In 1993, Kevin Smith made a splash in the independent film scene with his debut film Clerks. Now in 2011, seventeen years later, he has made an even bigger splash on the independent film scene with the release of his 10th Film, “Red State”. On Stage at the Sundance Film Festival, Kevin Smith decided not to sell his film for conventional distribution methods, instead he kept the right to his film “Red State” and has opened Smod Cast Pictures, his own distribution company.
Long in the industry, there was a certain way to do things, how to make a film, how to market a film, and how to distribute a film. It’s been proven that there is more than one way to make a film, there are definitely many ways to market a film, but until recently there wasn’t any really clear cut alternate options in distributing a film, at least theatrically.
Kevin Smith’s Smodcast pictures will distribute it’s first film, the directors “Red State” by taking it on a road show across the country, hoping to make the entire budget back for the film before its official theatrical release. Then when the film releases in October officially in standard run theaters, its all profit.
This initial plan while experimental, is also very daring. He then claimed that should the process work, his desire is to pluck up aspiring filmmakers and their low budget feature film projects. This is a tremendous opportunity for many young film makers, whose smaller films tend to get lost in the distributions shuffle at the festivals. Even the ones that do get picked up can get lost in the shuffle of release when distributors do not allocate enough funds to properly advertise a smaller less bankable indie.
This announcement excited me, as I know many young film makers, myself included who not only can hope to get plucked up from obscurity, but can also use something as simple as this announcement as a motivation to get out and do it themselves. The verdict is still out on whether or not Kevin’s plan to self distribute will work out, but so far ticket sales have been high, and things seem optimistic at the moment. Up and coming film makers can only hope that it goes well, because if it does, and Smod Cast Pictures opens it’s doors to small independent films, that small circle will open up to include many more people, myself included.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
JJ Abrams
JJ Abrams’ TED speech motivates me to no end. It is very refreshing to see someone as seasoned, as experienced, and as well versed in the comings and goings of the industry still be so very passionate about what he does. You get a real sense of excitement from watching JJ talk, that he’s bound to motivate any person, regardless of what their career is.
JJ Abrams’ speech starts with him explaining an old gift he received, a mystery box. He uses this as the example of which to illustrate his point. His explanation of his obsessions with mystery, with suspense, and ultimately with storytelling, give a sense of the kind of person he was growing up, and how that is how he still is to this very day. JJ Abrams is a highly regarded writer and producer, having created shows like Alias and Lost, that were all met with much zeal and excitement. He started a career as a feature film director in 2006 with Mission Impossible 3. His second feature, a remake of Star Trek, solidified him as a blockbuster film maker, and storyteller. But fans of his earlier work know that his natural talent to telling a compelling story.
In his speech, JJ talks about the unseen mystery, that is featured in a lot of his work. He talks about his many uses of plot devices such as red herrings or Macguffens. But what truly resonates in what he is saying, is his pure raw passion for telling complex mystery filled stories that not only entertainment, but he also aims to challenge the audience. That is the mark of a great storyteller, someone taking advantage of their situation to do good work. He is grateful for his audiences and as a result he likes to give them solid entertainment, his best, and what he feels they deserve, and that is all that any aspiring storyteller can hope to do.
JJ Abrams’ speech starts with him explaining an old gift he received, a mystery box. He uses this as the example of which to illustrate his point. His explanation of his obsessions with mystery, with suspense, and ultimately with storytelling, give a sense of the kind of person he was growing up, and how that is how he still is to this very day. JJ Abrams is a highly regarded writer and producer, having created shows like Alias and Lost, that were all met with much zeal and excitement. He started a career as a feature film director in 2006 with Mission Impossible 3. His second feature, a remake of Star Trek, solidified him as a blockbuster film maker, and storyteller. But fans of his earlier work know that his natural talent to telling a compelling story.
In his speech, JJ talks about the unseen mystery, that is featured in a lot of his work. He talks about his many uses of plot devices such as red herrings or Macguffens. But what truly resonates in what he is saying, is his pure raw passion for telling complex mystery filled stories that not only entertainment, but he also aims to challenge the audience. That is the mark of a great storyteller, someone taking advantage of their situation to do good work. He is grateful for his audiences and as a result he likes to give them solid entertainment, his best, and what he feels they deserve, and that is all that any aspiring storyteller can hope to do.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Social Media
Over the last few years social media has really exploded in popularity. Individuals to small businesses to giant corporations have picked up on this and have been using it as a dangerous arsenal against consumers.
With sites like Facebook, where there are 500 million users, the messages trying to be portrayed can reach virtually everyone. These users also help by re-posting the content to their friends, and with features, such as Likes and comments, you get instant feedback on everything.
There's a downside to this as well, as people can be negative as well and everyone following the business can see it.
The benefit of social media is for the business and its consumer to relay information back and forth to each other. Some even use services, like Twitter, to talk directly to their fans/consumers.
With sites like Facebook, where there are 500 million users, the messages trying to be portrayed can reach virtually everyone. These users also help by re-posting the content to their friends, and with features, such as Likes and comments, you get instant feedback on everything.
There's a downside to this as well, as people can be negative as well and everyone following the business can see it.
The benefit of social media is for the business and its consumer to relay information back and forth to each other. Some even use services, like Twitter, to talk directly to their fans/consumers.
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