sub-genre

I’ll be attending Hot Docs to moderate a panel (amongst other things, see below) on Thursday, May 3rd at the Conference, on measuring and leveraging the digital space. This is a topic I’m very interested in lately - we’ve got new tools to reach, engage and track audience and “impact” and there are ever more conversations about how much, or little, these matter. I think they matter a lot, but not in the ways anyone thinks yet. That said, the more we think about it, experiment in this area and fly/fail, we’ll learn a lot, and that’s what this panel is about. From the festival description:

Do audiences ‘Like’ your film? Does it trend on twitter? Did you attract 5,000 online views in 24 hours? Fantastic. Amazing. Congratulations. But how do you collect the data? How do you compare metrics and what does it all mean?

Part experiment, part session, Hot Docs has asked Herman’s House (D: Angad Singh Bhalla) and Finding North (D: Kristi Jacobsen) to use a range of data aggregation tools and report back. With information on new metrics and analytics, this session will examine how we define and measure data, explore the relevance and impact of the results, and illustrate how the collected data can be leveraged for future impact.

Using Sparkwi.se, a new, free online metric tool for aggregating social media and online presence in a personalized dashboard, both films are already tracking traffic to their websites, gathering views on videos, ‘Likes’ on Facebook, and mentions on Google. During the session our panelists will present their dashboards and participate in live data analysis. The session will also explore lessons learned during the process, and offer an in-depth assessment of how to use the accumulated data to support each filmmaker’s goal.

Participating expert analysts and leading industry thinkers will offer context for this experiment, reflecting on how we use data, the significance it carries when approaching broadcasters, distributors and investors, and the potential for enhancing documentary’s capacity for social change.

Learn more about the Sparkwi.se free online metric tool at sparkwi.se.

Panelists

Jennifer Gilomen - Director of Independent Media, BAVC

Marc Vogl - Executive Director, BAVC

Jonny Bunning - Social Media/Community Manager, HERMAN’S HOUSE

Kristi Jacobsen - Director/Producer, FINDING NORTH

Bill Mohri - Head of Strategy and Partnerships, Advertising and Online Division, Microsoft Canada

Thu, May 3 4:00pm - 5:15pm | Rogers Industry Centre (Victoria College), 93 Charles Street West, 2nd Floor

Join us. Send me your thoughts in advance. Tweet us onstage at #hotdocsimpact and we might even answer your question onstage. Should be fun.

In addition, I’m watching docs for acquisition by a new TBA doc distributor - have a great social issue doc, English language, with all US rights available? Come see me. We’ve got money, a cool plan and some new ideas. More will be announced publicly soon!

All of NYC has been rejoicing this past week, having heard the news that the Alamo Drafthouse is coming to town. Many of my friends and acquaintances in the film industry, and outside of it, have been talking, tweeting and oohing and aahing about it, but I noticed several who kept focusing on the beer aspect - essentially saying that having beer was the most important part of the Alamo experience. But it isn’t, never has been and theaters shouldn’t think so, or they’re missing what matters.

I love beer, and it’s really nice that the Alamo Drafthouse let’s me drink beer while watching a movie, and it contributes to what makes Alamo great. On the other hand, if AMC or Regal (or even Landmark) offered beer, it would still be a bad experience to see a movie there. In fact, the entire experience of going to those cinemas sucks. If they had beer, they’d charge 20 bucks for it and the experience would still suck, so I might just puke during it. So it’s not the beer.

It’s also not the movies themselves. Alamo plays many mainstream films too, so that’s not what makes it special either. It’s the entire experience. When I’ve visited Alamo, whether during a SXSW screening or at another time, the experience has been top notch across the board. Here’s why:

The programming is great, and in addition to the usual Hollywood/IndieWood/LittleFilmThatCould screenings, they also add in fun, quirky programming (such as texting in the movie on purpose so it shows on the screen, but at designated screenings only).

No Ads. This is huge. I’ll put a bullet in my head before I’ll watch another “The Twenty” at Regal and then watch 20 previews, more ads and that stupid train shit intro-ing the film. Alamo’s quirky pre-feature show is fun and not as in your face - if I want to still chat with my friends, I can. And you know what - as Alamo says - I already paid for the film so I shouldn’t have to watch ads.

The food. I didn’t find it to be amazing, but I’ve always felt like it is at least somewhat fit for human consumption, and they actually have a chef who plans the menus, so they’re trying. Contrast that with the crap elsewhere, even most indie art houses.

