This brief article in The Economist summarizes the benefits of VOD for independent film distributors, such as IFC.
VOD is a cheap, easy way for distributors to put films out into the world, but unfortunately it still leaves filmmakers in the unenviable position of giving up the rights to their work for several years for what amounts to (by most film business standards) chump change.
It definitely works for some, and if you're fortunate enough to have someone else do the hustlin' to put the eyeballs on your film, by all means do it. But I'd suggest not making a film for over $25,000 because the going rate isn't likely to be higher than that.
You can't blame IFC or any other distributor either. It's a great business model, as they're clearly trying to corner the expansive "Independent Film" genre (which is actually more of a gross grouping than a genre). It's hard to go wrong with the seemingly endless supply, average demand and low overhead.
The piece's ending paragraph, however, lays out a powerful idea that any mediamaker or even non-mediamaker should be aware of.
Whether accessed via cable television or the internet, video on demand is likely to grow. America’s suburbs are becoming much more diverse places, with more ethnic minorities, more people with degrees and more gays, according to Gary Gates, a demographer at the University of California, Los Angeles. The potential audience for independent films is thus dispersing beyond the places where independent cinemas are concentrated. Not everybody lives near an art-house cinema, but almost everybody has a remote control.
Marinate on that. It could unlock the mystery.
Loading ...