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  Slava introduced one of the final sessions for The Conversation conference in Berkeley last weekend with Dan Gregoire, founder of Halon Entertainment. The pre-visualization expert showed early representations of 'The Transformers' before conference attendees headed to local pub Beckett’s. Production talk, unwinding, and brews were a great way to close two days on the Cal campus.
Case studies: Haze, Crawford, On Broadway, The Princess of Nebraska
More and more indie filmmakers are turning away from traditional theater
distribution and embracing the Internet. The Wall Street Journal wrote an
article last week covering this new trend of online distribution:
"…filmmakers are starting to come to terms
with the idea of releasing their work on the Web. It's a notion musicians
grappled with years ago. Offering art online rarely earns a creator much up
front, but it boosts the odds of broad exposure. With no need for old-fashioned
film prints, going on the Web is cheap and quick. And directors can get instant
feedback from online viewers."
One Hollywood director that has embraced this trend is Wayne Wang, the director of "Joy Luck
Club" and "Maid in Manhattan". He released his new movie, "The Princess
of Nebraska" on YouTube's
Screening Room. The movie's release was less about making money and more
about getting fans to watch it. Wang's movie has generated nearly 200,000 views
on YouTube so far. On YouTube, the movie
is free, and there is more exposure: "Going to theater has become about
making a point," says Wang. "I like the accidental encounters that
occur on the Web."
Plenty of other companies besides YouTube are helping independent filmmakers
with distribution. Snagfilms.com, Hulu, and iTunes are just a few that have
released feature length movies on their sites. Snagfilms allows filmmakers to
put their films on websites, blogs, and MySpace profiles, increasing the
exposure of the movie.
"Haze", a documentary
about a student who died of alcohol poisoning at a fraternity ritual, was
released on Snagfilms.com. Originally, the filmmakers had wanted a theatrical
distribution, but it was ultimately decided that the movie would gain more
viewership online. Director Peter Schuermann says, "It's a bittersweet
thing. But then I have to weigh that against the educational goals of the film.
Now there's the potential of a lot of people seeing it."
Distributing a movie online definitely hurts revenue for filmmakers. More
important, though, is the fact that feature length films that are distributed
online seem to be getting more viewers. This establishes a fan base and
provides filmmakers with a springboard to DVD distribution, film festivals, or
even theatrical distributions. The potential is unlimited for filmmakers who
decide to distribute their films online.
Read more about "The Princess of Nebraska" here. Find out more about online distribution on the Wall
Street Journal here.
A key element to building a community around your film is what we call the "2-Way Street." The idea is that by opening up dialogue between you and your fans, you'll build a stronger more involved community.
A great way to do this is to utilize the idea of crowdsourcing. Ask your fans for their input. This builds their commitment to the project by directly involving them in its success, and you'll get to take advantage of a wide range of fresh ideas.
For example, this weekend at "The Conversation", a discussion on the changing landscape of media, Michael Ferris Gibson explained how he took advantage of crowdsourcing for his films 24 Hours on Craigslist and Truth in Numbers: The Wikipedia Story. After creating a simple craigslist post inquiring about whether there was anyone else out there interested in making a film on craigslist, Gibson received around 500 replies overnight with suggestions and requests to help. Likewise, when first conceptualizing Truth in Numbers: The Wikipedia Story, Gibson started a basic Wikipedia post, and Wikipedia users contributed input helping to flesh out the concept. Ultimately, the ideas and connections created by this crowd led to the creation and production of both films.
Simply by using crowdsourcing and getting fans involved, Gibson was able to take two very basic ideas and turn them into completed groundbreaking films with a pre-existing committed fan base.
Your use of crowdsourcing doesn't have to be as all-encompassing as Gibson's to be effective. Crowdsourcing on a smaller scale is just as useful. Maybe allow your fans to help you name one of your characters or pick a location for a certain scene. As we've seen from Michael Ferris Gibson, there really is no limit to what can be crowdsourced. Be creative. Ultimately, what's most important is that you're opening up the lines of dialogue and creating that 2-Way Street.
This weekend a few members of the IndieGoGo team gathered in Berkeley with other pioneers at the forefront of change in cinema, video, games, media and technology. The event was called "The Conversation" and was intended to foster an open dialogue in which all participants could share ideas, insights and innovations. The focus of the conference was on "new tools, new distribution channels and new rules."
The conference covered everything from the technical aspects of production to new schools of promotional strategy. The tools that IndieGoGo offers were definitely relevant.
During a panel on "The New Rules of Film Financing," Diana Barrett, founder of The Fledgling Fund (http://www.thefledglingfund.org/) expressed her regret that grant providing organizations, such as The Fledgling Fund, simply do not have the monetary means to fund all films they feel are worthy. As the economy suffers and the landscape of media changes, traditional methods of film financing are losing their relevance.
The solution? As the landscape changes, our methods have to change as well.
Throughout The Conversation, panelists related their experiences with crowdfunding, crowdsourcing and internet based community building. These were their methods for handling the shifting media landscape, and these methods led to their ultimate success.
Luckily, these are the same methods that IndieGoGo uses. Ultimately, The Conversation served as a welcome reaffirmation that IndieGoGo is enthusiastically embracing change in our media climate and handling it in the most dynamic and relevant ways.
If you have not been able to make it to London for Power to the Pixel, you can still watch all the presentations live. Just click here.
As part of the the conference, IndieGoGo will be talking about financing:
THE NEW CROSS-PLATFORM FINANCIERS: AUDIENCES, SPONSORS AND BRANDS
Presales, MGs and advances are becoming a thing of the past
for independent films. Who will the new financiers of independent films
be? This session looks at the power of the audience in crowd-sourcing,
the power of brands and of sponsors in financing new work.