The service. This might be the biggest one. From the person who sells me my tickets to the “waiter ninjas” who deliver my food, the people don’t seem to hate their lives and mine. This, I think, comes directly down from the top - Tim League is a nice guy. He instills niceness in his staff. Mr. Duane Reade is a dick. He hates his staff, they hate him and this translates to the customer service.

Employees, or Service 2. They actually seem to employ people. The right amount of them. When I go to AMC 25, there’s a 50 foot line not because it’s busy, but because they have one cashier and the machines are all broken. Same with the concession stand. This is true also of Landmark Sunshine and other arthouses usually. Short sighted managers/owners cut staff to the bare minimum. Well, guess what - sometimes having more people means making more money. Really.

No phones. I think everyone has now heard the story about them kicking someone out for using her phone in the movie. And then distributed the audio of her call complaining for being kicked out. Was hilarious, but this wouldn’t ever possibly happen at any of their competitors, as the management there would be hiding to avoid getting involved, instead of being proactive about making a good movie environment.

They care. Really, they do. I know this because I’ve talked with Tim and heard him talk - and he is passionate about the movies. He is passionate about having a good time. He started Fantastic Fest, and gets in the fight ring during it, because he cares. I’ve met many owners of other theaters, and I can only say this to be true about a dozen of them - most of them attend the Arthouse Convergence by the way - and that is sad.

So folks, just like in other arenas, the entire experience is what counts. This counts for your individual films too. And your transmedia project. And your Duane Reade. And your nonprofit. And your film festival. And your film website. And your film store. And…

I can now fund any movie I want made through Kickstarter and IndieGoGo. I can also set up screenings for any movie I want to see, by using OpenIndie, Gathr and Tugg. I can aggregate the news I want using gazillions of apps and plug-ins. I can in fact, live in a cultural world entirely decided upon by me. Or not just me, but me and the people who think and act like I do.

This is a pretty nice gated community. It means that until Anthony Kaufman wrote an article about it, I had no idea that some anti-abortion film was number 8 at the box office last week. I missed it altogether, because I don’t run with that crowd or listen to what they do, unless it accidentally intrudes into my world, such as when my friends start tweeting about something going on with #Komen.

I’m no anti-technology, anti-social network, can’t we have back the old system-kind-of-guy, but it seems to me this takes the whole losing of a common culture problem much further. You know - it used to be we could all gather ‘round the water cooler and talk Happy Days, or even Seinfeld, or heck…even Mad Men. This gave us some common culture to share, and arguably some commonness in our lives.

Now, however, I can do this just with my cultural-clones. I wouldn’t think this was such a bad thing, but then again….several years back, many churches started building mega-centers where they could all worship, buy coffee, shop, mingle and not be influenced by the outside world. I don’t think we’d argue that this is not exactly a mind-opening way to live. We see this with many conservative groups (from all religions), and I think we can generally agree it doesn’t make for the best situation for anyone. It’s a closed system - self-referential to the extreme, and this creates not just extremism but shitty culture.

It’s no better applied to other arenas - if I only get the liberal-minded films which I pay for on Kickstarter, Gathr to my hometown and spread to my network of like-minded individuals, all of culture will suffer as a result. In theory, all of these new tools are making things more open, but I worry about the self-referring loop syndrome of the closed system we’re building. Am I the only one?

Then again, I’m probably missing a lot of right-wing crazy shit I don’t need in my life….crowdsource on dudes.

I’ve just left SXSW to help lead some discussions around how to build and maintain a vibrant media arts culture, with Creative Albuquerque. Here’s details:

The Downtown Arts & Cultural District Steering Committee is pleased to announce a national speaker series to assist in stimulating the development of vibrant district and a strategic cultural plan. The speaker series begins with esteemed guest Brian Newman, who will lead an exploration of our community’s film and digital media assets. Brian’s expertise will be shared with the public on March 14th.

focus group for Film & Digital Media Stakeholders
A facilitated discussion on the future of film & digital media in ABQ
9:00-11:30am at Creative Albuquerque located at 115 4th Street NW.

public talk: “Creating A Vibrant Media Arts Environment”
4:30-5:30 at the Cell Theatre, located at 700 1st Street NW.

The speakers series and data gathering will continue over eight weeks with specialists in film and digital media, visual arts, music and performing arts, literary arts, culinary arts and marketing/branding. In addition to making public presentations, guest speakers will provide recommendations and assist in the development of strategies to spur vitality in the downtown district. These insights will be integrated into the district’s cultural plan, which aims to increase local and visitor engagement, foster economic growth for downtown businesses and ensure eventual recognition as a top cultural district in the nation.

To RSVP to events or for more information, email info@creativeabq.org or call (505) 268-1920.

