main task, one that traditional distributors and exhibitors once fulfilled. Unfortunately, the market is still fragmented with no clear winner. Selling on your own website is like creating your own market: be prepared to create your own demand too.

Infographic: You in Filmmaking

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From Filmsourcing, comes this hilarious flowchart: What’s Your Place in the Film Industry?

The colourful infographic illustrates pathways to 30 different occupations such as Head of Film Commission and Acting Teacher. Two examples:

“Start here -> Do you appreciate money above all else? -> No -> Can you get excited about someone else’s idea? -> Sure but I’ll make it mine -> Do you have exceptional talent? -> Yes -> Are you unknown and/or female? -> No -> Director”

“Start here -> Do you appreciate money above all else? -> No -> Can you get excited about someone else’s idea? -> I can fake it -> Are you visually oriented? -> No -> Are you skilled at cleaning up other people’s mess? -> No -> Are you musical? -> No -> What CAN you do? -> Sit -> Audience”

See the full infographic.

My take: too funny! Spot your role and work forward to it. You will laugh, and maybe learn something about yourself.

How to parlay $100K into $3 Million

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Just before the 2014 Academy Awards, producer Cassian Elwes blogged about raising the money for ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ at TheWrap.

It makes fascinating reading. An excerpt:

“A year later in New Orleans, while we were doing “The Butler,” a young agent from CAA named Laura Lewis called me and was upset:

“You can’t believe what just happened. All that Canadian money for the ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ fell through. Matthew has already lost 35 pounds (of the eventual 47) and he has to do ‘True Detective’ right afterwards in January. He can’t put the weight back on and lose it again; it would be too dangerous his doctors say. You’ve been in this position before – what do you do?” she asked.

“When’s the film supposed to start shooting?”  I said.

“Seven weeks from now, in mid-October.”

A few minutes later I got a call from Robbie who said very simply: “Save the movie please. You always wanted to do it now is your chance. Please just do it.”

“How much time do we have?”

“Today’s Tuesday and realistically we have to be in prep on Monday so I guess three days and the weekend.”

“Three days?”

“Yes.”

I hung up the phone. There was simply no time to do the presales and a bank loan – the usual indie arrangements.  No, this was going to have to be something special and if I didn’t do it now I knew the movie would go back into hibernation and I would probably never get another shot at it.

I stared at the ceiling in my office for twenty minutes. I kept thinking: Who really, really owes me in the business?”

Read his full post.

My take: what a Hollywood ending!

Choicebook wants your opinion

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Is a survey still a survey if you call it something else?

The CRTC wants your opinion about TV in Canada. Will you pay more? Do you want the Internet regulated?

Visit Choicebook to have your say.

“Canadians like to watch television and for many of them, the way they do so is changing. More and more people are watching their favourite shows on their cable or satellite company’s on-demand service, over the Internet and on tablets and smartphones. The way Canadians think about—and even interact with—television is clearly not the same today as it was just a few years ago. At the CRTC, we want to make sure that the television system meets the needs of Canadians – as citizens, creators and consumers. We understand that the system has to adapt to remain healthy, continue to offer different kinds of programming and be responsive to Canadians’ expectations over the coming years.”

But do it soon. Choicebook closes on March 14, 2014.

My take: it’s in your best interest to invest the time to let the CRTC know what you’re thinking.