 Google recently launched a new feature on
YouTube called YouTubevertorial. Users can now click on links to Amazon or
iTunes, placed below each video, to buy products related to the content they
are watching. These click-to-buy links represent a new way for YouTube to monetize
online video sharing. Currently YouTube is embedding links for music and
video games. They are planning on adding more industries, like film, print, and
television, to build e-commerce on YouTube.
So why does this matter to filmmakers? Well, Google is giving filmmakers the
chance to monetize content on YouTube, which has proven difficult in the past.
Soon, not only will filmmakers be able to spread awareness about their projects
to fans on YouTube, they can also make money off of these fans with links to
the appropriate distribution sources. Google is taking viral marketing to
a new level. A YouTube video could generate millions of dollars with a
click-to-buy link at the bottom of a catchy video (see: "The 3 Things that
Make a Video Go Viral").
This new development is just one in a series from YouTube
that has helped independent filmmakers. YouTube has begun experimenting with
feature length movies on their site. Also, in June, YouTube launched The
Screening Room, where users can watch and buy short movies online. Will the
click-to-buy links help filmmakers in the long run too?
Sundance is around the corner and soon all indie filmmakers will be in a frenzy about their film festival strategy. Ted Hope, the well known producer (i.e. 21 Grams, The Savages) is writing an 8 part blog series about how to prepare for the festival madness.
Stay tuned for more....
Congratulations to Jon Bonnell - winner of "The Conversation" FREE Ticket challenge:
In 50 Words of Less, explain the most innovative audience-building and fundraising tactic for film.
Jon has won a FREE ticket ($150 value) to The Conversation. Check out Jon's and the other top ideas below... ideas that all filmmakers can be using. Thanks to everyone who participated. Keep up the DIWO!
WINNER: Jon Bonnell
 "Build an avid, involved fan base that promote for you: Example, we recently ran a campaign through Twitter with our loyal fans who were already subscribed to our Twitter feed. The campaign involved offering access to a free screening of our new film. All our fans needed to do was send out a public @reply saying that they wanted to see it. In doing so, information was sent on our film to all of their followers... viral advertising. We doubled our Twitter subscriber base in a week AND our fans got to see our film. They got to provide great feedback and reviews as well. Win-Win all the way around." OTHER TOP IDEAS:
Simone
"Create an online work-in-progress screening complete with Q & A and questionnaire via streaming. Donors and audience can view the work-in-progress clips/scenes from the film and provide input/ideas/thoughts to filmmaker(s). This [access] personally invests donors/audiences to become a part of the exciting "process" of filmmaking and in the eventual finished product in a consulting capacity as fan/friend/"member of the team." This is a new form of interactive/social networking/audience-building for filmmakers so their work-in-progress screenings are not just local, but on-line and worldwide!"
Patrick
"Create the film preview. Send people out to play the preview on portable video players on public transportation for a day in 10 cities. Videotape yourself. Get direct advertising to a full day's worth of bored commuters in the most lucrative markets then distribute the recorded spectacle to everyone else."
NoRestrictions
"Feature a role for a fan in your movie: Create a video about the contest and broadcast it to fans on social network sites. Rules: Fan must become a friend of the project, name the person who referred and submit a video audition. The winner and referring fan get a featured role in your film."
Mabel
"Shoot a video pitch showing viewers what your project is about and post it to viral outlets relevant to your film/content. Use this video pitch to fundraise through places like IndieGoGo and show it at a fundraiser party+screening done through Brave New Theatres. People who give you money or in-kind are featured in the next update of your video pitch, this creates a buzz and more people start donating."
crabjuicer
"Strategy 1. Upload to top 10 video hosting sites. 2. Create accounts with top 10 social sites for bookmarking, digg/stumbleupon/etc or networking, myspace/facebook/etc. 3. Promote aforementioned video links on blogs, message boards, etc. and submit the pages with film promotion to aforementioned social sites, with proper keywords."
jptang
"Have audience vote on how movie ends while watching the movie, using hand-held clickers. Majority rules."
In honor of " The Conversation" - a conference on the future of Cinema,
Video Games and Online Video - IndieGoGo returns to Berkeley to
present: "Where Internet and Film Collide." Join us for an evening of drinks and networking! RSVP HERE or click on the Party Invite below. Cheers, The IndieGoGo Team p.s. Click HERE for a chance to win a FREE ticket ($150 value) to "The Conversation" happening Oct 17 and 18 at the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley, CA 
Want the opportunity to network with the CEO of Netflix, get a FREE $150 ticket to "The Conversation" and guest blog on IndieGoGo? Here's your chance:
In 50 words or less, explain the most innovative audience-building or fundraising tactic for a film.
The person with the best idea will receive: 
Submission Details: - How: Submit your idea as a COMMENT on IndieGoGo's Feedback Profile: GoGoFeedback (Scroll down below the ANNOUNCEMENTS section for the COMMENTS section)
- Deadline: Thursday, October 16th at 12:00 Noon.
- Options: You can mark your comment as "Private" if you'd like to keep you or your idea hidden, or leave it as public for the world to see.
- Don't Forget: In order to submit your innovative idea, make sure you've signed up and logged into IndieGoGo.
Winner Details: - The winner will be announced the same day at 8:00 pm Pacific Time, the night before "The Conversation" begins
- The top submissions will be posted on IndieGoGo's DIWO Download (with links to your personal / project profiles on IndieGoGo)
Good luck! The IndieGoGo Team
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