Here’s their website.

I’m going to be doing some networking meetings this year at IFP’s Script to Screen Conference on March 17th. The line-up looks great (I’m not speaking publicly here), and I highly recommend this conference if you live in/near NYC. Check out the details below:

IFP’s Script to Screen Conference Lineup Announced

IFP’s Script to Screen Conference, to be held Saturday March 17 at 92Y Tribeca in NYC, is the place to explore the art, craft, and business of screenwriting and creating the next generation of independent film and media. Anchored by a conversation with Oscar-nominated director Bennett Miller (Moneyball, Capote); Script to Screen will feature a live pitch contest; writing gamesand conversations with innovators in screenwriting, TV, and new media; and a networking lunch offering the chance to connect with representatives from organizations such as Writers Guild of America East, Tribeca Film Institute, YouTube, Cinereach, and the New York Television Festival. The day-long event will explore new opportunities available to indie filmmakers and content creators.

The day will also feature a Writer’s Conversation with exciting new talents Ry Russo-Young (Nobody Walks), Leslye Headland (Bachelorette), Liza Johnson (Return), and Madeleine Olnek (Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same).Other guests include Jonathan Ames (Bored to Death); Ethan T. Berlin and Eric Bryant (“Bunk”); Dia Sokol Savage (“16 & Pregnant”); and Collegehumor.com’s David Young.  Script to Screen is presented in partnership with the Writers Guild of America East, New York Television Festival, and BookExpo America. For information on how to submit your pitch, go here. For additional information and to purchase tickets, click here.

I’m moderating a panel on Cross Media Filmmaking this Thursday night for NYFA. Here’s the summary from their website:

Increasingly, independent filmmakers are telling their stories in different disciplines, and artists in other disciplines are telling their stories in film. One medium doesn’t necessarily replace another, it complements it, creating a larger context and attracting new audiences. Hollywood studios and their corporate partners do this well, using games, books, dolls, clothes, toys and fan sites to expand their stories. As the cost of filmmaking drops and filmmaking tools and skills come within reach of more people, the boundaries between independent filmmakers and other artists are falling. What are the costs and benefits of these cross-disciplinary media projects? The panel for this discussion are NYFA artists from different backgrounds who are currently making or have recently completed a film.

You can check out the full list of panelists, and other event info here. Hope to see you there.

As regulars know, I’ve helped out on the great film General Orders No. 9, and we’re proud to announce that it is finally available on DVD, Blu-Ray and VOD. If you were a fan of this film, I highly recommend buying the Blu-Ray along with the limited edition, numbered books created by the filmmaker (pictured here). Get them from his website below. Here’s the press release.

GENERAL ORDERS No. 9 AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY, DVD, 
AND VIDEO-ON-DEMAND, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2012

The award-winning film, General Orders No. 9 is coming to home video and iTunes February 28. It will be available on DVD and Blu-ray exclusively from the filmmaker on February 28 at shop.generalordersno9.com and select retailers through Passion River on March 20. Video-On-Demand will be offered through Apple iTunes.

A visionary film of the American South, General Orders No. 9 stunned audiences on the festival circuit and prompted Robert Koehler of Variety to describe it as, “Coming seemingly out of nowhere…a true original.” Festival awards include Best Cinematography from Slamdance and RiverRun, and Soul of Southern Film from IndieMemphis. A theatrical run with Variance Films brought the film to 20 cities in 2011, including New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle.

Continuing a series of accolades received through its festival tenure, a year of theatrical presentation resulted in General Orders No. 9 inclusion in several “Best” lists at the end of 2011.These prestigious mentions include Paste magazine’s 50 Best Movies of 2011 (#7), 20 Best New Filmmakers (#2), and 20 Best Documentaries (#2). In another appearance, General Orders No. 9 made the 2011 Hammer To Nail Awards, Top 14 Films of 2011, where Michael Tully said it “makes Malick look like a straight shot of Hollywood.”

The thought-provoking culmination of eleven years’ work from first time writer-director Robert Persons, General Orders No. 9 marries experimental filmmaking with an accessible, naturalist sensibility to tell the epic story of change in the American South and reaches a bittersweet reconciliation all its own.

On March 22, the filmmakers will celebrate the release with an exhibit at Gallery 515, an Atlanta art gallery. Featuring a series of drawings by noted illustrator, Bill Mayer, the exhibit will include art and photography created for the film as well as limited edition books and prints.

General Orders No. 9 (2011) was written and directed by Robert Persons and edited by Phil Walker. It features narration from William Davidson and music from Chris Hoke, Stars of the Lid, and John Tavener, among others.  General Orders No. 9 is a New Rose Window production.

