Beyond the Frame

Short Film Distribution: In It For the Money - 

I received our royalty report from Shorts International today.  Before I get to the nitty-gritty, I’d like to offer up some context.  The film above, Refuge, was signed to a distribution agreement with Shorts International about a year ago.  We negotiated back and forth for about a month and ended up in a pretty good place.  The only sticking point involved some online exclusivity which bars us from showing the film in full, online, for free.  We almost walked away, not because we thought their policy was irrational, but because we felt we could get more eyes on the film if we gave it away.  But that’s a different post for a different time.  We ended up signing the deal and I’m happy we did.  

In return for ceding our right to stream Refuge for the next four years, we gained valuable distribution experience, a new partner and about 30 different runs on the Shorts HD channel (which can be found on AT&T and DirecTV).  We were also paid a grand total of $72.00 for the last 6 months of royalties.  In light of two years of hard work and the $35,000 spent making the film, it isn’t much, but that’s the nature of the beast.  The route we take on future films like The Assassination of Chicago’s Mayor will likely be different - but Shorts International remains a valuable part of the ecosystem.

~ü

The State of the Short Film and Film Festivals: 

We received a personal letter from Tribeca programmer Ben Thompson today.  He informed us that The Assassination of Chicago’s Mayor (trailer above) will not be screening at this year’s festival.  The news was obviously disappointing but it is hardly surprising.  Our roster of high-quality short films have had a festival acceptance rate of less than 5%.  Between programming and shipping costs in the last five years, our total bill for that success rate has amounted to over $2,000.  In the grand scheme of things, this is not a lot of money for promotion.  But considering the risk incurred on behalf of the filmmaker and the lack of transparency in the festival selection process, it is not necessarily the best way to spend valuable promotion dollars.  Ben’s thoughtful letter was an exception.  There are festivals that don’t even bother to send out a notice of rejection, let alone an acknowledgement that it was even previewed.

Short film selection feels particularly arbitrary to the filmmaker.  It’s nearly impossible for an individual short film to build a buzz.  Audiences attend these screenings because they love the genre as a whole, not because they have heard of one individual film.  So why does a programmer chose one film over the other?  It completely depends on their taste and how a film fits within the context of the other films that are selected.  A feature can at least build enough buzz that an on-the-fence programmer may select it because he or she knows it will sell tickets.

The truth of the matter is that the web has become, by far, the best distribution outlet for short film.  The only rub is that Vimeo seems to be the only platform where a dramatic short film can gain traction.  There are, of course, exceptions to that, but internet consumers tend to watch and share comedy on the web, not drama.  There is no true dramatic equivalent to Funny or Die or The Onion News Network.

I’ll take this opportunity to share a nice, dramatic short film directed by Po Chan called The Last 3 Minutes.  

~ü

A Case for Truly Free Short Films: 

As of this writing, the film [Pickin’ & Trimmin’] has over 100,000 views. It was chosen as a Vimeo Staff Pick, featured on Boing Boing, Esquire.com, Devour, The Art of Manliness, various Bluegrass blogs, and dozens of personal blogs. To put those numbers into perspective, more than ten times the amount of people watched the film online in a month than watched it over 3 years on the festival circuit. Considering I didn’t have to pay any submission fees and it’s revitalized DVD sales (where the profits are much higher than an iTunes sale) instead of cannibalized them, I’d say there’s a strong argument for all short filmmakers to put their film online for free and easy viewing and sharing.

~ Matt Morris in Ted Hope’s Hope for Film

I’ve been on both sides of this issue.  Our 2010 film, Refuge, secured distribution through Shorts International.  It was a difficult decision with some good and some bad.  The film went has played nearly 30 times on television in the USA and Europe.  We’re supposedly going to receive royalties someday, though I’m not holding my breath.  Not bad.

Deep down, I felt that we’d get more traction and expand our base by putting it online for free viewing and sharing.  When I was negotiating with Shorts International, I even suggested ways to co-promote it.  They, being old world media, weren’t interested.  Even if it meant more viewers, it also meant that someone in marketing would have to work directly with me.  Those are hours in the day that marketing probably doesn’t have.

They have Refuge locked up until 2014.  They wanted it until 2017 but I really wanted control over my content before then.  This was our compromise.  The deal was also structured so that their only exclusivity deals with online distribution.  This means I can show it in theaters and burn it to DVDs.  While I’m glad I negotiated that right, it also goes to show what really matters in the 21st century - web distribution.  In fact, it’s quickly becoming the only thing that matters to an indie filmmaker.

If I could go back, would I sign that agreement again?  Actually, yes.  The experience was meaningful.  We have industry contacts that we wouldn’t have otherwise.  Matt Morris’ film has been seen by roughly 10,000x more people than Refuge.  But Refuge was always a weird fit.  A beautiful, non-linear art-film that likely wouldn’t have attracted the same mainstream attention.  While we won’t be going the same route for The Assassination of Chicago’s Mayor - it doesn’t mean that traditional distribution is shouldn’t be considered, especially if the distributors are willing to negotiate.  

~ü

[Video: Refuge Trailer, Directed by D. Schmüdde (2010)]

I agree with what George Lucas is saying in this interview.

However, he is part of the problem, not the solution.  For decades he has sat on his franchise doing little to encourage alternative views and voices.  Now that he has had to put his own money in to a film - something that we independent filmmakers do year after year because distribution and exhibition is structured to keep us out - he decries the racism and lack of imagination in the industry.  Sorry George, you had 20 years to invest in the growth of cinema and instead you simply got fat off of the same funding channels that you’re now showing disdain for.  

~ü

[Video: George Lucas on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart]

As filmmakers, we must remember we are citizens of the world, citizens that speak a language that transcends borders and barriers of understanding.

~ü

Think Globally, Think Locally. “Think about the world, don’t just think of the U.S. first,” recommended the Polish Brothers, who have found international success with their latest film, “For Lovers Only.”  Their black-and-white movie was made shortly after the first iPad debuted. “We thought it would be a great movie to show on iPad.”  After screening at a European festival, they released the film on iTunes and found the first downloads came from Europe.

“‘For Lovers Only” went directly to the audience that wants to see it,“ said Mark Polish. “And with iTunes, we can see everywhere it’s been downloaded.”

~ Kim Adelman interviews the Polish Brothers

[Video: For Lovers Only The Polish Brothers (2011)]