Digital by Design-- panel discussion

Tribecca Film Festival Talk 2011, SVA-2 Theater, April 26, 2:30pm, from left to right with John Sloss(founder of Cinetic Media), Michael Lang(CEO of Miramax), Tom Lesinski(President of Paramount Digital Entertainment), Eugene Hernandez(Film Society of Lincoln Center), Trevor Kaufman (CEO of Possible Worldwide),  and hosted by Richard Whittington(Media and Entertainment of SAP)

HTC G2 Image by Wen Wen Lin 

p.s. shhhh----This is the ALL MALE BIG NAME panel-- would be nice to see a female top executive in this industry in the panel!  maybe in the near future?  

Today's discussion is about: how the digital age aids today's filmmaker in three key areas: Funding models, intellectual property management, and distribution channels. 

(1) the trend: this is an indie world!!! art is about truth, and entertainment is about story telling, than other superficial techniques or big fancy studio video equipment.  Quality individual movies have no limits – they can achieve anything. If they can just get made.  And also, most indies are doomed to fail before the camera even rolls, if they only follows the footsteps of the major studio, and don't even try to be different.

funding for film:  Hollywood VS Indies:  two of the major studios will be sold or consolidated by 2015, the studio is making less films now, so a lot of big name hollywood stars are starring in indi films.  In Sundance 2010, 80% of the films are made in this model.    The highend specialized market is dwindling.  Traditional film business is not growing for 5 yrs already.

Crowd sourcing way for fund raising is a way to do it, but very difficult, unless someone who has a lot of following outside of the immediate relatives and friend.  Social network is a good way to attract and manage big crowd supporters, and maybe even real investors who is looking for return for their investment.  If one has enough followers on the social net work, then that person does not need to work the studio.  SVOD(subscription video on demand) might be a way to monetize shorts.

Maria My Love: directed by Jasmine McGlade Chazelle

(2) piracy:  a lot of piracy becomes easier in the internet, even worse than DVD piracy.  Ppl could easily watch films for free by one click.  at some point the government might have to get involved to set the law.

(3) web video migrating TV???: at the present, Miramax spending 25% of the budget on the international market development, and it will expand to 50% in the future.   Currently, 70% of revenue for cable network comes from cable subscription.   The other 30% coming from advertisement, and other marketing venues.  Cable TV will find a way to sustain its way of functioning and maintain its way of operation.  We do not yet know, what the digital market is going to be like.  But it should not be one or the other-- it should be a way where every form can work together to constitute the whole.

the future of film:  Curation Nation by Steven Rosenbaum

(4) do the buyers have all the right to decide the content:  in the past, the viewer can buy content and own it-- owning it still is a big desire in human nature--  i do not think it is necessary for anyone to own any content, especially when one turns on the computer/internet, it is already there-- ppl are used to get it for free on the internet, why would they want to own it?  owning is a product of fears-- fears of lacking in the future.  No lacking, no owning, is my view.  We are a curation nation: content creation is going to continue to grow exponentially - film audiences are going to need to find new ways to filter the deluge of new content, and new ways to find and filter have the potential to create new audiences and new economics.

(5) could branding movie be done? is it a viable way to raise money?-- yes, in a way, as long as the movie is done in the way to entertain the viewers, then sneak in a few seconds of brand promotions wouldn't hurt, e.g. burger king's movie-- if movie is not successful, it would back fire on the brand.

Jesus Henry Christ: by Dennis Lee

(6) question for the future: would players who are dominant now work to co-operate in the future?  how the development of the video in social network going to be in the future?  would cable company and government come to intervene the digital distribution in the future, e.g. netflix?

Shhhhh-- it is past midnight, if you read this far and did not fall asleep on the business side of film making, i commemorate you....

good night and sweet dream.  and hail to indies spirits!

wen wen da nuevo yorku

useful links for film makers:

http://www.indiewire.com/#