Further information, press stills and more can be found at www.generalordersno9.com.

Hollywood has always been great at telling a story. It hasn’t been as good at telling that story when the story is quite complex, preferring to boil things down to the essentials - the hero, the villain, the basic plot. This has worked well enough that it influences how we think and act as a society and in our individual lives. We’re so used to seeing a Hollywood story-arc that we expect this same drama in our own lives and work to make it so, seeing patterns where there are none and elevating ourselves as heros/villains in some greater narrative; but if there is a greater narrative, we’re surely just bit players in it, given the billions of us this story must encompass.

You can see the wish for a Hollywood story arc in how we think of the recent financial collapse. We demonize scapegoats such as Bernie Madoff (who was a guilty man) and try to pin the blame for the whole mess on bankers, or perhaps if you have a different political outlook, you pin it on homeowners who won’t take personal responsibility. In reality, the economic mess we’ve found ourselves in is quite complex, and while there are guilty parties, there are many of them and too many to make this a neat and tidy story, although Margin Call was pretty fun.

No, the bigger story of that continuing mess is that it was/is the result of systemic flaws in the economy and indeed in the brand of capitalism we practice ‘round these parts. Addressing systemic flaws is complicated, however, so we tend to try to simplify the story to fit the storytelling pattern Hollywood has taught us to expect. This is good for bankers, politicians, economists and yes, the consumers, who are all part of the mess, because examining it in its entirety would make us wake up and demand change - if we understood the full story, we’d demand a refund on this particular movie. Perhaps we’re seeing this now in both the Tea Party and the Occupy Wall Street movements. A lot of people are waking up, and many of them are demanding change. They aren’t necessarily calling for an end to capitalism, but they are calling for a different practice of it. We’ll see over the next few years how this plays out.

Well, Hollywood is telling another story these days that it likes to summate easily, and that’s the one where piracy is killing the industry, and they need things like SOPA and ACTA and other legal change to stop the robbery of their profits. Unfortunately for Hollywood, however, we the people are now able to step back, use the power of the network - which is precisely to connect the dots more easily - and think about this story some more and realize that this story isn’t so simple either, because it too is about systemic flaws. Likewise, when we connect the dots here, we won’t likely say let’s get rid of entertainment, but rather how we practice it.

So, the real story is that the Hollywood way of doing business is broken. It was broken before digital came about, but that really did take it to another level. How is it broken? Well, this would take many blog posts, but let’s just say that every single aspect of the system is flawed. From the way films are financed - usually by ripping off a new, clueless investor; to how they are made - usually by paying exorbitant fees to stars with too much control, while underpaying the crew making it below the line; to how they are consumed - in overpriced theaters, then windowed to be sure to maintain the artificial high box office and force certain consumers to look for them online through piracy. This barely scratches the surface of the flaws, and I’m just now mentioning the fact that we keep minting hundreds of thousands of filmmakers at film school who go on to produce more films than can be consumed by the world’s population. Or that festivals argue over premieres that are meaningless to anyone but the press; or that the press went to journalism school and didn’t learn how to dig beyond the press release and give us actual news about the business.

Every aspect of this is fundamentally flawed. Does this mean we don’t want to watch movies and entertain ourselves? No. But it does mean that as digital continues to turn dollars to pennies, it will expose more and more of these flaws - because they’ve all been hidden with dollars and fables, and these don’t hold up in the digital economy. As I’ve said before, digital is the moon that pulls the tide, and when the tide goes out, we see who’s wearing the swim trunks (per Warren Buffett’s famous quote), and there’s a lot of naked people in film.

Hollywood tells us everything is fine, we just have these damned pirates. I’m not conceding pirates are a problem at all, but even if they are, they are just one of many, many problems, and not likely the biggest in this pile of mess. Nope, it makes a nice story, and people getting ready for bedtime, like most of our politicians, love a good story, but it’s an oversimplification.

Hollywood is an empire, and like all empires, it will collapse at some point, precisely because of its efforts to prolong itself indefinitely. While it keeps telling itself the pirate story - ironically, all this while lionizing them in Pirates of the Caribbean, a Disney property that is likely a rip off of someone else’s intellectual property, like the rest of Disney’s IP - there’s a better story being told, and it’s not coming from Hollywood. It’s coming from Silicon Valley, and all of the little Valleys out there. It’s coming from DIY, and Makers, and kids in their bedrooms making mash-ups and video games, and from the whole lot of us making really cool shit at a fraction of the cost, and with almost no flaw in the business model (Ok, there are some, but let’s also pretend a little).

These stories are becoming legion. They are coalescing, and they are much less frightening (or annoying or deluded) than those coming from Hollywood today. They are inspiring, and I say we should all start spending more of our attention and dollars on these stories than theirs, and in making sure these stories win sooner rather than later, because win they will. The question is always just how bloody and long will be the death of the empire? This story has been told many times, and we’re all watching it unfold now, like all audiences, pretending not to know the end of the story.

IFP sent me this call for submissions, and I’ve had many filmmakers tell me they had a great experience at the lab (and I’m too busy to post something original) so here’s the info:

IFP Independent Filmmaker Labs Open for Submissions  Deadlines to Apply: March 9 (Documentary) / April 6 (Narrative) 

IFP’s Independent Filmmaker Labs are a year-long fellowship supporting independent filmmakers when they need it most: through the completion, marketing, and distribution of their first features. Lab submission is open to all first-time documentary and narrative feature directors with films in post-production. Structured in three week-long components held over the year, the Labs offer personalized attention on post-production, audience building, and distribution strategies in the digital age, followed by continued support from IFP as the project premieres in the marketplace.

Recent Lab Project alumni now in theaters include Dee Rees’ Pariah (Focus Features), Alrick Brown’s Kinyarwanda (AFFRM), and Victoria Mahoney’s Yelling to the Sky (MPI), being released this spring. Premieres at 2012 festivals have included An Oversimplification of Her Beauty (Sundance), Welcome to Pine Hill (Slamdance, Grand Jury Award), Una Noche (Berlin), and The Light in Her Eyes and Smokin’ Fish (IDFA 2011) - with more Lab alumni set for upcoming festivals and broadcast. To apply or for more information, please visit http://www.ifp.org/programs/labs .

I’m in Park City, Utah for the next week for Sundance and Slamdance. I’m here working on some new projects I hope will get announced soon, but also to speak on a couple of panels and show my support for some projects I’ve been involved with. I’ll also be continuing to participate in SOPA/PIPA protests, because no, even though the we had a great success on fighting this, the war isn’t over yet.

Anyway, I’ll be speaking on a distribution panel being held by Passion River Films. The event is on all day, January 24th, and due to some scheduling issues (on my end), I’ll be speaking later in the day about how to succeed with your film even when you didn’t get into that big fest (like Sundance):

Panel 3:  Didn’t Get Into Sundance? No Worries.

Learn How to Go Beyond Big Name Festivals to Secure Distribution

4:00pm - 5:30pm

Every year, thousands of films are not accepted into Sundance, yet many still become BIG hits.  Learn from industry experts on how the former “Plan B” of distribution could surprise you as being your NEW “Plan A”!  Panelist include:  Brian Newman, Mat Levy, Josh Levin, Mike Grice, & Michael Tuckman.  Read bios below.

• Why films can still be highly successful without any major festival exposure.
• What other factors do distributors consider beyond being an “official selection”.
• Securing theatrical distribution - Is it worth the expense?
• How can a publicist or social meida campaign help?
• Building a fan base with every festival appearance.
• The pro’s & con’s of DIY self-distribution.  Decision time?

I’ll also be touching on this topic at Slamdance on another distribution panel. This one is titled “Where there’s a will, there’s a way…to find distribution.” The panel description:

In a time long long ago, an indie filmmaker was approached by a suit, they shook hands, the suit walked away with the film, the filmmaker walked away with a fist full of dollars. A week later the film was playing at a theatre near you. Those days may be long gone, but in 2012 there are more options than ever before to get your film in front of your audience. Learn about new distribution possibilities through social media, web & mobile apps, and other DIY methods. Come be a part of this interactive discussion with some of the most formative minds in this movement. Occupy Distribution!

My name isn’t listed in the speakers, but I’m one of ‘em, and I’ll be there. Please join me with Orly Ravid, David Magdael and Tom Thimot.

There are lots of good films at both Sundance and Slamdance, and you don’t need my advice on what to see, but… I am friendly with a couple films there and highly recommend them. First, Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, by Alison Klayman. I’m on the board of a nonprofit that helped produce this project, so I’ve given some advice to them, especially back when they did their Kickstarter campaign. It’s a great, and important, film, and I highly recommend it. Second, I’m good friends with Alexandra Berger, the director of Danland, at Slamdance. Danland is about Porno Dan and his work, his attempts at a love life. I’ve seen an earlier cut, can’t wait to see this final version and recommend it as well.

I’ve already met a few of my tiny group of readers here. If I haven’t met you yet, look me up while you’re here.